The Most Reverend John Baptist Odama was recognised and awarded ‘The Peace Awards 2021- Lifetime Service Award’ in absentia as part of the 14-category maiden edition
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As an ordained minister in the Church of Uganda (a local church within the Anglican tradition), and especially as someone who spent two decades ministering through the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, I am often deeply troubled by what I see and experience of churches in Uganda, Africa, and beyond. When I reflect on the testimony of Scripture about Jesus’ vision for the community that bears his name and consider the lived reality of churches, both locally and globally, I can’t help but notice a worrisome dissonance.
The convictions we hold about the nature and purpose of the church inform how we engage with the Bible. They shape our understanding of what it teaches about God, the gospel of Christ, and its imperatives for living out our faith in the world.