NIGERIA HOUSES OF HORROR (PART XIII)

“Abattoirs of Human Souls”

By Akin Ojumu

Whether you are one of the faithful few who see some sense in what I write, or you are just a passerby who by share happenstance stumbles on this blog, the palpable stridency in the tone of my commentaries is the outward expression of the flood of adrenaline of indignation pumping into my boiling blood.

What makes my blood boil, if you care to know, is seeing the Word of God come under siege by charlatans who have set up shop in the House of God. These rampaging wolves in sheep’s clothing in the Household of Faith are rapacious beasts sent to feast on the soul of God’s people.

If you think I have a personal axe to grind with your pastor or your so-called apostle, think again. Your General Overseer has not offended me personally. I’m not, out of envy, trying to pull down your daddy-in-the Lord. 

Bitterness is not my motive. Vindictiveness is far from it. These commentaries are not for self-promotion. My vexations are certainly not for self-glorification. I’m not out seeking attention or wanting to be known. At my age, I’m way past that. 

All I desire in all of this is to see God’s people delivered from the bondage of deception and confusion which they are in. My goal is to do my bit in putting a nail in the coffin of the carnage of exploitation so prevalent in our Churches today. 

For me to keep quiet is to shy away from my Christian duty. I’ll not be doing you any favor if I say nothing in the face of the evil that has taken over the Church in Nigeria.

Earlier in this commentary series, I made the following comments:

As much as I hate to admit it, there’s no real Church in Nigeria. Across the board, places of worship in Nigeria are rotten to the core. Oozing from the dark and evil cavernous belly of the country’s religious houses is an awful stench, the dreadful odor of putrefying carcasses of spiritually dead souls.

Top to bottom, Christianity in Nigeria is dead, and it has been so for a long time. What passes for a house of worship in the country these days is anything but a true Church where the Almighty God is worshiped. The gathering places that are considered holy grounds are unholy institutions where human ideas and opinions of mortal men are propagated instead of the true Gospel.

While all that may sound hyperbolic to you, hyperbole is the last thing on my mind. If you must know, it gives me absolutely no joy to admit that Churches in Nigeria are horror houses. Coming to the sudden realization that the places people go to worship the Almighty God have become slaughterhouses where they are being sacrificed to other gods is really nothing to gloat about.

Let me illustrate to you what I mean by that. Say, for instance, I’m asked to describe some of the leading denominations in Nigeria in one word. This, sadly, would be my response.

RCCG – Cult.

Winners Chapel – Shrine.

Daystar – Mammon.

House on the Rock – Boutique.

Christ Embassy – Hoax.

Mountain of Fire and Miracle – Sorcery.

Salvation Ministries – Greed.

KICC – Pimp.

Omega Fire – Pervert.

COZA – Predator.

Eternity Network – Gnostic.

Streams of Joy – Fraud.

I could go on and on, it’s all the same. There are many who would be offended hearing me use such an unflattering term to describe their place of worship. And I agree that these are not words that should, ordinarily, be associated with a House of God. But even you, if you are being honest, know it’s true. 

Even at that, I still derive no pleasure disparaging a place of worship. But you must understand that the Almighty God is not worshipped in these places. These establishments, and many others like them, are nothing but abattoirs of human souls.

As a Christian, I desire nothing more than to have a vibrant and thriving Christianity in my fatherland. All I want for my people is for them to know the true Christ and His Gospel.

Instead, what we have are horror houses run by ghoulish soul harvesters. These human vampires suck their victims dry as they amass an unconscionable amount of wealth with which they build for themselves grandiose empires. Out of the ill-gotten gains of their soulless grift, many of these hustlers transform themselves into prosperity pimps cruising the globe in private planes.

A true Church is where God is reverenced, and God’s Word is revered. Such a Church is led by biblically qualified plurality of elders who are accountable to one another. These elders are spiritual eunuchs who can be trusted with the bride of Christ, and they are not predators who molest the elect of God.

In a true Church, the goal of the elders is to connect the bride with the bridegroom through the expositional teaching of Scripture. Such a Church is not ruled by spiritual superstars seeking fame or fortune. The shepherds are certainly not religious celebrities who have turned themselves into demigods to be worshiped by the flock of God redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb of God.

If the place where you worship falls short on even one of the above criteria, you belong in an abattoir of human souls and not a Church.

Tune in next time for the conclusion.