The Church
(Mathew 7:21-23)
The very moment God "calls" a particular person, the norm in Nigeria is to get ordained by a senior pastor which tells the world that this new entrant must be accepted as pastor. In some cases, a church will just spring up out of nowhere and people will start to worship there. (Pls, tell me I am lying!). Lets take a quick look at the fabric of these churches. The examples I'm about to write are not in any way related to a particular church but what I have witnessed to have become norm. Here goes, this is how a church is formed in Nigeria. John 14:6
1. "God has "called" me and easy money" Ministry.
I was shocked to my bone marrow in late 2009 as I watched a Nigerian Talk show hosted by a popular comedian. The guest on that particular show that week is a pastor of one of the fastest growing churches in Lagos and as he was interviewed, the pastor dropped a very sarcastic statement and I had to rewind my SKY Decoder to ascertain if I did hear well. Hear him "When I just arrived to reside in Lagos and had no car, I used to tell myself when I see people drive flashy cars past me that in this same Lagos, I will drive these same expensive cars with them and now I am driving some very expensive cars". As the interview progressed, the comedian passed a rather bad joke and I expected the pastor to check and correct the insinuation but he never did. Hear the comedian "Pastor, when you come into church on a particular Sunday morning and see the large crowd, do you usually say "ah, see money, ah don hammer" which translates loosely "We will make some good offerings today". The pastor giggled and the interview went on. This is the sad mindset of our churches in Nigeria. Sad, sad mindset! Many of our churches in Nigeria are "floated" for material gain. On the street where I had my formative years in Lagos, Nigeria, I have been told during the initial thought gathering process of this analysis that there are four churches lined up there. A street of less than 1000 metres.
A man by the name, Pastor Jonah applied to be interviewed on Dragon's Den asking for £250,000 to start a church and promises a return of 500% in 3 years. I don't know how true this story is but this is a microcosm of the endemic problem we have in Nigeria. A quick come back to the pastor on that talk show, some of my readers will be quick to support the pastor that he was "professing good things" with his mouth. Yeah right and he couldn't correct the insinuation about "good flow of money as a result of a large turn out at church services? (James 5:19-20; John 14:26)
2. "I had a fight with my former pastor" Ministry
I know quite a chunk of churches existing today as a result of altercation between a pastor and one or two of his supporting ministers. The latter gets upset and leave to go "float" his own church. It's as simple as that. In the ensuing melee, members begin to show allegiance and in most cases, will move along and "partner" with the aggrieved junior pastor and before you know it, a church is birthed and services starts. (Galatians 1:9; Titus 3:10)
3. "I can't stand the doctrines of my former church" ministry
This kind of a church has a link with No 2 above but can also stand on its own. The core root of the problems can be traced to the senior pastor because he had no calling from God in the first place and thus, we have heresies and eisegesis coming from the pulpit and feeding the people wrongly. Aggrieved members will gather themselves, chose a front man and go "float" a church. The new man and his members decides out of personal volition that its high time they started a church.
4. "I have served my former pastor well and thus deserve my own church" ministry
Do I need to explain this lie of a church ministry? 2John 1:9-10;
The next big thing after the "floating" of a church is the brazen acquisition of church buildings. Pastors in Nigeria go extra length in erecting and purchase of church buildings. These buildings are called in local parlance, "Mega churches". Let me not mince words, pastors try to outdo themselves in the bid to showcase which church building should be known as the best mega building in town. These buildings are everywhere in Nigeria. (I just told you another big lie!). Why do we spend so much money on the acquisition of buildings to serve as worship centres? Why do we spend so much on interior decor and putting the bill on the members of the church? Why? Let me tell you a quick story (Names have been withheld to protect the privacy of those involved). A pastor opened a church at a local fitness centre and after about 6 months, he moved the church to a building leased from a local landlord and members contributed £30,000 (Thirty Thousand Pounds) used in the facelift of the church. In their own words, "our God deserves a good and more decent place of worship". The question on my lips as I write these series is "what does my God really deserve; A beautiful place of worship or my beautiful fervent heart of worship?" Choose one! Lets go back to the story I was sharing, about a year after spending so much money on the new building, the landlord increased the rent and the church ran into financial difficulties, they were evicted by the court. They wasted £30,000!!!
There's also a "feel good" factor attached to these churches where members are expected to "showcase" their church under the illusion that "the reason why I go to my church is because God has blessed me". Church members attach God's blessing to the church they attend and see the pastor as the reason behind the blessing. The pastors of these churches throw all sorts of "spiritual incentives" from the pulpit and the people swallow them hook, line and sinker.
I will be looking at a few problems preventing the church from sound doctrine in Nigeria in the next part.
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