THEME: DECOUPLING THE CHURCH FROM TRIBAL TRADITION AND MATERIALISM TO RECLAIM CHRIST’S RESURRECTION POWER 

Peace be to the Church—People of God in Africa and the World.  

I write as a servant of God and fellow laborer in the vineyard, alongside the clergy and laity, the saints, and citizens of the Kingdom of God on earth and in heaven.  It is a blessed and joyful thing to be called by God, born anew, and adopted into the household of God—filled with the Holy Spirit as disciple of Christ, and soldier of the Cross, and enlisted as laborer in the vineyard. 

To be called, accepted, trained, and equipped—chosen and given the extraordinary grace of appointment by Jesus Christ into the core group of Ministers of the Five-Fold Ministry (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher)—and ordained accordingly by Jesus Christ Himself first, followed by acknowledgment, affirmation, and ordination by His Church and fellow ministers is a very blessed and joyful yet most challenging calling. It is a high calling to rise to perfection, prepare, equip, and assist other saints to grow in perfection unto the fullness of the stature of Christ and of God. 

Jesus Christ, the Master, has emphasized the fact that the High Calling and Minister of Christ is a   challenging position that demands death to self, denying the world and its life order, and  taking up the Cross to follow him, Christ in the service of the Father (Matthew 16:16-27; John 12:23-32). The Holy Spirit has further clarified the way to follow Christ, in the high calling and service of the Father in Philippians 3:8-21. 

To follow Jesus Christ—as a child of God, a faithful citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, a disciple, and a minister of Christ—is to seek to walk in the righteousness of God through faith in Christ. Again, it demands that the disciple of Christ lives in continuous fellowship and communion with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, so to know the mind, works, and working power of the Father (John 14: 9-14; 1st Corinthians 2). 

It is in doing so that the child of God and particularly the minister of Christ can assimilate, be integrated into, and be fully conformed to the spirit, mind, light, power, wisdom, and way of the Triune God. It is with such deep spiritual connection with Christ and His Lordship in works and life, that one can truly share in His humility, suffering, and death, and be covered and entrenched with His Spirit of Resurrection and Power. By conforming to Christ’s death and filled with His Spirit and Power of resurrection—is to totally deny oneself, one’s ambition, plans, and glory of the human ego in this life. There is and there shall be resurrection only when one dies. The resurrection, therefore, demands being fully merged into, covered up, and overflowing by the Spirit of Christ and the newness of Life and Glory. 

Herein lies the truth and key to glory in the High Calling: the transition into glory in Christ Divine Nature. Unless we die to self-glory, that is glory in the first Adam nature with all its inevitable challenges, temptations, trials, suffering, rejection, reproach, and loss of self-glory—there will be no need for the resurrection spirit to renew, re-invigorate, rise, be strengthened and sustained in the second Adam Divine Nature Stature. 

Indeed, it is those who reject the carnal flesh—with its pride, pomp in worldly life, and its glory—and wait patiently upon the Lord who shall renew their strength and rise up in the glory of Christ (Romans 8: 5-8; Isaiah 40: 28-31; Ephesians 4: 13). 

In this regard, the Spirit of the Lord has declared to us that the Church in Africa is facing many challenges, due primarily to the idolatrous, Satan-dominated environment. This shaped African traditions, culture, and mind-set with their consequential backwardness, poverty, suffering, and pain. Unfortunately, the Church in Africa instead of seeking to be fully grounded in Christ, the Truth of Scripture, and the Power of the Holy Spirit for righteousness, holiness, and faithfulness to God—and progress and prosperity in His Hands, instead of properly identifying the spiritual and cultural forces that inhibit Christian faithfulness and social progress, it  has gone out to respond to the dark satanic environment and challenging economic and social conditions not as disciples of Christ in the truth, righteousness, authority, power, light, and way of God, but in carnal, anomalous, and absurd ways—often adopting human spirit power, carnal worldly knowledge, wisdom, and ways.  Recently, the African Church has drifted into the old demon directed paganism and divination. 

The Church in Africa has, on an increasing scale, succumbed to the traditions of tribal Africa and the worldly agenda and life of gain, happiness, power, possessions and fame. In humility and sincerity, we bring to light the declaration of God the Master: Let the Church hear what Christ is saying.  We do not intend to engage readers in a lengthy discussion here of departure from and deep disconnect with Christ, the Truth, and Righteousness of God, through faith in Christ in the Church worldwide. We only want to humbly call attention to this sad development of “doctrines of men and devils” now found in our pulpits, on shelves in bookshops, and most likely teachings in religious departments in universities and colleges and even seminaries, Bible colleges, and schools of ministry, most unfortunate through Televangelism, radio, and media in general.  

The Spirit of the Lord would have the Church in Africa consider the challenges posed by ‘tradition’ to the Church in Africa. By this, we refer primarily to the traditions, beliefs, customs, and ways of tribal Africa.  But it will be necessary also to consider alongside the traditions and ways of men in worldly wisdom and practices. Both Jesus Christ (Matt.15:1-9; 7:1-9) and the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul (Col. 2:6-12) warned the Church against ignoring the commandments of God and seeking to teach knowledge and practice of the tradition, philosophies, theories, and ideas of men. Many Christians in Africa, including Church ministers and elders seem to have been overwhelmed by, and have indeed succumbed to the tradition, customary, and cultural practices in tribal Africa in total rejection or utter disregard of the truth, light, and commandments of God in the Scriptures and leading of the Holy Spirit.   

Among the Ga-Dangme, for example, many a church leader—both clergy and lay person—have compromised and succumbed to the tradition of “Dipo”, “Otofo,” and “Homowo.” So, also “Akwasidae”, the demands of chieftaincy and rulership with its blood, the pouring of libation to spirits, dead ancestors, gods, and deities in the Akan tradition and all.  

The act of pouring of libation and petition to the dead—under the false belief that life, family success, tribal and national glory depends on such spirits. What a serious departure from truth, light, life, liberty, and hope as revealed by scripture. The perfect will and Way of God the Creator was sealed by the Blood and Spirit of Christ.  

To place trust and hope in the dead is a lie—a satanic deception and exploitation of the ignorance, foolishness, and powerlessness of man, who has sold his birthright and glory in the beginning to Satan in his rejection and disobedience of God the creator. 

The redeemed of the Lord has no business in paying obeisance to Satan and the dead for life, nor the gods for righteousness, moral sanctity, success, prosperity, nobility, and glory of peoples and nations. The shells of human glory in material and physical things are empty.  In any case, it is short and brutish. Satan has not and cannot offer life. His ways are crooked, destructive, damnable, and an abomination to God.  He promises gold and power with one hand and demands human soul in return.  

Thus, the ‘marriage’ of observance of tradition, philosophy, and theories of men in the African Church has created and indeed, creates a mess of pottage of spiritual conflict and contradictions in the lives of the people of God. The New Man in Christ is not a hybrid or mixture of Satan spirit, human spirit, and Christ Divine Spirit.  He is a total New Creation in Christ for heavenly ordained righteousness and good works (John 1:12-13, 16, 2nd Corinthians 5:17; Eph. 2:10; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). The old human flesh container has been cast away in the grave. Soon we will put on the full regalia of the new man.  

The worldly life of gain has superseded the life of faith, the way of the Cross, and the glory in humility and modesty in Christ within the Church in Africa. Due to the heavy dominance of tradition and poverty on the African spirit and mindset, the Church has not succeeded in ensuring full liberty from the dominance of satanic paganistic pursuits of gain as a life goal in the world. Thus, though the Holy Spirit has warned against treating gain as godliness (1 Tim 6:1-11), many Churches, many ministers, and many congregations, as well as many a flock have fallen prey to condemnation in making gain the goal of the Christian Faith, Christian service, and Christian life. 

But the Word of God exhorts us to consider godliness of the soul and Eternal Life of greater worth and consequence than all the gains, riches, and treasures of the world (Matt 16:24-26). The flock is exhorted by the Holy Spirit to flee from such teachings. This is rather unfortunate, but as it should be expected, such churches or ministries of African and worldly tradition abound in large congregations, large buildings, extensive property. These are wrongly perceived as evidence of righteousness, faithfulness, or the favor of God. Consequently, false and abysmal doctrines of breakthroughs, miracles, success, winning ways, financial gain, prosperity, etc. now dominate our pulpits, the air waves, and gatherings. 

It is obvious that the economic and social environment of poverty, lack, and suffering in Africa seem to have given some form of relevance, respectability, and acceptance to these teachings to the bewildered aspiring young adults, and professionals in Africa where so-called ‘Middle-Class Status’ is a national, political, economic, and development policy goal. Instead of dealing with the roots of backwardness and poverty, church and governments in Africa are clamoring for social status, leaving the vast majority to the dark reality of dirt and death, poverty, and hopelessness. Politicians, Ministers of State, and Ministers of Christ and Church Elders together propagate the same personal goals. Everybody, therefore, clamors in a rush for the miracle band of money, riches, and power.  But these teachings and proclamations are dangerous for the church body as well as politics and governance in weak and growing economies.  Due to these developments in the church and the nation—greed, covetousness, corruption, fraud, and theft have risen and are rising on ever increasing scale in Ghana. 

Goodliness, contentment, honesty, righteousness, and justice have been thrown overboard by the Church, the state, the governments and the nations in Africa. The last observation from the Lord and Master Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, is that the Church in Africa has raised happiness as the primary objective and measure of the faith. Accordingly, the important tenets of the faith— such as truth, honesty, holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, suffering, and steadfastness against —evil, falsehood, wickedness, unrighteousness, injustice, immorality, and vain glory have been thrown aside by the African Church. In their place has risen the search for Gain, Happiness, Egoism, and Pleasure. 

We conclude by humbly reminding the Body that the Church in America is not providing a good example and help to the Church in Africa. The doctrines of men—rooted in worldly philosophy, and science, theories, and ideas of financial gain, prosperity, success, happiness, leisure and pleasure in a rich, prosperous, economically vibrant and leisure society—cannot and must not be a teacher and mentor for the Church in Africa. We are now engaged in fighting the battles of faith, challenging Satan, and wickedness of centuries and seeking spirit power, truth, and light to overthrow Satan, darkness, death, poverty, backwardness, and life insecurity. The corrupt ways of men and the wicked works of spirits and technology are no weapons to overthrow Satan, transform and build a new Africa under God and His Christ. 

The church in Africa must rise and engage the total reality of Africa with the total Gospel of Jesus Christ, not the ideas of fallen away Church and fallen nations.  The new gospel—centered on faith and hope in gain, riches, and power—does more than just create challenges in an Africa already riddled with idolatry, poverty, and life insecurity. These teachings are fundamentally anomalous and absurd for meeting the deep-seated spiritual and cultural challenges of the continent.  

Arise, Church of God in Africa! Resist the bondage of tradition, the snare of material gain, and the idol of carnal happiness. Let us stand so that Truth, Life, and Liberty—alongside Peace, Righteousness, Faithfulness, Justice, Joy, Progress, and Prosperity—through trust and hope in God and faith in Jesus Christ can prosper and flourish in Africa. 

GOD BLESS AFRICA! 

January 21, 2012.