John Mathuhle founding leader of political party Hope4SA has returned to focusing on his primary calling – reconciliation, he told Gateway News in an interview.
He said that after sensing early last year that God was reminding him of his first calling, “which I had almost neglected because I was so focused on politics”, he stepped down as “servant leader” of the party, which is now led by Prof Gerrie Bester.
“I’m still part of Hope4SA but I have stepped back a bit to focus on the project of healing relationships in South Africa,” he said.
Since taking that step of obedience he has taken on an executive leadership role in In-SA for Inclusivity, a Pretoria-based company with a national team that empowers organisations to achieve social cohesion through developing cultural intelligence – the ability to understand, relate and work effectively together across different cultures in corporate and social settings. “It is actually a ministry for me – a Kingdom business,” he said.
“We work with organisations and communities, with the corporate sector and also with churches. There is a growing movement of churches migrating from being ‘same-look’ congregations to being multicultural congregations. We help people to navigate the transition by focusing on cultural intelligence.”
John said they, for instance, help multicultural teams to understand how different cultural views of “respect” can affect relationships. He said when black South Africans enter a room at work, their ubuntu value system tells them they should greet everybody in the room. However, white South Africans, influenced by Eurocentric values, greet people they know, waiting to be introduced to others – showing respect by not prying or “stepping into your space”. These behaviours are misunderstood and “black South African colleagues think just these white people are very rude –, they don’t see me”, said John.
He said cultural dynamics are very important in an organisation – and in our country. “I always say the problem we have in South Africa, is not so much political but a lack of cultural understanding. I think politicians have actually made it political, because it benefits them to keep us divided because that works for the political narrative they push.”
He said the solution in SA is not to be “colour blind” but to “unite in our diversity”. “I need to be able to look at you and say: ‘Why do you enjoy your braai so much? Why do you love your rugby so much or, your cricket so much?’ And you must also look at me and say: ‘Listen, I want to learn more about why is it that John, when you speak, you’re so loud?’ Instead of making assumptions, understand where that is coming from.”
He said there was a lesson to be learned from a time in Senekal in 2020 when he helped to reconcile deeply divided communities who had come close to a violent clash. He said instead of focusing on what divided them, the Senekal communities had gone “treasure hunting” – finding the things that brought them together, like how to fix potholes and deal with crime. He said we need to pursue such practical reconciliation and nation building, focused on finding ways to work together.
He said that when organisations harness relational skills to create harmonious working environments there is a ripple of positive energy beyond the workplace which plays a role in shaping society.
He said a lot of people who have attended cultural intelligence workshops say they have not only been empowered to be more effective at work but to be a better father, a better mother, a better mother, a better neighbour.
John said their cultural intelligence training is based on biblical values – even though they do not use Scriptures. “But you will be surprised how the training gives so many opportunities to bring in the Gospel – to share about the Creator who even created culture and language.”
He said the conversations they have during training frequently lead to people personally recognising aspects of their cultures that do not align with biblical values. “And when you ask them what they could replace those limiting beliefs with, most of them identify biblical values, without even knowing the Scriptures.
“Instead of me standing there, preaching to them like I would do in church as a pastor, in the secular world, you’ve got a different pulpit – a different way to bring in that Gospel but it always leads back to the Word of God, to Jesus.”
During informal conversations with people during workshop breaks the discussion has led to the Gospel and people returning to Jesus, John said.
He said they have a few workshop facilitators in every province Their vision is to expand this national network by rolling out training and equipping of people able to facilitate cultural intelligence conversations and practical problem solving in their organisations, churches and communities.
He said they wanted to raise “peacemakers” – not to always have to respond to crises like Senekal in 2020 but to help prevent such incidents from arising. In our society where political rhetoric and social media are causing people to talk against each other rather than with each other he said there is a need for new voices to promote a narrative of working together.
He has is also launching a new podcast called Culture Shift to talk about peacemaking initiatives, what others are already doing to promote a safer and more prosperous and united society. He says you can watch out for it on social media platforms. The vision is to promote a practical nation building movement that belongs to everyone.
Anybody interested in connecting with John or finding out more about cultural intelligence training should contact him at john@in-sa.org or visit www.in-sa.org
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