CHURCH CRISIS FORETOLD IN SCRIPTURE
WHILE the news media is hit by the emergence of a nasty phenomenon called fake news, the church is beset by fake miracles, sex scandals in some parishes, greedy conduct of some leaders and members, pointing to a realisation that brand Jesus and the broader Christian community is in crisis.
We know Jesus Christ warned that in the last days there would be false prophets. This, together with videos of pastors – if they can be called pastors – feeding people poisonous, hazardous stuff, faking resurrection and faking miracles confirm to many that we are at the point Jesus talked about.
We hear about sexual scandals involving the clergy, congregants and to a worrying degree, criminal conviction of some pastors who abuse young boys in some churches, with reports of physical infighting in churches being more reported than real miracles.
The question then is, what is the church doing to cleanse itself of this bad reputation and to protect the brand image of the church and, by extension, of Jesus Christ?
Anyone who preaches the gospel or is engaged in church work is doing so in the context of the great commission Christ gave to the 11 disciples (Judas rebelled and committed suicide) and to those who inherited the gospel.
For those not familiar with the gospel, one of the things Jesus taught to the disciples was preaching the word of God to men, feeding the hungry, caring for the vulnerable, the poor, praying for the dead to resurrect, praying for the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the sick to be healed.
With this foundation, and based on the teachings of God in many accounts of the bible, including the 10 commandments and the instructions he gave to Adam and Eve at creation, brand Jesus was cemented as a solid brand to transform people’s lives through the work of his disciples.
During his early ministry, Jesus once taught his disciples that “not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in the day, ‘Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?”
In a very telling text, Jesus said he would tell them: “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
The church must do right things, and implement the word of God as taught by Christ
Could the fake miracles, corrupted religion or faith, flawed sexual relations, sex crimes, criminality and abuse of children and women in the church be pointing to this situation which Jesus taught the 12 and anyone who reads the word?
In every healing he prayed for, Jesus never took personal glory; he called the public to see what he did, but he always emphasised that a person’s faith in God had healed them. He would then instruct them to stick to their faith in God and to sin no more.
While Jesus told some of those he healed not to tell others, many preachers in today’s church publish and broadcast what they do as a show of their personal strength, power and a star on their chests. Some of those who drive fake miracles do this, record it on video to be on their TV shows, and are now being exposed as performing fake miracles.
The church must be mindful of the requirements of salvation and the responsibility of the church in society.
The church must do right things, and implement the word of God as taught by Christ. The bible is the first point of reference for these teachings.
Sicwetsha is a public servant who believes in God and believes that Jesus is the son of God