THE TEST OF INEVITABLE CHANGE.
QUESTION: Will You Be Able To Avoid Majoring In Minor?
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.(Isa.40:8)
There are a lot of areas in the Christian life that are undergoing inevitable changes. However, rigidity or inexperience makes many to oppose such changes, often to their own detriment. When ideas or innovations surface initially, we have the tendency to oppose them vehemently. With passage of time, we realize that it is something we can actually not only accommodate but eventually be the major user of. Unfortunately, however, by the time we wake up to the reality, we would have lost some grounds in ministry or we might have said some things which we may not be able to defend later.
According to John F. Kennedy,
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are likely to miss the future.”
As a pastor’s wife, what should be most important is the content of the word of God and the central message of the gospel. The way we present it and the manners of our audience have changed and will continue to change. Let us look at some of the areas where there have been changes in our own generation.
Electronic Gadgets.
There was a time that some churches believed that the television is the ‘devil’s box’. Consequently, they did everything possible to oppose the use of television among members. Any member of the church that had television then had to destroy it, because even giving it out was tantamount to transferring the devil’s box to another person, which on its own was regarded as sin! Indeed at that time, there were so much violence and evil practices on the television. The feeling then was that getting involved with the television would transfer the evil it propagated to us, not knowing that it would be a tool that would become so useful for end-time work of the gospel.
Today, it is a different ball game. A cursory look at the major users or even owners of digital television stations today all over the world, will reveal that they are those who propagate the gospel. It is the same story with audio communication devices.
Information Technology.
The computer and internet came with a variety of applications which have changed the way we do things forever. When the Bible apps came, many churches opposed the apps rigorously. According to them it will make the Bible to become extinct in the nearest future. Come to think of it, will the Bible really become extinct? The mode of presenting the word of God to the world may change, but the word of God is here to stay. Many also have the feeling that many members making use of the Bible app on their gadgets in the church are not really using bible app but chatting with friends. It is true that there are a lot of distractions on the iPad or handset on which your Bible app is. Before you get to your Bible app on your gadget, you might have met with Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and other social media apps on the way, but there are ways of preventing them from interfering with your desire to study the Bible.
Maybe what we should concentrate on is educating our members on the necessity of avoiding the interferences if they are serious in their walk with God. They may put off their WiFi or network when in church. Train them to also discipline themselves never to check their social media when in church, having their quiet time or on any other spiritual assignments. When your members are disciples, they will put the things of God before any other considerations.
Today, more than even what the pastor can teach his congregation in a single sermon, your members have access through the internet – to massive spirit-lifting information The worldwide church makes use of the internet more than any other religion in the world. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the church more than any other religious faith found the internet almost indispensable. Every morning, I have access to scores of morning devotional materials more than I can ever need. Every day, paper is becoming less relevant. Thanks to virtual information through emails and other means of communication.
For me as a writer, the most useful technological gadget so far is the iPad. What you are reading now is being typed on my iPad. While doing the work, if I need to check anything on the internet, it is done directly with the same device. If I need to bring on a scripture, I’ll just go to my Bible app and copy that scripture directly from the app to what I am writing. If I need to check another version of the Bible, I have scores of translations of the Bible on this iPad. By the time I finish, I’ll post it on the Facebook for my friends. The writing is part of a book. So, by the time I conclude the book, I’ll send the whole draft to my editor still through the same iPad. The editor will send it back to me after editing it, to be forwarded to my publisher through the same device. Can you compare the time I saved with someone who will have to use pen to write everything and check the Bible and all other processes manually. You may thus be wasting your time if I am attending your church and you are preaching against using iPad for Bible!
When our Lord Jesus Christ was on earth, he read the scriptures only at the temple; we were not told that people of that age had it at home. In fact, history makes us to know that the first person to translate the Holy Bible to English language, Williams Tyndale, was executed in 1536 for doing so! Can you imagine! Thanks to information technology. We now have soft copies of the Bible virtually in every known language and on almost every device.
We don’t have to oppose these information technological advances. All we need to do is to find a way of getting to know more about them and putting them to use. When I first attended a church where there were POS machines for those who wanted to pay their tithes and offerings, I was wondering when the church of God became a shop where all those things happen. However, gradually, the society has become cashless; people are now talking of electronic transfer, PayPal and other virtual payment options. You should in fact be looking forward to a time when virtually all church activities may have to be online!
Hymns And Praise Worship.
In the years past too, most Pentecostal churches detest singing from hymn books. They believe that singing from hymn books is a demonstration of your church not being a living church. Today for most Pentecostal churches, reverse is the case. It appears we have now realized that those hymns we rejected initially are actually messages and prayers in songs. When I was still in the Anglican Church as the Bible study coordinator for my church, the Cathedral Church of Our Saviour, Italowajoda, Ijebu Ode, there was a time I was taking each of the hymns and turning them to Bible study themes weekly. One week, I used one particular hymn presented below, and it literally pushed me and the entire Bible study group to plant three new churches in Ijebu Ode. Sing the hymn along with me:
COME LABOUR ON!
- Come, labour on!
Who dares stand idle, on the harvest plain
While all around him waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say,
“Go work today.” - Come, labour on!
Claim the high calling angels cannot share—
To young and old the Gospel gladness bear;
Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly.
The night draws nigh. - Come, labour on!
The enemy is watching night and day,
To sow the tares, to snatch the seed away;
While we in sleep our duty have forgot,
He slumbered not. - Come, labour on!
Away with gloomy doubts and faithless fear!
No arm so weak but may do service here:
By feeblest agents may our God fulfill
His righteous will. - Come, labour on!
No time for rest, till glows the western sky,
Till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie,
And a glad sound comes with the setting sun,
“Well done, well done!” - Come, labour on!
The toil is pleasant, the reward is sure;
Blessed are those who to the end endure;
How full their joy, how deep their rest shall be,
O Lord, with Thee!
Friends, we were so motivated to do something for God at the end of the study that while saying the closing prayers, I prophetically said that through the group, three new Anglican churches would be established in Ijebu Ode, and it came to pass. Anglican Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ondo Road, Chapel of Christ, Igbeba Road and that of Eka street, off Bonojo. Hymns are veritable instruments for a deep walk with God.
Those in the Anglican and other orthodox churches also went in the opposite direction by going against praise and worship songs. A time came when we realized in the Anglican churches then that majority of the youth were migrating to the Pentecost churches and it was discovered that one of the reasons given was that the church was too dull without praise and worship ministrations. By the time praise worship songs were introduced, the elders in the church started complaining until they got used to it. People always resist change.
Dressing.
Another area of serious contention is mode of dressing, especially women wearing trousers. It is such a serious area of contention that many churches will not allow you to enter if you as a woman dare to wear trousers. Below is the main scripture we believe forbids trousers:
“A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.(Deut.22:5)
The scripture above is very clear that a woman should not put on a man’s dress, and the other way round. However, without being insensitive to the doctrine of those who are against trousers, you may now have to define what actually is a man’s dress. Within Nigeria, there are cultures where the man’s traditional wear is not actually trouser but skirt. For some tribes also, the man’s traditional attire is a wrapper. There are cultures all over the world where trousers is not an exclusive dress for man but for both male and female. In several parts of the world too , a trouser under their gown is part of women’s dressing. There are parts of the world that due to weather, you may not only just wear trousers but actually wear thermal trousers underneath your normal trouser as a lady. Even in the production of trousers, the trouser of a man is different from that of a woman because it is purposely not sown the same way. In a situation where a woman goes to the market to buy a trouser which is specifically made for a women, can you really say that it is a man’s dress?
Really, one may realise that that arguing over trousers may be an exercise in futility and often counter productive. There are those you are supposed to lead to Christ that will not come to your church because you are against their mode of dressing. More importantly, there are your members that will appear follow your instructions on dressing while they are with you, but when they are not in church, it is something else.
One of the most worrying aspects of this controversy is that it has led many ministers of God into hypocrisy. They will ban trousers being worn to church by ladies, but even their wives and children wear it at home, that is hypocrisy! Many ministers do so because they want others to see them as not allowing trousers in their churches while they know that there is nothing really wrong with the practice of doing so. Why allow it at all since you preach against it?
Apart from trousers, there are other dresses that are offensive to us ie; trousers torn at the knee, dresses that expose the body etc. As a pastor’s wife, what will be your position and that of your spouse in handling issues like these?
Youth Activities.
In many of the orthodox churches in Nigeria, a very good percentage of the youth in the years past were lost to Pentecostal churches as a result of reluctance to accept inevitable change. It is also the same in many of the older Pentecostal churches. There is a way the youth do things that may appear frivolous to us. Most times, it is a phase in their development. Most churches have learnt from experience that when you discard their ideas, you may end up throwing the baby away with the dirty water. Those ideas may be accepted and modified as you show them that you are ready to accommodate them but require them to do some adjustments.
In our church, I used to ask someone to be in charge of the youth who arranges their programmes for them. However, I discovered that their response to youth activities was very low. They would not attend meetings and programmes arranged for them. During last year workers’ retreat in the church, it just came to my mind that they should choose their officers by themselves, without the interference of the church. We gave them free hand to make their decisions. Guess the first thing they did! They organized their elections online and chose a brand new executive. The first thing the new executive did was to reorganize their WhatsApp platform and remove the names of old schools like me! I never bothered myself about them though l still find a way of knowing what is going on among them by having a minister as youth pastor . Do you know that they are doing things better than we used to do it for them. Their programmes are better attended and more effective. Although they sometimes ask for support but most of the time, they are able to meet up with the expenses of their programmes. We also give them some Sundays as youth Sundays for them to be able to express themselves.
Instead of going against their ideas in whole, find a way of accommodating them, though there may be need to modify some of them. However, you should have a solid discipleship programme. Once you establish them in the faith and they are discipled, they will govern themselves in a godly manner.
You may need to support having a youth church or give them opportunities to take part in church activities. Don’t assume they are too young to do so. Whatever you have to do to retain your youth should be done because that is the future of the church.
Major On The Gospel Message And Discipleship.
Dear pastor’s wife, the above are some of the areas in which there have been controversies in the past. Some of them are still generating heated debate now and others will still definitely come up in the future. Rather than focusing on such minor issues, concentrate on being completely settled as to what the Christian message is all about. When your efforts are focused on the Christian message and discipleship, you will discover that other issues will take care of themselves. However much you try to go against them, some changes are inevitable.
Will You Be Able To Avoid Majoring In Minor?
