NOTHING WRONG WITH GOVT SHUTTING CHURCHES, BAKARE DECLARES

Tunde Bakare

Politician and Founder/Senior Pastor of Citadel Global Community Church, CGCC, Tunde Bakare has disagreed with church leaders in their criticising over government’s decision to shut churches and other worship centres across the country as part of the measures to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic being experienced globally.

Bakare, on Sunday said it was wrong for church leaders to be criticising the governments at this time rather than helping them to fight Coronavirus.

“I will like to react to the lamentation of some people within the church over closure of churches, that while markets and hospitals are allowed to open, churches are not allowed to operate.

“I am so glad not only churches are prevented from congregating, the mosques also are locked down. The government ordered the markets to open and to operate for a few days to prevent hunger because the palliatives by the government cannot go to every citizens in their homes right now.

“Let the church live and support the government rather than condemning them in this arduous task. We should thank God that there is no distance in the spirit, lockdown or no lockdown and that the church is not the building but the body of Christ,” he said.

Bakare said those churches with multiple facilities, rather than criticising the government, should collaborate with them to halt the spread of the disease.

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“They must be prepared to offer some of their halls to government as isolation centres in support of the government. I recommend that our church halls be made available to government as isolation centres and those of us, who could afford it, should be there to support the government. I am not suggesting what we are not prepared to do, we have already done that,” he added.

It will be recalled that Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Founder and Senior Pastor of Christ Embassy had a few days ago criticised Church leaders for agreeing with the government to shutdown churches to halt the spread of Coronavirus, saying they were not true Christians.

Oyakhilome, in a telecast, said the church leaders should have told the government to give them time to pray and consult with their congregation before deciding to close down churches.

In the same vein, the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church, commonly called Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo also scolded the government in the same manner, but considered it rather improper for closing churches and allowing markets to remain open.

“There should be opening of the churches around the world. Sir, there is something wrong for people to be allowed to be in the market for six hours and can’t be in Church for two hours. It is an upside down ways of looking at things,” he said while quoting Ecclesiastic 4:13 which says, ‘Better is a poor and wise child than an old foolish king who will no more be admonished.’

Continuing, he queried, “Which one is more orderly, the market or the church? I can smell a rat, the Lord spoke to me about it yesterday. Behind all this, how do we stop the church from exploding?”