CHURCH UPRISING; THE TEMPLE OF GOD UNDER SIEGE?

For ye men of little faith and commitment to the word of God, succinctly put: unbelievers or non-practising Christians, “The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force!” is a verse many are quite familiar with in the bible albeit struggle to commit its chapter and verse (Mathew 11:12) to memory.
Well, the verse re-enacted itself 2,886miles from Nigeria in Zuurbekom, Johannesburg, South Africa five days ago.
The venue was the International Pentecostal Holiness where a splinter group seeking to take control of the church as leadership scuffles continue to grip the church since its former leader, Comforter Glayton Modise, passed away in 2016, stormed the premises, killing five persons, according to bbc.com.

(Image by bbc.com)

The horrific killings are just one of the numerous appalling incidences to have rocked the church whose membership is believed to be close to 1.5m people.
The Saturday killings clearly show a disconnect between an institution that credits itself to being a temple of holiness and, those who worship within it.
It is like a house divided, thus leaving commotion, chaos and ruins behind.
The event reignited my thoughts about church, religion and Christianity in Africa. How these three remain intricately linked to our spiritualism; an entwined carefully planted into us followers through our gullibility or maybe naivety still leaves me blank and bereft of answers.
Atheist! Hell no, an unbeliever!? No! I am a Christian trying to figure out where I stand in the midst of this battle for one’s soul.
Could the church be under siege? From where and who I asked myself.
The Zuurbekom killings is not an isolated case. The house of God has had to fight off waves of scandal thrown at it from within and outside.
In Nigeria, where I come from and where the church movement seems to be the rallying and focal point for the rest of the continent, also has its own fair share of scandals.
It is a problem that Folashade, an On-Air Personality with state-owned radio station, Lagos Traffic Radio, who also has a post-graduate degree in theological study acknowledges and shed more light on it with @thequill.

(Folashade)

“The problem is simply church politics gone wrong.
“Church politics is encompassing, it involves leadership, administration and finances. These three if not well managed and separated from the spiritual core’ll always breed this evil we are witnessing.
“The problem is a gradual erosion of values; spiritual values that have been substituted for avariciousness.”
The South African church killings were more of finance than spiritual zealousness; passion for Christ and his sheep.

In 2017, the church's finances had come under the spotlight, amid allegations some 110m rand ($6.5m; £5.2m) had gone missing, according to The Sowetan newspaper.
And based on latest reports from Al Jazeera, monies totalling around $26m still lie fallow in the church’s account.
Guess, Folashade, was right with her explanation. Materialism has taken a foothold in the church. And those who are seen as the torchbearer and guardian of this God owned temple have succumbed to earthly desires.
It is this irreverence that has continually glued the three aspects earlier mentioned (Church, Religion and Christianity) instead of separating them, confess, Pastor Yinka.
“Failure to separate church religion and faith is a problem. The church is an institution, is a body on its own; a house of God. However, this house of God doesn’t necessarily reside in a structure but in our body. The body is a church, the spirit of God resides within us. A church is the collection of individuals assembled for worship at a venue.
“Religion, I believe is a tradition created by men. A set of rules, modus operandi, of human device and not of God that has somewhat been accepted as the norm. It is complex.”
He continued, “Christianity is our spiritual faith and approach towards being Christ-like. Christ is an embodiment of the faith we practice which is Christianity.”
The ultimate question we should ask, is “are we thoroughly Christians; upholders of the faith epitomizing Christ in behaviours and actions?”

Guess, is an ultimate question deserving of answers during our quiet time. It is a question that could either indict or vindicate the Shepherds and those being shepherded.