Modern day Nigerian Christian preachers and their ministries regularly come under public criticism. A major accusation against churches, particularly those of the Pentecostal variety, is that they take so much from members and give little or nothing back. In short, they are sometimes viewed with the kind of scorn reserved for oil companies, which treat their host communities with disdain. Pentecostal church founders, on account of their super-lush lifestyles, are also considered greedy and mean to those who have made their ministries the behemoths they are.
Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua, controversial founder of the Lagos-based Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, is one of those regularly slated. And it is perhaps for this reason that his church has decided to catalogue its various humanitarian interventions.
This is made available in a 352-page pictorial book, Roadmap: Reaching Out To A Troubled World. The book, a commendable Public Relations effort, details in a vivid language, the various ways Joshua has touched lives locally and internationally through his ministry. “The humanitarian arm of the SCOAN has projects caterng for the needs of widows and widowers, little people, the elderly, the physically challenged, orphans and the impoverished. As part of its international disaster relief efforts, the SCOAN has established a permanent primary health clinic in Haiti. The church provides scholarship to orphans and children of the less privileged, with educational support given to university level. There is also a rehabilitation programme for armed robbers and prostitutes through which they are financially supported to enable them secure practical vocations,” the introduction reads.
A picture tells a thousand stories, as the saying goes. The book uses glossy and colourful photographs to push the veracity of the church’s claims.
Divided into sections, like Haiti Earthquake Relief, International Charity, Physically Challenged, Reformation Class, Widowhood and Fatherless, the book opens with a gripping picture of a crying child – one of those orphaned by the earthquake that devastated Haiti on 12 January 2010. Subsequent pages in that section show members of the SCOAN relief team rehabilitating victims of the earthquake.
The book also tells the story of Mrs. Onyinyechi Ibeabuchi, a physically challenged postgraduate student of Economics at the Abia State University, Uturu. Ibeabuchi, on account of her disability, used her hands to move her feet forward. But when she met Joshua, her condition changed. She received the sum of N93,000 for accommodation, feeding and tuition fees as well as a brand new wheelchair to aid mobility. And when Ibeabuchi returned to SCOAN, accompanied by her husband, Joshua gave the couple a brand new car and the sum of N200,000.
The book is replete with similar gestures of kindness. Another feature of the book that the reader will find interesting is the pictures of prominent leaders who, intrigued by Prophet Joshua’s extraordinary work, came to see things for themselves. They include the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai; the President of Ghana, Professor John Atta Mills; and former president of Zambia, Mr. Frederick Chiluba.
Another salient aspect of the book is the section titled, Appreciation, which shows how appreciated Joshua’s philanthropy has been. This is reflected in recognition and numerous awards he has won. Of the awards, the most significant is the national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, OFR, which late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua bestowed on him on 22 December 2008.
But does a church need a 352-page book to announce its acts of charity? Perhaps. Corporations and other organisations that want to be percieved in good light need to communicate with and be sensitive to their various publics. But there is a snag: skeptics, who can find anchor in the biblical position on publicising good deeds. Matthew 5:16 says: “…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Settled? Not exactly. Matthew 6:3-4 warns: “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Skeptics often ask: Is it proper to do good deeds before men (as Matthew 5 seems to say) or not (as Matthew 6 seems to suggest)? Clearly, the Bible recommends setting good examples, but frowns at making a show of such, lest they get tarnished with hypocrisy. The answer seems to lie in the motive for seeking publicity for charitable deeds.
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