Reflections from pastor Komagum

Pastor Chris Komagum prays for congregants. PHOTO BY EDGAR R. BATTE

What you need to know:

  • RIP OFF. If you go for prayers, does God ask you to pay? EDGAR R. BATTE attended a conference where veteran pastors castigated the habit.
  • During the prophetic prayer, Prophet Kevin Marshall, from Barbados, West Indies was chief guest. His message was centred on the need for revival of church and bringing trust back in it.

Last year’s news about the arrest of Pastor Samuel Kakande’s deputy for illegal possession of guns could be the tip of the icing. A leading retired pastor, Chris Komagum, says the church is in chaos.
The former senior pastor at Watoto Church argues that the church is supposed to be a place of refuge and a family but is now so disorganised with disunity, disagreement and power games and struggles.
“It is chaotic and I chose the prophetic anointing because it is the most abused in our land, Uganda. People are prophesying falsely. Some people have prophesied doom for some politicians and success for others,” Pastor Komagun said. This was during the prophetic prayer protocol conference on emerging leaders in Uganda held at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala recently.

Prices of prayer
“In some churches I went to, pastors make believers line-up according to the amount of money they have. That is baloney. That is foolishness. And because people have need, they are vulnerable. We have to restore the prophetic voice that can speak to the conscious of the nation. The church itself needs a revival,” the church leader retorted.
His argues that there are so many self-appointed pastors and prophets today who have chosen to commercialise the anointing.
“It is money moving them and all kinds of things that are uncalled for, and I feel we should not throw away the baby with the bath water,” he observes.
He adds, “The media has been awash with pictures of our prominent politicians going to that church to get holy water and to win elections. And it is soldiers guarding this pastor. The same pastor has been arrested. I see pictures of guns that were found with him. This is what I am talking about. Things are not going right, even in church. It is said that fish begins to rot from the head.”

Accountability matters
Komagum says as long as there are independent people starting churches and are not accountable to anybody, there will always be problems popping up from such so-called places of worship.
“We need accountability structure. There are so many self-appointed pastors, evangelists, apostles and teachers. People should not associate with such people. That is recipe for disaster, a breeding ground for cults and abuse of spiritual authority,” Pastor Komagum who is currently undertaking thesis in transformational theology in Canada says.
He added that some evangelists are not real, their crusades cost more because to them, it is about money. Thus, everything that we do must be checked with the word.

Guest message

During the prophetic prayer, Prophet Kevin Marshall, from Barbados, West Indies was chief guest. His message was centred on the need for revival of church and bringing trust back in it.
“The nation of Uganda has seen prophetic abuse. I have seen people use the gift of the scripture to achieve their selfish ends. People say if you get this amount of money, you will get material gains. That must stop,” he preached, adding that religious leaders need to straighten their messages to guard against false messages in the name of God.