I want my blessings back! That’s what Pastor Anthony tells the former church member. Ghana’s Resurrection Power New Generation church is going through a nasty breakup. The members are leaving a toxic church environment — and the pastor gets mad. His response to the ex-members exposes real problems in the modern-day church, such as pastors who are too arrogant for their own good.
Let’s get into it.
Table of Contents
- Listen to Podcast
- A Church Divided
- The Church Is Not a Building
- Vessels of God
- Arrogance in Church Leadership
- Christ Is the Head of the Church
- A Final Word
- Outsmart the False Teachers
Listen to Podcast
Please Note: The following post is an edited version of The Tithing Hoax podcast transcript.
A Church Divided
The Resurrection Power New Generation church in Ghana is a house divided. There has been some beef between the pastor and some former members. Reverend John Paul leads the former members.
The article I came across doesn’t state why these members have left this church. It just gets into the fallout. And so, the pastor goes in on the members who left his church.
The pastor’s first name is Anthony. So, I’ll call him Pastor Anthony. So, Pastor Anthony feels a certain way because these members have left his church. And so, he’s like:
“You know what? If you’re going to leave my church, this is what’s going to happen. All those blessings that you received while you were worshipping in my church, I want all those blessings back.”
That’s right.
He wants all the blessings returned from his former members. He believes that if you leave my church, you must leave all those blessings here. Return the blessings that you got from me.
So, Reverend John Paul, one of the former members, is like, “Oh, okay, that’s how you want to do this? Pastor Anthony, I tell you what. On your 19th pastor’s anniversary, we’re going to do this. We’re going to demonstrate and demand on that day that you return all of the tithes and offerings that we paid your behind while we were members of your church.
And on top of that, Reverend John Paul puts Pastor Anthony in check.
He says, “First of all, and finally, remember that all those blessings that we receive come from God and don’t come from man.”
The Church Is Not a Building
So, I want to chime in on this house divided, this church in Ghana. There are some lessons we can learn here. And it says a lot about the state of the church in general. So, to all my folk in Ghana, this is not about Ghana or Ghanaians. This commentary speaks to the body of Christ globally.
It’s just another demonstration of the issues within the church system. There’s a difference between the “Biblical Church” and the church we see today. The Church of the Bible was not a building. And I’m just gonna leave it at that. Let that marinate, and I’ll get into it down the road.
But anyway, let me chime in and share my thoughts about this.
First of all, Pastor Anthony is so petty. He’s petty for being mad at people who left his church. Again, there is no background information as to why the people left. I don’t know how many people left. But I’m just thinking it’s probably a significant number of members, which is why he’s so bent out of shape–and wants his blessings back.
For members to leave a church, there’s a reason. And it may be a justifiable reason why they left. So instead of getting mad at them, he might take the time to find out why they’re leaving. And see if there’s room for reconciliation.
But, as I said, I don’t know all the circumstances around them leaving, but I think it is kind of petty for him to get mad at people leaving his church.
Vessels of God
Now, the second point I want to make. It’s pretty of the pastor to request that the ex-members return the blessings. How do you return blessings? I mean, please make them make sense.
Like, Reverend John Paul said, “God gave us the blessings; any blessings that people received while they were at your church pastor came from God.”
Pastor, you’re a vessel. The children of the Most High are vessels for the Father. Father Yah works in us and through us. And so, any blessings people receive come through us, not from us.
Father Yah works in us and through us.
R. RENEE
So, humble yourself, Pastor Anthony. Recognize you were just the vessel; your ministry was the vessel. God is the source. So, you’re not even in any position to request that people return the blessings to you. You’re just totally out of pocket.
I don’t know what kind of blessings he’s talking about. Is he talking about blessing the members with his personal resources? Did he give them money or help them out in some kind of way? But it doesn’t matter.
He shouldn’t ask the former members to return whatever he gave them. If he gave from his heart with a spirit of generosity and love, he must let go. Why? Because whenever you give, according to the kingdom law of giving and receiving, it will come back to you.
Doesn’t he know God is going to bless you? The only issue is whether he did right by his members. So, there’s no reason to demand they return their blessings.
Arrogance in Church Leadership
And finally, what I want to say about this situation is that this church drama shows the level of arrogance of this pastor. And this type of arrogance is not unique, unfortunately, in the institution of the church.
Many pastors are arrogant because the people sitting in the congregations have placed these “men and women of God” on a pedestal. Many ego-driven preachers feed off the energy (and power) congregations give them.
So, a lot of pastors think they can’t do anything wrong. And so I can see why Pastor Anthony had such a strong reaction toward ex-church members.
It’s like, he saying, “You’re leaving me. You’re leaving my church? Do you know who I am? Who are you to leave me?”
Christ Is the Head of the Church
I pick up on the spirit of arrogance.
But this is not about this particular pastor. Instead, I’m using the situation to shed light on the spirit of arrogance in the church’s institution.
And with that arrogance comes a sense that “This church is mine.” There’s a spirit of ownership and possession. Arrogant pastors think the church and its members belong to them.
So again, what’s the issue here?
First of all, Pastor Anthony (and any pastor), the church doesn’t– the real church—doesn’t belong to you. Christ is the head. So, pastors, humble yourselves. It is Yeshua haMashiach who paid the price. We belong to the Most High. We don’t belong to any man.
We belong to the Most High, not man.
R. RENEE
So, if you’re sitting in these church pews, you don’t belong to the pastor. Keep in mind he is not the head of the church. Get your eyes off the pastor, and keep your eyes on Christ. Keep your eyes on the Most High. And take these pastors off these pedestals.
I tell you what you’re gonna see more of. The Most High is going to remove these arrogant, ego-centered pastors. God will knock them off their pedestals. I believe that.
They’re going to be humbled.
A Final Word
A pastor gets mad because some members left the church. I just thought this was an interesting situation. What’s going on in this church in Ghana is like a bad breakup. Do you know what I’m saying? It’s like those situations where a couple falls out.
The dude is like, “You know what? All that stuff I bought you, I want it back.”
And she’s like, “Okay, well, I want back all that good loving I gave you. I want to get all that back.”
Say what? How does that work? It’s just so silly. It’s funny and sad at the same time. But there is a message we can learn from this church drama. It sheds light on the problems within this modern-day church system, and it’s time for a change.
Outsmart the False Teachers
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tithe doctrines, don’t worry! You can start by reading The Tithing Hoax, where we break down everything you need to know about tithing. We explain why Christians don’t have to tithe and provide biblical verses to back it up. So don’t let anyone tell you you’re going to hell if you don’t tithe.
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Source: Church Members Demand Tithes From Pastor After Fallout
