Screen and stage actress, Tina Mba, who is also a Prophetess of the Celestial Church of Christ, speaks with EMMANUEL ABODUNRIN about her love for Christ, passion for impacting lives through speaking engagements and her undying love for the church
Were you born into the Celestial Church of Christ or did you join along the line?
I was not born into the Celestial Church of Christ but my mother did tell me that as a child, perhaps about three years of age that a neighbour took me to the Celestial Church of Christ once. As I grew up, I became a member of the C&S Movement Church (Ayo Ni O) and later The Church of the Lord Aladura, but later my journey took me to the Celestial Church of Christ, where I have remained and will remain. So, I wasn’t born into the Celestial fold.
There was a time you left the church, can you share with us the reason you left?
At no time did I leave the CCC; I never left. Since I became a member of the Celestial Church of Christ, I have remained there. So I never left.
What one compelling reason will you say has made you continue to worship in the CCC?
The only compelling reason that has made me continue worshipping in the CCC is Christ. It is that simple; there is really no other reason. We are a spiritual church; we have our mode of worship like other churches. We start with the Mass, and then we go into worship and praise, and then followed by the Word of God and then thanksgiving. It is organised and very uplifting. For me, I love the mode of worship in the CCC; I love the fact that we are a spiritual church and also that we are embedded in Pentecostalism in the sense of the word Pentecost, in the sense of the gift of the spirit, and in the sense of the Word which is God.
What one encounter would you say you had with God that has continued to
reinforce your faith in him and your love for the CCC?
My encounter with God can’t be one because I consistently encounter his mercy every second of my life which gives me a lot of courage, hope and makes me know that God is real and He is all in all. My encounter with God is unexplainable and personal, but importantly, his mercy every second of my life. The appreciation of his Majesty in the CCC has continued to reinforce my faith and love for Christ as a Celestial Church member. I am a proud Celestian because being a Celestian is beyond what people see. It is a journey of hope, divine uplift, righteousness and worshipping God. We bow, we worship, it is just beautiful to worship in the CCC and being a Celestian is not what you can achieve in a day, it is continuous and consistent. You keep striving to fulfil the things that Christ has laid down, to be kind, merciful, giving and to love one another. When you fall, you pick up yourself and you keep moving on. Everyone you meet is a teacher and everywhere you find yourself is a learning place.
Are you aware that many people discriminate against white garment-wearing Christians?
Who are you to judge? How do you know what you don’t know? If you are a believer of Christ and in the totality of what Christ stands for and you understand that callings are different, why should you judge others? David and Paul were called and chosen differently; Samuel and Moses were called differently; Isaac, Jacob, they had different callings. So why would some people say that as a white garment-wearing Christian I do not qualify to be a Christian? It doesn’t make sense to me. Would I now say the Catholic Church members are not qualified because they do not wear the white garment? This is despite the fact that their priests wear white garments. Everything that we wear is backed up biblically, from our girdle to our garments, and others. My people perish for the lack of knowledge and it is a shame that we won’t take the time to learn from the other Christian sisters and brothers but I guess that’s humanity. Those who discriminate against white garment-wearing Christians do not understand what Christ is all about. It is that simple and that’s my thought.
Do you feel embarrassed walking barefoot when you wear your prayer garment especially considering that you are a celebrity?
No, I do not feel embarrassed when I walk barefoot. Why should I feel embarrassed? I am a Celestial member and my main goal is striving for the kingdom. There’s no celebrity in heaven; it is you and the works of your hands. Like Jesus said, “I came quickly and my reward is with me to give to every man according to his stewardship.” That is the principle I based my life on. So being a celebrity doesn’t move me, it means nothing to me. My goal is the kingdom.
Apart from speaking engagements at CCC and other programmes here and there, in what other way would you say you are adding value to the church?
I am the one who needs the church, the church doesn’t need me. The church is established by God in his Word; the church doesn’t need me because the Word doesn’t need me, I need the Word. Christ needs me and I need Christ; so if I have the grace to speak to people, I am just a vessel, and God does not choose emptiness. The gift He has given you has a purpose. He will use the gift he has given you to reach out to other people. He will use the content of your heart to reach out to other people. So, I am by His Grace a vessel, and I am doing my part as a Celestial Christian. As a Celestial Christian, I do minister in many other churches, so it is not just in celestial churches. I talk to youths, widowers, and children, among others. I interact when I have the opportunity, so it is really not about adding value to the church because there’s really no value I can add to the church. What value can I possibly add to the church? If I agree that I am adding value to the church, then that is a wrong notion.
Being a movie star, was there ever a time you lost a movie role on account of the church you attend?
I do not know that I ever lost any role because I am a Celestial Church member. I do not serve a God who is an author of confusion; my talent is what He has given me and He says I will stand before kings and my talent will speak for me. In my industry, I do not think religion is ever an issue; my industry is focusing on how the world will be. I have never heard that someone was discriminated against because of religion, church, or sect they belong to in my industry. It would have been that I was not fit for the role or I wasn’t prepared for the role, it can never be because of church or religion. It would be for a professional reason.
Do your colleagues who attend other churches look down on you on account of your membership of the CCC?
How can anybody in this world look down on me because I am a Celestial Church member? How can anyone look down on me because I worship Christ? In any case, I do not think anyone will look down on me because I am a Celestian, not even in my profession. Well, maybe they do so behind but I haven’t seen because I don’t surround myself with such low minded hypocrites. I think artists are very open-minded, liberal and their level of understanding is higher. So they don’t look down on fellow colleagues because of their religion, sects or beliefs.
How have the doctrines/ teachings of the church inspired you in your movies?
The doctrine of the church is a template/guide on how to worship in the CCC. But yes, the teachings of the Word of God in the CCC have inspired me.
What part of the church doctrines do you think should be changed or reviewed?
I do not think there’s any part of the doctrines given to the founder that I have any issues with. We are members of the CCC founded by Baba S.B.J Oshoffa by the grace of God and he was given the guidelines on how the church should be run and so it is. I, therefore, have no issue with any of our doctrines.
If a man asked you to stop attending the church to save your relationship, would you?
No, if a man who truly loves me say I should quit attending the Celestial Church of Christ all in the name of saving a relationship, then he had better keep moving because it means that he’s asking me to stop serving God in a way I think God needs to be served. So there’s no relationship that is greater than the relationship with my God. No other relationship can hinder me from going to the CCC. But fortunately, it can’t happen that a man says that to me.
What do you think about filmmakers using white garment to portray fake pastors? Don’t you consider this as stereotyping?
Someone passed a comment on Instagram when my picture was posted at a Celestial convention, CCC Praise Convention. She said, “All celebrities are attending white garment churches. Na wa ooo.” Someone also added, “Maybe it is (in search of) the power to get roles. I then realised how illiterate people can be; how stereotypical and pretentious people are. Many of these people come to the Celestial Church in mufti. I go to other churches too. It is the lack of understanding that makes people think that white garment churches are not clean. But the truth of the matter is that churches use handkerchiefs and call them mantles. If it wasn’t God that founded the CCC, then it would have broken up since. These men of God (founder of churches} were called for a purpose and were given their callings differently because God knows that this world is diverse. What pleasure will there be if we didn’t have any Pentecostal church? So I think people are just looking for somebody to blame for their own unfaithfulness or the lack of faith and their pain. I think people are just looking for churches like the CCC to blame for the ills of their world. Once there’s a pastor from the CCC or C&S Church who has committed a misdemeanour, it is blown out of proportion because it is a white garment church. But I have seen a lot of other churches doing terrible things and people always sweep them under the carpet and start commenting on social media that you cannot judge a man of God. I then smile and say but you can judge the CCC and C&S Churches. So I think it’s just hypocrisy. However, I stand to say that I am where I am supposed to be; I am a full-fledged Celestian and truly blessed to be on this journey. God couldn’t have blessed me more, and I have a teacher who is my shepherd and I have the Holy Spirit to inspire me. So what can a man say or do to me? I do not live by the standard of this world when it comes to Christ. I love what Rev. Mother Esther Ajayi is doing; she is a woman after my heart. The Unification is amazing. God is using her and a lot of people to teach people who are sceptics, who think that the white garment churches bow to other things. The only thing we bow to is God Almighty. We have Alters of God and it is biblical. So the white garment churches are completeness before Christ and after Christ.
When did you become a prophetess, and do you have plans to go into full-time ministry in the future? I have always been a prophet from my days in the C&S Church to The Church of the Lord (Aladura). It is the same God and the same Holy Spirit. I have been a prophetess for a very long time as long as I can remember. About going into full-time ministry, hopefully, God’s grace keeps inspiring people as I am and keep learning in the process. Wherever God takes me is where I go.
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