By Adewale Adeoye
I’m not a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. But I think Mr. Adedamola Adetayo who condemned the church in a recent Facebook post after his tour around the Redemption City was wrong.
Adetayo in his piece overlooked and undermined the vision of administrators of the church which is their legitimate right.
He scratched the surface of the positive values of the church while focusing on appearances and assumptions. He expressed shock that RCCG has a retinue of armed guards and probably should have left the site for the Angels to guard
But he is oblivious of the scripture that instructs us to watch and pray. The emphasis is to first watch and then pray.
When King Herod wanted to kill Jesus Christ, God did not tell Joseph to just start praying. He asked him to take a flight to Egypt with the boy Jesus. And he did fly.
God is a man of science, art, and literature. He is also a man of peace and war. He was the commander of the soldiers of David. And he helped them to procure ammunition. David had cause to run after those who plundered his goods and his family. And the Bible tells us that he recovered all that the enemy took from him
God knows the value, strategy, and tactics of defense in a war situation. He is the greatest War hero and the greatest peacemaker.
Adetayo forgets so many things that are done to protect the state of Israel. He forgot so many steps taken by Israel and Saudi Arabia to sustain those countries as the world’s religious tourism hubs.
He forgot so many security put in place to protect the monuments from theft. And these are God’s own countries.
Why should RCCG leave the protection of its vineyard for God and prayers when God had given man wisdom to procure the necessary equipment to ward off invaders?
It will be foolishness for a man to pray and hope for food without tilling the soil.
Nothing wrong with monuments
There is nothing wrong with the monuments built at RCCG. King Solomon built mansions and houses of gold, through the Labour of mankind so also Egypt built mountains on earth through the sweat of men and women. They are today, some of the wonders on earth.
Baba Adeboye has built monuments that will stand for generations, monuments that will survive him. They were not built in his name. But in the name of an institution that will witness generations of successors long after Baba Adeboye is gone to rest.
It requires a lot of wisdom, a lot of energy, a lot of skill, and knowledge to build such monuments, one of the finest and most expansive vineyards in human history.
I think Adetayo should visit Rome and see monuments built with billions of dollars and sustained over generations.
Baba Adeboye does not need to live in poverty to establish his stardom. He has no business living like a pauper when God has built a city for him.
He was already a Professor before leading the RCCG, a man of immense knowledge whose wealth lay in his wisdom to control and be in charge of over 50 million people all over the world. He is the President of the RCCG country.
Our Lord Jesus was not a poor man. King David was one of the richest men of his time.
RCCG has transformed virgin land into prosperity, the institution has created jobs for millions of people all over the world and its preaching of Christian values is of inestimable contributions to human civilisations.
What Baba Adeboye has built is also a Faith driven tourist resort with 24/7 provision of light and water, good roads, medicare, green, clean, and lurch environment, something the Nigerian state, with all her resources, could not achieve.
Read also: How RCCG started with 13 people to become one of the biggest churches in Nigeria: https://churchtimesnigeria.net/how-rccg-started-with-13-people-to-become-one-of-nigerias-fastest-growing-church/
What government should do
A good government should be having constant constructive engagements with RCCG.
With millions of visitors trooping into the camp every year, It’s a huge resource avenue for the Nigerian Government if the political leaders are wise enough to know how to tap into this monumental achievement of the Church.
Mere construction of a toll gate on the Ibadan Lagos expressway will earn the state millions of Naira during each Holy Ghost service. The RCCG cannot help a Government that is not thinking.
I once visited a temple in Chiangmai Thailand. Each visitor must pay 1 dollar at the gate. The fund goes to charity and tax paid to the Government. I witnessed the same in Costa Rica, during a visit.
Many people from Asia, Europe, and the Pacific visit Nigeria today because of RCCG. If there is any dominion any black man has over the white or Asians, it is through the RCCG and a number of other religious sites.
Millions visit RCCG today the way they visit Jerusalem. Why should a people scorn such an enterprise? A good and wise Government would have built a Five Star Hotel near the RCCG headquarters. There is always the Economy of Faith which great nations explore to maximum advantage.
Scholars all over the world are writing their dissertations on RCCG. The RCCG is building hundreds of branches all over the world, creating jobs, if for anything, and creating something morally defensible about Nigeria’s external image, against our appalling reputation.
There are millions of Nigerians that live and sustain their lives from sales on the day of the Holy Ghost Service.
Church a blessing to humanity
The Church is not an impediment to human progress. It rather adds value to it. The RCCG has added value to human economic, spiritual, social, and cultural livelihood. It has not in any way diminished our humanity the way state institutions have done.
To say RCCG took land from the poor is preposterous. The villagers have lawyers. They are not illiterates. I believe there was diligent negotiation and due process before the land was sold.
We should focus on the rotten institutions of the state instead of throwing arrows against faith-based institutions. These institutions’ ability to thrive in our almost comatose country should be commended.
And to think they still continue preaching values is itself a miracle. If there are infractions on the law by RCCG, that is another debate. And that will be for another time. But we should not shy from giving applause where it is due.
