The Power and the Glory

“The prosperity Gospel has no concept of the sovereignty of God. I’ll even go so far to say the god of the prosperity gospel is not the God of the Bible.”- Patrick Higgins. The church over the years has moved away from focusing on the teachings of the kingdom of God. The church has become a multimillion industry rooted in a prosperity gospel theology leading to the enrichment of self styled bishops and apostles. Regrettably, the Holy Spirit is just a back seat visitor in many of these churches while the congregants ‘worship’ these self appointed men of the cloth. What does the Bible says about this? Let us turn the pages of our Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:1-13, "this is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus." The Bible clearly outlines the attributes and qualities one must possess if he/she desires the Office of the Bishop. But, how many of our church bishops meet this standard? Your guess is perhaps better than mine. The Church Defined. The concept of what the church is has varied over time. These ideas have been shaped primarily by religion, history, tradition, and even society. What is the church? Is the church a building? Is it the place where believers gather to worship? Or is the church the people—the believers who follow Christ? In the New Testament, the word “church” is translated from the Greek word ekklēsia. The first time the word church is mentioned in the entire Bible is in St. Matthew 16:18. “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Canon Ernest Southcott, defines the church: "The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when God’s people strengthened by preaching and sacrament go out of the church door into the world to be the church. We don’t go to church; we are the church." The church, therefore, is not a place. It is not the building, it is not the location, and it is not the denomination. God's people who are in Christ Jesus are the church. The church is the primary vehicle through which God carries out his purposes on earth. The church is the body of Christ his heart, his mouth, his hands, and feet reaching out to the world: Measuring Up?. Do these bishops meet the standards that Timothy spoke about? The Scripture is clear. Importantly, most if not all these men of the cloth tend to be charismatic espousing a fire and brimstone message. Such bishops do not hold themselves accountable, nor do they hold their families accountable to the same standards. Along with these titles of power and glory there is a culture of fear in many of these churches as congregants are fearful of challenging or speaking out on any deviations for fear of being asked to leave their place of worship. Religion has always been used as a method of social control. Additionally, religion has always been important in post slavery societies such as Jamaica. Many of these bishops abuse their positions and authority. In some instances the low literacy levels of the congregants play into manipulation as well as the misuse of the Bible of such congregations. Many of these bishops use the church as a means of enriching themselves as well as members of their families. One should always be wary of any church where the opinions and views of the bishop becomes the dogma and where there is no oversight body or board. Religious Socialization. Our religious socialization in the Caribbean does not allow for much challenge and questioning of bishops. We are taught not to question the bishop as such an action is akin to questioning God. Religious socialization is the process through which an individual learns and internalizes religious beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors (Bengtson et al.) This process happens through interactions with socializing agents, including parents, religious organizations, and peers. We must also add social media as a socializing agent given the importance of these various platforms in the transmission of values. It is evident from the definition above that religious socialization does not take place in isolation. Obviously, the time has come for a redirection concerning our religious socialization. This issue of socialization however, is problematic given that the agents of socialization in the society are dysfunctional. Firstly, a significant number of our families are single female headed households. In these instances, such mothers are stretched for time as they try to navigate their careers and looking after their families. Church attendance is slowly dying in the Jamaican society especially among the youth population. There must be rules, and check and balances, in churches. In churches where no such boundaries exist one should view this as a red flag. Is Salvation Free?. Is the gospel of Jesus Christ for sale by some ministers of religion? Our salvation is not dependent on that of a pastor. Unfortunately, in those spaces with high levels of illiteracy the interpretation of the Bible can be skewed. We all need to know and experience God for ourselves. It matters not if this church is independent or belongs to a wider denomination. We can clearly see how cults emerge and operate within a culture of religious suffocation and apathy. Many of these churches operate more like a family owned business where the wives and children of the bishop control all the key areas. Additionally, succession is passed down akin to what happens in a monarchy. The time is now for all of us to do a check regarding who or what we are worshipping. Prosperity Gospel. The Prosperity Gospel (PG) is a fast-growing theologically conservative movement frequently associated with Pentecostalism, evangelicalism, and charismatic Christianity that emphasizes believers’ abilities to transcend poverty and/or illness by contributing to the church. The practice can be considered manipulative and impacts all socio-economic groups. Disturbingly, it has become commonplace to see the elevation to higher office mainly from members of the wealthy class in these churches. Too many churches place too much emphasis on this ‘health and wealth’ gospel at the expense of their core function which is to reach those who are spiritually lost. Prosperity gospel has been prominent wherever Pentecostalism has flourished. Its genesis has been in United States of America (represented by figures such as Kenneth Hagin, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, and Rod Parsley). Its roots lay in the American Pentecostal movement and in the post-World War II healing revival movement. Ideas about financial prosperity were introduced by Oral Roberts, whose “Blessing Pact” asked subscribers to contribute funds to his preaching. He later introduced the “Seed-Faith” model, in which the faithful made a donation to the televangelist preacher with the expectation of receiving a blessing, as in, planting the seed in his ministry with expectations of material return. Know God Personally. Advocates of this branch of theology believe that God wants believers to be richly blessed in this life and that physical well-being and material riches are always God’s will for the faithful. Sickness and poverty are seen as curses. This skewed version or teaching has no Biblical grounding. God’s word is very clear on this subject matter. Let us journey to Jeremiah 29:11, for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Sadly, many congregants do not read their Bible and therefore their understanding of the Scriptures is based on the teachings and interpretation of the pastor. There is no need to redefine the church. However, a different mindset is now necessary as this narrative continues. The proliferation of social media in the 21st century has been instrumental to the spread of prosperity gospel. In the words of Garet C., prosperity gospel is not the gospel Jesus preached. The former is not just a dilution of the latter, but a shameful distortion of it. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #prosperitygospel