CHURCHES BECOMING BUSINESSES.
PREAMBLE:
Whenever writing about a topic, I am very circumspect. And when it is about
the Church, I am extra careful. This is because IT IS THE BODY OF CHRIST. Therefore, any action or inaction that
will adversely affect CHRIST’s Body (the
CHURCH) will not go unpunished by God. And since it is the Body of Christ, one
expects the Church to be decent, diligent and holy. In fact, Christ is coming
for a spotless Church (His Bride). Therefore, the Church is supposed to be
chaste and upright. The Church’s main aim is to be a Vessel for Christ, through
the Holy Spirit, to build a spotless group who would be with Christ when He
comes for His Second Time to destroy all kingdoms to establish His (Kingdom).
Jesus foreknew that His Church was likely to compromise on her main vision by
focusing on Business/trade/commerce
(money-making institution) and turning the House of God into Wall Street. He
therefore had to ‘’cast out all them
that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves’’ (Matthew 21:12). Oh,
listen to what Christ said in verse 13:
‘’And said unto them, It is written, My
house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of
thieves.’’
Of course one would say “But doing business in the House of God predates
Christ’s coming to this world, physically.’’ Yes, it is true. In fact, He was
referring to Isaiah 56:7 in Matthew 21:13. But Christ was emphatic: His House
must be used for genuine purpose. It should never be a ground to make money and
even the individuals, who come together to form the Church are warned, without
number, to abstain from “the Love of Money.” In fact, God used Paul to tell us
why. “For
the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they
have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
(1 Timothy 6:10)
If the Church was not susceptible
to veering off her core mission; which
is missions (i.e soul winning and
building a spotless Bride for Christ) and entering into commerce/trade/business, Christ wouldn’t give a stern warning. This
is not to say that money is not relevant. Not at all – money is important. It
plays a role in even the Church’s missions. However, when the Church seeks
license/permission from the State/Government, via Incorporation, in order to
operate (as we have seen in the cases of USA & Ghana), the situation
becomes bad. It is worsened when they give less
to no attention to their core
mission and rather enter into income generating ventures, competing with other
secular business, turn the Church into business, the pastor into the C.E.O, the
leaders into board of directors and the members into shareholders, the sick and
the troubled into customers. Worst case is when in the meetings of these
Churches, members pay consultation day is booked, and consultation fee paid before
seeing the pastor/prophet, with paraphernalia (i.e. handkerchiefs, stickers
containing the pictures of the pastors/prophets, holy water, water from Israel
or bore-hole, etc) sold at exorbitant fee to the members.
In this piece, we shall be
looking at the how some Churches have veered off the track and ventured into
business. This is not to subject the Body of Christ to public ridicule – it is
intended to expose the errors so that we repent and return to our Core Mandate,
which is Missions. Welcome to the
age of Prosperity Gospel, when churches are constructing MEGA high-tech
sanctuaries, when pastors are building opulent houses and driving expensive
vehicles as a result of their high earnings, and when churches are finding
“innovative” ways and means to collect tithes, offerings, and gifts; when
Churches seek tax exempts and license from the State/Government in order to
become rich and exist, respectively. Welcome to the age of spiritual compromise
through the Love of Money. Jesus said “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew
28:19-20. Sadly, the Church has lost
focus.
I must make haste to add that, we are to
correct one another in Love, else we all go down the drain. Just as I expect
other believers to correct me in love when I err, I should do same in Love when
others err. This message is therefore done to correct the error that many
pastors/churches have committed or are committing by turning the Body of Christ
into Money-making machinery.
CHURCHES
ENTERING INTO BIG-TIME BUSINESSES
It is imperative to state that, some
of the under listed preachers might have earned their wealth, genuinely, a
sizable section of them did are just extortionists, siphoning and fleecing the sheep, and once-in-a-blue-moon dash out few
papers to the poor, as if they are charitable. It is wrong to conclude that all
of the under listed pastors are in for wealth. I will not make such allegation.
It is however of great importance to bring to the fore what these pastors are
doing or not doing, which have made them or their churches to be classified
among the upper class.
1. THE CASE OF USA
Luisa Kroll, Forbes Staff, wrote
in her “Mega-churches, Mega-businesses,” that “Maybe churches aren’t so
different from corporations.” And who says she’s wrong? She got it right. Any
Church which has been
Incorporated (under
501c3 as in the case of USA, Trustee Incorporated Act, Act 106, or its
Amendment as in the case of Ghana) has ceased to be a Spiritual Body and become
a Legal entity, a Corporation, an artificial person, which can sue and be sued.
(You can read more on this at
CHURCHES IN GHANA BECOMING BUSINESS (THROUGH LAW)
AND
THE WOES OF AMERICAN CHURCHES (501c3))
Now, let’s take first Pastor
Creflo Dollar of World Changers Ministries. They operate a music
studio, publishing house, computer graphic design suite and owns its own record
label. He is said to have an estimated net worth of US$27 million; it is also claimed that he owns multi-million dollar
apartments and air-crafts. His church is said to have over 30,000 members;
however, how can he justify raising US$60
plus million for a gulfstream jet rather than raising that money for the
poor and needy across America, the world,…or let us say…even within in his own
congregation. Moreover, other church leaders such as Bishop Thomas Dexter Jakes
(T. D. Jakes), Benny Hinn, Bishop David Oyedepo are also multi-millionaires
owning collectively assets valued more than the economies of many countries.
These evangelists and more all preach this “prosperity gospel” message where
they put gullible church members into a spiritual trance causing them to throw
their money at churches in order to become wealthy themselves. This message is
also called the “first fruit” where the more you sow initially, the more you
will get in return. This sort of “wall street evangelism” will always lead to
corruption and more “break-away” churches falling in the same trap. Many of these
break-away churches will find some small crevice to “start-up” their services
by some vocal leader, and the cycle will continue indefinitely. You know any one
can become a pastor, bishop, reverend, or apostle at the blink of an eye lid.
Bishop T.D. Jakes of
Potter’s House also has a record label as well as a daily talk show, a
prison satellite network that broadcasts in 260 prisons and a twice-a-week
Webcast.
New Birth Missionary Baptist Church
has a chief operating officer and a special effects 3-D Web site that offers
videos-on-demand. It publishes a magazine and holds Cashflow 101 Game Nights.
Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, which recently leased the Compaq
Center, former home of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, has a four-record deal and
spends $12 million annually on television airtime.
Billy Graham: American evangelical
Christian evangelist, William Franklin “Billy” Graham, Jr., has a net worth of
$25 million. The Southern Baptist evangelist rose to celebrity status as his
sermons started getting broadcast on radio and television. Graham was born on a
dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina in 1918, he has conducted many
evangelistic crusades since 1948. He was a world renowned televangelist raking
in millions of dollars before his demise.
Kenneth Copeland: He runs Kenneth
Copeland Ministries, was one of several televangelists whose finances were
investigated from 2007 to 2011 by Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.
According to an article by the Associated Press that ran in 2008, “His
ministry’s 1,500-acre campus, behind an iron gate a half-hour drive from Fort
Worth includes a church, a private airstrip, a hangar for the ministry’s $17.5
million jet and other aircraft, and a $6 million church owned lakefront
mansion. The article later added that while Copeland has not released
up-to-date salary statements, “the church disclosed in a property-tax exemption
application that his wages were $364,577 in 1995; Copeland’s wife, Gloria,
earned $292,593. It’s not clear whether those figures include other earnings,
such as special offerings for guest preaching or book royalties.”
Benny Hinn: Israeli
Benny Hinn is best known as a televangelist. His TV show ‘This Is Your Day’ is
broadcast around the world. He hosts well attended regular events known as
‘Miracle Crusades’ in major cities. He is said to be worth $42 million.
Here are some excerpts of her
note;
“Welcome to the mega-business of mega-churches,
where pastors often act as chief executives and use business tactics to grow
their congregations. This entrepreneurial approach has contributed to the
explosive growth of megachurches–defined as non-Catholic churches with at least
2,000 members–in the U.S. Indeed, Lakewood, New Birth, The Potter’s House and
World Changers, four of the biggest, have all experienced membership gains of
late. Of course, growth for them has a higher purpose: to spread their faith to
as many people as they can. “In our society growth equals success,” says Scott
Thumma Scott Thumma , faculty associate at the Hartford Institute for Religion
Research. “And religious growth not only equals success but also God’s blessing
on the ministry. In 1970, there were just ten such churches, according to John Vaughn
John Vaughn, founder of Church Growth Today, which tracks mega-churches. In
1990, 250 fit that description. Today, there are 740. The most common trait
that these churches share is their size; average number of worshippers is
3,646, up 4% from last year, according to Vaughn. But they also demonstrate
business savvy, with many holding conferences (47%) and using radio (44%) and
television (38%), according to a 1999 survey conducted by the Hartford
Institute for Religion Research. The average net income of mega-churches was
estimated at $4.8 million by that
same survey.
Churches are exempt from income taxes. But in some cases they do pay an
unrelated business income tax on activities not substantially related to the
church’s religious, educational or charitable purposes. (Churches do pay
payroll, sales and, often, property taxes.)’’
*Catholic
churches are not tracked for this study. This
is all 2003 attendance data and represents total weekend attendance for
each congregation. Source: Dr. John N. Vaughan, Church Growth Today
Church
|
Attendance*
|
City, State
|
Pastor
|
Lakewood Church
|
25,060
|
Houston, Tex.
|
Joel Osteen
|
World Changers
|
23,093
|
College Park, Ga.
|
Rev. Creflo Dollar
|
Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa
|
20,000
|
Santa Ana, Calif.
|
Pastor Chuck Smith
|
The Potter’s House
|
18,500
|
Dallas, Tex.
|
Bishop T.D. Jakes
|
Second Baptist Church
|
18,000
|
Houston, Tex.
|
Dr. H. Edwin Young
|
Southeast Christian Church
|
17,863
|
Louisville, Ky.
|
Bob Russell
|
First Assembly of God
|
17,532
|
Phoenix, Ariz.
|
Dr. Tommy J. Barnett
|
Willow Creek Community Church
|
17,115
|
S. Barrington, Ill.
|
Bill Hybels
|
Calvary Chapel of Ft. Lauderdale
|
17,000
|
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
|
Pastor Bob Coy
|
Saddleback Valley Community Church
|
15,030
|
Lake Forest, Calif.
|
Dr. Rick Warren
|
TECHNOLOGY
She acknowledged that “Technology has
played a vital role. This is what she wrote: “Technology also plays a large role
in helping these giant churches communicate with members and keep track of
them. Many provide a transcript of the weekly sermons and an events calendar on
the Web site as well as sell products, such as books and CDs. They also allow
members to post prayers and donate online. Almost all (99%) have Web sites.
“Cell phones, e-mail, complex phone systems and the Internet all enhance the
way mega-churches work,” says Thumma, faculty associate at the Hartford
Institute.
Helping churches grow is a business in itself. There is even a publicly
traded company, Kingdom Ventures, whose sole mission is to help faith-based
organizations get bigger. In its latest 10Q, the company did disclose that it’s
received a subpoena from the Securities And Exchange Commission relating to its
stock and transactions. Founded in 1999, the tiny company operates 12
subsidiaries and claims to work with 10,000 churches on everything from
fundraising to event planning (it provides speakers and artists for events) to
upgrading technology by helping sell new audio and visual equipment and sound
systems. “One of the reasons mega-churches are as big as they are is because
they use the technology of today,” says Kingdom Chief Executive Gene Jackson
Gene Jackson, “We can help smaller churches become big with technology.”
The motivation is not about making
genuine disciples for Christ, but rather increasing the numeric/numbers, which will eventually translate into
increase in the revenue/money. She also observed that......
“If that doesn’t help, they may steer folks to a new book they are
about to publish: PastorPreneur,
which is hitting Christian book stores. The
book teaches pastors to think like entrepreneurs; for instance, encouraging
them to set up strategic partnerships with non-church groups and to use event
marketing to draw in new members.”
Don’t forget that, when treating Church Incorporation, one of the major
points was that, Churches adopt business strategies, instead of Christ’s
laid-down rules, in their operations. She continued....
“For a lesson in marketing, religious leaders would do well to study
the success of Bill Hybels Bill Hybels and his Great Barrington, Ill.-based
Willow Creek Community Church. In 1975, he and members of his student ministry
went door to door asking residents what kept them away from church. Hybels then
crafted his services to address their concerns, becoming one of the first
pastors to use video, drama and contemporary music in church and encouraging a
more casual dress code. “Hybels really showed that churches can use marketing
principles and still be authentic,” says Michael Emerson, a Rice University
sociology professor who has studied mega-churches. Willow Creek, which has a
staff of 500 full and part-time employees, is renowned for its conferences and
seminars that teach other churches how to market themselves as well as for its
“buzz” events, featuring well-known personalities such as country singer Randy
Travis Randy Travis, NASCAR Champion owner and former Washington Redskins coach
Joe Gibbs and Lisa Beamer , widow of Sept. 11, 2001, hero Todd Beamer –all
intended to attract non-church goers.”
MEDIA
She also noted in her article
that: “Media has helped spread the
message, particularly for Lakewood Church, the largest mega-church in the U.S. In 1981, Joel Osteen, son of
then-pastor Joe Osteen, quit college to set up his father’s television
ministry. The services eventually aired in 140 countries. He also advertised
Lakewood on local television and on billboards throughout Houston where the
church is located. After his father passed away in 1999, Osteen became pastor
and expanded the church’s media strategy.
Like most churches, Lakewood’s broadcasts had been relegated to the
very early Sunday morning shows. Lakewood instead decided to target the top 25
markets in the nation and negotiate for timeslots on the four top networks
between 8 A.M. and 10 A.M., rather than working with just one network. It also
agreed to increase its budget for airtime to $12 million from $6 million. Its
program now can be seen in 92% of the nation’s households.
Never satisfied, the church analyzes its media strategy each quarter.
As for the services themselves, Lakewood makes sure to put on a grand
show. It has a 12-piece stage band, a lighting designer to set the mood and three
large projection screens. The technology will be even more spectacular when it
moves into its new home in the former Houston Rockets’ stadium “We really want
it to feel like a concert,” says Duncan Dodds, Lakewood’s executive director.
Something is working: Church attendance has grown from 6,000 in 1999 when
Osteen became pastor to 25,060 today.
Pastor Rick Warren, who founded Saddleback Church in Lake
Forest, Calif., in 1980, has deftly used technology as well as marketing to
spread his message. His Pastors.com, which reaches 100,000 pastors worldwide
each week, has e-mail forums, archives of all of his sermons from the past 22
years and a place to post prayer requests. He also sends a free weekly
newsletter, Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox, to pastors. When it came time to
launch his book, The Purpose Driven Life
in 2002, Warren used Pastors.com to invite churches to participate in a “40
Days of Purpose” event (to correspond with the book’s 40 chapters). The
40-day-long event attracted 1,562 churches and was kicked off with a simulcast
broadcast to all those churches. Some 267 radio stations ran a “40 days
campaign” during the same time period. And a CD of “Songs for a Purpose Driven
Life” featuring well-known Christian artists was also released. From the start,
the books and CDs were distributed in mass-market retailers such as Wal-Mart ,
Costco Wholesale , Barnes & Noble and Borders Group . It quickly became a
New York Times bestseller and has already sold 5.8 million copies, outselling
Billy Graham and making it one of the most successful book promotions in
Christian publishing history.
No doubt, churches have learned some valuable lessons from corporations. Now maybe they can teach
businesses a thing or two. Companies would certainly appreciate having the
armies of nonpaid, loyal volunteers. “The business world would love to have
that kind of fellowship,” says Vaughn.
Now,
below are also excerpts of an article carried by CNN, worldly corporation. You see, even worldly institutions know
that there are some areas that are a ‘’no go’’ to the Church – that is, a
Church entering into business and adopting worldly modules and strategies. Yet
so many churches have gone there, or, on their way going there. Just take a
look at what CNN wrote...
“...The Lakewood Church which Osteen is in charge of has a yearly budget of
more than $80 million, but church officials deny that it's about money.
"We hear the criticism a bit, but we don't hear it as much as you think we
would," Donald Iloff Junior, advisor for Lakewood Church said.
"One thing you find very absent is the asking
of money and never once have we asked for money or donations on
television." However, some critics argue that it's hard to be both a
pastor and someone in charge of a yearly budget in the tens of millions. "When
you have pastors thinking of themselves as CEOs, it's hard to tell the
difference between a pastor and P-Diddy," Jonathan Walton, Assistant
Professor of religious studies at the University of California Riverside told
CNN. The way the sermon is told at these mega churches has also completely
changed. "The plasma screen TVs have replaced crosses, Power Point-like
presentations of the words of songs and liturgical practices have replaced the
hymnals," Walton said. "This really resonates with a younger
generation." The average age of a mega church worshipper is 40 years old
-- 13 years younger than at a traditional church. Mega church worshippers tend
to not only be younger, but also more diverse. "One thinks of them as a
homogeneous group of white suburban American, but in fact when you go to most
of the mega churches, you're going to find diversity of age, income and
education levels," Thumma said. "You can also find racial diversity
because in almost 30 percent of these mega churches across the country, you
have 20 percent or more integration of ethnic groups so it really is quite
staggering." (Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/21/religion.mega.church.christian/)
This is what Paul Howey wrote in his article, When a Church becomes a business:
“It’s far worse than most professing Christians have imagined.
Because a Christian church is incorrectly thought of as a place, a
service, a building, etc, and not the called out people of God that it really
is (the Ekklesia), most people assume that a church needs to be organized and
managed by a CEO (disguised as a shepherd). They end up with a worldly business
disguised as a church fully equipped with a worldly military chain-of-command
hierarchy (Senior Pastor, Executive Associate Pastor, Associate Pastors, Music
Pastor, etc,). This is pure rubbish as it is nowhere to be found in the Bible.
It is impossible to “go” to church or “have” church. That is because
Christians ARE the church. We can only BE the church. This is 24 hours a day, 7
days a week and is not something that we can turn on and off like a light
switch. Popular Sunday “once-a-weekism” is absolute nonsense. The church is to
meet daily wherever they can, usually house-to-house. Anywhere we go, to our
jobs, to the store, wherever, there the church is because we as Christians are
the church. Christianity is far simpler than most professing Christians try to
make it seem. In so many words, Paul the Apostle said that he was concerned
that as Eve was deceived by the serpent that some have departed from the
simplicity that is in Christ.
Today "the church" jumped out of a van on the way to work to
help a little old lady who was shivering in the cold. This is because a
Christian jumped out of his van to help that dear woman with her needs and to
preach the Gospel to her, showing the love of God in action in tangible
reality. This is the church in action. Theatrical stage shows, pulpit-pew
lectures, music concert churches and Broadway-like productions passed off as
the real church assembling are ludicrous at best.
The popular yet monumental misunderstanding of authority in the church
is probably the biggest problem driving the false church system. The main
problem is with the people that the Bible calls "Nicolaitans", those
who Christians ALLOW to conquer and suppress them. (From the Greek, the word
"nico" means "suppression or conquering of"
and "laos" is where we get the word laity which means people).
In Revelation 2:6 and 2:15, Jesus said that He hates the practices and teachings
of the Nicolaitans.
Not surprisingly, most Nicolaitans refuse to acknowledge and admit that
they are Nicolaitans. They make the false claim that no one can really know
what a Nicolaitan is or is not. Most just quote a popular fairytale that the
word means a follower of the mythical heretic Niclaus. Not so. The truth is we
know quite clearly exactly what the word means and exactly who these people
are. Plus, it doesn't make any sense that Jesus would mention something
that He hates and then never let us know what exactly that He was talking
about.
Today there is no shortage of those who want a counterfeit Saul to be
king over them and there is no shortage of Nicolaitans who want to be that king
in the place of Christ. (By the way, The definition of an antichrist is one who
opposes Christ and/or stands in His place). At least God told Samuel to appoint
Saul as king. Even though God was displeased with the fact that Israel wanted a
man as king instead of Him, he still authorized Saul’s appointment. Today’s multitude
of counterfeit “Sauls” have no such authorization from God. They are
self-appointed and people powered. Here’s why we know that they are counterfeit
leaders (they may be real Christians but they are false pastors):
- All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matt 28:18).
- Jesus alone
is the Head of the church (John 5:26-27, Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:18).
- God does not
permit Christians to have controlling authority over other Christians in
the church (see Matt 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45, Luke 22:24-27, 1Pet 5:3,
Matt 23:8-12, etc.).
- We do not
have multiple special high priests over us. There is only One High Priest,
Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 3:1, 4:14).
- We have One
Master Christ and we are all brothers (see Matt 23: 8-12).
- You cannot
obey two masters; you will love the one and hate the other (Matt 6:24,
Luke 6:13). You simply cannot obey Jesus as master and a pastor as master
at the same time.
There is a big difference between genuine behind-the-scenes loving
elders who stand firmly for sound doctrine and admonish the Body of Christ to
obey the Bible compared to a Nicolaitan one-man show who teaches his own agenda
and draws men away to himself through manmade teachings and traditions.
For there to be any hope for any church to navigate through the ever
worsening apostasy that is upon us, now more than ever, Jesus alone must be
recognized as the One solely in charge and His Word the Bible must reign
supreme. That is how it was always supposed to be, at all points in church
history, but that is not how it has been, and that is certainly not how it is
today.”
Again, in Roger E. Elson’s “Should
Christian organizations adopt the business model?,” written in October 29,
2011, he gave astonishing testimonies and made salient observations based on
his experience. He wrote this when he was done with (Christian) University
colleges adopting business models and was touching on Churches doing same:
“What about churches?.....Okay, I’ll go on! I have been a member
of about 12 churches in my life and I have attended and served as interim
pastor (etc.) at others. Both my wife and I have served on church
staffs. Increasingly I hear pastors referred to as “employees.” And the process of acquiring them is called “hiring” rather than “calling.”
And they are expected to function as presidents
of the organization underneath the
church moderator for example or chair of the deacon board or whatever who
functions as the CEO of the church. Look at these churches’ organization flow charts and
you’ll recognize the business model at work. One church was run by a
group of three trustees who could override any decision of the “Executive
Council” (elected by the congregation) or pastor or deacons or
congregation! (This was because of a state law that mandated that every
corporation, even nonprofit ones, have trustees; somehow this church’s group of
trustees gained total power over the congregation.)”
Note, although making salient point, what Elson failed to understand is
that, any Church with any of the above-stated traits/characters (C.E.O.,
President, Board of Trustees, hiring, flow chart, etc) is no more Christ’s
Church – it has become the State’s/Government’s (instead of Christ’s) Church
because it has become a Creature of the State (instead of Christ), an
artificial person/organization (instead of natural organism), a legal (instead
of spiritual) entity, which can sue and be sued and answerable to the State
(instead of being answerable to Christ who is THE HEAD). Therefore, he was
working in a
Corporation, and not in
Church. Refer to our article on
Church Incorporation at
http://warningchurchgetprepared.blogspot.com/2015/11/churches-in-ghana-becoming-business.html
AND
http://warningchurchgetprepared.blogspot.com/2015/03/501c-3.html).
He continued.....
“An elderly widow died and left many thousands of dollars to the
congregation. The trustees took the money and tied it up in an endowment
to pay choir members who were not members of the congregation. Only the
interest could be used. In the meantime the church could not afford to
pay its youth pastor and let him go. Needless to say, the church was
dying.
Of course, most churches are not that dysfunctional, but my point is
that following a business model (which may even be outmoded according to the
latest business “gurus”) changes a church from what it was intended to be (which is Christ’s Church) into
something else (a Corporation/Business).
The congregants often become the customers
and the pastoral staff, including the lead pastor, report to a “personnel committee.” (NB: Emphasis bolded in brackets mine). He
also gave this testimony......
“I was a member of one Baptist church where the personnel committee and the
“Board of Stewarts” asked the entire pastoral staff to resign without charges
against them. They simply wanted to “start over with a clean
slate.” The congregation demanded to know why and very little response
was forthcoming. When the congregation threatened to vote against it, the
“stewards” (like deacons) lined up in a row, facing the congregation and said
they would all resign if the congregation did not approve their plan.
Again, not all churches following a business-like model are that dysfunctional.
(My wife and I walked out of that business meeting and never returned to that
church after the congregation reluctantly voted to fire the entire pastoral
staff including the youth pastor who had just moved his family from Hawaii to
that Midwestern state months earlier to be youth pastor of that church.)”
This clearly confirms what some
of us, by the grace of God, have been telling Christians: that many Churches
have become mere buildings and even
though they meet in the name of Christ, they have dposed Christ and have become
a business/corporation with strategies, models and modules which are written,
adopted and taught by the secular world.
Olson then nailed it in his conclusion.....
However, my argument is that “church,” “ekklesia,” was never intended by Christ
or the apostles to be a business in the modern, capitalist, consumer-oriented
sense. (Of course they have to be businesses in the strictly legal sense
to have papers of incorporation for tax purposes.) Theologian Emil
Brunner wrote a wonderful little book entitled The Misunderstanding of the
Church where he argued that the church should be “fellowship” rather than
“institution.” The institutional side of the church should be its “outer
side” driven and determined by its “inner side” which should be the
fellowship. Something goes terribly wrong when the institutional aspect
of the church drives everything. That may not be the case yet in most
churches (or Christian organizations), but if the drift toward the business
model continues it may become the case to the loss of many things essential to
being Kingdom of God driven communities.” (Source:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/should-christian-organizations-adopt-the-business-model/)
It is for this reason that I
stated in previous articles that, the first step the Church takes in turning
from Christ’s Church and becoming State’s/Government’s Church and for
that matter a business entity or a
Corporation is seeking Incorporation
(License to become legal entity and to enjoy benefits, tax exempts, duty
waivers, etc) from the State/Government. After that, the church’s activities, actions
and inactions become financially-motivated – done in tandem with how secular
enterprises operate.
Joe Ware, Church & Campaigns
Journalist at Christian Aid, tried defending “Why the church is good for business.” He stated that “....In many
parts of the country churches are actually a friend to good business and
innovation and are actively helping private sector job creation.” Can the Church work together with the
State/Government without becoming compromised in one area or the other? Your
answer is as good as mine! Inasmuch as there might be some level of truth
in his point, one thing rendered his point unbiblical: Christ never asked His Church to turn herself into business venture.
2. THE CASE OF AFRICA, ESPECIALLY NIGERIA
& GHANA
Before I start with Africa’s version, let me share with
readers what John Agaba, a Journalist witnessed in 2013 All-Night in Kenya.....
“On New Year’s Day, I was disturbed, and
really, when I made my way to Nakivubo Stadium .(This is about 20,000 capacity stadium,
renovated in 2013) to
catch the national prayers to usher in the New Year and standing by the gate
was this maid who looked me up and down before asking me for an entrance fee.
The prayers were organized by Bishop David Kiganda of the Christianity Focus
Ministries
Perplexed, I looked at her, in her face. “Are you “edited” kidding me?” But, of course, I didn’t say that. The young
woman was serious, “You pay sh3, 000. If you don’t have it, get out of the
line.” I couldn’t believe my ears. But when I hesitated, some rather
‘mugged-up’ guy reiterated, “Man you pay, if you don’t have money, get out of
the line, you are holding up the queue.” I glanced at the other entrance, chaps
were busy paying. I “edited” out
some ill-looking notes totalling sh3,000 (about US$ 1.00 anyway, but is a
substantial amount in Uganda) and paid.
I wouldn’t have paid, except that I’m a journalist and had been commissioned by
my editor to cover the prayers. Inside the stadium, thousands, and mark my
word, thousands, were immaculately listening to pastor after pastor, like they
were waiting for the coming of Jesus. Of course, at times, they lifted their
arms to the air in prayer or rose to their feet and sang along with the pastor.
They filled up more than half of the main field. Some were lined up in the two
pavilions. It was a night of prayer.
But as I roamed through the crowds, and listened to pastor Joe Kirya from
Canada shout to the crowds to ‘praithee the looord’ for the good he had brought
onto them in 2013, I couldn’t help trying to estimate what amounts of money
such a mammoth number of people had contributed to the bishop’s pockets.
Somehow my mind switched to the returns issue. This was a big crowd. And
everyone in here parting with sh3000 to enter, it was definitely huge chucks of
money, all for one pastor or bishop or whoever was in charge of the gate
collections, and in a space of one night.
But then more was to come. As I strolled there musing over how some individuals
can make quick backs, the pastor from Canada, name, suddenly asked the masses
to sow their last ‘seed’ of 2013.
This was money. He was asking them to pay their last tithe of 2013, before they crossed into 2014.There were maids
all over the place; you would know them by the uniformed 97. 3 Kingdom FM
t-shirts they were donning. They moved around distributing envelops, the
envelops where the congregation deposited their last ‘seeds’ of 2013, and then
handed them back to their original bearers.
And chaps paid. Some women could be heard talking “God has seen me through a
lot this year. I have to thank him.” And this was ‘taken advantage of’ by the
pastor who, I don’t know if he was reading their minds, encouraged them to
think about all the good that the lord had done for them that year, 2013.“Some
people started the year when they had cars, now they don’t have them. Some
started the year when they had houses; the houses have been taken by banks.
Think about what the lord has done for you,” ‘preached’ Kirya. And while I was
thinking, really? Is this not broad day robbery? (Much as it was approaching
midnight) Bishop Kiganda, the host bishop himself, took to the stage or pulpit
to be accurate. And like his protégée, also asked the masses to sow a seed. But not the last seed, the first seed
of 2014.
Kiganda came to the pulpit approaching that midnight hour everyone was waiting
for. And what a compelling man he is! Moving majestically, on stage, and
emphatically, and speaking with such energy in his voice, he charmed the
masses, but like all pastors do.Then the clock struck midnight. Then there was
the national anthem. And just like that, 2013 was over.
After the clock struck midnight, everybody in the stadium rose to their feet.
They sang. They raised their arms to the air. They ululated. Some started
crying, tears of joy. They were happy. Was it not the hour they had been
waiting for. There were fireworks. And Bishop Kiganda’s voice could be heard
cutting through all the merriness.
But after this ‘captivating’ interval, Kiganda roared, “Now you have to sow your first seed of 2014. And not just any seed. A
seed that you will plant into the soil and it germinates into a beautiful and
healthy tree.” The man of God was
asking children of God to pay their first tithe of 2014. Then the maids
with envelops resurfaced. But what was special about this session was that in the same envelop you deposited your
first ‘seed’, you also included a note of the requests you wanted God to do for
you in 2014, your prayer requests.
After the congregation had jotted down their prayer requests and stuffed them
into the envelops, together with their first ‘seeds’ of 2014, Kiganda asked
everyone to raise into the air their envelops and held a special prayer for
them.
Call it crafty, canny, mischievous or whatever you want, but it surely worked.
Almost everyone raised an envelope containing both their first ‘seed’ of 2014
and their prayer requests. And Bishop Kiganda prayed for them, that God should
fulfill all their wishes “written on those pieces of paper you put in that
envelope.”
Like earlier, the envelops were collected into sacks by the maids. Kiganda
promised to keep praying over them until the people in the congregation called
him by his cell and asked him to stop praying that God had granted them their
requests.He read out the same mobile number to people who were not present in
the stadium but were watching the event on Tv so they can send their first
‘seed’ on mobile money.As I watched the events unfold, I could not help
thinking how it was so very easy to make money, but at the same time very hard.
Here were thousands of people, some
broke like me, enriching a man who was already rich. I tried doing the
maths, calculating what he could have pocketed from the gate collections, and
the sowing of the last ‘seed’ and obviously the first ‘seed’ and it was lots of
money, all collected in one night.
Well, the Bishop had prayed for them, but I later saw him drive off in his
‘huge’ car meanwhile I shuffled with those who had collected money for the
bishop on foot as we concluded the prayers and headed out of Nakivubo stadium.”
(Source: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/651298-do-you-really-have-to-pay-to-enter-church.html)
My point? If this thing is going on in the name of God, how
would the Church convert the World? Now, let’s look at some of the richest
pastors in Africa, especially in Nigeria and Ghana. Millions of souls,
desperate for financial breakthroughs, miracles and healing, all rush to the
church for solution. God is good, especially if you're a Nigerian pastor with
some business savvy. And while the bible expressly states that salvation is
free, at times it comes with a cost: offerings, tithes, gifts to spiritual
leaders, and a directive to buy literature and other products created by men of
God. Pastors are no longer solely interested in getting people to
Heaven; they've devised intelligent ways to make good money while reaching out
to souls. They are in for business. This is, as I have stated early, not to make mockery of the Church,
leaders and the members. It is to let people know what is happening in these
churches and be advised. Giving is not bad; but when it becomes compulsory,
forced on the Church members (directly or indirectly) just to enrich the pastor
and a selected few, then there should be a cause for worry
Today, pastors fly around in private jets, drive
fancy cars like Daimlers, Porsches and BMWs, don Rolexes and Patek Phillipes,
and own breathtaking mansions all over the world. The first blogger who did
some works on these pastors confirmed that he wrote in May about Nigerian
pastors owning private jets and was “bombarded with emails from readers
requesting to know the richest pastors in Nigeria. So I set out to investigate
the assets of some of Nigeria's most prominent pastors, and I came up with
conservative estimates of their fortunes. I contacted representatives for all
of the pastors and all except Matthew Ashimolowo's representative confirmed
ownership of the assets I list. Representatives for Pastor Ashimolowo did not
respond to my emails."
Let’s consider some Pastors/Churches in Africa.
Bishop David Oyedepo
Affiliation: Living Faith World Outreach
Ministry, aka Winners Chapel. His estimated net worth is $190 million. David
Oyedepo is Nigeria's wealthiest preacher. Ever since he founded the Living
Faith World Outreach Ministry in 1981, it has grown to become one of Africa's
largest congregations. The Faith Tabernacle, where he hosts three services
every Sunday, is Africa's largest worship center, with a seating capacity of
50,000. Oyedepo owns four private jets and homes in London and the United
States. He also owns Dominion Publishing House, a thriving publishing company
that publishes all his books (which are often centered on prosperity). He
founded and owns Covenant University, one of Nigeria's leading tertiary
institutions, and Faith Academy, an elite high school.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
He is the founder and lead pastor of Believers'
Loveworld Ministries, a.k.a Christ Embassy, with branches in Nigeria, South
Africa and many other African countries, including Ghana. Other branches are
also in London, Canada and the United States. His estimated net worth is $100
million - $120 million. . His publishing company, Loveworld Publications,
publishes 'Rhapsody of Realities,' a monthly devotional he co-authors with his
wife. It sells over 2 million copies every month at $1 apiece. He also owns
television stations, newspapers, magazines, a hotel, a fast-food chain, and
more. Many other Nigerian pastors are similarly building multi-million dollar
empires from their churches. He was reported to be at the center of a $35
million money laundering case in which he was accused of siphoning funds from
his church to foreign banks. Pastor Chris pleaded no wrongdoing and the case
was eventually dismissed. His church, Christ Embassy, boasts more than 40,000
members, several of whom are successful business executives and politicians. It
is alleged that he diversified interests include newspapers, magazines, a local
television station, a record label, satellite TV, hotels and extensive real
estate. His Loveworld TV Network is the first Christian network to broadcast
from Africa to the rest of the world on a 24 hour basis.
Prophet Temitope Joshua
His net worth is estimated to be between $60 million
and $80 million. Nigeria's most controversial clergyman is also one of its
richest and most philanthropic. T.B Joshua heads the Synagogue Church of all
Nations (SCOAN), a congregation he founded in 1987, which accommodates over
15,000 worshippers on Sundays. The Pastor has remained controversial for
several years for his inexplicable powers to heal all sorts of difficult to
cure diseases, including HIV/AIDS, cancer and paralysis. For miracle-craving
worshippers, it's the perfect seduction. The church currently has branches in
Ghana, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Greece. In the past three years,
he has given over $20 million to causes in education, healthcare and
rehabilitation programs for former Niger Delta militants. He owns Emmanuel TV,
a Christian television network, and was close friends with late Ghanaian
President Atta Mills.
Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo
As founder of Kingsway International Christian
Centre (KICC), he is worth a net of $25 million - $50 million. In 1992,
Foursquare Gospel Church, a Nigerian church, sent Ashimolowo to open a
satellite branch in London. But Pastor Matthew had other ideas and decided to
set up his own church instead. Today, his Kingsway International Christian
Center is reportedly the largest Pentecostal church in the United Kingdom. In
2009, the church posted profits of close to $10 million and assets worth $40
million. Ashimolowo earns an annual salary of $200,000, but his real wealth
comes from varied business interests including his media company, Matthew
Ashimolowo media, which churns out Christian literature and documentaries. Ashimolowo's
representatives did not respond to a request confirming his net worth and
ownership of all these assets.
Chris Okotie
He is the leader of Household of God Church. It
is estimated that his net worth is between $15 million -$25 million. Pastor
Okotie made his first success as a popular pop musician in the 80s. He found
the light, embraced the bible and set up the Household of God Church, one of
Nigeria's most flamboyant congregations. His 5,000-member church consists
predominantly of Nollywood celebrities, musicians, and society people. He
contested and lost Nigerian presidential elections for the third time this year
under the Fresh Party, a political party he founded and funds. An automobile
lover, he owns a Mercedes S600, Hummer and Porsche among several others.
(Source: http://www.modernghana.com/news/492280/1/nigerias-top-5-richest-pastors-and-how-much-they-a.html)
Dr. Mensa Otabil
Dr. Mensa Otabil is the founder of International
Central Gospel Church (ICGC), one of the biggest charismatic churches in Ghana.
The church was officially inaugurated on the February 26, 1984, in Accra. The
first meeting was held in a small classroom with a total of twenty people. Dr
Otabil is highly credited for turning the fortunes of many Ghanaians around
with his precise and talented teachings from the Bible. Just as ICGC began to
witness rapid growth across the country, the Central University College, the
church’s central business arm, was born. It is the second private university
established in 1988 in Ghana to offer pastoral training after Valley View
University. Now, it has campuses spread across Greater Accra. Central
University currently charges GH¢1,700 as tuition fee per semester, has its main
campus at Dahwenya near Prampram, whilst the first campus is still located at
Mataheko in Accra. Today, the university is regarded as one of the best private
universities in Ghana offering business, science and technology courses as well
as the arts. With an ambition to help grow Ghana’s economy financially and
economically, Dr. Otabil is alleged to be a strategic shareholder of non-bank
financial giant, First Capital Plus. He is also on the board of a number of
institutions including Starwin Pharmaceutical Company, a listed company on the
Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). Even though it is difficult determining the exact
worth of Dr. Otabil, he is considered by many as a wealthy millionaire.
Bishop Charles Agyin Asare is the
founder and presiding bishop of the World Miracle Church International and his
source of wealth has been linked to proceeds from the sale of his books,
believed to be over thirteen books. He is regarded by many as a missionary
statesman. He has preached the gospel in 40 nations of the world with the
manifestation of signs and wonders. Some of his crusades have reached over
100,000 people in a single night. Dr. Agyin-Asare has had the pleasure of
addressing audiences ranging from presidents of nations to ordinary citizens.
He is the senior pastor at the church’s headquarters which is one of the
fastest growing and largest local churches in Ghana. He has three kids with his
dear wife Rev. Mrs. Vivian Agyin-Asare.
Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams is known in many parts of
the world as the “Apostle of Strategic Prayer.” He is the General Overseer of
Christian Action faith Ministries, with over 100 affiliate and branch churches
located in North American, Europe, Asia and Africa. He is also the Founder and
President of Prayer Summit International. It is not for a joke that a private
bank decided to open a branch on the premises of Duncan Williams’ Church.
Indeed, the bank operates on Sundays to take care of church proceeds. Papa
Duncan has not hidden his good taste for affluence which can easily be noticed
from his talk-of-the-town designer suits and flashy fleet of cars. Anointed in
the ministry of prayer, healing and the prophetic, his teachings have touched
countless lives over the past 32 years. He has a lot of politicians in his
church. Archbishop Duncan-Williams has been used by God to counsel and speak to
world leaders of various nations. These have ranged from several presidents to
scores of ambassadors, ministers of state, members of parliament, and law
makers across many continents. He hit media headlines sometime ago with the
divorce of his long time wife and his later marriage to Rosa Whitaker (Africa’s
richest woman who started her first business at age 24. As founder of The
Whitaker Group (TWG), she is also credited as being the architect of the
African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the US government’s first
comprehensive Africa trade policy).
Arch-Bishop is reported to have said he was a very expensive pastor. He is
believed to have said that because of his expensive lifestyle, he refused to be
intimidated by rich people in his church.
“No matter how rich you are in my church, I will not allow you to
intimidate me with your wealth because you cannot even buy the perfume I use
not to talk of the attire I wear,” he told the congregation at one of his branches located
at Abrepo, Ghana. He stated that God had blessed him to the extent that his
children were schooling in one of the best institutions in America, attended by
the children of both government officials and the well-to-do in that country. The
man of God, who claimed to have international connections that extended to the
White House, noted that it was not out of place for men of God to be rich and
also enjoy the very best of life. This, according to him, was because God, the
creator of heavens and mankind, was expensive, hence the kingdom of God and the
streets of heaven are made with pure gold. Archbishop Williams therefore
admonished Christians to work above themselves in all fields to enable them to
live expensive lifestyles to the glory of the almighty God. “As a Christian,
you should wear the best of clothing, drive in expensive cars, and live in
comfortable houses so that the glory of God could be seen in your life because
the God you worship is very expensive,” he intimated.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills is the
overseer of the fast-growing church in Ghana, Lighthouse Chapel international,
which has over 1,000 branches and is on every continent. Its headquarters in
Ghana, the Qodesh, is undoubtedly the largest church building in Ghana.
Heward-Mills has written close to a hundred
Christian books which serves as teaching and learning materials for his
congregation worldwide. His source of wealth has been linked to his books but
if we should go by the theory that pastors are paid through tithes, the
congregation of his church alone should give a clue as to what lands in his
bank account monthly.
Reverend Gideon Titi-Ofei
Another name that made it on the rich pastors
list is Reverend Gideon Titi-Ofei. He presides over a multi-faceted ministry
known as the Titi-Ofei Ministries and varied entrepreneurial ventures known as
the Titi-Ofei Group, an amalgamation of top-flight educational institutions
including the Graduate School of Governance and Leadership (GSGL), the African
Management and Productivity Institute (AMPRO), a top-flight executive provider
that provides quality and affordable short-term training to middle to top level
management; Leaders Factory, the biggest annual emerging leaders conference,
and the Strategic Leadership Meetings, a community-based leadership development
programme. He is the president of the Pastoral Leadership Institute (PLI), a
contemporary pastoral leadership training centre, the president of the League
of Pastors, an apostolic ministry that provides covering for emerging pastors,
and the Convener of Momentum, an annual international congress of pastors and
church leaders.
As a leadership development consultant, Rev.
Titi-Ofei, in the last seven years, has mentored and trained over eight
thousand leaders from varied backgrounds including political, corporate,
business, pastoral and traditional leaders.
Rev. Sam Nii Korankye Ankrah, the “Apostle
General,” (as addressed by the public) of the Royal House Chapel, heads a
thriving charismatic church that has its headquarters in Accra and a network of
branches in many countries. The headquarters holds three services on Sundays,
with each having close to 10,000 people in attendance. His children school
abroad and he lives in a palace-like mansion at Sakaman Estates in Accra.
Among his fleet of cars News-One has sighted
include a Cadillac 4x4, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, a Toyata Land Cruiser V8
and a Mercedes Benz ML.
He is on record to have explained his source of
wealth as this: “We are blessed and we cannot deny that. The blessing does not
only come by means of money but it comes through people that follow us. For
example, I have a club in my church called the Kings Club. It is made up of
very high-profile people who are doing something in society. Now every month, I
pray with them and let them know that God has placed them in their positions so
that they can serve people and serve mankind and so on.
Say I have 500 people in the club and it is
Christmas or my birthday or my wedding anniversary, by Ghanaian customs and
traditions where we honor our fathers, how much do you expect these people to
give me? I will not lie to you; say to the whole world that I say that by our
position as men of God, we definitely attract blessings of which includes
money, but for me it is the following and the people which is more important
and the more we serve them, the more they show us kindness at the least
opportunity. It is not calculated and intentional; we do not work out these
things. It is simply traditional, cultural and humane.”
Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo founded the Kristo
Asafo -Christ Reformed Church on the 3rd February, 1971. On that fateful
day, the then young Kwadwo Safo had a divine call to serve the Almighty God. As
a result, he started preaching the gospel single-handedly. He won his first
convert, Madam Faustina Akua Darkoah who has been very instrumental and
resourceful at the infant stages of the missionary work of Apostle Safo in
1971. Auntie Faustie testified that this Man of God who now lives in the pool
of wealth and luxury was once a very poor man. Like most of his predecessors, he
climbed the ladder from poverty to not only wealth but fame. He is now the most
famous icon in the eyes of many Ghanaians and Africans.
Beginning
Apostle
Dr. Kwadwo Safo started from a humble beginning. Life was so cruel to him in
all endeavours. Wanting to tell the world that God has called him, poor Kwadwo
Safo started the church in his suffocating and extremely small single room in
Accra Newtown, Ghana. Having won some few converts he started teaching in his
room every day as if the people had been hypnotized to serve the Lord in this
hot uncomfortable room at all cost.
Apostle
Safo went to Ghana House in Accra to preach the word of God regularly. Sensing
more vigour, power and divine wisdom in his words, a lot of people trooped in
to listen to his divine preaching. This kind of activity went on consistently
until the first branch was established at the Ghana County Preparatory School
in Accra Newtown. Several branches were formed in Accra and at a point in time
the propagation of the Good News has to go beyond the confines of Accra. With
his Gospel Singers, he had to travel outside Accra in search of money and work
to fulfill God’s promise. He travelled to Kumasi and started preaching from
Bompata through Kwadaso to Old Tafo, New Tafo to Bantama and Agogo. He won many
converts but most of them could not stay because life was difficult and feeding
himself and his converts was a challenge to the infant Kristo Asafo.
Investments:
Apostle
launched and led an intensive agricultural revolution in his church when in
1983 Ghana experienced the most intensive and prolonged drought in remembered
history with ravages of wild fires that swept through the entire country.
Safo
Nyame Coldstore Limited is a dealer in frozen food in Ghana. Established in
1999 with a workforce of 5, the company has grown tremendously over the years
and has become the main supply hub of frozen food within the Kumasi metropolis
and the surrounding towns and villages. It currently has a total workforce of
70 personnel.
Incorporated
as a private limited liability company in 1991, we have emerged as one of the
biggest names in the transportation services industry in Ghana. Our CEO,
Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo has conceived the idea of establishing a transport
service company, and yes, he did, and today Imperial Express has come to stay
and is continuing to grow beyond its boundaries. In November this year (2015),
his cars are on the market for sale. The Great Kosa Clinic was established in
1987 to respond to the health needs of the society and to treat common diseases
using African healing methods and traditions in a modern clinical environment.
Apostle
Safo School of Arts and Sciences (GREAT ASSAS) was established to provide
excellent education with achievable outcome to the community. ASSAS in partnership
with parents and the community, is dedicated to educating students from a
variety of backgrounds through the collaboration of highly qualified teachers,
rigorous data-driven instruction and student-centred activities. These
initiatives enable students to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to
succeed in an ever-challenging society in a safe and orderly environment and a
climate of high expectations.
(NB: Felix Dela Klutse, Samuel Boadi did some works on some of the these Ghanaian pastors and I did secondary research on them)
Ebenezer Adarkwa Yiadom
Prophet Ebenezer Adarkwa Opambour Yiadom is the leader of the
Ebenezer Miracle Worship Center in Kumasi. He is on record to have the largest
church building and largest congregation in the Ashanti Region, Ghana's most
populated region. His church auditorium takes a capacity of 18,000 and gets
filled on Sundays, with people standing outside. The church also has branches
in Sunyani, Accra, Tema, Takoradi and other parts of the country.
Opambour is the owner of Radio Mercury, a Kumasi-based private
radio station and he would launch his private television station by the end of
this year. He has also built a hundred-building estate which he has christened
Island City. In 2008, Opambour spoke of his wealth and denied that he charged
money before he prayed for people: 'I have never done that before. It is never
true. On Tuesdays I do counseling for
free and I do not charge anybody. I will use your medium to challenge anybody
that has ever given me money for consultation to come out and speak. On Wednesdays, we have another church
service, during which offerings are paid just like any other church. We start
from GH¢50 upwards. It is not compulsory
and only for those who can afford.
'What happens is that we pray for all those who give offerings
and I invite them to my house for counseling, after which I give each of them a
bottle of anointing oil and give them divine directions on how to use
them. We also give the oil to anybody
who pays offering; even if it is GH¢1. I rather give money to my church
members. It is true I have good cars because you do not expect me to walk on
foot to do God's work, so as for cars I have got a lot of them; and very good
ones of course. No one gets a good car and says he does not like it. I do not
have a Hummer; I have never owned one. I have two Chryslers, about two of the
latest models and other different types of good cars. It is also true I own a
radio station.
'I
bought Radio Mercury in Kumasi to do God's work; I bought the station, the
entire building and the land on which the building is situated and paid cash
for it. So I am not rich but very blessed by God and I do not lack any good
thing. Mind you, I use my blessings to help those who do not have.'
Bishop Daniel Obinim
As founder and leader of Since
the year 2004, the church has been firmly established at Kwabre Kenyase Bosore
as the headquarters. The church has eight (8) branches at the moment and is in
the process of establishing more branches across the length and breadth of the
country. The branches are Accra, Tema, Koforidua, Asante Akim Agogo, Konongo ,
Sunyani and Obuasi. (
Source: https://www.facebook.com/Bishop-Daniel-Obinim-166471886737270/info/?tab=page_info).
He has been involved in a series of
controversial issues. It ranges from storming an fm station in Accra and
damaging the consul (though after some months later, court acquitted him),
infidelity, etc. He is said to have kicked a woman on the tommy so as to make
her pregnant (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psNSAwD6bRQ);
asked church members to give and after that decided to give some lotto numbers.
See the video via this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46xqb6UjAqM. He is worth millions.
There is a litany of Prayer Camps
that time and space won’t allow me to talk about. Here are but a few of them, MOGPA
By Rev. Osei Bonsu, popular known as “OB,” Hebron Prayer Camp By Elder Donkor, Resurrection
Power New Generation Church By Rev Anthony Kwadwo Boakye, Bethel Prayer Camp, Achimota
Forest, etc.
CHURCHES OPENING UNIVERSITIES & ENTERING INTO REAL ESTATE IN
GHANA
Somewhere in April this
year, 2015, the Methodist Church came out that they couldn’t service a loan
they contracted/secured from the bank(s) towards the Methodist University
College (MUC); therefore, they were going to levy all church members across the
country. This was the story.....
Methodist
Church seeks bailout to pay debt of its university
The Most Rev Prof. Emmanuel Asante —
Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana
The Methodist Church of Ghana is seeking an urgent financial
bailout from its members across the country to support the church’s university,
the Methodist University College (MUC) in Accra. In that connection, the church
has compulsorily levied all its societies to pay between GH¢2,000 and GH¢70,000
or more, depending on the size of the society, to help defray a huge debt
sitting on the books of the MUC. The university, which is said to have
contracted a loan of about GH¢1 million from a bank some two years ago to
undertake what was described as an expansion project, has defaulted in paying
the amount, which has accumulated some huge interest.
According to some sources within the church, the superintendent
ministers had been tasked to ensure that their congregations helped to settle
the loan or risk being denied their salaries. The sources said the various
churches had been given up to the end of the year to ‘cough’ out the levies. The
announcement to that effect, which was given on Easter Sunday, indicated that
the Dansoman Circuit alone, which is made up of about seven different
societies, is expected to pay GH¢181,191 by the end of the year. In the
Dansoman Circuit, there are seven big societies and six smaller ones, described
as nurseries.
Breakdown
The biggest society within the circuit, the Mount Olivet
Society, is expected to pay GH¢60,000 by the end of the year, while the Bread
of Life Society at the Dansoman Exhibition Roundabout has been tasked to pay
GH¢42,000. The Bethel Society is to pay GH¢17,000; Maranatha, GH¢13,500; Grace,
GH¢7,000, while J.C. Mensah Memorial will release GH¢7,300, with Ebenezer
paying GH¢6,000, while Ebenezer Down will also pay GH¢3,000. The nursery
societies have been levied GH¢2,000 each, while the Circuit Office will also
pay GH¢13,391.20.
Effect on development
The levies on the churches are expected to drastically slow down
the many development projects that the various societies have either embarked
on or are about to start to improve infrastructure, among other things. Presently,
some of the societies which heavily rely on the benevolence of their members
are in a fix on how to ensure that members pay up by the deadline to prevent a
freeze on the salaries of their superintendents and stall the projects which
are at different stages of completion.
Members angry
Some
members of the societies expressed outrage at the latest development and
described the action as unfortunate and unacceptable. According to them, the
challenges they went through in getting their children admitted to the
university did not encourage them to pay to revive an institution their
children had no access to. “The university does not even recognise us as
members of the church whose money is used to run the institution to even give
our children priority. Now that it has a problem it is coming to us to pay,”
one member said. They wondered why the university would sit down for such an
issue to hit it and urged the top hierarchy of the church to sanction the
leadership of the university for what they described as their “careless act”
that had brought about such a financial mess in the current trying times.
(http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/41201-methodist-church-seeks-bailout-to-pay-debt-of-its-university.html).
To be fair, let me bring to the fore a reaction by the Church regarding the
story of their bail-out which was making the headlines. It was reported in the
29th of April 2015, by Times Corporation, a News Paper, this is how it
reads.....
Methodist University reacts to protests
“This
is a shift from the church’s earlier decision to levy members to pay up the
debt. The MUCG, in 2011, took a GH¢10 million loan from the Prudential Bank to
undertake infrastructural projects on its campuses at Dansoman, Tema and Wenchi,
but had since been struggling to pay back the loan which had accrued interest. The
Very Rev. Prof. Joseph Edusa- Eyison, Vice Principal of the university, in an
interview with The Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, said the university had
paid GH¢4 million of the loan, and was still taking measures to assist the
Church which took the loan in line with its responsibility to provide
infrastructure for the university.
He said
the loan was not secured by the University but by the Council of the Methodist
Church, presided over by Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey. Commenting on the
unwillingness of some members of the Church to contribute towards the
re-payment of the loan, Prof. Edusa-Eyison said the Church had not forced any
member to pay the debt, and explained that the decision that all 15 dioceses of
the Church should pay 30 per cent of their annual harvest to clear the debt was
taken by the leadership of the Church at its annual conference last year.
Reacting
to the protests by some members of the church of the issue Prof Edusa said,
“the MUCG belongs to the Methodist Church and every member owns the
university”. Touching on admissions, he stated that the university had not
neglected members of the Church but it required all applicants to have “good
grades”. “The university is poised to do the right thing by enrolling students
with the required grades as prescribed by the National Accreditation Board,” he
stated.
“It was
not the character of the Methodist University to be rude and I will, therefore,
use this platform to apologise to all church members who have been offended by
some staff of the school in one way or the other,” he said, adding that the
university would soon increase the five per cent incentive on fees enjoyed by
members of the church to 10 per cent in no time.
Meanwhile,
some members of the societies of the Methodist Church Ghana have expressed
divergent views about calls by the leadership of the church members to help pay
off the GH¢10 million loan. Big societies with large memberships are expected
to pay higher amounts while those with lesser membership would pay less, based
on the leadership’s decision.
However,
some members of the Church at the St. Peters and the Macedonia Methodist
Church, who spoke to The Ghanaian Times in Accra, described the decision by the
leadership of the church as unfortunate and undesirable. Some of the members
studying at the university argue that they do not feel as people who own the
college, due to the difficulties they encountered in gaining admission.
“We pay
fees on point,” one member said, and wondered why the university is in such a
huge debt, “I am a student of the MUC and I don’t get any discount when paying
my fees, so they must use the fees they have collected to clear the debt”.
(http://www.ghanaiantimes.com.gh/methodist-university-reacts-to-protests/)
As if this was going to make the Church desist from engaging in
business ventures. On Thursday November 12, 2015, the Daily Graphic, carried a
story dubbed “Methodist Church to go into real estate.” Please see it below:
Yes, they will always give a sweet excuse: Helping the
government in reducing the housing deficit the country is facing. Meanwhile,
the bottom line is: the church is entering into Real Estate for profit.
In
Ghana, not only the Methodist Church which is running universities; churches
such as Apostolic (Christ Apostolic University College), Baptist (Ghana Baptist
University College), Catholic (Catholic University College), etc are also
included.
THE ROMAN CATHOLIC
CHURCH/VATICAN
Now, how can one write about this topic without making mention of the Roman
Catholic Church. The Basilica of St. Peter is considered the mother church of
the Roman Catholic Church and one of the holiest places for Catholics. They
believe that below the altar is the tomb of Peter (a lie though), one of the
twelve apostles of Christ, and considered the first pope of the Catholic
Church. The basilica has internal area of 15,160 m² and maximum capacity of 60
thousand faithful. Through the Jesuit Order, Vatican owns 60% of all Israel
lands and the Land of the Temple Mount for their Third Solomon's Temple to be
built; a place where the Jesuits also want the White Pope’s throne/headquarters
to be sited. It is also worth mentioning that, almost all what The Jesuits own
has been given to them or STOLEN by them. Of course, they stole all of the
fortunes of the Jews in World War II. They stole all their GOLD, all their
assets and everything, whenever they went into a country. What’s just been
released is NOTHING compared to what they’ve taken. The Jesuits will activate
one of their maxims and DEAL with any State/country that wouldn’t kow-tow to
its (i.e. The Jesuit Order’s) bidding. And after that, they will plant their
own choice as head of the country and establish their Central Banking system
there. If they controlling the Stock Market, Forex, the Gold Market, control
all the Central Banks in the world, of which America’s Federal Reserve is
inclusive, can you estimate their wealth/value? Get this; those who are the
Richest in the world are not the Bill Gates, the Carlos Slims, the Warren
Buffets, etc (for they are Puppets), the real richest in the world are the
Jesuits and the Church of Roman (the Roman Catholic Church), whose names WILL
NEVER APPEAR IN FORBES' RICH LIST. You can read more from our articles POWER & WEALTH OF THE JESUIT & THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH/VATICAN & THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF USA
CONCLUSION :
"Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Revelation 3:17-18
It is sad that 21st Century Christians/Churches haven't learned from stern warning Christ gave to 7 Churches which were in Asia minor in the 1st Century. To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, Christ said they were neither cold nor hot (thus, their spiritual temperature was that of LUKEWARM).
You see, there are so many Churches today which have the numbers (their meetings record high attendance), a name (society approval), wealth (they are very rich), sufficiency (they don't lack any physical/material thing). Yet it could be that, before God, they are poor, wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.
This is a caution to all of us; as God's children, we should never think that, having wealth and health are signs of God's favour. One can be wealthy and healthy and still go to hell. We should never judge our ''spiritual temperature'' by looking at the so-called ''blessings'' we have received.
Christians/Churches/pastors will do well if we make soul winning our priority over money-making.
Again, selling paraphernalia to unsuspecting Christians (Church members) by ministers of the Gospel in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the members will spell doom for such ministers.
There are a lot of things that America have built without God, Babylon finest, and the Church is susceptible of doing same by building huge, gigantic buildings, deceiving, manipulating and rocking the Church members to hell yet might not be aware of it. Anything a man does, according to his own plan/will, by his won strength and for his own glory (even though he can deceive the undiscerning public that he is doing it for God), qualifies to be called Babylon. If we make business (Money making) our priority in doing the work of God, we are likely to totally backslide or become lukewarm.
May God be our help
Amen
Samuel Kwasi Forkuo
Warning: Church, Get Prepared -WCGP
