SCRIPTURAL SMALL-MINDEDNESS (13)

Christian Church Service

(…continues from part 12…)

13)          Let us find out how pastors emerge to shepherd local assembly of churches. Did the LORD God take all of the availability of clayey substances on the terra firma to form the intelligent Adamic creatures? Of the mammoth abundance of sticky substance of the dust, God chose to pick a very small amount to perfect the sculptural art of Adamic reality. It is His eternal call to choose who represents His Divine business. What does the scriptural small-mindedness of professed Christians opt to do?

                Growing up around the mid 70’s, my father’s brother, Uncle Popoola, served as the pastor of a small village church of a farmland community. He could read and conduct church services of the Baptist Church; and that qualified him to be the pastor of the church. After some years of his ecclesiastical official duties, something happened. A call to another religious duty was thrown into his laps. Those who told him of his mandatory obligation to this other call gave him no choice. He must accept it or face the ominous consequences of disregarding the religion of the god of his forefathers. Our family compound worships the masquerade idolatry (Egúngún – in Yoruba language).

Egúngún – Yoruba masquerade

                With tears rolling down the distraught mug of my Uncle, he believed he had no choice but to abandon the ecclesiastical office of the Church to give the rest of his life in the commitment to the office of the Alágbàáà (priest of Egúngún). Will a Reverend Chris Okotie jettison the ecclesiastical leadership of The Household of God Church and return to the priesthood of his late father’s family idolatry, and would Chris Okotie even think of going back to where he began his Christian life, The Roman Catholic Church? Okotie will never do that! Or is it to be expected that Pastor Tunde Bakare will one day decide to go back to Islam of his birth? Tunde Bakare, who has his life hidden in Jesus Christ, will never contemplate it. No true Christian will ever, for any reason, whatsoever, dump Christianity for another form of worship.

                Scriptural small-mindedness, no doubt, is the first reason why my Uncle left the Christian pastoral office. The fear of the cultism at the vanguard of the aboriginal worship is the second reason for leaving Christianity. The third and most important reason being that he was not born again did take the intelligence of his reasoning away from the facticity of the words of Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” If Jesus had truly called him to the Church business, my uncle would have told them, “Jesus, the Lord of glory, has appointed me as His vessel for His Kingdom; you better join me in this journey into eternal life of blissfulness with the Creator, the God of the Bible, if you want it to be well with you.” Of course, they would have thrown intimidating scare in his face, but the One which is, and which was, and which is to come would have protected my late Uncle Popoola from the malicious wiles of idolatrous enemies of the gospel, and by extension, Jesus.

                Show vivacious interest in the pastoral office and better still, attend the Seminary, especially Baptist oriented one, show your certificate to the Baptist Church and you are qualified for the bucolic duties of the Baptist Church – whether Jesus has called you to His Church service or not.

Pastor E.A. Adeboye

                Be an ardent church attendee, have a fair knowledge of the Bible; and if you actively take part in church activities and most especially, from what truly obtains, if you happen to be very rich enough to fund church building or buildings, The RCCG, under the General Overseer, E.A. Adeboye, is much more than ready to offer you a pastoral office under his hegemony. Once you complete an auditorium and supervise it for a year or two, you will be posted to another uncompleted church. By the time your money helps build more auditoria for the Church, your promotion springs in alacrity to the topmost echelon in the RCCG WORLDWIDE.

                Getting born again is a conscious effort on the part of an individual. Get born again. Say this sinner’s prayer.

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!” 

(…to be concluded…)

Read part 12 here

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