If you’re observant of the activities of pastors in Nigeria, you would have discovered that most of them are good receivers but bad givers. If your pastors are not one of such pastors, then count yourself lucky. If you’re not a pastor who likes to receive and also gives, then, you’re one in a million.
In 2006, I suggested to the pastor of the parish of my church for us to establish a special fund for the purpose of assisting indigent and committed members of our church. She liked my suggestion, but pointed out that the headquarters of our church would never approve of it. That was the end of my suggestion. Why do pastors in Nigeria like receiving but hate giving?
I offered the same advice to a pastor of another church, some years ago, and he said to me: “Church is neither a bank nor a charitable organisations. What he meant was that churches are not established to offer financial and other assistance to their members or members of the public.
Was that ignorant and selfish pastor right in his thinking? The answer is a capital NO!
Most pastors in Nigeria, without apology, are in the business they know little or nothing about. They call themselves pastors but do not understand that church business is a business of giving and helping others, including offering financial assistance to the needy.
My research has shown that most pastors in Nigeria do not know how to give or do not like giving, and that is why they don’t know how to teach about giving.
The only time you hear our pastors talk about giving is when they are preaching. Another occasion is whenever they decide to take few cartons of noodles and some toiletries to motherless babies’ homes, mostly during Christian festive periods.
One very bad attitude of those pastors is that they love receiving anything receivable, including money and gifts, but hate giving the same to other people.
Whenever they have projects to execute, for example, they would carry out a strong publicity campaign about it and print packets of envelopes, which they usually give out to members of their church, who in turn give them out to their prospective donors, including members and non-members of their church.
They usually instruct their members to make sure every envelope is returned with money in it. Have you not observed or witnessed this trend among most churches in Nigeria?
But when it comes to giving back to those who gave them or to the larger society, you’d hear say things like: “Churches are not banks,” “Churches are not charitable organisations,” among other funny comments. Why do pastors in Nigeria like receiving but hate giving?
The worst part of the selfish and wicked attitude of those pastors is that they don’t even help immediate members of their own church, let alone helping outsiders. It is that bad!
For example, I know of a lady who left the choir of her church recently because she could no longer afford the incessant purchase of different choir uniforms recommended by her church. Unfortunately, the pastor of her church, who knew her situation never bothered to find out why she ceased to be a member of the choir.
Would it be a bad idea if pastors in Nigeria decide to foot the bills of the uniforms of members of choir of their churches, for example, with a view to encouraging them to sing well?
Unfortunately, most of them don’t! Why do pastors in Nigeria like receiving but hate giving?
Worse still, I do hear and listen to pastors in Nigeria, who say to workers in their church: “As workers in this church, you need to work diligently, so that God would reward you accordingly.”
If pastors expect workers in their church to work and wait for God to reward them, why, then, would such pastors expect members of their church to sow seeds in their lives instead of waiting for the same God to reward them? Isn’t that a contradiction to their line of thought?
In case pastors in Nigeria do not know, it is very easy for them to help members of their congregation, as well as members of the public, especially those who reside within their places of operation, without affecting their bank balances negatively.
How? They can do this by creating a special fund in a bank, just as Alfred Nobel, the initiator of The Nobel Prize did, and call it whatever name they feel like calling it, including ‘Divine Favour Fund, DFF,’ Divine Fund, DF’ and Give To Grow Fund, GTWF’ among other beautiful names.
After the fund has been created, announcements can then be made in their church and in any publication published by their church, inviting members of the church and other generous donors to donate generously into it.
If they do this the right way, I bet you, many donors, including non-members and non-Christians would be willing to offer their contributions with a clean heart.
But because most pastors in Nigeria expect every money that comes into their church to go into their pockets, they would never allow this to be.
Even if they are offered a suggestion, as I have just done, in their dreams, they would ascribe it to be the handiwork of the devil.
One of such pastors in trying to defend himself against my allegation of receiving and not giving, sometime ago, told me that if such fund is created, that many criminals would want to take advantage of it to tell lies about their situation.
That is not completely true. It is true that some dubious people might want to access the fund just for the fun of it, but can’t our pastors, with the help of the Holy Spirit, sieve the chaffs from the grains? They can!
Did anybody inform apostle Peter in the Bible that Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied about the proceeds from the sales of their property? – Acts 5: 1-11. Was it not the Holy Spirit of God who informed Peter the beloved of the couples’ plan to trick the apostles?
If the Holy Spirit could do it for Peter in those days, He can still do it for our pastors today. Yes, the same Holy Spirit who helped apostle Peter is still alive and around to help them discover the evil intent of anybody who might want to deceive them over such fund.
If you’re a pastor and sees yourself guilty of my allegation, this is an opportunity for you to turn a new leaf and cultivate a compassionate heart of giving, with a view to balancing your receiving.
You need, to understand that the work you’ve chosen to do, pastoring or shepherding other people, is a business of giving; giving in all its ramifications.
Have you forgotten that Jesus Christ gave throughout His ministry? If yes, then, you have to emulate Him and develop the attitude of giving just as you already have that of receiving.
If you’re afraid that giving or helping members of your church and members of the public might affect your bank balances negatively, create a special fund, as I mentioned above, for this purpose. After that, start asking members of your church to donate towards into it, as they may be led by the Holy Spirit.
If you do this sincerely, even non-members of your church, including unbelievers, would hear about it and come to your aid, thereby causing you to succeed.
Trust me! You must surely succeed.
How do I know that you’ll surely succeed? Because a wise man once said that: “God’s work done in God’s way shall never lack supply.”
