A heart that cares: TB Joshua’s date with history
An epoch-making event tool place in Lagos last week. I was shocked and perplexed. Pastor Temitope Balogun Joshua shocked me to the marrow of my bones. I was a visitor to the Church, not a member of the Church though. I had loitered in the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations for quite some time now. The clock ticked so fast as the sun increased her tempo.
A rainbow of mixed colors milled around the Church. I was enjoying every bit of the scenario. Thousands of people from all over the world filed through the aisles and beautiful boulevards of the monument Church on this Monday morning. The rainbow of human race was diverse: Asians, Latino, Chinese, Indians, blacks and whites, all from different parts of the world. It was almost like a visit to Mecca.
As the visitors crowded around the edifice, hundreds of other visitors who had been visiting the Church for days and weeks were either returning back to their different countries or visiting for the first time, in a long convoy of buses that snaked in and out of the grandeur building.
At exactly 11am on that say, about 6,000 young people had gathered at the Church auditorium. They came from different parts of the world; many were girls, some were boys, of school age, artisans and even cobblers, armed and defenseless people alike. At least scores of the delegates were either in police or martial uniforms.
First to speak to the youths was Chris, a European who is one of the Personal Assistants to Pastor Joshua. “We are here today because the Man of God wants you to be his friend. He likes people like you. He wants to have lunch with you. He takes delight in sharing with the multitude irrespective of social or racial class”, a thunderous ovation welcomed him. He was in shorts, casual and down-to-earth. His European accent seems to have suffered intensive corrosion due to Nigerian diet but most importantly, his constant and unending exposure to the lives, trials and triumphs of ordinary Nigerians from all works of life.
Chris speech was electrifying. He spoke about ethics, about the act of giving, the need for younger people to define a career for themselves and also on the strategy for spiritual and material wellbeing. The audience was held spell bound.
One of the most interesting aspects of his speech was how Pastor TB Joshua has become a house hold name across the world. IN many countries, he is seen as an iconic star, a small god with the Midas touch. He described the global reputation of Pastor Joshua as inestimable. He gave one instance regarding the tremendous transformation of thousands of dregs in the poor communities of Brazil following the visit of Pastor Joshua to the Southern American country. It was the story of a young homosexual who was constantly in stupor and had practiced his trade for several years until he had an encounter with Pastor Joshua. The story began in Brazil but did not end there, it turned out to be one of the most celebrated cases of spiritual atonement the entire Southern America had ever seen, a spectacle that drew the attention of the President of many countries in South and Latin America . The young boy was always wearing a female dress. He was always in a social misfit of stupor. He was the leader of a brothel cartel. He was bisexual and notoriously so. He was well known across Brazil. Every attempt to make him turn a new life had failed. So early this year, Pastor Joshua visited Brazil for a crusade. On the ground was the boy’s sister who was in attendance. She then sent a youtube of Pastor Joshua preaching, to his wayward brother who took delight in mocking such events. In the youtube, Pastor Joshua was talking on the need to social reengineering of the decadent world. On watching the youtube, the boy suddenly collapsed. He woke up in a trance, removed his female dress and immediately denounced the savage culture he had cherished for close to one decade. It was not until few weeks later that the whole street went into celebration after the boy kept to his words by denouncing his leadership of the cult-like debauched gang that had been a pain in the neck of several parents who lost their wards to his idolatry institution.
“I saw this with my korokoro eye.” Chris said. Several other speakers on the screen spoke about miraculous healings, from cancer, diabetics, HIV and AIDs, tuberculosis, hepatitis-Just name it. Some of the testimonials were from important people from across the world, ministers, governors and decision makers in Europe, Africa and Asia. But most adoring were also stories of material contributions to uplift the pastor’s faithful and several poor communities across the world. In all cases, he would not want his legendary role reported.
A woman from South Africa spoke about how she had no womb, but after visiting the Pastor, she conceived and had a baby boy. To her surprise, all her medical bills were paid by the Church. No few than 30 testimonials were aired of different people from several parts of the world giving testimonies of financial turnaround arising from intervention from Pastor Joshua, including thousands of scholarships handed over almost every month to indigent students.
Mike Egbe, who came from Imo state told me he was impressed by the fact that he was invited, all expenses paid, in order to have lunch with the Pastor. “My business has been turned around. He gave me money to start my business all over again. I had lost everything before now. Today, I’m a fulfilled man.” He said.
Not too long, a man walked into the auditorium. He was dressed in nicker. It turned out to be Pastor Joshua. The crowd burst out in hysteria and frenzy. He took the microphone from Chris and said “I want you to be my friend. You may already have enough friends, but I want you to find a place to put me in your heart”, many fell on their feet in excitement. “How can such a big man seek to be the friend of the poor”, Adekunle Oluwatobi, who came from Ikorodu to attend the meeting told me. He said the Pastor continues to provide hope for the hopeless by his share decision to honour the poor and the needy. He however regretted that inspite of what he has done, the Nigerian government and ‘his people” continue to maltreat him. He said five University students from his family are currently on the scholarship scheme given by the Pastor. “He is kind. He has invited us for breakfast and lunch. You can see that we are about 6000 people. He will feed all of us, educate us, give us lectures on how to confront the challenges of life, and then give us money and food. He cares”
Many of the foreign visitors share the same feeling. It is estimated that over 1 million foreigners visit the Synagogue Church every year, representing the single largest source of spiritual tourism in Africa.
“I have never been to Africa. This is my first time. I find fulfillment here with the man of God”, Chung Ho, who came from South Korea told me. He said he had visited the Church after several years of lost battle with cancer. “I spent some few weeks now and I’m healed. You can’t imagine what I feel being here. This is my own Jerusalem”, excited Ho said as he beamed with a soothing, electrifying giggle.
One Harvard University lecturer who spoke to me said he was impressed by what he sees daily at Synagogue Church of All Nations. “This is the greatest example of Charity I have seen in Africa. It is amazing,” he said. An official of the West Africa Professional League, Maxwell Leo told me that his group would work with other regional bodies to nominate Pastor Joshua for the Nobel Peace Prize. “Many people who have been given the Nobel Peace Price have not done half of what Pastor Joshua has done. He is the single biggest donor to the poor in Africa. He deserves global recognition”, Leo said. He said his group will also write to the United Nations, (UN) for greater recognition of Pastor Joshua. Before the end of the year, the Pastor wants to host about 10,000 youths from across the world. He is expected to preach two words at the event: Peace and Love. One of his aides said “One single action can make the world a better place. That’s exactly what Pastor TB Joshua is doing.”
By Feyi Akinwale