Nigeria's pastors run multi-million dollar businesses which rival that of oil tycoons, a Nigerian blogger who has researched the issue has told the BBC.
Mfonobong Nsehe, who blogs for Forbes business magazine, says pastors own businesses from hotels to fast-food chains. "Preaching is big business. It's almost as profitable as the oil business. The joint wealth of five pastors was at least $200m (£121m)" he said.
Oyibo people can't believe what they are hearing...lol. Read the BBC report here
32 comments:
Maaaaaddaaaammm leave these Men of God alone oooo! Eni awi fun oba je ki o gbo.
Why won't the pastors be as rich as oil barons when their followers have been brainwashed to tithe their money way. Church goers are driving jalopies, pastors own jets, SMH.
Seriously, I'm in the wrong business. I need followers for my "Out of Gas Church of Heaven International" I'd charge 5% lower rate tithe and offer money back guarantee if after 50 yrs of being a member you'd not experienced rapture or miracle ( big or small ) in your life. I'd charge £5k annual membership fee. Ladies enter free before midnight vigil. The more friends that joins, the lower tithe you pay.
Im kiddying :)
@R4
#DEAD!
hahahahaha
as i said in the previous post, this is part of the reason why i don't believe in going to church and that church is a total scam, ESPECIALLY IN NIGERIA! when will these church goers WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! i dont blame them, many of them are illiterate, so all they know is God and the Bible but they don't or can't use their heads to THINK. they are expecting all these miracles from pastors. I know some older people in my village that seem to take orders from the pastor more than anything else, this madness has got to stop. WORSHIP GOD HOW YOU FEEL YOU SHOULD WORSHIP HIM AND STOP RUNNING TO THE PASTOR EXPECTING HEAVEN TO FALL! MTCHEWWW!
#thatisall
ok linda arent u supposed to praying for divine protection. Leave men of God alone, you arent God and in no position to judge anyone. The dude basically wrote same thing he did for forbes.
Please do an article on this guy, because even when I google him, I cant find much. Question is who is he? seems like another one looking for some kind of journalistic spotlight. If he was that great, he would be a paid writer for them, instead of a free featured forbes blog.
linda, is this one of your favorite topics? im sure iv come across all variations of this topic about 10 times or more in the past one year.
i suggest you let some issues be. whether or not what these ppl are doing is right, they are still anointed men, and it is for a reason that God said "Touch not MY anointed". i am not saying what they are doing is right or wrong, i am suggesting you leave them to God so that what does not concern you will not concern you. cheers.
LMHOOOO @ R4
When will Nigerian Churchgoers wake up? Shame on the greedy men.
I said it and I will always say it, it is a sin to give money, by any means, to a pastor!
If it is possible to avoid giving offerings in church, just do it. Give your offerings to your relatives, friends, neighbors and the less privileged directly, maybe through a reputable NGO.
Trust me, you will see a change in your life
But Nigerians never learn. In a society where there is too much poverty, men of God make the riches because desperate and poor people run to pastors seeking divine intervention!
God is in you, seek him at home, believe He will be there. Pray with your family at home and share your problems with your immediate family, and there shall surely be a solution!
This pastors are just like every business men who will lie to their customers to make profits!
John 3:16- "For God so Love the world that He sent His only Son!" (He didn't send Pastor Chris, Bishop Oyedepo, inmate Rev. King or even the Pope!)
Dr Chinedu; i clapped for you!
Touch not my anointed is an overused cliché! Who anointed who? We are all anointed BTW as long as we are children of God.
Some one on this blog is citing the portion that says ;touch not my anointed,,,,,, Now I want to ask you did linda touch the pastor . So if your son is behaving immorally you keep quite because of the portion that says ;thou shall not judge. Na waa ohh.
The same way Nigerian politician are greedy that's how some of the Nigerian pastors are, very greedy.Did the holy book glorify greed. Must you milk your members to prove to us that God loves you. The Nigerian pastors are more desperate than business men. Abacha ,,, Ibori looted govt treasurey and you talked about them now these Pastors milk their members through high-level indoctrination and brainwashing and some of you are here supporting them.
Being a Pastor does not guarantee making Heaven , so dont be deceived. be wise and keep emotion aside.
Some one on this blog is citing the portion that says ;touch not my anointed,,,,,, Now I want to ask you did linda touch the pastor . So if your son is behaving immorally you keep quite because of the portion that says ;thou shall not judge. Na waa ohh.
The same way Nigerian politician are greedy that's how some of the Nigerian pastors are, very greedy.Did the holy book glorify greed. Must you milk your members to prove to us that God loves you. The Nigerian pastors are more desperate than business men. Abacha ,,, Ibori looted govt treasurey and you talked about them now these Pastors milk their members through high-level indoctrination and brainwashing and some of you are here supporting them.
Being a Pastor does not guarantee making Heaven , so dont be deceived. be wise and keep emotion aside.
@Alicia, a beg keep quiet u are saying rubbish
All you guys opening your mouth to say things you know nothing about, I feel really sorry for you!
Many of you haven't/don't read the bible to know what it says for yourselves. You just go off on a tangent of your own and expose the condition of your hearts.
For example, what will you have said if you'd been there when Mary poured an expensive perfume on Jesus' body the cost of which would have feed plenty poor people? Many would certainly have gone the way of Judas Iscariot, no be so? But what was Jesus' response to the disciples' indignation? Go read for yourselves Mark 14 vs 1-10
What I know of a certainty is that you will surely believe the day you need a miracle and that includes you Linda!
research my foot?
this guy needs to get a legitimate job.
everyone knows these pastors are rich.i am no fan of theirs but i think this is stale gist.
Linda your obsession with this topic is getting worrying.
To all those screaming leave the pastors alone, WARRA HELL!
If they can judge we sinners like no man's bizness, we too can judge their actions too.
udegbunam, you can say that to make yourself feel better. but i know that one of the first rules in any church that is truly a church is recognising that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. i am sure each and every one of these pastors recognizes and acknowledges the part of the Bible that says "judge not, so you will not be judged"... however, if you sit there and feel the need to say they are judging you simply because they might point out that what you're doing is not aligned with what's in the Bible, you are on your own with that one.
@oscar, no linda did not touch the pastors. but as an aside, are you acquinted with the concept of figures of speech. for the purpose of argument, i would assume you are and remind you that verbal slandering or an incitement to do so is as much damage as a physical confrontation.
all i am saying is why doesn't linda work out her own salvation and leave these men of God to do so. If their money-spending aches you to the marrows, don't go to their church. chikena. abi? but you would do yourself well to leave judgements on how or not they spend their money to them and to God. He that has ears, let him hear. #thatisall
all the people supporting the pastors and saying leave them alone must be children or relatives to rich, greedy, pastors. (or even sleeping with the pastors sef)
bwahahahaha! :)
Dr Chinedu thumbs up to ur comment
and to everyone here, we should not judge these men as God said but then its also hard to question why they have so much wealth which is/not distributed; this i dunno but it begs the question of why so many poor ppl r still in the churches.
linda what is with you and men of GOD?are they not suppose to be rich??? it is only the poor people who are not living the God kind of life that will complain
@Myne Whitman when will you come out of darkness and stop living in poverty? as a child of God you are not suppose to be struggling Jesus has already taken your poverty and given you hid riches,why then do expect God children to still be poor
All of you that sit on your computers and critise Men of God that walk with the Holy Ghost are under deception by satan.
Jesus said in His word to the Pharisees that you can insult Me but not the Holy Ghost. That if you do, it is a SIN that can NOT be forgiven. The Pharisees said Jesus was using demonic powers to cast out devils but instead they were talking about the Holy Ghost. That is why it is imperative that you should not critize a man of God because if you do so,you are insulting the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost is God,if you are not sure about a pastor let God be the Judge of him, leave it to the almighty God.
@Alicia, linda and co. its unfortunate you've all have a problem with Gods children being rich but think its ok for kanye,jayz and rihanna to be rich instead.
When you walk away from the light,darkness automatically takes over.Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and other truely anionted pastors were sent by Jesus to be the light of the world,therefore it is not late to come into that glorious inheritance in Christ Jesus.
@ Ada, Mfonobong Nsehe is actually a fully-paid employee at forbes. I think he's the African correspondent or something. I read his article on the hard copy Forbes Magazine sometime this month.
Like I said, Alicia is a big IDIOT!!! Most churchgoers are illiterate? Really? Seems she is the one that is the illiterate and speaks about what she know nothing of.
That said.I'm not on anyone's side but you all should mind your own business. All of una no get moni, dat na why e dey pepper una. Even if the church members did give them moni, na ur own? Why e dey worry u na?
If you actually used half the time you spend running people(who don't know you and don't give a fuck about you) down thinking up ideas that would add value to your lives, I suspect you too would be nearly as rich as they are and you won't have time to do the crap you are doing now. You'd probably be in Barbados or somewhere. Lol.
All of u r ignorant. Wetin concern all of una? Na ya money dem collect? Mind ya own businesses!!!! Tatafo people. Who made u guys God? Abi, no be only God wey get power to judge? Be careful that you don't fall into bigger sin yourselves by what you are doing.
To give Pastor na sin? Which bible dem write dat one? A DDS should mean u r educated (I'm one myself) so u disappoint me Dr Chiedu.
I do research myself. How did this man go about getting the data he used for this research? I know these men didn't give him their financial documents for him to know exactly what these people are worth. Covenant University is a functioning university. Money gotten is used to maintain the school. Does the fact that a school is worth $10 million and generates $2 million annually (hypothetical o!) mean that all that money goes into Oyedepo's pocket? The article mentioned businesses which are not by any of these pastors but by the churches so essentially, they belong to the church members. The jets you say Oyedepo owns were bought in the name of the church. Unless he buys them himself later, he can't own them. They belong to the church. He can use them, but they are not his. If the church goes bankrupt (hypothetical), It will be sold as one of the church's assets.
How hard is it to own house in the UK or US? Don't you know people that own as well? I have friends over there who own two or three. Donald Trump and Robert (Rich dad, Poor dad) tell us how easy it is. Its called a MORTGAGE!!!!!
Newspaper and publishing? How hard is that to set up? Many people have printing presses and the church probably thought (with all their newsletter and programs for all parishes) it would be cheaper for them to set up one. How is it now Chris Oyakhilome's personal property? That is why church members give. Cos its for the church.
But that is what this reporter claims constitutes these pastors net worth. Assets that they don't own. Assets that belong to the church.
Y'all are the illiterate people. You guys need to know that most of these are speculation and hearsay and not authenticated. Give me proof. Substantiate it with evidence like the all purchase documents in any pastors name and you'll make me a disciple. Until then, its still gossip and not fact. So don't crucify these pastors.
Does the fact that I was given a car or a house as a gift mean that I can on my own afford to buy it?
P.s - Its not only pentcostal churches o! The catholic church is one of the richest churches in the world. I can assure you that the Pope flies in a private jet. What about all the artwork from great masters? And finest of everything? Real estate nko? The church owns a whole city with banks, etc. Does the Pope own them? Like you say, shouldn't this money be used for poor people. Can people who are hungry appreciate artwork? you I personally witnessed Archbishop Okojie's 75th birthday celebration from my office. U should have seen his convoy. No be small thing. Plus all the police and MOPOL wey dey there.
My dear, God has said He would bless those that take up the cross and follow Him. I see Him blessing them all (even the catholic church). So what is your beef?
And y'all that don't believe in tithing, no need to bash it. I don't believe in praying to the Virgin Mary, but I don't bash it. No one is forcing me to do it and any one that does believes in that principle. So who am I to bash it? Its called respect for religion.
Even if you want people to stop doing something, bashing it is not the way to go about it. It just makes people defensive.
When we meet God, we will know who was right and who was wrong. Till then, mind your own and worry about getting yourselves into heaven.
leave them
Anon June 16, 2011 11:14 PM; you sure sound like the real illiterate. The Pope flies in a private jet? Yes, which one? Are Alitalia planes now private jets? Plus, you must be so dumb to compare the Pope to these so called God of Men.
Have you ever read your Bible to see that we as men can judge?
There are numerous portions in the Bible that says we should judge, rebuke and correct.
1 Timothy: 5; 20 (similar to Ephesians 5; 11) – them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
Matthew 18; 15 and Luke 17; 3 (similar to Leviticus 19; 17) – take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespasses against thee, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
Ezekiel 33; 8 – when I say onto the wicked, O wicked man thou shall surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked of his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.
The Bible makes it clear that we can judge but not judge wrongly.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged” Matthew 7:1; so many people get the real meaning completely wrong. This is especially true since the context makes it clear what Jesus meant by these words. When Jesus said that we should not judge unless we are also judged, he was not saying that we are not to judge if the behavior is sin or not. What he was saying was giving us a caution to make sure that we are willing to be judged by the same standard of judgment. This verse is not a warning against judging an action. It is a warning against self-deception and hypocrisy.
Bursting forth with the words, “judge not” should in no way intimidate anyone from deciding if something or someone is sinful or not.
Go and broaden your horizons please. The words illiterate and ignorant are now overused clichés!!
in Nigeria, most of the churchgoers are illiterate. and how am i so sure of this, BECAUSE MOST NIGERIANS ARE ILLITERATE IN GENERAL! DUH!
look at the people in Akwa Ibom and what they are doing to themselves all in the name of religion/pastor. HISSS NONSENSE!
I've nothing against wealth. I'm against people getting scammed. Religion in Africa, especially, Christianity, is a massive SCAM thanks to guilible black people, especially Nigerians.
@ Alicia, the "Educated". Is stereotyping an activity that educated people display? So the fact that a percentage of Akwa Ibom people (population -3.9 million, 2006 census) now mean that 140 million Nigerians are illiterate?
@Ch5335ng: Those bible passages you quoted do NOT actually use the word judge! And that is what you guys are doing. A lot of people are not in agreement but are careful not to judge or condemn. In all your quotes, funny how you left out important ones that actually say DON'T JUDGE like - Matt 7:1-5, Luke 6:37, John 7:24, Rom 2: 1-3, Matt 7:5 (and I can go on). Since you seem well acquainted with your bible, I will leave you to look them up yourself.
No one is saying you can't register your displeasure. What people are saying is be careful how you do it.
My bad about the Pope. He does fly Alitalia (though chartered). By the way, in response to your outrage about my comparing Pastors to Popes. Are they not all 'Men' of God? Pls go and read up the history about the earlier Popes and we can have another discussion on that topic.
Plus the Pastors that own jets say these jets are used for missions (flying food and other items) to missionary locations outside Nigeria.
I noticed TB Joshua came out to say he isn't actually worth what they claim he is which gives credence to my argument that this might just be all speculation. I'm surprised that the 'reporter' at Forbes didn't say what the Magazine is always quick to say about in other countries (for fear of lawsuits) that information such as this one is an estimation.
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