Sunday, 26th October
News: A UK inquiry has frozen over 100 bank accounts linked to a certain church. Substantial idle funds were discovered...
Don Kenobi Writes:
Further Proof That Church Funds Should Be Spent on Jesus’s “Little People”
How can helping people find their feet—overcoming the heavy hand of circumstance—not beat owning a Rolls Royce?
What do you have on offer?
A Silver Lining (for Jesus's Little People), Or a Silver Shadow Rolls Royce (for your self)?
Now, to be clear: the founder of this church is one of the few among the many church leaders I still respect.Or rather, I love his public persona—he minds his business (I think).My problem, therefore, is not with him.It’s with the lack of a clear strategy for how church funds are to be used.
The other day, I saw a church leader (for whom I have scant regard) descend onto an open field in a helicopter.
Of course, the people rushed toward the landing chopper—mightily impressed.
Whether it was his or leased doesn’t matter.
All I could think of was how many scholarships could be funded with the cost of fuel for that one-hour flight.Forget the leasing cost—how many soup kitchens could be sustained for a week with just the weekly cost of ownership, assuming a useful life of five or ten years?
It is unbecoming to see so many trapped in abject, pounding poverty in Nigeria while their “shepherds” ride high, live large, and sit atop a Ponzi scheme of deferred hope—making the hearts of the faithful sick.
In the Molue…
Man 1: “Oh, I paid my tithes and shortly after, I got this huge contract!”
Man 2: “It’s the placebo effect, my friend. Dangote’s wealth has reportedly jumped to $30 billion. How much tithe does he pay? He’s not even Christian!”
Man 1: “Do you know? How do you know he doesn’t secretly pay tithes?”
Man 2: [laughs] “Ha ha ha… Okay. Assuming he does—then that’s how low the spiritual bar for God’s blessings is? A Lord who only cares about your money?”
Man 3 (#OldManInTheMolue): “If material wealth were proof of divine favour, then show me one of the apostles who was rich. (And by apostles, I mean the twelve—or shall I say, the eleven?)If wealth were the measure of righteousness, why did Jesus say, ‘Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’
What then matters? Seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
(Turns to Man 1): “Giving to a church in need is righteousness—but only as you are able, and cheerfully.”
(Turns to Man 2): “Likewise, the church giving to congregants in need is righteousness—as it is able, and cheerfully.”
(Addresses the entire Molue): “Your pastor already owns 10 SUVs—and you deem him still ‘in need,’ so you cheerfully provide more?
Meanwhile, around you, children trek miles to school. It never crosses your mind to help with transport.
You see kids whose education could set them free, yet they never cross your mind when you’re building elite schools with tithes—money that came, in part, from their struggling parents.”
Charity Is Everything
1 Corinthians 13 says it all. Read it all.
Verse 1: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
Verse 2: If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Verse 13: And now abide faith, hope, and love—these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I know people who live in abject poverty within church premises—hoping the Lord might have pity on them through a member or through the church.
Many have returned to their villages to farm, broken and forgotten, after years of faithful service as ushers or cleaners.In compassion, I thought of ways self-sustaining businesses could be created for them—laundries, barber shops, groceries, bakeries—established at scale, dedicated to serving both members and the wider community.
Is there a church leader out there I could discuss this with?
More: At the height of the herdsmen clashes, I asked myself:
Why can’t the umbrella body of churches establish ranches on the outskirts of towns, dealing directly with genuine herdsmen—even buying and shipping cattle themselves - from the north.
Rather than opposing every effort of government—quoting spurious, unrelated historical events like the fall of Constantinople in 1453 (572 years ago) or Florin in 1824 (201 years ago)—how about dealing with today’s realities with the mindset of a true son of God?
It’s in the Bible. Matthew 5:9 — “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Read it yourself: Matthew 5:9 on BibleHub
Why not stand as a barrier between the threat and the target, helping to restore peace while creating jobs through meat-processing industries?
Wouldn’t that be better than helplessly complaining about “genocide against Christians”?
Because if, after separating the threat (Muslim herdsmen) from the target (Christian farmers), the violence still continues, then—and only then—will we have conclusive proof that the problem goes beyond competition for land and water.
If the Church Owners Association of Nigeria
Refuses to lead peace efforts,
Refuses to act as peacemaker—
The very role the Bible calls blessed—
Then it becomes part of the problem,
Not the solution.
Somehow, as I write this, another scripture echoes in my heart: “Remember your first love.”—Revelation 2:4
I’ll look it up and post it in the comments - perhaps write a short homily about this
Have a good Sunday.
I rest my case.—Don Kenobi
#OldManInTheMoluePostscript
A UK inquiry froze over 100 bank accounts linked to a certain church.
The investigation revealed that the church’s 2004 constitution gave Trustee A excessive authority to appoint and remove trustees, hindering independent governance.
Some trustees were also paid employees—violating charity regulations later corrected in July 2024.Branches were found to operate independently—opening bank accounts, acquiring property, and making financial decisions without trustee approval.
Substantial idle funds were discovered, leading to a freezing order in February 2022.
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