Gospel of Success Thrives in Africa

In a recent issue of Christian Century, Paul Gifford talks about a rapidly growing segment of Christianity in Africa:

Though virtually all forms of Christianity in Africa are experiencing explosive growth, the churches growing most spectacularly are the ones that are Pentecostal or neo-Pentecostal or "Pentecostal-like." After 23 years of visiting African churches, I would venture another generalization: the growing Pentecostal churches have one thing in common—a focus on achieving success. Discussing African Pentecostalism without discussing its emphasis on success is like discussing computers without mentioning software.

In this form of Christianity, a believer is successful; if not, something is very wrong. This emphasis can be seen in the names of the churches: Victory Bible Church, Jesus Breakthrough Assembly, Triumphant Christian Centre. The titles and themes of conventions, crusades and conferences repeat this emphasis: "Living a Life of Abundance," "Taking Your Territories," "Stepping into Greatness." For all these churches, size and expansion are tangible signs of success—which is why the terms Global, World or International appear in so many of their titles...

I remember listening to a sermon broadcast in Ghana. My wife, who heard the sermon with me, observed at the end: "Did you notice that Jesus wasn't mentioned in that sermon, but Bill Gates was twice?" I hadn't noticed, because in this sector of Christianity that omission is unremarkable.

The theme of success emerges also in an explicit preaching of a prosperity gospel according to which God has met all the needs of human beings in the suffering and death of Christ, and every Christian should now share in Christ's victory over sin, sickness and poverty—blessings which can be obtained by a confession of faith. This gospel is invariably linked with ideas of "seed faith," or with the biblical image of "sowing and reaping." Tithes and offerings become instruments of prosperity...

What are we to make of this phenomenon? One's judgment is likely to be tied to one's understanding of the African context. The continent obviously has been shaped by colonialism, the cold-war rivalry of the superpowers, the world trade system and a huge burden of debt. But in my view the most significant fact about Africa is the dysfunctional political culture that permits an unaccountable elite to appropriate wealth and power at the expense of the people.

The gospel of success does little to challenge this dysfunctional political structure. For one thing, many preachers openly claim that the political-economic system simply doesn't matter, because a born-again Christian will prosper under any political or economic regime. For a child of God, normal principles of politics or economics don't apply. I've heard a Winners pastor in Ghana even tell his congregation to stop complaining about the collapse of the currency: "Even if the cedi [comes to be worth] 10,000 to the dollar, even if you have to carry sackfuls of it, it doesn't affect you. Why? Because where it comes from [namely God's plenty] never runs out." Indeed, the movement exemplifies the "Big Man" disease that is the curse of Africa. The cars and houses of pastors (acquired through a theology of tithing and seed faith) are purchased at the expense of the people they are theoretically serving, just as the politicians' wealth is gained through "service" of their constituents.

Yuk.