It's been trending on many social media platforms in Nigeria. I'm talking about #hallelujahchallenge which I believe was started by one Nathaniel Bassey (Gospel Artiste, I presume). I don't know the details of this challenge but I do know that it has to do with praising God in the midnight Live on Facebook (and maybe on other platforms) for 1 hour. I also know that the last #hallelujahchallenge had over 50,000 participants on Facebook Live! Quite a phenomena online 'worship' session you'd admit.
Now, I'm a staunch advocate of online church and maximizing the social media tsunami to the Church's advantage. I once did a post encouraging Christians and Churches in Nigeria to key into the 'new normal', end all billion dollar building projects and take the church online. So I'm all for worship or praise challenge online. But once again, in our usual characteristic manner as Nigerians, this is another distraction. A distraction from our real problem.
We always excel and set records FOR ALL THE WRONG THINGS!
50,000 Nigerians could arrest sleep for one hour in the midnight and join an #hallelujahchallenge on social media, with tweets and thousands of retweets, while our real challenges are left untended. When will Nigerians realize that our real challenge is not and has never been about inducing insomnia and praising God every night for 30 days? In fact, a Nigerian born today is factory-fitted to keep vigils for religious purposes. This is hardly a challenge.
We need a revolution challenge, not an hallelujah challenge. Character Revolution. Moral/Ethical Revolution. Spiritual Revolution. Political Revolution. Social Revolution. Cultural Revolution. Orientation Revolution. #revolutionchallenge.
Nothing brings this stark reality to the fore more than my experience at the Police Station just yesterday. I had gone with a client to the Police station following a petition against the latter by his employer. It was a witch hunt by a boss whose sense of security was not worth an ounce. My client and I had it on good authority that the Police Investigators were handsomely paid (# 150,000) to clamp down on my client. This is what happens typically in Nigeria. Our police system is in the pocket of moneybags. This is why criminal investigation is often shoddy and/or sometimes nonexistent.
After almost 5 hours of interrogations/interviews and statements taking, we were taken before the Area Commander who sounded as if he had already convicted my client without a trial. The shocking thing was that the IPO who interviewed my client was NOT at the briefing. If he was there he could have set the records straight because he made new discoveries which favoured my client.
Well, the Area Commander after pontificating asked that my client be released on bail (without having established any written offence). The female officer who took us to the Commander demanded #300,000 for bail. Guys, bail is supposed to be FREE!
Of course there was no way I would allow my client pay that. After much negotiating we parted with #15,000. Here are Officers of the Law who collected cash from both the Petitioner/Complainant and the Suspect. Judging by their conversations and my intuition, these Officers should be Christians. They probably pay tithes and offerings to some church every Sunday. They may also be among the 50,000 who joined the #hallelujahchallenge on Facebook Live. Welcome to Nigeria.
Christianity which is now a global phenomenon was entrusted with only TWELVE illiterate and obscure men.
Abraham's prayers could not save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because God couldn't find just TEN righteous souls throughout the landscape. Genesis 18.
It took just TWO men (Paul & Silas) to "turn the world upside down" in the First Century. Acts 17.
Folks, Nigeria's challenge is not in numbers. It's in substance. If two Nigerians can resolve to do the right thing at the right time, they would achieve more than 50,000 worshippers on Facebook Midnight Live.
Rather than speak the truth, Nigerians speak in tongues. With God, ko le werk!
Am I averse to the #hallelujahchallenge? Not totally. But neither am I a huge fan of it. You know why? Things like that give us an illusion of godliness as a people. They merely serve the purpose of masking our hypocrisies and numbing our consciences. Just as we try to bribe God through our tithes, we also attempt same through our praises. But a million praises from our lips do not equal one righteous act.
Let us stop deceiving ourselves as a people and get serious. #revolutionchallenge.
#truthissacred.
Selah.
Now, I'm a staunch advocate of online church and maximizing the social media tsunami to the Church's advantage. I once did a post encouraging Christians and Churches in Nigeria to key into the 'new normal', end all billion dollar building projects and take the church online. So I'm all for worship or praise challenge online. But once again, in our usual characteristic manner as Nigerians, this is another distraction. A distraction from our real problem.
We always excel and set records FOR ALL THE WRONG THINGS!
50,000 Nigerians could arrest sleep for one hour in the midnight and join an #hallelujahchallenge on social media, with tweets and thousands of retweets, while our real challenges are left untended. When will Nigerians realize that our real challenge is not and has never been about inducing insomnia and praising God every night for 30 days? In fact, a Nigerian born today is factory-fitted to keep vigils for religious purposes. This is hardly a challenge.
We need a revolution challenge, not an hallelujah challenge. Character Revolution. Moral/Ethical Revolution. Spiritual Revolution. Political Revolution. Social Revolution. Cultural Revolution. Orientation Revolution. #revolutionchallenge.
Nothing brings this stark reality to the fore more than my experience at the Police Station just yesterday. I had gone with a client to the Police station following a petition against the latter by his employer. It was a witch hunt by a boss whose sense of security was not worth an ounce. My client and I had it on good authority that the Police Investigators were handsomely paid (# 150,000) to clamp down on my client. This is what happens typically in Nigeria. Our police system is in the pocket of moneybags. This is why criminal investigation is often shoddy and/or sometimes nonexistent.
After almost 5 hours of interrogations/interviews and statements taking, we were taken before the Area Commander who sounded as if he had already convicted my client without a trial. The shocking thing was that the IPO who interviewed my client was NOT at the briefing. If he was there he could have set the records straight because he made new discoveries which favoured my client.
Well, the Area Commander after pontificating asked that my client be released on bail (without having established any written offence). The female officer who took us to the Commander demanded #300,000 for bail. Guys, bail is supposed to be FREE!
Of course there was no way I would allow my client pay that. After much negotiating we parted with #15,000. Here are Officers of the Law who collected cash from both the Petitioner/Complainant and the Suspect. Judging by their conversations and my intuition, these Officers should be Christians. They probably pay tithes and offerings to some church every Sunday. They may also be among the 50,000 who joined the #hallelujahchallenge on Facebook Live. Welcome to Nigeria.
Christianity which is now a global phenomenon was entrusted with only TWELVE illiterate and obscure men.
Abraham's prayers could not save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because God couldn't find just TEN righteous souls throughout the landscape. Genesis 18.
It took just TWO men (Paul & Silas) to "turn the world upside down" in the First Century. Acts 17.
Folks, Nigeria's challenge is not in numbers. It's in substance. If two Nigerians can resolve to do the right thing at the right time, they would achieve more than 50,000 worshippers on Facebook Midnight Live.
Rather than speak the truth, Nigerians speak in tongues. With God, ko le werk!
Am I averse to the #hallelujahchallenge? Not totally. But neither am I a huge fan of it. You know why? Things like that give us an illusion of godliness as a people. They merely serve the purpose of masking our hypocrisies and numbing our consciences. Just as we try to bribe God through our tithes, we also attempt same through our praises. But a million praises from our lips do not equal one righteous act.
Let us stop deceiving ourselves as a people and get serious. #revolutionchallenge.
#truthissacred.
Selah.
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