As I write this, I know I am putting myself out on the firing line. I understand the consequences of questioning doctrine, but I have the right to state what I believe is not right, and I will do it till things get right.
When I heard about Pastor Thomas Wahome’s troubles with his former wife of two children (as she claims), two scriptures came to my mind.
But first, about Pastor Wahome. Pastor Wahome is the founder of the famous Helicopter of Christ Church, situated somewhere near OTC and Bus Station in Nairobi’s downtown. He got married to Leah Mueni in 2005 under the Kamba Customary law, and they begot two children aged 4 and 3 years old, but she abandoned them. Leah on the other hand claims that Wahome Wahome walked out on her in January 2011, abandoning his matrimonial home, and is now cohabiting with another woman. He has filed a divorce and Leah has sued to have the court compel him to pay her upkeep of up to over 300K.
Back to the scriptures. 1 Timothy 5:8 states “if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” NIV Version.
I do not want to brand Pst Wahome as one who has denied the faith, neither do I want to label him worse than an unbeliever. But I wonder if he has knowledge of the existence of this scripture in the bible, which I doubt. Let me explain my doubts. For those who take time to watch his programme on TV, you will notice that he rarely reads from the scriptures when delivering his “sermons”. He instead gives personal and other stories, which, in my opinion, are geared towards playing with the congregation’s emotions and make them believe that he possesses the powers that he proclaims. I don’t know whether he does. If he knew about this verse, as a responsible church leader, he would have managed this situation differently. If he was a responsible church leader, he would be cautious not to be seen to live a life portraying the opposite of what he preaches. But again, I doubt whether he really knows what he purports to preach. I put it to you, he is not interested in advancing the true gospel as per the written word of God. He is not interested in whatever impact his actions cause to the gospel of Christ. His priority is not making sure the word of God is received positively. His core interests are in accumulating and guarding his wealth acquired from the tithes, offerings, gifts, seeds, etc of believers desperate for a solution for their problems, the hard-earned cash of a people desperate to prosper as per his teachings. And this brings me to the second verse:-
1 Timothy 3:1 - 12 gives an outline of the qualities and qualifications of a Bishop, deacon, and their wives. I do not intend to outline all the qualities here as I believe you must have access to a bible, and in this error of Information access, you can access it with the simple click of a button.
I however cannot complete this without outlining some of them. A bishop should be:-
- Above reproach – meaning he should be in a position where he can’t be carelessly accused, above blame, reproach or scolding. Count for me how many preachers are above reproach.
- Faithful to his wife – they have mastered the art of working this out.
- Temperate.
- Self-controlled – many only need to be subjected to real tests, and you will easily tell. Remember when the government proposed taxation for churches?
- Respectable – this quality may not catch many, but a considerable number is far from anything near worthy of respect.
- Hospitable – while we have some of the wealthiest preachers and churches, people still die of hunger, go naked, sleep on the streets, die of poor health.
- Able to teach – the has seriously gone berserk. Every preacher has his own doctrine, some do not even read the scriptures, and many twist the word to their selfish desires.
- Not given to drunkenness – this they easily obey.
- Gentle – a high calling for most of our preachers.
- Not quarrelsome – we have quite a number who cannot be objective in public arguments.
- Not a lover of money – am sure you cannot complete the list of those who come short of this.
When I look at many a current day preachers, and put them parallel to the qualities outlined in this passage, it pains me to realize how we have mutilated the original gospel of Christ. Of course only a few will be triggered to think by this, but I will not keep quite with it, until sanity, sorry to say so, returns to the church, until we start preaching the bible, until we start reading from the bible and not into it.
It is a pity that this is just an example of the many preachers, church leaders, deacons, Reverends and others who are causing the gospel of Christ great disservice. Believers should learn to shun such preachers/churches so that they lose relevance in our society.
GOD HELP US!
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