By Chika Abanobi
I want to start by making this confession. As a born-again Christian, I have benefitted immensely, over the years, from the messages and ministrations of the following men and women of God in Nigeria. They are, namely: Pastor Enoch Adeboye of The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG); Pastor W. F. Kumuyi, of the Deeper Life Bible Church/Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DLBC/DCLM); Bishop Mike Okonkwo, of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); Evangelist Uma Ukpai of Uma Ukpai Evangelistic Association; Pastor David Oyedepo of Living Faith Worldwide (aka Winners Chapel); Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy;
I also benefitted from Pastor Aloysius Chukwuemeka Ohanebo of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement (WCCRM); Pastor Lazarus Muoka of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement (LCCRM); Pastor Kris Okotie, of Household of God International Ministries; Pastor Daniel K. Olukoya, of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) and Bishop Mrs Bola Odeleke of Power Pentecostal Church.
Others are: Bishop Francis Wale Oke, of the Sword of the Lord Ministries; Bro. Gbile Akanni, of Peace House; Archbishop Margaret Idahosa, of Church of God Mission International; Rev. Dr Mercy Ezekiel, of Christian Pentecostal Mission (C.P.M) International; Bishop Felix and Pastor Mrs Funke Felix-Adejumo of Agape Christian Ministries; Rev. Mother Abimbola Esther Ajayi, of Love of Christ Generation Church; Bishop Humphrey Erumaka of Wordbase Assembly Inc; Bro. Lambert Eze Okafor of Endtime Ministries (aka Holy Ghost School); Dr Abel Damina of Abel Damina Ministries International (ADMI)/Kingdom Life Network (KLN); Pastor Dr. Paul and Bekky Enenche, of Dunamis International Gospel Centre; Pastor Sam and Nike Adeyemi, of Daystar Christian Centre; Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, of Trinity House; Rev. Prof. Mosy Madugba, and wife, Chinyere, of Ministers Prayer Network/Spiritual Life Outreach, Inc and Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka, of Adoration Ministries of Enugu, Nigeria (AMEN).
Not to forget Pastor El-Buba Stephen, of the Realm of Glory; Pastor Paul and Ifeanyi Adefarasin, of House on the Rock; Pastor Goodheart Ekwueme, of Horn of Revival; Apostle Arome Osayi, of Remnant Christian Network (RCN); Apostle Tony Rapu, of the House of Freedom Ministries; Pastor Jerry Eze, of Streams of Joy International; Dr Olumide Emmanuel, of Calvary Bible Church; Apostle Michael Orokpo, of Encounter Jesus Ministries; Apostle Joshua Selman, of Koinonia/Eternity Network; Pastor Femi Emmanuel, of Livingspring Chapel International; Evangelist Chukwuebuka Obi Anozie, of Zion Prayer Movement Outreach/Zion Ministries and Dr Chris Okafor, of Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries.
A plea for forgiveness
Before you pick up a well-chosen barbed adjective and begin to stone or troil me with on social media, let me quickly add that the list is by no means exhaustive. Secondly, the names were not arranged according to their order of seniority in the Christian ministry but as they came to my mind. If your General Overseer or Senior Pastor’s name is not mentioned here, that’s not to say that he or she has failed the Rotary Club’s four-way test. Or, that they are not recognised by this worthless, inconsequential fellow of a writer! I need to make this clarification because these are some of the little, little things that inadvertently cause disaffection or quarrels today among us believers: you mentioned others, but you didn’t mention my GO or Senior Pastor! Or, you mentioned Bishop or Archbishop W, a man or woman he gave birth to in the gospel or helped to set up his church or ministry, before mentioning the name of his Father or Mother in the Lord!
The Bible says to give honour to whom honour is due (Romans 13:7), and this is true, but we did not see you doing that here. Even though you did what you did mistakenly or in ignorance, you must be stoned to death or hanged by the thread of X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp posts, for offending the anointed man of God and millions of his followers or spiritual children.
Please, don’t see things from that perspective. Please don’t take my words to mean that I didn’t benefit anything from GO’s message or book since I became born again. Or, that he or she is nobody in the annals of Christian ministry stewardship in Nigeria. Nothing can be far from the truth. He/she definitely is! Take it from me, I have benefitted something from every minister, pastor, man or woman of God you can think of. But it is not everyone I remember their names.
The nature and colour of the ‘atomisation’
That brings me to the subject matter I have addressed in this piece: the atomisation of the gospel. That I mentioned the names of the afore-cited men and women of God doesn’t mean I share their views hook, line and sinker on everything that has to do with our spiritual commonwealth, no matter how frivolous.
From my little understanding of spiritual matters, the Bible is complete and error-free; the problem we have with men and women who preach from it is their sometimes spurious understanding, interpretation and application of its truth. In a word, it has to do with what someone once rightly described as “overloading” the scriptures or Bible, that is, making it say what was not originally intended or in vogue when it was written for our learning and guidance.
We could do that to project a particular religious belief which may not be exactly what the Bible is talking about. There is already a warning against such (see Revelation 22:18-19). We call such elevation of minor issues that divide or separate us while neglecting the weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23), the atomisation of the gospel, an atom is the smallest unit into which matter can be divided without the release of electrically charged particles. We could atomise the Scripture to provide purported Biblical support to our current religious belief even though that was not what was meant when it was originally written. Or, we could do that to support a particular wrong lifestyle we have chosen to lead.
Elaborating on the phenomenon
Some years ago, a minister of God I listened to was trying to justify his flambouyant lifestyle amid abject poverty, with a quote from the Bible about the Roman soldiers that crucified the Lord casting lot or voting on who should have His garment (John 19:23-24). That they did that, he explained, is proof that Jesus wore costly designer clothes in His earthly days. It might well be but the truth is, that is not the only thing that Jesus did or said that is worth emulating.
Why he should leave others and pick on this one to justify his lifestyle, beats me. I mentioned this here not to condemn the fellow but to show how far we have come to atomise the Bible message to suit our lifestyle or view of life.
At another time, elders of a particular church which believes in putting off their shoes while worshipping God were annoyed with one of their ministers, a woman, for bringing in non-adherents of their faith to ‘desecrate’ their place of worship by coming into the place with their shoes on. Man, any man, looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
But that is not to say we should deliberately set out to denigrate the institutionalised belief of such worshippers because we belong to a church or ministry that does not share in their belief. No. That will be an uncharitable thing to do if we claim to be believers.
We shouldn’t set out to provoke others by trampling on their religious belief simply because we are trying to prove a point, a useless point for that matter. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Corinthians 10: 31-32).
If you think that it is not right to remove your shoes when you step into the place of worship, then for goodness sake, don’t go there at all. But, for those who subscribe to such religious belief, having others who believe otherwise step into the place with their shoes on, once in a while, either to minister or deliver a message, shouldn’t be taken as an unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost or church tradition. Neither should we think that those who subscribe to such belief have no place in the Kingdom of God.
I am not talking about the doctrine of Nicolaitans which the Lord hates (Revelation 2:6, 15) or of Balaam “who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication”(Revelation 2:14). I am talking about a fellow believer not greeting or relating with another believer from another church or ministry, simply because their GOs are not on talking terms with each other or a believer thinking that the other believer will not make heaven simply because he doesn’t pray or dress the same way he does. That’s how bad or bizarre this atomisation of a thing has become! Isaac Oyedepo, the son of Bishop David Oyedepo, had cause to lament, some time ago, about the disturbing development in the church world where you can’t receive needed help from a fellow believer or minister simply because there happens to be a slight difference in your Christian beliefs.
Take, for instance, the following scenarios. Do you mean that if, by the grace of God, you are able to make heaven, and someone like Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka is also able to make it, by the same grace of God, and he and his choral group are asked or allowed to lead one of the worship sessions in there with their local musical instruments, you will stand up, hiss or sigh, reach for your big Bible and walk out in anger, out of the glorious city? Just because of that? Or, land a big knock on the forehead of Archangel Michael or Gabriel just because of such ‘infraction’, even though they have nothing to do with such instruction? Ehn, you better go then to Abeokuta right now and begin to sharpen, on the grinding stones of the women of Owu, the knuckles with which you will give the archangels such a hard knock!
Or, are we saying that if you and the clean-shaven members of your church or ministry are having a good time in a praise-and-worship session in one of your church services and in walked Apostle Peter and the rest of the apostles wearing long beards and long-flowing white gowns, just as you had seen drawn in many Bible story books, you will stop whatever you were doing for the Lord before they came in and begin to bind and cast out the ‘spirit’ that made them appear in such form?
The Bible talks about the sin against the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit, that it will never be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the one to come (Matthew 12:31). Will one be sinning against Him if, for instance, one decides not to wear to church the three-piece suit of an English man but rather substitutes such with a Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo, Efik, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Kalabari, Calabar, Tiv, Idoma, or Jukun traditional wear? Can putting on those attires make the Holy Spirit not fall upon one or make one not to speak in tongues?
Can it deny one the anointing or gift of the Holy Spirit? Talking about the Holy Spirit, He has, by His power, helped and is still helping some believers to live a victorious Christian life and to overcome temptation that comes in various forms, including dodging the ‘sticks’ that the bad boys and girls throw from various porn sites. Now, here comes the big question: are we saying that the same Holy Spirit who helped them through these temptations of the flesh will have them thrown into the pit of hell, just because some of them failed to remove their earrings, bangles or bracelets?
Egoism and another look at the Biblical truth
These days, ministers of God boast about who brought each other into the faith or who mentored the other guy on the rudiments of the gospel ministry! But the question that I keep asking myself is this: does it matter who brought each other to Christ or who ordained who as priest or minister of God? Or has God now decided to give special awards to some people who did what in His Kingdom? Is this feat, this great accomplishment now one of those things that will be rewarded at the Bema Seat of Christ? My congregation is bigger than yours and yours is smaller than mine! Is this now the new criteria for determining who will sit at the right hand of the Father and who will not? I worry when we major in minor things and minor in major things. Believe it or not, the Lord must be worried too.
No matter what we preach, profess and believe, at least we all, orthodox and unorthodox, African church members, evangelical and non-evangelical, protestants and non-protestants, Catholics and Anglicans, Methodists and non-Methodists, Seventh-Day Adventists and Eight/Ninth Day or the First-Day-of-the-Week Adventists, Pentecostals or non-Pentecostals, Jehovah Witnesses and non-Jehovah Witnesses, prosperity-believers and preachers and non-believers in prosperity, tithers and non-tithers, First-Fruit-of-the-Week-or-the-Month believers and non-First-Fruit-of-the-Month believers, white-garments Christians and multi-coloured garment believers, traditional churches and non-traditional churches, Indigenous African church members and non-indigenous African church members, in our various assembles or churches or ministries, believe that these Biblical characters lived lives that pleased the Lord.
They are Abel, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Prophets Elijah, Elisha, Nathan, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Samuel and David, Kings Solomon and Hezekiah, Hannah, Esther, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Meshach, Shedrack and Abednego, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Micah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Mary, Elisabeth, John the Baptist, Paul the Apostle, Barnabas, Timothy, Sylvanus, Appolos, John the Beloved, Onesimus, Philemon, Jude, Titus, etc.
If you have patiently read this long piece up to this point, I have an assignment for you: could you, please, help me find out which church or ministry the aforementioned Bible characters belonged or worshipped with while they were on earth: The Redeemed Christian Church of God? Deeper Life Bible Church? The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM)? Winners Chapel)? Christ Embassy? Watchman Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement? The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement? Household of God International Ministries? Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries? Kingsway International Christian Centre? Power Pentecostal Church? Sword of the Lord Ministries? Church of God Mission International? Christian Pentecostal Mission? Agape Christian Ministries? Love of Christ Generation Church? Wordbase Assembly Inc? Endtime Ministries? Kingdom Life Network? Dunamis International Gospel Centre? Daystar Christian Centre? Trinity House? Spiritual Life Outreach, Inc? Adoration Ministries? Realm of Glory? House on the Rock? Horn of Revival? Remnant Christian Network? House of Freedom Ministries? Streams of Joy International? Calvary Bible Church? Encounter Jesus Ministries? Koinonia/Eternity Network? Livingspring Chapel International? Zion Prayer Movement Outreach/Zion Ministries or Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministries?
The case of King Solomon in modern context
Solomon wrote three books, namely the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs or Song of Solomon. But a reading of his life history shows that he had 1,000 women: 700 wives and 300 concubines. He even had one from Africa: Queen of Sheba who later gave birth to Menelik 1, the Founder of modern Ethiopia. In all fairness to Solomon, many theologians believe that he wrote the books long after he had made a U-turn on the hedonistic life he lived. Personally, I believe so. But going by the way our great men and women of God are busy atomising the gospel message in a bid to amass disciples, followers as well as wealth to themselves, none of those books that King Solomon wrote would have sold a copy in many of our churches or ministries today. Do you know why? Even if he wrote the books long after he had repented and made peace with God, all that would been needed to do him in is for one of our great and influential pastors to mount the pulpit with the copies of the books he wrote and announce to their teeming congregation that the writer or author of those books had no moral right to write them because he never lived the life. And, truly the moment he had said so, no true member of his church or ministry would dare buy a copy. That’s how powerful and influential that the Church and its operators are, today.
And, if you want to argue the points raised in this piece, try proving that any of the Bible characters mentioned here worshipped with or attended, while alive, the other church which your GO or Senior Pastor schooled you to hate with passion. Or, try to insist on listening to their messages or reading their books and see whether an overzealous member of your church or ministry will not petition God through a social media post, to earnestly ask that your name be removed from the Book of Life which He has written!
- Abanobi, pioneer staff, Weekend Concord, former Associate Editor, The Sun newspaper, Lagos, and winner of Governor Olusegun Mimiko Prize for Foreign News Reporter of the Year: 2018 Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) is member, Journalists for Christ International Fellowship.