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...Where prayer is monetised 
•Divine wealth –N300,000
•Favour –N75,000
•Breaking curses – N50,000
•Tithe – 20% of income

The consequences of the quest for quick results and the gullible nature of some Nigerians to believe any word spoken by self-proclaimed prophets and preachers came to the fore recently in Onitsha, Anambra State. Sunday Sun discovered a church where members are hypnotised into parting with their hard-earned money in exchange for “miracles”.
Located at Oraukwu community town hall, Silas Works Road, Fegge, Onitsha, is a new generation church, Land of Canaan and Calvary Deliverance Church, where God’s blessings are ‘bought’ for a fee.
Members of the congregation are brainwashed to make special offerings so as to attract God’s blessings.
 At the Land of Canaan and Calvary Deliverance Ministry, the unofficial slogan of the pastor in charge is “pray, pray, pray, fast, fast, fast; God’s favours doesn’t go with praying and fasting, he goes by the price you pay. Pay the price and God will surprise you.”
Fed with this strange orthodoxy, members of the church pay different amounts of money to receive God’s favour. While the pastor smiles to the bank, the congregation wallow in poverty, hoping their moment of abundant wealth is around the corner.
Sunday Sun reporter gathered that prayers for breaking of ancestral curses in the church attracts a fee of N50,000 and above; special prayers for God’s favour, often done by selected “prayer warriors”, who are strict vegetarians, goes for N75,000; sowing of seed for abundant wealth costs N200,000, while fortification of a worshipper against misfortunes and accidents goes for N100,000, among other sundry charges members of the congregation are made to pay.
The Bible, in the book of Malachi, admonishes Christians to give 10 per cent of their earnings to God as tithe so as to attract more blessings, but in the House of Canaan and Calvary Deliverance Ministry, tithe is 20 per cent of one’s income so that “God will answer prayers and requests very fast.”
A former member of the church, Uche Nnebedum, is currently engaged in a mother of all battles with owner of the church, Pastor Ekenechukwu Chukwumerem, in his quest to recover N3.5 million he was allegedly fleeced by the church.
 Narrating his ordeal, Nnebedum, who is the Director of Divine Favour Transport Company, said he had made a vow to recover everything the pastor deceitfully collected from him and also to expose the antics of other warehouse churches so that more people would not fall victim.
 
Encounter with the pastor
Nnebedum told Sunday Sun that he had met Pastor Chukwumerem in the quest for solution to some financial misfortunes he had suffered in his business.
 “I was directed to the church by my own blood relation, Amaechi Nnebedum, who did not know that the pastor was not genuine. I told the pastor that I was looking for solution to my problems and he laid his hands on my head and later said that I was now at the final bus stop. He told me that if I wanted my problems solved, the church would embark on special prayers for me. The prayers, according to him, would be held by a band of dedicated prayer warriors at GRA, Onitsha. The group, he told me, eats selected fruits only and the price is N75,000. I foolishly paid the money and that was the beginning of my ordeal.”
 ‘You need a voice for God to hear you’
Continuing, Nnebedum said: “After paying N75,000,  my problems increased, and when I told the pastor, again, he told me that I needed a voice that would speak for me so that God would hear me quickly. By this, he meant that God had directed that I should buy a complete set of loud speakers and public address system for the church.
“I bought a set of made-in-Nigeria speakers, but he rejected it until I bought imported ones, then he said the heavens had accepted my offering. He continued to brainwash me, telling me that if I could imagine how bright my future was, then I should not relent in doing whatever God said I should do. I know people who hear my story now will blame me or even ask whether I’m a fool, but they won’t know that I was under a spell then. He continued giving me false hopes and I continued sowing seeds and paying special tithes believing that things would soon get better, all to no avail.”
 
I borrowed money to pay tithe
“I continued to suffer in silence, to the extent that I sold my household items and started borrowing money to pay tithes. The pastor told me again that the next step was for breaking ancestral curses, which will cost N50,000. I paid the money and not quite long after that a friend gave me a luxury bus to manage. When I informed the pastor, he said I should sow a seed of N20,000 so that the heart of the friend who gave me the bus will be tender towards me.
“He also instructed me to surrender the first cash proceeds from the bus on its first trip. I did all these only for the vehicle to suffer brake failure on the first trip. It took three weeks before that bus made it to Abuja from Onitsha.
 
“If you are a good sheep, seek counsel from the shepherd”
According to Nnebedum, the pastor always tells the congregation to share everything about their private lives with him so that he could seek God’s view and tell them the outcome, and those who obey this injunction paid dearly for heeding this advice.
“Our greatest mistake was accepting to tell him everything about our lives. Whenever you told him about any problem you are having, he always found a way to convince you to part with more money.
“He convinced me that the luxury bus was a tool for greatness, which God sent to me. Even when the bus continued to break down, I was still spending money on it and also giving more money to him. The bus broke down again while on a second trip to Abuja after I had repaired it. The engine knocked. I complained to him. He became furious and said that I had offended the Holy Spirit by questioning its authority. As a punishment, he said I should do another thanksgiving of N50,000 if I ever want the vehicle to move again so as to placate the Holy Spirit.
 
‘Every word of mine is holyghostic’
“To confirm the efficacy of the pastor’s power, Nnebedum said he defied his directive to do another thanksgiving and borrowed money to repair the vehicle.
 “Immediately the vehicle was put in order, my boys loaded passengers from Abuja to Onitsha only for the vehicle to suffer brake failure again. It lost control and rammed into a culvert in Zuba. Four other vehicles were also hit in the process and I came back to the pastor crying. He told me that every word that came out of his mouth was ‘Holyghostic’ and to solve that problem, I must do a grand thanksgiving. 
“Still blinded by the spell cast on me, I borrowed money to buy a cow, household items, bags of rice, a television set, tubers of yam and another two giant loud speakers. He told me to monetise the cow for N60,000, so instead of presenting a live cow, I enclosed the cash equivalent in an envelope.”     
 
The last straw that broke the camel’s back
“After presenting all the items, the pastor was very happy. Out of excitement, due to the abundant gifts, he declared to the congregation that God had accepted my offering and that henceforth, my bus would now be called “good night Onitsha, good morning Minna /Abuja”, meaning that our journey would be hitch-free.
“After opening the envelope, he later called my brother on phone to inform me that I should bring extra N30,000 to balance the money for the cow, since, according to him, N60,000 was not enough to buy a cow. The next day, the vehicle was loaded in Minna, heading for Onitsha only for the engine block to blow into pieces in Delta State.
“At that moment, I felt like dying. I had lost the will to live and the people I’m indebted to were already chasing me around because cumulatively, the so-called man of God had drained me to the tune of N3.5 million. 
“My wife, who had been warning me to flee from that church, then saw my condition and invited her pastor to our home to speak to me. After counseling me, her pastor told me to run away from that church because the pastor was a fake man of God.  There and then, an inner power came into me and I made up my mind to go and demand a refund of all I had given him. When I went to his house in Asaba, Delta State, and confronted him, his wife reprimanded me for talking to a man of God that way. When I told her to watch her tongue, she entered into the inner room and suddenly brandished an empty bottle and broke it on my head. With blood gushing from my head, I went to a nearby police station to lodge a report against him. I narrated everything to the police and he was arrested. After interrogation, he agreed to an amicable settlement and promised to refund everything to me. We fixed a date to meet for a final settlement.
 
Complainant became accused
“While Nnebedum was hoping to collect the cash and items given to the pastor within the one week as agreed, the matter took a dramatic turn when Ekene petitioned the Delta State Police Command headquarters and alleged that Nnebedum and policemen from B Division invaded his house and threatened his life, ordering him to surrender all the items Nnebedum had used for thanksgiving. He also questioned whether perishable or imperishable items brought to the house of God for thanksgiving could be reclaimed after weeks from the church.
 “Though, I was the complainant in this matter, I was later summoned to appear at the Delta State Police Command headquarters. I was detained and later released on bail; but the pastor wasn’t done yet. He went further to sue me and the police at an Asaba High Court, asking for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights and an order restraining us from harassing him and his ministry. The matter has lingered because he has not appeared in court, but we are not perturbed.
 
Nemesis on its way
Investigation by Sunday Sun revealed that other members of the church are currently up in arms against the pastor.
As at the time of filing this report, the pastor has removed the signpost in front of the church and has gone underground. When this reporter called him on his mobile phone, the pastor, after acknowledging that he is the pastor in charge of the church, later denied himself. He said he was the pastor’s neighbour when the reporter identified himself and mentioned Nnebedum’s name. He refused to disclose his location and promised to get back to this reporter when the “pastor” returns. But he never did. Subsequent calls to his line were not answered.

Sex in the church ?

I know there was an announcement that all the Singles in the Church should wait after service, how come you didn't wait?

 
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"Because the Singles fellowship in my Church have no understanding of what Singles really need. Moreover, if I had gone for the meeting, it will be full of children than my mates. Challenges I am confronted with are not addressed, and I am tired of wasting my time. I would rather go for a show or watch a movie with my friends".
She is actually 37years. She's involved with her boss in the office. Has a nice apartment that is used for cell meetings of her Church. Lost the virginity she has kept for 33 years to her Pastor, and can't have him totally to herself because of Pastor's wife, neither can she have her boss completely too because of his wife. Her boss actually told her never to call him on phone because of his wife and promise to make all the calls. So she has to wait for his calls, and when he doesn't, you may never imagine the pain she has to go through not hearing from him as he may not come to the office for some days because of business appointments he has to make all around and outside the country. After all she is in love, only that she loves the wrong person.

When they first started the relationship, he made sure she was always on his Team, and so they travelled together. But now, rumors has it that he is seeing some new girl in the office, and will do everything to make sure that the two ladies don't meet and get heartbroken in the process. He is a born again Christian and will not want to hurt any of his Mistresses. So if our lady in question doesn't see him most of the time at work, she is sure to meet him at Church which is where they actually met and started the affair. He actually facilitated her employment in his office.

What do you make out of this? Lost her virginity to her Pastor at 33, and now is dating a married prominent member of her Church. In my counseling sessions, I hear a lot, I see a lot, and eventually discover a lot that is happening in secret places [realizing that my Clients don't keep much back from me. They are ready to tell everything, and all the names involved, knowing they have been looking for an opportunity to talk and unburden their consciences of guilt, so much guilt all this while], and I can tell you that there is so much sex amongst Singles in the Church, and this is not about sticking to one partner I discovered, but with so called brothers and pastors having a swell time of their lives moving around so many gullible sisters in the Church. It is a pity.

Why are these singles sleeping around? So many reasons I believe, but to make it worse when we preach don't, don't don't, and people don't do don'ts, then they will be left with not knowing the Do, Do, Do, and how to do what we are meant to do. People need to do something. Tell them or show them more of what they have to do, and give them all the assistants they need to do them. Loose them and let them go. If nothing is done about the sex scrouge that has hit the Church, she shouldn't expect so much respect from outsiders, and blessings that maketh rich from a Holy God either. It's amazing how many of our Brides are actually giving birth 7 months after the wedding and the children given birth to are not prematures.

What are the real needs of mature singles? What can be done to start having sincere relationships amongst Church members and not a situation where the brothers in the Church continue to tell lies to their own sisters, duping many of them financially with the sex trip bonuses added to that, because they believe they cannot be caught. How can the Church stop believing that she's making progress by having 18 people get married in 6 months, when there are 1 800 who are equally ready, but are not married within the same period of time because they haven't found their life partners yet?

I believe if we don't sit and talk about this sex scourge that has overtaken the Church while we were sleeping, we will remain as powerless as we are becoming already right now, full of so much talk, but less to show for it. I believe we need to promote true friendship again. Friendship that is not out to use people, but add value to their lives. Friendships that is out to make sacrifices, and watch others truly happy.
A friendship maintained over time is costly. Not only does it take effort just to keep up with someone when both of you are moving around in your first few years of your careers but it also requires even more to deal with personality quirks, misunderstandings, and slights. Lacking the willingness to pay attention and to invest emotional energy, friends become mere acquaintances – and eventually become strangers all over again.
Ever wonder why Scripture represents the church as the family of God? Why it pictures its members as sisters and brothers to one another? The deeper truth is that we belong to one another in a significant way and are expected to look out for one another in a pinch, to take up for one another when the neighborhood bully (i.e., Satan) comes calling with the sinister intent of doing real harm to one of us. Don’t forsake your highest ideals.
The most intimate of human relationships is the one between husbands and wives in our marital covenants. With sociologists telling us that about half of all first marriages are failing, something must be wrong with our thinking. Where is the “excellence” we are building into our roles as mates and parents?
Research tells us that “till death do us part” has been laid aside as an archaic convention in wedding ceremonies of late. In its place are things like “for as long as our love shall last” or “until our time together is over.” How’s that for being open-ended? For leaving a way out? For some people, what they call “love” doesn’t last into the third month. Their “time together is hardly enough to unpack."Make it easy on yourself” seems to be the rule of thumb for too many of us. So we are shallow in our Faith, careless about our Character, and weak in our

Unidentified gunmen at midnight on New Year’s Day attacked and set ablaze Victorious Christ Church, located at London Cikin area of Maiduguri metropolis in Borno State.

An eye witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Maiduguri that the gunmen arrived at the church after its members had ended their service for the day.

He said before setting the church on fire, the gunmen shot sporadically into the air to scare away people, adding that no one was killed during the shooting.

The eyewitness said the church was established more than 20 years ago before the arrival of the present settlers of London Cikin.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Borno State, Abdullahi Lawan, who confirmed the incident, told NAN that the Police were yet to make any arrest.

He said the command had commenced investigation to apprehend those behind the dastardly act...

"I'm spiritual but not religious."

A Tree and Its Fruit

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

It's a trendy phrase people often use to describe their belief that they don't need organized religion to live a life of faith.

But for Jesuit priest James Martin, the phrase also hints at something else: egotism.

"Being spiritual but not religious can lead to complacency and self-centeredness," says Martin, an editor at America, a national Catholic magazine based in New York City. "If it's just you and God in your room, and a religious community makes no demands on you, why help the poor?"

Religious debates erupt over everything from doctrine to fashion. Martin has jumped into a running debate over the "I'm spiritual but not religious" phrase.Photo:Being "spiritual but not religious" means you do not need a church or a community, some say. A beach will do.

The "I'm spiritual but not religious" community is growing so much that one pastor compared it to a movement. In a 2009 survey by the research firm LifeWay Christian Resources, 72 percent of millennials (18- to 29-year-olds) said they're "more spiritual than religious." The phrase is now so commonplace that it's spawned its own acronym ("I'm SBNR") and Facebook page: SBNR.org.

But what exactly does being "spiritual but not religious" mean, and could there be hidden dangers in living such a life?

Did you choose "Burger King Spirituality"?

Heather Cariou, a New York City-based author who calls herself spiritual instead of religious, doesn't think so. She's adopted a spirituality that blends Buddhism, Judaism and other beliefs.

"I don't need to define myself to any community by putting myself in a box labeled Baptist, or Catholic, or Muslim," she says. "When I die, I believe all my accounting will be done to God, and that when I enter the eternal realm, I will not walk though a door with a label on it."

People seem not to have the time nor the energy or interest to delve deeply into any one faith or religious tradition.

--June-Ann Greeley, theology professor

RELATED TOPICS

Religion

The Roman Catholic Church

BJ Gallagher, a Huffington Post blogger who writes about spirituality, says she's SBNR because organized religion inevitably degenerates into tussles over power, ego and money.

Gallagher tells a parable to illustrate her point:

"God and the devil were walking down a path one day when God spotted something sparkling by the side of the path. He picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand.

"Ah, Truth," he said.

"Here, give it to me," the devil said. "I'll organize it."

Gallagher says there's nothing wrong with people blending insights from different faith traditions to create what she calls a "Burger King Spirituality -- have it your way."

She disputes the notion that spiritual people shun being accountable to a community.

"Twelve-step people have a brilliant spiritual community that avoids all the pitfalls of organized religion," says Gallagher, author of "The Best Way Out is Always Through."

"Each recovering addict has a 'god of our own understanding,' and there are no priests or intermediaries between you and your god. It's a spiritual community that works.''

Nazli Ekim, who works in public relations in New York City, says calling herself spiritual instead of religious is her way of taking responsibility for herself.

Ekim was born in a Muslim family and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She prayed to Allah every night, until she was 13 and had to take religion classes in high school.Then one day, she says she had to take charge of her own beliefs.

"I had this revelation that I bow to no one, and I've been spiritually a much happier person," says Ekim, who describers herself now as a Taoist, a religious practice from ancient China that emphasizes the unity of humanity and the universe.

"I make my own mistakes and take responsibility for them. I've lied, cheated, hurt people -- sometimes on purpose. Did I ever think I will burn in hell for all eternity? I didn't. Did I feel bad and made up for my mistakes? I certainly did, but not out of fear of God."

Going on a spiritual walkabout

The debate over being spiritual rather than religious is not just about semantics. It's about survival.

Numerous surveys show the number of Americans who do not identify themselves as religious has been increasing and likely will continue to grow.

A 2008 survey conducted by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, dubbed these Americans who don't identify with any religion as "Nones."

"I don't need to define myself in a box labeled Baptist, or Catholic, or Muslim."

--Heather Cariou, a spiritual but not religious seeker

Seminaries, churches, mosques and other institutions will struggle for survival if they don't somehow convince future generations that being religious isn't so bad after all, religion scholars warn.

Jennifer Walters, dean of religious life at Smith College in Massachusetts, says there's a lot of good in old-time religion.

Religious communities excel at caring for members in difficult times, encouraging members to serve others and teaching religious practices that have been tested and wrestled with for centuries, Walters says.

"Hymn-singing, forms of prayer and worship, teachings about social justice and forgiveness -- all these things are valuable elements of religious wisdom," Walters says. "Piecing it together by yourself can be done, but with great difficulty."

Being a spiritual Lone Ranger fits the tenor of our times, says June-Ann Greeley, a theology and philosophy professor.

"Religion demands that we accord to human existence some absolutes and eternal truths, and in a post-modern culture, that becomes all but impossible," says Greeley, who teaches at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

It's much easier for "spiritual" people to go on "spiritual walkabouts," Greeley says.

"People seem not to have the time nor the energy or interest to delve deeply into any one faith or religious tradition," Greeley says. "So they move through, collecting ideas and practices and tenets that most appeal to the self, but making no connections to groups or communities."

Being spiritual instead of religious may sound sophisticated, but the choice may ultimately come down to pettiness, says Martin, the Jesuit priest, who writes about the phrase in his book, "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost Everything)."

"Religion is hard," he says. "Sometimes it's just too much work. People don't feel like it. I have better things to do with my time. It's plain old laziness."