Share

History is an essential aspect of human life. It keeps and sustains facts about a person or an event and seeks to answer the questions of what happened and why it happened, and also tells of the activities of the persons involved in the circumstances. It gives a clear and definite depiction and identity of persons and events. For example, the history of the development of Nigeria was due to the missionary activities from various arms of the Church in their quest for expanding the gospel of Jesus Christ in sub-Saharan Africa. The amalgamation of Nigeria into one nation wouldn’t have succeeded without missionary activities. The missionaries wrestled with the problem of interpreting the Bible in the language of the people. One can imagine how they struggled with cultural shock within the tribal consciousness of over 526 different languages and a people group and cultural differences. Indeed, the social and economic growth of Nigerians is often attached to the contribution of the early missionaries. The missionaries’ expository preaching style and integrity helped shape the church and train its first generation of leaders to continue to sustain the legacy of biblical interpretation and impact moral life and biblical understanding in the growing churches. Ekklisiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN) is one of the largest church denominations in Nigeria, with international spread to other neighboring countries including – Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Togo. EYN is a partner church of the international Christian Mission Organization – Church of the Brethren. 

The Church (EYN) was founded through the concern, love, and sacrifice of two American Brethren, H. Stover Kulp and Albert D. Helser,  in 1923. Since then, the church has been experiencing radical growth in membership, scope, and leadership despite the insurgency of Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), which has affected the development of the church negatively. In 1972 the EYN became an indigenous body. Subsequently, mission stations, Bible Schools, academic schools, and medical programs have been transferred to EYN leadership, and the name was changed from Lardin Gabas to Ekklisiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN).  

The missionary journey, which started like a lifeless project, had metamorphosed into a historical breakthrough that had over 1.5 million members in Nigeria alone and over 400 pastors of local gatherings of believers. Though the Church of the Brethren missionaries is no longer the dominant figure in the life of the indigenous church, their enduring legacy has continued to be very significant to the church. Because of the doctrinal affirmation of EYN, it is being identified as evangelical and conservative. EYN is a progeny of evangelicalism, and as Palmer notes, “African evangelicalism in its ideal form is holistic. It is concerned with both their spiritual salvation and their present physical needs.”1 Palmer further affirms that “African evangelicalism believes God will meet their personal needs. It believes in God’s power to supply their physical needs.”2 Evangelical, as the name of EYN, suggests is always employed to represent the emphasis on evangelization by converting non-believers to faith in Jesus Christ. As an evangelical church, EYN stresses the importance of her core beliefs, which require converting nominal Christians and unbelievers to personal salvation in Christ. It is further a requirement that Christians witness their faith to evangelize non-believers. The doctrinal concepts of EYN capture it passably; it is missional in its doctrinal proclamation and beliefs. The Church is known for its belief in the Bible, God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, angels, salvation, assurance of eternal faith, sanctification, church, ordinances, Christian life and service, spiritual gifts, blessed hope, the day of the Lord, and resurrection of the body. The Ekklisiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN) is one of the largest church denominations in Nigeria and has its international headquarters at Kwarhi near Biu in Adamawa state.

EYN is always proud of its many seminarians, expository preachers, and local congregations. However, with her enormous and colorful presence in the evangelical churches in Nigeria, the irony is that the quality of her pulpit ministry is diminutive. The influence and impact of Christian presence in her society are negligible compared to the overabundance and affluence. One identifiable factor that could be the reason for this situation is the lack of good biblical preaching and teaching among its congregation. Preaching God’s Word in EYN today is risking misrepresentations of the Word and being misunderstood by the assembly and society. The contemporary EYN pastors are imitating the new generation of churches. They are losing their footing from the proper Biblical interpretation for prosperity preaching. As a result, the quality of spirituality in EYN does not go with the quantity of her belief and mission statement. The Ekklisiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria is at a critical stage; as Daniel L. Akin notes, “…the Church of Christ is at a critical point. A crisis is in the pulpits; preachers of the gospel have abandoned a word-based ministry that is expository.”3

Therefore, this paper is imperative to re-vision the pulpit ministry in EYN, which is currently at the edge of collapse. In so doing, the report will first consider the subject of ecclesiology and missiology. It will take a look at the nature of the church, the specific call of God, the authority and task of the ordained ministry. It will also examine briefly how history and cultural context have affected the Christian tradition and our understanding of the nature and place of the church in society. However, this paper considers the shift from biblical preaching to prosperity preaching by contemporary pastors of EYN in Nigeria and offers biblical suggestions for re-visioning the pulpit ministry.  

Africans are extremely religious and practiced their religion seriously even before Christianity was brought. Their central point of worship was the deities (gods/ancestors). The shrines were holy and sacred places where people came to worship the deities by consulting the ancestors or divinations. The sacredness of the shrine is usually attached to natural features within the environment, such as rivers, rocks, mountains, caves, trees, and constructed buildings. The traditionalist believes that their departed ancestors still live in spirit. These ancestors were the first occupants or founders of the community. Therefore, they maintain that the spirits of the departed members of the extended family are never far away and that they are ready to take part in all matters about the welfare of the family or the community. The spirits of the ancestor interfere in the affairs of the living. The point here is that the “shrine” is a “local” meeting place between divinity and humanity. Symbolically, the shrine signifies the mystical meeting-point of the invisible world of spirit beings and the visible world of human members of the community. A community or a family can own a shrine, and the eldest of the community or family becomes the chief priest or priestess. Similarly, the Church is a sacred meeting place where Christians meet their God. It is the building, as well as the individual as Apostle Paul in his letter to Ephesus, says that the Church is a body of believers who were called in to “one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all (Eph 4:4-6).” Paul further says that the Church is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1: 23; 4: 12; 5:23-32; Col. 1:18, 24; 3:15) and a place where his Spirit dwells (Rom. 8:9, 11, 16; 1 Cor. 3: 16-17; 6:11, 15-17; Eph. 2:18, 22; 4:4). Therefore, the word Church is used to describe a local congregation and all Christians everywhere. 

According to Charles Ryrie, the word Church describes a Christian gathering or “an assembly called to perform specific tasks.”4 The word church portrays the New Testament assemblies (Acts 7:38; Heb. 2:12). In his definition, Dale Brown states that the Greek word for church means – “the called-out ones.”5 Our Lord Jesus Christ called his disciples his church (Mathew 16:18). Therefore, all believers are the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ purchased us (His Church) with His blood (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28) and intimately made himself with us. We were yet sinners. “Christ cleanses and purifies us… He nurtures and cares for us by sharing his righteousness with us while taking our unrighteousness to himself.”6 Christ redeemed us and transformed us into righteousness. According to Charles Ryrie, Christ “loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph 5:25-27).7 Therefore, it was Jesus Christ who founded the church. As Harper clarifies, “In Christ, God builds together Jews and Gentiles into the place where God dwells by the spirit. And so, they belong together as members of God’s household and the house in which God dwells… Through Christ, Gentiles are heirs with Israel, members together of Christ’s own body, and shares together in God’s promises in Jesus (Eph. 3:6).” 

Christian doctrine is an essential aspect of Christianity. It is expected to be the visible part of the Christian church, which is connected to other parts of the body of Christ. The validity of the Word of God calls for every Christian to abide by the Biblical teaching for their spiritual growth, wellness, and expansion so that the Gospel of Christ will saturate the world. All believers are called of God into salvation; they are invited to join God in the redemptive activity in the world. They are called to make disciples and be witnesses (Acts 1:8, Matt. 28:19). This is a broad call to anyone who believes and accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. God has also called specific individuals who have received the first call to particular tasks in the Church. Many people in Nigeria, both Christians and non-Christians, always refer to the building used for Christian worship as the Church. 

The nature and the mission of the Church are to build up a Christian character among believers and society. Harper joined both the nature and the mission of the Church together as he says, the church “purifies all sin, heals all brokenness, and welcomes both the persons and the riches of every human culture.”8 This is true because the church was called to evangelize, encourage, and teach good moral and ethical standards and facilitate justice and peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the Church the responsibility to disciple converts and baptized them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28: 18-20). Our Lord Jesus commands us to proclaim the Good News to every nation. He calls all His followers to act and share the Gospel of salvation. Jesus said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). The church of Christ has grown from a handful of disciples to today. Those who seek the knowledge of theology must be part of this community of God’s people. Eternal perspective is the hope of the Church. Therefore, Christian theology is concerned not just with the present but also with the future. The Bible provides hope for peace, righteousness, and justice for a future. This future hope is what EYN believes to be the assurance and eternal security of all those who have faith in Christ. However, the call of the Church is not to stand at a distance from the world but is to be the salt and light of the earth. Evangelism is the livelihood of the Church; it is the preaching and teaching of the gospel to persuade sinners into accepting Christ as their personal and Lord Jesus. 

The Church is a community of people called by God to a specific mission, and Christ himself is the head. It is a mixture of different categories of people called by God through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ to be baptized and live to glorify God and participating in the church’s sacraments and ordinances. It is also a group of believers expected to form a living community who from time to time gather together as a congregation to share the same purpose and calling for the gospel of reconciliation, peace, unity, and worship, as Akin comments, “The Church is God’s instrument for bringing both the gospel to the nations and a great host of redeemed humanity to himself.”9 The Church must consist of saints set apart for God’s exceptional utilization (1Cor.1:2). Since Christ loved the Church and gave himself to the Church (Eph 5:25-27), the Church must consist of God’s chosen nation (Colossians 1:18). Thus, the sanctity of the Church reflects Christ’s holiness (Rom 6:14; Phil3:8-9).

The primary mission of the Church is intended to reach the world around us with the gospel of Jesus, equipping believers to a holy life of service and to become a family of believers providing, acceptable, and belonging by loving one another through the love of God irrespective of their background, race, sex, color or nationality. The sanctity of the Church portrays God’s progressive work in the Church through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, one of the favorite texts of EYN to those who have experienced the chosen nature of the people of God and the newly baptized is picked up from 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation; God’s people,” as Paul wrote to the church in Colossi, that the church consists of God’s elect, the chosen nation. It is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18).  Apostle Peter conveys that Christians are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s people, so that they may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1Pet 2:9, 10). Peter’s declaration shows that every believer is called to serve. While responding to God’s general call, the believer is adopted into God’s household and placed into a specific role in the Church. They have the responsibility to proclaim the wonderful deeds of God, who called them from darkness to light. However, the church’s ministry is distributed among believers according to their different gifts and calling. 

Image Credit: Chibuzo Nimmo Petty.

Although God calls believers into faith, some church members are also called into special responsibilities in the Church. There are several examples in the Bible of some members of the early Church who were “set apart.” One of these examples is found in Acts 6, where the apostles acknowledged and ordained a few members of the Church into the ministry of the Church. Such individuals, though, are not better than the others but are bestowed with special responsibility through the laying on of hands and prayer. The practice of laying on of hands or setting people apart for special duty in the early Church and starting new churches was significant. This act of commissioning is known as “ordination.” This is a formal recognition or confirmation of an individual called by God for a particular task in the Church. This unique task is a gift from God to the church; because it is God who calls everyone into salvation, and it is God who also calls certain people for specific tasks. William H. Willimon states that “Though ordination is an act of God, the church chooses and proposes the candidate.”10 Therefore, ordination is fulfilled in the people of God through service to one another. 

According to William, “An ordination is a public act of the Church which indicates acceptance by an individual called by God to the up-building of the Church… through prayers and the laying of hands.”11Again, those who are being set apart or lay hands upon are not different from other church members or a deliberate action to elevate others to a higher position over the other members of the church. Still, it is a service to the body of Christ. Therefore, both the laity and the ordination minister have answered the call into the ministry of evangelism, teaching, and preaching the word. However, Paul assures believers that we have different gifts and ministries though God is all called (Ephesians 4:1-12). Therefore, the ordained ministry is a big responsibility, and those who enter it must commit themselves to the mission and ministry of the church. They are responsible for both the physical and spiritual well-being of the church. They are to make sure every local congregation profoundly nurtures and disciple members as servant-leaders of the Church. In so doing, the Church will provide for the continuity of Christ’s ministry, which has been bestowed upon the Church. Fundamentally, the pastoral office as a called one as Robert C. Anderson, that a pastor “is an ordinary person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, has experienced the call of God in his life for full-time Christian service, and knows that he is fit for such service because he meets certain biblical character qualifications.”12

The Bible provides the ordained minister with a divine task. As listed in the Scriptures, he is called for a specific purpose (2 Cor. 2:17; 11:13-15). Therefore, not everybody can be a pastor – only those who meet the biblical requirements, sense the call of God on their lives and have the appropriate gifts needed to make the office a success. The pastoral ministry is reflected in the metaphors such as:  

  1. The most prominent of which is that a pastor is a shepherd. A shepherd is a herder who cares for sheep; however, metaphorically, the term refers to political or religious leadership. As a shepherd, the pastor carries the weighty responsibility of protecting and preserving the flock (1 Pet 5:1-4).
  2. The pastor is described as a servant (Rom 1:1; Gal 1:10; 2 Cor. 6:4; 11:23) because the responsibilities of the pastoral ministry are primarily geared towards offering service to the believing community by attending to their spiritual, socio-economic, and material needs. 
  3. The pastor is described as a steward (1 Cor. 4:1; Titus 1:7) who serves as a custodian of the Word of God and the flock of Christ. The stewardship metaphor stresses that the pastor’s responsibility is to manage the resources and fulfill the commission of the master rather than to create any basis for ministry in themself. Paul testifies this by describing his church in Acts 20:17-31.
  4. Furthermore, the pastor is an overseer (1 Cor. 9:27; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1-4). This function emphasizes the crucial responsibility of exercising spiritual oversight, which has preventive, protective, and corrective overtones. As an overseer, the pastor instructs the church in Scripture, doctrine, theology, and Christian ethics, with the primary aim of correcting wrong philosophy and bad theology. The goal is to prevent the flock from feeding on spiritual chaff, producing a skeletal, distorted, and misguided Christian spirituality.

The ordained minister must acquire some basic qualifications, which include spiritual maturity and godliness, public credibility, faithful marriage, well-managed and respectful family, self-control, and discipline, hospitality, and teaching ability (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9); in other words, the minister must be trustworthy and respected in the society. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders so that he will not be tempted by the devil (1Timothy 3:7), and must also be above reproach or blameless (1 Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:6). Paul also warns that the ordained minister is not to be “a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil” (1Timothy 3:6). This means that the ordained individual is believed to have received both the general call to salvation and the unique call into the ministry of the Church’s leadership. Paul re-emphasized his concern for immaturity in Christ. He told Timothy not to “lay hands upon anyone hastily” (5:22).

The ordained minister is given shepherding the church with humility and willingness. On the other hand, Apostle Peter indicates that ordained ministers are “to tend the flock of God that is in your charge …not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it not for sordid gain but eagerly… And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away” (1Peter 5:2, 4). 

The role of the ordained minister also includes discipleship, teaching, preaching the Word of God, administration of the sacraments, missions, evangelism, administration of the Discipline, and the conservation of the Word of God. He must protect his congregation from false teaching and help them understand the scriptures and grow spiritually. As Brian Croft calls out, “Pastors, make it your aim to guard the good deposit entrusted to you until the chief shepherd returns.”13 The development of pastoral ministry in Nigeria must necessarily include the life of the community and the contextual location in which the biblical truths are conveyed and practiced. In EYN, pastoral care is supervised and conducted by the pastor with the help of the laity. The church pastor is responsible for proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching biblical revelation, serving in pastoral care functions, and acting as a “father” or “head” of the local congregation.

Therefore, the pulpit ministry is an essential aspect of pastoral care. It inspires the pastor and motivates the congregation to proclaim the gospel message of Jesus Christ through building lasting relationships with one other while offering spiritual support, guidance, and comfort as needed. Apostle Paul advised the pastor to set a good example and be an excellent model to his community (1Timothy 4:12). The leadership style of a pastor and his family have an extraordinary reputation that is so influential in changing the lifestyle of the entire congregation physically, spiritually, and emotionally; they are to live exemplary lives. This can be accomplished through visiting members and providing spiritual comfort and biblically sound counsel to the congregants and members of the community on spiritual matters.

Interested in learning more about preaching in Nigeria? Come back for the second half of this essay on March 01, 2022.

Hassan Dicks of Jos, Nigeria is a current DMin candidate at United Theological Seminary. He is a 2019 MA graduate of Bethany Theological Seminary. Hassan’s primary interests are trauma healing and peacemaking. Hassan is a credentialed minister in the denomination Evangelical Church Winning All.

  1. Palmer T. Christian Theology in an African Context, (Africa, Christian Textbooks, 2015) p.173.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Daniel L. Akin, et al, Engaging Exposition (Tennessee: Nashville, B&H, 2011) p. 26.
  4. Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth, (Chicago: Moody Publisher, 1999).
  5. Dale W. Brown, W. Another Way of Believing: A Brethren Theology (Elgin, Illinois: Brethren Press, 2005).
  6. Brad Harper, “Exploring Ecclesiology” Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, p. 29.
  7. Charles Ryrie, p. 214.
  8. Brad Harper, p. 48.
  9. Daniel Akin, A Theology for the Church (Tennessee: Nashville, 2014), p. 603-604.
  10. William H. Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Nashville: Abingdon) p. 39.
  11. Ibid.
  12. Robert C. Anderson, The Effective Pastor: A Practical Guide to the Ministry, (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publications, 1985).
  13. Brian Croft. The Pastor’s Ministry: Biblical Priorities for Faithful Shepherds, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015) p. 50.
Share