By Moses Oludele
Gary Maxey is a name well-known in the academic and theological community. He is a scholar, author and theological educator. He was, in fact, born on a theological campus in Nampa, Idaho, in 1948, as both his father and paternal grandfather were Bible College teachers and administrators.
He is passionate and thorough, one common trait of early Methodism he has imbibed. (He is a seventh-generation Methodist, by the way). He has been in Nigeria for the past 43 years as a missionary scholar, theologian and educator. Wesley International Bible College, which he helped found in 1989, now known as West Africa Theological Seminary (WATS) has graduated 3000 Africans.
There is no doubt that he loves God, but even more clearly, without any doubt, he loves Nigerians and Africans.
For a long time, I have always wished that a book needed to be written about the seduction of the Nigerian Church. I feel it, I see the need for such a book, and it is my great delight that Professor Gary Maxey and Dr. Peter Ozodo have done this nation and the Church in Nigeria an eternal favour and have placed us in their debt with this well-researched book.
When Christians tell me that a Great Revival is ahead and that we are on the edge of a Flood of the Spirit, I chuckled. Because I know that as things stand in the Church in Nigeria, and as long as reformation of certain things both in life and teachings of the Church is missing and wanting a revival is not only impossible, it is positively harmful and dangerous. “God does not revive heresy, he judges it”, as one of the Voices of Healing revivalists of America (1947-58) once said.
The Nigerian Church needs a reformation first and now… Before a Revival. Because we have been SEDUCED. This is what makes this book a compelling read for all leaders of the modern church in Nigeria.
Seduction By Who?
The word seduction carries some meanings that all gravitate toward the same end. It is translated from the word planoton, which means “to lead astray, cause to wander or deceive.” It is also translated from exapatao, which means “to beguile, deceive wholly.” This is the very word Paul used when referring to the deception of Eve by the Serpent in 2 Corinthians
Today these two accidents have befallen the Nigerian Church: (1) We have been beguiled and wholly deceived, and (2) We have been led astray and caused to wander. The perpetrators of these evils are our own men and women, aided by external forces. Some of them once preached against these very things for which they have now become the greatest advocates: money, materialism, power, compromise with the world, etc
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” (1John 2:19)
The Extent of Seduction
What is the central purpose of Christianity? Here is how you will know that we have been seduced. If you asked anyone that question in the 1960’s they would be embarrassed and shocked that you even asked. In the 70’s, Christians would unanimously give you an answer without fail. Even up to the early and mid-1980s, you would get a quorum of what the purpose of the Church and of Christianity’s main purpose on earth is.
Not so today. You may get as many answers as there are denominations, general overseers and Christians. We now have different and even diversionary directions as many as denominations and as diverse as General Overseers. To some, it is to make one wealthy, to make one prosperous, to some others, it is deliverance, healing, victory over enemies, success in business, power and fame in the world. In the good old days we were taught that the Christian is a pilgrim on Earth and Heaven is our eternal home, that the world is our enemy and we should steer clear of the spirit of the world, from love of money and covetousness, greed and materialism, and we should pursue holiness in life and conduct to escape contamination of the world.
We were taught that there is only one God and one Lord, King and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is deserving of our honour and adoration and blessedness. We saw ourselves as brethren, and even members would call the leader of their fellowship simply “brother” for we were all brothers and sisters. We did not know any enemy other than flesh and Satan and the world, and praying against enemies both real and imaginary, now a fad among churches, was unheard of. We love people because we love God, Who created them in His Image. Even the other side knew and agreed that what we had was genuine. A prince of one of the most important thrones in Yorubaland, who was a Muslim, and a classmate confessed to me that he always love to be around me and sit near me on campus because he always felt fine whenever he was around me. Even Muslims testified that we were different and they respected us for it.
We knew of Faith in God the Provider and the Healer, and some of us saw amazing and dramatic deliverances, conversions wrought by simple faith in God. We were simple like a little flock of Christ, but our simplicity was our beauty and glory. The prayer meetings of those days were really prayer meetings. Answers came dramatically and suddenly.
Today, the story has changed. Today, another spirit has entered the Church through men whose ambition and greed have derailed the Church. The serpent has entered because we have broken the edge, and the serpent now bites us both in the nation and in the Church.
This began or has its origin in the early 1980s, but became prominent with the advent of certain emphasis in certain ministries in the late 1980s. Most of the Christian ministries ruling the waves today debuted in the 1980s. Christ Chapel (1983), Living Faith Church (Winner’s Chapel) 1983, Sword of Spirit Ministries (1983), Latter Rain Assembly (1988); MFM (1988), as well as several like Name of Jesus Ministry (1988), Agape, etc.
It was also that year of 1987 that something significant happened: the establishment of the Model Parish of RCCG that departed essentially from the original frame and practice both in dressing and manners from the original understanding of what RCCG used to be as laid down by the. founder to attract the upwardly mobile members of the public. This singular effort would have long-lasting, serious, and unforgettable implications on the body of Christ in Nigeria because, for once, it introduced something into Christianity that wasn’t ever thought of since the days of Constantine: two- two-tier system within the same body.
In addition to all these was another major factor. The unimpeded and unceasing inflow of literature tailored along prosperity theology into Nigeria, and which a substantial portion of the ministries of the 1980s imbibed almost hook, line and sinker without critique or concern. The inflow of preachers and teachers of Faith and prosperity unceasingly into Nigeria, with the American theology coloured and packaged in the consumerist model and profit motive of Western Capitalism. It came through the air on television as many American televangelists swooped on our airwaves preaching the gospel of abundance and prosperity; it came through the sea through Christian literature that, for some of them, is neither Christian nor literature, and finally, it came through preachers who came here to teach us what the “gospel” is. And the worst of all, it came through our own men and women who had been made and created in the image of American gospel because they were trained and tutored by them, foremost of these and at the very center of it is Benson Andrew Idahosa and several who follow and are still following in his footsteps in the Pentecostal Movement.
Tulsa, Oklahoma, became the new Mecca of Nigerian Pentecostalism. Rhema Bible Church Campmeeting in Tulsa by Kenneth Hagin became the annual pilgrimage of Pentecostal pastors, and attendance is the sign of orthodoxy and belonging and a badge of arrival. Both pastors E.A. Adeboye, David Oyedepo, Emiko Amotshuka, Chris Tunde Joda, etc, have performed these annual pilgrimages, especially when Dr. Hagin was alive.
Rev. Hagin is a good man and a true prophet and teacher of the Word, and it was my pleasure to exchange correspondence with him a couple of times; some of the precious letters I treasured in my file today are from him. Unfortunately, as is often the case, many of the ministers, proteges and even students who passed through his Bible College did not have his spirit, his consecration and his depth and commitment to Scripture and even his love and passion for God.
America is one major reason for the corruption and derailment of the true Gospel in Nigeria, but America alone cannot share the blame.
One other major factor entered the equation in the 1980’s which ultimately changed the Gospel as we have known it. A spirit of empire-building and ambition entered the churches as each sought to outdo the other and have a reputation among the saints. Intense proselytising, even among Christians, to lure them to ministries that are now many, rather than going out to the unchurched, became rife. Poaching of Christians from other churches became noticeable. Up to the early 1980’s no one bothered about “stealing” sheep from other churches or bringing them to your own. And no one suspected anyone of such motives. Deeper Life Ministry once used the premises of RCCG at Ebutte meta in their early days and even used the Anglican Church at Murtala Road when the Ilorin branch began. Both Oyedepo’s then Faith Liberation Hour Ministries ( the original name at inception) started at ECWA Youth Chapel on Ahmadu Bello Way in Ilorin. No one suspected each other, and the belief that we are all working for one purpose to the Glory of God permeated everyone. Until the late 1980s.
A spirit of self-seeking, ambition, territorial expansion, empire empire-building entered the Church.
The very first tragic effect of this spirit was that it entered the campuses as each denomination began to call out their students apart to form a student denomination group, thus weakening the force and authority of the Christian Unions, which had been a vanguard and spiritual bulwark against evil on campuses. With the divisions and segmentation along denominational lines came the diffusion and loss of authority among Christians on campus. When unity is compromised, authority is depleted. It is specifically at this time that secret societies and campus cults began to have the upper edge, causing atrocities on our campuses.
The authority of the Christian Unions – the same fellowship that nurtured the pastors and general overseers during their campus days – became depleted, and they could no longer handle the spiritual challenges of the campus as they once did. Now our campuses are full of student fellowships as many as there are denominations outside. The same confusion in the town has been brought inside to the gown. The havoc and the consequences of this singular step are unimaginable. Deeper Life was most notable in this, followed by the Redeemed Church, and now it is total. An idea has died.
This is possible because a new idea came into Christianity: crave for success, results, Church growth and profit motive. Everything is measured in terms of numbers and profit. This brought another dimension into both the Church as an enterprise and the gospel as marketing. If the church is an enterprise, then pastors are entrepreneurs; if ministry is a business, albeit, kingdom business, then profit is more essential because all businesses exist for profit. And if profit is the motif, then marketing is essential. But if the gospel is an article to be sold and preaching is marketing, then you must present only the good side of the product and de-emphasise the not-so-good side.
It is here that we began to have a problem. The Gospel became coloured and tinkered with. It was then that Jesus became a physician for all maladies, including greed, covetousness, emotional imbalance and a provider of all things and a reliever of all temptation once He is “accepted”. It was here that repentance, conviction for sins, restitution left the vocabulary of the Church. Instead, we began to hear only what Christ will give you and do for you once you accept Him. Just confess and accept Him, and all is forgiven. No getting rid of sin, no repentance, no sorrow for sin…no restitution for sins… Just confession and receiving. At least in marketing, you have to be seeker-sensitive and buyer-sensitive; you must try not to damage the seeker’s sense of self-esteem. Another term that came from America into the Gospel stream of Nigeria: self-esteem, self-respect, etc.
Those earlier topics of the Gospel that Christ Himself hammered like self-denial, cross-carrying, consecration, renunciation, righteousness, etc., were dropped from the vocabulary. Instead, we were bombarded with prosperity, success, money, riches, wealth… Every message began with money and what money could do, or tailored towards it.
The mighty power of God was reduced to the power of a floating currency. Every meeting was accompanied with vows, pledges, and fund-raising… Because we were now nurturing an institution of men rather than the church, and all institutions require money. It was here appointment and promotion in churches and into the offices of the Church became factored and determined by contribution and bank balances. It was here and from here the poor became disinherited in the church, although this was not publicly admitted.
This was where the compromise started. This was where we began to go wrong. This was where the Gospel began to be diluted and the philosophy of Apostolic Christianity began to be compromised. Today, in a city, you will see several ministries, sometimes three occupying the same building, yet in the nearby village, not a single one. This is the effect of the profit motive and marketing, seeing the gospel as an enterprise. In the village, no one would pay tithe or give mouth- watering sum, hence it is not viable. Their souls are not worth saving.
Thus, when Gary Maxey declared,” I say it with deep sadness but also with conviction: the Nigerian Church has been seduced. As a result, what it has to offer to the rest of the world is a gospel shaped not exclusively by the scriptures but also by decades of seducing spirits. We are worshipping a golden calf. There is an undeniable surface beauty about the Nigerian Church, but there is a dire need for not just a spiritual revival but even much more for a scriptural reformation without which genuine revival may never come,” ( pp.17&18). He was declaring the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
So far, I have expressed my own opinion as a participant historian of the Nigerian Church who is at least aware of these things, but from now on I will allow the book to speak for itself.
Meet me next week on the same page for the second part of the Review..
[ To be Continued]
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August 23, 2025
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