Kayode Fasua
A non-denominational group, Christian-to-Christian Network (CCN) has declared the Founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua, as its Man of the Year for 2018, citing his contributions to humanity.
In a statement by its National President, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, the group said Joshua, apart from continually helping the less-privileged, had also boosted the Nigerian economy through the influx of foreigners to the SCOAN in Lagos, to obtain spiritual benefits.
“After a thorough assessment of church leaders in the country for the year gone by, we are overwhelmed enough to conveniently declare that Pastor T.B Joshua is our Man of the Year among Nigerian clerics for 2018.
“This is simply due to the fact that he keeps giving back to the society what the society gave to the Church. He has entrenched the original practice of the Church of the olden days, which took care of the needy, the less-privileged, and the weak among the brethren.
“During festivities, Joshua would gather the poor and distribute bags of rice, vegetable oil, clothing, and cash sums to those who ordinarily felt forsaken.
This is aside from giving scholarship, digging bore-holes for indigent rural dwellers, and empowering widows to be self-sustaining.
“Besides, we are also impressed with his continuous assistance to Nigerian emigrants in Libya, who are trapped under slavery and are in need of a helping hand to come back home and resettle,” the CCN said.
The body thus urged other men of God to take a cue from Joshua, “especially those who set up universities and other educational institutions that children of the less-privileged in their respective churches cannot attend, owing to exorbitant tuition fees.”
Meanwhile, the CCN, in the statement, also admonished Christian clerics against what it called “reckless predictions that tend to tarnish Christendom, but momentarily glorify individual selfish aggrandizement.”
It warned against the practice, quoting Ezekiel 13: 33 in the Bible, which states, “This is what the sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets, who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!”
The group said its advice was informed by contradictory predictions by different clerics, quoting the same God, on who will win next month’s presidential election.
