Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again” (John 3:1-7).
Pastors are supposed to be the conscience of the society. They are supposed to be God’s representatives here on earth. Like Elisha in the Bible, they are supposed to warn the people about the dangers of disobeying God and guide them to the path of righteousness. They are supposed to lead by example.
Today, some pastors are the problems of
the society. The lifestyle of some pastors is contradictory to what they
preach. It has got so bad that when a man introduces himself as a
pastor, he attracts immediate suspicion. Scandals and controversies have
eaten too deep into the church like an incurable cancer. Like electric
poles, churches are springing up all over the country and their general
overseers or CEOs are fast emerging as the richest men in the country.
Some Nigerian pastors represent their stomach instead of Christ.
Churches have been turned into banks and business centres with branch
pastors given targets for increased turnover by headquarters. Most of
these new breed churches only preach prosperity because preaching
salvation will impact negatively on the church’s GDP. Some of today’s
pastors, after their failed attempts at finding a means of livelihood,
hire a classroom and start a church.
Most Nigerians have been brainwashed to
see their pastors as angels of light instead of the men of lies and
hypocrisy they truly are. When I hear some of our so-called men of God
talking, I hear a well rehearsed speech delivered with sugarcoated
tongue. I see feigned sympathy and fake listening ears trying to milk
their unfortunate audience. I see people being washed, rinsed, dried and
ironed with rehearsed miracles wooing gullible Nigerians to their
churches.
To some pastors, the church is no longer
the stairway to heaven. It is more like the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to
wealth. No trick is too dirty to enslave their followers. While many in
their congregation cannot afford three decent meals in a day, pastors
convey offerings to their banks in bullion vans. They use offerings to
build schools their congregation cannot afford to send their wards to.
They cruise about town in their exotic cars, and jet off to spend
vacations in the most exotic tourist destinations across the world.
Jesus Christ fed the multitude with five
loaves of bread and two fishes (Matthew 14: 13-21). He could have
auctioned it to the wealthy and more privileged amongst the multitude
but he asked his disciples to share to all without discrimination.
Except for a few, the majority of pastors will not lift a finger to ease
the sufferings of the poor in their congregation.
It was in the news how two girls from an
Abuja church openly accused their pastor of having sexual intercourse
with them and his followers said, “Touch not my anointed and do my
prophets no harm.” A popular Lagos pastor has married and divorced more
times than the randy king of Swaziland and his followers said, “Touch
not my anointed and do my prophets no harm.” I wonder what a pastor who
cannot keep his marriage has to tell his members during their marriage
counselling classes. A popular UK based Nigerian pastor who was to be
arrested for tax evasion in the UK, fled to Nigeria to escape the
authorities and his followers said, “Touch not my anointed and do my
prophets no harm.” A flamboyant pastor in Warri bought a jet when people
in his community were displaced as a result of one of the worst flood
disasters to hit this country. And his followers said, “Touch not my
anointed and do my prophets no harm.”
Rev. King the self-acclaimed “god” and
“Jesus of our time” was arrested and charged to court for using a girl
for human barbecue. And the 69-year-old grief stricken father of the
victim lamented that he went to the church to see his daughter, and
followers of Rev. King denied knowing her. But one follower later told
him that she was Rev. King’s wife and was in the hospital. Getting to
the hospital, he found his daughter Anna Uzoh on the hospital bed
roasted. After a long inquiry, she revealed that Rev. King set her on
fire. And Rev. King’s followers said, “Touch not my anointed and do my
prophets no harm.” Apparently, Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Ikeja High
Court thought otherwise and sentenced Rev. King to death.
It was in the news sometime ago how a man
stole money and confessed to giving it as offering to a church. When
asked, the pastor said the money was given to God and can’t be returned.
Things like this can only happen in a society like Nigeria.
Pastors should be judged by their words
as well as their actions. This is a country where a pastor organises a
healing crusade for his members but jets off to the United Kingdom the
next morning for a medical check-up. In Nigeria, pastors pray and ask
God to protect their members but employ the services of bodyguards. It
won’t be a surprise when Nigerian churches get enlisted in the Nigerian
Stock Exchange for the public to buy shares. It is a fact that when you
scare people badly enough, you can get them to do anything. I wasn’t
surprised to hear that a South African pastor ordered his congregation
to eat grass, that it would bring them closer to God and of course, the
members obeyed and ate to their fill. We heard of how a Kenyan pastor
ordered all female members of his church to attend church services
without bras and panties for Christ to enter their lives. My brothers
and sisters in the Lord, do not be deceived by these pastors. Seek God’s
face, pray and read the scriptures and ask for the Holy Spirit’s
guidance and interpretation. The Bible says you should study to show
yourself approved. As I end this article, my prayer is that rapture
takes place on a Sunday during first service so that all fake pastors
will be caught pants down. Amen.
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