Nigerian Pastors Need To Be Born Again- Etcetera

“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 s*xual 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.