The Challenge Of Excessive Emphasis On Money And Materialism And Its Effects On Pastoral Integrity Among Pentecostal Minister In Christ Faith Church

The Challenge Of Excessive Emphasis On Money And Materialism And Its Effects On Pastoral Integrity Among Pentecostal Minister In Christ Faith Church

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

            According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, materialism is the belief that money, possessions, and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values in life. It is in contrast to the views of the sociologists of religion that religion is the main determinant of human life. In a speech presented at boston, Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge (1872-1993), a onetime United States president (1923-1929), said, “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped” (Encarter, 2009). This suggests that a negative perception on excessive emphasis on money and materialism can be detrimental to the pastoral integrity among Pentecostal ministers. When the reverse of its right perception turns out to be the case, a paradigm shift is observed. This appears to be the case with some Christian preachers today. Lamenting on such shift, Zachariah chinne while describing a “Materialistic Man of God (MMOG), posits that such preachers bear many titles such as “‘Firebrand’ Demon destroyer’, supersonic demonbuldozer’; preaching machine’, Great Man of God (GMOG)”’ (Chinne, 2013:3). Such Pentecostal Preacher sets his heart on excessive emphasis on money and material acquisition, he exhibits such attitude when he wears expensive suits on Italian shoes.

Every Religion is affected by this new phenomenon. For instance, it has been the tradition of Christianity to criticize worldly lifestyle. Jesus in His sermon to His followers (sermon on the mount) said,

Do not store up riches for yourself here on earth where moths, and rust destroy and robbers break in and steal. Instead store up riches for yourselves in heaven where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are (Matt. 6:19-21)

This new testament text becomes the foundation upon which Christians base their teaching on materialism. Christians must detest material gain for the purpose of spiritual quest (Kasser, 1995). Kasser (1995) uses the Gospel of Mathew to show that Jesus was against His followers seeking for any worldly material benefits at the expense of spiritual quest. According to Kasser (1995), Jesus taught His followers that;

No one can serve two masters.Either he will hate the one and love the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore, He told them, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (Matt. 6:24-25).

The biggest challenge that faces Christianity is however the fact that Christian, the followers of Christ, have not hearkened to His teaching on materialism (Shelley, 1984). Lewis (2012) content that today the church has become an avenue of social and material gratification unlike before when people became church members solely for spiritual nourishment.  According to Shelley (1984), outwardly, the church claims to follow Jesus’ teaching on materialism, but inwardly, she emphasizes on wealth and money as indispensable enablers of Christian mission. While it is true that money is necessary for mission, it has become the great hindrance to Christian mission due to the lofty level it has been elevated (Brooks, 2009).

Our focus on the minister is intentional because he has a great and direct influence on all those who listen to him. Little wonder, it can be observed today that many Christian seems to have drifted from trusting God to trusting wealth; from a pursuit of God to a pursuit of material possessions; and from believing in God to believing in the power of money. This drift has caused some contemporary believers a spiritual decline and less sensitivity to the spirit and things of the spirit.

Thus, the minister who has fallen victim seems not to have much impact on the lives of people around him/her.

While the tendency to become materialistic appears pronounced within the Pentecostal circle for their much emphases on prosperity, it is also gradually gaining grounds among the mainline churches as well. Materialism is gaining grounds because some of the clergy have failed in their responsibility of teaching the leity biblical principles about the Christian attitude towards money, wealth, and possessions.

As pilgrims on earth, it is imperative for Christians to have a proper understanding of the biblical teaching concerning wealth and their relationship to materials possessions in this world. To this effect, this research will be focused on examining some philosophies that will help shape albeit negatively, the mind of the 21^st century minister with a materialistic worldview. Thus, it will consider the effects and ethical implications of the excessive emphasis on money and material possessions by the minister who is a disciple of Jesus Christ.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

Materialism has proved itself to be a major deviation from biblical Christianity and Christian ethics. Lamenting on such anomaly, Olusegun Fakoya speaks of the Materialistic Men of God to have “Departed radically from the preaching of the Lord Jesus which emphasized contentment and instead substituted greed and avarice into the social lexicon. They offer wishy-washy holiness and continue to inundate us with the doctrines of prosperity, albeit, prosperity at all costs” (2015). Many Christians, and unfortunately some pastors, have decided to pursue material treasures over and against godly values. Illustrating this ill within the pastorate, Chinne reports two of his experiences where the founders of some unnamed churches made certain pronouncements to their congregations. The first said, “This church is the labor of my hands …[therefore] nobody, I say nobody…has the right to ask me how I spend the church’s money.” The second also said, “You are my sheep. The next time I come to your house don’t think I have come to visit you, I have come to milk you” (2013:52).

Sadly, the gospel today has turned out to be “a means to financial gain” (1 Tim 6:5 NIV) rather than contentment and godliness. This rise in the excessive emphasis on money and materialism has so much enveloped the minds of the 21st century ministers to the point that the average minister seems to be more concerned about material possession instead of spiritual formation. This is one reason why such ministers prefer to speak “You are blessed” and “God bless you” messages over and against the true teaching(s) of the Scripture. This quest has led to rivalry, envy, discontentment, and competition among ministers.

Because of this shift in attitude and ministers’ worldview from spiritual formation to material possession, the essence of life and earthly existence which ministers are to seek to understand has been evaded. Warren (2002.) raised a critical question in this direction when he said, “What on earth am I here for?” It is very easy to fall for anything if we do not know what we stand for and why we exist. This issue therefore calls for careful examination of the biblical and theological understanding of the effects of materialism on the ministers of Christ Faith Church.

1.3       Purpose of the Study

Riches and wealth are placed by God on earth so that Ministers can use them for the advancement of his kingdom. They are therefore to use them to honor Him. To this effect, Darrow Miller asked a very profound question, “Why did God bless Abraham?” (Miller, 2014:n.p). To this he answered, “Not for himself. God blessed Abraham to be a blessing towards others” (2014:n.p). It is therefore expedient for the materially blessed Ministers to use such material possessions for the kingdom’spurpose. But when they fail to do this and rather focus on the pursuit of material possessions instead of the pursuit of the kingdom, it shows that they have missed the mark. Alluding to this claim, Tony Campolo inferred that it is not wrong for aMinister to be rich, but it becomes sin if such a Minister fails to use his wealth to meet the needs of the poor (1988:95-103).

Therefore,

1. This project will investigate the challenges of excessive emphasis on money and materialism and its effect on pastoral integrity among Pentecostal ministers in   Christ Faith Church, District 22.
2. To investigate the manifestations of materialism in Christ Faith Church District 22 Headquarters.
3. To underscore the effect of materialism in Christ Faith Church District 22 Headquarters.

• Significance of the Study

This research work will help Ministers who want to live for Christ but are carried away by empty philosophies, the ragging quest for importance in society and a search for meaning in life through the acquisition of material possessions, to see its worthlessness without God. It is to point Ministers will be back to the Scripture so they could understand how they ought to relate with material possessions in this life. This is to help Ministers who are properly taught and trained in the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary tofind meaning in Christ, and not necessarily by measuring up with the standards set by the world. The research will put forward the folly of excessive emphasis on money and material possessions in this life that is devoid of godly values. This understanding is vital as it will help the Minister to clearly see the dangers of materialism to his or her Minister’s life and testimony. The basic motivation will encourage Ministers, teachers, missionaries, and all Christians to live up to God’s expectation of the life of contentment.

• Scope of the Study

This research study covers the challenge of excessive emphasis on money and materialism and its effects on pastoral integrity among Pentecostal Minister in Christ Faith Church. The geographical scope of study covers the village and Local Government Area carved into Essien Udim by Akwa Ibom State Government. The focus of the study will be on the excessive emphasis on prosperity of the Christ Faith Church Minister as a result of the learning they received in their seminary training.

• Limitation of the study

The limitations that will be encountered in this study are;

1. Some of the church leaders especially the minister and elders were sometimes very economical with the information. To overcome this, the researcher will use some of his friends and uncles from the church, the church leaders trusted.
2. There is limited literature on excessive emphasis on money and materialism and its effects in pastoral integrity among Pentecostal ministers especially in the African perspective. In this regards, the researcher will rely on the scanty material written from the western perspective and information gotten from the field research.

• There will be financial and time constraints in the course of carrying out the investigation and as the researcher will be involving with many other academic demands respectively. Despite all the limitations, the study will be completed on schedule due to the keenness on this topic and the commitment he show in completing it on time.

• Research Questions

It seems there is a great misconception in regards to a Minister’s life and his or her relationship with excessive emphasis on money and material possessions. This has apparently led to the materialistic attitude evident in some Ministers today. Such excessive emphasis on money and materialistic attitude poses an ethical and theological difficulty.

To resolve this difficulty, the researcher will attempt to answer the following questions:

1. What are the reasons for a Minister’s view on excessive emphasis on money and materialism, and what roles do philosophies play in shaping such view?
2. Are there manifestation of excessive emphasis on money and materialism in Christ FaithChurch.
3. What are the effects of money and materialism on the pastoral integrity among Pentecostal ministers/members
   • Definition of Terms
4. Materialism: It is the belief that money, possessions, and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values in life.

Responses are presented in a narrative.

Emphasis: Special importance, value, or prominence given to something.

Excessive: Implies an amount or degree too great to be reasonable or acceptable.

Pentecostal: This constitute any or various Christian religious bodies that emphasize individual experiences of grace, spiritual gifts, expressive worship and evangelism.

Pastoral Integrity: It is a deep commitment to do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the circumstance. People who live with integrity are incorruptible and incapable of breaking the trust of those who have confided in them.

Minster: It is a person who performs religious ceremonies especially in protestant church services.

Money: Is a commodity accepted by general consent as a medium of economic exchange. It is the medium n which prices and values are expressed. It circulates from person to person and country to country, facilitating trade, and it is the principal measure of wealth.