Onyinah, Falola, others decry Africa’s underdevelopment despite Pentecostalism’s biggest strides

For Ghana’s foremost Pentecostal leader, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah, renowned professor of African history, Toyin Falola, and other eminent scholars and religious leaders, Africa’s current state of underdevelopment despite Pentecostalism’s biggest strides in the continent should continue to be a source of worry. Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah is the immediate past chairman of the Church of Pentecost, the largest Pentecostal denomination in Ghana, with branches in over 150 countries; he is also a former president of Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council; he is the president of the Bible Society of Ghana; he is the chairman of the Board of Directors, National Cathedral of Ghana.

The eminent Christian leader was guest at the latest edition of the Toyin Falola interview series where the erudite scholar, Professor Falola chaired a penal of scholars on the theme ‘Pentecostalism in Africa.’ The panelists were Nimi Wariboko, Professor of Social Ethics; Abimbola Adelakun, Associate Professor, Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin; and Karen Lauterbach, Associate Professor and Director at the Centre of African Studies, University of Copenhagen.

A rather disconcerted Professor Falola inquired from the cleric at the slow or nonexistent pace of development in Africa despite the region’s very deep public show of reverence for God and ancestral veneration, to which Apostle Onyinah noted that “Development has remained one of our challenges. I think it is gradual; I realize that it is penetrating gradually. There are places where Pentecostalism is having impacts so far as development is concerned. It is now left for us to translate these things into practical terms which through the power of the Holy Spirit are taking place.”

Yet, Falola noted that there used to be many factories which aided production and provided employment in places like Lagos and Ibadan, and that these factories were bought over by Pentecostal churches and converted to worship centres, leading to mass unemployment. Responding, Apostle Onyinah opined that “I was once working at a factory before it was bought by a Pentecostal church. I am still struggling with that question on the morality of that action. I however believe that if the place is allocated for factory, then it used be used for factory purposes. If it is allocated for church, it should be used for church purposes. Everything should be done in the right order; we should not trespass.

A country needs to develop; the plan is there and it should be followed. The greatest challenge for African Christian leaders is for us to be able to disciple our members to the point that they are able to impact every sphere of society. You can shine where you are. Within government, the Christians there should be so disciplined that they will not take bribes.”

Earlier, Professor Wariboko had started off with the increasing trend of fake miracles and pastoral abuse. Condemning these occurrences, Apostle Onyinah told the gathering “We believe in miracles as Pentecostals. We don’t believe in pushing people when performing miracles or deliverances. Sometimes you can speak. We also don’t like the tendency where people force or put others on fasting. Some say that ‘before you can receive what God wants to give to you, you have to fast a certain number of days.’ These things can be considered as abuse because sometimes some people can even tell you that ‘we want dry fasting; don’t drink water for three days.’ We don’t encourage such things. If pastors are pushing you beyond your limits, you should know that they are looking for something else.

When Jesus was talking about fasting and prayer, he was not talking about the victim who needed to fast but the pastor or ‘deliverer’ as the case may be. The pastor or evangelist needs to prepare himself to cast out the demon. When it comes to exorcism, it is the exorcist who fasts and prays, not the one who is already afflicted by the demon. However this does not mean that you cannot recommend to people to fast. You cannot tell people that unless they fast, God won’t hear them.

“When it comes to the excesses of pastors or religious leaders, God has given us commonsense. If you realize that someone is pushing you beyond commonsense, you should know. Every Christian should know the Bible; perhaps our quest for miracles blinds us. Once you appear to be reasonable, they will say that you don’t believe in the power of God. We must educate our people and teach them to understand the position and identity of a Christian. With the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, we cannot force certain things on the government. Our governments too have to come in. Governments can use their instruments to curb religious excesses and abuses. We have challenges as religious leaders too. It is also an abuse when they use the name of God or the Holy Spirit to perpetuate certain unlawful acts. When it came to the council at Jerusalem, the apostles and elders gathered together but here you will see many Pentecostal leaders claiming that they are above everything.”

Speaking on government regulation on religious activities, Onyinah added that “When the Rwandan model was introduced for people to have diplomas before establishing churches, I visited our churches in Rwanda. One of our local churches was closed down. When I got there, they had done what the government had asked them to do. The church building was on a sloppy hill; I told them that the government was right that the church location was dangerous for children.

The government wanted that to be addressed; it was the issue of safety. You cannot do the job of a pastor without learning. Unfortunately, the issue of Christian ministry has become so easy that many take advantage of it without having any knowledge or training about the ministry. It is so bad that now when someone says they have the power of God, the church is registered. Sometimes you have to put some guide. Without perimeters, things may go overboard. We must look at our own situation and see how we can bring some regulations in order for pastors or many others not to go overboard. There is however the fear that if government is allowed to regulate churches, it would persecute Christians. However, regulation is necessary. We all must humble ourselves to allow the national regulatory to assist in this regard. Ecumenical bodies within the system can be brought in to assist what is going on.

“The belief that if we teach Christians the right thing Pentecostalism will die is not true. As a Pentecostal when I began to talk about these things, people didn’t believe that they would work. I was a typical Pentecostal pastor when I started; I was 22 years old and I got in without training. My people saw the hand of God upon my life and the executives recommended that I go for training. That helped. After my training, I went for further training and people were skeptical as they kept saying that I would lose my spirituality. When I came out, I wanted to disabuse the belief that while asking for offering in church, you have to sway people with gimmicks in order for them to give. I tried to discourage our pastors from all those practices; it was after that that money started coming in more than before. We had excess of fund and we started releasing money to our local assemblies.

Those who know Ghana know that we have a place called Pentecost Convention Centre; we have accommodation that can host 3,000 people; we have a place to seat 5,000 people. Yet we never raised offering for it. It was the prudent use of the regular tithes and offerings that we received. If we teach them the right thing for them to understand, the Lord will honour His word. After that, true miracles will take place, because you wouldn’t need to coerce people to do all sort of things. It is our lack of faith that makes us adopt mechanical ways of manipulating people to bring money for healing and all sorts. You can encourage people to fast, not coerce them.”
On leadership succession and the various crises in many Pentecostal circles, the cleric stated that people rise beyond the dictates of human nature and its failings. For him, “There are many streams of Pentecostalism. In classical Pentecostalism, you will realize that there are systems and governing bodies. For instance, you may have the general council or body being the highest governing body of the church. Then, you have the executive body which works under the general council; after that, there could be districts and then local councils. In such places, there are laid out succession plans. Nobody can just assume leadership. You would have to vote. The executive can nominate someone for the consideration of the general council. If the person wins, he becomes a leader; if he doesn’t, then another person would have to be brought.

“There are Pentecostal churches that are well structured; in such places, the property of the church belongs to the general council. No one person can take over. When people start churches, they are scared of bringing others to take over. In Africa, our democracy has not stabilized; people are afraid in church leadership. They say: ‘if I hand over to this person, what would he do with me?’ Sometimes, you find witch-hunting and excessive use of power. There is the fear that those who take over would discredit them. All of these things come together for this people to find it difficult to hand over sometimes even to the right person. He may think that why not hand it over to a friend, a brother, or a son. We have stories of people who after handing over, they are being chased or discredited. But beyond all these, there are well structured Pentecostal churches that are working effectively. I can use my own church as an example. We have the Apostolic Church, Ghana; there is also the Assemblies of God. Some of these Pentecostal churches are well structured, with policies and constitutions that are also functional.”

Responding to Dr Adelakun’s interrogation on African ancestral worship demonology, and decolonialism, Onyinah stated that “I am aware that many Pentecostals are trying to decolonize themselves but also claiming that our traditions and cultures are bad. By doing so, we also establish the fears of the people. I see that as one of the weaknesses. There are many aspects of our culture that are acceptable and good but when it comes to witchcrafts and the deities which people try to demonise, that is where the problems come. I think that it is a lack of understanding. As my work shows, there are differences between witchcraft and demonology. I followed some of these issues. If you excel in something special in Ghana, they will say that you are a witch. This may be physical knowledge or special abilities given to them by God. There was a very gifted football in Ghana; because he could score from an obscure position, people there tagged him a witch. Most of the people they accuse as witchcraft are found to be untrue. When it comes to spirit possession, what we believe is an external spirit dwelling in somebody. That one is different from special abilities. It is that external spirit with the intent of evil that I call a demon.”

For Professor Lauterbach, the union between Africa’s political elite and Pentecostal elite should have brought development to the region. To this, Onyinah informed that “Pentecostals believe in the power of God. It has been the belief of many Pentecostals that so far as we have Christian leaders in politics, they will be able to transform society. And there is nothing wrong with that belief. Whether you are a Christian or not, leadership is very important. It is not just about being a Pentecostal but being a leader. When it comes to politics, the president or the cabinet members should be people who have leadership abilities and be backed as Christians by God’s spirit, and then there will be performance. Otherwise you can be a very good Pentecostal, but if you are not a leader, you will fumble.”

The interview was live-streamed on various social media platforms with a viewership that ran into millions. Members of the audience included Akeem Adagbada, Asiedu Williams, Godfrey Boakye, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, Nils Mamstrom, Jonathan Bill Doe, Adetunbi Ogunleye, Martison Yeboah, Dawood Hamzah, Segun Omidiora, Temitope Fagunwa, Mabel Ayisi, M.K. Norshie, Jorg Haustein, Kole Odutola, Stian Eriksen, Akindolie Akinwumi, among others.