Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Nike in Enugu State, says liberalism and materialism remain the bane of the Church hindering its growth in truth and evangelism.
Onyia disclosed this while reading his Bishop’s Charge at the Third Session of the Fifth Synod of the Diocese holding at St. Peters Anglican Church, Thinkers Corner, Enugu.
The synod was themed: “Church: Mission through Social Action”.
According to him, visionary ministers of God with the mission of Christ in mind are few.
He said: “Everybody wants to be the leader. Some now see the ministry as a job and not a call.
“No one wants to be a follower in our generation, we want to be seen and celebrated.
“Popularity and human praise are more important to the Christians of this era than the acceptance and reward of eternal life from God”.
The bishop decried the unhealthy comparisons and competition among Christian denominations and churches even among ministers of God, adding that it seems the Church is a secular market place.
“Today, Christians and Churches compare attendance; they compare cars and acquired properties at the expense of mission (evangelism to win souls for God).
“They make more budgets for their welfare and luxurious life-styles than for evangelism or mission and social actions to uplift the hungry, poor and financially weak people around their Churches.
“Visitation to the sick and weak is now a herculean task and outdated. Phones, whatsapp, facebook and other social media platforms are now doing our work for us,” he lamented.
He urged the Church and Christians to wake-up and check the line of history, adding that those who do not know their history are bound to make “ancestral mistakes”, when they deviate from the “ancient path”.
“Evangelism, missions and social action (or welfare) must be very much alive in our churches to day to avoid extinction.
“With the church social action (welfare), the church was expected to do more to reduce poverty and lack within the community and people it finds itself while doing its evangelism or mission work.
“Preaching the word and seeing to the spiritual needs of people remains vital; but more important was the need for the Church to meet physical and social needs of the people,” he said.
