The powerful Pastor or the Powerful Jesus?
While traveling out to Saonre yesterday morning to prepare for our three day revival meeting, I saw a group of people assembled under a straw hangar. I wondered what was going on but continued on my way to the church less than a quarter of a mile away. We dropped off the material for the night service and passed by the straw hangar again. I realized that it was a church. There must have been about 25 people there.
A few hours later I brought a car full of people to evangelize the neighborhood and invite people to the night services. Passing by the straw hangar again, there were now about 40-50 people. I saw them dancing and singing. After I got out of my car I could hear a man shouting and screaming. I’m not sure what he was doing, but he was probably shouting at the devil or demons. It sounded very bizarre. Some of the neighbors told me they are crazy.
We had our night service and God blessed. Two women came forward for salvation. Pastor Konate dealt with the women. He told me that they both prayed and received Jesus as their Saviour. That makes the whole meeting worthwhile.
He then told me a story about one of the women. She said that she had gone to the other church (the crazy one). She thought she was okay because the pastor prayed over her. He prayed that her sins be forgiven. He never explained that she was a sinner. He never explained what Jesus did for her. He never explained that she must repent and trust Jesus to save her from her sins. He just prayed over her. That is the sad reality of many of the churches that are here in Burkina Faso.
I call this type of pastor, “the powerful pastor”. He wants the people to believe that he can heal. He wants them to believe that he can save them from their sins. He wants them to believe that he can pray, and they will be blessed. His focus isn’t on Jesus but on him. I am not a powerful pastor, but I have a powerful Savior. I can’t save somebody from their sins, but I can point them to Jesus who can. I don’t have the power to bless them, but I know that God can. Praise the Lord that this lady didn’t keep her confidence in the “powerful pastor” but in the “powerful Jesus”.
