In my
first post, I discussed the importance of questions in the church. This
Part 2 post will focus on why some of us find it difficult to encourage
questions. In the last post, I will be discussing why it is important for the
church to provide answers to questions, and provide defense and explanations especially
to our truth claims.
In this world full of conflicting and divergent ideas, it is
counterproductive to shut down questions asked by people seeking for information
and answers, no matter how offensive, useless or negative they may seem. If we
do not allow, especially our members, to be free to ask us questions, they will
still ask the questions anyway but unfortunately, they will ask someone else
who may give them answers we may not like.
The 90th thesis written by Dr Martin Luther in his
95 Theses which he posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in
October 31, 1517 states “These questions are serious matters of conscience to
the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving
reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies,
and to make Christian people unhappy.”3 Dr. Luther advised that the
best approach towards the questions asked by the laity would not be suppression
or playing the Ostrich, instead questions raised needed to be answered and
arguments raised needed to be refuted. He warned that if attention was not paid
to answering the questions asked by the people, it would come to a time the
church and its leadership would be brought to ridicule. His warning was not
heeded to and the church had a split.
The question is, when we refuse to answer the questions raised by
enquirers and our members, what are we afraid of? In some cases, we configure
the system and the institution in such a way that makes it nearly impossible or
very difficult for questions to be asked in the first place. Fora are not
created with the sole purpose of answering questions. Even when questions are
asked, we structure the process in a way that will ensure that those who ask
questions are either ignored or labelled or tagged or at best be given little
or no answer, which shows the questioner that there was no willingness to
answer his questions in the first place. We exercise a certain level of
unbridled freedom because we believe that nobody will do anything. We can get
away with anything, so we think.
We even administer punitive measures to those that ask questions.
A few years ago, a story was told of a senior pastor who asked a question in a
meeting that comprised of both his colleagues and their superior. Because of
the question he asked, which bordered on some financial decisions taken
concerning their superior, he was suspended from the church for some time and
punished. If this can happen to a pastor, what do you think will happen to
someone who is just a church member? This example only represents the
difficulty people encounter when they have questions to ask in their churches.
I do not understand why a Christian leader will present a Financial Report and
Accounts, for example, and yet frown when listeners ask questions concerning
what he has presented. How will he or she manage to preach about integrity the
next day? These punitive measures only succeed in shutting down those who have
questions. Ironically, these are the same things we are expecting from our
political leaders.
Why is it difficult to encourage questions in the church today?
- Our unconscious claim to ‘infallibility’ as leaders. Christian leaders are still saved and redeemed sinners just like every other children of God. We are called as ministers by God, with different gifts, deployed to diverse market places to represent Him. Every one of God’s children is responsible wherever God has posted you; whether in the Medical field, Political arena, Law and Justice, Companies and Establishments, the Church, etc. You are called upon to be faithful wherever you are as a steward of God’s treasures and grace. The Church is supposed to be like the place where these ministers of God are coordinated and equipped to ensure that each person fulfills his/her calling (Eph.4:12). Christian leaders play a great role in equipping the saints for these good works. Unfortunately, instead of equipping God’s people, many of us make ourselves lords over them. Lords do not owe anybody and cannot be questioned. Over time, we seem to even forget where God picked us up from as lost sinners. We carry on as if we cannot make mistakes and our ‘yes men’ defend us and fan our ego. If we are accused by members of infidelity or misappropriation for example, instead of answering the questions raised, we defend and shut the questioners down. So, we hear leaders who say something like, “who are you to ask me this question?’ or “how dare you ask the man of God such questions? Are you suspecting him?” In different forms, we assume infallibility as if there is something else we are, separate from God’s people.
- Our insecurity as leaders. Many of us are very insecure in our positions of authority. We want to protect ourselves and the institution where we work even at the expense of truth. This defensive mode makes us to take aggressive postures. When inquirers or members ask questions seeking for answers, especially the ones we do not want them to have, we resist and fight. We find it difficult to own up to our mistakes so we fight and cover and protect ‘our own’ even when other brethren are shouting foul. We struggle to delegate to those we fear may ‘know more’ than us. So we ignore other of God’s ministers who are in different other market places but who may help out with the answers, just to ensure we maintain and protect our own and be the only ‘celebrity’ at the apex. Open Forum therefore gives us sleepless nights and where we can, we ensure it does not happen. In so doing, questions are not asked.
- Our incompetence and ignorance. Information is moving so fast and the questions of people are becoming more complicated. The basics of the questions may remain the same but people’s experiences and the way it impacts on them are more sophisticated than before. Technology is increasing. If one is not developing himself/herself and matching up with these changes, over time, you may not be able to face the questions people are asking. Even in communicating the Gospel, we have to develop skills that match with the changes around us. When we refuse to improve ourselves, we can become myopic in our thinking. When we perceive we are not competent, our insecurity increases and we are unwilling to allow questions.
- Our fear and cowardice. Another reason why we are often afraid of taking questions is because we want to be in the good books of the world. If in the cause of the questions, we are ‘pinned down’, we are afraid of saying the truth. We are afraid of engaging our cultures because we will be asked difficult questions concerning traditions, LGBTQ etc. We are afraid of being quoted. A prominent man of God was put on the spot on a News Network when he was asked "Is Jesus the only Way to God?" (John 14:6). He mumbled without any definite answer even when the questioner repeated herself. He did not want to get any 'backlash'. That is cowardice for a Christian. So, it is not just that seasoned theologians are scarce, we desire to enjoy the accolades of the world. We are afraid and abandon the truth alone in the ‘dark’ to suffer.
- Our resistance to progression in technology. I was in a meeting where a bishop glorified reading the bible in printed format and said that if he discovers that someone is not carrying his printed bible, they will not be friends anymore. You see, we will not be able to answer the questions of our youths if instead of looking for ways to maximize the use of technology for the benefit of the church, we are condemning it. The enlightened youth knows for example that he can read the bible in several formats and still be enriched. We are likely to shut such youth down when he asks his sincere questions. In epistemology, every means of acquiring knowledge has its advantages and disadvantages. Instead of enforcing the means that is best for us as individuals, we should encourage people simply to seek and assimilate knowledge in a way best for them.
- Our distraction by the strange gospel of health and wealth and our rebellion insisting to continue its propagation. The claims of health and wealth theology are illusive and unsustainable biblically and existentially. They cannot answer life’s deepest questions. The extrapolations of health and wealth gospel fail all the three tests of truth, namely logical consistency, empirical adequacy and experiential relevance.2 It creates celebrity and cult figures out of us as Christian leaders. First called the theology of glory as against the theology of the cross by Martin Luther, you are made to believe that answers to life’s problems are in the hands of one man who “negotiates between us (him) and God for whatever thing we may need”1. He represents us before God and collects our offerings and righteous works and takes them to God. By our works and giving, we are justified and prospered. Our insistence on preaching and teaching what cannot withstand scrutiny forces us to maneuver and avoid questions, especially the difficult questions of life. This makes asking questions very difficult.
- Our hypocrisies. We all call on the government to be transparent in its dealings, but many of us are not transparent in our churches. In many cases, our lives are not matching what we preach and we are unwilling to repent. Because we are hypocritical in our dealings, we resort to intimidation and all sorts of cover up. Have you heard a Christian leader say something like, “If you do so so and so again, I will curse you”? When there are discrepancies between our private life, the way we handle finances, relationships etc, and what we preach or what the Bile says, naturally, we will not want to encourage questions because we will be afraid of being put on the spot. Our unwillingness to be transparent is a challenge and makes us to block all avenues of people asking questions. What we forget is that the Gospel of Jesus by its nature cannot be separated from the life of its propagator. The efficacy and authenticity of the Gospel of Jesus will always refer the listener to the life of the professor for them to stick, and once there are inconsistencies, everything crumbles. We seem to think that we can preach the power of the Gospel while we live differently to the demands it places on our lives. It CANNOT work. When we have this unfortunate scenario, we will most likely discourage questions and use other things to assuage people’s quest for truth.
In the next/last part of this write up, I will look at the
biblical imperative as it concerns answering questions and explaining the truth
claims we preach.
Reference
- Ekwedam, C. (2016). Following hard after God. PNUR Revival Press and Books, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
- Zacharias R. (2019). Why Jesus. Lecture at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries Academy, RZIM. https://www.rzim.org/page/academy-core-module
- Evangelical Lutheran Church, (2019). The 95 Theses, Assessed 25/11/19 ONLINE: http://www.zionlutheran-ssm.org/95.pdf
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