Battle for church supremacy

Pastor Divelius (not real name) walks briskly to the front of the classroom with a Bible in his left hand. He has just established a new church at Soche Hill Secondary School in Blantyre.

Clad in a black glittering suit, the pastor jumps up and down as he delivers a sermon on evil spirits and deliverance.

He ends his homily with a call to his handful members to come forward for prayer.

Soon afterwards, he drives off in his newly acquired posh car, a bag full of money on the passenger seat and food stuffs in the boot.

The school hosts other Pentecostal churches apart from Divelius’s.

Surprisingly, however, is the battle for supremacy among them. Take a walk into one of these churches and you are sure to be told: “You’ve made the right choice. This is the only church that preaches the gospel in its entirety.”

You will also be schooled that the church you have just stepped in is a home of miracles.

Some of the pastors go even further to claim that other pastors are fake and mere gold-diggers.

This has left many wondering: Who should we believe?

Matthew 24:24: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect-if that were possible.”

Recently, many churches have sprouted in Malawi. People from all walks of lives are becoming restless in pursuit of a true religion. Christians have become nomads in wonderland.

The worship services provided in these churches are similar.

Advertisement inserts of miracles and healing flood both print and electronic media. This is done to woe more people to these later- day churches.

One thing a critical mind would observe if one attends these services is the humbleness of its leaders when it comes to monetary assistance.

“Pelekani moolowa m’manja kuti mpingo utukuke”. These words do not leave the pastors’ mouth.

“God does not have fake prophets but man fakes to be God’s prophets,” wrote Shepherd Bushiri on his facebook page recently.

Clever Mitengo (not real name) inherited some wealth from his parents years ago. All these years, he had been running his business smoothly until he bumped into a certain pastor.

“We met in one of the banks within Blantyre. What started as a casual chat left me in abyss,” explained Mitengo, fighting back the tears.

The said man of God told him to sell his business entities on the premise that they were acquired through devilish means.

He was promised a new business with God’s intervention. Meanwhile, the money obtained from the sold properties was prayed for and put aside waiting for a miracle.

“While waiting for the breakthrough, the man of the collar came up with numerous financial complaints such as house rentals and school fees for his children. Naturally, I rescued him but the more assistance I gave him the more the demands,” said Mitengo.

Asked why he fell for the pastor’s advice to get rid of his assets his assets, Mitengo simply shook his head.

“The pastor told me God’s time was imminent; never too late or too soon,” he said.

As we drew close to the elections, several prophets brought different prophecies about the winning party.

Different prophecies tipped Malawi Congress Party (MCP), People’s Party (PP), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and United Democratic Front (UDF) to win the elections.

But does God give different prophecies on one outcome?

Then came the story of Yesu Matiki, the self proclaimed Jesus of Nazareth and son of God. Nobody knows his whereabouts, suffice to say he rocked the country as some sought him as the real Messiah. Later, he was chased to his home in Zomba.

With all such confusion, it remains difficult for ordinary people to differentiate between true and false prophets.

Gertrude Banda, a Blantyre resident said much as she believes in God, she does not completely rule out the presence of false prophets.

According to her, most people rush to these prophets because they are blinded by “miracles and healings.”

“Testimonies of people testifying to various miracles beamed on different television and radio channels are what blind us,” explained Banda.

She further said some of the false prophets quote John 3:2: “No one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Dyson Matutu, a member of Chipumi Church of Christ in Mchinji said people should open their eyes because these are the last days when Satan is confusing people.

“People should read and understand the scriptures. Miracles and healings are nothing. It is only salvation that will get us to heaven,” he said.

He concluded by quoting Matthew 7:21-23 which says: “Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to men on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many Miracles?And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”