Stewardship

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Sermons are about society, not salvation
This is a statement made by historian Fernadez-Armesto while recently accessing British religious interest in general.

While growing up as a young Christian, I was greatly influenced by the writings of many Evangelical ministers. As I had a sister who was very keen on reading Christian literatures, all you need do was look at a corner in the house and you might find a book by Dr John R. Rice or any other Christian writer. Those were days when evangelicals lived very conscious of the fact that Jesus will soon return for the saints. Then, books were about holiness, righteousness, and separation from worldliness unto godliness and so on, messages from the pulpit were fiery and soul searching. So intense was the atmosphere in those days that even the Nigerian Church, Anglican Communion could not withstand the heat, the ‘cold’ Anglicanism they practised met with the fiery power of evangelical Christianity and they were transformed to an Anglican Church with an Evangelical touch.

From this revival in Nigeria grew many of the present Pentecostal churches we have today. Churches that believe in a personal conversion experience called salvation, though they differ on so many other things, they nonetheless all uphold the experience of Salvation, requirement of holy living, and teachings on heaven and hell.

Scattered all over Britain and the rest of the world today are branches of these churches, unlike the traditional churches; they command a very large followership all over the world. Good as this may sound; a very close look at these churches will reveal a large-scale deviation from their original values. The messages have gradually shifted over the years from Holiness and righteous living to prosperity, material faith, miracles and all sorts of self development lectures. Pastors who once relied on the Holy Spirit’s help to lead the church now consult management books to run God’s church. Mission awareness has long been replaced by building awareness, in most of these places all that remains is the ashes of the fire that once burnt on their altars.

Time and again, I have heard African Christian leaders say ‘The British brought the gospel to Africa, now it is our turn to take it back to them’ implying that African Christians are the modern day missionaries to the UK and other western nations. An observer hearing this for the first time and with the intensity with which it is always said might think that these churches are very serious about evangelism. That I am afraid is however far from the truth.

The fire of revival has been put out by the water of materialism and compromise. Prayers for physical comfort have replaced those for the salvation of the world. A trip to any Christian bookshop today will leave the Christian who lived in the 50s dumbfounded. God’s word have so much been diluted with worldliness that a preacher might quote from the Bible in one minute and support it with a line from Tu-Pac’s song the next. Today, Born-Again Christians do not see anything wrong in going out with unbelievers, or a person whose life does not reflect Christ. In the words of Dr Tunde Bakare, we have a ‘mixed multitude’.

We cannot change the smallest nation in Africa with this attitude, not to mention influencing Europe and the west.

Had it not been for the presence of satellite Television, books and the internet, I would have thought that this problem is common only to Christians in my sphere. I have come to realise however that this problem is widespread in America too. In fact one might be tempted to say that material Christianity though made in Hell is assembled in America. The lifestyles of so many American preachers leave little to be desired. While I agree with Dr Jesse Jackson that ‘God is not through with us yet’ I cannot but wonder if we are even allowing God to start with us in the first place.

How can a church polluted with unrepentantly divorced, adulterous and money chasing ministers expect to change society? What is the difference between the secret life of an average atheist on the streets of Chicago and an acclaimed televangelist on Trinity Broadcasting Network? Please remember that Jesus is not American, and that a teaching is on God’s Channel, Rhema Network, Christian Broadcasting Network or any other Christian TV does not make it right. How can we expect to change the world if we have surrendered ourselves to be changed by the world? We are too materialistic for the world to believe our message.

Where is trust in the Church? Where is true agape love? We enjoy going from convention to convention but cringe at going the extra mile for the truth. Today we excuse sin and tell each other God is merciful. Ministers fight each other and make sermons out of it on the pulpit. A minister becomes popular and every other one wants to talk, walk and be like him, or how can we explain the many TD Jakes impersonators we see on Sunday mornings in our churches? Where is Christ in all these? Are we grooming a people who are going to face God in judgement and be welcomed into His kingdom or those who are sleepwalking into Hell?

When did Jesus become a puppet of the government as we see happen to ministers today in the various nations of the world? The coldness of the Anglican bishops in the British House of Lords to the various anti-Christ bills that are passed into law in Britain and the fact that so many Pentecostal ministers in Nigeria do not speak out against the evils of the regime they are said to be close to among many others, are confirming to many that religion is a tool of oppression and manipulation in the hand of the strong. How I wish that we will have a short lesson in European history and know that we are repeating what led Europe into a state of godlessness-the state perpetrating evil, and the church not speaking against it, but co-operating with it.

This must however stop! Let us go back to the basis of our faith; we are Born-Again because we decide to make it to heaven. Being born again is no guarantee for material wealth; even atheists prosper and die rich. The main reason for Jesus’ death is not to give us a good life on earth, but first to secure a place for us in God’s kingdom. He said ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you’ (I must confess that I have not heard that in so many months). Unlike what many of us believe, Jesus is not asking us to seek God’s kingdom as a means to prosperity, but that God’s Kingdom is an end in itself.

Western and especially the British society is what it is today not because the end of time is here and so every one slides helplessly to doom, but because the Church of England at one point left the unchanging principles of the Bible and started dancing to the tune of Godless politicians and the fallen nature of man. Today I see the Methodist Church following suit too. One cannot in a million years imagine that a Bishop would go to a reception and end up being drunk, to add insult to Injury that the church will still retain such a man as Bishop, but such is the reality of things in the Church of England today. That however is only a tip of the iceberg; I will not stop if I start to mention the issue of sexuality, gay clergy and so on.

Fred, a friend of mine used to say ‘we should not expect anything christianly from politicians’ but shouldn’t we expect some degree of Christ-likeness from our so called Born Again ministers too. The various evangelical churches in the west, especially those of African origin are not doing enough to spread the Gospel. Dear friends, I understand that we must work, make money and send money home. I understand that to make it here you must give it all it takes. But the question I want to ask you is this, if this is how the early Apostles acted, would the gospel have gotten to us? The Scottish missionary Mary Slessor sacrificed her life in Calabar Nigeria to stop the evil practise of killing twins at birth. Is it too much if you sacrifice your time to help her country men? Many of you are able to marry someone you love and not someone your parents forced on you (As done to our grand parents), because of the light of the gospel which the fathers of these present Brits brought to us in Africa, is it too much if you start living holy in order to be a witness among them? Won’t the blood of these early British Missionaries cry out for vengeance against us?

Finally, to our ministers, you have been at the centre stage enough, step aside and let God be seen. Remember you are going to give an account of what you preached, taught and practised to God! Are you building God a people or yourself an empire out of God’s people? Who told you that you cannot be replaced? The Angel that killed Herod has not retired and if Judas’ Bishopric could be taken from him and given to someone else, then you can be replaced! Take this as a warning from God, think, pray and make amends.

As a fellow brother, I agree that ‘God is not through with us yet’, but please submit yourself to Him and let Him work in your life. Humble yourself before God and stop exalting yourself above God. Speak the truth even if it will cost you your livelihood, or don’t you believe that God can sustain you? Do what is right, ditch those management principles you learnt from the world’s Babylonian system and let the Holy Spirit lead you though the Bible’s system of effective pastoring. Do not be afraid of losing members, teach the truth (which means you must search the bible more than you are presently doing in order to first know the truth for yourself) and believe God to expand it in people’s mind. The church is not yours, but God’s. Even if you are the founder, the people are God’s. And to my dear American prosperity preachers and Televangelists, your ever increasing quest for money is successfully killing the real message of Christ, Repent!

He that hath ears let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.

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