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16.09.2009 Feature Article

THE ARROGANCE OF THE CHURCH FOUNDERS AND PROLIFERATION OF CHURCHES

THE ARROGANCE OF THE CHURCH FOUNDERS AND PROLIFERATION OF CHURCHES
16.09.2009 LISTEN

Any voracious and omnivorious reader of the forest of articles of the modernghanaweb and other websites might have come across a plethora and countless of reasons that have been marshalled and assigned by a great number of writers as to the reasons for the wanton proliferation of churches. Among those cornucopia of reasons that have been poured on paper is the assertion that,the apparently excruciating financial difficulties and lack of jobs situation in the country are what have precipitated some professed men of God to open churches as a means of laundering and minting or worststill extorting money from unsuspecting congregants

But besides all this purportedly financial reason, one cogent and incontrovertible fact that these contributing scribes on this issue have failed and and lost sight of is what I call " the arrogance and pomposity of the founders of the Charismatic churches. A cursory examination and critical studies reveal without a figment of doubt that, these proliferation is a common cancerous disease not among the mainline churches like Roman Catholics, Presby, Methodist, Anglican churches etc, but any critical observer will agree without equivocation that the prolifertaion is a insalubrious phenomenon, bubonic disease or spiritual swine flu that has engulfed and strangulated the pomp and pageantry charismatic churches. During the recent 2008 election, the NDCs masochistically and sadistically branded a candidate of the other divide as being arrogant, as a weapon to score cheap political points.Well, let me say that I am on the no-mans-land politically, however, I dont suscribe to those frantic and desperate poly-tricks.

But sometimes we need to relax our searchlight from the political figures and cast it a little bite on the doyens, kingpins and so called bigwigs in the churches, particularly and categorically the charismatics. Unfortunately, one has to be an insider to get a full picture of a shocking display of arrogance and disrespect of divergent views of some of the Bishops and General overseers against their own pastors. Because by virtue of the decorum and ethics of the Pastoral Ministry, unlike the political terrain, the misdeeds and wanton impunity of the so called senior pastors, bishops or general overseers are not easily voiced out by the aggrieved pastors but leaves quietly to join another or start his own. Another bad and highly untenable attitude of these founders in the face of such situation is twisting the "good book" to frighten the peeved pastor that speaking your mind means standing against spiritual authority, hence its accompanied curses. So the poor pastor has to swallow his words and either stay in or leave.

To be candid, you need to be in the mainstream or closer to some whistle blowers in order to witness a stark pomposity of these founders, a tingod and demi god manner of expressing views, self-aggrandisement and a display of affront and effrontery in dealing with their fellow pastors who are supposedly their own fellow brothers of the "goodbook" and workers of the same vineyard with them and purportedly carriers of the same vision. Surprisingly some of these founders have welded and arrogated to themselves, consciously or unconsciously the popish pontifical title of INFALLIBILITY. In other words, they dont make mistakes and you dont posite any disagreement about their views else you will be branded as not humble, yet they are stinkingly arrogants.

Not too many days ago, somebody demonstrated such an abysmally intellectual decadence and destitution by describing a particular general overseer who was celebrating his 50th birthday as being humble and reticent with a lame and a leaking reason that, that general overseer is not among those category of church leaders who use that pontifical and hegemonic titles as Bishops and archbishops. When I read it I said what? And I wish the person could answer just a simplistic and elementary question that when did a title become a basis, criteria or grounds to decipher arrogance and pride? Then one should take it from a face value that all the Archbishops and Bishops of the mainline churches are arrogants? No and certainly not. This is tantamount to generalization of hasty and begging conclusion. Therefore, humility has nothing whatsoever to do with absence of titles as well as titles has nothing to do with arrogance.

You know, psychologists define personality as totality of a person's quality and attributes, the way one generally is, one's generally behaviour patterns, roles in life or outward appearance. In this vein, one can safely enunciates that it is personality or character traits that emanate from the person that portrays the behaviour and not a misguided and superficial judgements like titles and dressing.

All said and done, what Iam trying to drum home at is that, what some ignoramuses have been trumpeting that amassing wealth by some men of God is the fulcrum and cardinal reason for the proliferation of churches, but that is not always the fundamental and the real fact. I can vouch with my last cedi that about 99 percent of pastors that split from mostly charismatic churches to start their own are mainly due to this unhealthy and ugly phenomena that unfold in the churches which are sparked and ignited by no mean members than the bigwigs in the church. Apart from this arrogance, you cannot believe your eyes that in the house of God a showcase of favouritism, nepotism, selectiveness etc. to favour some benchmen and worshippers of these founders, whilst others are totally in disarray and struggling painfully in villages and small towns. You let these pastors meet during their conference time and any least observer can without struggle differentiate those riding posh cars in the big cities and those perpetually doomed in villages to lanquish and famish with their families. And its all due to the poor ADMINISTRATION of the founders with all their decorative doctrate. So you see how dispicable, distasteful, repugnant and hypocrisy in the highest order that some of these bishops and general overseers use their pulpit to blast some political leaders for being autocratic and not handling things well ,but non-chalantly and sheepishly practising the same thing in the midst of their fellow pastors and the house of God.

A whole supposedly an inspiring pastor may be preaching to the public that God has called him to raise the image and the thinking of the down-trodden but makes an about-turn and stamps on his pastors in his office. What kind of doublestandard is this?. You remember in the book of Exodus 2:13 Moses questioned why two hebrews brothers were fighting? Its a shame, isnt it? Yes the same sordid and inimical scenario is more often than not a commonplace and a pathetic spectacle among the brothers of the "goodbook", hence splitting and subsequently starting one's own kingdom.

May God help us.

EKOW WILSON-BAIDOO

Ghana / Africa / Modernghana.com

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