Dear Pastor Chris Oyakhilome,
Greetings in the name of the Lord. I
hope this letter finds you in the best of
spirit and health.
I write to you, in the same form that
Paul wrote to the Ephesians expressing
his advice and counsel to the followers
of Jesus Christ. If I had 1,000 tongues, I
could not thank God enough for your
role in winning souls for the kingdom. I
bless God for revealing through you the
divine plans of Jesus Christ for us.
Through you, a lot of people have
experienced Jesus in person.
I write to you as a Christian who is
saddened by the series of troubling
news emanating from your church,
Christ Embassy. I am worried that the
seeds you have planted in us through
your teachings may no longer germinate
as a result of the numerous scandals
coming out of the church. The roots of
your messages, spiritual guidance and
leadership
that once brought deeper understanding
of the workings of God need a little
more reassuring with the church toeing
this ungodly path of collecting a
thousand naira gate-fee from believers
coming to hear you teach God’s word
every New Year’s Eve. Your church has
opened a new chapter in what we all
know today in Nigeria as church
business.




Over the years, this must have turned
out to be a very profitable innovation. I
have to admit that the economic
implications of this ingenuity are
mouth-watering. If some of the
Christian outreaches on the Lagos-
Ibadan expressway adopt this modus-
operandi, they can make hundreds of
millions of naira in just one night of
devotion to God. This is surely the
smartest innovation so far in the history
of church business in Nigeria
Are we allowed to peddle the Word of
God for profit? No pastor. We are not.
The scriptures forbid charging for
ministry (worship, preaching and
teaching of God’s Word, evangelism,
fellowship of the church, psalms/hymns
or spiritual songs, discipleship) in any
circumstance or situation. It is stated
clearly in black and white.
Matthew 10:8-9, “Heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast
out demons. You received without
paying; give without pay. Acquire
no gold nor silver nor copper for
your belts.”



2 Corinthians 2:15-17, “For we are
the aroma of Christ to God among
those who are being saved and
among those who are perishing. To
one, a fragrance from death to
death, to the other a fragrance
from life to life. Who is sufficient
for these things? For we are not,
like so many, peddlers of God’s
word, but as men of sincerity, as
commissioned by God, in the sight
of God, we speak in Christ.”
It is true that God’s people through
faithful giving are to supply the
financial support for the ministry. But
issuing a mandate for people to pay to
have access to God’s word is ungodly.
A genuine ministry for the Lord cannot
have an advanced price tag to pay
before the ministry is given. Why?
Because then it is no longer ministry,
but commerce, employ, trade or
entertainment. You are in the ministry
of rendering services to God; and with
Christ as example, you are to give all
that you are for all that He is.
It is even wrong to charge honorariums
and tickets to religious concerts. The
Lord deeply warned us through his Word
that there is no justification for every
charging for the work of the gospel.
Think of what you are doing: charging
people to pay a ticket to come to a
church or civic venue to hear that which
is eternal, is wrong. After all you take
offerings from the same congregation.
Matthew 21:12 “Jesus entered into
the temple of God, and drove out
all of those who sold and bought
in the temple, and overthrew the
money changers’ tables and the
seats of those who sold the doves.
21:13 He said to them, “It is
written, ‘My house shall be called a
house of prayer,’ but you have
made it a den of robbers!”
The greatest proof-text your followers
will misuse out of the Bible to try to
“justify” charging for the ministry of the
Lord is this familiar phrase: “the
workman is worthy of his hire.” Yes, I
fully agree with that phrase for it is
God’s Word; but they are wrongly
applied when trying to condone treating
ministry like a business, trade, or
entertainment.


It doesn’t mean we have the right to
charge for “hire.” More appropriately, it
means those “who proclaim the gospel
should receive their living by the
gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14b) and do so in a
manner commensurate with the gospel.
Aren’t you glad that the Lord didn’t
charge you to hear about the good
news of the gospel unto salvation?
Aren’t you glad that the Holy Spirit
doesn’t charge any of us for the
spiritual gifts He gives to the church?
Money, beloved, should not be a
prerequisite for ministry.


My Christian brothers and sisters, let us
continue to pray for our pastors, gospel
artists, authors, speakers, and
evangelical leaders who are still trapped
by the allure of a market-driven
ministry; parroting worldly techniques
rather than emulating the humility and
servant-hood of Christ. This principle
should even affect Christian retail
bookstore outlets and how they “sell”
their items; but that debate is for
another time. Amen.

http://www..com/2015/01/etcetera-open-letter-to-pastor-chris.html

#www.google.com