The parable of the Nigerian church (2), By Ayo Akerele

“For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed.” – Isaiah 9:16

On the 1st of September, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, who was once a victim of the power play in the church, but who has now been helped by God to pioneer a very effective and thriving prayer movement in the Northern part of Nigeria, sent me an article he wrote about the state of our youths within the Nigerian space. If I had the resources, I would print and share this article very widely across Nigeria. Read with me an excerpt from the heart rending article.

“Christianity in Nigeria is reeking with the foul odour of hypocrisy. Churches are filled on Sundays yet Christlike character can hardly be found in government, in educational institutions, and in our legal system. A few weeks ago, we published a prayer call in which we asked, “Where are the men?” the men with integrity, like Jesus Christ Who could say, _”the prince of this world cometh, but he has nothing in me”.  Where are the men with a perfect heart towards God, like David? Where are the men like Daniel who refused to defile himself with the king’s meat? Where are the men worthy to be called “Christian men”? Today, we agonise in Nigeria over the dismal condition of the youths. All manner of perversions is common amongst them: sexual immorality, drug addiction, cultism, ritual killings, cybercrime, armed robbery, insolence, etc. The very painful part of the malaise is that most of those youths are from Christian homes. The question has therefore been asked repeatedly, “What is happening to Christian families?”

Generally, children learn by imitation. “Do as I say, not as I do” does not work with them. They will do as their parents, or the elders around them, do. Therefore, if the problem of rebellion among youths is going to be solved, it is necessary to look beyond them to their foundations. How children are brought up, and by whom, become critical questions to be answered. In this generation, nearly all the structures and institutions that should guide a decent society have collapsed; a collapse not caused by the youths but by their parents. The youths are not the ones running the country, neither do they head critical institutions. Their fathers do. Most of those fathers are Christians. Every Sunday, they report in church and piously worship. On Monday, they return to work to supervise the collapse of the economy and the compromise of moral values.

There are Christian fathers in INEC when INEC supervises election rigging. There are Christian fathers in the Judiciary when their “lordships” pervert judgment to favour the highest bidder. There are Christian fathers in the universities where lecturers demand sex for grades; in the civil service where they share budgetary allocations at the expense of public projects, and in Customs where fathers return home every month with millions of Naira received from smugglers. The same can be said of the Police, the Army, and of course, the National Assembly and the Presidency.

In every critical institution in Nigeria, in the public and private sectors, there are Christian fathers and mothers, men and women called by the holy name of the holy God, but their character is of the devil. At the slightest opportunity, they would throw their religion in your face, but their deeds belie the faith they profess. In all of these, the children are watching, and unfortunately, learning how to be hypocrites.”

We are living in interesting times — the days that were foretold by Jesus Himself, “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12).

God will judge His church using every method at His disposal. If we don’t listen through the voice of reason, may we not listen through the voice of prisons. In Acts 1:8, God’s will was for the Apostles to take the gospel beyond the shores of their comfort zones, “And ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, Judea, and in the uttermost part of the world.” But the Apostles did not move even after receiving the Holy Spirit. Then God turned the table and used Acts 8:1 to send them out, “And there arose a great persecution against the church and they were all scattered.”

As we speak, mammon has deafened the ears of many in the church. There are things I struggle to discuss in the public to avert the loss of faith from the younger generation. But we still need to expose evil to certain levels if evil will be uprooted from our space. Silence is the natural habitat for evil to thrive. I have written this article as a member of the body of Christ who loves the church so much, and would never want the next generation to be lost. My love and honor for all the fathers still remain unshakeable. But we are talking about the kingdom of God here. We are talking about eternity here. All the fathers will still leave behind them all their church branches, wealth, fame, and assets, just like you and I, and will still die and stand to face God’s judgement.

For this purpose, we must not be silent. You must pray for your pastors. You must pray for every leader in your space. Tell God to arrest their hearts with His truth. Tell God to reign down righteousness on them. Tell God to kill greed, covetousness, and the love of money in all leaders. I am bold to say here that there are still many Daniels in the Nigerian church, men and women who still stand and speak for righteousness. But you don’t need many to destroy a nation or to set a system on fire. Less than ten key leaders in Germany planned the second world war that killed more than sixty million people. A little leaven still leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9).

Some people with rebellious hearts will still read this article, hear multiple sessions of teachings from other voices of reason in the church, and will still dismiss our cry, until God engages a stricter form of judgment and persecution against the Nigerian church to prune us, shape us, and purge us even against our wishes. But it is not too late for all of us, and especially the “fathers” at the vanguard of this collapse of values, ethics, morality, righteousness, and sound doctrines in the Nigerian church to go back to God and repent.

God will hold the Nigerian church leaders responsible for the failure of not just the church, but also of the Nigerian state.

“The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of His people And His princes: “For you have eaten up the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.” (Isaiah 3:14)

Ayo Akerele is the senior Pastor of Rhema Assembly and the founder of the Voice of the Watchmen in Ontario, Canada. He can be reached through ayoakerele@gmail.com