7 Reasons for disconnect between the Pastor and his church members

7 Reasons for disconnect between the Pastor and his church members

What is the essence of pastoring when there is a sense of disconnection between the Pastor and his church members? What is the essence of shepherding when both the shepherd and the sheep feel both alone and world apart from each other? What are the things that can cause both the Pastor and the church members to begin to live in disagreement and suspicion of each other to the extent that it will affect their productivity?

Here are 7 reasons that can make a Pastor to suddenly become a stranger to the flock he is sent to care for, the reasons why some of us fail in our congregations:

1. When church members are looked at as statistics, commodities, or means of achieving what the Pastor wants and not a people to relate with. As a Pastor, you will have a vision of what God has called you to do. Because God’s vision is always bigger than you, you will need people to help you get it accomplished. The truth is that God will not give you angels as partners; He will give you human beings. God did not give even Jesus angels during His ministry on earth. He gave Him ordinary people like you and me, fallen people with their problems. The apostles were not exceptional people. They were ordinary people that Jesus’ vision and calling transformed at the end. Your well-being and the well-being, growth and blessings of the people God brings around you are all packaged together in the vision that God gives you. However, if in the course of pursuing the vision the people around you perceive that it is all about you, what you want and what you want done while they are involved as numbers and tools, they will feel used at the long run. The mistake that some of us make as pastors is that we think that the vision God gives us, our calling, is all about us. The truth is that it is all about everybody that God brings into the vision including you. It is all about your church members no matter whom the person is in that church. Everybody wants to get involved in something that will give meaning to their lives. People want relationships, beneficial relationships that will impact their lives in a positive way and ministry is all about relationships. 
2. When the church has no personal touch in the lives of the members. By this I mean the welfare of the people God brings around you as members in your church. The church is supposed to be a place where welfare of individual members is taken very seriously. Unfortunately, in most cases, in our pursuit for numbers, the members of our churches have got lost in the crowd. Most of our churches are filled with “visitors” who just identify with the church but not really members who are there as part of the family. They all come with their masks and bulletproof vests. The church is a place that makes you vulnerable, just as in the family, because it is bound together by love, and love makes you vulnerable. This vulnerability is what makes us care for each other, show empathy and support. But these days, because the environment we create is such that encourages “visitors” who just strongly identify with our church, even though they are still masked and self-protected, we bash and hurt each other; we are good as long as we are unscathed. When people have troubles, they leave the church to sort themselves out. If they survive and return, church gathering continues. If their troubles take them away, they are not missed; the church goes on as if nobody was lost. Somebody watching knows intuitively that that is the way he will be treated in his own time of trouble; except you are wealthy.  Hence as a pastor, if what I call welfare in my church is superficial and the needs that matter are my needs, even my wants and that of my family while the needs of the church members do not matter, then over time, my church will suffer a disconnect.
3. When a pastor allows some dirty battles between himself and the major church stakeholders. Church stakeholders include your Pastoral Colleagues, Assistants, and Ministers in different capacities as per Units, Arms and Departments. When the Senior Pastor allows in-fighting among these stakeholders, especially when it concerns his person, there will be disconnect. We do not want to hear that anybody under us also bears influence on the people we are leading down the line. But whether we like it or not as pastors, every stakeholder has a following even under us. The earlier we discard our insecurities and accept this truth, the better for us. They have people that look up to them even unconsciously, no matter how weak or strong they look. These people have soft spot for them. When we begin to fight and hurt in the cause of “clearing the way for our vision”, we will only succeed in separating ourselves from the people. This is even worse for some of us in denominations where we are posted from place to place. We need wisdom to manage the people God gives us. For example, there are some stakeholders we will push out of a service position, especially when there is manipulation of the system and lack of due process, you may end up hurting dozens of people unknowingly to you. Never look at stakeholders as individuals, look at them based on their level of influence. Even in dealing with the issue of sin, if we are not seen as just and fair, we create problems for ourselves. Where the authority of the pastor is more important to him than people’s lives, it will lead to clashes that will cause disconnect between him and the people.
4. When we start dismantling the cultures, processes, procedures and relationships that knit the people together. People join churches that fit their shape. Over time, the members will develop relationships that build them together as a people. Some even put together policy guides, missions and vision statements that drive their activities. In fact, some churches believe that God has given them some specific mandates to accomplish. All these make the churches unique in so many ways. Worthy to mention here that even when the churches belong to the same denomination, bound by the same constitution with administration and apex leadership, this uniqueness still exists in every church.  For every pastor, every church is a new field, new people with their unique strengths and challenges and a new culture. You will require time to learn and discover ways to penetrate the relationships, adapt to the cultures and processes and communicate effectively in order to persuade the people towards what you think God wants them to do. If a new pastor has a careless attitude towards what has been going on before he came and the issues the people care about; worse still if he comes to the church with a mindset and agenda to pursue, he will not be able to take the people from where they are to where he thinks God wants them to be. He will see these relationships, processes and cultures as cliques, obstacles to fight and dismantle, and in the course, he will scatter the church and cause a serious disconnect between him and the members. If he is going to stay for a very long time in the church, he may only succeed in developing new relationships, cultures and processes to replace the ones he has dismantled, of course, at the expense of wounded lives.
5. When there is no financial accountability and transparency, it causes a serious disconnect between the pastor and the church members.  Money is such a powerful instrument that every pastor that handles it must be very careful. The same instrument can be used to build, yet can also scatter a church. When set financial procedures are circumvented, questions are ignored or given vague explanations, reports are not given as at when due, the pastor sets himself up for problems. Some even make the mistake of taking over the financial expenditure processes, making sure that nobody asks them any questions. This is the worst thing a pastor can do to himself. One of the most irresponsible statements I have heard from some of my colleagues in the ministry is “just give your offerings, tithes and donations, and do not bother to ask the pastor how he uses the money. If he misuses church money, leave him to God to judge. Your own is just to give”. This statement is not only strange to reason and accountability, it also grossly ignores the power of mammon and the vulnerability of the fallen man.  We all need help, a “second eye” and laid down financial processes if we are to maintain integrity in the organizations where we serve. When there is no effective feedback to the church in the area of money, there is bound to be a disconnect.
6. When you have no “fault” at all in your life, there will be a serious disconnect between you and your church members. As mentioned earlier, the church is made up of human beings, including the pastor. We are to care for each other as we continue to fight the flesh, sin and Satan. However, when we separate ourselves very far away from the people we are to serve, we lose our power to influence. We only become performers that they watch. There are pastors that will never accept responsibility for their own mistakes; they are never wrong and everything they do is “right”. They do not know how to say “I’m sorry”. If we display this ego for a while in a church, we will end up being alone. Those that remain around us will only tolerate us while it lasts except they are men-pleasers who are there for one gain or the other. It is terrible to float among a people whose hearts are far from you.
7. Finally, when there is a disconnect between the pastor and God, there will be a disconnect between him and the church. This is probably the main reason for all the other points explained above. To lead the church, we must remain connected to the God who called us and gave us His people to care for. He is the Good Shepherd who has everything needed for the upkeep and growth of the church. When we cut off from Him, we miss the road that leads to good pasture and subsequently, the sheep will disconnect from us because they will tend to fend for themselves.

I wish every pastor a good and fruitful ministry as we labour to equip the saints for works of service and building up of the body of Christ.

At Last, all the cases against Kim Davies are dismissed, files closed and even the pending cases removed from the docket

This is a case we followed for as long as it lasted.

We thank God because Kim Davies stood her ground in a very hostile environment and was ready to suffer for her faith. What is important to note is the fact that many a time, the fear that makes us to compromise does not materialize. Because Kim stood strong, the law has been changed in Kentucky to protect the freedom of all the other County clerks to politely decline to sign or issue marriage certificates when it violates their religious beliefs or conscience.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel who represented her in a statement said that "County clerks are now able to perform their public service without being forced to compromise their religious liberty...This victory is not just for Kim Davis. It is a victory for everyone who wants to remain true to their deeply-held religious beliefs regarding marriage while faithfully serving the public,"

Rev Franklin Graham wrote on Facebook "I thank God for men and women willing to take a bold stand for biblical truth — no matter the cost,". This is made possible because one woman dared to risk jail, loss of her job, being visible in the center of the homosexuality debate and storm etc standing for what she believed. We must be willing to risk anything if we are to live faithfully in this world that hates our Master. If we live with the attitude "I don't want trouble. Why must I be the one that will cause this stir?", then we may continue in our compromise with sin and the world. May God help us to be courageous and stout-hearted.

We rejoice with Kim Davies.

Is it Possible to Serve Both God and Theology?

I completely agree with Marshall Segal in this piece he wrote about making sure you do not serve both God and Theology. "It’s possible to love what we’re learning about God more than we love God himself", He said. "We will never be truly satisfied by knowing about God. We need to know him. If that dichotomy doesn’t make sense to you, beware. Facts about God without feelings for him and fellowship with him—without a sense that you are God’s chosen, redeemed and known son or daughter—will give you a false sense of God’s love and security".

Christian leadership can be exciting and can equally be a snare. Exciting because you are a servant of the Most High God with a whole lot of divine resources available to you. God uses you you to manifest His awesome power, bringing glory to His name. On the other hand, it can be a snare because our hearts can be so lifted up that we forget that we are still children of God and are not essentially different from other sons and daughters of God who are serving Him in some other areas. Our relationships with other people are affected as we expect to be served instead of serving. We expect others to pour out their lives for us instead of pouring out our lives for them as leaders. We expect others to always think about our comfort and good without thinking about their comfort. We teach them what to do without doing those things ourselves. We separate ourselves into a lonely position where people that knew us before can no longer reach us. We are not bothered anymore even when we know that we need God's touch. We refuse to cry out and ask for help because of our position. We die in secret because we do not want anything to destabilize the picture people have about us. It can be a snare because we may become conceited, thinking that we have become very familiar with God, thinking that we have known a lot about God, we lose all fear of Him. We can do anything with impunity thinking that as long as we sanction it, God sanctions it also. In fact we think that we know God more than everybody else who do not have the same exposure we have.

Marshall Segal said "Their education and pride—their knowledge and confidence in their own system—had blinded them to the very image and voice of God. They knew so much about God, and yet knew him so little...So we should fear money when it leads our hearts and allegiances away from God. And we should fear our system of theology when it more subtly does the same". Read and be blessed.

You Cannot Serve Both God and Theology.

Are you committed to raising the younger generation?

Recently, the Vice President of the United States of America conducted a homosexual marriage between two White House staff members and twitted on how happy he was doing so. The Rev. Franklin  Graham, the son of Billy Graham, chided the Vice President and said, 'There Will Be A Price To Pay For Our Nation'. I agree with him because through the Scriptures, we have seen God bring down great nations because of wickedness. However, the focus of our discussion today is from what I read in one of the Comment boxes:

“I am so glad that the vast majority of the population having the same mindset as Mr. Graham is old and on the way out. The younger generations are far less likely to fall victim to such demented hatred and homophobia. This world is becoming BETTER in that sense, not worse. Heaven was made for people who love people, not the bitter, vicious "Christians" such as Graham and some of these others”. Kittius Cattias.

This comment got me thinking. For some days now, the questions I have been asking myself include: Am I doing enough to pass to the next generation what I believe about God? Yes we are on our way out and have fought this battle throughout our lives, have I done enough to prepare the next generation to continue this battle or will they fall ‘victims’ to what the commenter called ‘demented hatred and homophobia’?  Remember these are words they have been using to silence the voices of those who hold a different opinion to theirs and except you have a strong moral balance, you may not be able to understand this scheme of the enemy. Through the years, we have insisted that homosexuality is just like every other sexual sin and perversion in the world. As God commanded us, we love homosexuals as individuals, and every other sinner for that matter, but we disapprove their sin. That is why we preach. God loves sinners but disapproves of their sins. But these apologists will want to push it down our throat that we are bigots that spread hatred among men. They say that we hate homosexuals and we bear the responsibility for the death of any of them that commits suicide for whatever reason. But this is far from the truth. Genuine Christians do not hate people and yet are bold to say what the Bible says no matter whose ox is gored, even at the detriment of our lives. The bible condemns every sexual sin and perversion but lovely calls every person caught in any of the sins to repentance because God has appointed a day He will judge the sins of men. Heb.9:27.

It is a moral battle and has become more difficult now that you have some so called Christians who are twisting some passages of the bible to prove that it is normal to practice homosexuality, hence they do not need to repent because that is who they are. But we know that this is a lie of the devil to keep these ones in this bondage till they die. It is common knowledge that when a people become very obstinate toward God, instead of responding to God in repentance and obedience, they rebel and fight every prophet that God uses to call them to repentance. This is because they want to remain in their sins. Many preachers in the western world have been silenced already. They carefully avoid mentioning the issue of homosexuality because of fear of backlash to their ‘ministry’. I thank God for Rev Franklin who is still speaking with boldness in that hostile clime.

But the question remains, have we prepared the next generation for the battle? Are we doing all that we need to do? Am I teaching my family? Do they know the difference? Have they been brought to the point where they can stand their ground even when some people will want to push guilt to their conscience to agree to a sin they did not commit? It is good to leave wealth, money and properties behind for my children. However, in the theatre of ideas, especially in the morality spheres, these things cannot sustain my children. I know this very clearly. If they are won in that sphere, they will even begin to commit the resources I would leave behind to fighting the values I stood for. This is because it is in the theatre of ideas that values are formed. That is where convictions are shaped. The ideas you have will either strengthen your conscience or weaken it. Am I preparing my children to win in this battle? It is good to send them to the best of schools, but if they succeed academically only to come back as subdued people who cannot stand for the values I was ready to die for, then I must have failed as a destiny moulder.

O Lord, I commit my life to raising the younger generation. Help me!

Western Culture is at the Edge of Dying - Ravi Zacharias

“Secularity has no staying power… you cannot live with a neutral view towards values… the Herods are still with us they don’t want the Christ child; the Pilates are still with us they ask, “what is truth?” but don’t wait for the answer; the Caesars are still with us they want to be worshiped, times have changed, human nature has not. So the west better awaken to learn from history. I hope it’s not too late but that’s the reality.” Dr. Ravi Zacharias (Apologist, Evangelist, & Author).

Listen to what he said on the importance of recovery of fatherhood today. After listening to part 1, I made a phone call to talk to my son. 

Remain blessed.

Part 1

 

 Part 2

Are controls really necessary for churches?

Are controls really necessary for churches?

In a continent where recklessness is either ignored or defended, especially in the area of money, many of us as church leaders have been deceived by power and do not want to be accountable to anybody. I have heard arguments these days like "Just give your money, it is God who called the pastor. If he steals God's money, He will judge him. Just give your money", "Who are you to create controls and subject a servant of God to them?", "Why should church members ask questions how the pastor uses church money? Don't they know that pastors are God's representatives?" etc. All these arguments sound like a support to impunity. They sound like careless people that do not want to help their brethren in leadership to survive when God tests their works.

Many of us as God's servants have so muddled things up in money matters that we cannot differentiate between our personal money and church or ministry money.

Many church leaders are busy dismantling all the controls that have existed in the church before their ordination, arrogating powers to themselves to make sure nobody interferes and asks them questions or stands as a stumbling block when they want to spend money. Constitutions have been changed or constructed in such a way to make sure that church members do not have the powers to ask questions. Laws have been passed by coerced Church General Assemblies in favour of church leaders who want to be rich at all cost. The center is so rich and have enough to spend with liberty while the church branches suffer and nobody shows concern. These are all signs of abuse of the powers that reside in our positions.

In most cases, church leaders who defraud or squander church funds are not called to account. Instead in some established churches, they are just transferred to another church branch. But how is it that they were able to defraud so easily in the first place? For those who discovered the fraud, it even shows that they have something on ground but it is worse in independent ministries and churches where nobody else has insight into the finances of the church or ministry except the founder and his family members. This is not right. Why are we afraid of financial controls and fight to circumvent them by all means?

A wise leader will create financial controls where they are not existing. A god-fearing leader submits his financial activities concerning the church or ministry he leads to scrutiny so as to help himself and the people he leads. A spiritual leader understands the power of money and the flesh and intentionally creates or allows financial controls so as to keep his flesh subdued. A godly leader knows that at the end of the day, even if he succeeds to overcome everybody and have his way, God will call him to account. It is only godless leaders that circumvent or dismantle financial controls so as to be free to spend church or ministry money the way they want. They can do it because they can and nobody can do anything, but how far can you go when eternity dawns on you?

Please leave those financial controls and allow some supervision over your financial activities. They will help to keep you in check especially as we all must answer before God how we administered His resources. If you do not know what to do, ask questions and seek help from financial people God has brought around you.

Look  at the argument of the Anglican Diocese of Canada concerning financial controls. Download it here. It is a good resource.

Controls are necessary for churches. It is important that there is trust among God's people, but it is also very important that we have some controls that will help us maintain that trust, especially at those times when we are vulnerable as humans. May God help us to remain faithful, especially in money matters. Amen

Pray for the Persecuted Church

We are very much aware that the topic of the persecuted church is not popular today especially among those who live in ease and freedom. Among those of us privileged to enjoy freedom today, we are more comfortable focusing people to the material things of this life than to eternal things. Let prayers be raised in our churches for those that remain. Let our prayer vigils and family altars be moments of raising cries to God for our brethren. It could have been you. "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Heb 13:3 NIV.


Pray for Li Jiangong whose wife, Ding Cuimei, was buried alive while trying to prevent their church from being demolished by bulldozer on 14th of April, 2016. The building actually collapsed on both of them but Li was able to dig his way out but his wife was suffocated.

Pray for the family of Shunil Gomez who was hacked to death in Bangladesh just because he was a Christian. Pray that they will tangibly sense the loving comfort of our Lord Jesus as they grieve during this difficult time. Ask Him to protect the leaders and all the other Christian believers in Bangladesh. May they be filled with wisdom and power as they continue to obey the Great Commission despite the threat of persecution. See more here.

Remember the family of Bridget Abahime who was killed in Kano in June. The noise and dust is over but the pain of loss will remain with the family except we pray for them.

Updated 11/07/16
Remember the family of Pastor Olawale Elisha whose wife was murdered in Abuja on Saturday during morning cry (Early morning preaching). They are going through enormous pains not just because their wife and mother died but the manner in which she died. Just say a few words to God concerning the family that God may give them the comfort which no man can give nor take away. Pray that He will give them perspective in this situation. Pray that the perpetrators may be brought to justice and that they will embrace the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

Pray for revival in the Body of Christ.

Please pray.

The Upcoming Persecution of Christians in the West

The Christians in the west have enjoyed liberty for centuries because of the JudeoChristian foundations most of their societies were built on. That liberty will soon be gone.

Currently, there are legislation that are forcing Christians to shut their mouths on certain things. There are certain areas of the Bible you cannot boldly preach if you are in certain places in the west. It is as if all the other religions have rights and enjoy the protection of the law while the rights of Christians are eroding every waking of the day. Many Christians have compromised. Many leaders no longer discuss issues like homosexuality, bestiality, and fornication. Many of them cannot preach from passages like John John 14:6-7
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
NIV. They are more comfortable avoiding those absolute statements in the Bible which incidentally are what make Christianity unique and attractive. Unfortunately, those are the things that most Christians avoid. Persecution is not happening now in mass because of these compromises and so called 'wisdom' of Christians. But nobody can run away from it if he wants to remain a Christian. A time is coming when Christians cannot hide any more.

All over the world, Christians are persecuted and killed, some in most cruelest ways. Just google about Christian persecution and you will be amazed at the volume of news you will find. Most of the fiercest occur in the Islamic world. For many in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, China, Sudan, Eritrea, Northern Nigeria, etc, persecution has become part and parcel of their lives. You count the cost if you want to become a Christian. But for the west, America and Europe, persecution of Christian will earnestly start soonest.

In the coming days and years, there will be more Anti-Christian legislation that will surprise many of us. We shared about Kim Davies several times. However, what happened to Kim is a child's play to what Christians will soon begin to go through in the US. How soon it will be, I do not know yet.

Now, is this a strange thing? NO! It is normal for a Christian to be persecution. 2 Tim 3:12-13 says
"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" NIV.

But for many Christians in the west, it will be a strange thing. Let's begin to pray for His church to be ready. The Bride must prepare herself for the soon coming Groom. No matter what happens, make sure you are ready.

Christian killed for ‘Blasphemous’ Facebook Post in Niger State, Nigeria

Why do we share these information?
We share these so as to enrich our prayer moments. 
We share to widen our perspective.  If you are living in areas where there is no Islamic persecution, you may not know that there are brethren who stake their lives just to be identified as Christians.
We share so as to stir our hearts to help where we can.
We share as part of our ministry to the persecuted. Today it is Emmanuel, tomorrow it can be near us.
Finally, we share so as to keep us at alert. 

On Sunday, 29/05/16, 24-year-old Methodus Chimaije Emmanuel, a trader in Pandogari, Rafi Local Government Area in Niger State was “attacked and killed by a mob in the town on allegation of posting a blasphemous statement about Prophet Muhammad on the social media.”

According to Morning Star News, a church building, a house and a shop were burned, and rioters blocked the Lagos-Kaduna Road, a major artery connecting the northern and southern parts of the country, army spokesman N.C. Agwu said in a press statement. On Monday (May 30) 25 other shops were looted, he said.

“Three other persons including a personnel of the NSCDC [Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps] also lost their lives,” Agwu said.

Also as noted by Release International , just two days later Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed three Christians in their home in Jema local government area in the north-central Kaduna state.

Zakka Kagoma, aged 40, and two others as yet unidentified are believed to have been killed while they were sleeping at about 2am. As a result of the attack Christians in other villages have fled.

 Please pray for our brothers and sisters in central and northern Nigeria.

1. Ask God to comfort all those affected by these latest violent incidents. 
2. Pray for an end to extremist and Fulani attacks on Christians.
3. Pray that God will intervene to protect His people and that those responsible for the violence would be brought to justice.
4. Pray that the persecutors of the church would be convicted of their sin and turn to Christ in repentance.
5. Pray for a spiritual awakening in the church.

The controversial Sharia Bill in the House of Reps and the Church response

Our attention has been drawn to the Bill being sponsored by Abdullahi Salame, the lawmaker representing Gwadabawa/Illela federal constituency, Sokoto State. The bill is titled, “a Bill for an Act to alter Sections 262 and 277 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to increase the jurisdiction of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory and the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State by including Criminal Matters of Hudud and Qisas and for other related Matters.

According to Wikpedia, Hudud (Arabic: حدود Ḥudūd, also transliterated hadud, hudood; singular hadd, حد, literal meaning "limit", or "restriction") is an Islamic concept: punishments which under Islamic law (Shariah) are mandated and fixed by God. While in the case of murder, Qisas means the right of a murder victim's nearest relative or Wali (ولي) (legal guardian) to, if the court approves, take the life of the killer. Qisas is one of several forms of punishment in Islamic Penal Law.

The proposed bill was briefly discussed on the floor of the House Thursday May 19, 2016 before it was referred to the Committee on Constitution Amendment.


The sponsor claims that the bill is designed to protect Christians from wanton attacks in Northern Nigeria. He equally said in his interview with PREMIUM TIMES that the insinuation that the bill will be implemented in other parts of Nigeria apart from the Northern Nigerian States is false. But the critical questions remain:

1. Does it means that if the law is not put in place that Christians will be prone to attacks in Northern Nigeria? Why is that? Does it not sound like Dhimmi status kind of living where non Muslims live as second class citizens under the protection of Muslim overlords as long as they pay Jizya tax?
2. Why the zeal to expand the powers of the Sharia Courts when already there are complaints all over the place that non Muslims are often taken to these courts especially when matters involve them and their Muslims neighbors?
3. What is the priority of this bill in our national life when the citizens are living in serious hardships because of the challenges we are faced with? The oil price is down and responsible leaders are running helter-skelter on how to fix their economy, what is utmost in the mind of Mr. Salame is how to enlarge the powers of the Sharia courts.
4. Does this not show the components on Political Islam which intends to subjugate every other person under Islamic law?
5. Is this not a pretentious and deceptive step to sneak in the total Islamic law through the back door that will ultimately subject the nation to Islamic laws?
6. Is it possible to operate two codes for the administration of criminal justice in one country? Is it not a journey towards anarchy to define crime in different ways for different people within the same country?

Many questions! No wonder everybody is reacting, especially non Muslims. The truth is that this bill will not stand because God has not finished with Nigeria. Nigeria cannot be subjugated by any man. It is also instructive to read in between the lines the response of Hon. Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi when he was reached for comments:

"The Bill came up on the floor and was automatically referred to the ad-hoc committee on constitution review.

There was no debate on it either for or against because the House is a democratic representatives chamber of the Nigerian people

Even if five people only have an issue with any section of the Constitution, the House will give it a listening ear.

The ad-hoc committee on Constitution review has one member per state and women and other representation.

The precedence is that it is in this committee that these kinds of matters are thrashed out.

Any bill that has potentials to divide the country into religious or tribal lines or to reopen settled constitutional issues will most likely fail in the committee.

It should be noted that constitutional review bills are special bills that undergo many stages, unlike an ordinary bill.

These include committee stage, the plenary stage for voting by 2/3rd of the House, 2/3rd of all the state Houses of Assembly before it comes back again to the National Assembly for voting again and finally it must receive presidential assent.

We are still at a very early stage in the process and Nigerians should not worry about bills of this nature as the House has shown over the years to be the protector of Nigerians’ national unity and interest."

Signed:

Hon. Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi
Deputy Chairman
House Committee on Media and Publicity.

The Church Response
The Church will have to wake up to live up to her responsibility. Church leaders will have to review the way we see these ones in political leadership. Instead of seeing them as avenues for money, we should see them as God's ministers deployed to the area of political governance. The church leadership should be influencing the political and judicial leadership to make sure that there is righteousness and justice in our street. Some practical tips include:

1. Make a list of the members of the House of Reps and the Senate who are in your church or Diocese or Ministry. Get their contacts.
2. Make a list of those within your sphere of influence that can help you reach to members of NASS.
3. Make that phone call to explain to them the implication of these bills including the Grazing bill and others for that matter. 
4. Depending on your sphere of influence and the number of those who listen to you, organize a meeting of all the NASS members and politicians who hear you. Teach them and explain these bills and their consequences to them. Sincerely pray for them and their work and let them know that you look forward to their progress and success. All these you do without asking them for money except for willing partners with the same vision. Let them just know that they are God's Ambassadors in those chambers. This meeting can be organized in Abuja where it will be easier for them to attend and the hotel bills borne by the church.
5. Make your own contacts available and remain reachable in case they have questions and need clarifications. Continue to call them from time to time and make the meeting a regular one, like bi-annually or quarterly for prayers and reviews. Remember NEVER to ask them for money but solely for the purpose of good governance. Only the church can give spiritual perspective to these our members in the NASS.
6. Sensitize your church to pray sincerely for the politicians and their work. Our prayer contents matter a lot. Avoid fanning unnecessary ethnic and religiously-biased sentiments which cannot produce positive results. Some specific prayer points may need only the Prayer Band to hear and handle for proper understanding.

Why are all these very important?   "...Pray to the Lord for it (the nation where you reside), because if it prospers, you too will prosper..." Jer 29:7 NIV (Emphasis mine). We need peace to spread the Gospel.
God bless you.

Marriam Mushtaq: A 24-year-old Pakistani Christian woman abducted and married off

Please pray for Marriam. Each time I hear some of these stories, I cannot help but imagine if this is my daughter or sister. This is happening to Christians, especially in areas where they are persecuted by Muslim neighbors. In Nigeria, we have heard of Ese Oruru who was allegedly kidnapped in Bayelsa State and was taken to Kano. She gave birth to a baby girl yesterday. Another girl from Benue was also alleged to have been kidnapped and converted to Islam in Sokoto. These have all been rescued because of the campaign efforts of families, churches and civil societies. There are other stories of other girls here. The truth is that it has been a problem all along only that the Social Media has helped to publicly highlight the incidents. 

If we do not make effort to reach our unreached neighbors, especially the ones that are close to us, in the next few years, we may find ourselves dealing with these issues more frequently. Please pray for Marriam:

A 24-year-old Pakistani Christian woman was abducted on May 12th while walking with her 11-year-old brother. Marriam Mushtaq was suddenly snatched by four unidentified suspects in Bahar Colony, Lahore. For the past year, she had been studying adult education at Excel Educational Institution, and was on her way there with her brother Youhan at around 2 p.m. when a white car pulled up next to them. A man with his face covered got out and dragged Marriam inside the car before it sped off.

Yohan further explains that Marriam tried to escape from the abductors, but then one of them placed a piece of cloth over her mouth and she became unconscious. The alarmed young brother began shouting -- calling out for help. A few people gathered and boys on motorbikes started following the car; however, as it was speeding so fast, the perpetrators' vehicle hit a young girl who was crossing the road. (As a result of this accident, the hit-and-run victim is suffering from serious leg injuries.) The local boys followed the car on their motorbikes until it vanished out of sight.

Marriam's family visited the local police station to register a complaint, but the police initially did not respond. Only after the family and local Christians staged a protest, blocking the road for two hours, did the police agree to register an FIR against the unknown abductors.

Two days after Marriam's mother filed a complaint with the police, she received a phone call from officers who stated that her daughter had not been kidnapped, but was married. A 32-year-old man named Muhammed Ali, who Marriam's family claim is her kidnapper, attended the police station and presented a marriage certificate.

Members of the young woman's family believe she would never voluntarily marry a militant Muslim, stressing their concerns that she has been forced into marriage and is now being held against her will.

Please pray that Marriam will be safely reunited with her distressed family. During this unwarranted separation, may God provide each one of them needed comfort and encouragement, reassuring them of His strengthening presence. Also intercede for the young girl who was seriously injured by the getaway car, praying that she will know the Lord's presence, peace and healing in her life as well. May the convicting power of the Holy Spirit come upon the abductors, helping them to realize that wrongfully committed acts such as forceful marriage and conversion -- in addition to holding a person hostage -- is contrary to God's ways and will result in consequences...unless there is genuine repentance.

More here and here