To be a Christian is a choice. It’s a lifestyle and a process of every day picking up one’s cross and following the Lord Jesus Christ on the path of righteousness. To many observers, Christianity looks like a Sunday-only activity, and even many committed Christians remain mystified as to how to live their lives as a daily sacrifice to the Lord our God.
Teresa Conradie is an example of active Christianity, showing us that everything we do in our professional or personal lives, can be consecrated in the service of The Prince of Peace.
She has shown an inclination to be of service in the community since her youth. At the University of Pretoria (UP), during the 1980’s, she was a member of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC).
She was not silent about the injustices that the apartheid government was imposing on the black citizens of the country, in particular the attempted fraud on the mooted Tricameral Parliament.
However, this was not looked upon kindly by the powers that be of the day. After graduating, she found herself blocked from accessing a career in the legal department of the South African Air Force, despite serving her country militarily after high school.
She paid this price for standing on the side of the truth. undaunted, she joined the private sector, but even there was passed over in favour of white men, some of who merited advancement less than her.
“I was emotionally and spiritually affected,” she told Dennis Cruywagein a recent interview entitled South African legal rights pioneer leads Advocates International, and she decided to strike out on her own, forming Motla Conradie Inc. in 1997, one of South Africa’s multi-ethnic law firms. The firm was committed to true empowerment through training and decries the black empowerment policies of the government that emphasises enrichment of connected individuals, instead of them being capacitated to become creators of wealth.
This pioneering spirit has never left Teresa. Recently, as an instructing attorney, she was one of the minds that ensured that the Electoral Act of South Africa was changed to allow independent candidates to stand for election. Beyond empowering black people in her own law firm, she expands this generosity into the body politic of the general South African public. Unfortunately, this once again has pitted her against the powers that be, where the governing ANC has sought to entrench themselves in power by opposing electoral reform, instead of upholding the principles of our constitution to ensure the greatest expression of the nation’s democratic ethos.
Teresa Conradie’s law firm has evolved into one led entirely by women, now called Maphalla Mokate Conradie Inc. Her role in the firm has also evolved, and now she plays the role of mentor, while she assumes a new role as president and CEO of Advocates International, an association of Christian lawyers, judges, law professors and law students who desire to do justice and compassion in society. They are represented in 142 countries, and serve the Church worldwide in matters of government, law and religious liberty.
Conventionally, a lawyer of such prominence would seek to settle into a judgeship that would provide the security of a pension for life, amongst other benefits. Indeed, in 2003 and 2020, she acted as a judge and has proven herself capable of filling that role. However, it is more important to her to serve than to be served, and has chosen to deepen her role at Advocates International, an organisation she has worked with for over twenty years.
“Advocates International is intensely involved with issues of which I’m very passionate about, matters such as religious freedom for all, justice for the poor, peace and reconciliation, and the rule of law,” she explained in the same News 24 interview.
Doubtless just as independent candidates in South Africa have benefited from having the tireless human rights advocate in their corner, likewise the many disenfranchised and marginalised who look to Advocacy International for help in their plight will benefit from Teresa Conradie being at the helm of this important organisation.
Follow through, meticulous attention to detail and a tireless work ethic make Teresa Conradie a force to be reckoned with, and more than that, an inspiration, as she lives out the ultimate purpose of human life: the bringing of God’s Kingdom to earth.
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