A RECEIPES FOR DISASTER- COLLAPSED CHURCH BUILDINGS

" Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?" [the bible Luke13:4 KJV]

TRAGEDY struck yesterday following the collapse of a part of a multiple story building inside the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, SCOAN, leaving many worshipers dead, while others were critically injured Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/09/tragedy-scores-die-synagogue-church-building-collapses/

The collapse of mighty and gargantuan structures have always been recorded in every century, right from the time of Jesus Christ, our lord and savior, just like the tower in Siloam quoted above. When the twin tower came down many of us saw it in our living room , watching a recorded clip. We saw with horror, the twin buildings coming down one after the other with great billows of smoke and dusks. But the difference between the two above mentioned references is rather conspicuous. 0ne could be alluded as the work of nature or force too strong to hold the tower together and the other is the evil craft and handiwork of dastardly men. Like hurricanes the hue and cry that follows is not blamed on any body or group of people, but when it is the work of men or group of men, when it was deliberately brought down or basic building protocols ignored then the world will always rise up in condemnation. The collapse of a six story building, one of the building inside the compound known as SYNAGOGUE CHURCH OF ALL NATION [SCOAN] took along with about 200 souls. Many of them are the national of the republic of South Africa, who came for a religious gathering. it was said the building was use as a hostel. On investigation it was gathered that the areas was not meant for such a tall building given the nature of the soil composition. The soil composition in the south or eastern states of Nigeria can not be compared to the one in the North. Lagos, especially is very sandy, water log and prune to erosion. while the investigation is still ongoing, another tragedy involving a church building has occurred again. this time in Uyo state. It is reported that about 190 parishioners has far confirmed dead. it was suppose to be the dedication of a new building complex of Reigners international ministry. the cream of the society we mostly there and even the state governor was among those invited. Thank God he is said to have escaped death by the whiskers. This sad event has suddenly plunged the Christian community, especially into grief. when a catastrophic occurrence of this nature is the result of poor planning, poor structures and substandard materials when structures do not meet required standard, but erected anyway, then we have a receipt for disaster in our hands. Why do we have a penchant for modern complex and equally a penchant for penny-pinching when it comes to building materials? Why do we want to put down a structures whose estimates runs into millions and we do not want to spend even in the hundreds of thousands? Way back home, there is this saying, that a tree that wants to grow tall must first have deep roots. But we do not want the deep roots because no one sees that and yet, that is the foundation that keeps the building from collapsing. A man who want to have a sweet soup can not ignore the salt even though it is invisible. God can protect us from disaster, but when we fail in our responsibilities we make nonsense of our faith and make others wonder. God has always left man with responsibilities right from the Garden of Eden. God told Adam in Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. It was the responsibility of the Engineers or building contractors to make sure all was in order and to give recommendation for materials to be used as their trade mark depend on it. You do not listen to men who do not know the rudiments in building to come tell you all what not based on faith and the forthcoming opening dates. its well, God is in control all these is after we have done our part. The children of Israel still had to go to War even though God has assured them of victory how so? The ark of the covenant still has to be guarded even though the presence of God was inside, how so? Way back in my secondary school days I remember a student called a pastor for is religious zeal and preaching abilities, but he flunked his bible knowledge exam! sermonisation is different from a biblical context question. All these have one thing in common, RESPONSIBILITY. All positions given to us by God goes with responsibility. whether as parents, workers or Neighbor. When the pharaoh in the book of Genesis41 dreamt a dream which by interpretation means a times of plenty and a time of famine shall come, it took practical steps to avert hunger not just faith or word rebuttal. The Nigeria Christian loves to hear that miracle is coming their way without knowing how God does miracles. How many men asked for miracles in the bible? none. today all men are asking for one yet, God rarely intervenes in his works. They want miracle to drive their car to 50 kilometers even when their gauge tells them it can only take them 25 kilometers. They secretly gambles the little they have believing God to win millions , miracle they say can happen. They look for wonder banks in all nooks and crannies to invest even though they know there is no given formula for it to be sustain miracle, they say. Can somebody do me a favor and tell that man to go look for an employment even if he start from a lower level? God will sooner start you from a low level and let you grow up the ladder than start you from the top. Am a firm believer in miracles. I have seen one, but I do not ask God for another one for I know from the bible that all that I need to be victorious is already given me to download. I believe God starts from the smallest and take you to the biggest. then is your story complete and interesting. The story of rages to riches attracts more than how I inherited a million bucks; for in the former you learned the rudiments of making it to the top. This is the second collapse of a building housing a fellowship many more will happen if we do not take up our responsibilities and do a good job of it. just heard fire has razed down a shopping complex in Edo state. the fire department? they averred that they do not have deiseal, but there were personnel in logistics and transport who ought to make sure the needed diesel and trucks were at the ready for emergency calls. Maybe all could not have been lost. see what I mean? Godwin Guobadia writes from The Netherlands, YOU can reach him on twitter: Godwin Guobadia@guobadia02 or on this blog.