₦airaland Forum

It's a very sensitive issue. However, we can do it to fulfil all righteousness. Besides, it's good to bring a baby to the presence of God.

I will contribute more later. Coincidentally, my daughter's dedication comes up on the 2nd November, 2014.

InyinyaAgbaOku:
Sometimes I pity people who attend these sole proprietorship or one man business churches.

It's God's grace that's enabling me continue with this journey. I would have been more disillusioned if not for His strength and grace. A lot of administrative flaws!

vooks:
I can assure you that pious fraudsters have invented all sorts of doctrines to shield themselves from criticism,rebuke or mere correction
https://www.nairaland.com/1959694/how-erring-mogs-avoid-scrutinyrebuke

Don't be afraid of their faces. And I like the fact that you are not leaving, you are fighting WITHIN. Pray for them as well

PS: Do you mean a church when you talk of a parish?

I'm not leaving. It's my Father's house. I will continue to lend my support its growth and nourishment.

It's time we started talking to our leaders. Christianity isn't a cult where almost everything goes unchallenged. Sometimes we have to disagree in order to move on.

[quote author=Walelavender post=27403933][/quote]Brother, the matter tire me. I'm a nonconformist, and believe strongly in challenging hitherto unchallenged unethical and unhealthy practices.

The RCCG administration is akin to the Nigerian system where almost every resources produced in states are sent to Abu a, thereby making the centre very over bloated and ridiculously corrupt.

Just as there can't be meaningful growth and progress until Nigeria practices true and fiscal federalism, so shall the RCCG local parishes struggle till the same changes are made.

BTW, I don't know where it's written in Scriptures that we shouldn't question or lovingly challenge administrative irregularities!

asalimpo:
i believe the church organization is suffering from a mega-complex. Growing for growings sake.
Their indicators of success are all flawed and wrong.
Parish count is no indicator of success in God's eyes.
Neither is employ disgustg fleshly techniques. Let God do His work not man.

Simple! Parish count is no indicator of success in God's eyes. Very true.

omakay:
The bitter truth is that until gifted and modern young minds take over from Daddy Adeboye and all his assistants, this problem will continue to persist.

Nowadays, administrative affairs are best run by vibrant young and agile minds. Gone are those days when elders held all the wisdom.

GBAM!

omakay:
You are very much in the system. I commend you for your contribution.

Church members are almost single handedly saddled with the burden of building a new parish, without tangible assistance from the Province.
: God help that parish pastor if he does not have financially buoyant workers and members to share the burden with. He will do anything just to "save face". This is because his in-ability to grow that parish by whatsoever means will be seen by his fellow pastors as a sign of being not serious.

Planting of needless parishes too is one of the major tools the pastor uses to pass the message across that "He is Working". Whoever suffers from this move is none of his business.

Last year, we advised our OP to consolidate the existing parishes, instead of planting new ones. He agreed.

My parish, after a few months of planting, was almost scrapped because it was "economically viable'...Imagine that. Today, instead of allowing us time to strengthen, they are making efforts to emasculate us again so as to build a new MEGA parish. ...

The administrative irregularities are just too much.

omakay:
The subsidiaries are revenue centers: This bolded is the bottle-neck. Adjust the bottle-neck and all will be well.

you got a major ax to grind with RCCG: Why won't i. Am not like peeps who see things going wrong and keep quiet due to "religion solidarity"

We think alike. I just can't pretend everything is Ok when it's glaringly the opposite. Parishes should be allowed to flourish. The parish should exist for its immediate worshippers first.

Christianity actually makes a man wiser, not dumber. We have a sound mind. We should discern when changes are needed.

omakay:
the mandate that God gave to them : It is now a question of either 2 facts which are "God's mandate to man" or "Man's self-originated goal". The way affairs in the church are being run nowadays,i strongly want to question your above statement. 60% of these parishes being planted after most "Let's Go A Fishing" programs are being used as catalysts for the promotion and upgrading of mother parishes. How else do you think a parish is being promoted to become an area head-quarter.

And the workers and ministers that are being commissioned to manage the new babies have already being trained to accept whatever command they receive from their leaders (whether right or wrong).

N.B : If you want to argue on the points i have stated above, then it clearly shows that you have little or no knowledge of how the system works.

Before a parish can be planted by an already existing one, certain things must be put in place.

1, Accommodation must be adequately provided for: The proposed premises must have being bought and paid for or rent paid for at least 3 years.

2, There has to be a physical structure in place: You cannot tell me that you have not seen containers, wooden structures and shops being used as parish structures. The Almighty God i serve does not have a standard so low as that.

3, Operation Equipment must be in place: Adequate sitting arrangement, sound and acoustic equipments and other secondary equipments must be place.

4, Revenue generated in that parish should be expended on that parish: Do you think the parish does not have running costs to take care of? Plus the fact that the congregation number is still growing.

Lemme stop here first. I need to wear my helmet and body armor.

The Faithful Brethren will come attacking very soon.

No sensible person will disagree with you. Everything you have explained is nothing but the truth. I aso have an issue with the mandate thing. God doesn't change in Person, but His modes of operations do change as time progresses.

Whatever isn't working should be changed. For now, the RCCG pattern, at least in my opinion, isn't working.

Church members are almost singlehandedly saddled with the burden of building a new parish, without tangible assistance from the Province.

We recently resisted a plan to further impoverish our parish. We already have a befitting Zonal HQ, but we were told they are planning to build another MEGA Zonal HQ, hence we all to ccontribute to that project. Meanwhile we are yet to complete our own parish building project.

We simply politely objected. Period.

omakay:
RCCG should stop planting parishes anyhow. They should update their financial cycle system to match the 21st century. How on earth can a parish submit more than 50% of it's revenue to the head-parish above. What do the Senior Pastors expect these parishes to fend on. At the end, the parish pastor will have to inconvenience his personal savings and family just to save face.

THIS IS JUST SOOOOOOO WRONG.

BTW: Why open so many parishes that turn out to be substandard.

CHRISTIANITY SHOULD HAVE STANDARDS OOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

It's a serious matter.

vooks:
What you should do is to analyze the strengths and challenges of the existing system and then propose yours and demonstrate how it tackles the challenges/weaknesses of the former without necessarily compromising on the strengths.

I have discovered that no matter how spiritual a fellowship may be, it is always susceptible to error such as what you are pointing at

Thanks a lot. I will consider what you said. As foryour last paragraph , this system isn't actually a spiritual one. We just need to be bolder and loving enough to propose workable changes.

Richiy:
I totally understand your view. Most old generation Pentecostal churches have rigid account systems that needs to be looked into. This is why what the o.p explained happens.

You're very right. We have been managing to build our parish for some years now. This current rigid system (as you called it) is stifling our progress. We need to look into the system.

doctorgold:
As much as i understand your point of view, i however have a problem with the medium with which this message is being passed across. Most churches usually accrue finances from parishes or branches and then send back a percentage of what individual parish has sent. We should also understand that the HQ has so many involvements too especially missionary work.

Thanks for conveying your thoughts in a polite and Christlike manner. I agree with your point of view, but I still believe the parishes should fare better than they are doing. Shalom.

I'm a practising Christian, and won't knowingly say, write or do anything that will bring the Church of Christ to disrepute.

I worship with the RCCG. I've been doing so for a little over 6 years. I admire and align myself with the mission and vision of the RCCG.

But i recently discovered a lot of our growing parishes are been impoverished to further embellish the HQ. A vast majority of what's realised in the parishes go the Province, and from there is sent to the HQ. Local parishes struggle materially and financially to cope with the cost of daily running them. A lot of people are in need; parishes can hardly solve people's needs.

How do we reverse this trend? Local parishes should keep the higher percentage of what's realised. Or better still, if a parish is building, it should be allowed to have a higher share of the resources realised. Our HQ I'd already saturated.

I believe we shall fare better if this unproductive system is changed. As we build cathedrals, we shouldn't forget building lives.

How do we get this message to the church leaders? This is purely an administrative matter, and can be changed for the better.

God bless His Church.

I've known that Nigerians are academically sound. We just need a better environment to pursue our goals. We need a system designed to facilitate success, not failure and frustration.

Kudos to you, brother.

basbone:
Its alright. He made it, and he deserved to be celebrated.

Yeah. Thanks.

basbone:
just say he won a contract to repair the computers of a govt agency.

Whatever. We simply rejoice with him!

Good after, people.
This is the part 2 of a saga I penned here a couple of weeks ago.
A little I had hitherto being pretty close to, boned my side immediately I wired her some cash. She's promised heaven and earth about getting very intimate if I could send her that amount. I retrospect, plus the comments that followed that post, I was very foolish and selfish to have harboured the thoughtof sleeping with a lady in exchange for cash. Very dumb decision.

As advised by fellow NLanders, I learnt my lesson, albeit very bitter and have moved on. Learning never stops. I had even permanently confined that incident to my mental dustbin. All my efforts to ask her what happened went abortive. I even checked on her in her place, but nothing. I left. I had learned.

Fast forward to a few days, she's been calling and apologising. Some NLANDERS said she was eventually going to call back. She just confirmed their words.

I answered her call, and told her there was no need for all those apologies. Was it wrong? Should I still consider her?

This is an isolated case, and no one should think I'm trying to brand all ladies with some kind of title. Thanks.

basbone:
Wonderful story.
But i dont get it........he solved a computer problem, and he won a government contract. That sounds contradicting. I mean, solving a computer problem doesnt give one a government contract, and mind you, govt contracts are basically large scale computer installations and networking. So what type of problem did he solved? Is it a numerical problem, a programming problem, or what?

Dear, his small computer firm won a contract with the state government. The contract is connected with solving some computer related problems. Further details, I can't tell you.

hopelink1:
i know that some of you are excited about material things

Bro, nobody should be excited about poverty or lack; there's no humility or dignity in it.
Besides, we are told to rejoice with them that do rejoice. Thank you.

Today's been one of my happiest moments in Church. God just erased poverty and shame from the household of my Assistant Pastor. He recently won a major project with the state government. Today we celebrated with his household as he dedicated his Lexus Jeep.

I have known him to be diligent, humble and determined young man. He has a degree from one of the universities from the South West. He delved into the computer world after he was unsuccessful in his search for a job with his first degree. He didn't study computer whatever as a first degree.

As he narrated how it happened, we all could see the finger of God all over it. Only God can lift the poor from the dungeon and make them seat with princes. The circumstances under which he secured this multi million naira contact is nothing short of supernatural.

He and his family could hitherto hardly feed. They were living in an apartment rented by our parish. I wouldn't go into much details, but they were really in need of financial and material help. All that is over now.

God has changed his story into glory. I'm a witness of this transformation. God has changed him from lack to . abundance. We are still dancing with him. He's been a dedicated and focused Christian.

You may have been believing God for a major breakthrough in one area of your life or the other:don't give up. If your degree isn't fetching you something, carefully choose something else to do and be committed to it. Be diligent in tour work/business. Endeavour to be amongst the best in your career or profession. God will surely open a major door for you. Be prepared. Be ready.

He solved computer problem no one else could solve at the time. His passion for fixing computer systems has paid off finally. He didn't allow his first degree to determine his future or hinder him.

Don't narrow yourself to your field of study. Don't allow your certificates become a stumbling block to your success.

Most importantly, serve God in humility and with ready mind. He always rewards His faithful children. May you not be weak in this week.

God bless you all. Shalom.

Knight86:
Indeed the field is still very green in Nigeria, but there are some challenges for people who just got certified. Most companies prefer to employ the services of experienced Safety professionals than those who are fresh in the field. Where can the 'green horns' work to get hands-on experience? How do one overcome this challenge? I find the safety field very interesting and really want to start working as a Safety professional. I have done GHSE and Level 3 courses with ISPON and I'm presently working as a QA/QC personnel in a FMCG company, but I want to go further than this. What courses can you recommend please?

I'm really sorry for the late reply. Have you considered any NEBOSH courses yet?

With all the millions of prayer warriors, prayer houses, native doctors, GOs, religious programmes and groups, West Africa doesn't still have a SINGLE NUCLEAR PLANT capable of providing something as basic as sufficient electricity for its citizens.

It's either we aren't praying well or we shouldn't be praying as far as some issues are concerned.

Wherever there's underdevelopment and extreme poverty, religion isn't far away.

Africans, wake up and live.
Think and progress......

Prayers didn't build Dubai. It didn't build Eiffel Tower. It didn't build the New Yorks and Londons of this world. It won't build Nigeria.

We must separate between religion and state....

God gave us brains so we could deploy them, thereby improving our lives and environment.

Most of us are under utilising ours!
Wake up. Wake up. It's 2014!

[quote author=braine post=27219360]Nice. I completed my first degree in Environmental Botany and Palynology; would you recommend these courses and would it give the opportunity to fit into the oil and gas and other relevant industries? [/quote


Of course. Very well.....

Wandeayo:
Ve sent you mail sir

Ok. Thanks.

Wandeayo:
I did the ispon she courses at ispon branch abeokuta, the nebosh at novelle centre ikeja lagos and the OSHA occupational health and safety courses was done online.

That's very good. You're already in the field.

braine:
I'm actually interested in those courses as they fit into my career. Where did you enroll for yours? Nebosh igc is quite expensive tho.

Yeah. It's quite expensive. I did mine in PH.

braine:
Congrats.. So, how long have you been in the profession?

More than 5 years.

Wandeayo:
Morning Sir, am a young she professional, I will need your help concerning this career. Can we discuss better via mail?, I will so much appreciate it sir. Mine is olagbenroayodeji@yahoo.com
Will be expecting your mail sir.
Regards

That will be nice. It's an exciting field.
Mine is mydesire20003@yahoo.com.

Today, I'm really fulfilled working as a HSE professional in Port Harcourt. But it was never my desire or choice to be one. I had always wanted to be a Petroleum Engineer.

I applied for Petroleum Engineering in the Petroleum Training Institute, Delta state. I couldn't get my choice course because I didn't meet the required cutoff mark. I was sad and despondent. Seeking admission into any higher institution in Nigeria isn't easy.

The school suggested I study Industrial Safety and Environmental Engineering. I was determined to reapply the following year, but the thought of doing nothing for another year was even more depressing. After some consultations, I decide to give a try. I reluctantly accepted to study the available option.

My first semester wasn't easy. I didn't like the course. I was envious of the Petroleum Engineering students. I used to see myself in their attires. My first semester result was poor, at least, by my standards. I manged to get an uppercredit.

But as time wore on I began picking interest in the course. The prospect of being responsible for the health and safety of future fellow employees was a motivating thought. I finished my course of study with a good grade.

Today, with that certificate, I have worked as a HSE professional for over 5 years, and have achieved some appreciable level of success. The safety profession is now a very competitive profession, as thousands of graduates have trooped into the field, having abandoned their own careers. The field is still very green in Nigeria.

I'm happy that God has turned what was a sad beginning into a successful career. I give Him all the praise.

I'm a proud HSE professional today!

You can't have the fake without the originals, and vice versa.

asalimpo:
It's harsh experiences like this tht make people seek underground justice systems-mafia,hoodlums,thugs,hired assasins etc - cuz govt legal ones are as slow as pregnant snails.

It can be very painful!