What I'll do this morning is basically answer
the question, "Are we preachers, or witch doctors?" Now that's sounds strange, I know it, to the
American ear, but that's a very relevant question for my own situation back home because that's
a matter that I have raised, it's something I have dealt with in my blog because it's
a pertinent question. There's been clearly a shift in the way in
which "evangelicals," I keep putting that in quotation marks, relating to the pastoral
ministry. To get us going, I want us to begin by reading
2 Timothy chapter 3. The passage that clearly demonstrates before
us something of what a true preacher of the Word of God ought to be occupied with. Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16, while
you're getting there, let me quickly say something of what I said two evenings ago, that it will
be a broad sweep that I'll be giving you across what's happening back home in Africa. Invariably some people will be caught up in
that broad brush that may not completely fit into the description, but I trust you'll appreciate
that I only have so much time with me. So clearly that's at least something you can
bear with in order to achieve the greater good. Second Timothy 3 and verse 16, the Apostle
Paul writes, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,
and training in righteousness so that," there's the famous phrase, "the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who
will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His Kingdom, I give
you this charge, preach the Word. Be prepared in season and out of season, correct,
rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction." I'll end my reading there. This is the last surviving epistle that the
Apostle Paul wrote on the eve of his own departure. As the last chapter goes on to say his conscience
of the fact that he will soon leave this scene of his labors, more or less the way in which
the Lord Jesus Christ in the Upper Room discussed was also speaking and ending with the prayer
that we quoted last time. Both of them are conscious that they are living
but with their departure will not come the end of the Christian church and so there is
a defining moment in which they are saying this is what you ought to concentrate on. The Lord in His prayer, the Apostle Paul in
a direct exhortation. And as you notice from these few words that
we have read, the Apostle is quick to...to...to clarify in Timothy's mind the primary instrument
that he is to use. It's divinely inspired and it is sufficient
for all the work the man of God is required to do so that he might be thoroughly, completely,
adequately equipped for every good work. The second based on the first is that he puts
a charge upon him, a hair-raising charge, invoking the name of God the Father, God the
Son, pointing to the coming judgment and he says to him, "Not only that you are to preach,
but that you are to preach the Word." You are to expound these scriptures that I've
spoken about. And thirdly, not only when you've got an audience
that's willing and ready and looking forward to hearing what we have to say. But even when men and women are stopping their
ears, preach it. Be patient but preach it. Do all you can to ensure that this happens. Let me read to you, two newspaper clippings
from back home. And they will be referring to three "evangelical"
preachers. Again, notice my fingers, I'm putting that
in quotation marks. Both of them were this year. The first is July the eighth and this is what
it says. "A Lusaka based clergyman who in 2012 alone
impregnated at least ten women among his followers has finally been divorced by his long-suffering
wife. Bishop Emmanuel Chika of the Restoration Deliverance
Church was sued by his wife for divorce after his skirt evangelism was published in the
media in September 2012. His wife, Alice, decided to end the marriage
after seeing for herself the number of children the pastor has sired within the church. And at the local court, the wife also revealed
the witchcraft Chika uses." The second it was also in the same month in
a different part of the country, and I'll skip a lot because it's a longer newspaper
article, but I just want you to catch something of the flavor. The Chipata Magistrate Court has heard how
two clergymen sexually assaulted two women whom they paraded naked in the hills while
casting out demons. Their names are mentioned, the first is referred
to as a prophet and the second as a pastor. The lady recounts prophet Ngalande toward
me, my sister, my sister-in-law to carry a pulpit to his house and then from there it
was to write down our prayer requests and then from there taken to the hills for prayers. The following day, April twenty-fifth, they
made us lie down with our bodies facing up and asked us to remove our tops. I could go on. The whole thing gets dirty, I'll spoil your
morning if I read the details. Suffice it to say they were sexually abused
on those mountains, rather on those hills. How can this be happening so frequently among
so-called evangelical churches today, right across Africa? These are two newspaper clippings from the
month of July this year. The answer I will give and I hope to prove
the point to you this morning, is that it is due to the seismic shift that has taken
place in the popular understanding of who a pastor is across a large section of Africa. What we read in the Bible a few minutes ago
is not what is in the popular mind back home. The pastor is someone who faithfully studies
the Bible, preaches it in its context, applies it in the context of God's people. No. And what you need to appreciate is that the
Charismatic Movement in Africa has evolved further than its American counterpart, especially
in its portrayal of the person often referred to as the man of God. Going back some 30-odd years, this title was
very rare. I was already a Christian then. I hardly ever heard a pastor being referred
to as such. Today it is the popular phrase. I don't know how many times a day I'm called
"man of God." Pastors then were seen primarily as preachers
and teachers. Their prominence hang on their levels of giftedness
in explaining the Word of God. That has largely changed. And one cannot help but recognize why this
changed. The initial Pentecostalism that's visited
the shores of Africa did not directly aim to move the Word of God off center stage. I mentioned that two nights ago. Rather what it did was to apparently add the
miraculous phenomena of the extra-ordinary gifts without subtracting the original perception. And consequently, I already went through that,
you went to such a church and you would hear some effort at exposition. It's just that after the exposition there
would be that extra time for those of you with all kinds of problems to come forward
to be prayed for. However, like the story of the Arabian camel,
human fascination for the mysterious has caused one thing to lead to another until preaching
in the popular charismatic circles across Africa has lost content and is largely nothing
more than motivation of platitudes followed by a lot of shouting and chanting. I think that much, you need to turn to your
own television channels with your popular Charismatic preachers and I'll say, what you're
seeing this, just change the skin color and it could be back home. Apart from, of course, the nice buildings
you have here. But largely that's what you have. Nice phrases, perhaps a quotation from the
Bible here or there, often tortured out of what it's really saying. And then the height of the preaching is really
the preacher looking like he's now demon-possessed or something. Becoming crazy, if not looking mad. But often, back home now, what is important
is what follows after that. And that's where the man of God rested out
of the context in which we saw Timothy being referred to as such, the man of God then takes
on the role only equivalent to that of the village witch doctor. And let me explain. Timothy was being told here, your job is that
of preaching, preaching the Word. That which has just been described in the
earlier verses as being God-breathed, as being useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,
and training in righteousness. Timothy, major in that. Well the situation back home is that in fact
the work begins after the motivational talk is over. That was but the beginning. And it begins therefore with the laying on
of hands as the multitudes begin to come forward, though they hardly even listening to that
talk, they were waiting for this person who is reeking with power to do his work. This is often during prolonged church services
overnight prayer meetings and all day prayer times on the hills. And when I say on the hills, I hope your mind
goes to that newspaper clipping. It's a regular phenomena. You're going to the hills and you find the
men of God busy praying, at least they claim. The sad thing is, there is no effort at biblical
counseling when people come with their problems, no effort. If a person says, "You know, I've been in
and out of jobs," there's nothing like, "Okay, let's talk about your work ethics. Are you hard-working or lazy?" When a couple comes forward and says they
have serious marital problems, there's nothing like, "Okay, man, do you love your wife as
Christ loved the church? Are you working in that direction?" "Madam, would you say that about your husband? And, madam, do you submit to your husband's
leadership in the home as a church submits to Christ." And so, does she do that to you? There's nothing like that. We're having marital problems, come forward,
I'll pray for you. In fact, often when I'm driving long distances,
I try to listen to the radio and every so often you come across one of these pastors
and he's got a radio broadcast with someone else is reading letters to him and he's responding,
you can guess what the answer is going to be almost invariably. And it's something like this. "We've got marriage problems. Blah, blah, blah, so, Man of God, what can
you say to that?" "Madam, come for our open night prayer meeting. This Friday we'll be having it and we'll pray
for you. You need to be delivered. Next?" "Having problems with conceiving, it's been
years, and so on. Man of God, what's your answer?" Come for the open-night prayer meeting. You need a breakthrough in that area of your
message. Come Friday, we'll be having it at such-and-such
a place." That's the panacea for all their ills. "There will be deliverance, come." There are no moral questions asked. Rather it's precisely what the witch doctor
in the village does. Two things show the similarities. First of all, it is the claim towards spiritual
discernment after a lengthy time of prayer in which the "man of God" seems to have secret
dealings with God. God is somehow communicating to him what you
have absolutely no knowledge of. And then having as it were heard from God,
he then tells you what the problem is. That's exactly what the witch doctor does. You tell him what your problem is, he goes
into a little corner somewhere, goes into some form of trance, moves a few pebbles around
and then announces to you that your problem is that your neighbor has managed to get through
to your dead uncle and your dead uncle is the one who is now obstructing this pregnancy
from taking place. Exactly the same. But the second especially with respect to
healing, is that like the village witch doctor, the African Charismatic preacher sees a conventional
medical doctor as a competitor. That's very much that's what you might have
here. To go to a hospital after being prayed for
is a betrayal of trust and a lack of faith. You are undoing what the man of God has done. It's exactly what the witch doctor does as
well. I've done this for you, don't go for the white
man's medicine, otherwise what I have done for you will lose its potency. The result of this is that many people have
died of illnesses that can be cured by conventional medicines. Often they go to hospitals when it is too
late. I've got doctors in my own church and every
so often this is the frustration they express. Once upon a time they came too late and when
they took off their garments, they found the etchings all over their bodies and they knew
why these people came late, it's because they had been to the witch doctor and he had told
them they were cured. Now, especially with city folks, those markings
are not on their bodies. But upon being asked, it soon becomes evident,
especially when they ask the relatives the reason why this person took so long is because
he had been up the mountain with a bishop, a prophet, an apostle so-and-so. And sadly, often it's too late and the people
die. Now, we must be ready now to answer the question
I asked at the beginning of my message. How can this be happening so frequently among
so-called "evangelical" churches? That a wife should know that my husband has
been sleeping around with girls in the church and she still zipped her mouth. Sits there and listens to him preaching and
apparently reeking with power. How can individuals be so ignorant as to follow
these pastors into the middle of the bush, up a mountain, alone with them for prayer? Why can't they pray in that house where they
were? On to repeat it's the seismic shift in the
way the public views and African Charismatic pastor, it has resulted in blind loyalty,
especially among the followers. That phrase "man of God" is the equivalent
of the phrase "the village witch doctor." There is some eerie mysteriousness around
this individual. Let the village witch doctor, this individual
has keys that unlock the mysterious world that enables him to know things in the Spirit
world that we lesser mortals know nothing about. Therefore, to oppose such a person, or to
expose such a person is to bring a curse upon yourself. And you can't miss it in the village context
when a person comes from visiting a witch doctor. And you say, "Tell me what happened there? Tell me." You hardly have anything concrete. Because if I say anything here and it makes
its way back to that witch doctor, he can put a curse upon my life and say anything. I know nothing. I never can imagine a context, as I said two
days ago, where this book is closed. You're dealing with ignorance. And consequently when this so-called man of
God begins to say and do things that are obviously bordering on the immoral, there's no premise
on which you can blow the offside whistle. And it's shocking to me, the number of women
that finally come to the end of the road, come and when they share this story, you say,
"But, madam, when this guy began to do this, when it just begun, didn't you realize the
whole thing was wrong, it was immoral, it was unbiblical?" And the answer is often, "Well, you know,
I thought of the man of God he knew what I didn't know and therefore I trusted him, until
it became too much." And hence, that newspaper clipping of a pastor's
wife who finally gets tired of the whole thing, with no less than ten women in the church,
have children from her husband. That's in Lusaka the capital city of the whole
country of Zambia. This wife had been destroyed for such a long
time until finally she said, "Enough is enough." Now, brethren, I wish this was just about
cults. I wish this was about some traditional African
religion. But I'm speaking here about what is fast becoming
the face of evangelical Christianity to the outside world. It's a far cry from what we read in 2 Timothy
chapter 3 and chapter 4. Often, these individuals would be flashy in
their dressing, like worldly pop music idols, with a feigned American accent. Of course, the African accent is so strong
that you can still detect it within that imported accent. I've already said their sermons are not worth
listening to twice. There is absolutely no exposition of Scripture. There is an observable absence of a display
of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Repentance is conspicuous by its absence
and there is no effort at working towards the people of God conforming to the image
of Christ. It is all about how you can get so much that
you are looking for to spoil yourself with. As I was preparing this, I looked at a few
of the statements coming from a number of them and I picked one which represents everything
else. "I declare prosperity on your life in Jesus
name." Why should his declaration be more powerful
than mine? I might as well be declaring prosperity on
my own life in Jesus' name, why his? He is the man of God. There is power behind his words so when he
makes that declaration, something is supposedly happening. Hence the frequent irreverent repetition of
"in Jesus' name...in Jesus' name...in Jesus' name...in Jesus' name...in Jesus' name." The way in which the witch doctor in the villages
also repeating some canned phrase all over the place. Exactly the same thing. In reality, nothing is really happening that's
worth talking about. A few years ago because of people knowing
my position with respect to all this, I was invited to a live radio broadcast, the second
most...in fact, the most popular private radio in the whole country, and the subject was
miraculous healing today. The four of us, it was supposed to be the
panel: a Roman Catholic priest, two famous Charismatic pastors, and myself. One of the Charismatic pastors, a well-known
healer, couldn't make it. He said he was sick. (Laughter) Well he lied because immediately
after the whole broadcast was over, I met him at the shopping mall pushing a trolley
full of goods together with his wife, heading out to the car park. But that's beside the point. As the interview went on, the Roman Catholic
priest was always trying to be on the two sides of the argument, every so often trying
to show that yeah, there's something you said here that makes sense, and something you said
that made sense. It was the Charismatic person and myself that
basically locked horns. Since it was a live broadcast and people could
call in, I made the challenge. I read the passage of Scripture where John
the Baptist disciples had inquired of Him whether He was the one and Jesus said, "Go
and tell John what you have seen. The dumb talking, the deaf hearing, the lame
walking, the blind seeing." And I said on that broadcast, "If there's
anyone of you who fits this description and you have been healed by any of these, please
call. That went on for well over an hour. I became a New Testament Elijah cause I kept
taunting (applause). Now remember that this is in a country where
literally every weekend churches are having these healings, every weekend. Literally every month you've got pastors all
over your city from one prophet, another Apostle, this bishop and everything else conducting
these healing crusades, to the point where you...you just want to tear them off the walls
or trees because it's overwhelming. And all of them claiming these things are
happening. Over one solid hour of waiting and discussing,
and with me repeating that invitation, two phone calls came through. One was a gentleman who said that eight years
ago he took a neighbor's daughter whose legs were not quite equal to this faith healer
and the legs became equal after praying for her. And I remember saying, "Eight years ago?" And he would say yes. I said, "Eight years ago," he's not appreciating
my point. I mean, first of all, I questioned the issue
of short and long legs, but that's not the point. But if it's happening every weekend, that
testimony must be stale. Eight years ago? The second caller was a lady, clearly agitated,
encouraging the man of God not to listen to me because I am a dead theologian. But what does it got to do with me? I'm asking for testimonies. Those were the only two calls that pretended
to have anything in support of this in a whole nation of over ten million people...with healing
crusades every weekend. Well the gentlemen who was doing the interview
finally turned to the pastor on the other side and said, "Well, you know, we sort of
waited for a while, nobody is calling in." This was his answer. "I think they are shy." The poor soul, he had a stroke not too long
after that, he was in a coma for a while, at least for about a week until he finally
died. Why didn't his fellow faith-healers rush in
there and raise him from that bed? It's because they knew it was fraud, it was
a lie. (Applause) One more point and I must hurry on. In Zambia we have an organization by statutory
instrument that looks after the wellbeing of the handicapped and physical challenged. It's called Zambian Council of the Handicapped. When this phenomena because too much, they
made a public statement to this effect. "Those of you who are blind or crippled or
deaf, dumb, stop going to these meetings that are claiming that they are healings because
according to our records, there's not been a single individual who has been healed from
those meetings." Now if there were to be an organization, surely
that ought to have independent verifiable information, it's them. But here are charlatans, half-converted cowboys
going all over the place drawing in crowds in the name of doing the miraculous when they
know deep down their souls nothing like that is really happening. They claim to have gifts they don't have. What is that but fraud, iniquity, wickedness,
sin? That's why it is. They have not only abandoned the work they
were told to do, they are claiming to do what they're in fact not doing. Simply to draw the crowds and get their money. Let me hurry on to close. First of all, an apparent apology. I know I've spoiled your morning. This is not the kind of message you want to
listen to with a cup of coffee in one hand and a doughnut in the other. I wish I could be more positive. I wish I could say that this is something
that happened here and there once in a while, or as I said earlier on that it's in some
extreme fringe corner of Christendom. Yet I want to repeat that this is a growing
phenomena back home. It is fast becoming the face of evangelical
Christianity to the outside world, the modern-day successful "evangelical pastor," I put that
in quotation marks again, is simply a witch doctor who is apparently using cleaner and
perhaps more potent power to bring about deliverance, bring about healing, bring about breakthroughs
in the lives of the people. That's the concept. Now in the light of what we read in 2 Timothy,
what concerns me is the silence, the silence in addressing this matter, in locking horns
with it. I've done a blog post on this, I think it's
entitled something like, "Our criminal evangelical silence." Simply because when I was writing it down,
it bothered me. If you were to look at the membership list
of the evangelical fellowship of Zambia, ninety percent of the membership are these same ministries. I saw the list myself. I know what I'm talking about. So what's my appeal? First of all, if you ever do come across to
Zambia or to Africa, generally, emphasize 2 Timothy 3:16 to chapter 4 verse 2. Call the pastors back to what their work is,
(Applause) What sets me apart from my congregation is not that I have some backdoor entry into
God's presence that bypasses the ancestral spirits and demons and I can therefore bring
the blessings to you. No. There, there is the priesthood of all believers. It is the fact that I have gifts and a calling
that enables me to preach this Word to you. (Applause) Secondly, pray and keep on praying for those
who are fulfilling 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse one and two. Pray for them that they might be faithful
and that they might increase in number so that this tide may be stemmed by the Word
of God itself bringing to light into the darkness. Pray for us, if I may dare include myself
there. And then thirdly, provide truth, especially
through books, that clarifies the issue, that clearly sounds the warning, that when you
open the door slightly to so-called extra-ordinary revelatory gifts in Africa, without the benefit
that was there in Bible times which was the presence and regulation of the Apostles themselves,
this is where you land. It's a matter of time because I want to repeat
this is not just some grouping that's on its way out there, full of mad guys, this is an
entire spectrum. It's a continuum, different shades but following
each other, or like the mice listening to the Pied Piper, continuing and continuing. Now those who are clever somehow are able
to stop somewhere along the way and just remain open to the possibilities of these things,
but the common guys who are just remaining open. He is putting into practice the full implications
of things. And the next, and the next, and the next and
before you know it, it's the Arabian camel story. The Bible is there for just a few platitudes,
a few favorite verses, rather than regular, full-orbed, Christ-centered exposition. I'm saying, let's continue providing the truth
so that God's people can know how rich this book is, that it teaches us the whole counsel
of God, that it is adequate for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training
in righteousness. There were seeds all coming from there. And then lastly, support the training and
the work of true preachers and the planting of churches. These lampstands, churches that represent
New Testament Christianity. Support them whichever way you can. Africa needs your partnership. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, these are sad and sobering
realities, yet they only point to the fact that the archenemy of God is real and where
the light of Your Word is not shining forth in the brilliance of the noonday sun, darkness
soon takes over. For the sake of Your church, O God, visit
our continent, for the sake of Your church, O God, salvage the situation. For the sake of Your church, O God, call the
clarion call to be heard from south to north and east to west until those who are servants
of the evil one clothed in sheepskin may be seen for who they are. O God, visit us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.
