AACC is a fellowship of 169 member Churches and Christian Councils in 39 African countries La CETA est une communauté de 169 églises et conseils chrétiens dans 39 pays d'Afrique
Our Ref: January 22, 2007
PRESS STATEMENT
AACC warns people to be cautious of churches that exploit them in the name of the Gospel
The mainline churches have been asked to come to the rescue of people who are daily getting into the traps that have been set by the Pentecostal movements, which lure people to join these churches.
The call was made by the President of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), Rev. Dr. Nyansako-ni-Nku, who was speaking at the Ecumenical Platform of the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya on 21 January, 2007.
Rev. Nyansako said the mainline churches should try and establish the problem with the Pentecostal churches vis a vis their own mission and try to identify their mission of today for the people of this continent so that the masses are not left to hawks and charlatans who are not so much for God's glory, but for themselves.
Rev. Nyansako said that all over Africa, there was a surge of "one disease called Pentecostalism." He observed that they mushroomed and in a very short time, the preacher who promises prosperity for everyone gets richer and the congregation gets poorer.
In spite of this, he said these Pentecostal churches keep growing. He attributed the growth of these churches to the fact that they exploit the ignorance, the emotions and the poor class of vulnerable lot who have been left abandoned on the fringes of the society with nobody to provide them with any direction. Rev. Nyansako said mainline churches should wake up to the challenge and provide direction otherwise many people will follow these Pentecostal churches that have perfected ways of appealing to their psyche.
Rev. Nyansako also challenged the churches to re-evaluate the credibility of their prophetic voice. He said the churches' prophetic voice must be credible. He therefore urged church leaders to take care of their own houses in a way that will give credibility to the Church thus giving it the moral authority.
The AACC President observed that some of the things which take place in the Church were controversial because they do not reflect what the Church preaches.
Rev. Nyansako highlighted that the Church had become the last hope for many people because politicians had failed them and so they believed the Church more than the government.
"This means the Church must take its mandate very seriously as we are the mantle of the continent of Africa and if we let the continent down, it would be a disaster for everybody," Rev. Nyansako said.
Rev. Nyansako observed that people in high places in many countries within the continent were suppressing their conscience in order to acquiesce with the evil. He said the pulpit was "becoming bashful and instead of naming the demon which harasses people by the name, they are willing rather to socialise with the mighty and powerful to the detriment of the people who have placed their trust in them."
Rev. Nyansako asserted that the Church must be seen as reflecting the words of Christ and the will of God.
On politics, the AACC President said the Church cannot remain neutral and must be actively involved in politics. He added that the Church must make political statements, express disapproval of what is condemnable, and applaud what is worthy. However, Rev. Nyansako cautioned pastors against involving themselves in partisan politics as this can compromise their integrity since it is impossible to serve the Master and mammon at the same time. He said for those men of the cloak wishing to join partisan politics, they should first resign from their pulpit calling.
"Let us speak with the authority that we have from God to be prophetic on contemporary issues of the day but let us leave partisan politics to politicians," he pleaded with his fellow clerics.
On the issue of corruption, Rev. Nyansako said the Church should lead the way. He said AACC as a continental ecumenical body, set an example by becoming the first church organization in Africa to subject itself to a thorough social audit. He said other church organizations and churches should follow this example as a way of putting their houses in order to give them the moral authority to speak against corruption. Without keeping the house in order, the AACC President said the Church would lose the moral justification to condemn and therefore should not expect the state and other secular organizations to heed the call against corruption.
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