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 We would be wise to take some spiritual cues from our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, where the gospel is burning brightly.
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(Originally published January 2007) When I was a child, white missionaries often came to my church to present slide shows of their work among what they called the “heathen tribes of Africa.” The white folks dug wells, built clinics and schools, provided food and preached the gospel to dark-skinned people who had never heard of the Savior.
Most missionaries who went to Africa did so with good hearts and right motives. But others carried with them a patronizing attitude. They viewed the Africans as inferior and encouraged them to become helplessly dependent on the white church. Their gospel was solid and evangelical, yet it was laced with a smug racism that implied that black people were only receivers of the message rather than authorized carriers of it.
"An empowered church is arising in Africa that will soon outshine the church in North America.”
Times have changed. Old attitudes are crumbling, and an empowered church is arising in Africa that will soon outshine the church in North America.
I saw this last week during my sixth trip to Nigeria, where churches are growing rapidly in spite of the challenges of Islam, government corruption and intrinsic poverty. Leaders of the Nigerian church have stepped into a place of spiritual maturity and are offering the kind of Christian leadership that is sorely lacking in the West.
During my time in Lagos, a city of 15 million, I attended a pastors prayer meeting that lasted from 9 a.m. until way past noon. More than 700 came to pray for the future of Nigeria, partly motivated by an upcoming presidential election.
The most important commodity this country will export is the gospel,” said Rev. Samuel Adeyemi, host of the event and pastor of the 12,000-member Daystar congregation. He led fellow pastors in repentance for government corruption and challenged the leaders to use the message of Christ to transform every sector of Nigerian society.
"When we take responsibility for our nation, the power of God will work on our behalf," Adeyemi told the crowd.
Sitting in the audience, I couldn’t help but wonder if any prayer meeting in the United States would attract 700 pastors. And these Nigerian leaders were not running in and out of the meeting to answer cell phones. They were either on their knees or standing with hands raised the entire four hours.
In this prayer meeting and in another prayer conference I attended a few days later in the city of Port Harcourt, I noticed several qualities we Americans would do well to copy.
1. They pray with passion.
Nigerian Christians are not embarrassed to pray in tongues. While we in the United States are still debating whether glossalalia is biblical, the pastors in Lagos stormed heaven with militancy and electric zeal. For them, prayer is not a time for lukewarm platitudes or a seeker-friendly style.
2. They pray in unity.
Bishop David Oyedopo, founder of Winner’s Chapel—the world’s largest church building, with 50,000 seats—told the crowd in Lagos: “Until we bury our differences we will not make a difference.” Even though Oyedopo’s massive church keeps him busy, he still finds time to link with other leaders in Nigeria. He knows they must create a united front to face the threats posed by militant Islam. (How bad must it get in the United States before we will discover our need for each other?)
3. They stand for holiness.
Leaders in Lagos called for repentance and warned that God will resist the church if the pulpits are defiled. “Judgment must begin in God’s house,” declared Rev. Wale Adefarasin, head of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria. In the Port Harcourt event, called Global PrayerQuake, prayer leader Pamela Eze-Uzomaka led an audience of 7,000 in asking God to forgive and save Europeans who are legalizing same-sex marriage. How ironic it is that the so-called “heathen of Africa” are now the ones upholding the standard of biblical morality while Western denominations have fallen into apostasy, depravity and spiritual lethargy.
4. They support Israel.
I found it amazing that the Africans unashamedly prayed for the protection and salvation of Israel—at a time when many believers in the United States are too concerned about political correctness to take such a stand. “Even if no other continent will pray for Israel, Africa will pray for Israel,” shouted Rev. Christy Jireh, who led 7,000 in prayer at the Global PrayerQuake conference on Jan. 10.
5. They understand spiritual warfare.
You don’t have to convince a Nigerian to believe in the reality of demons. They have experienced occult powers, so when they become Christians they have no problem discerning the spiritual realm or working miracles by faith in Jesus. That’s why God is sending many of them today to Europe and the United States—to help deliver us from the intellectualism that prevents us from understanding the supernatural realm.
Nigeria’s church is not perfect, but I can’t help noticing that the baton of Christian leadership is being passed to our African brethren. I pray we will receive them with open arms.
J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma / Reprinted with permission from Charisma, January 2007. Copyright Strang Communications Co., USA. All rights reserved. www.charismamag.com
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