Sequel to the disturbing news making the rounds about an alleged
drug war that led to killing of 13 people in Ozubulu, Anambra State
and the associated information that a South Africa-based
businessman involved in the shady deal built the church, where the
incident occurred, some clergymen have differed on the propriety or
otherwise of moneybags building minsters for the Church of God.
Okogie: Leave judgment to God
First to fire the salvo was a former Archbishop of Lagos,
Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, who appeared to be defending the
churches as he told Saturday Telegraph that those calling for
investigation into the source of wealth of moneybags donating
buildings to churches are not being fair to the clerics. He asked:
“How do you expect the churches to know the source of money used in
building whatever that is being donated? I think it is improper for
anyone to start asking donors the source of their income.
That is not right. “If such money is got through questionable
means, God will have to deal with that. The Bible says we should
not judge anyone. So, it will be wrong for the church to start
judging. That will be a total disobedience to the word of God.”
Ogedengbe: Churches now worship money
However, the founder and Head of Evangical Ministries (Wisdom
chapel), Shasha, Lagos, Bishop Steven Ogedengbe, believes that the
country is reaping from what it’d been sowing all along. According
to him, what is happening in the Body of Christ in Nigeria is a
reflection of the rot in the society.
“The worship of money has taken over and the effect of that is
what is manifesting now. People, including clerics, no longer ask
the source of anybody’s wealth; all they need is the money. So, we
need prayers to overcome this evil in our society. The security
agents are even overwhelmed. I think this decay in our society
requires urgent divine intervention before we are doomed,” he
added.
Ighodalo: Pray to God about it
For Ituah Ighodalo, as a pastor, when someone is making such a
huge or significant contribution, the priests should try their best
to check the person’s background and source of wealth. “That is not
to mean that the fellow will tell you the whole truth but it is not
out of place to make effort to find out.
In doing this, you must also not interfere in the person’s
privacy. “It is wrong to judge anyone’s wealth by how he or she
looks. You really can’t be sure by how he or she dresses. And you
must also pray to God to know if that kind of donation is what you
should accept or not. You must be very sincere with yourself and
God,” Ighodalo said.
Ayokunle: Illicit fund attracts God’s curse, says CAN
President
On his part, the President of the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN), Revd. Samson Ayokunle, absolved the church of any
blame, insisting that giving is part of Christian stewardship to
the Lord. The cleric, who warned that any member that gives illicit
or dubious money to the church would incur the curse of God, said
the church has no blame, as it is impossible to know the source of
wealth of all members of the church. He further warned such donors
to desist saying that their actions, rather than attract blessings,
could make them incur the wrath of the Supreme Being.
He however advised members to desist from giving blood money to
the church and for preachers to continuously preach against it
while doing everything possible to see that their members stay on
the part of sanctity. “What CAN is doing is to let people know that
if they bring any money that God does not sanction, they will
rather receive curse upon themselves instead of getting His
blessings. “Our people should stop bringing illicit money to the
church, it is not acceptable to God and we should double our
preaching on such thing.
“It is part of Christian stewardship for people to give to the
Lord. At the point where you begin to doubt what is brought is now
the problem, it is very difficult to determine the point to do so
because you don’t know the worth of each individual.
“However, if someone who is a public servant or people working
with organisations that have every limited capacity and if they
begin to bring very outrageous amount to the church that is where
the church should begin to raise concern and do what is
necessary.
“If they see that the amount that you are bringing is bigger
than the work you are doing then you want to know if there are
other sources through which the Lord is blessing the person. But
that may also raise suspicion because some people may begin to be
very angry at the church,believing that you are nosing into their
affairs or you are suspecting them for doing no wrong.
“People may begin to angrily leave the church or spoil the name
of the leadership of the church anywhere they go. So, it is a very
difficult situation but the church needs to preach from time to
time that people should check the sources of their money and that
if anybody gets money from dubious means to the church, it would
attract no blessing to the giver.
“In the case of the Ozubulu church, because the people don’t
live here it is even very much difficult when that person is not
within your vicinity. I don’t think the church has the blame; the
person that is giving is the person that has the blame. “The fact
that they built the church does not mean that they should kill
inside the church.
The church didn’t sign any pact with them that if you build for
us then you come and kill yourselves or other people inside the
church. “They built for the church out of their own volition so I
don’t see the church doing any wrong here except you want to
apportion blame where there is no blame.
“People don’t put money in tithing cards again because they say
what they are giving are between them and God, so it is difficult
for the ushers to know who dropped big amount. Then where people
are working with big corporations where their earnings can be
traced nobody has the right to go to the bank to say I want to see
the person’s statement of account.
“The bank can’t allow that, bank account is personal to you and
no church can just walk into the bank to check the account of its
members. And with what we are seeing now in Nigeria where we know
that a whole house may be used to stockpile money, how much of the
money people own now that gets to the bank. “So, people will be
very wrong just apportioning blame to the church. Many things are
wrong with the society that will make monitoring individual worth
very difficult.”
NewTelegraph
Sequel to the disturbing news making the rounds about an alleged
drug war that led to killing of 13 people in Ozubulu, Anambra State
and the associated information that a South Africa-based
businessman involved in the shady deal built the church, where the
incident occurred, some clergymen have differed on the propriety or
otherwise of moneybags building minsters for the Church of
God.
Okogie: Leave judgment to God
First to fire the salvo was a former Archbishop of Lagos,
Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, who appeared to be defending the
churches as he told Saturday Telegraph that those calling for
investigation into the source of wealth of moneybags donating
buildings to churches are not being fair to the clerics. He asked:
“How do you expect the churches to know the source of money used in
building whatever that is being donated? I think it is improper for
anyone to start asking donors the source of their income.
That is not right. “If such money is got through questionable
means, God will have to deal with that. The Bible says we should
not judge anyone. So, it will be wrong for the church to start
judging. That will be a total disobedience to the word of God.”
Ogedengbe: Churches now worship money
However, the founder and Head of Evangical Ministries (Wisdom
chapel), Shasha, Lagos, Bishop Steven Ogedengbe, believes that the
country is reaping from what it’d been sowing all along. According
to him, what is happening in the Body of Christ in Nigeria is a
reflection of the rot in the society.
“The worship of money has taken over and the effect of that is
what is manifesting now. People, including clerics, no longer ask
the source of anybody’s wealth; all they need is the money. So, we
need prayers to overcome this evil in our society. The security
agents are even overwhelmed. I think this decay in our society
requires urgent divine intervention before we are doomed,” he
added.
Ighodalo: Pray to God about it
For Ituah Ighodalo, as a pastor, when someone is making such a
huge or significant contribution, the priests should try their best
to check the person’s background and source of wealth. “That is not
to mean that the fellow will tell you the whole truth but it is not
out of place to make effort to find out.
In doing this, you must also not interfere in the person’s
privacy. “It is wrong to judge anyone’s wealth by how he or she
looks. You really can’t be sure by how he or she dresses. And you
must also pray to God to know if that kind of donation is what you
should accept or not. You must be very sincere with yourself and
God,” Ighodalo said.
Ayokunle: Illicit fund attracts God’s curse, says CAN
President
On his part, the President of the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN), Revd. Samson Ayokunle, absolved the church of any
blame, insisting that giving is part of Christian stewardship to
the Lord. The cleric, who warned that any member that gives illicit
or dubious money to the church would incur the curse of God, said
the church has no blame, as it is impossible to know the source of
wealth of all members of the church. He further warned such donors
to desist saying that their actions, rather than attract blessings,
could make them incur the wrath of the Supreme Being.
He however advised members to desist from giving blood money to
the church and for preachers to continuously preach against it
while doing everything possible to see that their members stay on
the part of sanctity. “What CAN is doing is to let people know that
if they bring any money that God does not sanction, they will
rather receive curse upon themselves instead of getting His
blessings. “Our people should stop bringing illicit money to the
church, it is not acceptable to God and we should double our
preaching on such thing.
“It is part of Christian stewardship for people to give to the
Lord. At the point where you begin to doubt what is brought is now
the problem, it is very difficult to determine the point to do so
because you don’t know the worth of each individual.
“However, if someone who is a public servant or people working
with organisations that have every limited capacity and if they
begin to bring very outrageous amount to the church that is where
the church should begin to raise concern and do what is
necessary.
“If they see that the amount that you are bringing is bigger
than the work you are doing then you want to know if there are
other sources through which the Lord is blessing the person. But
that may also raise suspicion because some people may begin to be
very angry at the church,believing that you are nosing into their
affairs or you are suspecting them for doing no wrong.
“People may begin to angrily leave the church or spoil the name
of the leadership of the church anywhere they go. So, it is a very
difficult situation but the church needs to preach from time to
time that people should check the sources of their money and that
if anybody gets money from dubious means to the church, it would
attract no blessing to the giver.
“In the case of the Ozubulu church, because the people don’t
live here it is even very much difficult when that person is not
within your vicinity. I don’t think the church has the blame; the
person that is giving is the person that has the blame. “The fact
that they built the church does not mean that they should kill
inside the church.
The church didn’t sign any pact with them that if you build for
us then you come and kill yourselves or other people inside the
church. “They built for the church out of their own volition so I
don’t see the church doing any wrong here except you want to
apportion blame where there is no blame.
“People don’t put money in tithing cards again because they say
what they are giving are between them and God, so it is difficult
for the ushers to know who dropped big amount. Then where people
are working with big corporations where their earnings can be
traced nobody has the right to go to the bank to say I want to see
the person’s statement of account.
“The bank can’t allow that, bank account is personal to you and
no church can just walk into the bank to check the account of its
members. And with what we are seeing now in Nigeria where we know
that a whole house may be used to stockpile money, how much of the
money people own now that gets to the bank. “So, people will be
very wrong just apportioning blame to the church. Many things are
wrong with the society that will make monitoring individual worth
very difficult.”
NewTelegraph