Church seeks self-regulation to rein in errant pastors

The Church could be headed for a shakeup if a bid by mainstream and top Pentecostal churches to rein in rogue preachers succeeds.
At the heart of the move is the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, which is worried that deceitful individuals have turned numerous houses of worship into commercial entities.
With pastors, including leading televangelists, also increasingly making headlines for involvement in crimes such as extortion, murder, human trafficking, rape and defilement, the umbrella body is equally concerned that this is critically hurting the image of the Church.
It is on this ground that the Evangelical Alliance, the Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC), and the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) are engaging the Government as they seek powers to self-regulate, recommend deregistration of sham preachers, and lock out questionable individuals who want to join the ministry.
Penal offences
They groups are said to have already held consultations with the Attorney General, the Registrar General, the National Security Intelligence Service (NSIS), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), and the Kenya Integrity Forum with regard to the need for a vetting process that would lock out fraudulent gospel ministers.
Reverend  Wellington Mutiso, the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya secretary general, says the first round of consultations took place last August followed by another in January, with another meeting now on the cards.
He says the Ministry of Education has also been closely involved since some preachers are increasingly opening schools with curriculums based on misleading doctrines.
Although the meetings are yet to yield much fruit, Mutiso laments the Church has been invaded by an unprecedented number of impostors, a situation he says is mortifying the institution.
“There are quacks in every profession and the Church has not been left out; we are having many wolves in sheep’s clothing. Currently, some of them have very big churches and congregations but are selling prayers, miracles and health to people who have followed them out of despair.
“This is not biblical but merely business and is the best way to know a rogue preacher,” he told The Standard On Saturday, lamenting that some of the pastors are even involved in penal offences.
He says there is also growing concern about the titles some pastors are curving out for themselves.
Extremely skeptical
“In the mainstream churches and established Pentecostals, we have benchmarks that stipulate what theology school one should have attended and level one should reach to become a pastor and so on. But people who do not even understand the Bible are becoming pastors and even crowned apostles in months when they do not quality as such biblically, and when theirs are not even churches. People should be wary of this,” he cautions.
It is for this reason that Mutiso says the Church wants to be given powers to vet its own as opposed to the current set up where only Government agencies scrutinise potential clergymen.
Until the late 1990s, applications for those who wished to start gospel ministries used to be referred to the three umbrella bodies for recommendation before the then Registrar General could approve them.
“There was a backlog of so many churches that did secure registration, with so many groups that were occultist being kept away,” Mutiso explains. But a myriad of churches are now operating without registration, while those that seek registration only need the approval of the Registrar General and the NSIS.
“The NSIS and the registrar are not well equipped to do this and are not consulting those who do. These institutions have no idea as to what they are registering,” he states.
He says if allowed to vet itself, the Church would have the chance to interrogate both existing and aspiring pastors on their spiritual stands and doctrines to ascertain if they are Bible-based and lock out those who do not meet the cut.
“Although it is hard to vet people’s spirituality, we are the ones who can competently scrutinise and would recommend deregistration of so many churches. That is why we want to regulate ourselves,” he affirms.
Oliver Kisaka, NCCK deputy secretary general, calls on anyone who is not trained or called to be a Christian minister to desist from using Christianity to perpetrate evil.
He insists that one cannot qualify as a cleric unless he has theological training and admits many people are doing business and committing crimes from within the Church. But Rev Kisaka says they should be dealt with according to the law.
Misusing gift
“These are individuals who just wake up one day and think they can start ministries and make money through religion. If accused of criminal activities such as extortion, the justice system in Kenya does not discriminate offences and they should be taken to court and dealt with accordingly,” he says.
The clergyman nonetheless calls on Kenyans to desist from blanket condemnation of gospel ministers.
Pastor Justine Birichi of the International Christian Church readily acknowledges the Church has been turned into a money-spinner but not without explaining the unfortunate state of affairs.
He opines that most people have lost a sense of purpose in life, something he says has amplified the need for spiritual inspiration. The cleric says some pastors have deviously capitalised on this spiritual hunger.
Birichi gives the example of church ministers who sell annointing oil, a move he terms unbiblical. “We pray for the oil before anointing people, but it is just symbolic and not special in any way. It’s never supposed to be sold,” he explains.
“We have made the gospel a business. If you look at most pastors on television today, it is all about money and a lot of fake miracles.
“As ministers of the gospel, we have become so greedy. We have the power to convince people that black is indeed white but we are misusing this gift. This is unfortunate and is really hurting the word of God,” the pastor says.
As a result, he says people have become extremely skeptical about the work of the Church. “The devil has taken advantage and is tormenting people who do not know who to trust and who to believe.