The "church"

Today l actually have a guest blogger who preferred to be anonymous..This person literally made me promise that l wont mention his name. This guest blogger is a very good friend of mine and a good writer, with an awesome sense of humour.This is his very own post, his opinions and what matters to him.

When someone asks me a simple question like, ‘what matters most to me’, I feel a certain sense of internal shame and guilt as I cannot seem to find something current or relevant that matters MOST to me in the here and now. Could I be that self-absorbed? I could put on a mask right now and appear empathetic towards global affairs by going on and on about current political issues, the war on terror in the Middle-East, global warming, health or something along those lines that frankly I DO NOT GIVE A RATS ASS ABOUT!

So I go back to the question, what really does matter most to me? If any, one thing does seem to come to mind and recur to me mentally as I ponder over this seemingly simple question. I may not be an expert, professional or authority figure in this field nor am I trying to be judgmental here so please bear with me. I feel (and again, this is just my personal opinion) if anything, the current rise in numbers and surge of these so called ‘Christian Churches, Ministers, Pastors, Preaches, Prophets, Men of God and the miracles they carry out’ seems as good enough an issue to care about as any.

Being a Christian myself, my family church has stood for over years and years, standing the test of time (which of course does not necessarily warrant or grant its authenticity in any way). However, the matter of the fact that it has stood the test of time should imply something, should it not? Not to mention any specifics; I worry and care most about how nowadays ‘people’ have taken keen interest to these newly formed congregations that just appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. One might say, ‘like a fart in the wind’. I worry how we as a ‘people’ (especially in Africa) come to these ‘Men of God’ expecting a quick fix to our everyday challenges / issues, filling and packing up stadiums and arenas on a weekly or monthly basis; placing all our prayers, faith and hope on this ‘mere mortal’ standing at the pool pit. Yes, mere mortal like you and me! This mere mortal, this MAN who began his ministry with a small gathering the size of a football team but now has a congregation large enough to fill stadiums. This man (a so-called man of God) who came from nowhere, driving a simple ex-Japanese car but currently has a fleet of brand new Mercedes Benz and BMW’s. If you don’t believe me look around. Look at the type of lifestyle SOME pastors / prophets are living. Watch MTV’s reality show ‘Preachers of LA’ to get a glimpse of what I’m talking about. Suddenly the opening of a Christian church has become more financial for some leaders. It has become a way to take advantage of people because of their circumstances, whilst simultaneously making a quick buck.    

I may be wrong in my analysis and a bit judgemental. My cry to you is, safeguard yourself from all that may appear Holy and sanctified, be prudent and ever watchful.  

-Anonymous