Mavuno Church, as pastor Muriithi says, is a church “for people who don’t like going to church.” PHOTO| COURTESY
Mavuno Church, as pastor Muriithi says, is a church “for people who don’t like going to church.”
Pastor
Muriithi “founded” Mavuno Church and over time, it has gained notoriety
as the unconventional new-age church that doesn’t exactly subscribe to
the model.
Muriithi wasn’t supposed to end up
as a pastor, given his past (studied Biochemistry in university) but
here he is about to celebrate the church’s 10th year since its doors
opened under his able hands.
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So from playing rugby in “Patch” (Nairobi School), to Mean Machine (UoN rugby team) to the pulpit, what a trajectory!
Yes, I know man! You know, nobody would have thought I’d end up here, I mean I was gifted athletically as well as academically.
In Form 3, I was already playing for my “Patch” rugby team, a major feat but I was also doing very well in class, then university with the rugby lifestyle - I was basically living a celebrity life.
In Form 3, I was already playing for my “Patch” rugby team, a major feat but I was also doing very well in class, then university with the rugby lifestyle - I was basically living a celebrity life.
There
was this time my dad was driving me back to school and I asked him what
subjects I should do and he said sciences because some of his richest
pals were pharmacists so I studied pharmacy hoping to be a millionaire
by the time I was clocking 30.
But while in
university, I met a pastor from Nairobi Chapel who roped me into the
church. My girlfriend was going in for some one-year internship at the
same church and somehow, I found myself going as well and the rest is
history.
What kind of a guy were you pre-church?
The
lifestyle that any guy who was playing rugby would have, really. You
know, alcohol, girls, parties, the works. It was everything you would
expect.
Do you think the debauchery of that time has given you an edge now as a pastor?
I
wouldn’t call it an edge, per se. I think it has given me empathy of
sorts. I know some pals who still do the same things we used to do back
then and that draws me to them, because there is a reason they are still
in that zone. I walked away because I needed to secure an eternal
destiny, it was about purpose.
I think at some point
in our lives, we should ask the question; why are we here? Are we just
here to make loads of money and then die? This debauchery that
middle-aged men engage in right now has serious implications on the rate
of divorce in this country which has been at its highest in the past 10
years.
My past makes me able to better empathise with this situation.
Did you ever smoke weed, pastor?
(Laughs) No, I didn’t. It never came to that.
What’s
your take on those flashy pastors who drive big cars and live in big
houses and are known to live off the sweat of their flock. Do they make
you guys look bad?
(Chuckle) You know, I have
never seen a fake 100-dollar bill. But just because something is fake
doesn’t mean that there is nothing real out there, is there? We also
have fake journalists and fake politicians and all these are
distractions.
Mavuno is basically a church for people with a hangover. Comment.
(Laughs)
You know, I like that! I really do, because we are not there as a
church to reach out to people already in church, it was to reach out to
people out there, people in bars.
It’s a church for
people who don’t like coming to church and if they come with a hangover,
then that’s great for us. We have inspiring stories of people who have
come in with hangovers, as you call it, and five years later, have
cleaned out well and are better fathers, have more passion for their
careers and even saved their marriages that were about to fail.
What are you struggling with as a pastor?
The
succession plan. The true success of any venture is judged by its
success after its founder has bowed out. Most people think I’m too young
to walk away but I think that the church is ready for new leadership
and direction from the promising leaders we have. I will work in the
background focusing on resource mobilisation as well as building on the
culture we have set here.
What is your weakness as a pastor?
(Long
pause) Wow. That’s a thought-provoking question. (Thinks) You know,
working with people can be really draining, sometimes you find an
alcoholic who was doing well suddenly relapsing and it messes up his
family and work and it can get really heartbreaking for me. I think I
like to see results immediately, I like going for quick wins.
By the way, did you ever marry your campus sweetheart, the one who made you go for the one-year internship?
(Laughs) Oh yes. We will be doing 21 years together this year.
Do you face the same challenges in marriage as other couples not in church?
I
think we have challenges as a couple, but Carol and I have a book out
called Ndoa which is basically a marriage preparation manual that has
proved to be extremely useful for couples I engage with in church.
Marriage is a mess in this country, which is frightening because the
stability of a nation is founded on solid family traditions.
What’s the biggest challenge you experience in your marriage?
Oh,
that’s easy. (Laughs) Carol and I decided to work together some time
back, and I can tell you that working with your wife in the same office
is tricky! It causes anguish and stress! (Laughs). It’s been three years
working together but I don’t think we would have survived this had we
done it in our first year of marriage.
What’s your greatest weakness as a pastor?
(Laughs)
This feels like an interview! You know I also sometimes fantasise about
going to do what I wanted to do in the beginning; business. This job
can get thankless and sometimes I just wonder how it would be to down my
tools and do business. (Laughs). Sometimes I just want to go play golf
and do business, not handle the flock because it’s much easier.
Why don’t you?
Because
this is my purpose. You know how people wake up on Monday and curse? I
wake up and say I want to go out and work, because I love what I do.
Financial security is great but it isn’t everything. We, as a society,
are too obsessed with quick money, when we should focus more on its true
resolve.
I have an Asian friend who is building a
business but isn’t buying himself a Range Rover, instead he is building
something for the future of his kids, and he takes his daughter to work
to see how things work so that one day he can hand it over.
What do you do in your downtime?
I
read a lot, I watch a lot of action movies, and I’m an investor. Carol
and I live on one salary, the rest we invest, so I’m very keen and
interested in that.
And what is your greatest fear?
It hasn’t happened yet. (Laughs).
What is the most unpastorly thing you have ever done?
I’m not sure I want to tell you that! (Laughs) That is a hard one. (Thinks for long.) The most unpastorly thing…..hmmm….
OK, let’s put it this way, which of the 10 Commandments do you struggle with the most?
(Laughs
hard). I think when I experience bad service in the hospitality
industry I get livid. I just hate it. (Thinks) I think I can get quite
bossy sometimes…
So which commandment does that fall under?
(Laughs) I think bad service makes me want to kill someone….so thou shall not commit murder?
This article was first published in the Business Daily.
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