COVID-19: Pastors are the reason churches have not reopened - Bishop Ighele

Bishop Charles Ighele is the General Superintendent of the Holy Spirit Mission has blamed pastors for the continued closure of churches.

In an interview with Vanguard, Ighele stated that government had proposed to reopen churches but some pastors advised them against it.

This he says has caused a divide among Christian leaders as some want churches reopened just like every other sector.

"The governor may have acted on advice from some of my colleagues in the Lord. The Church is divided politically, supporting parties and personalities and then, in terms of doctrine, it is highly doctrinally divided.

"Why a section of the church sees that Jesus Christ will never want his real Church closed down because of a disease which is what I also believe, there are also those who would say, ‘let us divide and close everything down until the pandemic is over’. Men are challenging the efficacy of God’s power upon the land.

"When you look at other associations in the country such as the transport, business people and others, they are giving government pressure to reopen.

"Now, only the Church is divided, with the exception of private school owners who are also crying out all over the country. What surprises me more is that the division is seen among men of God.

"This is shameful. If all other groups can speak with one voice, why should men of God not do so? The governor has respected us senior pastors as stakeholders, but when it comes to opinion, some say different things entirely.

"And with the statistics of opinion at his disposal, what do you expect him to do?

"As far as I am concerned, the Church is an essential body and I blame my constituency for this continued lockdown of the place of hope and faith building.

"In Brazil, where many people are dying, the Church is an essential body; in Tanzania, the same thing is happening. I call what is happening to the Church in Nigeria now as a spiritual poverty.

"If we cannot see ourselves as an essential body, what do we expect politicians to do? I know that majority of pastors are angry. What some Christian leaders are telling politicians is not helping the body of Christ.

"Government had initially listened to the Church and has taken a decision to reopen churches but some spiritual leaders who sing a different song jeopardize the genuine intention of the decision.

"The figures of the virus cases are rising daily while the Church remains closed. Would you say the Church aided the rise? In Europe where people are dying in thousands and recording more than the figures we have here, essential places are operating and coming back to normal life.

"Nigerian people are religious in nature and spiritually starved. They want to call on their God to intervene in this matter, the traditional way.

"More so, a section of the Church has been saying that the world has gone digital and that meeting together to hold services can be replaced with online services.

"Some also say that God is in your heart and that you can worship him in your home alone or anywhere. They are not fully correct. What these people do not know is that the hallmark of Christian worship is congregational worship. We congregate, hence the word congregation.

"We are meant to assemble, hence we are called churches assembly. The word ‘Church’ means an assembly of the people. It is from the word ‘ecclesia’, the coming together of people as in Hebrews 10:25 which says, “We should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.”

"I do not want to be counted among those who disrupted the people not assembling because of a disease. I appeal to the governor not to be among them. I see him as a wise man".