In interrogating the Man of God phenomenon, perhaps we should start by asking: who is the Man of God? The term ‘man of God’ at face value describes a person perceived to be deeply devoted to serving God. It could also represent a person whose lifestyle is portrayed as Christlike. The term is also a title. If you are a minister of the gospel in many places across Africa, this title will follow you, bringing with it reverence and respect. Essentially, anyone with spiritual authority can be called a man of God.
Not everyone called a ‘man of God’ is involved in spreading a false gospel.
Therefore we should begin by acknowledging that not everyone called a ‘man of God’ is involved in spreading a false gospel. The issue isn’t one of semantics. Instead, we must pay closer attention to the teachings developed around the Man of God, or what I refer to as the cult of Paparism. By definition, Paparism is a religious, cult-like movement with its roots in West Africa; and its ultimate goal is the exploitation of gullible followers emotionally, financially, and sexually. It turns the heart of people away from God as their Father and fixes it on the Man of God. Fear, guilt, manipulation, and shame are tools that are used to hold people hostage. When it comes to these men of God, or Papas, no one dares disobey.
But why do people keep coming back? Why are their ministries seemingly so successful? Below I offer seven answers, seven core teachings that these Papas, or men of God, use to control desperate seekers.
What They Teach
1. The Man of God as a Spiritual Father
The spiritual father acts as a covering for his followers, popularly referred to as his sons and daughters. In this teaching, leaving the Man of God and leaving the local church is the same thing. The consequence of leaving your spiritual father is that you lose your spiritual covering. Therefore, you’re left unprotected from sickness, demonic attacks, and various other misfortunes that might include marital or financial problems. Leaving your spiritual covering is also described as the spirit of rebellion.
The spiritual father acts as a covering for his followers, popularly referred to as sons and daughters.
God’s exhortation to honour our parents is often used to promote this teaching. The rhetoric regularly spun in the pulpit then goes: “If I am your father, where is my honour?” Remarkably, this is what God asked Israel (Malachi 1:6). Only in many churches honour is treated as the divine right of the Papa. Appeals to honour and respect thrive in the African context, and it’s often taken further to demand financial support for the Man of God, causing neglect of familial responsibilities. In some ways, he replaces the biological father in significance, while also being viewed as unaccountable to anyone.
In a cult-like style, these men drill it into the heads of their followers that the relationship between the spiritual father and his spiritual children is more important than the relationship with their actual parents. Though less explicitly, the Man of God also takes the place of God in his followers’ lives, since they typically have much more to say about themselves than Jesus.
2. The Breaking of Generational Curses, Altars
Capitalising on superstition, they also teach that the evil altars of your ancestors are working against you. The misfortunes in your life are traced back to so-called evil altars. Consequently, you have to fight against generational curses. Since altars demand a sacrifice the Man of God demands money. And people pay. They give more than they can afford because they believe the Man of God. In the end, however, this is nothing more than a money pulling exercise.
3. An Exclusive Priesthood
Paparism is indeed a demonic and dangerous doctrine, denying the priesthood of all believers. We cherish the idea of the royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). But in their Christian practice, many cling to the priesthood of one man. However, there is one mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:5). And it isn’t the Man of God.
4. New Revelations
When we doubt the sufficiency of Christ, we run around to find ritualistic and extra-biblical revelations to compensate for this insufficiency. But Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (John 14:8). New revelations or what’s been called the ‘now word’ cut against the sufficiency of God and his word. Unsurprisingly, they’re most common when the man of God can’t find a Bible verse to support one of his lies.
5. Tapping Into the Anointing
The doctrine of tapping into the anointing is similar to the medieval selling and buying of indulgences. In this doctrine, the elements of grace are on sale to the highest bidder. To be blessed by God, one must sow a seed. You must buy your blessings. And the Man of God will gladly handle the transaction.
You must buy your blessings. And the Man of God will gladly handle the transaction.
Planting seeds has become painfully common across Africa, because our culture already exposes us to the concept of appeasing ancestors and witch doctors. The seed language usually means little more than giving money to the man of God. Remember, as we’re so often told: “the anointing you don’t honour won’t work for you.”
6. Fear and Guilt
They teach things that make gullible followers victims; using fear, guilt, and superstition the man of God intimidates his followers. “You touch me by mistake, you die by correction,” is how one saying goes. This isn’t even bad doctrine. It’s spiritual witchcraft. And it makes people terrified to leave the Men of God. These controlling teachings aim to break God’s people, making them easy prey for the Man of God. Once they’ve been groomed he goes about emotionally, sexually, or financially exploiting them.
7. Spiritual Addiction
The Man of God calls his followers out for all night services, fire prayers, and the like. But far from a genuine desire to see God’s people worshipping God, they turn these meetings into marathons. Playing on people’s spiritual addiction, the people are subject to hours and hours of exhausting commotion. And at the end of it, their exhaustion doesn’t leave them on a spiritual high but rather means their guard is low. Now they’re ripe for whatever the Man of God teaches or demands from them.
A Dangerous Spiritual Addiction
I’ve touched on the reasons throughout above, but in closing I think we might summarise a lot of that as spiritual dependency. People feel and believe that they can’t grow spiritually apart from the Man of God; that God’s providence only works through the Papa and his protection is bound up in the Papa. By connecting themselves to the man of God—regardless of the scandals and sin, exploitation and excesses—people imagine they’re safe. Maybe, safer. The Man of God manipulates people by stoking fear, stirring up superstition, and doling out the guilt. In the end, it’s almost impossible for people to walk away.
The Man of God manipulates people by stoking fear and doling out guilt.
In creating a gospel response to this phenomenon, we need a firm understanding of what they teach. Only then can we effectively counter the false teaching, twisted truths and playbook of manipulation. Therefore our approach must be twofold: firstly, we should preach the truths of God’s word with great patience and perseverance; secondly, we must expose false teachings and, if necessary, expose false teachers.
