Opinion: The two crises in CBC, PCC congregations reveal the deepest levels of our depravity. Shame on us!

By Ngala Hansel

The Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC) and Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) share a lot of good things in common. The two denominations are the two largest evangelical Protestant denominations in Anglophone Cameroon. The Cameroon Baptist Mission (CBM) which would later become the CBC is only slightly older than the PCC. The PCC in turn is slightly larger than the CBC numerically after most Baptist churches were taken over by the Basel Mission (which later formed the PCC). This handing over of Baptist churches to the Basel Mission came after the First World War as the German Baptists had to leave Cameroon following the defeat of Germany in the War.

The two denominational bodies maintained close bonds in the yesteryears and even to this day, some PCC pastors do their theological training at the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS), Ndu due to the theological similarities both denominations have.

In fact, the Cameroon Protestant College (CPC), Bali was created as a joint effort by leaders of both denominations, and Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church in Yaounde started in the 1970s as a joint effort between Presbyterians and Baptists before the Presbyterians later built their own house of worship and left.
Also, the current Executive President of the CBC; Rev. Dr. Nditemeh Charlemagne was installed as the head of the CBC during a Service attended by the current Moderator of the PCC, Rt. Rev. Fonki Samuel in January 2021. Both groups are members of the Cameroon Council of Protestant Churches (CEPCA).
While both denominations are not at loggerheads with each other, they have each been rocked by crises – or what would best be described as scandals. Redeemer Baptist Church (RBC) in Mile 3, Bamenda has been claiming independence from the CBC while being disrespectful to leaders of the denomination. An embarrassing video on social media showed congregants hitting bands and booing the Executive President as he attempted to address the congregation in May.

On the other hand, Presbyterian Church (PC), Kumba has become a battleground of sorts in the last several days.
The church pastor, Rev. Mrs. Mary Wose is accused by her congregation of corruption and attempting to “steal” church funds. An embarrassing video that has now made the rounds on Cameroonian social media showed Christians of the church blowing whistles and others singing in clear defiance of Rev. Wose who was attempting to deliver the Sunday sermon on July 3, 2022. Others held protest signs that read “We are tired of Rev. Mary Wose and Rev. Vetin Tambi and their corrupt pastoral work in PC K Town” and “We don’t want thieves, cheats, and embezzlers in PC Kumba Town”.

Rev. Wose’s church is divided into two factions now: those that are with her and those that want her gone. There are unverified claims that the church chairperson blocked her from siphoning church funds to the tune of some FCFA 9 million.

It is not my job to cast a finger of suspicion and to say whether or not Rev. Wose is guilty of the accusations or not. It is not equally my place to judge Rev. Sam Jato of Redeemer Baptist Church and his congregation towards Rev. Dr. Nditemeh, but I want to rather address the conduct of the Christians of these two congregations of the PCC and CBC respectively.

It is a worrying trend when Christians who read the Bible more than any other person, can sink to such low depths as to being verbally disrespectful of their elected leaders. Let’s suppose that Rev. Dr. Nditemeh was wrong to come to Redeemer Baptist Church, does that justify the sort of barbaric and blatant disrespect that worshippers in that particular congregation displayed towards his person and office? I think the answer is a resounding no.

In the same way, the behavior of the PC K-Town Christians has been shameful, to say the least. After blowing whistles last Sunday and preventing the message from being preached, some of them decided to turn to fetishes or “juju” as we call it locally.

Christians who are supposed to be in the world, but not of the world, act worse than the world.

It is a shame that in both the case at Redeemer Baptist and PC K Town, law enforcement had to step in to maintain order as tempers were flaring and imminent danger loomed. Issues that ought to have been resolved lovingly in a Christian manner had to become trending social media topics, complete with nerve-wracking videos.
As someone who grew up attending PCC and CBC churches, I am particularly saddened by the recent developments in our churches.

If we cannot find it in our hearts to be peacemakers, then what kind of Christianity are we practicing? The Bible commands us that “…As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18) and then goes on to promise that “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). We as Christians have failed God because our allegiance is ultimate to Him and not to man, but to disrespect those in the offices that are there to do His work is a disgrace to us and speaks poorly of our faith. I am not saying that these people are not Christians because I am not in their hearts, after all; Peter denied Jesus thrice and later repented. However, I am writing this piece given that the scandals in these two churches are coming just within a few weeks of each other.

These recent developments call for a deep examination of our hearts. Are we in God’s house for our own motives? Are we disobeying God Himself when we act in such depraved, shameful, and un-Christian ways? If we can shamelessly lie, deceive and attempt to frighten, harm, or kill others with fetishes then is the world not better than us? How can we preach to them and why on God’s green earth should they listen to whatever message we have to deliver? Shame on us for these unholy practices. We need to repent because God’s judgment is coming and if it should start with us, are we sure we can withstand God’s wrath?