God, Church and Money

‘A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.’, John Ruskin

Last weekend we were invited by our neighbour to attend church with him.  Churches are a great place to people watch and get to know a community a little better, as well as challenging my world where God hardly gets a look in.  So by 7.45 am we were heading out to the east of Accra, with no real idea of what to expect, apart from our neighbour’s promise that it would be finished by 11am (actually it was 12.30 by the time everything wrapped up).

It was an interesting morning, to say the least!  We started off with a Bible study class on offering the first fruits to God, led by a very jolly pastor.  Although to call it a discussion is maybe to mislead, it was basically the pastor telling the group that they needed to give their ‘first fruits’ (ie. money) to God (ie. the church) for them to be blessed with success and financial gain.  At no point were other ways in which to offer up to God mentioned or discussed, which I felt a little comfortable about.

After an hour or so for singing, dancing and testimonies, there came the main sermon on the topic of the first born.  By this point, as newcomers, we had been places right at the front of the church, so no opportunities to have a quick nap.  The whole thing was rather confusing.  The pastor asked all first born children to stand up, and then put their hand on their head, while he delivered a 5 minute prayer about how important first born children are.  As a third born, does that mean Xavier is bottom of the pack?  The gist of the sermon was that first born children are the most important to God (and that you should offer them up to God via a financial offering to the church – ah!), and that first borns are destined to success.  But what does that mean for the majority of the congregation who are not first born children?  With large families here in Ghana, surely the sermon didn’t really apply to most people.  And if you are a first born, what did it mean?  That you were destined to great success and wealth?

All in all I was bewildered by the message, but most importantly by the fact that money had been mentioned as many times as God, and that not once were other methods of giving yourself to God discussed.  In a community where there are so many needy people, I am sure that there are also many practical ways to show your love for God rather than through a cheque to a pastor in Nigeria (instructions on how to write the cheque were given out from the pulpit).  Although the singing and dancing, enthusiasm and energy of the church were incredible, the four different envelopes we were all given to donate money and the repeated mantra that the way to honour God was through monetary gifts left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

As I was searching through Google for more information on the church, I found this article on money making pastors in Nigeria: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2011/06/07/the-five-richest-pastors-in-nigeria/2/

Of course, churches have to run, buildings maintained and often churches have outreach projects in the communities where they operate.  If people want to give money their church, that is very much up to them.  But for me, when money is the only way to show your devotion to God, and financial gain is the only way God blesses his followers, something has truly gone wrong with the understanding of the Bible.  So I think I will put this one down to an anthropology lesson.

Although later that very day we experience two misfortunes.  Firstly, the vegetarian dish I ordered had rather a lot of fish in it, which ended up in an enormous argument with the waitress, her manager and a whole host of hawkers.  Secondly, Xav’s phone was stolen at a busy bus stop.  So maybe we should have given more than 3GHS to the church.

If you are interested in seeing a little bit more about this church, and looking at their teaching for yourself, here is a link to their webpage: https://trccg.org/rccg/