CYCLES

THE END OF A CYCLE

Abstract

The events of the last decade in church and society are all pointing to one truth in that we have gone through the full cycle of contemporary church and nationhood in Nigeria. It's been 40 years (1979-2019) of meandering in the spiritual and political wilderness, due to the inability to enter into the rest of God on both sides of the divide. Here I examine, by way of thematic analysis, the significant events that shaped the church and society within the Nigerian context in the last four decades, with the aim to reach the "Deuteronomy criterion," in which a generation is willing to enter the rest of God, having fully grasped its background and current state of ethos. I’ll be taking a survey of the gains and losses of the last 40 years and operationalizing constructs leading up to the rise of territory taking, territory allotting and visionary leadership. I’ll also be reinventing the Joshua kind of leadership that is filled with the Spirit of wisdom due to the laying on of the hands of Moses. I’ll then propose a conceptual framework that incorporates the gains of the last 40 years into the prospects, possibilities and dimensions of the next 40 years (if the Lord tarries, many of us reading this will still be alive)

Constructs

The are some conceptual underpinnings and frameworks in this survey:

1. The survey is not in any way for or against the developments of the last forty years and is in no way set forth to condemn or praise anyone or any practice of the last forty years; it is just a survey to set forth themes in the last 40 years of the Nigerian church.

2. ’Moses' is not an individual but an operational/ministerial construct representing the gains and pains of a generation characterized by exceptional power and wisdom of God as well as flaws of men. There cannot be one 'MOSES' anymore; Moses is a conceptual framework, representing what happens between the cloud and the sea in a generation.

3. 'Deuteronomy' is also operationalized to reflect a mindset ready for the promised land, armed with faith and the impartation of the Spirit of wisdom from Moses- thus, situating the prospects of faith, conquest and success within the broader context of the' Law Book' and taking into account the lessons of the last forty years. Here, history and lessons are learned.

4. Joshua is also an operative achievement model, winning over territory and nation-building; he represents an infusion of correct philosophy, management and approach to seize territory and inheritance.

Review

We will divide the last forty years into five decades into four books of the Bible:

A.1979/1989 -Faith Genesis

B.1989/1999-Mass Exodus

C.1999/2009-Levitical numbers

D.2009/2019-Deuteronomy Factor Analysis

E.2019—2029-Operationalizing Joshua

A. FAITH GENESIS (1979-1989)

1. Faith Genesis is when the seed of a move of the Spirit is growing and developing in a womb shielded from the external world in the womb of faith. It is here we see the Holy Spirit hovering over the face of the deep. The Scripture Union (S.U.) revival was a major revival of bible study and prayer that represented this phase- amidst other undercurrents and movements in the mid-70s and early 80s. It seeded and ignited the revival fire in Nigeria. Forty years after, almost all the leaders and fathers in the body of Christ today in Nigeria are direct and indirect products of the S.U. Revival; born again Christians in Nigeria then were also called ‘SUs’. It was a revival of Bible study with devotionals such 'the daily guide' and 'daily power'; a period where spiritual practices such as quiet time, consecration, prayers and evangelism, were acted on. It was somewhere in this decade that the holiness move caught up with the S.U. Revival. The mainline Pentecostal and apostolic churches were all part of this gestation period.

2. The doctrine at the time was strict and straightforward with an emphasis on holiness, sanctification and consecration. It is here that the movement began to take form, a doctrinal form that shows everyone that a baby is growing internally. The baby began to move, and it was just a question of time before the water broke to signify that the hitherto conceived baby was pushing and causing birth pangs, ready to live independent of the womb. Years between 1979 and 1989 saw the birth of the first generation of independent churches that came out the mainline orthodox and Pentecostal churches at the time. Majority of the independent Pentecostal/charismatic churches in Nigeria today were born in this era. It was in this era that people began to pioneer independent works- almost all the ministries whose leaders are in their 60s and 70s came out of this era with the key players majorly university graduates and young professionals taking up full-time ministerial roles. Once the baby was born, the church (mainline Pentecostal churches and orthodox churches) began to differentiate itself from the SU revival but retained almost all the gains of the SU and holiness revivals. Churches in this era were modest and were considered as extremists by the larger society; they were also generally called gospel churches. It was at this time democracy returned to Nigeria in the form of the presidential system of government, i.e. the first republic with Shehu Shagari as President. The church in this era considered politics a 'no go area', missing out of the crucial aspect of faith vis-a-vis nation-building.

3. One significant development that led to the rise of these independent charismatic churches (usually pioneered by university graduates and young professionals) was a kind of charismatic renewal that happened in the early 80s due to the exposure of the many young Nigerians to the ministry of the late Kenneth E. Hagin of blessed memory. His teachings emphasised new creation realities, the manifestation of the gift of the Spirit and laying of hands, with faith teachings at the core of it all. These teachings opened up new frontiers especially in the southern Nigerian to what is to be known as 'the word of faith move'. The Late Papa Hagin as he was fondly called never physically visited Nigeria. However, his books and tapes quickly gained popularity and spread like wildfire on campuses and cities to such extent that ministries began to pattern their teachings and events after Kenneth Hagin ministries. Scores of ministries began to teach from Hagin’s materials with tangible manifestations of the anointing like shouting, lifting of hands, worship and shouts of 'hallelujah' and' amen'. It was also in this era young Nigerians began to attend the annual Kenneth Hagin camp meetings and later, many graduated from the Rhema Bible Training Centre in Oklahoma, a bible school set up to train ministers. The unique blessing here was that the earlier adopters of the word of faith move never jettisoned the S.U./holiness/old-time Pentecostal values- they carried it on. There was no conflict of interest at all. Up until this point, there was a balanced diet.

4. Somewhere along the line, the prosperity teaching began to gain traction; this, at some point became distorted with a disconnect between prosperity and the emphasis of work ethics and integrity which were core emphasis of the holiness/S.U. Revival and the earlier forms of the faith movement. Many researchers and church historians consider the prosperity teachings as the greatest undoing of the body of Christ in Nigeria. Research, however, shows that it is not the raw prosperity message taught by the fathers like Hagin and His contemporaries that came short of the glory of God. It was, indeed, the greed that was subsequently added to the teaching that made it materialistic and subsequently repulsive. The dwindling fortunes of the SU characterized the years leading up to 1989. Revival, the holiness move as well as the raw word of faith gave rise to all kinds of faceless contraptions that would characterize the next decade. This era also witnessed the homegoing of Pa S.G Elton who hitherto was the father of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. Pa Elton was initially of the Apostolic church stock, whose leadership and foresight helped in raising indigenous evangelist like Ayo Babalola after the Oke Oye revival in the late 30s!

B. MASSIVE EXODUS (1989-1999)

5. Exodus is the birthing and infancy phase; here, the decade long pregnancy comes to term in the birthing of the people of God. It’s not easy to birth. There were severe birth pangs in this season characterized by travails in Egypt and the braking at the red sea. Indeed like Israel of old, this decade was baptized into 'Moses' in the cloud and the sea. Here, they got their first steps and their first instruction at Sinai. With the first toddling steps, they were being taught on how to survive as a toddler.

The next decade between 1989-1999 is our Exodus, characterized by massive growth and the rise of megachurches. The church is now growing; multitudes now feel comfortable coming out in droves from the mainline Pentecostal, orthodox, and white garment churches- all flocking, towards Pentecostal churches. This move first began in the form of conversion growth, as souls were being won on the street as well as in open-air crusades and campaigns.

Later, evangelistic efforts began to plateau, giving rise to another kind of growth called transfer growth in which people began to go from one church to another and churches began to 'compete' for the same people and few new converts. This was era in which major internal crises broke out due to another type of Exodus in which young ministers from the first-generation independent churches began to step out of those churches to pioneer new works as opposed to the branching culture of the day. It was also in this era that Nigerian ministers began to travel abroad for ministry and church planting. It was also in this era that the agenda of ‘Christianizing’ Nigeria began to assume the status of ‘Nigerianizing’ Christianity by way of introducing some Nigerian expressions to the Pentecostal lexicons such as 'anointing services', where folks took bottles of olive oil and white handkerchiefs referred to as mantles to church, special communion services as well as sprinkling of blood. All these practices considered as 'mysteries' came out as a variant of the faith and prosperity teachings coupled with spiritual warfare. Anointing services became the swansong of this era with a score of churches hosting this new wave, coupled with anointing services becoming the most popular and most well-attended meetings of the era. Bottle of oil and handkerchiefs became essential elements of Christianity in this era, with adherents carrying their handkerchiefs and oil with them to battle anywhere, including offices and business meetings. Like the Exodus of old, after crossing the Red Sea, conflict arose and intense craving became the order of the day with the rise of 'the mixed multitude.'

6. It was in this era that the doctrinal divide became widened and deepened as the protagonists and antagonists of the oil and mantle gospel were at war, creating a 'red sea’ scenario of the doctrinal divide. The homegoing of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa distinctively marked the end of this era. With Idahosa out of the way, the leadership of the body became polarized as he was a rallying factor of the last two decades. Idahosa in the last two decades (79-98) had been the face and voice of Pentecostalism in Nigeria and indeed the rest of Africa, bestriding the landscape like a colossus and making him earn the respect of fellow ministers and ministries who willingly submitted to his leadership. By mid/late eighties Idahosa had conducted open-air crusades in every major city in Nigeria and was instrumental to the rise of many ministries in Nigeria. It was Papa Idahosa, as he was fondly called, who pioneered the ecclesiastical offices of bishops and archbishops within the Pentecostal fold which is now commonplace within Pentecostalism in Nigeria.

7. One essential feature of the 89/99 era was the heralding of the hybridized versions of the faith teaching. The Nigerianized version of the teaching began to flourish with the rise of prayer and deliverance ministries. This led to the rise of 'power vigils' and miracle meetings with different doctrinal shades and rituals coupled with prophetic nuances that are typically indigenous. It was in this era that phrases like 'holy ghost fire' 'all my enemies' and 'spiritual warfare' 'fall and die' entered into our faith lexicon. It was also in this era that new voices and direction began to emerge with offerings like 'success motivation', enterprise development' with emphasis on 'industry', nation-building', 'corporate governance' and 'integrity'; these new voices and ministries rose with a bid to fill in the gaps and correct the anomalies of the previous wave of ministries. Churches in this era began to assume the status of business and leadership schools with a distinctive corporate outlook, and with CEO-like pastors and churches rivalling corporate organizations in their outlook. Also, this era saw upgrades in church facilities with air-conditioned auditoriums, heavy-duty metallic sound raking in young professionals from all works of life; it was an era in which church began to influence and compete with the corporate world with many CEOs becoming full time and associate pastors.

C. LEVITICAL NUMBERS (1999-2009)

8. The next era 1999-2009 is Leviticus and Numbers. Here, the infant is in school being trained audio-visually in priesthood, learning the ABCs and the 123s of ministry. In this era, ministry is alive, colourful and enterprising. The number of ministries and ministers began to rise astronomically, each seeking a different expression and core emphasis. Here, the church now has the numbers to cause significant shifts in any sector, the inability to translate the 'Levitical' and 'Numbers' advantages to systems and structures for national development, which is what we are still paying for today. This era saw the Levitical and the Numbers being used for other purposes, leaving out politics and nation-building. Characteristically like the biblical book of Numbers, 'the people are reaching adolescence. Having struggled through the awareness of the wilderness years, they rebel against authority, saying 'we are no longer children’ in a rather rude and rebellious manner.

Between 1999 and 2009, the church came into the social media space; their ownership of the various social media handles became their voices. The 'Levitical numbers' are nostalgic and impatient with organized religion and the gigantic mosaic establishment. They murmur, disobey, grouse and grumble. They are midway in between Egypt and Canaan, wallowing in no man's land of adolescent confusion, losing hope in the fathers and seeking their own interpretation of the past and creating narratives that fertilize their anger and ego. Coincidentally, it was at the beginning of this era we experienced another return to democracy- after 20 years, with Obasanjo emerging as the elected president. We again did not count! Our Leviticus and Numbers did not work for us.

9. This 99/2009 era is unique, comprising of generations of young folks raised by the 89/99 generation who are now pastors, CEOs, motivational speakers, musicians, on-air personalities, board members, and all kinds of celebrities whose theology is progressive without recourse to anything mosaic. Such persons are fight organized religion, excelling in things such as CSR, branding, excellence breaking down the barrier of church and society, favouring meritocracy as opposed to spirituality, rating talent above character and competence above integrity.

With this came an unprecedented talent hunt and auditioning for music directors, heads of protocol and associate pastors. Image consciousness and branding became the order of the day. It was also in this era that financial inducement became the basis of 'performing or ministering' in churches. Some church choristers were being paid to perform every Sunday, coupled with the rise of 'celebrity status' gospel artistes who charge so much to feature in churches and meetings. This era also saw 'the bling and showbiz culture' being introduced to churches with pastors assuming celebrity status. This phase saw the rise of churches with a PR culture, hype, marketing, somewhat described as the light and sound generation. This generation fully deployed the arsenal of social media and led to the evolution of e-church and live streaming.

Another key feature of this generation is the hyper-grace teaching, which is an attempt to represent the message of grace on a lighter note, with offerings such as once saved, forever saved and new variants of new creation realities characterized with attempts to rubbish everything and everyone before them. The cry of this generation could be sincere but marred with all kinds of murmuring and complaining that nullifies the substance if any, in what they are saying.

D. DEUTERONOMY FACTOR (2009-2019)

10. Deuteronomy is adulthood where folks are grown up in God, matured in a life of faith and capable of handling the inheritance and living responsibly in it! They are now well educated and superbly trained as they have been extensively tested. Here, God is about to entrust them into what he has prepared for them. In Deuteronomy, Moses gathers up the operational construct and framework of the last 40 years and with a prophetic thematic analysis of the pains and gains from the experiences of the last forty years, all they have experienced in the last 40 years in the wilderness, how God revealed to them his ways and his will, Moses addressed them as a generation born in the wilderness and ready to get into the promised land.

11. Deuteronomy is a necessity that sums up all the dealings and lessons of the last forty years (unlike the disjointed pattern characterizing the growth and development of the church in Nigeria). It emphasizes the gains and pains of ministry- hence, re-establishing the statutes and judgements of God and emphasizing behavioural patterns and practices consistent with the promised land. It represents a kind of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts with beautiful themes such as 'remember the Lord your God' 'love the Lord your God' 'be careful to observe his statue and judgement' 'how to war and take territories' 'keep the commandments'; hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord your God'. The most important thing happened in Deuteronomy 34:9: 'Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the Spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so, the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses'. The impartation needed to forge ahead into the future comes from the past; it is an ordinance of God that cannot be rubbished!

12. Joshua’s operational construct is consistent with God's redefinition of success. God's definition of 'good success' was to Joshua, within the context of an assignment to take a nation from the wilderness into the promised land. It represents the birthing of a new Nigeria, which is the "good success" we must all clamour for this season. Good success involves taking over territories, crossing Jordan and bringing down the walls corporately. Remember, the Joshua generation has gone nothing to do with age- but more with capacity. Joshua was not so young when God spoke the words of Joshua 1:8 to Joshua. Joshua had worked with Moses as an adult for 40 years. It is not a function of chronological age; it is about faith, wisdom, perspective and capacity building. It is about the ability to end the cycle of wilderness and begin a glorious march into our inheritance as a nation in every sector. Buhari was re-elected president with the majority of the leadership of the church openly canvassing for other candidates. The aim of Deuteronomy is to fully explore everything in the value layer and value chain of the last 40 years, creating the necessary adjustments in the backward integration of men and resources.

E. OPERATIONALIZING JOSHUA (2019-2029)

It is time!