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The Post Newspapers Attack Bishop Imakando’s Bread Of Life Church Indirectly, Describes It ‘Big Without a Heart For Widows & Orphans’
One very important thing the Christian church brought to this part of the world is education.
The church started the early schools in all parts of our homeland. And to this day, we still have many schools that are run by the church. The Catholic Church, the Seventh Day Adventist, the United Church of Zambia and other church organisations have made a very huge contributions to education in this country. And these churches are still making great contribution to education and health services in our country. This is commendable. Our country will eternally be grateful to these churches and their early missionaries. We also need to commend them and support them for their continued commitment and contribution to education and health services in this country. Today, we do have a number of universities, albeit small, that have been started by church organisations. This deserves respect for the church and its organisations.
Bishop Joe Imakando
And most of these churches that are building gigantic church structures are churches that have no social programmes whatsoever. For instance, in Western Province today, the biggest and most expensive church structure is owned by a church that despite having a very large membership in the area has never built a single school or clinic.
But today, this church prides itself in having the largest church structure in the province. What is the wisdom behind this? This would look foolish even in the eyes of the Pharisees.
Today we have churches that have turned themselves into business organisations. Of course there is nothing wrong with churches running businesses. But what matters is how the money from such businesses is used. We have churches owning guesthouses and all sorts of businesses all over the country. But what do they do with the money they earn from such businesses? Most of it is spent on the church leadership’s allowances and all sorts of expenses, including the education of their children abroad.
A church which values its congregations affords the highest priority to providing education for all its young members and for all the young people in the areas it is serving.
There is need for our churches to be responsible in the use of the money they receive from their members and other donors. Building gigantic and very expensive church structures in areas where poverty is at its highest is certainly not being responsible. This will certainly not please Christ. It may please the Pharisees but not Christ. The church cannot call others to virtues which itself does not make an effort to practice. We ask our churches to be exemplary and make best use of the resources they collect from their members.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Christ’s entire doctrine was one of humility. His entire doctrine was devoted to the humble, the poor; his doctrine was devoted to fighting against abuse, injustice and the degradation of human beings.
We believe that we have come to a time when religion can enter the social, economic and political sphere with regard to man and his material needs. We respect convictions, beliefs and explanations. Everyone is entitled to his own position, his own beliefs. But we must work in the sphere of these human problems that interest us all and constitute a duty for all.
How can any spiritual guide of a human collective ignore its vital problems? Christianity can now be a real rather than a utopian doctrine, not a spiritual consolation for those who suffer. Christ spent his time addressing social problems of people. Those who were ill, he cured; those who were hungry, he fed. That is, man’s material need, the basic foundation of life, was the most sacred thing for Jesus. Idolatry deprives human beings of sacredness, transferring it liturgical observances and to the material of the cult, such as the temple. For Jesus, it was impossible to speak of spiritual life apart from the material conditions of existence. There is nothing more sacred than man, the image and likeness of God. A religion that cares for the supposed sacredness of its objects but turns its back on those who are the real temples of the spirit is worthless. To Jesus’ way of thinking, there is nothing more sacred than the right to life.
A church that places its patrimonial interests ahead of the demands of justice, life and the people among whom it is inserted is certainly a church that considers man less important than the Sabbath and, like the Pharisees, reverses evangelical priorities.
There is need for our church to invest in people and not in huge and very expensive church structures when people have no food, good schools and health facilities, when their members do not even have a solid roof over their heads. There is still need for our churches to pay attention to education and health and help government increase its effectiveness in those areas.
A new approach by the church to the social problems affecting our people is needed. There is need to review some pastoral practices and establish new lines of evangelising.
We understand how the old churches were built. These expensive old structures, for most of our churches, were built at a time the church was in league with the rich, the aristocrats in the exploitation of the poor. That history should not be repeated.
This is why today we respect those churches that are taking a correct position on the most serious social problems of our times. It is painful to see very influential Christian churches squander money in the way they are doing when their members are wallowing in poverty, ignorance and disease. And it’s even worse that some of this wastefulness is being perpetrated by church leaders who are products of church education – of course by other churches and not the churches they are today leading.
The PostNewspapers
Posted by
Timbwi
April 30, 2013 at 9:27 am
God’s plans are not shown to non believers. Why do you want to intervene? Those churches concentrating in buildings are doing so purposely so that you and i will have a place to go to. If they have a small space, how do you expect them to shelter the homeless? Fellow believers,it is better to know members in churches and assist them through pledges. If you say i will be buying Soap every month, so be it.
Reveal!
April 30, 2013 at 9:50 am
These so called churches are simply companies exploiting the unsuspecting followers all in the name of faith.
I start on to be known as Street corner ministries.
Government must clamp down on the mushrooming of churches which the loafers have turned into money making ventures.
iwe koswe
April 30, 2013 at 10:24 am
u wud rather we build big n expensive night clubs u koswe?
nkandu
April 30, 2013 at 2:44 pm
What really matters is to focus on personal relations with Christ as individuals. I wish to challenge the post newspaper to show us what social responsibility towards the poor they have supported? First so called(Hammer H6) bigger than the one you are referring to here I ever saw around was for the Post newspaper Chief himself.Pipo would we rather build bigger night clubs or bigger stadiums than a respectable building to worship from? We would rather praise other preachers from outside our country even if we did not know of their social responsibility. Lets offer good advice and not Judge for we are not worthy to judges others. Salvation is not about a group, building but personal. How is my heart as I build an orphanage, or as I help others. Is it for the FACE or GOD?
pay hay
April 30, 2013 at 3:03 pm
judge not for you not to be judged. IMAKANDO NAMWINA NOMBA. I RECALL THOSE DAYS YOU PREACHED ON TV. YOU WERE SO THIN WITH OUTDATED SJACKETS. CONFIRM IT IS ANITHER FROM RUGS TO RICHES STORY. AGAIN LOZIs ARE LIKE congolese, THEY BELIEVE SO MUCH IN HANDOUTS.WHY COMPLAIN ABOUT A CHURCH FOR NOT BUILDING A CLINIC OR WHATEVER U WANT. THEY ARE NOT OBLIGED. LET THE GOVERNMENT DO SO.
christian
May 13, 2013 at 7:22 pm
The post newspaper should avoid presenting indirect attacks to churches. Mind you churches are built to listen and understand the word of God which is served.
Spectator Kalaki
May 20, 2013 at 11:03 pm
Obvious comments by The Post. Who doesn’t know that the Bread of Life Church is a notorious scam, designed to lift money out of the pockets of the rich and gullible? The money collected, of course, goes mainly to the Chief Charlatan, Joseph Namakando, popularly known as the Bling Bling Bishop.
bufi
May 22, 2013 at 1:40 am
And why do drive a hama when people are sufferin .who are you trying to impress. and why has sata got seven guns when people are suffering. who is trying to impress
MOJO
May 29, 2013 at 4:53 pm
y personal jet?
voice of reason
May 30, 2013 at 10:14 pm
There is a lot of sense in what the correspondent is highlighting. In stead of hauling insults, generalizing and name calling, maybe you all should step outside and take a deep breath. I am sure you will not smell roses out there because the smell of hunger, poverty and desperation is so strong that even just thinking about it, I want to puke! Bane, Zambia is very rich country; materially and morally. I think the church has a very wonderful role to play and it always has; my plea is that it continues to do so. Given the moral authority churches have, they should prioritize social justice, help build a viable middle class, turn those safe church grounds into mega vocational training grounds, safe houses for women and children and help grow a healthy God/Allah fearing/respecting beings. Why is it okay for the preacher to collect all the money from poor people and spend it on his expensive lifstlye? I have no dog in this fight as I am agnostic! All I know is there is poverty in Zambia and the Church can help reduce and not increase that gap between the very rich and very poor!
leave him alone
June 3, 2013 at 2:11 pm
what is wrong about building God a wonderful gathering place to honor and worship Him from? You are the same people that say ba pente bapepelafye mutuma classroom. Leave the man of God and his church alone!
CACINE
June 14, 2013 at 9:38 am
Is that building the Church of God? Who told you that? The church of God is a group of true believers not an expensive building which will attract the rich and will be used as a conduit for channeling the monies to fund the bishop and his family. Look at his lifestyle and all his preachings.
Taxpayer
June 6, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Jesus said, ‘the poor you will always have’.
So no one person can/will manage to meet the needs of this world.
Even in one family tree, others are less privilege
& others are well to do but you cannot fend for all the less privilege
or even keep them under one roof.
Am not sure if the ppo who give to the church are not reasonable enough, to judge for themselves if it is worthy….giving or not,
I wonder if it is in order for the church to start publicising/televising its social programmes (akapasa ayenda ku muvi/znbc, at show that we’re giving to the poor).
I know of the PPO who have been helped through scholarships at Unza by the so called (big for nothing churches) & men of God.
PPO, the blind cannot and will never lead each other,
Zambia is a developing nation and there are a lot of resources to survive on, when things are working out for others, it’s not time to rebel…
Let’s stop wasting time in rebelling or name calling. It’s time to find what can also work for us.
mafia
June 16, 2013 at 4:07 am
The church has become so extravagant today.i miss the pentescostal church of old.the ones that did crusades at market places and football grounds just win souls to christ.oh but no.no one does that anymore.they just want to preach about sowwing seeds.
SEAN
June 18, 2013 at 2:08 pm
Church nowadays is all about fundraising money from both the rich and poor…Imakando now needs a bigger church to make more cash…its all about the guap…
Dox
June 25, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Imakando is a hoax. From the beginning when the man snatched a church from Lusaka Baptist in Emmarsdale to Hammers, Farms, upstaired house(built after demolishing the one that was there) near Fire brigade monitored by CCTV and two structures on Thabo Mbeki Road(where a mere plot costs in excess of K300,000).
God the Almighty will surely deal with such fraudsters when the time comes-Just to refresh your memory ‘Pastor’ read 1st Timothy 6 concerning Paul’s teaching and guidance to Timothy as a young Preacher