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Church Business In Nigeria - Religion - Nairaland

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Shocking!!!!end Time Church Business (see Photo) / Nigerian Fake Pastors And Church Business Exposed / Fake Pastors And Church Business Exposed In Nigeria (2) (3) (4)

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Church Business In Nigeria by pope732901(m): 9:12pm On Nov 18, 2008
There was this lady who was a member of Christ Embassy. She was paid by pastor Chris Oyahilome to disguise as a lame woman and was lifted to the altar so pastor Chris prayed for her just like they both planned and she pretended to get back on her feet after the prayer. Some days later the the woman went LAME after the program for real, and was taken back to pastor Chris to tender her complain that what they both planned eventually happened to her that he should help her. Then pastor Chris said, thats non of his concern that it was a transaction that he paid her so she should get out of his sight.

Can you imagine?

Sometimes I look church these days, its now a business that Pastors try and make from. Look E.A Adeboye (He say make them dey call am Daddy G.O. General Overseer) Na God be my own Daddy and General Overseer, Has any of you ever entered Redemption Camp? Inside that Camp, you can lost 10million people there without any trace. Tell me where did that man got the money from? To get such land? A plot of Land is not easy my Brother the whole Camp is a State on its own. Redemption State bigger than Lagos.

Look at A former pastor at the Celestial Church of Christ, Pastor T. B. Joshua, that Synagogue man. The man is nothing but a magician. lol. But for some reason he was not accepted by other Pentecostal/Evangelical Nigerian pastors and other Christians. Most Christians who believe in miracles don't believe in (prophet) T. B. Joshua's miracles; they say he is of the devil. When he started, he was a very crude preacher. His services where pure 'miracle' services. Often he would be moving his hands as the 'miracles' were being performed, and people would say "he's behaving like a magician". His English was also very bad. His preaching was very unconventional with non-standard ways of praying and with hardly any references to the bible or the name of Jesus. what is the significance of those "eyele" birds flying around the so called church?

It was understandable why one might not want to be associated with him.

But T.B Joshua today is a WOW, lol!

Only God knows who is serving him and those who are serving him knows themselves.
I may have a wrong notion about them, but my fellow Brothers and Sister, I'm not the type that condemns or judge God's own servants. Its just always amaze me.

Re: Church Business In Nigeria by AKO1(m): 9:40pm On Nov 18, 2008
You might want to use a larger font size next time. . . angry


And all these claims about Oyakhilome, many of them seriously lack evidence. One would have to remove the 'veil' of objectivity to agree with your POV.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Dbaby4: 10:18am On Nov 19, 2008
Let God be the judge please all these allegations against Pastors, please just watch out . Its a sin talking ill against God's servants. Let God judge their works pls, lets be very careful on how we talk about Men of God. pls
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by KunleOshob(m): 10:54am On Nov 19, 2008
D.baby:

Let God be the judge please all these allegations against Pastors, please just watch out . Its a sin talking ill against God's servants. Let God judge their works please, lets be very careful on how we talk about Men of God. please
So how do you determine a true servant of God? Those evil demons in Akwa Ibom state who are naming innocent children witches and charging their parents for "deliverance" also claim tobe Servants of God.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by bigfather(m): 10:59am On Nov 19, 2008
quote author=D.baby link=topic=197437.msg3106940#msg3106940 date=1227086305]
Let God be the judge please all these allegations against Pastors, please just watch out . Its a sin talking ill against God's servants. Let God judge their works please, lets be very careful on how we talk about Men of God. please
[/quote]

Please tell him ! And i wonder where you got your claims from that Pastor Adeboye ever asked people to call him daddy ? undecided
Please if you really don't know about things,why not just keep shut and do your findings very well.Instead of rubbishing and pulling down the names of servant of GOD .
Better ask God for forgiveness. angry

[quote author=KunleOshob link=topic=197437.msg3107087#msg3107087 date=1227088458]
So how do you determine a true servant of God? Those evil demons in Akwa Ibom state who are naming innocent children witches and charging their parents for "deliverance" also claim tobe Servants of God.
Abeg help me ask am o ! undecided
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Dbaby4: 11:13am On Nov 19, 2008
KunleOshob:

So how do you determine a true servant of God?

its only God that knows the heart of Men, let God be the judge. He knows who is preaching his gospel rightly.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Horus(m): 11:17am On Nov 19, 2008
Scammers in Nigeria and other West African countries specifically target Christians for scams. These wolves in sheeps clothing often post in church-related guestbooks or harvest addresses from there to send spam. Some emails are classic Nigerian "419" scam formats, others are solicitations of donations (bibles, cash for missionary work, church building, etc).
If you're a Christian, don't be deceived by pious language: Evangelical churches are very common in Nigeria and many of the scammers  have started their own church and they're all for making money .They'll say all the right things while doing wrong.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by KunleOshob(m): 12:07pm On Nov 19, 2008
D.baby:

its only God that knows the heart of Men, let God be the judge. He knows who is preaching his gospel rightly.
so you are saying these scammers should be left to continue their trade and destroy innocent lives like those evil demons are doing in Akwa Ibom state whilst we wait for Judgement day. Do you know how many innocent lives are being destroyed daily? The bible teaches all to test all spirits to know if they are from God. it also tells us that by their fruits we shall know them. Christianity is not stupidity, any man that claims he is a servant of God should be ready to subject himslf to scrutiny he should also be accountable to his followers.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by bettes(f): 12:29pm On Nov 19, 2008
@Poster: If you are not the type of person that judges and critices God's servants what type of person are you? See you contradicting yourself,i want to assume you have at least if not much,a little understanding of the english language.
You have not only JUDGED but CONDEMNED and LIED against servants of God.
And your story about Pastor Chris dont believe one word of it.
There's nothing wrong with calling the G.O of RCCG daddy GO,'s isnt he old enough to be your grandfather?He's never forced his church members to call him that, because its part of our culture and the bible tells us to respect people in authority(presidents,governors,leaders in church).So please get your facts right before opening a thread out of ignorance
How did the Levis who were the chosen tribe to serve as high priest in the temple of God completely,sustain their livehood?
I really dont see how it's your business how he got his money,especially since he didnt come to beg you for money.He gets money the way the High priest get their source of livehood from(offerings,tithes etc)


It's so sad when christians come up and start judging their brothers and sisters in Christ,leave judgement to God and face your own salvation and how to make help spread the Gospel.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by pope732901(m): 7:51pm On Nov 19, 2008
D.baby:

Let God be the judge please all these allegations against Pastors, please just watch out . Its a sin talking ill against God's servants. Let God judge their works please, lets be very careful on how we talk about Men of God. please

Surely, we leave everything for to God, don't you know there are certain things we need to use our discretion for. Truely God will jugde but somethings are glaring that we don't need God to tell us, some Pastors preaches perfectly and they are Lucifer.

bettes:

@Poster: If you are not the type of person that judges and critices God's servants what type of person are you? See you contradicting yourself,i want to assume you have at least if not much,a little understanding of the english language.
You have not only JUDGED but CONDEMNED and LIED against servants of God.
And your story about Pastor Chris don't believe one word of it.
There's nothing wrong with calling the G.O of RCCG daddy GO,'s isnt he old enough to be your grandfather?He's never forced his church members to call him that, because its part of our culture and the bible tells us to respect people in authority(presidents,governors,leaders in church).So please get your facts right before opening a thread out of ignorance
How did the Levis who were the chosen tribe to serve as high priest in the temple of God completely,sustain their livehood?
I really don't see how it's your business how he got his money,especially since he didnt come to beg you for money.He gets money the way the High priest get their source of livehood from(offerings,tithes etc)


It's so sad when christians come up and start judging their brothers and sisters in Christ,leave judgement to God and face your own salvation and how to make help spread the Gospel.





I don't blame you, we let People take bread and start sweeping out soup all in the name of God.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by pope732901(m): 7:57pm On Nov 19, 2008
I am a good christian and I believe in God so much, Its just whats happening these days in Churches that opened my eyes and heart not to ever on this earth believe in any pastor. Don't you hear of pastors that wants to pray for you and while they lay their hand on your head they are transferring your fortune (Yoruba i.SIKI)? So how are we to know the good from the bad?
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by pope732901(m): 9:03pm On Nov 19, 2008
Una don hear this one? Tari Rufus is in trouble with the law and many are wispering as to the cause of his woes. The Funky Dread lock wearing Pastor of the House on The Rock in Port-Harcourt was a Pastor until he fell out of favour with his God-Father Pastor Paul Adefarasin. He was accused by many of plotting to take over the church and was upset when he was posted out of Port-Harcourt. He moved to Abuja and started a prosperity church which made him lots of money since he was not accountable to any man and he did not pay any taxes. NDLEA got interested in him for some deals he was involved in and kept a close watch on him. he was however arrested some few days for attempting to dupe some people he borrowed money from and refused to pay.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by ElosAgos(m): 10:47pm On Nov 19, 2008
I have one message to you all.

If you are really a CHRISTIAN, study your BIBLE regularly and ask the HOLY SPIRIT to guide your heart and ACTIONS.

If you claim to be a Christian and yet you don't affect people's lives POSITIVELY, you are a LIAR.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by kokorunna(m): 12:57pm On Nov 21, 2008
I will not condemn any Pastor but with the way the world is going only GOD will judge this people.

Everyone is a Miracle Pastor and the way churches are operating now looks like a one man business.

GOD has placed upon everyone the power to heal, to prosper, to manifest, to cast out devils and many more. So which other power does this Pastors really have ?

Judgement day is coming very soon, there are millions of people that are really sick and have not heard the word of GOD. They should go there and preach the gospel, instead of deceiving their own members. I have never had faith in Pastor Chris Oyahilome and Pastor T. B. Joshua, they are jokers in the eyes of GOD.

www.churchwhereabouts.com
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by plappville(f): 6:39pm On Nov 21, 2008
Some people here say the poster is judging servants of God shocked Doesn't the bible say, we should beware of false prophets?? and didn't the bible said in Matt 24:5 that For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ and shall deceive many.   ? If we are ignorant of what most pastor do, we are then not follwing the instruction of Jesus christ.

I went to Christ embassy Benin branch years back, it was offering time, the pastor said
Do not give coins to God, if u give him coins he will give u coins, but if u give him note, he will give u note shocked
i mean is this really what God asked them to do, i didn't feel the presence of God in that place i stop attending that church. i am not saying there is no God in Christ embassy, it all depense on who is heading each branch, same to other churches.

@POSTER let the spirit of God direct ur heart to the right place of worship, God judgement is on any pastor that is using his name to distrol others. they are suposed to win souls to God instead they win NAME and wealth for themselves.

I wonder if they do donate to motherless home, Jesus Christ was not as fashionist as they are, they drive the most expensive cars and wear the most expensive clothes, all in the name of[b]"our God is not a poor God". [/b]
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by OBVIOUS(m): 8:37pm On Nov 21, 2008
If you want to be one step closer to being a millionaire in Nigeria, START A CHURCH!!!!!
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Horus(m): 8:44pm On Nov 21, 2008
Church leaders accept tithes in the name of God. They'll say “God needs your help building the church, ” What does god need with a multi-million dollar church? Nothing. These are the same so-called church leaders that you'll find riding in fancy cars, eating the best foods, living in expensive homes and living the life of wealthy people while their followers scrape and struggle to do “God's will” by tithing. These so-called leaders will lead congregations in the worse of the worse neighborhoods and on their way to church to preach on Sundays or Saturdays or whatever day they declare to be the Sabbath, They will step over the homeless  or the less fortunate.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Gamine(f): 9:00pm On Nov 21, 2008
Gosh!

I hate it when people say, LET GOD BE THE JUDGE

sure, HE is the JUDGE

Why dont you let GOD be the JUDGE of Those Child Witch deliverers in Akwa

Let God be the Judge of Obansanjo and Every Politician who has Chopped money

LEt God be the Judge of military officers harassing civilians,

When it comes to Money-Grabbing Men of Guts, We should let GOD be the JUDGE

kai! Bai ni son iri wannan
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by OBVIOUS(m): 10:14pm On Nov 21, 2008
Horus:

Church leaders accept tithes in the name of God. They'll say “God needs your help building the church, ” What does god need with a multi-million dollar church? Nothing. These are the same so-called church leaders that you'll find riding in fancy cars, eating the best foods, living in expensive homes and living the life of wealthy people while their followers scrape and struggle to do “God's will” by tithing. These so-called leaders will lead congregations in the worse of the worse neighborhoods and on their way to church to preach on Sundays or Saturdays or whatever day they declare to be the Sabbath, They will step over the homeless or the less fortunate.



Good point made Horus and Gamine. Actually, if you're poor in Nigeria, rather than blame be on the corrupt

politicans and co who exploit the innocent masses, it is believed that the witches and wizards are after you, or that

you're not praying hard enough. In fact, some pastors recommend that you should fast until you reach the point of

death. If you complete all these instructions and still you are still poor. The evil powers are strong, and its either u're

committing or have commited a sin, your family members are after you, or that u're just not "holy" enough, and the

bogus continues until you get money some way (legal or thru illegal means) and then give a testimony/ then continue

the cycle, pay your tithes or else, god may not bless you again.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by plappville(f): 3:09pm On Nov 22, 2008
OBVIOUS:


Good point made Horus and Gamine. Actually, if you're poor in Nigeria, rather than blame be on the corrupt

politicans and co who exploit the innocent masses, it is believed that the witches and wizards are after you, or that

you're not praying hard enough. In fact, some pastors recommend that you should fast until you reach the point of

death. If you complete all these instructions and still you are still poor. The evil powers are strong, and its either u're

committing or have commited a sin, your family members are after you, or that u're just not "holy" enough, and the

bogus continues until you get money some way (legal or through illegal means) and then give a testimony/ then continue

the cycle, pay your tithes or else, god may not bless you again.



Take a look at W.F. Kumuyi, a real man of God very humble and Giving nothing but the true doctrim of our Lord Jesus christ, he is a good example of Jesus nowadays disciple. Deeper life is the only church i ve seen that people are regards as equal, i mean both poor and rich, i feel there is God in that church, there is no fashion compitition, no rich sit in front while poor at the back in the church or telling congregation to pay a good offering, u will feel free in that church, they sometime do donation for some poor people who are not able to feed and do visiting brethren alots.
If one really want to follow God that place is good, PASTOR KUMUYI teach straightforward Bible-based message his preaching is really devine and Christians living and holiness is very serious and important to him.

I think there are some few good men of God out there, Just pray to God for him to direct u to the right place of worship.
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Gamine(f): 3:16pm On Nov 22, 2008
@Plappville

Kumuyi works through a different method

my mum just Bought the Prayer book

its crazy and makes no sense
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Tonyet1(m): 4:26pm On Nov 22, 2008
Dear Gamine,

dont you think that you may need some faith to let God's word bless her, , . .hm m m m
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Gamine(f): 4:59pm On Nov 22, 2008
hmmm undecided
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by otokx(m): 6:45pm On Nov 22, 2008
No comments o
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by otokx(m): 6:45pm On Nov 22, 2008
but why do women fall mugu more than their male counterparts eh?
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Gamine(f): 7:10pm On Nov 22, 2008
Eve



undecided embarassed
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by lucabrasi(m): 9:41pm On Nov 22, 2008
@poster
while you are making a poor attemp at initiating an objective thread,its clear to anyone that you have already made up your mind about what you think of these men of GOD
you said pastor chris paid a woman for miracles bla bla, while im not a member of his church,i think that allegations sounds so silly and unreasonable just like all the allegatins,innuendos and rumurs carried against him,with the number f church members he has,he does not even need to do a single miracle to have more members or keep the ones he has as preaching is his main forte, so it beggars believe why he would risk all that to pay anyone for acting out miracles, especially when he knows others are out to pull him down, pls lets reason before we believe just anything,

you said tb joshua couldnt speak good english,when has that become a crime or a barrier to working for GOD
HOPE OU REALISE THAT PASTOR FADAYOMI(THE REDDEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD FOUNDER)COULD NEITHER READ NOR WRITE!!!
also,no one has come out to disprove tb joshua's miracle,either in the past or present,would you rather his miracles are not immediate as i dont understand that logic, the cogent point here is that he has gladdened the heart of a lot of people by his miracles, lets even leave the preaching and miracles for a bit and check out his charitable deeds and social responsibility generally, im still waiting to see any individual or group that has done more than the man presently in nigeria when it comes to giving and helping the less priviledged.

while i acknowledge that it is getting increasingly difficult for us as christians to keep quiet and follow the biblical warning not to criticize pastors due to some glaring excesses e.g evang helen ukpabio and others,i think we should limit any criticism to ppl who actually deserve it and not have a go at other men of GOD on the strenghts of hear say and rumours that has not being proven and might very well have been started by detractors
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by smile4kenn(m): 10:37am On Nov 23, 2008
They are all business men,
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Horus(m): 8:16pm On Nov 23, 2008
[size=17pt]THE GOSPEL OF MATERIALISM - NIGERIAN PENTECOSTALISM AND HYPOCRISY [/size]

It is perhaps pertinent at this stage of our history, at this turn of our political and socio-economic life, while searching for lasting solutions to our myriad national problems, to take a look at the contributory factors induced by religion. My focus is on our modern day version of Christianity, Pentecostalism, which seems to be the in-thing nowadays. It is no gainsaying that it is perfectly normal nowadays, that for one to be socially acceptable, one must be a Christian. A Christian not just in terms of accepting the doctrines of the Christian church as it was said to have been postulated by Jesus Christ, but to be born again. Religion, which ordinarily should have been a strong social and moral weapon, is today a strong source of social concern in our motherland. Our Christian men of God today have contributed in no small ways to the social upheaval the Nigerian nation is going through at the present moment. They laid the foundation of greed and social discontent from which the society is yet to come to terms. They departed radically from the preaching of the Lord Jesus which emphasised contentment and instead substituted greed and avarice into the social lexicon. They offer wishy-washy holiness and continue to inundate us with the doctrines of prosperity, albeit, prosperity at all costs. They decided to build a temple of materialism from which they hold the befuddled populace in a trance-like grip. They pretend holiness while their every deed and acts spell materialism and nothing but materialism. They have constituted themselves into a national shame seeing profit in a false preaching and call to a material God. Writing on the surge of Pentecostalism in Nigeria is a daunting task. This phenomenon which has been aptly described as a "disease" by the Rev. Nyansako-ni-Nku, President of the All Africa Conference of Churches in 2007, has taken our dear country like wildfire. The respected clergy man stressed the need to rescue people from this spiritual trap. Nigeria, in particular, is experiencing the fastest growth in Christianity in Africa with the Pentecostal churches playing a very large role in this development. There are about 3.9 million Pentecostal members in Nigeria, following only Brazil with about 24 million members. Nigerian Pentecostalism has been thriving on the people's ignorance, surviving on a mixture of evangelism which incorporates African traditional beliefs. They have been surviving on befuddling the populace with miracles and promises of prosperity. African Pentecostal followers are repeatedly told that the "Holy Spirit changes lives so that sickness and calamity only befalls non-believers". However, it is only the believer who is able to double his donations to the church that is guaranteed the favours of this material God. The success of the incorporation of old traditional beliefs into mainstream Christianity (by Pentecostals) brings into full circle old superstitions which were hitherto marginalised by more mainstream Christian missionaries (Erhard Kamphausen, Head of Academy Mission, University of Hamburg). Unlike their counterparts in various parts of the world, who devoted their time and energy to the development of their countries and to fighting the cause of the poor, Nigerian Pentecostal clergymen would rather wine and dine with those in power, even in the presence of abiding poverty and hunger in the land. The romance with politics was never as intense as in the fourth republic when our men of religion came out openly in support of Olusegun Obasanjo, a so-called born-again Pentecostal Christian. All through the years of Obasanjo's misrule, the celebrated Pentecostal community could only muster whimpers of protest at the audacity of that dubious man who hid under the cloak of a condescending religion. Before the controversial landslide election victory of Obasanjo in 2003, the president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Mike Okonkwo, urged all Nigerians to vote once more for the tyranny and misrule of Obasanjo, since he was one of the folds. In fact, around that time, Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God likened Obasanjo to the prophet Elisha whom God had "specially ordained". This was just one in the unguarded forays of Pastor Adeboye into the murky waters of politics. I can vividly remember this pastor openly anointing Olusegun Osoba as the only one fit for the government house when Osoba was seeking for the second term which he eventually lost. While all Nigerians were aghast at the effrontery of Obasanjo during the infamous third term debacle, it took the boldness of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor in May 2006 to declare that "third term in office is not a crime". Yes, dear pastor, it would not have been a crime, only that our doctored constitution did not allow it and Nigerians never wanted it. Our men of God have gallantly deviated from the path and only pay lip service to the true essence of Christianity. The fact that the church business remains one of the most flourishing businesses in Nigeria is openly embraced and flaunted in our faces without apologies. Holiness in their preaching translates to wealth. You can only be holy if you are wealthy and powerful. The ignorant masses are made to witness organised miracles and made to hope on promises of prosperity. After all, "our God is a God of riches and miracles". The race for material wealth is actively influenced by these supposed men of God. In order to continually give testimonies in churches, men and women would do anything for money. No source of wealth is ever questioned by the "Gods" of these prosperity preachers. All are welcome in the sight of the almighty. There is obviously nothing wrong with seeking prosperity. However, there are many things wrong with striving to be rich at all costs so as to appear as the specially-favoured of a material-minded God with the society remaining morally bankrupt for it. The Christian teaching have always emphasised that the pursuit of God, while not in contradiction with material comfort, has nevertheless stressed its incompatibility with unbridled pursuit of materialism. It is only apt to state that our dear nation, while in the throes of despicable political leadership, is also groaning under a terrible assault by a cult of religious materialists. We are living in an era of religious materialism, also known as spiritual Pentecostalism, and the society is poorer for it. Is it not surprising that in the various fronts that have arisen in our struggle for the socio-political and economic emancipation of Nigeria, the hierarchy of the Christian fold, especially the charismatic arm, has been frighteningly silent. We read of the activities of the clergy of other climes in their identification with the struggles of their people. Uganda is a country that readily comes to mind when it comes to clergy-activism. The Latin American countries have also demonstrated that it is possible and holy to identify with the oppressed masses. All we see our Pentecostal leaders doing is actively embracing corrupt leaderships, vigorously protecting their establishments, declaring million dollar profits, opening universities after universities and buying jets upon jets. The lucrative nature of this modern day pseudo-Christianity can only be explained by the rapid nature of its spread. It is particularly endearing to many Nigerians because of its tendencies to revert to traditional means in their efforts to perform miracles. Their flamboyance is another attractive feature as this is well attuned to the African psyche that loves all things vain and gorgeous. Pentecostal churches and hotels compete for space in Nigeria while cinema halls, disused warehouses, bars, brothels and night clubs have all been turned to churches. To maintain their grip on the people and to assure the comfort of their profit base, these churches have been extremely creative, particularly in the use of the media, radio, television, newspaper, posters, electronic mails and even the internet. Even the home video industry has been virtually taken over by the Pentecostal industry (Musa A Guiyab, University of Jos, Nigeria).


Pentecostal leaders are buying jets upon jets

Perhaps a journey down history lane would show that the origin of Pentecostalism in Nigeria was practically devoid of altruism midstream. While the native pastorate policy of Rev Henry Venn was actually meant to empower native Africans in the running of the Anglican Church leading to the emergence of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther. The subsequent indigenous prophetic movement that later became the Christ Army Church in the 1920s probably served as the impetus that led to the formation of the Aladuras, and later that of Christ Apostolic Church by Joseph Babalola in 1941. The formation of the Celestial Church of Christ while expanding the fold increased the incorporation of native African precepts into the teachings of Pentecostalism tremendously. The increasing nature of the newly formed Redeemed Christian Church of God was further accentuated by the leadership of Enoch Adeboye, with the phenomenal expansion of the church thereafter. However, in the 1960s to 1970s, originating in the wave of evangelical student revivals, new Pentecostal churches were brought into being with Benson Idahosa emerging as the leader of this breed. The Deeper Life Bible Church was one of those churches that emerged and remains one of the largest neo-Pentecostal churches to date. However, unlike others, it remains conservative up to these days. No doubt, the spread of evangelical student revivals were influenced in no small measures by the exposure to the teachings of Oral Roberts, Robert Tilton, Kenneth Copeland, Kenneth Hagin and a host of others. It must be said that the influence of Benson Idahosa on the extremely materialistic nature of Nigeria's Pentecostalism was in no small measure. To this date, this material man of God remains the reference point in assessing materialism in Nigerian Pentecostalism. It may be necessary at this juncture to take a look at how much God had blessed his children while preaching the Pentecostal message. In the course of waking up the dead and making the lame walk, Nigerian Pentecostals have continued to organise crusades and revivals to bring solutions to the numerous problems afflicting the people. Problems such as barrenness, unemployment, financial difficulties, deliverance from ancestral curses, sickness and so on. In the course of performing these miracles and wonders, our pastors have not done badly financially. Of note is the Christ Embassy Church of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome which has an annual turn-over running into billions of naira. David Oyedepo, the general overseer of Living Faith Ministries (aka Winners Chapel) has grown into what is termed "an oak tree in Christendom". His riches are stupendous and his ministry boasts of a 50,000 capacity worship centre known as Cannanland in Otta, Ogun state, along with a private university and many other similar interests. Of course, his Holiness rides in a private jet to further enhance the business of his ministry. Adefarasin is an eloquent and charismatic televangelist whose mission today boasts of a 1.3 billion "Rock Millennium Temple" that was meant to accommodate thousands of worshippers. Other pastors are not lagging behind with the likes of Chris Okotie, Samuel Abiara, Victor Onukogu, Emmanuel Ede, Ejike Mbaka, Temitopoe Joshua, Theophilus Olabayo and Mathew Ashomolowo boasting of billions of naira amongst them collectively. While much can be said about the docility of our present day men of the bible in the face of the social injustice and economic marginalisation of the masses, a special mention must be made of one who refused to toe the line. Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly remains a lone voice in a class of acquiescent men of liturgy. His non-conforming attitude to the Obasanjo years remains fresh in memory. In particular, his prophecy on "Hundred Days and Hundred Ways" rattled the then government so much that he was promptly arrested and interrogated by the State Security Service. While the nation is being plundered, Nigeria's holy men are busy licking milk and honey. While majority of Nigerians can hardly afford three square meals, Nigerian men of the word are busy counting billions and flying in private jets. While the nation is burning, our pastors are busy baking and eating cake. The people have been starved of divine knowledge because an informed people remain a threat to the interests of the "church". The moral fabric of the nation is weak and appalling, almost non-existent. Yet Nigeria boasts of thousands of churches with stupendously rich ministers. Deception is being actively pursued under the guise of Christianity. While we have no quarrel with an honest business that generates profits, all we ask of these material men of God is to be sincere and stop this deception. All we desire is the truth in our efforts to sanitise the Nigerian society. Jesus brought the gospel of love, peace and redemption but Nigerians are being short-changed as what we are getting is plainly the Gospel of Materialism. It is so bad that the whole thing has been turned into ridicule and the pastors are busy fleecing the society blind. May God save us!

Source: http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2008/aug/273.html
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Gamine(f): 9:05pm On Nov 23, 2008
Omo na only God wey fit safe pesin o cry cry
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by reindeer: 10:59pm On Nov 23, 2008
eeeew!
very long post! undecided
Re: Church Business In Nigeria by Magnam(m): 8:59pm On Nov 25, 2008
CALL IT CHURCH BUSINESS OR CHURCH 419.What i know is to obey the will of God by imitating His Only son who is Our model.Let my life be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.For those that think that church is fast road to fame should keep it up but be ready to received their reward here on earth because you can fool all the people all the time .Only sometimes dear.They will find out, people are growing to know the different between their right and wrong.

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