The more I climb the ecclesiastical ladder
the more I am disturbed by the discovery that many Christian leaders tend to
abandon the gospel while still claiming to be faithful to it. They tip their
hats to the gospel but do not preach it. It is almost as though the gospel was
simply the first rung of the ladder of Christian ministry and should be left to
those who are still cutting their teeth in pastoral work.
I do not want to be judgmental, but I find
it instructive that I cannot remember the last time I met someone who, in
sharing their testimony of conversion, mentioned the name of some of the
loudest ministers of religion in my own country as the instruments that God
used to bring them to himself. The names that are often mentioned are those of
the “small boys”. This bothers me. Does it mean the big fishermen are no longer
catching fish? I ask myself, what can be more glorious than preaching the
gospel and seeing souls saved?
The “big fishermen” are quick to comment on
Zambia as a Christian nation, or on the Zambian “firegate” scandal, or on the
need for the church to monitor elections, or for the church to love
homosexuals, or be involved in opening universities and hospitals, etc. It
gains them a lot of mileage in the media and secures the attention of
politicians but I keep asking myself whether this is what their primary calling
is supposed to be.
Do not get me wrong. All these issues I
have listed are important but my point is that we preachers must keep
first things first and remain red-hot preachers of the gospel. There would be
no church worth talking about in the first place if there was no gospel being
preached regularly and effectively. All the the issues I have listed would even be worse if there was no church to start with.
It is a sobering fact that every generation
must be re-evangelised. We should never take today’s statistics in Africa or
anywhere in the world for granted. If we do not maintain and build upon the
evangelism of the previous generation we will lose ground and Christianity will
dwindle despite the fact that the number of church buildings may remain the
same—at least for a little while longer before they become empty and start
getting sold.
Again, I do not want to be judgmental, but the
African church needs to look at what is happening to Western Christianity. The
publishing houses are still there, churning out many good books as before.
Christian organisations are still there, doing their works of charity. Bible
Colleges are still there, fighting for the dwindling numbers of individuals
answering the call to the preaching ministry. But ground has been lost. Many
churches comprise octogenarians tottering to their graves. There are hardly any
new converts!
I am not sure how the Western church found
itself in this situation. My concern is for Africa. If we are not evangelising
but simply talking about evangelism and the gospel we will soon find ourselves
in the same situation as our Western counterparts. Sadly, I am observing that there
is far too much of talking about the gospel but precious little of fervent
gospel preaching. We need to reverse this before it is too late. We need to get back to red-hot gospel preaching.
Think about this: What would happen to a
nation if all adults were simply talking about the science of childbearing and
child upbringing but not proceeding to actually marry and engage in the activity
that produces children? Well, before long there would be no nation to talk
about because all would be well past their childbearing age!
It is not rocket science to know that for a
nation to prosper, married couples should bear children while in their prime and
then nurture them into adulthood. Once midwives run out of work, you can start
preparing the coffin for that entire nation. It will soon be no more.
I fear that this is what is happening with
the Christian church. We are majoring in minors. Do not get me wrong. Social,
economic, and political issues are important. Thankfully, the preaching of the
gospel will have social and political ramifications. Benevolence comes from
hearts that are converted and are overwhelmed by the love of God. This is
because the greatest enemy that people have is sin. The news of how sin was
defeated by Christ on the cross ought to be defended and sounded forth all
around us as the world’s best news. Preachers ought to be challenging the
people of our generation to respond to this news through repentance and faith.
Sadly, that is fast becoming the exception rather than the rule.
