Bakare blasts pastors asking for Govt to open Churches
“Let Churches offer isolation centers”
By Molade Adegbuyi
Prominent clergyman, Pastor Tunde Bakare has strongly condemned Pastors calling on the Federal and State Governments to open Churches amidst the lockdown.
Bakare said the call for Churches to open like markets is against the spirit of true faith and Godliness.
He condemnes Pastors blaming the Federal and State Governments for the lockdown saying such people are misleading Nigerians.
Early this week, the General Overseer of Winners Chapel, Bishop Oyedepo has expressed bitter disappointment at the government’s decision to open markets while at the same time closing churches and preventing people from worshiping God.
But Bakare said such a position was dangerous and would only endanger public health.
He said “Kudos to all our health workers, our prayers are constantly with them in isolation centers across the length and breath of the nation. May the good Lord protect them all from all professional hazzards in the name of Jesus”
Bakare said further “This morning I will like to bring some ethical correction to the lamentation of some Christian leaders over the ban on congregational worships in churches across the land while markets and hospitals are allowed to operate. I’m so glad that it’s not only churches that are stopped from congregating ,the Mosques are also locked down.”
He said “The government allows markets to operate for a few day to prevent hunger especially for the daily earners because the palliatives by the government can not get to everybody right now, not only that, those churches multiple facilities, rather than their leaders criticizing the government, they should collaborate with them, they must be prepared to offer some of their halls to governmental authorities as isolation centers in support of the efforts of the government.”
Citing relevant sections in the bible, Bakare said after all it was to the same custody of the inner keeper that the Good Samaritan kept the man left for the dead on the road to Jerico.
He said “The inn keeper is the pastor, the inn is the church, the wounded man is the sick world. I recommend that our church all should be made available to the government as isolation centers and those of us that can afford it should be there to support the government.”
He said he was not suggesting what Christians were not prepared and that what his Church needed to do, he had already done and that in his church, “we have offered two of our facilities to the Lagos government and a private facility we have in Abeokuta we have offered to Ogun state government. Let the Church lead in this campaign and support the government rather than criticizing them for all the adhoc tasks they are presently confronted with.”
Hw said there was the need to thank God that there is no distance in spirit during the lock down.
Bakare said the church is not the building but a sense of God which is the body of Christ so if we can not congregate because of the present lock down, we can be very effective in our neighborhood as our brothers’ keeper and our various working places for those involved in essential services and other daily earners that are permitted now to go about their trade or business for few hours a day.”
He said “we cannot thank God enough for a life style neighborhood and market place evangelism explossion that is taking place right now just like it happened to the early church in Jerusalem after the death of Stephen the first Christian Marty”
He said bible records that those that were scatered went everywhere preaching the word.
“COVID 19 may have resulted into lockdown that has made congregational worships in a building impossible at the moment but every home must become more or less a church and every office table must become a pulpit ,I am very confident brothers and sisters that if we channel our resources appropriately the church can only become stronger and better after COVID 19” Bakare said