Forwarded by: FEMI AWODELE

5 WAYS THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL IS HURTING AFRICA

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’m not an African, but in 2008 some Nigerian friends gave me a

Yoruba name (“Akinwale”) because I have been to that country

so often. My visits there, along with trips to Uganda, Kenya,

Malawi, South Africa and Egypt, planted a deep love for Africa

in my heart. My first grandson’s arrival this year from

Ethiopia made the connection even stronger.

I’m often asked to describe how God is moving in Africa today.

Since I’m an optimist, I usually tell of the large churches,

the passionate praise and the intense spiritual hunger that

characterizes African Christianity. But there is also a dark

side, and I think it’s time we addressed one of the most

serious threats to faith on the continent.

I’m talking about the prosperity gospel. Of course, I know a

slick version of this message is preached in the United

States—and I know we are the ones who exported it overseas. I

am not minimizing the damage that prosperity preaching has

done in my own country. But I have witnessed how some African

Christians are taking this money-focused message to new and

even more dangerous extremes.

Here are five reasons the prosperity message is damaging the

continent of Africa today:

1. It is mixed with occultism. Before Christianity came to

Nigeria, people visited witch doctors and sacrificed goats or

cows to get prosperity. They poured libations on the ground so

the gods would hear their prayers. Today similar practices

continue, only the juju priest has been replaced by a pastor

who drives a Mercedes-Benz. I am aware of a pastor who buried

a live animal under the floor of his church to win God’s

favor. Another pastor asked his congregants to bring bottles

of sand to church so he could anoint them; he then told the

people to sprinkle the sand in their houses to bring

blessings. The people who follow these charlatans are reminded

that their promised windfall won’t materialize unless they

give large donations.

2. It fuels greed. Any person who knows Christ will learn the

joy of giving to others. But the prosperity gospel teaches

people to focus on getting, not giving. At its core it is a

selfish and materialistic faith with a thin Christian veneer.

Church members are continually urged to sow financial seeds to

reap bigger and bigger rewards. In Africa, entire conferences

are dedicated to collecting offerings in order to achieve

wealth. Preachers boast about how much they paid for suits,

shoes, necklaces and watches. They tell their followers that

spirituality is measured by whether they have a big house or a

first-class ticket. When greed is preached from the pulpit, it

spreads like a cancer in God’s house.

3. It feeds pride. This greedy atmosphere in prosperity

churches has produced a warped style of leadership. My Kenyan

friend Gideon Thuranira, editor of Christian Professional

magazine, calls these men “churchpreneurs.” They plant

churches not because they have a burden to reach lost souls

but because they see dollar signs when they fill an auditorium

with chairs. A selfish message produces bigheaded opportunists

who need position, applause and plenty of perks to keep them

happy. The most successful prosperity preacher is the most

dangerous because he can convince a crowd that Jesus died to

give you and me a Lexus.

4. It works against the formation of Christian character. The

prosperity message is a poor imitation of the gospel because

it leaves no room for brokenness, suffering, humility or

delay. It offers an illegal shortcut. Prosperity preachers

promise instant results and overnight success; if you don’t

get your breakthrough, it’s because you didn’t give enough

money in the offering. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and

follow Him; prosperity preaching calls us to deny Jesus and

follow our materialistic lusts. There is a leadership crisis

in the African church because many pastors are so set on

getting rich, they can’t go through the process of

discipleship that requires self-denial.

5. It actually keeps people in poverty. The government of

Malawi is currently under international scrutiny because of

fraud carried out by top leaders. The saddest thing about the

so-called “Cashgate” scandal is that professing Christians in

the administration of President Joyce Banda have been

implicated. One of these people stole millions of kwacha from

the government and hid the cash in a teddy bear! Most people

today in Malawi live on less than $1 a day, yet their leaders

have been known to buy fleets of cars and huge plots of land

with money that was not theirs. Sadly, the prosperity gospel

preached in Malawi has encouraged pastors and leaders to

follow the same corrupt pattern. As a result, God’s people

have been financially exploited.

When Jesus described false prophets as wolves in sheep’s

clothing, He warned us to examine their fruit. Matthew 7:17

says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree

bears bad fruit” (NASB). What is the fruit of prosperity

preaching?

Churches have been growing rapidly in many parts of Africa

today, yet sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world

where poverty has increased in the past 25 years. So according

to the statistics, the prosperity gospel is not bringing

prosperity! It is a flawed message, but I believe God will use

selfless, broken African leaders to correct it.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director

of the Mordecai Project. You can follow him on Twitter at

@leegrady. He is preaching in Kenya this week.