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(FINAL INSTALMENT )

We have established that both sides have not done well in the church; clergy and laity. Many may be wondering how did the Orthodox churches do it? The history of the church is unfortunately littered with extortion; the Catholic Church selling forgiveness to the rich and taking over properties of wealthy who had confessed a shameful act to the priest, the others have expanded using ownership of vast estates in choice places. Many of these are now being sold off to finance their global empire. The Pentecostals on the other hand are still relatively new and still acquiring. I'm just explaining not taking sides.

Many are of the opinion that church is no longer needed. This is so far from the truth. The church is a representation of a collective that stands for God on earth and they must have a place where they meet to learn new things, to be reminded of relevant things, to help others and to sponsor Godly agendas.

Many of the mega churches became too big that they stopped being effective. It just became a stage for different shows.Many became  structurally defective polluting the veins of their organisations. Many pastors became inaccessible effectively losing their right to be called shepherds. It just became a money making machine. Churches are meant to be personal , ministering to the needs of the members and the community they are located at.Many have failed in these regards.

When you become isolated, the enemy slowly takes you apart until you don't see yourself anymore and you believe everything is ok. Like minded people are meant to flock together to stand a chance against the looming darkness. Pockets of believers isolated will not be able to get much done. That is just the simple truth.

The future of the genuine church is secure. It may not be as large or as visible but will continue to minister God's will to individuals who need them. The best any child of God can do is to realise there is no perfect church and to find the one closest to their perception of Godly ideals and contribute actively so we can be about our original command to win souls and to set captives free as we await the return of our master. I'm doing all I know, are you?

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I want to get to the heart of the matter, money. The challenge started when we deviated from God's expectation. God appointed the priests, gave them a staff of office and commanded the rest to donate to the things of God and for a portion of that to take care of individuals who serve. Many Christians in Nigeria in the early days till the 90s were not particularly generous to the things of God. They were expected to serve day and night often without much thought for their personal comforts. Some priests took matters into their own hands; some patterned themselves after the American form of faith movement, going on TV and holding large miracle crusades, others broke away to form their own churches getting hold of the purse strings, others went into business funding the beginnings with church monies and later cutting the apron strings and others yet still became total rogues pilfering church money directly.

Church is God ordained and there are many pastors who are genuinely called but the decadence in the Nigerian society has made its way into many churches affecting their altars. Many freely stole in the Nigerian society and paid their churches to assuage their consciences and this marred a lot of men of God. One of the individuals who led me to Christ stole several millions and paid Tithe to his church, that was not news in Nigeria my personal shock was when the leader of that ministry refused to pay it back after it was established as stolen funds😳.

God's ministry finance is clear in the Bible, many will devote their lives to the things of God serving others and the others in return will give to the things of God with a portion taking care of these individuals but both sides have failed woefully.

I was a very rich man before I got into ministry and I nearly went broke serving people who conveniently forgot I had a family and some bills to pay too.

I want to state emphatically that not all men of God are called to combine work with their callings and not all can do it. I have done it for many years and paid a heavy price for it but I stick to it for now.

My recommendations are these: every church should have a carefully selected board not bunch of sycophants that oversees her affairs, the man of God should be suitably remunerated and his needs taken care of so he can discharge his duties without distractions, people of God should give according to God's command so that his house will not be broke, the monies collected should be used judiciously taking care of welfare of members in trouble and others that need it. Government should mandate churches to undertake welfare projects commensurate to their earnings or tax them if they don't, the people of the church must have unfettered access to the finances of the church but the church must be protected from individuals who may want to exploit this to hinder the church, people should feel free to leave any church they are not happy with and feel free to join any congregation they are happy with:

In the midst of all these Melee, there are many unrecognised men of God who have not bowed down to Baal. If you are not happy with the status quo, do something productive, find those who are doing a good job and help them, become an asset to the collective. Many of these stone throwing are not helpful because many of the followers of these controversial men of God are like Trump supporters, they are not interested in any complaints against their man of God.

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Late 70s and early 80s in Nigeria gave birth to the rise of iconic individuals leading Pentecostal churches and the churches they led took over the spiritual landscape from the Orthodox churches. Many of the Orthodox churches experienced a decline in their membership and many only stayed open because of their connection to the western part of their organisation. A few Cathedrals survived this decimation but many of their branches had very few members. It was the beginning of the reign of the Pentecostals. A group of churches that emphasised the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the attendant supernatural works that comes with that. This ushered in the era of Grace, faith and miracles. If you have never benefited from these miracles it's easy to sneer at it but one exposure to it and you are in awe. Many church members erroneously transferred this awe to the man of God instead of God. That was the beginning of  false altars.

In line with the book of Revelation, the laodicean church became stupendously rich. Giving to the things of God is Biblical but many of these churches misappropriated the monies, that was the beginning  of moral poverty. I testify that many of these men of God in Nigeria, a few that I served up close and personal were lavished with gifts without their soliciting. Imagine if you were a millionaire and someone helps you to be rid of a shameful thing you have abhorred in secret, what remuneration will you be willing to give to that individual? This was how some of them became personally rich. I testify. The former Chairman of Unilever is the Executive personal assistant to a popular man of God, go figure! I have witnessed previous presidents kneel before individuals I served.

The new found success of these churches attracted charlatans, who saw an opportunity to get rich quickly, this was beginning of false prophets. These evil individuals penetrated the ranks of the churches and preyed on ignorant church members.

The spiritual landscape in Nigeria and much of Africa now became littered with churches spending God's money wrongly, individuals building personal altars, proud individuals starting their own organisations prematurely, charlatans coming to the church as a source of their new frauds. It became a mess.

I want to end this session by saying there were still lots of genuine men of God who were still poverty stricken as they were not savvy in playing these games and unfortunate to have extremely miserly members who only gave to miracle workers. This was when God called me. I pleaded with him to find someone else because I did not know where I would fit in all that mess.

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Revivals broke out across the world in late 19th and early 20th Century. The prominent ones being Azusa (US), Welsh and Scottish revivals. The effects touched Africa and by late 1930s, Nigeria started to respond. We had CAC (Christ Apostolic Church) majoring on repentance and prayers and they quickly grew and littered the spiritual landscape. Another branch that wanted miracles in addition to the repentance and prayers became the white garment churches. These churches grew because they offered solutions to problems in ways in which many could relate to. Even the CAC were renowned for praying over water.

The 70s gave birth to the Holiness movement embodies by CU( Christian Union). They spread through the university campuses. One church that broke away from the CU movement was Deeper life. Deeper Life was first mega Church in Nigeria and operating in about 50 other countries through missions and in depth teaching of the word of God. They were known for some extreme views but this did not dim their membership. They grew and many churches were planted and pastors appointed. Many of these pastors were known to be poorly remunerated but appeared content with their lot. I remember visiting a remote village where one of their pastors was almost dying of hunger. A picture in my mind I will never forget. Around about the same time RCCG (Redeemed Christian Church of God) under the leadership of a unique leader started to grow as well , establishing branches everywhere. The increase in church locations led to logistical problems as many churches were not ready for the growth spurts. They became richer far quicker than they planned for and much of it was retained in the centre and very often distant posts suffered.

After many years of preaching repentance, the next question arose, now that I'm saved what else? This question gave rise to a new crop of leaders starting from America and working its way to Africa. The first individual to carry this torch was Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa. He was anointed, he was eloquent and he was flamboyant. Something we had not really seen much of before. His claims were straight forward , if God owns everything and I'm his child, why should I languish in lack? A hornets nest was disturbed.

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Growing up in the 70s in Nigeria , many of the priests doing fairly well were Orthodox Churches. They were often decked in colourful attires and lived in Vicarages. Many of the others struggled to feed themselves and send their children to good schools. It was not a time many wanted to be pastors. They were often seen as people to be pitied and given handouts. Many priests often visited members for the regular meals to entertain them and possible monies they might be given. Church members were not particularly generous to their men of God despite relying on Them for so many things. I recollect many broke men of God and their often rebelling children who didn't want to have anything to do with the church  and their God. Maybe because they bore the brunt more than most.

The general contention was how was a man of God live? How much were they entitled to ? And who will determine that? Many pastors were under a board which were overbearing and often miserly when it came to remuneration of priests. 

The general pattern was for the called individual to abandon all secular matters to oversee the affairs of the house of God and like Levites in the Bible, God was their portion. The problem was, nobody quite understood what that really meant. That translated to some churches lavishing their priests with lots and some paying them below the minimum wage. In the 70s in Nigeria, many didn't want to be pastors. What I'm trying to say is that it's been a pendulum and there was a time it was in a bad state. Many of these men of God struggled and many suffered in silence. Serving God was associated with living in penury. This was the accepted lot of men of God.

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In order not to be politically correct, I want to clarify that men above refers to Men and Women serving in diverse ministries in the Christian World. I will also not be talking about myself in particular to keep it modest.

My first recollection of a pastor was my grandad Pastor Adeshina. He was already half blind by the time I became conscious of him. He told me many tales of how he was recruited as a chef to a white missionary called Babcock (yes University named after him) and how they travelled the little villages across southern Nigeria. He also told me how the church could not afford paint in one of his locations and had to mix pigments in order to make cheap paints and how an accidental mixing got him half blind. He was later ordained by this man as a pastor and he served with the Seventh Day Adventists Church till retirement. He was faithful and did the best by his family but when I knew  him, he was not rich, in fact his pension could not sustain him in his old age. My grandfather imbibed many things from the British Missionaries he served and would often spend his meagre pension on things like Biscuits and jam. I remember his usual deck of clothes completed with a Kangol type cap he often wore to collect his paltry pension. That was my earliest introduction to men of God.

Let's Talk About Sex 001

I was introduced to sex very early on. I was not a Saint by any stretch of the imagination. I ran wild and had a few relationships in my time. Then I fell in love.

It was very confusing for me. I had experienced primal emotions under many dodgy circumstances and here I was with this woman and I became very nervous. This was what got me very intrigued and I started to study this subject matter.

God made us in his image and intercourse is very much a part of the bargain but this has been misused and abused like many other beautiful gifts from God. This was meant to spiritually Bind two individuals together, the ultimate covenant between two individuals.

The very act involves two individuals stripping themselves bare which symbolises vulnerability, it involves secrecy between the individuals and the act itself involves the Male Phalus going into the Females Vagina cavity which proofs bonding of two individuals and finally, at the climax the male releases his fluid, the sperm and this mixes with the females seminal fluid. This represents a blood covenant which spiritually binds them. Both fluids have been medically proven to contain blood in them.

Now shut your eyes and imagine how many covenants people have inadvertently entered to?

God intended this to be the ultimate bond between a man and a woman. The act is pleasurable and the climax is divine. This was God's way of truly uniting two lives into one. The only time their spirits are vulnerable to each other and their souls rejoices and the bodies rejuvenates. Sex is not  a choice in marriage, it is essential. The Bible says both parties must agree before going on periods of abstenance to underpin its importance.

Sex is not meant to be used as a weapon of manipulation as often wielded by married parties to their peril.

As relationships progress, one of the things that tragically disappears is intimacy often lost in throes of raising children and earning a living. This and money issues are top of the list of marriage wreckers.

Sex outside marriage is a sin and often lead to many soul ties but in Marriage it's divine. Just because we are Christians does not mean we can't talk about Sex.

Explaining Brexit thru South African Xenophobia

The issue of Brexit was particularly acrimonious and many did not see it coming. I laugh when people wave their sanctimonious flag at the decision of a people to protect their borders. I submit to you that this is the same for every nation, some are just more covered than others.

Let me start from the one that incense me, Africans still need visas to go to many of each other's countries and yet people expect differently elsewhere?

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly a nationalist but I understand the desire of an entity to protect their nations integrity.

My first visit to South Africa was 2001. I was shocked at the activities of some Nigerians there. They were openly dealing drugs and running prostitution rings and all sorts of other shady dealings. I was vexed in my soul, little did I know the people would rise up in the future. I don't support the violence and killings but I understand it. In 2001 I was ashamed to be a Nigerian in South Africa. I have been there several times since and it's been getting progressively worse. The culprits? Nigerians and Zimbabweans.

A few years earlier, Nigeria had just jettisoned the Ghanaians claiming they were taking their jobs and stuff. Ghanaians were hard working , no crime committing group of people but yet Nigerians were intimated.

I have been resident in the U.K. For over twenty years and have worked non stop and never claimed any government benefits. So you can imagine my opinion when people majorly from Eastern Europe besieged the country and many were claiming money from the pot we have all contributed to? News headlines telling us our pensions may not be a reality and that the social services were in serious decline because of over use? 

Many of the villages outside of the cosmopolitan cities were outnumbered by new people who could easily determine the politics and hence the power.I wonder what you will do in that situation?

I'm all for everyone getting along and intermingling but I'm persuaded that every country owes it to their nationals to look after their interests first before the larger community. I have never liked Donald Trump snd still don't trust him but on this issue I'm in agreement with him.