₦airaland Forum

classicfrank4u:
wen i saw gigantic i was expecting to see smtin bigger dan a house

oneolajire:
I have sent the stuff to various national daily like Punch, Vanguard, Guardian etc, but they've all refused to publish it

SAINTHUD:
Recent events in the Church have generated
social fervor about the lifestyles of men of
the robe and the governance structure of the
Church in Nigeria, in particular the
Pentecostal hue. This is as expected because
the funding profile of the Church is
primarily derived from contributions from
congregants. There is a lot of angst out there
because Nigerians are experiencing economic
hardship. This provides some of the
context for the public backlash. However we
risk throwing out the baby with the
bathwater if our passion becomes a raging
flood that sweeps away reason and
structural facts.
Are there excesses in the church? No doubt.
The eco-system is imperfect for the simple
reason that Pastors are men afterall. And the
operations of some snake oil merchants
have only served to compound issues. There
are now magicians in robes, economic
opportunists in cassocks, ecclesiastical
predators in surplices and charlatans in
collars.
But there are also genuine men of God and
ministries, thousands upon thousands of
them.
The spectrum of the Church in Nigeria
consists of orthodox churches, evangelicals,
pentecostal institutional and pentecostal
independents. Methodist Church is orthodox,
ECWA is evangelical, the Redeemed Christian
Church of God, Deeper Life Bible
Church and the Assemblies of God are
pentecostal institutional, whilst Daystar
Christian Centre is a pentecostal independent.
The Orthodox Church establishment laid the
foundation for modern Nigeria. They are
the offshoots of missionary work. They
educated the people we now refer to as the
founding fathers of the federation. They
established the first set of hospitals and
schools in Nigeria. Methodist Boys’ High
School, Baptist Academy and Our Lady of
Apostles Grammar School are well known
examples of schools established by
missionaries.
It was the Church that educated the first set
of civil servants in Nigeria. And the Church
has always been at the nexus of cultural re-
orientation in Nigeria. Who can ever forget
the work of Mary Slessor, the diminutive
nurse who fought against the barbaric culture
of the killing of twins? And so when we chant
about the “labour of our heroes past,” we
must not forget that some of these heroes
are the missionaries and the orthodox
establishments.
Now we do not know why but clearly, God
raised a generational stream of young men
and women to build on the foundational work
of the orthodox churches. The work
began with the establishment of the Scripture
Union (S.U or C.U – Christian Union) in
primary and secondary schools. From that
movement emerged the generation of those
who now head the Pentecostal institutional
churches today, in particular the
unassuming Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the
self effacing Pastor William F. Kumuyi.
Incidentally both attended The Apostolic Faith
before fate directed their trajectories.
Both are very well educated. Pastor Adeboye
has a PhD in Applied Mathematics whilst
Pastor Kumuyi has a first class honours
degree in Mathematics. At the time of their
ascendance, the “faith movement” was taking
root in America and this spawned the
ministries of the late Archbishop Benson
Idahosa, Bishop David Oyedepo and Pastor
Ayo Oritsejafor. We must also note the great
work of a little known Englishman who
settled in Ile Ife, the late Pa Elton. He would
be responsible for the mentoring of the next
ministerial generation and the establishment
of Pentecostal doctrine in Nigeria.
However something major took place in the
early 80s. A then unknown medical student
at the University of Lagos was ordained a
Pastor by the Assemblies of God Church.
This was an extremely radical event 30 years
ago. His name is Dr. Tunde Joda of the
Christ Chapel fame. He was a product and
proponent of the Faith Movement and was
highly influenced by the ministries of Rev.
Kenneth E. Hagin and Kenneth Copeland. He
opened the door for his generation and made
God exciting to young people. That was
a generational advent and invariably
members of that generation became Pastors.
Because of the educational background of the
generation, the Pentecostal movement
acquired sophistication. The emergent
Pastors are generally creative in approach,
aggressive, uninhibited and resourceful. Many
emerged through the “model parish”
structure of the Redeemed Christian Church
of God. Dr. Tony Rapu would prove pivotal
to that structure though there is evidence to
the effect that Pastor Tunde Bakare was
perhaps the first model parish Pastor. That
was before he went on to found the Latter
Rain Assembly.
Some in that generation are now in full time
ministry but many maintain a dualism – they
work as professional managers and
entrepreneurs whilst running the churches on
a full
term basis. (Some are in government). And so
we arrived at a literal prophetic era in
Nigeria church history – the era of the order
of priest-kings technically known as the
Order of Melchizedek. All Christians belong to
this Order but these young Pastors in
dual callings typify the Order. Most are
successful in their secular callings and it
would
be uncharitable to assume that they went into
ministry for money. Most do not collect
salaries from their churches. Instead they
contribute. These emergent Pastors signified
a generational move of God. The generation is
noted for “speaking in tongues” – a
peculiar glossolalia dating back to Pentecost.
They are thus referred to as
“Pentecostals”. (In modern parlance, the term
“Pentecostal” has come to signify
exuberant loud worship and gifted oratory).
They redefined what a man of God is and
till today, the redefinition presents a
challenge to society. So aggressive are
members
of this Pentecostal movement that in a
strange twist of fate, they exported
Christianity
back to the UK. And they have established
churches in Ukraine, Ireland, America and
more.
Nigeria as a nation has no social security
system. The absence of social net is why
individuals take care of the economic needs
of their parents in old age. This familial
approach to social security leaves huge
swaths of needy citizens unattended to. Into
this void has stepped the Church. The Church
complements the efforts of some State
governments who clearly cannot cope with
the deluge of developmental challenges
facing Nigeria. And the Pentecostal generation
has acquitted itself wonderfully at this
task.
Let’s be more particular. Pastor Taiwo
Odukoya, a man of grace runs The Fountain
of
Life Church. It has a hospital, an orphanage, a
school for the indigent and orphans and
a vocational farm. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, the
founder of Trinity House supports indigent
students with scholarships. His Lydia Grace
Foundation supports the rehabilitation of
lower class prostitutes, among so many other
initiatives. Pastor Tony Rapu, the Pastor
of This Present House runs one of the most
successful drug rehabilitation programmes
through the Freedom Foundation network.
Pastor Poju Oyemade organises a hugely
successful bi-annual youth empowerment
seminar called The Platform.
Rev. Sam Adeyemi, a gentleman of the robe
runs Daystar Christian Centre. His Church
has a community impact programme and has
renovated 5 State schools, among so
many other programmes. He is particularly
noted for leadership training. Pastor Paul
Adefarasin of the House on the Rock Church
hosts an annual cultural impact
programme called The Experience. It is a
major engagement platform for youths
through music. The City of David, a Redeemed
Church parish runs a most successful
soccer academy and acclaimed football club,
COD United FC. These are just a few
examples of what these particular ministries
are engaged in and space will not permit
us to name the works of so many other
ministries. Many church ministries run
schools,
hospitals, orphanages, sex worker
rehabilitation programmes, drug
rehabilitation
programmes, community development
programmes and youth development
programmes. By the time we scale up to the
network of Redeemed Christian Church of
God and the like, the exponential value of
Church ministries becomes staggering in
proportion. The Catholic Church is
responsible for the establishment of a post
graduate
university, the Pan African University. That
university has taken up a major responsibility
for skill development in the private sector.
The Church also founded Loyola Jesuit
Secondary School. Even the much maligned
Bishop David Oyedepo founded two
universities! No other Nigerian, living or dead
has accomplished such feat as far as we
know. Invariably almost every church has
bent its back to carry the burden of the State
and it’s a huge burden.
A wholesale condemnation of the Church is
not helpful. The Church through its
programs saves Nigeria from the
consequences of its dereliction in governance.
Perhaps there is a need for a compendium of
the good works by churches that is
accessible to the general public. The Church
essentially aggregates resources to
create a social security net for Nigeria.
Otherwise we will have more drug addicts,
prostitutes, orphans, hapless widows and
certainly more crime. We will also have less
kids in school, less young men acquiring trade
skills, less micro-financing of small
businesses, and less value orientation and
instruction for our youths.
At the heart of the ongoing debate is the
nature of church economics. Why do people
give to churches in such huge figures? Why
would a Pastor take money from the poor?
To the man looking from the outside those
giving ten percent of their salaries are either
gullible or hypnotized. But the notion of giving
is a fundamental of the Christian faith.
Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto
you”. Apostle Paul wrote, “He who sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who
sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
So let each one give as he purposes in his
heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for
God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9: 6 – 7).
Giving in Christianity is predicated on the
principle of sowing and reaping. And giving is
a socio-economic ladder according to
Christian doctrine. It is also proof of love for
God. It is within this context that we can
understand why the poor give to churches.
The poor man’s faith teaches him to give his
way out of poverty, though we must admit
that the role of industry is sometimes
neglected in teachings. There are perversions
of the doctrine of giving but that does not
make the doctrine any less fundamental.
Now, unlike some religions, Christianity runs
an economic commonwealth when it
comes to institutional development and
building programs. Everyone contributes to
the
commonwealth. And the value of a gift before
God is relative to deprivation. That would
seem heartless to the outsider and some will
consider it exploitative, but the story of
Elijah and the widow of Zarephath is a
wonderful illustration of the dynamics of
giving to
a man of God (or church ministry) in an
economic downturn. And the parable of the
widow’s mite establishes the principle of
relative deprivation as a measure of value.
That said, it must be mentioned that the
Church has oft times operated with a silo
mentality. There has to be better engagement
between the Church and civil society. In
addition, a peer-to-peer review system must
be instituted. If the Pastors judge
themselves they will escape condemnation.
Some advocate state interference in
religious affairs. Regulating the Church
sounds okay in theory but it can prove a very
dangerous idea in a tri-religious society like
Nigeria. Not with all the goings on. And we
may have a peculiar situation of a man of
different faith sitting in judgment over
Christian economics without doctrinal
understanding and vice versa. We must not
rush
us into dangerous territory. As we shall soon
discover, this obviously targeted
regulation will create inconsistencies and
challenges as we seek to apply it across all
religious boards. But the Church has to
recognize that society has significantly
altered,
and for many Nigerians it is the one true
institution.
This is my humble contribution to the ongoing
debate.

oneolajire:
I wrote this in July. Also made this thread on Nairaland. This is long overdue.

Titled "time for religious organisations to invest in agriculture"

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/07/19/time-for-religious-organisations-to-invest-in-agriculture/

Kudos to OP

Ramon92:
Tell them to pay taxes..

Greatzeus:
Good write up,God bless you.
But if churches should do as you said and invest in Agriculture, it is these same Nigerians and mostly Christians that will say they are business men not true men of God. Some will even want the Agricultural products to be distributed free,the way they are clamouring for church schools to be free.

soulpeppersoup:
What stop mosques or traditional religion from doing what you saying but it be the church or don't they have members?

Johncuppa:
You won't believe I've shed tears on this. I thought it was just my own opinion and may be I was wrong.
Now that I saw this, I am relieved. May be God is putting this yearning in us when He is ready to fill the ditches.
However, don't always think God must use the entire body of Christ. May be you and I are even the interest of God. God is capable of saving a nation with just a man.
May God gives us #thjosephs, #thedaniels, #thenehemiahs , #theesthers IJN

pring:
All we get is the opposite.
Do u know that government issues pastors license to preach the word of God?
As in a certificate?
If u kn this, u will not expect anything good from churches.
They are the same, When last did u hear a pastor say bad about a government?
Has VP pastor Osibanjo contributed anything meaningful since he came in?
For me,
Religion is an arm of government.
And again, People mostly go to church for deliverance and miracles when thing are not going well with them.
The wealthy dont go to church to sow seed n tithe, its only d poor because they expect more.
In Europe n US, people think less about churches because they are not suffering like most African.

Your submission is good, however, the church were one of the organization that brought Education to us, and I am quite convinced, Education has a lot of positive sides, we can have a "local" solution to our problem. We can do this together

Otses:
I was just going through one of his books he coauthored with his wife Beverly this afternoon only for me to see this on NL. sighs...
He lived a fulfilled life and his books will continue to be a blessing to people. Rest in peace sir

homesteady:
This Yaya is a very petulant big baby! It seems he has a very short memory, he has forgotten that Mikel was the best player in AFCON and he didn't win the POTY, instead they gave it to him that had a terrible AFCON! It is now he knows that continental achievement is necessary for the award! Besides he wasn't even the best player in AFCON.

And he has won it 4 times in a row oh SMH