The Church is Now Full of People Without the Heart for God – Archbishop Eric Emiaso

Archbishop Eric U. Emiaso, the head of mission and the first enthroned presiding archbishop of Gospel Church of Christ Worldwide, is an alumnus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), a graduate of Haggai Institute Hawaii, and International Miracle Institute USA. 

A stickler to Christian discipline and principles. An astute Bible teacher, conference speaker, leader and prominent figure within the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) where he was widely acknowledged and lauded for his message of hope and faith for Nigeria’s future, during the 18th National Biennial Conference in Abuja, emphasising it requires prayers for the country and its leaders.

He bears his mind to Gracious Akintayo on the present state of the church and the society. Excerpt;

As the head of mission and the first Archbishop of GCC Worldwide, describe your leadership journey. 

I give God the glory for everything, it is not by power nor by might, but by God’s spirit, grace and power. 

My leadership journey as the head of mission of Gospel Church of Christ Worldwide, also as the first Archbishop, has been challenging and exciting. So far, God has been my helper, and I give Him all the glory. The journey has been smooth and stable. No breakaway or infighting among members and the leadership of the church. It has been peaceful since I came in as the head of mission. It’s a privilege I don’t take for granted as the first Archbishop in a mission you didn’t find. I return all the glory to God for the privilege. 

The most important is the acceptance, love and genuine honour being accorded me by the majority of church members and leaders; they are appreciated and cannot be undermined. 

There’s no 100% level of acceptance and reception anywhere, but when the majority is with you, it’s proof that you are well received. I thank God for His grace and glory as the head of the mission for GCC Worldwide and as the first Archbishop.

How do you manage the administration and leadership of GCC Worldwide? 

Everything is wisdom. The Bible says, Wisdom is the principal thing of faith. Without wisdom, you cannot handle any church affairs or management.

It is by the wisdom of God, also with the care and guidance of the Holy Spirit, with the principles of fairness and firmness. These are the key, and each challenge can be treated according to its merit, not for comparison.

Every church has its challenges, but by the grace of God, I have been handling the church administration and management effectively with the wisdom of God. If you don’t apply the wisdom, you will scatter the church. It requires wisdom to pastor; no area of pastoring is useless. 

What are your memorable and challenging times as the GCC head of mission? 

The most challenging period was when I lost three major leaders of the church. Rev. George Eloho-Idebe, who was a Regional Overseer in Rivers State, Rev. Livinus Okafor, a bishop-elect, and Bishop Felix Omenogor, of Taraba region. These were the most challenging periods I had, but God saw us through.

Memorable times are when I was consecrated as the first Archbishop of GCC Worldwide and when my wife was consecrated as the first female bishop in GCC Worldwide in 2022; these are memorable moments. 

What influenced you growing up, and who are your role models in life?

I don’t have a specific person as my influence or role model, but God has used many people at different times to impact my life. 

Through the mid-70s to early 80s, my spiritual life was built in the valley of Benin. That’s where we laid a solid foundation on whatever we are building upon today in Christendom. It’s not a particular individual here and there.

While on campus at the University of Benin, between 1979 and 82 as a student. The life the Holy Spirit has passed unto us is what I still view till tomorrow. I can’t say which pastor, bishop, or person influenced my life more than the Holy Spirit did while on campus. 

What has been your guiding principle in life? 

My guiding principles are holiness, righteousness, integrity, love, equity, humility and selfless service to God and humanity. Everything else is, by the way. 

How would you compare today’s Christianity with that of those days? 

Christianity is a personal choice and not comparable; it has nothing to do with seasons or generations. There are good and bad Christians today. There were also good and bad Christians in those days. 

The decision you make defines who you are, and the way you run your Christian race is personal without comparison.

What is missing in today’s Christianity that should be improved on? 

Christianity is essentially about soul-winning and evangelism. Anything outside that is contrary. Today, there’s much emphasis on prosperity and breakthroughs, as well as the commercialisation of the church. We should de-emphasise all that stuff and seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The church has been converted into a business centre, where some have opened a church to make money. Most pastors don’t mention Jesus as the centre of their message; they speak about money, houses, cars, and material things, with Jesus, the owner of the church, and the Holy Spirit, the Church administrator, not mentioned in their messages. All these should be stopped, and emphasis should be placed on Jesus, the owner of the church. Christians should be genuinely born again and heaven-conscious. This was what gave us the foundation we have today.

Most Christians today are not ready to evangelise and win souls; they try to convince others to leave their church and join theirs. Pastors now speak about prosperity and money, focusing on the offering, tithe, and others without emphasis on the message of Jesus’ salvation, repentance, and righteousness. 

The bane of today’s church that must be addressed is that many Christians are not genuinely born again and do not have the gospel spirit. They attend the church to fill the space or for justification. 

What advice do you have for church leaders? 

Church leaders, pastors, and preachers should de-emphasise money, prosperity, material things and make the message of Jesus the central part of their messages. In GCC, Jesus is our message, and evangelism is our ministry. That is our drive, focus and mission. This is not to say we don’t dwell on other things, but the emphasis is on Jesus, the owner of the church, with the primary focus on His messages of salvation, repentance and righteousness.

The church should produce genuine Christians and make disciples rather than going after the crowd without Christ-centred control. Those are not Christ’s followers, and that’s not the church of Jesus Christ.

We should preach the gospel of genuine repentance and salvation with righteousness as our core foundation in churches. People should be transformed and renewed through our messages, rather than being motivated, entertained, or cajoled. 

Church leaders should return to the basics of the church foundation by preaching sanctification and holiness, which have since been eroded and forgotten in our pulpits. Preachers and pastors no longer emphasise that to people, and the church is daily crowded without righteous Christians. 

Are you satisfied with the present state of the nation?

God is the owner of Nigeria. If you talk about satisfaction, I wouldn’t say yes or no because if God had not been with Nigeria, some of the things we see in Nigeria today would have happened in some of these West African countries, and there would be no peace. Despite it all, people are still going about their normal business. Peace is the bedrock of any nation. Thank God for whatever God has allowed us to have now; we have some relative peace, though not absolute. 

As long as Nigeria has been stubborn as a nation, God will always give us stubborn leaders, so that we can learn our lessons and rearrange ourselves. At least, it is better to honour God’s ways because if we are not going through what we are not going through, we will not appreciate God, we will think everything is bread and butter.

If there’s prosperity everywhere, Nigerians will misbehave and do all manner of things worse than what we are doing now. At least to curtail our excesses and bring us to where we belong. At times, we lose reasoning and start buying luxurious cars, live flamboyantly, and block roads. God is sending all these governments to us to curtail our excesses.

There’s no war or crisis, but there are some problems, and people still go about their normal business. To God be all the glory for everything. I would say God is with us, and we need more of Him. If not, if there had been trouble, we would be crying now, asking Where’s God? But God is with us.

No country in the world is without challenges; the Americans, the Japanese, and others have their own, but their media and citizens don’t place them as headline news or blow them out on the internet, as is our practice here. They hide their own and seek solutions, but in our case, any situation is blown out of proportion in the world. 

We thank God for the president we have and for the economic improvement. Thank God we have relative peace, there’s no trouble and confusion.

What is your opinion on social media abuse? 

No one has control over social media, unlike traditional media. You don’t control social media; everyone sees it, it’s open, and everyone is part of it. Our data controls it, and if you don’t have data, you are not there. Anyone who wants to be on social media without a tangible reason or purpose is wasting money on unnecessary information. We have people who are wounded daily with our data on social media.

How do you relax, and what’s the secret of your good looks? 

Every year, I go to the U.S with my wife for about a month or two to unwind. We do that to keep fit and keep strong. I eat well, and I don’t eat junk food or any food that comes my way. I have my way of eating to be strong and healthy. 

My look is by God’s grace, and I sleep well. Despite the volumes of work, schedules, and activities around me, I don’t downplay my sleep. I rest when I should, eat what I should and avoid what I should. 

My attitude to life is simplicity. I live a simple life, I bother not about things or situations that trouble my mind, I don’t have issues with anyone or hold grudges; my heart is free and open. I take one day at a time and live peaceably.