THE ESCAPADES OF CHURCH WORKERS (Prologue)

Written By Jezuzboi©

There are many things we engage ourselves in the moment we get to that stage in life where we begin to have a sense of responsibility; things like career, dreams, professions, studies, jobs, business, and so much more. Getting preoccupied with any of these engagements shows you off as a man or woman ready to make something tangible out of life before your time as human elapses. Be that as it may, there is a much more sensitive engagement which requires so much or so little to handle depending on the individual involved. Like the above mentioned, it requires time, concentration, focus, charisma, strength, will, and many other virtues too numerous to mention. This engagement is good! This engagement is rewarding! This engagement is cool! And this engagement is challenging! To satisfy your curiosity, it is my pleasure to bring to your notice that the said engagement is nothing less than “church work,” and those involved in this work can best be referred to as CHURCH WORKERS! Don’t flatter yourself. I know you knew already. The title says it all, doesn’t it? Alright then; let’s proceed!

This is the tale of a set of people from different worlds, formerly, and as a matter of fact, presently engaged in all sorts of jobs, occupations, careers and businesses. Some are students, and some others are yet to be engaged. Before they came together, they held onto various beliefs and orientations handed down to them by parents, guardians, backgrounds, schools, friends, situations, and all what not. But coming together as a church, it was required of them to hold onto a new belief and orientation handed down to the church by the head of the church through the great apostles of old. It wasn’t easy breaking off from their over twenty-year-old beliefs and orientations to embrace a new one which seemed somewhat more demanding and tedious. But having no better choice, and seeing the benefits attached to aligning with this new belief and orientation, they embraced it against all odds. Well, as far as public opinion was concerned, they did. But as far as private opinion was concerned, did they? Stick around and find out.


Thou shall not steal, thou shall not kill, thou shall not commit adultery, and the rest of the decrees that make up the Ten Commandments, along with the writings documented in the gospel, and as a matter of fact the whole bible, are the said beliefs and orientations they were required to live by till the day of their death; having eternal life thereafter as a primary compensation, after living enviable prosperous lives on earth. This reward surpasses all enticing and mouthwatering rewards that can be ascribed to any human. So they willingly opted in and commenced living a life they had never planned or hoped to live. Adapting wasn’t that easy. But they were not hurried to come to perfection, as perfection is only achievable over time, not overnight. So all the people who turned this new life began soaring on eagle’s wings, as abundant grace was available, such that is needful to preserve newborn babies and bring them to maturity; for indeed, they were new born babes. That’s why they’re called “BORN AGAIN.”

At the initial time, the journey was all a man could ask for. Money, fame, illicit affairs, and all the cares of this life were despised by these people. You wouldn’t dare utter profanity to their hearing! Not to mention taking the name of the Lord in vain. They will make it crystal clear to you that all who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But that all who shun such works and believe in Jesus like they did, will inherit the Kingdom of God and have eternal life. I myself concur that there’s nothing more a man could ask for, being that I belong to this category of people, my concurrence not based on sentiment. If you’ve ever had an encounter, you’ll attest intensely to these testimonies; both the former stated and of course, the latter. Stay with me.

“The Lord has blessed me! I prayed last night to God and asked him to give me a job as a front desk officer in Hotel La’ meridian. He over answered my prayer and made me the manageeeeerrr…..” That was Eze’s testimony to the brethren barely three weeks after he gave his life to Christ. The brethren were so sincerely happy for him and immediately maximized their prayer privilege to present various petitions to God; all of which were granted within 100 days; some, however, were granted within 24 hours. God is faithful, isn’t he? Of course, he is! From generation to generation he remains the same. He himself declared that he is not a man to lie, nor the son of man to repent. Whatever he says he will do, he surely does!

And God permits those who are born again to ask anything of him and be rest assured to receive all they have asked in the name of Jesus. This was the principle these workers operated by and had tremendous results to show for their followership of Jesus Christ the son of God. But time quickly came when they were supposed to have grown from being mere babes to becoming adults. Then also did the rules change; for they were no longer to be fed with milk, but rather, with meat. But it appeared some of them had not yet grown incisors worthy of gnawing spiritual meat. Or perhaps were still engrossed by the desire of sucklings.  Better still, were just unwilling to grow; for indeed, it requires work to attain the level of spirituality that would create in them the capacity to contain the said spiritual meat. So they remained babies for a longer time than necessary, and it became a catastrophe to write about! Follow me, I’m going somewhere.

Behold conquerors with their backs to the ground,
Like boxers knocked out in the 11th round,
Winning & conquering was all they did till now,
Now they mock themselves in the guise of playing the clown.

The bravest soldiers' shields have been lost,
Their double edged sword abandoned to rust,
Mourning their loss of the reward of the just,
As they dreadfully await their return to dust.

The above poem can be termed “the summary” of the latter state of those church workers who had not done all they had to do to grow into spiritual adulthood. Hence, jeopardizing their body, their soul, and indeed their spirit. This wasn’t how it all started. It was glorious in the beginning. How did it get to this point where these people swapped from being burdened with glorious purpose to being grieved with cursed blessings? How did the mighty fall so low? Indeed, the scripture had beforehand predicted the fall of many when it stated that “the first shall become the last, and the last shall become the first.”

So it further warned that those standing on high ground today should be careful not to fall tomorrow. This may just have been the case with these workers. No one can say for sure since the outward appearance is all that meets the eye. In order not to fall into the illusion of charisma, scripture enlightens us on how best to determine the true laborers of Christ, stating that by their fruits, you shall know them. Also proclaiming the said fruits to be LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, GENTLENESS, GOODNESS, FAITH, MEEKNESS, and TEMPERANCE: further stressing that against such, there is no law!

Woe betides me if I fail to mention that the likes of Eze, the brother who got a job as the manager of Hotel La’ meridian instead of the front desk officer he applied for, was soaring on high grounds. He had grown to commendable spiritual maturity in the sight of God and of men. He had become the youth president of his cathedral and was even a pastor-elect. His counterparts; Femi, Johnathan, Aliu and Ukpono were doing as well as he was, and that made them more like the Hebrew boys. They were true disciples. The clung to the sayings of the bible. They saw humility as vital. And believe me, they weren’t just running the cycle. They meant business! Unlike the others who by now could do no more than busy themselves with religious activities. 

But despite the clear-cut demarcation between these two sets of people, they had one thing in common; they were all “CHURCH WORKERS” and had to do the Lord’s business hand in hand. Now, this is where the story begins. Don’t worry, it will be an interesting read as usual. A lot of comic reliefs, happenings that touch the heart, lessons, and of course; experiences put together. Until I come your way again with the next chapter, I still remain your one and only; Jezuzboi. Keep a date!

To be continued.