Celebrity leadership
The celebrities are those guys we see on TV who are adored by everyone for their outstanding talent and riches. Well, since it’s now the world that influences the church, it’s no surprise that most of the Pentecostal arena is now owned by celebrity Pastors. Celebrity pastors are crowd pullers, good communicators, who dress well and get invited everywhere, especially on worldly media platforms. Those kinds of guys run the church like a business cooperation, where the Pastor is the CEO; completely in charge, he has authority to do anything he pleases with “his church.” He hardly ever does any hard work because he has subjects who work overtime to run the church for him. Preaching is not a humble exposition of Scripture, but it’s a performance, where the sermon depends more heavily on his charisma (style, communication and dressing) than on the Word of God. Gone are those days when a Pastor was an ordinary servant of God that was even approachable by all community members. These days if you are to see the “anointed man of God”, you better be prepared to dig deep into your pocket to secure a “one on one” appointment, only after you have been thoroughly interrogated by his bodyguards. Which means the elderly and the poor members of the society have zero access to their Pastor. Some of these things are so painful to even write about. Beloved, is this what we call church? Is this the revival and the great outpouring out of the Spirit that we have been praying for? That people become celebrities at the expense of the Gospel? Me thinks not.
Diminished view on sin
Ever wondered why we have so many scandals of the Pentecostal leaders falling into sin? Well, wonder no more because the root problem is that they undermine the seriousness of sin. Hence you will hardly ever hear a Pentecostal Pastor being honest about the sins in his own life, and how he deals with them. It’s almost like these guys were born holy or something. Yet the truth is that they have a minimized view of what is sin. If anything, they would rather blame all our sins on demons; it’s the generational spirits that cause you to fornicate, steal and beat your wife – you are not responsible! All you need is deliverance; visit a popular prophet in Uganda and he will deliver you. Yet the truth of the Christian faith says we are responsible for the way we live. You are not a victim of sin, but a culprit. God calls us to control our bodies and present them as living sacrifices. And if we do sin, we don’t need deliverance, but repentance. Don’t waste your money going to Nigeria, but take a short trip to your bedroom, fall on your face and cry for mercy! Done.
Man centered theology
Here is a quote from a good preacher, “Much of the Church today is repeating one word, ‘Man, man, man, man’, everything for man. How can man have his needs met? What can God do for man? That’s not Scripture. In Scripture, it is God, God, God, God. Not all things for you, not all things for me, but all things for God, and His glory, His purpose, and His good.” A proper study of the Old Testament will not miss the words, “For my Name’s sake.” Which means creation, and everything that exists today, is for the glory of His name, especially the Gospel of our salvation. The Bible, therefore, is not about you. It’s about Christ; His great work of Redemption to save a people for Himself. If you want to make me sleep in church, it’s easy, just say these words repeatedly, “You are special”, “You have greatness in you” and “God will give you the desires of your heart and fulfill all your dreams.” You see brethren, I have had enough of myself already; I think about myself the whole day. Hence when I go to church, I need something different than to hear about me again. I need to hear about God; the Almighty Sovereign Ruler who has made me to live for Him, His purpose and glory. Even the love of God for us is not for the purpose of our feel-good emotions, but for His ultimate praise, just as we see in the book of Revelation that the end of all things will result in all creatures bowing down to give glory to the Ancient of Days (Rev 5:11-14). Oh, how I wish somebody could learn this! Man-centered theology is what has also given rise to all these motivational speakers who have replaced preachers on the pulpit. It’s bad.
Bad on discernment
As I hinted last time that being in a Pentecostal service means being in a place where anyone can stand and instruct people with anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous it can be, everyone will agree because they have no standard for discernment. Everyone does what’s right in their own eyes, just as it was in the book of Judges. Even grown men that have been in ministry for many years, still cannot distinguish between truth and error, the Gospel and lies. That is why that movement continues to plunge deeper into deception because there is an alarming lack of discerning minds who can rebuke falsehood and stand for Biblical truth.
Too many conferences, less evangelism
I have been to many Pentecostal conferences, which are so high on emotion, but so empty of any lasting spiritual value – except for the good food we eat during the conference. Honestly, I don’t think we need any more Youth, or Women Conference, unless those conferences will be used to send members to the street to bring drunkards to Christ. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time, good food and finances; which can be used to reach out to those who are orphans, widows, in hospital and in prison. That’s what the Church should be busy with, not conference after conference. I stand on that point.
Complete disinterest about heaven
The most boring sermons I have preached in Pentecostal parishes have been the topics of the coming of Christ and the joy of heaven. I heard one preacher say, “I don’t want to get my blessings in heaven, I want them now.” Sad as it is, it’s the mentality among many these days. There is just no desire for anything beyond this life; they are living for today and the now. Here is another quote from a certain false prophet called John Anosike, somewhere in South Africa. He says “You have heard so many preachers say Jesus is coming soon, mark it, the next 50 years you will be hearing the same thing (laughs). You have been deceived that you will go to heaven sometime, someday Jesus will come and take you to heaven, thus a lie from the pit of hell.” Can you imagine that this man claims to be a minister of the Gospel? I just feel sorry for his followers because how can they understand the beauty of this verse, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come (Heb 13:14)?
Let’s bring this to an end. Comrades (sigh), I have no more words. The only thing I am left with is an aching heart. Because as much as I love the church, I find myself even afraid of taking my own wife and kids there. Somehow it seems they would be safer in the middle of the Ukraine/Russia warzone, than they would be inside a Pentecostal building. It’s just the way it is and there is nothing I can do about it.
Sinothi Ncube
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