Main Text:
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith”, (Romans 12:3)
Writer’s Quote:
Without the poor, the needy and the less-privileged, the office of a pastor is useless.
Introduction:
When in the year 2002, the writer raised an alarm on the activities of a secessionist leader, who pulled out of the Imo State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) with about eighty percent (80%) of its membership to form what is known as the Imo State Council of the Pentecostal Bishops and City Elders, little did many see the dangerous seed of un-holy style of ecclesiastical leadership which was sown within the leadership circle of the Pentecostal brand of the Christian faith. For, the allegation then was that this divisive leader was gradually becoming a despot, who also was in the habit of un-necessary self-importance, a leadership style which contradicts the principles of church leadership which Jesus taught and practiced, (Mark 10:42-45).
In fact, in an effort to save the Imo State Chapter of the PFN from the apparent devastation of that time, and to halt the inordinate ambition of the duo, since it was obvious that God was not the author of that divisive movement, the writer conducted a little investigation which proved that the cited leader of the secessionist association was not approachable, and his home not accessible to the people he wanted to lead. It was also discovered that both his home and office were always besieged by personal police, and so, it became impossible for the people to take advantage of the welfare packages the leader and his friends were promoting. Thus, the writer was left with no other option than to draw the attention of the people to the unfortunate situation with the following lines, “reflecting on the hierarchical order of this organization (Imo State Council of the Pentecostal Bishops and City Elders) which stipulates a tripartite ministerial blocs or categories, viz;
1. Ministers of 20 years and above in the ministry, registering with N5,000.00k (Holy of Holies),
2. Ministers of 10 years and above in the ministry, registering with N2,500.00k (Inner court), and
3. Ministers of less than ten years in the ministry, registering with N1,000.00k (outer court), I noticed that the facilitators of this body have carefully put in place an order that would put them in their Holy of Holies”. This, to me is an official establishment of the un-necessary self- importance already exhibited by most of the leaders of this body”.
Rhetorically, the writer went on to say, “how can that bishop or superintendent who lives in the “holy of holies”, whose office is un-approachable, whose home is un-visitable, and whose office is besieged by personal police truly run a welfare progamme for ministers who do not have access to him? This element of un-necessary self-importance is another factor that marks the porosity of the programme”. Sincerely speaking, with the aforestated remarks and other weapons of words in the cited article, the association under review is today feared dead or permanently made inactive, as the gospel ministers who were deceived into it had since rejoined the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PEN), but the evil seed of arrogance which results in unholy self-importance that was sown by the said defeated leader of the Imo State Council of Pentecostal Bishops and City Elders still persists in the Pentecostal leadership circle of the Christian Church, since the office and home of the present leader of the Imo State Chapter of the PFN, who allegedly had copied from him is nowadays besieged by personal police, and allegedly too hard to access. From the grapevine also, is the hint that an apex independent pastor-evangelist in the category of bishops, and a curse-breaking specialist in Imo State is at moment in the same leadership mess, as rumour from the church arena pictures as well, one of the foremost Charismatic Pastors, who hails from the Orlu Senatorial Zone of Imo State as one of those who are presently in the leagues of the self-styled Pentecostal, cum Charismatic Church leaders who now move about with security personnel, probably as a status symbol, yet with obvious implication of backsliding and lack of faith in the word of God, who promises to protect His people and all those who serve Him, (Luke 10:19); Having stressed the above, please observe that;
THE OFFICE OF A BISHOP IS A PLACE OF COMFORT AND PRAYER
If the church must remain the church of Jesus Christ, then, the rediscovery of the biblical principles of church leadership remains indispensable. For, throughout the Ministry of Jesus, the Bible shows His ever-flowing comfort and care for His disciples and the generality of the flock of God. Indeed, He was a man of God and a man of the people, who laid down His life for His brothers, sisters and friends, (John 15:13). With the foregoing in mind, one wonders why the present day church has became the opposite of what was put in place by Jesus Christ, which accordingly was followed up by His apostles. And, why is today’s leadership of the church not able to keep the balance? Here, the writer strongly affirms that something is really wrong with the present day leadership of the church, and not just the bishops, Pentecostal or orthodox.
However, this work seeks to x-ray the unbecoming, as well as unbiblical attitude of some Pentecostal church leaders, especially those in the Episcopal type of church government, namely, the bishops, as this section of the piece takes a look at the unscriptural way(s) most of them run their offices. In fact, it is disheartening to state here that while Jesus and His apostles were easily accessed by the people, the offices of most Pentecostal bishops are today fortified with heart-breaking inhibitions that make it impossible to get through. For instance, the many attempts by the writers to have seen the present leader of the Imo State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) for certain ministerial talks have always been fruitless, as many have also alleged that the inhibitions around the office of the cited bishop have often robbed them of his spiritual comfort and prayer. The story is allegedly the same with some Assemblies of God district superintendents, who serve in the Imo State division of the church, and are believed to be statutorily in the category of bishops. But, the writer’s personal experience with the late Archbishop Benjamin Nwankiti of the Anglican (orthodox) Church showed that his office was free and easily accessed, and if one may ark, are his successors serving the same way?
The office of a bishop, as indicated in this sub-unit of the write-up is supposed to be a place of comfort and prayer for the people of God, with no traces of inhibition, or discrimination. However, one may say, “these bishops have already mapped out days for counseling and prayer for the people”, why then is the writer accusing them of non-challant behaviour? The simple biblical principle is that the consecration of one as a bishop should bring one closer to the people, no matter the class they belong. But, the unfortunate thing today is that most Pentecostal bishops are “class-driven”, and have in their minds certain categories of people they want to visit their offices. A personal experience of the writer reveals that this “selective tendency” was demonstrated by the leader of the Imo State Council of the Pentecostal Bishops and City Elders in 2002, as the writer attempted to access his office for counseling and prayer for a given pastoral problem. In fact, the drama played out the fact that the bishop in his scale of preference decided to see the barristers first, the medical doctors second, the political class third, and the business tycoons fourth. To be candid, all those who were considered less-privileged and undesirable, including the writer, were never given a chance. In other words, the people that really needed the bishop’s counseling, comfort and prayer were not allowed to see him, and without any fear of contradiction, the writer strongly and biblically condemns such an unchristian style of church leadership, which has since taken hold of most Pentecostal bishops.
THE HOME OF A BISHOP IS A PLACE OF REFUGE FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD
The writer was surprised and shocked to the marrow in recent past, as he experienced an unforgettable humiliating-treatment from a pastor-friend, who is now a district superintendent of the Assemblies of God in the Imo State division of the church, who lives in one of the adjunct streets along MCC Uratta Road, Owerri, during a visit to his home. At the gate, it became very clear that the writer was dealing with a fortified premises in which the angels of God are no longer keeping guard, but human security agents with a “selective mandate” of a “deviant Clergyman” as to who comes into his compound or not. The summary of the story is that the writer was not allowed into his supposedly friend’s home, despite a prolonged explanation of self and purpose for the visit through a telephone conversation, and usually this insulting behaviour is often based on “class or ministerial distinction”, but always hinged on “security reasons”, as it may be informative to state that the cited experience is rampant at the premises of most Pentecostal bishops.
But, the house of a bishop is a place of refuge, since he is a spiritual father to all those he pastors, as well as those outside his congregation that may come up with spiritual or physical needs at any point in time, and it is certain that any person, rich or poor could be in either spiritual or material need at any time that may require that attention of a bishop. This is why the house of a bishop should serve as God’s place of refuge for the people, and by way of definition, a refuge, according to the Oxford Advanced Dictionary of Current English, is a building that provides temporary home for people in need of shelter or protection” This idea, therefore, forecloses the concept of making the homes of a bishop not accessible to the people in whatever guise, as it may interest the reader to note that the home of the late Archbishop Benjamin Nwankiti the former prelate of the Owerri Archdiocese of the Anglican Church of Nigeria was really a model of what the home of a bishop should be, hence it was a real place that administered comfort and help, without discrimination to the people, as long as it existed.
Yet, despite the worthy pastoral legacy of Archbishop Nwankiti of the blessed memory and some of the living like minds, many bishops, especially those of the Pentecostal extraction have haven to the broad way of arrogance and self-exaltation, instead of the narrow path of humility and love in the administration of the pastonage of the bishop, which they have allegedly copied from the aforecited secessionist leader of the Imo State Council of Bishops and City Elders, and those who share the same disposition with him. For instance, the allegation that rents the air today is that the bishop in charge of the Imo State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has made the gates of his home impassable, except for the category of people he considers worthy, by virtue of class or social status. The same remark is allegedly on the foremost curse-breaking preacher in Imo State, whose place of worship is close to Imo Concorde Hotel, Owerri, and from the rumour mill is also the gossip that the former assistance general superintendent of the Watchman Catholic Charismatic Movement of Nigeria, who now champions the campaign of an exclusive chosen generation in Nigeria and elsewhere is presently the topmost in the “class-distinction syndrome”, which hitherto denies the less-privileged entry into his home, all in the usual guise of “security reasons” Be it as it may, the reader should as well notice that:
THE IDEA OF PERSONAL POLICE AT THE HOME AND OFFICE OF A BISHOP IS NOT IN LINE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF THE CHRISTIAN PASTORATE
Every keen observer of the unfolding events in the church circle of today would readily attest to the fact that, it is gradually becoming a “status symbol” among the Pentecostal bishops in Nigeria as to who in their mist possesses what it takes to hire and maintain personnel police as security guards in their homes and offices. This pitiable state of mind and behaviour of some of these hallowed men of God that seems to stir-up in them an un-warranted sense of pride calls for concern as to what has really come over them, or the reason why they have suddenly forgotten that the presence of God is that only assurance of security (Psalm 127:1). If the cited scripture and statement are anything to go by, why then, are these acclaimed men of God, who once trusted God for protection today rely on the arm of the flesh for safety? Or is history repeating itself, as it was in the case Elah who often called down fire from Heaven, but later became terrified by the threats of Jezebel (1 King 19). What is really happening?
But, who can really protect one where the presence of God is lacking? If the bishops in question are now having a sense of self-importance, and feel they need protection, is it not the best to believe God for the desired security? Is it not a departure from the truth for one who once preached that God possesses the supreme power for safety, to now turn to human apparatus for help?
For instance, Pastor Lazarus Muoka of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Movement is one preacher who has convinced millions of the adherents of the Christian faith into the belief that his consecrated “yellowish apron” carries the power of God to protect from all sorts of evil, which hitherto has resulted in an unprecedented purchase and wearing of the material by members of his congregation and others, as well as hoisting same at their doorposts and other places of interest, for protection, and so, if the rumour that he now parades police security guards, at home, office and elsewhere becomes evident, how then, can one really believe in the efficacy of the said apron? Or, why has he not used it (the apron) to protect himself, his own compound, cars and other valuables from what he is now afraid of? And, if Evangelist (Dr) 0. Emmanuel of the Prayer and Solution Ground, Owerri, is really sure of the power he claims to frequently demonstrate in his curse-breaking programmes, then, the alleged parading of security personnel for protection shouldn’t have been considered. For, the power that can break-curses, if it is of God, can equally protect one from every other danger, unless one is no longer trusting God for safety, or that one is over-estimating one’s sociospiritual value before God and man, and by this, translates oneself into the pride of un-necessary self-importance. Therefore, from a biblical stand point, the office and home of a bishop do not require the services of civil police force, since Jesus, His Apostles and the Apostolic Fathers did not make use of them in their camp(s) and pastornage(s), but relied on God for protection or security, as well as opened-up same for the services of God to mankind. And, Bishop Maxwell Korie, the present helmsman of the Imo State Chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) should equally take note, as well as effect a change if the rumour that he is now among the bishops who today parade police guards for security is no longer a mere allegation.
In conclusion, let it be stated that, it is very rare for people, even criminals to go against bishops or men of God, unless where they are found not real to what they preach or where there is a noticeable breach of trust. And, if not on the basis of the foregoing, God is always faithful in vindicating His servants where they are framed-up. So, the Pentecostal bishops and others who think their security lies in the hands of police guards should have nothing to fear, if they have not defrauded anyone of their possessions or committed any crime against God and humanity. And, where reverse is the case, the writer thinks the best thing to do, is to repent and restitute, as this is the only way to bounce back to freedom. But, if the reason why the bishops under review use police guards in their homes and offices, as well as the restriction of certain people from getting into such places is informed by “class distinction” or “self-importance” they should, once again, heed the instruction of the Apostle Paul, “for I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith”, (Roman 12:3). Enough is enough, Pentecostal bishops in Nigeria and elsewhere should stop sending wrong ministerial signals to the younger generation. A
