When Old School Bullies Become Pastors

I have been observing events surrounding the church and religion recently and realized there is a rise in news reports about church leaders abusing the power they have over their congregants. Perhaps this abuse of power has always been the case but in this information society it has brought these incidents to a wider audience. I think the church leaders have become bullies.

We may have all experienced bullying early in life, either as victims, from a distance or as the bullies. When I was in form one, I learnt at a boy school known to have a lot of bullies. They would send us to buy chips that cost $1.50, give us 50c and expect change. The bullies would stop you as you were walking, use white chalk to draw a circle around you and warn you not to step out of that circle until they released you. Sometimes they would just call you and you would rush to them to get a few slaps as their colleagues laughed heartily.

I do not see the difference between the above scenario and what is happening in the church today. After encountering all the life ills above and worse in the real world, I go to the church to seek peace. The Church is all over television, making publications and sending people door to door to tell me about a place that can help me overcome my troubles. The last place I expect to meet bullies is the church, however it seems pastors nowadays are turning into bullies. Maybe they have been so for a while and I am only noticing today.

Some of you may want to think that I am only talking of mental bullying. Indeed mental bullying is their first step and is the first step of any bully you have ever come across. Once a bully instills fear in your mind, you’re now in a position to be hurt physically or be made to do things that are unfair to you. I do not know the motives of the bully for doing this, perhaps he feels empowered for treating other human beings in an unfair manner.

In the church, the bully will make you eat grass, ban you from wearing underwear, tell you not eat certain foods, kick your back and maybe once in a while shave your wife’s head, tell her what to wear and deprive your children from watching television.

He will not be questioned, questioning him is sin. Reasoning and logic is evil as far as they are concerned and the pastor may actually “commit you to Satan”. I’m sure even if you live under a rock you have internet access to know what I am talking about.

I am talking about the pastor in Kenya who forbids women from wearing under garments, the pastor in South Africa who made people eat grass and Martin Gumbura, who raped, molested and mentally abused female congregants of his church. I am talking about church leaders that make congregants have a television hidden in their bedrooms while there are only sofas and a coffee table in the lounge. Perhaps the bullies I talked about early in this write up since grew up, went to Bible school and founded churches. The little bully in them still needed to live and show itself somewhere even after they were born again.

Christianity is not the only religion where bullying is present as we all know. I interact with Christianity more immediately than other religions. I don’t think it’s wise to blindly follow any faith. We allow these people to abuse us sometimes because our minds are filled with the amazing promises they make. It is absolutely okay to follow the faith of your choice but be able to identify oppression and abuse and stop it in its tracks.