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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Before and After (05/14/09)

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• TITLE: CHANGE, THE REAL GUARANTEE | Previous Challenge Entry
  By joseph oyewole
  05/20/09
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Growing up as a teenager in my part of the world and the part of my country , what we knew of the Church and the Gospel was purely the traditional denominations. I mean the Roman Catholic, the Anglican and pockets of Aladura Churches.
These traditional Churches had a strong grip on the community. They were more or less part of the culture.Though there was unity amongst all the denominations, there was also a kind of marriage between the Church and the traditional religion .

During the local cultural festivals everybody participated Christian or pagan. What is bad in that ? You would say. It is not just a festival but,the involvement raw idolatry practices. We were told that historically, they used to sacrifice prisoners of war who were strangers during the annual festivals. That period the Church seemed powerless; they patronized local witch Doctors for their spiritual needs. What kept them relevant was their social dispositions and the psychological inner drives to belong, that is in every society.
A particular denomination in my village appeared to be there mainly to conduct funeral rites for the upper class citizens of the village. Be informed that such occasions call for big partying in my tribe.

Besides, the Clergy then was an epitome of austere or symbol of poverty, in which, there is hardly any young man who would aspire to be one. Bad as it was; nonetheless, there is always time for change. Time came for reform through the Scripture union (SU) and the Christian union(CU) . The youth of the village who had gone to schools and higher institutions in bigger towns and Cities came back with this new brand of Christianity. Ussually the older youth would gather us to conduct holidays classes for the younger ones, from there some began organizing fellowships which we naturally joined.

As usual change is always resisted. So the opposition began in the traditional Churches. First by pupilt announcements and later by misinforming and mounting of pressures on our parents to stop us from attending what they tagged heresies. They flexed their muscles to avails to stop the emerging movement.
Two factors I discovered , made it difficult if not impossible, for them to stop us from attending the fellowships. At that point in, time we looked up to and coppied whatever the older youth did; including, dressing, pursuits and anything else. Again, we believed that whatever is from the Cities is in vogue and since we did not want to be left out, we embraced it.

Certainly, not all my peers joined and some of us that joined did not also remain for long, for different reasons. My reason then was the continued poverty identity which the new movement had retained until, another change occurred , brought about by the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa. It opened my eyes to the reality that poverty is not a Christian viture though, I believe as well that Christianity is not all about money making.

Today, through those God initiated reformations, Christiannty has taken a new identity and those converted through the two movements are now on top of various Christian commissions in, Nigeria, Ghana and other parts of the World fulfilling the great commission.
Now , everybody wants to be a Clergy because it is attractive and may be lucrative as well.

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