Religion plays a major role in everyday lives, so also is the church where believers worship. Years back orthodox churches held sway but with the advent of Pentecostalism in Nigeria, the tide seemed to have changed as there is a mass exodus of the youths to the new generation churches, thereby leaving their parents in the congregations they termed old-time religion. They cited the collection of multiple offerings and long services, which they are not comfortable with. In an interview with ADEYEMI LAHANMI, founder of Lagos Dad, an outfit tailored towards mentoring of young Dads, Jesutola Ajao, an Orthodox Church member, bears his mind on the issue.
Why do we have more young people in New Generation churches than in Orthodox churches?
I think it’s around the dynamics of worship. Times are changing, and so should the church. The change I am saying is not changing the word of the gospel or what the scripture says, but in the area of worship, where we conduct our services. We had methods that were best practices then, but they should not be part of our worship today. Our church needs to evolve with time. Quite a number of Pentecostal churches are mixing things up with the gospel, but the good thing to learn from this is how structured, time-conscious, and focused they are in terms of youth growth and also bringing a sense of belonging.
You know when they feel seen, active without being pacified, chastised, but these things are normal in our Orthodox churches. When you have an idea that you are trying to sell to the church, it is shut down based on the fact that that person is young or does not have a father in the council meeting. These are major barriers, and when the youths can’t speak, they won’t stay and participate.
The participating patterns need to change, and youths need to be carried along more in our Orthodox churches. Some of the churches would say we are doing that, but it is based on their convenience as they are not being really involved in the true organisation of the church, especially in core decisions in which they are left out. Things that will benefit them will be denied to them because they will say it is not time yet, and will focus on ‘Old school patterns’
The Orthodox Church prides itself on being structured regarding its mode of worship, but it still faces the challenge. Should the structure be relaxed?
When I say structures, I mean Faith of Our Fathers Living Still. It means what has been passed down to us by our fathers. Times are evolving, and structures are to be renovated. The physical building that you have had for 100 years, you will want to modify to fit in with today, so it will not be considered old. Church is a venture, and the same method can’t be used to run the church.
Some may not agree with you calling the Church a venture. Kindly explain?
However, we want to look at it, the church is a venture. We preach the gospel, and when we do that, we embark on a journey with the mission to bring the lost souls back into the fold, and that is transactional. You tell someone, if you believe in Christ, your life is going to be transformed, and that is selling the gospel to the person, which makes it transactional because you are convincing them to come to you. It is also marketing because, however you want to preach this gospel to people in the dark, you must look at your methods. If your old methods are not working and are not sustaining the ones in your fold, there are other methods without taking out of the gospel that have been placed in your hands. You must look for other methods to ensure that the ones in the fold remain and don’t even look outside.
How solid are the sermons that we preach in our churches? How deep are they? Are we just preaching the stories that we hear? Are they properly researched? Has there been a meditation by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the message? So these are things that we must consider as members of the Orthodox Church.
The people of today, you just don’t tell them stories or try to convince them. They live beyond convincing, as you must show them. We need to go beyond our old patterns. There is a need to go beyond our old patterns, as well as go the extra mile to bring people into the fold.
Is it a case of young people going to places where they can be free to express themselves without being chastised? Let us take, for instance, the mode of dressing.
I shy away from comparing methods or what the new generation and Orthodox churches accept or don’t accept. It is not in my place to tell people what the scripture says, but it is crystal clear about what the Bible says in our mode of dressing. It says we should present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable. So, if you consider yourself a living sacrifice in Christ, there are certain ways you will not want to appear particularly in church.
Going back to the structure and by measure is what the Pentecostal churches have adopted in terms of youth evangelism. Our Orthodox churches are finally getting there by what is being done currently in terms of their youth fellowship, but I think it’s not too late to start, because the church is far behind. After all, our youths have gone to these new generation churches, and now it is a struggle to bring them back. It’s like someone who is 100,000 steps ahead of you, and you just want to start, you will need a lot of speed to catch up.
Are you saying the Orthodox Church needs a modification of its worship?
Yes. It needs to be. In some of our meetings, it has been discussed, but the question is asked: Should we change our pattern of worship? I say no, but invest in your pattern of worship. Invest in your sound and acoustics, invest in your ministers, and choir. It is very important to invest in these aspects, and some of our Orthodox churches are already doing this, but it can be better. We are not changing things, and we will continue to love our hymns, chants, enjoying the faith of our fathers and our standards, which can’t be lowered. As times are evolving, we need to look inwards, bring our young ones together, and ask why. They will give reasons, and some of our churches don’t talk about investments, careers, or even create time after service to talk about these things, but the Pentecostal churches do talk about it during service, and it interests the youths. What do you think a young man looking for direction will do when he hears someone talking about his interests? He will go there to listen and find direction. You are trying to help a toddler walk, and you are not walking yourself. How do you intend to make them walk? Everything must be in line with what the youths want, and it speaks of practicalities without lowering the gospel.
In today’s world, it’s now easy to pick up the phone and listen to the gospel even through podcasts, but they don’t need someone to come tell about the story again, but the practicalities of what the gospel is saying in today’s world, and something they can relate to. The emphasis on the Holy Spirit should not be put aside, and our preachers should be committed to what has been placed in their hands and not just doing it as a job.
Do the Orthodox churches place emphasis on the Holy Spirit or their structure hinders it especially in their sermons? For example a pastor can say he was led by the Holy Spirit to speak on a particular topic after having originally prepared for a service.
The place of the Holy Spirit is the same in all churches. Like I said, it depends on the bearer of the message. Some have been subjected to patterns, and some have allowed the Holy Spirit to use them. If you let the Holy Spirit use you, wisdom is profitable to direct. Back in those days, while most of our parents were against the excessiveness of people saying the Holy Spirit said this and that is because they had not experienced it, they felt it was a strange method, even speaking in tongues. The way the gospel was brought to the Orthodox Church is by prayer and being prayed for, and you go and is still being done today. That is why I said the church needs to evolve. When we say the priesthood of all believers and nations, during confirmation, you have been commissioned to be the bearer of the message. The barrier of not understanding what the message is or not directly having access to Christ is over. We must also ensure that our members grow in their understanding of the gospel of Christ. If you want to preach Christ, you must understand Christ and the Holy Spirit. The bearer of the message is very important, and the leaders of our church must know the place of the holy Spirit, and they must ensure the members understand it too.
People want to see practical examples of what Christ said in today’s world, and his words are relevant forever, but to be able to pass on this message, the preacher must understand the message and be able to relate it to today’s world.
One area that is a catch for young people is the area of Music. We can’t deny that music plays an important part. What is the difference in the Orthodox and Pentecostal style of music?
I am a classical/contemporary type of music lover. I am a carrier of hymns, chants, and songs. What I feel our church should do is not to compare ourselves with the Pentecostals by singing like them. What our Orthodox churches need to do is invest in their Church choir and sound. I appreciate that some churches are taking that route. Even when you enter some of these churches, you will see that they have invested in their choir.
The first thing that pisses off anybody in the church is a distorted sound, which we find in some of our Orthodox churches. In some churches, you can barely hear her ministers because of bad sound coming from the Public Address System. Service should sound as if it has been pre-rehearsed, and if you go to Pentecostal churches, it would seem that the pastor and choir have rehearsed. Our services must be organised because we have a structure. It is during service that we figure ourselves out in terms of sound. The Orthodox Church must invest in its choir, sound, and methods.
