16:22 - by Friday Okwori

He served as Senior Pastor of a new generation church. His congregation was one of the fastest growing in recent times. This local church's growth was astounding. In all honesty, referring to it as a 'local church' is a grave and unpardonable offence; a church that has branches in certain foreign countries. A church with a huge and enviable congregation, multiple worldwide branches, and a globally renowned pastor is deemed 'successful' by all standards. Or what other metric is relevant? The preacher, a young man in his mid-thirties, exuded confidence and vigour. Forget the fact that he is just over thirty; he has been in ministry for nearly two decades. His fondness for the spotlight began in college, when he discovered he had excellent oratory abilities. It wasn't really about a walk with God. He founded the ministry while still in school and gave himself the title of 'Senior Pastor' despite the fact that the membership was only a dozen. Forget about that figure; he now oversees a massive audience. In Africa, being a Senior Pastor of a big church in your 30s is no small accomplishment. It's probably the same as being the CEO of a Fortune 500 company in America. Africa, after all, is a continent where more people pay tithe than taxes. This church's demographic consisted primarily of students and young professionals (Gen Z's and Millennials.) The preacher was always quite clear that he was called for that specific demographic. His target audience had an impact on the church's setting. Massive resources were dedicated to creating a magnificent and aesthetically pleasing auditorium as well as cutting-edge sound infrastructure. It's no secret that young people enjoy terrific music and a beautiful surrounding. It is a given. The front-line ladies, known as greeters, were carefully chosen and educated to treat worshippers with respect and courtesy. The ladies were subtle reminders that angels really live among people; they are so gorgeous that you don't want to miss seeing them again. If you think it's a lie, come next week! Due to its demography, the church also adopted a liberal policy. To attract young people, you must dress like them, speak like them, and engage in activities that interest them. The strategy was straightforward, and everyone in the workforce knew and practiced it seamlessly. It was typical to see preachers wearing ripped pants and a strange hairdo. The strategy was extremely effective, even if it was often impossible to distinguish between the lost sheep and the shepherd. Every Sunday, people came in droves, and additional branches popped up from time to time. It didn't matter whether church members had certain basic character flaws; all they had to do was keep coming. They were going to change either because of the ambience, superb customer service, incredible sound, or the senior pastor's constant little 'pep talk'. It didn't matter how long it took; quitters never achieve anything substantial in the end. A large portion of the church's membership consisted of single female professionals, and there is really no prize for guessing that one of their main prayer requests was for a life companion. Their persistent singlehood was either caused by spiritual forces in their father's house or by a failing economy, which discouraged young men from taking on further marriage responsibilities. The latter seems like an excuse, so believe anything you want. Prayers are used to solve everything in this continent. Liberalism, like anything else, presented its own set of obstacles. There were allegations of sexual and financial impropriety on the Senior Pastor. It's no secret that he likes to be extravagant, with flashy automobiles, expensive jewellery, and clothes. For those who knew this young pastor well, news of sexual impropriety came as no surprise; it had been his Achilles heel since college. He knew he needed help but couldn't say it. Perhaps he needed something more—a community to hold him accountable. It didn't matter that he was the Senior Pastor; he was still human. It seemed that every time a case of sexual impropriety was uncovered, the congregation responded strongly, maintaining their shepherd's innocence. It's not as if they had tangible evidence to prove that their leader was innocent, but because he is the 'anointed', no one could touch him. There was a strong rebuttal to every claim made online. His members took it upon themselves to humiliate anyone who dared to call their pastor names. To be honest, he did not ask anyone to defend him, neither did he criticise them for their awful actions. His members acted like fans, expressing strong emotions without restraint. You'd be living in denial to assume that such level of fanaticism only exists in new generation churches. They literally fought people without knowing the facts. The majority of those who referenced the passage 'touch not my anointed…' had no idea where it was in the Bible. As usual, they argued that the world was against them. This time around, the church had a major scandal. It was the same old sexual misconduct story, but this seemed like one too many. Efforts were made to sweep it under the carpet, but it was futile. The victim filed legal action, resulting in significant reputational damage to the church. Even when it appeared that there was some truth to this claim, his members continued to fight online and shout 'touch not my anointed.' The preacher was found guilty of the charges and later prosecuted. The anointed was eventually touched! P.S: The title of the article is gotten from 1 Chronicles 16:22

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