My pastor is a Thief!!!

‘The youth pastor slept with the choir mistress, the associate pastor stole the offering money, the senior pastor divorced his wife and remarried. That prosperity pastor is too selfish, all he cares about is his private jet and not the state of his fellow citizens. These Christian schools self, they are too expensive. Are they not supposed to be the light of the world? Can’t they be that light by making their schools cheaper than even the federal schools? After all, salvation is free.’
‘What of that other church? All they care about is fashion and flashing the latest ride in town. I see my choir members clubbing most Friday nights. What of that usher that I saw stealing from the offering basket with my naked eyes? Kpscheww… Christians are the worst hypocrites in the world. If this is what Christianity is, I’d rather be a sinner!’

Many Christians are familiar with these kinds of statements. In fact, people like me hear things like this at least once a week. Though, I acknowledge that there’s truth to some of these accusations, hearing it all the time gets tiring after a while.

To all of you who have been disturbing me with your incessant complaints, yes you, you are the one I am talking to, I did this write-up just for you.

Firstly, how does the clubbing lifestyle of your choir member make all Christians hypocrites, are they now the yardstick for measurement? In fact what were you doing there in the first place or what was the person that gossiped it to you doing there? Why do you deserve God’s forgiveness while the choir member doesn’t? That pastor whose private jet you complain about, what exactly do you expect from him? Do you expect him to fly economy with everyone so that the public will keep asking them for miracles, prayers or financial assistance through out a fourteen hour flight, then by the time they land, they’d have almost fainted? Plus, what is wrong if a church member that makes clean money decides to buy a private jet for his pastor, abi, is it your money?

Yes, you complained about the school fees of the church schools. Why did u conveniently ignore the countless number of students that these schools and churches give full scholarships to every year? So you want them to make the fees as cheap, so that the quality of their products will also be cheap? Have you forgotten that they are not funded by the government like the federal or state schools? If you want quality, then you pay for quality, the schools abroad can attest to that fact.

The church that you say flash their cars, whose fault is it that some Christians are prospering? Oh, you really think that it is almost every successful person that stole government money? That is why your mind is finding hard to grasp the concept of clean and legal prosperity in Nigeria. Think big, my friend, expand your view, there is money to be made in this country. If you refuse to make the money, then don’t blame the Christians who go out and make a success out of their life, they are just being what God has called them to be.

That pastor that you called a prosperity preacher, when he wrote about prosperity, you criticized him. When he wrote about praise, what did you say? What about the times he talks about prayers, and you say you are not being myopic? So what exactly makes him a prosperity preacher, the fact that he is rich, or that his church members are rich, or just because he told you that you can be rich? Well, if you don’t like it, then go and be poor. And if it is because he is rich, ask yourself this: where is it written in the bible that penury is synonymous to salvation? Why is it ok for you to be really blessed but not for your pastor? Doesn’t he have needs like you?

As for the youth pastor that slept with the choir mistress and the associate pastor that dipped his hand in the offering basket, I have no defence for them. It just goes to show that no one is perfect and that senior pastors should strive to know true characters of people by asking God for revelation. After all, Jeremiah 17:9 says that ‘the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?’ so, even the senior pastor cannot know all things. And if it is the senior pastor that is guilty as charged, and you cannot afford to sit under the teachings of your ‘sinner pastor’ anymore, find another church. Also, if your faith in Christ was eroded because your senior pastor committed this ‘very grave’ sin, then it is entirely your fault not his, because you were not supposed to put your faith in man. Faith in man is just like standing on sinking sand, you are bound to be let down.

Lastly, to you that talk bad or contribute in negative discussion about the senior pastor of the church you still attend, well…

I am not a pastor, neither is it my intention to become one, I just felt the need to write about this. If you are too bothered about the evils you see in church, complain to the senior pastor or God, not to me because there is nothing I can do about it. Better still, concentrate on developing your personal relationship with God, it will insulate you from the shock you get when Christians fall short of the standards that you have set for them.