Hospitality and care for the needy have always been the hallmark of New Testament Christianity. Growing up as a young boy, the Mission House (home of the pastor) was a place every church member could call their home. The doors were always open, and even a wandering stranger could show up and be sure to find a cup of water and a loaf of bread. This practice might still be the norm among mainstream traditional churches.
However, as we survey the current state of the Church in Ghana, you can’t help but wonder whether the church is truly a home for the vulnerable; and whether the many ‘love one another commands’ we see in the New Testament are even a consideration.
Within many Ghanaian Christian circles today, churches are more concerned about the number of attendees than the eternal state of the souls who show up on Sunday mornings. The charge to shepherd the flock, which Jesus has purchased with his own blood (Acts 20:28), is only an afterthought. The more I read the accounts of the early church recorded in Acts 4:32-35, the more I wonder if we are on the right track as the body of Christ in Ghana. In those verses, Luke tells us,
“32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.“
Believers Must be of One Accord
It is striking how Luke characterised the early church. He describes them as “those who believed.“ This description is of paramount importance, because the church must consist of those who have believed.
Unfortunately, in many of our churches, we are more concerned about the number of attendees than those who actually believe. There is an ungodly competition to show off who has the largest congregation. No wonder more than half of the population is in church every Sunday, yet the country is in so much corruption and darkness. Could it be our churches are filled with people who have not truly believed?
Luke also tells us in verse 33 that, these believers “were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.“
You can call it whatever you want, communism or socialism, but you cannot miss the unity that existed among the early believers. There was an intense desire among the early church to care for one another. If you read early church documents like the Letter to Diognetus, you will discover that togetherness and care for one another drew the world’s attention to the Christian faith.
I once attended a church where the disparity among the members was so palpable. It was not written on the wall, but there was a clear understanding that there were two groups of people, the “Haves“ and the “Have Nots.“ And the pastor made sure the “Haves“ knew how special they were since their tithes kept the wheels of the ministry moving, or so he thought. Unfortunately, the situation in that church is not unique; this is the state of many churches in Ghana today.
The world is organised on the basis of social status: the school you attended, the car you drive, the neighbourhood you live in, how much money you earn, etc. But not so the church. Jesus came to break down barriers and unite all those who trust in him into one body. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus“ (Galatians 3:28). Therefore, creating these distinctions within the church is only a sign that we haven’t truly understood what it means to be followers of Christ.
We Should Look out for the Needy Among Us
Another feature of the early church was how they cared for the poor. The poor have always occupied a central place in the redemptive story of God.
We see this teaching in countless places in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, we read about how God chose the weak and lowly of the world to bring to nothing things that are. In speaking against the sin of partiality, James writes, “has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.“ (James 2:1-5).
After he visited the other apostles in Jerusalem, Paul wrote in Galatians 2:1-5), “only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” Again, in Proverbs 19:17, we read,“whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.“
Why does God care so much about the poor? It’s because the state of poverty serves as an object lesson to describe the true state of every Christian before God. In Matthew 5:3 Jesus taught his disciples, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“ The financially poor serve as a reminder of our true state before God.
It is no wonder the early church took special care of the needy and the poor among them. Luke tells us, “for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.“ He tells us that because of this generosity and care for one another, “there was not a needy person among them.“
Unfortunately, this is not what we see among many of our churches in Ghana. It is not uncommon on a Sunday morning to find two “believers“ sitting on the same pew, under the same preaching, yet one is overflowing with wealth and the other doesn’teven know where the next meal will be coming from. They barely speak to one another in church, yet they call themselves brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s making a mockery of the body of Christ. The Bible is alien to such Christianity.
Pastors Must Lead by Example
All the while giving within the Ghana church has not decreased; rather, it has increased. However, unlike what we see in the early church, this giving is not trickling down to the needy. In Acts, we read that owners sold their properties and brought the proceeds to the apostles, who in turn distributed them to meet the needs of the poor.
But that’s not what we see in many of our churches. There is a strong emphasis on giving to the pastor and nobody else. Somehow these believers have been taught that God will bless them only if they “sow“ into the life of the “Man of God.“ We should definitely support our pastors as we see in 1 Timothy 5:18, however, like the early church, we should equally look out for the poor among us; and pastors must lead this endeavour.
There is a strong emphasis on bringing all the titheto the storehouse—which is interpreted to mean the pastor (a misapplication of Malachi 3:10); as a result, there is no extra bandwidth for Christians to fulfil any of the one-another commands we see in Scripture.
In my experience, I have seen pastors who keep receiving, but nothing goes to the needy. They live in fortified mansions and drive expensive cars; in some cases, the church members don’t even know where the pastor lives, let alone pass by for a cup of water or a slice of bread. That’s not what we see in the book of Acts. Pastors must show example of what it means to care for the poor.
If your church is not caring for the poor among you, it’s losing an ample gospel opportunity. And if your pastor cares more about your giving to him than to the poor, they may be in for the money. In John 13:35 Jesus said, “by this all people will know that you my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Again, in Matthew 25:40, he told his disciples, “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.“
In the early church, we see that preaching God’s word was backed by transformed lives and love for one another. This is what caused the early churchto grow and the Kingdom of God to powerfully advance in the Roman Empire.
Is it possible that in Ghana today, even though most of the population identifies as Christian, we haven’t seen much impact because our confession (where it’s genuine) is not backed by a real Christian community?
Sena, you are right in one sense. In that, the needy have not been catered for enough. Partly due to the fact that the current structure of the church is a bit difficult to identify a genuinely needy person. I have been taken advantage of before, whereby some people make it a business to collect support. However, this should not stop the church from fulfilling its mandate. I think that restructuring the church – bringing back the early church structure of the cell system is key to helping to cater for the needs of all. the mass production church is not efficient and effective as compared to the cell system where we know everyone as a person, what he does and how we can be of help to that believer. It will start, I believe, with going back to the cell system and using that system to identify and support the needy.
You make a very good point Al Qar. The current church structures are not healthy. The early church knew exactly who their members were. Unfortunately, in our current landscape where we are only concerned about numbers, we even fail to know who is saved and who is not. Who is in and who is out. It all starts with having a healthy church. Thanks for sharing.