Category: Sunday magazine

The General Superintendent of Christ Redemption Bible Church Ketu Lagos, Pastor John Ogundare, spoke with Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie on sundry national issues and the church’s 15th anniversary, among others. Excerpts: 

How come a nation as religious as Nigeria is still corrupt?
It is true that Nigeria seems to be a religious country. And I still want to say that that aspect is what has been keeping this country one till today. One way or the other, everyone keeps praying for the country. They are always praying that there should be peace in Nigeria. But it is not enough for a country to be a religious country. The most important thing is that people are seeking for material things today than really showing love for God.
If you look at those people that we call Christians today, you can see many in the church on Sundays. But every other activity like the weekly programmes in the church, Bible study where they can hear the word of God, you will never see many people there. They don’t want to go to a place where they will know that they will correct the mode of their lives. If you see somebody committing fraud and he goes to a place where the undiluted message of God is preached, if such a person continually hears such messages, before you know it, he would be withdrawing from such a church.
My only advice is that our men of God should go back to the old- time religion where undiluted messages are being preached. That is how this country can be better off. We have it in history when our leaders in the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo would go to the church to recruit for the civil service in the old Western Region. Why is that not happening today? Because the so-called Christians and Muslims today are the ones you would find in this fraud and corruption we are talking about. Don’t be surprised to find even pastors, elders, imams, those who are still in the civil service. So what I would tell Nigerians is let everybody return to Jesus. When we return to Christ Jesus, the situation of this country will become normal. Fraud will become a thing of the past. It’s not just that ‘I want to go to church for protection, I want to go to church to keep my job, I want to go to church because I need a house to change my car.’
What is the responsibility of men of God?
If men of God could reduce emphasis on material things, I’m not saying don’t preach prosperity but let our messages not be one-sided. If holiness, if sanctification are messages that we preach along with prosperity and material things, you will discover that this problem will reduce and no member will have the guts to steal money in his company and bring it to the pastor or the church.
He will have some fear in his mind. He would have known the kind of person his pastor is. He will know that even if I take this to the pastor, he will reject it. But today, I’m not judging or condemning, we have abandoned what we are supposed to do to help the society from all this corruption as a church. Because if the minister sees that a member of his church is driving a brand new SUV, he also wants the same and he does not mind where the money comes from. I want every minister of God to know whether we like it or not, rapture will soon take place, and everyone shall face judgement on the last day.
How do we solve the problem of Boko Haram?
I remember when President Obasanjo was in government, there was the issue of Sharia in some Northern states. But he diplomatically handled the issue and it died. I think Boko Haram is more of a political issue. Let Nigerians not deceive themselves. Those behind Boko Haram know themselves. And that is why our president should use every human connection to resolve it. If I were him, I will call a national prayer day. On that day, no company, no organisation, no school, no ministry will open. Everybody must gather at one particular place and pray for our nation. I can assure you the people behind Boko Haram are human beings and they were created by God. And the Bible says with God, all things are possible. God has the ability and power to put a stop to it. After all, he said the heart of the king is in the hand of God. I know that some people are bent until this man finishes his four-year term, he will know no peace. And when there is no peace, how does he want to seek a second term? I was surprised recently when the president said he could not even face the issue of power; that all his attention is on security. That, to me, was saying that the government has failed. What would have given his government some credits is this issue of electricity. But for him to have uttered those words means that they have collapsed his government. So the issue of Boko Haram is political and it has gone out of hand. It is political. If they don’t handle it well before 2015, only God know what would happen.
Should Christian leaders condemn government, participate in politics or just sit and watch?
A servant of God is called to the ministry. Our job is to pray for the peace of the land. I don’t encourage any minister of God to go into politics. Because the moment you do that, especially in a country like this, you have lost your focus. You have lost your calling. And such a minister of God would be messed up. If they have money, you may struggle to make yourself relevant again but that purpose of your calling is lost. Look at those who have done that in this country, they are still struggling to come back. Our mission is to stand in the gap for our land and preach peace. Pray for peace and unity. Once in a while when the opportunity comes, you may advise the government. The Bible says we should pray for them, not to start fighting them.
How has the church been in the past 15 years?
We thank God. We just have to start by giving the praise to the Almighty God. You know to get to 15 years is not something that is easy. We thank God for being there for us. We still have a few challenges but that is normal in a ministry like this. But God is faithful. He has been the one that has been seeing us through.
What was your vision like then?
What God gave me as a vision and direction then was “Go, and depopulate the kingdom of the devil and increase my kingdom.” That is the vision. And that has been our mission in the past 15 years. So that is what we do: preaching the gospel, undiluted; showing to the people that they need to give their lives to Jesus. There are many lives that God has been able to use us to touch through our teaching. That God has changed from evil to the way of God today. And we give God the praise. I remember when we started, it was just like we were playing. It was just like a fellowship. We never knew it was going to turn into something big like this. We give God the glory.
What would be your message to Nigerians?
I have no other message apart from the one I’ve been preaching in the church and on TV. Nigerians should return genuinely to God. Like I am talking to you now, there are thousands of people on the mountains, in the camps, in many other places, praying for the unity of this country. If we are all doing it genuinely without waiting for a material reward, America will be coming behind this country. And I want to assure you, in the next five years, this country will be getting better. But we all need to return to God.  It is not about going to the church or mosque. I must make sure I pray for my country and my leaders even though they are getting certain things wrong. We should remain one. I’m an advocate of a united Nigeria. There is no country that separated without a war.  All the advocates of disintegration will run away from here as soon as it happens. Ghana, Togo, can’t take us.
How do you plan to mark the 15th anniversary?
Well, our first aim is just to thank God for what he has done in our lives in the past 15 years. And for the first time, we want to really move out and help our immediate community to see what we can do in terms of giving them health support, counselling, cleaning the environment etc. If you look around the church, you will see the drainage that we are constructing. We also plan to visit orphanages and help them. We will also hold a crusade to depopulate the kingdom of darkness. So we will have that programme and we will have a lot of God’s anointed ministers who would be doing this with us. On September 22, we are going to dedicate our international headquarters which, to the glory of God, has been under construction for about three years now.