Bible history teaches us that at a point in Jesus’s life, he had to crack the whip by lashing and sacking the High Priest of the Pharisees from the Temple for carrying out commercial activities in the House of God.
In today’s world, a lot of activities going on in the church under the guise of miracles, healing, and deliverance which could best be described as commercial activities that happened in the Bible.
Most charismatic churches in Ghana, are lined up from Sunday to Saturday, making members engaged in church activities throughout the week.
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During such activities, the Pastors sell anointing oil, handkerchiefs, incense, anointing water, and even soap.
This situation is not different from the instance when Jesus had to whip and drive away from the Priest for carrying out commercial activities in the church.
Unlike the Orthodox Churches such as the Catholic, Methodist, Zion, Presbyterian, and Anglican where the pastor cannot do or carry out any commercial activity such as selling of the anointing oil and handkerchiefs or engage the members in activities that are not approved by the headquarters of the church, the charismatic pastor sees himself as the sole owner of the church and can therefore decide to business with it.
Woe betide any member who will dare raise a voice to question any decision of the pastor. That member will either be expelled from the church or the pastor will quote the Bible to condemn him or her.
By this, the modern charismatic pastor has turned Christianity into a serious venture, and like it or not, the people have come to embrace the practice without complaining.
Seeing the bread and butter in church formation, more self-styled men of God are trooping into the Ministry, with some establishing more branches in other parts of the country with proceeds from programs they organize coming directly into their pockets.
Source:mydailynewsonline.com
