How Christians invited Boko Haram to Nigeria- Bishop Ore

By Gbenga Osinaike

The chairman of the Lagos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Olusola Ore has observed that the lack lustre attitude of Christians to evangelism and the need to influence the north of the country with the gospel is at the root of terrorism in the country.

Ore was speaking at a one-day ministers’ conference organized by Faith Revival Apostolic Church in July.

Ore who spoke on the topic, “how are the mighty fallen”,  lamented the decadence in the church noting that many church leaders have taken to mundane things rather than concentrate on the task of building the kingdom of God.

He said, “The church has the message that will liberate this country from the shackles of oppression. We have the solution. But we refused to reach out to those who need the good news. We are busy building our empires at the detriment of the salvation of the vast majority of Nigerians.”

“There was a time Christians in the north made appeal to those in the south to come up north and help with the evangelization of the people. Then, the people that are now being used to cause mayhem and disturb the peace of the country had a burning desire and a heart for the gospel. Many churches developed cold feet. Many refused to respond to the call. Now the people that we ought to have reached with the gospel were presented with another message. And that is the message that is driving them to destroy. That is why there is no peace in the country”

He wondered why the church has been so much preoccupied with insinuation that the country would be Islamized, asking, “If there is Islamic agenda, where is the Christian agenda? Why are we so preoccupied with Islamic agenda threat? Christians should come up with their own agenda and prayerfully counter the Islamic agenda. We are the one who have the truth. We should not be afraid of being submerged by Islam.”

Drawing his message from the story of the Biblical Saul, Ore said, ‘Saul started well but ended badly. He was the not the sinner that many of us think he was. He was a humble servant of God and he sought after God. But with time he began to derail. He began to consult extraneous forces. He began to look out for what is not lost. That is the situation of many church leaders today.”

He decried a situation where pastors find it difficult to tell the truth to their congregation noting that “telling the truth often comes with a price. It comes with sacrifice. The truth can cause you your life. But it is the truth that will make you triumph at the end of age.”

Ore, who had been in church circle for decades, warned pastors against building their churches on miracles. “Don’t build the growth of your church on miracles. It could be deadly. Miracles may grow the church but it will not keep the church. It will not keep the people. Base your church on the word. Those who will stay will stay.  Don’t be afraid to speak the truth all the time.”

He admonished the massive gathering of church leaders to stick to the word of God. “We have come to a situation where we have to come together and encourage ourselves to go back to the old time religion. It is the faith that was delivered to our fathers. It is the faith that does not compromise. We are the answer to the darkness of this life. The gospel we preach is the answer. We should stop preaching ourselves and preach the kingdom. We should preach the word.”