Growing up as a PK [Pastor's Kid], my father would often say that salvation is the one and the only miracle that the devil cannot imitate. Everything else, satan can also do, he would often say. Fast forward to many years later, as an adult in 2017, I have only begun to realise what he actually meant.
We live in a world where men of the cloth should not be exempted from scrutiny as far as their teachings and interpretation of the Word are concerned.
I believe the intervention of the CRL Commission is necessary, especially against the backdrop of the modern charismatic churches that have since mushroomed all over South Africa. I find it problematic that some so-called men of God would not allow due processes to unfold and instead claim victimisation by the commission, which sets out to protect ordinary people from scammers.
I have a problem with how pastors have become celebrities in the church as opposed to being servants of God. Men of God have come to demand more respect for themselves and their egos, than doing what they are anointed to do, which is to call people to Christ. You can take a walk or drive around the Joburg or Pretoria CBD for example, and count the number of churches that have not yet created "shrines" for the Bishop and Prophetess [pastor and his wife] -- you'd be lucky to find five [although, I stand to be corrected].
A man of God should serve and not be served. You are called to win souls into the kingdom and NOT to be a mini god.
These men of God have special ushers walking them in and out of the building and most of them are not even accessible to the congregation. I think that this is a big problem. I grew up in a home where my parents would be out until late praying for the sick and visiting the troubled.
We shared our Sunday kos [meal] with many kids from Sunday School and most of the time our budget for Christmas clothes would be cut in half so that my parents could buy some clothes for the kids at church -- this translates to ministry and service. A man of God should serve and not be served. You are called to win souls into the kingdom and NOT to be a mini god.
There's plenty of pastors who are wolves in sheep's clothing and the reason they are successful is that they play on the emotions of vulnerable people. People buy holy water, oils and other merchandise sold at these churches because they believe that through the use of this merchandise, their lives would get better.
When members of the church my father founded paid their tithes, it was handled [and still is] by the church board. Monthly financial reports are also given so that the congregants know how much is in the coffers of the church. I was not raised to believe that a pastor can use tithe money for his own gain -- my father made it clear to my sisters and I, that tithe money was God's money and it was there to be used for advancing God's work and nothing else.
My heart breaks to hear that the chairperson of the CRL Commission, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva is fearing for her life following threats from the so-called men of God
My dad firmly believes in Malachi 3:10 which states: "Bring one-tenth of your income into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house." And he practises this... About 10 people in the church who grew up in child headed homes are professionals today because my father's church invested in their education when they needed it. Again, that's service.
My heart breaks to hear that the chairperson of the CRL Commission, Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva is fearing for her life following threats from the so-called men of God. It is shameful that in pursuit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we STILL have to deal with fake pastors who use counterfeit miracles to lure people into their churches for the benefit of their own damn selves. Sies!
I'm sad for my people out there who are being taken advantage of by these pastors who would do anything to get their hands on poor people's money.