JESUS IS RELEGATED

Growing up, I was made to believe that Jesus Christ was the center and most important personality of
the Christian faith.

I didn’t need anybody to tell me that because everything around me depicted it. His picture was
everywhere, his name was as well. From radio jingles about Christian crusades to the leaflets and
posters to the TV ads and big banners that adorned the streets of Lagos. Everything was about the
Master, Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Son of Mary, who according to the Bible, preached
good tidings to the poor, healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk,
fed the hungry, became friends with ‘tax collectors’ so that He might save their souls, chastised the
proud and haughty, drove sinners out of the temple, and dealt with men neither with fear nor favor.

That was the man I knew as the center of attention as far as Christianity was concerned.

I dare to say a child born into a Christian home and growing up in this age and time may find the image
and importance of Jesus confusing. He might say prayers more fluently than we did and quote scriptures
better but certainly this lad’s reverence is not concentrated on one person as it is divided among many
notable figures.

Adverts from my day read something like this: “It is time for ABC crusade, holding on the Jan 10th, 1985
at the parade ground Benin City. Come, Jesus will heal the sick, He will make the blind see…” and at the
end the popular statement “Jesus is Lord” is stressed out. Throughout the announcement, there is a
picture of Jesus...the one we've all come to know very well.

In year 2010AD, Nigeria can boast of having at least a church on every street of its major cities.
Churches are proliferated so much that some buildings have 3 or 4 different ‘rival’ churches in them. The
pastor with the biggest signage attracts the most customers and to keep them, his voice has to be the
loudest by every means possible.

By my observation (correct me if I am wrong), the bigger, bolder and more colorful the billboards are
getting the more the content is changing.

That once constant and dominant gentle loving face full of hope and grace has almost been totally
thrown in the trash can of history. In its stead are the faces of couples either holding hands or hugging
each other on the bigger than life billboards. Their pictures are so well taken and positioned you could
mistake them for those of actors promoting their new movie, their names boldly written in caps without
missing out their many titles- Bishop (Dr.) Apostle and Rev (Mrs.) Ajanlekoko (Jp).

The face of Jesus disappeared gradually from the boards and eventually His name became smaller and
smaller as the faces, names and titles of the Most Rev. Pastors’ became larger and larger. Even the
popular slogan, ‘Jesus is Lord’ has conspicuously disappeared completely and the few who feel
compelled to have it on make it so tiny it is barely legible.
Recently, I gave a friend of mine with who I was on a journey by road a task to point out to me any
billboard/poster of a Christian church, event or program that had the face of Jesus prominently
displayed. On this 5 hour journey, he found none!

The same applies to the electronic media where the adverts now read: “The XYZ crusade is going to be
explosive. Ministering are, anointed men of God likePastor Godogbo, Bishop Jaguda, Most Rev.
Konkobility...” To that they add “the lame will walk, the barren will be pregnant, the….” And it ends with
“come and receive!”

It seems to me that these gods of men needed Jesus Christ to promote their churches, events and
programs when they were small and ‘nobodies’. Like an apprentice who felt bigger than his master after
learning few ‘tricks’, the G.Os and Most Reverend men now feel independent, strong, big, and popular
enough to attract large congregations so much so that they have completely relegated Jesus and in
some quarters annihilated Him.

In the entertainment industry, certain names pull the crowd and patronage with relative ease, hence,
every movie producer wants them on his set. That is the case in Christendom now. Without God or Jesus
being mentioned at all, certain ‘gods-of-men’ pull the crowd and by consequence their ultimate goal;
the offering and tithes.

So who needs Jesus Christ when an ‘anointed’ Pastor XXX can perform the miracles?

Has the Nigerian Church officially become the biggest business enterprise in the country? Has Church
become a scam? Are the followers too blind, gullible and brainwashed to see anything wrong with all
these?

Pitifully, the scammed is the protector of the scammer!

Do we not need Jesus Christ anymore?

Has Jesus Christ been relegated?

Iregbogbo Balogun (Engineer, social commentator and freelance writer)