TIME EUROPE
FEBRUARY 7, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 5
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The Lord's Business
As well as shunning the prayer-book formalities that typify mainstream denominations, the African churches address local issues. "If there's a drought and the crops are failing, the minister will talk about drought or the problems of poverty," says Mitch Odero, head of information and public relations at the All Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi. The emphasis on singing and music appeals to young people, says Ghanaian bible teacher Reverend Joseph Akunyumu-Tetteh: "Previously religion seemed to be reserved for the elderly. Now Christianity in Africa has become a lot more youthful." And more popular. Nearly all of the growth in the Church in Latin America comes naturally through births. In Africa, over a quarter is due to conversions.
But while African churches may attract new believers, the Christian establishment is not always so welcoming of the African churches. Few A.I.C.s belong to the World Council of Churches, and many mainstream preachers question the quality of faith in the newly converted and the commitment of the churches to their flocks. Prosperity Theology may promise financial and spiritual riches, say its critics, but it often delivers neither. "Sure, Christianity may be growing quicker here than anywhere else, but the question remains as to the value of that faith," says Odero, an Anglican. "Spiritual destiny is not the main focus as it should be. The main focus is yourself and eliminating your problems."
Unfulfilled promises of wealth and success can lead to disappointment, and African congregations have high turnover rates. "People go from place to place searching for an answer," says Father Emmanuel Hodges, a priest with the Episcopal Church in Liberia. "If they find what they need, they stay. If they don't, they move to the next one. There's no commitment." Silvia Opoku-Manu, 25, a philosophy student in the Ghanaian capital Accra, says she used to attend an independent church but became disillusioned. "They promise you faith now. They promise your business will prosper now. Everything is instant," she says. "But God doesn't work this way. God is not a coffee machine."
Another familiar complaint is that the independent churches, which often demand a regular tithe, are more interested in making money than spreading the word of God or helping the poor. When Nigerian Bishop David Oyedepo, head of fast-growing Winners' Chapel, opened his new headquarters in Lagos recently, there was mumbled criticism that the money spent on the 50,000-seat Faith Tabernacle could have been better spent helping the city's many homeless people. "Tithes are a given, before the extras," says Odero. "Some preachers in Kenya charge $70 just to shake their hand. It's more if you want them to pray for you." A painting inside the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Kisumu asks, "Have You Paid Your Tithe? It is the Gateway to Abundant Blessings." "It's a challenge," says Pastor Ezebuike. "God commands his people to pay a tithe. It's a practice everyone should do."
Even small churches may have a profit motive. In Liberia, as in other African countries, it's easier and cheaper to register a church than a company. Emmanuel Dixon, 43, opened Christivoice Evangelism Inc. two years ago in a shop on one of the busiest corners in Monrovia. Dixon, a former electrician with the state-owned telephone company, repairs electrical instruments, hires out a band, and plans to open a Christian café next door. "It will have African and European food but no alcohol," he says. "I also hope to open a school. I want my children to see the vision and help build this into a big business." Stephen Wreh-Wilson, the national director of the Justice and Peace Commission, a Liberian civil rights group, is blunt about the proliferation of churches in his country: "These institutions are businesses. The more money you contribute the more respect you get. I don't think it should be that way."
While they may preach about poverty, few of the independent churches build schools or health facilities for the poor. Many help only members of their congregation. "This is not Christian at all," says Father Hodges. "Christianity expands. It has no limits." And in stark contrast to the Anglican and Catholic churches, which form an important part of the political opposition in many African countries, independent churches tend to ignore politics, arguing simply that leaders are anointed by God so there is little point in interfering. As a result, many national leaders prefer the new churches to the old.
For all their fault finding, though, the mainstream churches know they must modernize to stay relevant in Africa. Faced with declining numbers, many have introduced drums, guitars and organs to their services. "They have to change," says Winker. "They are trying to understand what people want. But it's not just beating the drums, it's something more." Doubters need only stand outside Nairobi's All Saints Cathedral on a Sunday morning to see where people are finding that something more. Many of the worshipers emerging from the grand stone building head straight for a large white tent in nearby Uhuru Park. There, along with hundreds of other Kenyans, they sing and dance and praise the Lord in a different, more African way.
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