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Dr. William Udotong is the Provost of the West Africa Theological Seminary (WATS), Ipaja, Lagos State. The seminary established by American missionary Rev. (Dr.) Gary Maxy is the largest non-denominational seminary in Nigeria as at today with students from about 100 denominations. Udotong addressed journalists after the 26th convocation ceremony during which he recapped the experience of the seminary in providing sound theological education for leaders in the body of Christ. He also spoke on national issues and such issues concerning Christianity in Nigeria. DAYO EMMANUEL here reports.
Excerpts:
Can you just recap the experience of WATS in the last 10 years?
I would say the last ten years there have been activities particularly focusing on who we are as an institution. We are here to train men and women for holy living. Our focus is on cross cultural mission, national renewal and revival. So apart from the fact that there have been a lot of physical development in transforming this place from a ware house so to speak to an academic environment but we have been able to impact the lives of local churches and local leaders around as we invite them from time to time for our conferences whether it is our women conferences or institute for pastoral excellence. The past ten years has also seen us turning out a good number of graduates. Our masters programs we are also able to have a masters in Christian education, as we have seen today a doctors of ministry program which is also the first fruit of that effort so I would say that we have worked very hard to make sure that we are relevant to our local situation here. Relevant in the sense that we are addressing what we believe is the need of the church and the society. What you see for example in our doctor of ministry program, it is a program in transformational leadership particularly in courses like Peace and Reconciliatory Studies which is how do you impart these leaders so they can continue in addressing the many conflicts and problems that we face in our society today.
How is the seminary able to curb the many problems in the church and the society today?
I told you one way we try to do this one step at a time, imparting one leader at a time, sending that leader out to impart the society. What we find out is that you can’t win the whole world at the same time. Change has to do with imparting the people with spiritual and moral value. Our approach is bringing these students and imparting them, sending them out. Literally we have thousands that have graduated in different programs not just church related world but also in programs that are community related and we have several examples all across this country.
How the missionary outfit has has been able to cope financially?
Well, we are a non-denominational institution and that poses a challenge like you have rightly noted, we don’t have any direct church that is providing support for us but on the other hand it gives us the opportunity of serving the body of Christ. So that affords us the opportunity to across the board to work with different churches that affords us the opportunity to work with different groups in this country and outside. There are lots of believers that our message resonate with them and they decide to work along with us.
There are churches that talk on societal issues, what is your stand on societal issues?
One of the things we heard today at the convocation was the congress of Christian ethics, that was one of the things we launched in the 90s which brought people from different backgrounds, fields to talk about ethics. We are launching that now, that is one contribution that we have made. We have a clinic here that serves this community and other churches outside, from time to time we have medical outreach and people come here.
The last time we were here you mentioned that WATS community has about a 100 denominations, do you subscribe to the fact that a national regulatory body in the Pentecostal churches in Nigeria be established to regulate some of the practices we have today and what do you think can be done to curb the menace of the church?
Most of the people who are doing that are doing it out of commercial incline connected to that I believe that most of these people are not Christians and are not trained. Many times when we make statement we just generalise as though anyone that stands behind the pulpit wearing coat is a pastor and doing the wrong thing. I also want to point that truth and evil must continue that is the fact we must fight. when pastors are trained, what we do is attack these things by training, giving the minister the training that the church is not a place for making merchandise, it is not a place where because you have failed in the world, the way to go is to gather people and begin to milk them. But even when you do the best you think you have done, it is not new to our time, we would still have false teachings.
If we have an organ like CAN and PFN, if they are giving the minister the training that the church is not a place for making merchandise, it is a coherent and a unified group it is possible that we bring some control. Understand that most of the people doing these things are self-styled independent kind of people who don’t even want to come under any kind of control or regulation and if you tell them they tell you that you are infringing on their rights and if they are real Christians who understand the value of accountability and coming under authority that would definitely be one way of checking the situation.
Are we going to fold our hands and watch those not doing it right?
No I’m not saying you should fold your hands but pastors who are true pastors must attack these things through teaching. My members in the church should be sensitized about these issues. The issue is how do people cope with their needs and crisis? If a young lady is married and not having a child, or someone needs an employment, all you hear is that come today and tomorrow you get employment, get a child tomorrow. But people are not wise enough to discern, to ask is God a magician, is God a Father Christmas? When people are not able to reason and analyse these things critically that is why they fall prey. But true ministers of God must continue to teach the word of God and teaching the word of God means attacking by teaching the true word of God and teaching the true word of God means attacking these kinds of practices, opening peoples’ understanding to see that these are issues that are not going to be helpful to all.
Recently we learnt that South Africa introduced witchcraft as a course in their university, what can you say to this? Back home, can we get your interpretation of the message of change being pushed by the current leadership?
The things that we ordinarily condemn in the past are now gaining ground in the society. So it’s not surprising that witchcraft is being introduced in schools in South Africa. Whether we call it African Traditional Religion (ATR) or whatever, but we live in a time that ATR is being brought to the church through the back door. Concerning change, we are going through a turbulent time in our nation right now and we talk about the challenges that we are faced with in different form, in economic form, it is a very challenging citation. I don’t know how the change message is resonating in the minds of Nigerians. Definitely we are all going to see the change but I’m not sure that the change that was promised is what we are seeing. First I do not know whether it was something that was built on false foundation, secondly whether it is a challenge in the economy that is completely making the government not to be able to fulfil that. But whatever be the case, we need an all-encompassing national change, it is a rebirth that goes beyond the President, a rebirth that begins at my home and your home. The President doesn’t have to call us, we should all make concentrated effort that we want to take the message of change to our homes to our friends to our places of work. If we approach change that way and take responsibility for it I don’t think someone would be pointing hands to the President or to any other person. We need change as a nation.
