I was born in Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), and am proud to be connected and associated with this great prophetic and Apostolic ministry, which as herald a major move of God in our generation and is still doing that in our Nation (Nigeria) and other parts of the world today, CAC is indeed a great church, that raises great Christians, who can pray and stay dedicated to their God and his cause on the earth.
Basically, I intend to make this post address a major difference between CAC and the Modern Pentecostal churches that we have in Nigeria today. I just had to use Winners Chapel as a Title to symbolize what I am talking about; I had my first 8 years as a child in the Christ Apostolic Church and I respect what CAC stands to represent, I had to later change church based on my parent’s preference. However, when I got to the campus, I had my experience in Winners CHAPEL and trust me, the beauty and glory of Christianity in that commission is something worth desiring indeed, and the heart the set man has for the body of Christ, is indeed a passionate virtue.
I also must say, I thank God for the great Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola, whose mantle is still very much at work in our generation, his Unction and GRACE is still speaking expressly in many CAC assemblies till date, so many CAC Prophets still make reference to the God of Apostle Babalola, and the covenant he had with God is speaking for them, this is indeed an age long calling that is worthy of note and tangible to the core.
Like a great man of God use to say (Apostle Joshua Selman), the body of Christ is not a perfect body, it is a growing body, and we must keep the growth process continuous, so we can attain the fullness of the stature of Christ in his glory, this indeed without any iota of doubt is the desire of the master for us, that we should bear much fruit, not just fruit in numbers alone, but in wisdom, in stature, in transformation and growth.
Anytime I had the privilege to attend a program in CAC, I am always excited because it reminds me of my root, which I will never forget, just like the Yoruba proverb says; a river that forgets his root will dry up. The prayer stamina in CAC is something that will set you on fire always.
Now to the story of the day, recently I had the opportunity to attend an anniversary program at a CAC Church, and I was invited, I honored the invitation and went. It was a good time actually and I was glad I attended. But there are few observations which I want us to note, especially the upcoming pastors and young prophets in CAC. I want them to take note of these things and adjust where necessary, the body of Christ is growing and we must make room for this growth to be continuous and progressive in every denomination.
Few Things I noticed at the CAC Service that day;
- Time was Wasted: I mean I got to the program at 11am and we finished at 6pm, in fact I can’t say we finish, but I left, and it wasn’t as if the event was that much, but time wasn’t well organized and planned, they didn’t give people that time frame or duration that should be used, everybody that ministered there, both Pastors and chorister, used the time as much as they desire, because there was no time frame given and this make the whole day to be used for a program that should have just been for like 3 to 4 hours, if this kind of operation continue, that church will not experience growth, people will be discourage from coming next time, because in our jet age right now, time is of high premium value and we cannot joke with the time.
- The program Event was too much: For a church anniversary, we had almost 4 to 5 different Music ministers and they want to give all of them enough time to sing, this was totally wrong, even while they were singing, a lot of people are tired, because its energy draining, even if all of them will sing, it would have been better that the church give them 5 mins each of maximum of 10 mins per person, as much as I enjoyed the service and I was glad, I think these little foxes spoil the vine, too much program here and there ends up making the service so boring most times.
- Too Many Offering: This is another thing I found so unbelievable, we had different kind of offerings, if am not mistaken, it should be up to 8 r 10 different offering collection, this is just not fair at all, an event that is done in God’s presence is not supposed to be a fundraising event, If the Church will be glorified and dignified, we need to ensure we teach people about giving based on Biblical truth and not force them to give, so we don’t look like thieves or people who are only interested in what people bring to church service. Let the people give cheerfully, but not different giving inside the same service, it can be very frustrating. People can give well to God to honor and worship him as part of their service and we should allow them to use their wisdom and discretion to do this, so that it can be acceptable. Collecting various offerings over and over again in the same service will never make a Church to be rich; God is watching our heart and our level of integrity and transparency in the Church.
- The Program was disorderly : This is another thing we must put in place, God’s house should be a place of profound order, even as we operate in the prophetic and all that, we must ensure that the service settings is still very much orderly and not disorderly, from the arrangement of the chairs and other important part of the service, there was so much disorderliness in the atmosphere, even though I was born in CAC, I am not sure I’d love to be a part of the service or church of any denomination that is not orderly enough, no matter what the reason or excuse maybe, we cannot replace order, there must be so much order in everything we do.
For clarification sake, this post is not designed to make CAC pastors or members feel bad, no. It is rather meant to help us look into the important and crucial aspect of the church and our weekly service and what can be done to make them become better, if we will disciple nations and experience great revival that is founded on soul winning and reconciling the world to Jesus, we must be excellent in our mode of operation, without order and excellence of operation, we will not be able to become all that God wants us to be, I hope this information gets to the Pastors and leaders of ministry all across the world, to learn more wisdom and insight, God bless you all in Jesus name.
