Monday, March 21, 2016

Warning to the Church of Christ

The gospel used to be 100% about Christ. In my father's time, it was just church logo and the cross on billboards. Christ was glorified and ministries were like what we had in the early church. Thank God for  pastors who have refused to have their image on church billboards thereby advertising Christ instead of self.

Church elders met monthly to plan, pay salaries to church staff; even the GO earned salary. Not even the GO or his wife kept the cheques. These days, church elders are mostly partners in crime or just figure-heads who are afraid to talk to the CEO.

There's a new kind of pentecostal movement where GOs are purely CEOs. On their billboards are two models with teeth whitened. It has ceased to be about Christ; it's now about how big the auditorium is. It's now about the number of people that attend your service, no longer about the number of souls that are genuinely transformed. Its now about who wears the longest cross pendant and whose is pure gold. It's now about the biggest "tither" and money-bag, no longer about the greatest soulwinner. Soulwinners are sent to back seats while moneybags with no life of Christ in them are given front seats. Branch pastors are now branch managers with monthly target to meet.

It's now about a CEO with wife as deputy and son as treasurer, with unborn daughter as board member. It's now about cajoling and manipulating God's people and putting fear in them for their own god-their belly.  In those days, my dad and many other pastors opened wide their doors, housing persecuted church members. My mom's kitchen was kept open for every member of the church to come in and get food to eat. What do we have now? Pastor drives pass a poor old woman in his church and feels she's not qualified to step into his posh ride. Even his church office is for a selected few. And so the poor has no one to cry to.

It's now about inviting a preacher, not because the Spirit led, but because the church needs money and so they need someone who can come in, shout, do all the acrobatics, and manipulate people into dropping as much as they can only for the host and guest to fight over the 60:40 ratio. It's about discussing honorarium and level of comfort before accepting to go minister to God's people. Like one that sent a piece of paper to me while I was speaking in his ministry, asking me to help raise money. In my usual style, I finished preaching and praying and "jejely" went back to my seat. He then asked if I got his message to which I responded, "I have not received the grace to raise money, I have the grace to give money". He never invited me after that day.

Oh Lord, congregations in rural communities, people who don't even have television and electricity to listen to sermons have been abandoned. It's about rushing to America and Europe to preach; God is not sending anyone to those impoverished Asian and African countries. The heart of Jesus is bleeding. He's being put on the cross a second time by those who should pacify His heart. 

The modern day pentecostal movement has failed woefully;  we have failed Christ!

Let God arise and glorify His holy name which we daily make mockery of. Let Him make available to those who genuinely desire to work for Him everything that is needed to win souls and spread the love if Christ.

2 comments:

  1. I wonder what comedians and actors r doing in d posters of churches• Infact here in abuja is now a norm• God is watching u pastor•

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wonder what comedians and actors r doing in d posters of churches• Infact here in abuja is now a norm• God is watching u pastor•

    ReplyDelete

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