THE declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation by second Republican President Frederick Chiluba has led to the mushrooming of churches, as is the case with formation of political parties following the introduction of multi-party politics during his reign.

Obviously churches cannot spring up on their own; They are formed by individuals who later assume titles such as pastor, bishop and prophet, among other religious positions.

In the past, many churches were breakaways from renowned international churches but what is obtaining in the country currently is different. Some churches nowadays seem to be formed as a source of livelihood.

Some of these churches claim to be ‘international’ and yet they only exist in Zambia, let alone in one locality.

They are headed by self-proclaimed pastors, bishops or prophets who claim to have established those places of worship owing to a calling from God and yet they operate as sole trading companies which die when the founder dies.

Furthermore, the legality of most of these so-called churches is questionable despite them being operational.

The level of desperation for a miracle to the extent of allowing the ‘men of God’ to have intercourse with the miracle seekers is surprising. To make matters worse, some of the victims who are sexually taken advantage of were married.

Surely, can God allow church overseers to have sex with their congregants in exchange for a miracle? Does God allow adultery or fornication?

If they are truly God’s messengers, why should they charge before they perform miracles on the afflicted? Moreover, how genuine are their miracles considering that the devil was once a holy man?

Apart from sexual activities and demanding money before rendering a service, there have been reports implicating men of God in other illicit activities such as robbery and murder, among other unGodly activities.

The Bible in Mathew 7 verse 15 to 16 warns: “Be on your guard (watch out) against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves.

“You will know them by what they do (fruits). Thorn bushes do not bear grapes and briars do not bear figs.”

It goes on to say in Mathew 24 verse 11 that: “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

The Bible further warned that there will come a time that false Messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great miracles and wonders to mislead even God’s chosen people.

As the Bible rightly predicted, such activities are currently manifesting in various parts of the country. Some are genuine men of God while others are imposters but it is difficult to differentiate until God exposes their illicit practices at His opportune time.

Much as Zambia is a Christian Nation and democratic country where freedom of association should be allowed, there is need for orderliness in the manner God is worshipped and not using His name to appease oneself.

The position of church mother bodies, the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Evangelical Fellowship in Zambia (EFZ) and Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), on the increasing clandestine activities by fake men of God is already known.

Leaders of these church mother bodies are on record as having repeatedly condemned the vices perpetuated by unscrupulous people claiming to be men of God and the need to restore sanity in the manner God was worshipped in the country.

Last year, positive pronouncements towards restoring sanity were made following a meeting held on March 3, 2014 involving Government and ZEC, EFZ and CCZ.

Other organisations that attended the meeting were the Islamic Supreme Council of Zambia (ISCZ), Islamic Council of Zambia (ICOZ), Independent Churches of Zambia (ICOZ) and Apostolic Council of Zambia.

The meeting was held following the concern by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the church mother bodies and other religious organisations at the mushrooming and growing number of clergy men and women who remained unaccounted for in the country.

The meeting culminated into a joint communiqué on April 17, 2014 read by then Home Affairs Deputy Minister Stephen Kampyongo on behalf of the Government and the other aforementioned organisations.

It was announced during the unveiling of the communiqué that Government together with those religious groupings was going to come up with a regulatory framework in six months’ time.

The regulatory framework would ensure that churches were registered and have traceable locations besides taking stock of the mushrooming theological schools and what services they offer.

Former Chief Registrar of Societies Kakoma Kanganja said at the time that the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) was revisiting its Act and once approved by Parliament, all religious bodies would no longer be registered by the Agency but by the Registrar of Societies.

President Edgar Lungu has since appointed Mr Kampyongo as Deputy Minister in the Vice-President’s office and Mr Kanganja as Deputy Inspector-General of Police.

It is more than six months since the communiqué was issued, where is the regulatory framework?

Mr Kampyongo’s successor as Home Affairs Deputy Minister Gerry Chanda said in an interview that the regulatory framework was a highly sensitive matter and harmonising of the many churches in Zambia was not an easy task.

Colonel Chanda said implementation of the regulatory framework six months after the communiqué was issued could not happen as it was a process that required a lot of time than was earlier anticipated.

“With the diversity of churches that we have in the country, harmonisation is not an easy thing. A team that is looking into that aspect has not submitted the report to us. It’s just an ad hoc committee that was put up to harmonise the operations of the various churches.

“Being a Christian Nation does not exclude even Muslims to be given the freedom of being able to worship as they want. But we have found out that in the process some of them (churches) are hiding under the cover of religion to bring in subversive activities which are detrimental to the country,” he said.

Col Chanda said Government wanted the ad hoc committee to do a good job and thus did not want to rush it as doing it hastily might result in “stepping on other people’s toes”.

Col Chanda said it was not possible to have the regulatory framework in place this year as the magnitude of the problem had been underrated by saying that the regulatory framework was going to be ready last year.

As the regulatory framework is being awaited, there is need for regular impromptu inspections to continue countrywide to ensure that the illicit activities under the guise of churches are exposed and dealt with accordingly.