THE CHURCH IN A CONTEMPORARY WORLD (7)

Of the Church and Award Ceremony...


"Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth". 1 Timothy 3:14-15


In recent time, the church has been battling with raising her standard and keeping in pace with economic challenges because she has adopted a secularized system of running her affairs. 


Part of wake up method is giving award to 'deserved' members. Having followed closely and knowing intimately some awardee, questions keep pumping up in my lonely soul...


1. What importance does this award serve the recipient? 

2. What spiritual significance is the 'funfare' award ceremony? 

3. Does award points the recipient to heaven or means of generating income?

4. Of a truth, can you confidently appoint some of these awardees to manage your personal business? 

5. Does pastor intimately know and conversant with the private and public life of the recipients? 


Worse still, the church has extend her tentacle of economic influence by doling out award ceremony to members of public other than members of the immediate denomination and primary constituency which is church. Anyone within the community with a degree of influence on others whether he be a Muslim or herbalist now have direct access to be awarded in the church. 


It is not a hidden practise to have the names of Alhajis and Imams inscribed on church pupilt or other things donated by them to the church. I know of church where prayers were been offered to intending pilgrims to Hajj. 


The level of decadence in the church is alarming. If this trend continues, the elect will have no place in today's denominational pattern. 


Seriously, we must begin to think on the church that profits God rather than one that increase her organization income. We must earnestly contend for church which makes spiritual significance rather than the one with which we exert earthly and transient influence.


The church should be the express image of Christ. The pillar and support of the truth. It is the household of faith and congregation of the Saints in Battle.


The competitive spirit ravaging the church such that her physical and material expansion become a priority is making her loosing and conceding her spiritual prerogative. 


Peter Abdul-Razaq, OLAYINKA 

Living Grace Christian Missions, Ilara.

WhatsApp (+229)94139130

Mobile no. +2348066540987, +2347084504532

peterrazaq@yahoo.com

Twitter & Instagram: @peterrazaq

Linkedin: Revd. Peter OLAYINKA



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A DOSE OF COUNSEL FOR ORO AND EGUNGUN FOLLOWERS

Image
I woke up this morning reading a lot of social media posts about the selected dates and days for the ORO festival in the part of the country where I live. ORO is a secluded cultic 'religious' activity. Traditionally, it involves mature males and initiated participants. Women are forever banned from witnessing it, except for hearing it from inside (ETI L'OBIRIN FI NGBO OHUN ORO). Nobody reveals the activities in public. You keep what you see and know to yourself. Nobody exchanges pleasantries about what happened the day before in public. During this time, men do all they can, including appearing like the first Adam in the garden. The absence of women grants men the freedom to engage in reckless behavior. A few days ago, I was shown a TikTok live coverage of an ORO festival in a certain part of the country. Oh! What a sacrilege. An abomination, you would say. It is anti-tradition and a taboo. But that's the world we live in. Nothing seems to be hidden anymore. Smartwatche...
Read more

RE: IS THE STORY OF ALHAJI WASIU AYINDE BARRISTER'S CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY REALLY TRUE?

Image
  "But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." - Romans 2:29 Since my previous write-up on the above subject, I have received several mixed feedbacks, especially from Christians. Some were ecstatic, praising God for doing such a wondrous thing. However, others opined that such an acclaimed conversion is nothing but a business tactic. They argued that his affiliation with the Celestial Church indicates that he is merely religious and pretentious about his faith in Christ. This group believes that the Celestial Church is not a place to find a true Christian. (Please, wait before you start casting aspersions on anyone.) Meanwhile, as fate would have it, I have been drawn to several of Wasiu Ayinde's songs on TikTok. I am still wondering why I consistently stumble upon his songs even though I do not follow his handle. I can only hope I will not be tempted to start...
Read more

TAKE YOUR MOUNTAINS. NEVER GIVE EXCUSES.

Image
 The children of Israel came into the Land of Promise as a conglomerate of twelve tribes. They needed unity to reach that point. But once they arrived in Canaan, each tribe had to take possession of its own inheritance. What you take is what you get. At this stage, collective effort would not suffice—each tribe needed to claim and secure its portion for future generations. God had already given clear instructions regarding what must be possessed: “For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off... I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.” — Exodus 23:23, 27 The command was simple and decisive: to cut them off—to destroy all the people. Only on this basis could Israel take full possession of the land and be free from intimidation. The b...
Read more