A Powerful New Statement on the “Prosperity Gospel”

In two consultations at Akropong, Ghana (October 2008 and September 2009), the Lausanne Theology Working Group, Africa chapter developed a new and powerful statement addressing “the phenomenal rise of prosperity teaching around the world at large and Africa in particular.”

The statement, released online this month by Christianity Today, declares that “it is our overall view that the teachings of those who most vigorously promote the 'prosperity gospel' are false and gravely distorting of the Bible, that their practice is often unethical and unChristlike, and that the impact on many churches is pastorally damaging, spiritually unhealthy, and not only offers no lasting hope, but may even deflect people from the message and means of eternal salvation. In such dimensions, it can be soberly described as a false gospel.”

The statement offers a detailed, and fairly comprehensive, series of affirmations and rejections focusing on the major defects of this neopentecostal theology and the widespread damage it causes. We commend it to everyone who has an interest in the future of Christianity in Africa.

En route to Kenya

ACFAR coordinator Rodgers Atwebembeire is on his way to Kenya for several days of ministry. Plans include preaching on discernment and the defense of the Gospel at a conference in Rititi, as well as various research-related meetings. Please remember him in your prayers.

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An important update from ACFAR coordinator Rodgers Atwebembeire

What a timely and timeless blessing ACFAR is to the malnourished church in East Africa! There could be no better moment than this for such assistance.

As floods of western relativistic tendencies and postmodern idealism sweep the region, the church finds itself ill-equipped to sustain its relevance in an unpredictable, constantly changing society.

The most subtle and venomous enemy of the church is the invasion of cults—pseudo-Christian and aberrant groups, both foreign and traditional—now arising to challenge orthodox beliefs. Syncretism, unsound theological trends, widespread ignorance of God’s Word, a lack of discernment, social benefits promised by the cults, the unpreparedness of pastors, and other factors heighten the predicament in which the church finds itself.

The African church needs to stand in defense of the Gospel. It must emphasize both formative education and corrective discipline. It must seek to win cultists to the truth rather than simply brand them as its enemies. And it must teach the absolute truth of God’s Word, defending it from misinterpretations and corrupting influences. This will require biblically informed leaders, theologically knowledgeable men and those passionate for the defense and preservation of the Christian faith.

In partnership with Kampala School of Evangelical Theology (KEST), ACFAR is organizing training conferences for the week of March 14–20, 2010. The timing coincides with the tenth anniversary of the doomsday cult tragedy in Kanungu which left nearly a thousand people dead. We hope to gather about 400 pastors and church leaders from all over Uganda. Themes will include the authority and reliability of the Bible, practical apologetics and evangelism, resisting the “prosperity gospel,” and the challenge of cults and child sacrifice in Uganda.

Will you commit to praying with us from now until the conferences? We realize that in planning these training events we are about to enter a season of spiritual warfare, and every prayer, every petition, from the saints of God matters greatly!

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An Important Article on the New Apostolic Church

Dr. Victor Kuligin has graciously granted us permission to post his article on the New Apostolic Church to the ACFAR web site. The article, which first appeared in the Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology (Vol. 24, No. 1—2005), offers a rare critique of a cultic movement that’s growing rapidly across Africa with little resistance.

He writes: “With over ten and a half million members worldwide in over 72,000 congregations, the NAC is a church to be reckoned with. Nearly three-fourths of its membership is in Africa, making it one of the largest single denominations in the entire continent....with nearly sixteen times more members in Africa than in Europe. From the surface, the NAC appears to be just another Protestant denomination, but a deeper investigation yields some disturbing theology and practices in this church.”

In conclusion, Dr. Kuligin states that “we can conclude that the NAC is not simply another church or denomination but is in fact a cult.” He adds: “Whereas often we find ourselves concentrating on the ‘classic’ cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons, neither of these compare to the NAC in terms of membership numbers and influence on the continent. In the next decade, the membership of the NAC will approach ten million Africans. Teaching concerning this cult should play a more prominent role in the education of evangelical church leaders and pastors, and subsequently of evangelical believers continent-wide.”

The Prosperity Gospel in Africa: “Did Jesus Wear Designer Robes?”

The November issue of Christianity Today (pp. 38–41) offers an important new article about the damage wrought by the Prosperity Gospel on Africa. You can read the article here, watch the related video here, and go “behind the scenes” with the filmmakers here.

Excerpt: “The gospel of Jesus Christ—with its promise of liberation, deliverance, forgiveness, grace, and restoration—can never be a gospel of poverty. But just as the Bible does not glorify poverty, neither does it glorify greed. Scripture consistently warns that the pursuit of worldly interests can lead us to neglect the deeper values of the kingdom of God. Yet this is exactly what happens in the biblical interpretations favored by prosperity teachers.”

Why I'm Excited about the Future of ACFAR...

“Many leaders can’t tell the difference between true orthodox faith and cultism....
As a trained minister, and as a former victim of the above, I believe it’s my mandate to go out and teach the centrality and essentiality of Scripture—the Christ-centered Christian worldview and the integration of faith with the rest of life”
Rodgers Atwebembeire, new Ugandan Coordinator for ACFAR

Dear Friend,

After the deadline of my family moving to East Africa by the end of May came and went, I wondered about the future of ACFAR. As it turns out, God was about to answer our prayers in a wonderful and unexpected way.

But before I explain, consider how much Christ has already blessed our ministry! Thanks to your support…

• We’ve developed a strong network of strategic partnerships with ministries here and in Africa
• We’ve taught in various venues—including over 200 pastors at last month’s conference in Kampala
• We’ve conducted substantial research into a wide range of cults and false teachings in East Africa
• We’ve built a blog and web site—both of which will serve as a growing and ongoing resource
• We’ve begun distributing tracts, pamphlets, books, CDs, and DVDs to Christian workers and organizations across Uganda
• We’ve laid the foundation for long-term outreach in the region, including training events for pastors and Christian workers

My most recent trip to Uganda confirmed the great strides we’ve made in advancing biblical discernment in Africa. Over the last few years, our Lord has allowed us to do far more than I imagined possible. So many wonderful things happened in Kampala last month that I can’t recount them all.

But one meeting in particular has enabled us to finalize our transition period and launch a revised strategy for equipping Christians across East Africa...

When we met with Pastor Gerald Sseruwagi of New City Church in Kampala, he strongly recommended Rodgers Atwebembeire, one of his personal disciples, as a candidate to coordinate ACFAR’s work in East Africa.

Who is Rodgers? A Ugandan minister who just graduated from Africa Bible University at the top of his class. He comes highly recommended by everyone with whom we’ve spoken, from his professors to his pastor. And he has a heart for apologetics, having already done live question-and-answer radio programs in English and other languages to help Ugandan believers, along with many other ministry opportunities.

With Rogers as ACFAR’s new coordinator, the future is bright. Our strategy for the next phase of ministry includes:

Tools

• Literature—including all-new tracts in English and local languages, and a practical quarterly newsletter on discernment for evangelical pastors
• Electronic resources—including the multilingual apologetics resource collection

Training

• Conferences for pastors and university campus workers in 2010

Research

• Monitoring cultic movements via group-specific research and mass media sources
• In-depth interviews with denominational and parachurch leaders, as well as Christian educators, on how to address the challenge of the cults and false teaching

Therefore, I’m stepping down as ACFAR’s director, though I’ll continue in an advisory role as my time allows. Dr. Sam Waldron, one of the pastors of Heritage Baptist Church in Owensboro, Kentucky and Academic Dean at Midwest Center for Theological Studies, has asked me to assist him in some of his ministry responsibilities. After much prayer, fasting, and counsel, Jennifer and I are preparing to move our family to Owensboro.

I’m grateful for all that God has done over the last several years. And while this may be a time of uncertainty for me, I continue to trust in the One in whom I live and serve. Now we have a local African willing to continue our vision. I can’t wait to see what will happen in the upcoming years through Rodgers’ faithful service to Christ.

ACFAR is moving forward—and it needs your support now more than ever! I ask you to continue praying for our ministry and for Rodgers. And I humbly request that you join Jennifer and me in supporting ACFAR in every way possible in the months and years ahead.

Because of His grace,

John Divito, Director
Africa Center for Apologetics Research (ACFAR)

P.S. Let us renew our commitment to helping our African brothers and sisters follow the instruction of the Apostle John: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

I'm Back With Exciting News!

Now that I have returned from Uganda, I wanted to post the updates which were sent out to our prayer partners and supporters. Below is a message I sent on Friday, August 7th. Do you feel left out? You don't need to be! Simply sign up for future e-mail updates here.

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Dear Friend,

Last week I wrote to thank you for your prayers, and about the tremendous response to our ministry at the Calvary Chapel pastors’ conference in Kampala, Uganda.

Here’s the rest of the story.

Our final three days in Uganda focused on strategy meetings with Christian leaders. And here’s what stands out.

They didn’t just ask us to help them; they offered their facilities, their manpower, and other resources to get the job done. A large-scale training event in early 2010, focusing on cults and false teaching, now appears very likely. Two highly placed leaders made a startling offer to use radio and other mass media to give us a national platform for exposing error. We also interviewed two gifted nationals who could serve as ACFAR’s “feet on the ground” in the months ahead.

Even though my family isn’t moving to East Africa, God’s hand on ACFAR is plain to see. We now have a strong basis for developing a new ministry strategy in these last days of our transitional period.

I’ve never seen so much hunger from African church leaders who want to grow in biblical discernment.

We must help them.

God has used your prayers and support to bring us this far! Please continue standing with us as we lay the groundwork for the future of ACFAR.

Because of His grace,

John Divito, Director
Africa Center for Apologetics Research (ACFAR)