CAN replies Sultan of Sokoto, says monarch got it wrong on Christians
11 hours ago 11074 views by Eromosele Ebhomele -
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) replies Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, over alleged persecution of some religious faithful, especially in the north - CAN names some states in the northern part of Nigeria that have experienced attacks on Christians and their property confiscated -
The Christian body describes Sultan Abubakar's comment as an insult when victims of such attacks are known The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, got his comment wrong on the alleged persecution of some Nigerians based on their religion, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has claimed.
Leadership reports that CAN made its position known through a statement by Evangelist Kwamkur Samuel, its national director. The body said it respects Sultan Abubakar, but that there was need to respond to his reaction on the issue of alleged attacks on Christians. “It was painful reading from the media the sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar saying that there was no case of Christian persecution in the country where Christians are being killed on daily basis and their landed property confiscated.
“It would have been better if the sultan had remained quiet the way he did when those killings were taking place," CAN said.
The association argued that hundreds of citizens of the country have been killed by herdsmen in the southern part of Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, Adamwa and Taraba and that the areas mostly affected are those with Christian populations. "It is an insult and insensitivity for anyone to be claiming that the unprecedented persecution which victims are well known did not occur," CAN said.
Legit.ng earlier reported that Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar had faulted the claim of CAN that Christians were being persecuted in the country.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of 77th annual Islamic vacation course (IVC) organised by the Muslim Society of Nigeria (MSSN) at Bayero University, Kano, Abubakar had said: “If such persecution really exist, such is supposed to be tabled at the Interfaith Forum where Muslims and Christians leaders meet periodically to discuss issues that would promote harmonious coexistence between the two religions."
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Sunday, December 29, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019
DEMONIZING CHURCH DENOMINATIONS: CALL FOR CAUTION!
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Denominations are like scaffoldings needed to build the Body of Christ
Picture credit: Internet (SWNS.com / rossparry.co.uk)
With the numerous myopic excesses of even established godly Church
denominations, not to talk of unprintable practices in numerous one-branch
“international” brands operated by charismatic all-in-all G.O.s, it is
understandable that “denominational Christianity” has come under much castigation
from diverse quarters in recent times.
However, caution needs to be exercised that such legitimate frustration
is not carried to unhelpful extremes.
With present trends in the country, the “non-denominational” movement
stands the risk of becoming another denomination on its own: a bitter
anti-denominations denomination that ironically sees nothing good at all in
denominations! At the same time, undue
demonization can drive godly denominations struggling with unavoidable end-time
challenges into further isolation, thus compounding the problem at hand.
Lines of Demarcation, very thin
Perhaps we should start by stating the obvious, that the
denominations of today were the independent “non-denominationals” of yesterday. In fact the only difference between
denominational and non-denominational congregations is in their sizes, and perhaps
ages. But for some notable exceptions, a
new upcoming Church-based ministry touts itself as non-denominational, drawing
participants from different existing Church denominations. When membership burgeons and stabilizes
somewhat, it goes on to define her own set of liturgy, formal structures, and
doctrines. And pronto, another denomination has been born!
The root cause of the problem with denominations, especially
in these end times, can be gleaned when we put them into two broad categories:
the ungodly and the godly.
The first category would comprise of the numerous “churches”
established obviously as commercial (“419”) enterprises with very little
spirituality at all. Also in the same
category, but with heavy spiritual flavour, are the occult or cult centres masquerading
as “churches.” Unfortunately, multitudes
find these centres irresistible, ensnared by charismatic sweet talks that
soothe emotional aches; or raw manifestations of “power” that promise speedy reliefs
from various spiritual - cum socio-economic burdens the world is currently inundated with.
In the second category are godly institutions, some with
decades of sacrificial and fruitful services, who increasingly feel compelled
to take extra-ordinary, even if questionable, measures to protect the flock
from the poachers in the first category. Many times, these “desperate”
responses only provide fuel for elements in the ungodly category to further
thrive, leading to an ever-worsening vicious cycle!
The major end result of this unsavoury situation is
increasing incapacitation of the Body of Christ from fulfilling Her primary
calling of being Salt and Light in society.
In particular, the umbrella body for Christianity in Nigeria, the
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has become practically helpless in
defining her role in the polity, or charting any purposeful course of actions
anymore - what with the abounding
centrifugal forces and inherent divided loyalties! Consequently, the Islamists
continue to ride roughshod over the entire nation, with hardly a whimper from
the Church. For instance, that young
heroine of our faith, Leah
Sharibu continues to languish in jihadist captivity, even to the present
time, without that being a major point on Christian agenda in Nigeria any more.
God’s Scaffolding for
building the Church
One beautiful story frequently rehashed is the tour of
heaven and hell reportedly given to John Wesley. Wesley was shocked to find
that while several Methodists were in hell, none was found in heaven! And the explanation he was given, as the story
goes, was that all the saints in heaven identify simply as members of the
Church, and not as members of the denominations they associated with while on
earth. However, the “whole truth” in
this story is that while there are indeed no needs for denominations in heaven,
they are very much needed here on earth! That is precisely why the Lord raised them up
and works through them. In a paradigm
promoted by many Bible teachers, including Fuchsia
Prickett, denominations are God’s scaffolding for building the one glorious
Church. After the Building is complete, the
scaffolding would have completed its assignment and must be discarded. But not
before - that would probably not happen till just before the Rapture!
It is a simple fact of history that specialized uniquely
identified Units under a central Command are God’s way of working through the
ages. In the “church” in the wilderness,
the tribes were instructed to pitch around the one Tabernacle each “by his own
standard, with the ensign of their father’s house” (Numbers 2:2). At the promised land, whether in the matter
of searching out the land (Numbers 13:2), going out into battles to possess the
inheritance (Judges 1:1-3), or in national projects such as the re-building of the
walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3), the major moves were conducted through clearly
identified tribes, clans, and families. Regular services in the Temple also
followed the same pattern, in courses, based on families and clearly defined
Units (1 Chronicles 23:6, 2 Chronicles 8:14, Luke 1:5,8)
The benefits of such a
model are self-evident. It provides the
extra motivation to get the job done; and affords sweet celebrations and sense
of achievement thereafter. It is the
spirit behind such statements from the Apostle Paul as: “inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my
office” (Rom. 11:13), or ”provoking others to love and good works” (Heb.
10:24). It is what gives meaning to the concept of “healthy competition”! Denominations provide ideal opportunities and
logistics for training, development, discipline, monitoring, and evaluation of
the individual. They are also uniquely invaluable in times of personal
challenges and losses.
In a nutshell, it is
simply impractical, unrealistic, and unfruitful for one to claim to be engaged
in building the universal Church without contributing to the local Church. Even in the cases of the few individuals called
to direct ministry to the universal Church (whether in evangelism like recently
departed beloved Reinhard Bonke; or in prayer – as in Nigeria Prays; or
teaching – as in Bro Gbile Akanni); they are known to actively liaise with the
local Church and denominations. And of
course, they invariably have their own local church arms for training,
financing, and other functions previously highlighted.
The expectation or suggestion that the body of Christ should
operate as an undifferentiated homogeneous monolithic entity is not only
unrealistic and unhelpful, it is also unscriptural (1 Cor. 12:12-20). Modern management experts can surely write
tomes on why specialized diverse organs all working harmoniously under a
central command, provides a formidable resilient overall body. Suffice to note here that the Internet arose
from the need to have a resilient communication framework (that can keep key
infrastructure and communication going in the event of sabotage, war, and
natural calamities). And the result is the TCP/IP protocol
that allows new paths to be spontaneously available in the event of collapse in
one pathway. Simply put, putting all
one’s eggs in a single basket is not a very smart idea, and it makes for
increased vulnerability. Our diversity, if scripturally harnessed, is a major
source of strength and resilience for the Church, not something to lament!
An Illustrative
Example: Spiritual Activities at Police Formations
This author can personally recall discussions with several
well-meaning and respected Christians who passionately believe that the
fundamental (and perhaps the only) problem with the Church in today’s Nigeria
is simply denominationalism! The unwholesome
fruits resulting from this kind of stop-the-denominations-by-all-means outcry
are real, even if sometimes subtle. We
think one very appropriate illustration of this has to do with spiritual
activities on Police formations in the country.
By way of background, it should be mentioned that the Police
Force touts itself as a people-friendly organization. Indeed, its uniqueness
and strength as a security outfit is rooted in its ability to win confidence and
cooperation of the general public. It is
therefore not surprising to find the Force promoting outfits such as the Police
Community Relations Committee (PCRC), or overtly reaching out to religious
entities. To this end, the Police provides at her major units, physical spaces
for the PCRC as well as for Christian and Moslem chapels. It is understood that intelligence,
propaganda, and human relations aside, the spiritual values of these chapels
are unquantifiable.
By the efforts of some hardworking Christian folks no doubt,
Christians actually have two spaces allocated in principle for catholic and
protestant ministries. But walk into these formations, while shouts of Allahu Akbar consistently rent the air
at least three times a day from mosques operating seemingly seamlessly, only
few units can boast of functional Christian prayer altars. The long and short
of the story is that while the Police chaplaincy would gladly welcome Church
denominations coming to erect befitting chapels within her formations, such are
not welcome to operate units of their ministries in those chapels. Now, this could
have been perfectly okay if the chaplaincy could muster members of the Police
force to spearhead consistent spiritual activities at these facilities. Alas,
this is hardly ever the case!
Incredibly, the chaplaincy hopes that after putting up the structure,
the denominations should also assist in manning them under the authority of the
Police Chaplaincy. This idea, justified
with an explanation of not wanting to promote denominationalism, is simply
unworkable. Indeed, it only shows that the
chaplaincy itself is on its way to becoming a formal “denomination” on its
own! At the end of the day, the
unappreciated “civilian denomination” might simply opt to plant a branch of her
own somewhere outside the Police formation (if the neighbourhood is considered
strategic and conducive enough) leaving the Islamic altar as the sole and
supreme operator within!
Thus, we can see how the gross misunderstanding of the place
of “denominations” is crippling the Church and robbing it of its natural advantages
over other competing ideologies in this important institution. In reality, encouraging ministries to develop
and operate facilities approved by the Police authority into centres of worship,
intercession, and discipleship according to their peculiar denominational
tradition is the exact equivalence of the Concession culture that is widely
practiced in most government institutions in Nigeria – including the Police
Force. (Afterall Police Canteens are not
all operated by police officers, to cite an obvious trivial example). Of course the Police Fellowship, would have
prime access to the chapel facilities, but two or three willing “denominations”
could also be registered to maximize the use of the facilities on shared basis. Sad to note that in several formations, the
plots allocated for Christian chapels (necessarily located in some rather
obscure corners) serve conveniently as the dump yard!
Some Suggested General
Solutions
The same ugly story of advantages turning into disadvantages
as a result of poor understanding of the roles of denominations can be repeated
in other sectors and public institutions in Nigeria – for example on Institutions
of Higher Learning in the nation. God
forbid the moslems or traditionalists should have our number and
resources! There can be no harm even if
every dozen Christian students on Campus decide to meet for regular prayers and
study of the Word as is convenient for them.
The big deal is harnessing such various fellowships via periodic
Kingdom-centred meetings hosted on a central platform. They can further be encouraged to share
physical facilities to further facilitate stronger bonding. For example, the
early Church met as numerous resilient small “koinonia groups”, from house to
house; yet they also participated regularly in central meetings held in the
Temple. (The Temple by the way, was a
massive complex that took 46 years to complete (John 2:20) and various
denominations /sects take part in servicing the altar therein.) With such operations, the early Christians
succeeded in turning their world right side up!
What is needed is a working model, and a central body
committed to implementing it.
Invariably, this is the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). To
function effectively and harness the great opportunities present within Church denominations,
the CAN urgently needs two key changes: a slight restructuring, and more
realistic funding by her components to allow for effective operations.
At the present time, there are several Church groups that
have blatantly refused to subscribe to the authorities of the CAN or support
her operations. Yet these continue to
enjoy larger-than-life status and influence as major Christian organizations in
the country. The CAN certainly should
device means to redress this and make her endorsement and membership a
sought-after commodity by those who would want to be taken as serious Christian
stakeholders in Nigeria. On the other
hand, several other Christian organizations which are willing to contribute
invaluable services and finances for a virile CAN are currently cut off from membership
simply because they are not Church-based.
In as much as the letter “C” in CAN stands for “Christians” and not “Churches,”
organizations like the Full Gospel
Business Men’s Fellowship, Intercessors for
Nigeria, CAPRO
(missionaries), the Preacher
(teaching) to mention just a few, ought to be given opportunity to contribute
to the operations of a virile CAN as full members. For instance, they could be accommodated
in a new Bloc to be incorporated into the CAN structure.
Finally, with or without the CAN, godly inter-denominational
activities should be celebrated and endorsed by all Kingdom-minded Christians.
In our 2007
article celebrating the annual inter-denominational Holy Ghost Congress hosted
by the Redeemed
Christian Church of God, we pointed out that traditionalists (think of
FESTAC) or Moslems (through the annual Hajj) desperately wished such an event
would be to celebrate their own gods and values! Incidentally, the 22nd straight
edition of the Holy Ghost Congress is currently ongoing, while a similar
interdenominational event with international participation, Shiloh,
organized by the Living Faith Church,
successfully held a week ago.
Conclusions
The many flaws visible in denominations do not invalidate their
scriptural role in building the Church of God and moving forward Kingdom
agenda. We should not forget that sometimes, the spirit of unhealthy
competition and rivalry within the same denomination is even worse than that between
different denominations! Conflicts and
separatism are inevitable end time phenomena that should be carefully and
prayerfully addressed rather than used as justification to throw away a potent
tool.
The strength of the position advocated in this article lies
mainly in the central coordinating Body.
In the real sense, this is the Holy Spirit, Who is very much alive and
well on the planet at this time. And He
is well able to deal with malignant cancerous tissues who would not abide under
His central control. As bad and as threatening as things look, the Church is
not in any mortal danger (Mathew 16:18).
The call here is for individual elements in the sleeping Church to arise
and respond to whatever strategies the Living LORD will be inspiring them
with. This article is our own
contribution in that wise, and we humbly put it forward for the consideration
of members of the Body of Christ in Nigeria.
Shalom.
Joshua Ojo
Redemption Camp, 13th December, 2019
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