Are churches benefitting from proceeds of crime?

The doctrine of giving, as churches put it, constitutes one of the major pillars of the Christian faith. Tithes, offerings and donations are what many churches run on – a situation that, no doubt, opens them up to receiving from as many sources as possible, questionable and otherwise.
RITA OKONOBOH, in this report, examines the dilemma churches face when it comes to ‘unholy’ monies, as clerics’ take on what should be done when such funds are discovered in church coffers, and how to discourage the trend.

IT was a special service held in one of the very popular churches in the South-West. This reporter had been invited to cover the event. Then, it was time for special donations and the guest preacher, a very popular cleric known within and outside Nigeria, went to the pulpit and announced thus:

“I want 10 people to give $1,000 dollars each as donation to the work of God.”

Within minutes, people got up from different parts of the church and the donations were underway. Afterwards, it was the turn of $500-dollar givers. And the donations went on.

Pope rejects ‘blood’ money

According to a report published by Reuters in March 2016, Pope Francis refused donations if contributors profited from underpaid labour. The pontiff, who earlier called money the ‘dung of the devil’, stressed the Church needs “hearts that are open to God`s mercy,” not “dirty money.”

Pope Francis was said to have made the comments on ill-gotten gains during a weekly address to crowds gathered in St. Peter`s Square in the Vatican.

“Some donors come to the church offering profits from the blood of people who have been exploited, mistreated, enslaved with badly paid work. People of God don`t need their dirty money,” Pope Francis stated.

Questionable donations, recession and big church projects

In many religious circles today, issues surrounding probity, transparency and legitimacy of donations to such gatherings for the furtherance of the propagation of such faiths, have repeatedly arisen. Many people are beginning to question the sources of such funds and donations, which are discriminately made, without the preacher or church founder, in many cases, asserting conditions for such donations to be made, particularly the issue of illegal sources of income.

Towards the latter part of the first half of 2017, not a few Nigerians were left shocked by the revelations of the infamous suspected kidnapper, popularly known as Evans, when he disclosed how he spent his loot.

Revealing that his favourite part of scripture was Psalm 23, interestingly, according to reports, the suspected kidnap kingpin had further stated that he had donated part of his loot to the church as his way of giving back, a report which one of the churches denied.

As a result of the nation’s current economic state, unpaid salaries and allowances, and high cost of items, it would be stating the obvious that more and more churches rely on donations, voluntary or otherwise, to fund major and minor projects, considering their non-profit code of establishment. However, with the decision to give, opens up the channel for questionable donations, even in form of tithes and offerings, to find their way into churches. Then arises the questions: How should such be prevented? What should be done if the church is found culpable?

You can’t ‘bribe’ God with ungodly money —Archbishop Fape

Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos and Bishop of Remo Diocese, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Reverend Michael Fape, speaking with TribuneChurch, called on clerics to take more precautionary measures when it came to knowing members, and particularly, when it related to funds that come into the church.

“I want to believe that as ministers of God, it may be a little difficult to know exactly how individuals make their money, especially if such ministers are not too close to the members in question. If members that you knew a year or month ago, should bring huge sums, either by way of tithing or of gifting to the church, honestly, as a child of God, with the spirit of God guiding the cleric, jokingly or otherwise, you could ask what that person has done to get so much by way of blessing.

“And of course, any huge sum of money brought into the sanctuary of God by someone who is relatively unknown, or known to be financially okay, should be probed by the minister of God. That is not to say that ministers of God will always get it right. Of course, clerics, as it were, should be wary of questionable donations. Even from my own end, I have had instances to talk to people regarding that. We should be able to account for sudden occurrences. If anybody does any evil thing and that person thinks he/she can bring in money to bribe God, you are only compounding your problem. Such gesture will not save such individuals. It is unacceptable to God and is like a waste of time and will not attract eternal blessings. The earlier people desist from doing that, the better. You cannot ‘bribe’ God with ungodly money,” he stated.

Such monies should be refunded by the church —Bishop Omoniyi

Bishop Titus Omoniyi, of the Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), speaking on what should be done when such funds are found in the church, noted that various denominations have different modus operandi.

“First of all, we must understand that anything given to God must be holy. So, money from kidnappers, armed robbers and such people are not holy. That is why ministers of God must continue to be watchful and pray very hard to receive the voice of God on any donation given to the church of God. Clerics must seek the face of God on any strange money brought into the church.

“When such monies are traced to the church, we have to consider that we have so many denominations with various modus operandi. I would say such monies should be released to government or given as donations to the underprivileged or motherless babies’ homes, if investigated and found out that such monies are illegal,” Bishop Omoniyi stated.

Many clerics desperate to make money by all means —Bishop Adeoye

Bishop Seun Adeoye, of Sufficient Grace and Truth Ministry, Osun State, in his reaction, lamented what he described as the “acts of desperation by many clerics to make money by all means. There should be precautionary measures on the side of the church. When people bring money to the church, where they work and where such money comes from should be known – the source of the money. For instance, if a member, who earns N25,000 suddenly donates N2.5million as tithe, I should be able to sit the person down and ask where the money came from. It is unfortunate that some church leaders seek money by all means, coating it as blessing. That is not blessing. Blessing that you get from the wrong source is not blessing. If it has been proven that such illegal money is within the church’s coffers, possibly, the church should return the money. Before donations are received, the background of the donor, the person’s source of income, among other factors, should be taken into consideration.”

Like Zaccheus, such funds should be returned double-fold —Pastor Makinwa

Chairman, Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Oyo State, Pastor Olu Makinwa cited the example of Zaccheus in the Bible, who after a meeting with Jesus Christ, agreed to refund, even double-fold.

“As pastors and leaders of churches, when it is noticed that a person is donating to the church, it is good for pastors – genuine pastors – to know the kind of job the member is doing. If it is eventually discovered that such monies find their way into the church, it should be returned to the appropriate quarters, if possible, double fold. If such a church leader caught in that position has conscience, that money should be returned,” Makinwa stated.

Reverend James Akinadewo of Motailatu Church of God, Lagos State, in his opinion stated that “If a church is implicated in such, the money should be returned. Simple! The job of the church is to preach and transform lives. The duty of the church is to continue to preach and say the right thing. The church should be on guard and do more to preach the right thing, especially as it relates to holiness and righteousness. Normally, there are many ways the devil tries to come into the church, but once the church is doing the right thing, the Holy Spirit will reveal such evil intentions because the house of God is Holy Ground. The Bible says there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. It is well with the church of God.”

‘If ‘unholy’ money has been earmarked for people-friendly projects, no need to refund’

Reverend Achilles Edwards, of My Father’s House, Owerri, Imo State, while calling on pastors to do their best to know members well, noted that if such funds were found in the church, there should be conditions taken into consideration before the question of refunding comes in.

“It is very easy. A pastor should know the kind of people that attend the church. Someone whom you have led to Christ, is one you have mentored properly and you can tell a lot about the person’s character. Besides, when you pray properly, it will be difficult for such money to enter the church. It’s like parents and their children. When, as a pastor, you keep receiving money from questionable sources, such money can put you into trouble.

“When it is found out that such money gets into the church, if the money has been devoted to a people-driven project, I don’t mind that such money remains in the church, as long as it has been proven that the pastor is truly innocent of the source of the money. If the pastor is aware that the money is illegal, such project will not glorify God and should be returned to the appropriate quarters,” he stated.