Healing the Healers: Redressing Church Leadership and National Healing in Zimbabwe

This paper redresses Church leadership and national healing in Zimbabwe. Although numerous studies have been published on managing conflict and healing the nation, contextualized publications on healing healers in Zimbabwe are scarce. Using a qualitative literature review and Henri Nouwen’s concept of “wounded healers” as a theoretical foundation, this paper fills the gap. It finds that church leaders battle with multifaceted national political, ethnic, and socio-economic conflicts. As God’s holistic word bearers, church leaders in Zimbabwe have been engaging with the State and Society to foster reconciliation and healing. Instead of addressing the root causes of national conflicts, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front victimized and persecuted dissenting voices, silencing some church leaders who facilitated prophetic engagements. Besides suffering from State oppression, ecclesial leaders who dedicated themselves to serving as national healers ultimately faced painful family, ecclesial, and community conflicts. Authoritarianism persists, and the majority of citizens continue to suffer. Consequently, this paper concludes that the painful experiences of church leaders can be powerful sources of collective healing. Instead of abandoning their prophetic mandate, wounded church leaders must reflect on, share, and use their stories to comfort, encourage, and facilitate healing for themselves and others in Zimbabwe.