The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Samson Ayokunle, has said that churches in the country are fraught with acts of indiscipline like sexual immorality, gluttony and financial impropriety.
He expressed sadness that money has become the god of many Christians, especially church leaders.
Ayokunle, who is also the President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), said these in his speech made available to reporters at the ongoing Virtual Convention of the Baptist Church.
He said there is no difference between an unbeliever and a Christian that is guilty of the evil acts aforementioned.
His address at the convention, whose theme is ‘Moving Forward: Becoming a More Disciplined Church’, reads in part: “The church is now in a state where lack of discipline has led to many instances of sexual immorality, gluttony, financial impropriety, laziness, court cases, etc.
“The name of the Lord is being maligned in our society today because of the way Christians are behaving.
“Obscene dressing and all forms of impurities are happening in our midst.
“Some Christians cannot be trusted for any noble assignment. There appears to be no difference between them and the unbelievers.
“Money in particular has become the god of some (if not many) Christians, including church leaders! What a shame to the Church!
“The Lord of the Church is sad concerning the state of the Church. We are robbed of our powers and molested by the children of Satan because of our careless living.
“We came into the year 2020 with high hopes and aspirations. As individuals, families and organisations, we made plans and set goals for the year.
“In the month of February, the Covid-19 virus, which started in Wuhan, China, has become a pandemic. One after the other, nations of the world were shutting down. Nigeria was not left out.
“In the month of March, we experienced various lockdowns and different measures put in place by the Federal Government, among which is non-gathering of large numbers of people in the public place. This was why our Convention in Session scheduled for 24th to 29th of April was postponed.
“You would agree with me that this year’s convention is a peculiar one in that it is the first virtual Convention in Session we are holding in the history of the convention.
“I appreciate all who have joined us from different parts of the country and various parts of the world. Blessed be the name of the Lord for His unfailing mercies over our lives.”
Giving an account of the church’s exploits in recent times, he said: “Were it not for the global pandemic situation, this year’s convention would have been a unique one too as we would have held the convention at the Baptist International Christian Centre (BICC), a thirty seven thousand-seat auditorium in our Baptist International Camp at Lufuwape in Ogun State.
“Since we began work on the auditorium on the 6th of June, 2019, work has not stopped on site.
“The Admin building has been completed. Over 100 toilets have been completed. Boreholes have been sunk and the auditorium is about forty-five per cent (45%) completed.
“We wouldn’t forget to make mention of the fact that some people have sacrificially made themselves available for this project to come to reality and at the stage that it is presently.”
He said although “the body of Christ known as the Nigerian Baptist Convention” had come a long way, “but if we would move from where we are presently to where we ought to be, if we would not be swept away by the wave of indiscipline and immorality that is daily tearing the fabric of our society and the world at large, we must continue to emphasise discipline in the House of God.
“It is through discipline that we would remain holy and enter the kingdom of God! Hence this year’s convention is a call to self-examination as individuals, family, church, convention.”
He said it is a clarion call “to be more disciplined in areas where we have shown discipline and exercise discipline in areas where we lack such.”
