Old school, rigid, backward, outdated, are a few of the colourful names used as labels for orthodox churches, or first generation, or mainline churches in Nigeria, as they are referred to, by youths, who shared their reasons for leaving for new generation churches.
One, who simply identified himself as Tobi, said his church didn’t let him use his talents as well as he desired for God’s glory. Tobi prides himself on being a stand-up comedian. When asked how: he said the church refused to let him organise comedy shows during services, which feature in the new generation church, which he now attends.
“It can be very frustrating dealing with old school people o,” he stated, laughing. “I saw it in one of the fellowships in school, and I was told that they even allowed it during services. Interestingly, they let me feature in one of their programmes. However, when I came back home, they refused to allow stand-up comedy in church. The only way they would allow it was at programmes outside the service. When I got back to school, it didn’t take much to convince me to switch churches, although my mother isn’t fully aware yet. I’m not going back to that backward church.”
Another respondent, who identified herself as Mary, said she switched churches because she got bored and felt out of tune with God.
“It got boring; standing, seating, chanting, and the like. I’m a very active person, and I like to express myself in dancing and singing. Now, I hear we have a youth church, but it still isn’t enough to make me come back. Not especially after that ugly incident, when I made the grave mistake of wearing trousers to church. In my church in Lagos, it’s not a big deal, but apparently, some churches are yet to step into the 21st century. It was really embarrassing the way one woman accosted me.
“Of course, in my new church, which is a new generation church, we now sing hymns, but nobody asks me questions about covering my hair or wearing trousers. Are they saying I can’t come straight from the office into the church, and I’m wearing jeans, for instance? Who has time for that rigidity? When they’re begging me to attend a new generation church? No way I’m going back. At least, not any time soon,” she stated.
The testimonies rang in more or less the same fashion by other youths, who spoke to TribuneChurch. One said she felt like all her friends were not in her church circle, and since it was the same God, “there is no harm if I switch churches. After all, there are no denominations in heaven.”
One Mr Shola Adetunji said he was left with no choice as his wife-to-be was a worker in one of the popular new generation churches, “and you know how it is. We are taking our marriage classes there, and most of my friends attend these new generation churches. You really feel like you’re among your peers, so it didn’t take much for me to switch. Of course, the agreement is when we visit my folks, if we have to, we will attend their church, but I’ve never liked the idea of separate churches for a couple, so I now attend my fiancée’s church.”
Long before the advent of new generation churches, mainline churches held sway, when it came to the Christian community in Nigeria. Not to say that they have in any way lost significance, fast-forward years later, a few other denominations sprang up, and with time, the new generation churches took hold as well. Interestingly, many founders of new generation churches have their roots in orthodox communities, but for some reason or the other, left to found their independent churches, with the most recent example being the Catholic priest in Uyo, who was said to have founded his ministry.
With the new generation of suave pastors, decked in suits, designer jackets and powerful ties, which may be said to be the statement fashion of a representation of ‘civilisation,’ it is no wonder that many youths find themselves more in tune with the new generation of churches. In fact, it is not uncommon to find youth pastors, and, sometimes, lay members, trying to ape these dressings.
Bow tie replicas of the general overseer one of the mega pastors, is a common feature at programmes where he ministers; some copy the jerry-curl hairstyle and even mannerisms of another mega pastor; there are hats specially modelled after some mega pastors’ wives, which have more or less, become a fashion statement for the women folk, both for new generation churches and their orthodox counterparts.
They say the church isn’t the building, but the congregation. With what may seem to be the drop in attendance of youths at mainline churches, there comes the question of possible extinction, and who succeeds the membership of these ‘old school’ churches, which have successfully survived generations.
Archbishop of Lagos Province and Bishop of Remo Diocese, Most Reverend Michael Fape, speaking with TribuneChurch, affirmed that “the observation may be right to some extent.”
Speaking from his experience with the Anglican Communion, which he described as “a foremost orthodox church,” he said: “When it started, the youths were very active in making sure that people were brought on board as it related to enlightenment and evangelism. Then, along the line, the church lost the vision, because the youths observed that what their parents preached was not in consonance with the truth of the gospel. If the gospel speaks about integrity, transparency and a life that is completely dedicated and some of them saw their parents with one leg inside the light, and the other outside in the dark, they didn’t see how darkness and light could work together and that pushed off so many of our youths.
“However, from the 1990s, which was the decade of evangelism, things changed drastically and dramatically within the Anglican Church, as it were. By the grace of God, the teeming population of our youths have embraced. In fact, let me say that the youth wing of the Anglican Church in Nigeria, in most of our dioceses, is vibrant, bubbling for the Lord and I can say confidently, that while in some other orthodox churches they may be drifting away, as far as the Anglican Church is concerned, our youths have come on board and to the glory of God, they are very happy with what they are seeing now.
“They have been given opportunities to occupy leadership positions in the church; they have been accommodated, even to have their separate service, as we now have youth churches. But, I want to say that by the grace of God, the youths in the Anglican Church today, have come to realise that you don’t need to run away from the Anglican Church because the church is also Pentecostal, evangelical and charismatic.
“I agree that youths have a lot of energy to burn and we must allow them demonstrate their great admiration for the gospel. We allow them do things in the way that will suit them but not in a way that will go contrary to the spirit of the gospel. We encourage them to put into practice whatever endowment God has given them and we are equally very watchful to ensure that whatever they do is with moderation and in consonance with authentic gospel. We cannot condone indecent dressing or doing things that will not portray them as children of light. The church cannot accommodate immorality for the sake of the fact that we want to accommodate the youth,” he stated.
New generation churches will see greater stability in mainline churches and make their way back —Archbishop Stephen
Archbishop of Ibadan, Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), Most Reverend Michael Kehinde Stephen, said the risk of extinction for orthodox churches “is not likely to be the scenario, because of the age of our churches. The new generation churches will find out that there is greater stability in the mainline churches and they will make their way back. We offer history, rich tradition, better structure in terms of church governance, and there is continuity and that gives strength to the churches, rather than individual ownership of churches. I don’t even think that talk of possible extinction is the case.”
On how first generation churches in Nigeria can make their doctrine more flexible to accommodate youthful tendencies, Archbishop Stephen, who noted that “It cannot be flexibility for the sake of flexibility,” said mainline churches boasted of institutions and traditions that have depth that over time, people would come to appreciate.
“I think one of the problems of the younger generation is impatience and you would find out that this trend would also affect their choices. That’s why many of these new generation churches experience division and cannot talk of a 60-year history. That is not to say that the older generation churches should not take proactive measure to ensure continued relevance. However, it’s not the total flexibility that throws everything out of the window. In orthodox churches, there is the value system, which promotes accountability, which the country has also gained from. There is nothing in the dark because we have enduring values.
“There is future for mainline churches. The Catholic Church, for instance, has lasted centuries. Recently, we celebrated 500 years of the protestant reformation, and these churches are still there. We have developed many things, which even the new generation churches draw from. We have institutions and because of that, the first generation churches will continue to exist. There is a great future for mainline churches,” he stated.
Nothing can make the church extinct —Fr Akinbinu
Catholic priest, Reverend Father Joseph Akinbinu, speaking with TribuneChurch expressed his conviction in his assertion that “I don’t see orthodox churches going extinct, and I will base my reaction on the Catholic Church. The Church has always been and there is nothing that can make the church extinct, no matter what happens.
“We have people coming and we have people leaving. Sometimes, there are people who may not be at home with what happens in the church, who want to leave and we don’t force them to stay. Some of them left and came back and I have personal experiences with people who left and came back. If you know the truth, it will set you free. The church will always stand on the truth, not minding who it affects. The church has experienced crisis in the past and so it is not the movement of youths out of the church that will stop the church from being. The church will always be.
“Some of the youths who left have come back in disguise. The church does not bend. The church considers what will benefit them, but it will be done the way the church wants it; how God approves. I will rather advise youths to seek more important things that the church can offer them, rather than dancing or jumping in the church. The church is not a jamboree; it is where God is worshipped and when you worship God in truth, you will see the result. Ask some of them what they really gain from making noise. They are just moving with the world and it is not permanent. They don’t give the real, lasting satisfaction that the soul should have.
“The church has not always been rigid but conservative. At the same time, the tradition of the church benefits all. They should look inwards and see what they can get from what takes place in the church. How can you ask comedians to feature during services? Orthodox churches would never do that. The church knows the time to worship God and the time to do other things, so it is a balanced life that, at the end of the day, will make a person whole. Let the youths see the church as the church. When there is need for other programmes that require jamboree, we will organise that.”
New generation churches have been unable to match what orthodox churches have done in education, health, agriculture —Very Revd Fadahunsi
Director, Institute of Church and Society, Ibadan, and a cleric with the Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), Very Reverend Kolade Fadahunsi, said: “It has never been in history that churches go into extinction, especially in the Nigerian context. Even the new generation churches have their root in the first generation churches, and even their ways of dressing indicates some element of orthodoxy. Traditionally, we can also say that most of these churches are family churches like the orthodox. In the city, you may say their members are growing old, but in the villages both the young and old are attending these churches.
“The new generation churches have been unable to match what the orthodox churches have done in the area of public witness and contribution to the emancipation of the society, in areas of education, health and agriculture. Now, most of these churches are expanding their capacity in the area of education, most of the first generation churches have their own higher institution and training centres where they are strategically checkmating their doctrine in their chapels, as a way of introducing new generation members that will sustain the church when the old members pass away and also because of the fact that some of the new generation churches have disappointed many people in how they manage their congregation in a pattern that looks more like a business.
“People are now retracing their steps back to the first generation churches where there is equality, fairness and absence of ownership issue. So, because of this issue, I do not foresee an extinction of the first generation churches in Nigeria,” he stated.
Speaking on how orthodox churches can be flexible to accommodate youth style of worship, he affirmed that, “if you go to most first generation churches, we now see young professionals, agile and able, finding their way into ministry, and also in this computer and social media age, people are allowed to worship the way that suits them, but with moderation, making sure the identity of the orthodox churches are retained, which is an indication of where we are coming from.”
Even new generation churches now study our doctrine for guidance —Venerable Babalola
Venerable Collins Babalola of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), also said he didn’t think orthodox churches would become extinct because “whatever is of God will always endure. Most of the things the new generation churches condemned to be outdated are things they are now revisiting.
“We now allow freedom in our mode of worship. Our worship is no longer rigid as it used to be back then. Sometime ago, the RCCG came to study our style of worship and the way we conduct our services, and it will interest you to know that the RCCG is now doing a lot of chanting and singing of hymns. We found out that quite a number of our youths are gullible. Some don’t carry out research on their own before condemning things, but I’m sure they are coming back. We have embraced what we believe is scriptural; we do praise and worship, intercessory prayers, revival and thank God we are getting our people back, mainly because they believe that there is a lot of discipline in the orthodoxies.
“The youths are not grounded as they ought to be and if they do not come back, they will suffer the most. On our part, we are embracing the things we feel are lacking. The new generation churches are coming to us; they want to adopt what has made the orthodox churches survive for so long. The only way we can go extinct is, if we cannot be more flexible, allowing youths participate in preaching, teaching, praises and worship, minus indecent dressing to church meetings,” he stated.
and then