The Badge We Didn’t Ask For: Reflections on JP Craze

Published By Jerry Adesewo On Mar 30, 2025

The Badge We Didn’t Ask For: Reflections on JP Craze

Jerry Adesewo

Having just returned from a trip to Marseille, France, (No! I am still here and writing this week’s column from Marseille), should I now address myself as “Pastor Jerry Adesewo, MP?” No — not ‘Member of Parliament’, but ‘Marseille Pilgrim’. After all, isn’t that how we do it now? A selfie by the Jordan River and suddenly you are no longer just Brother James, you are ‘Brother James JP’. As for Sister Sade? Forget it. She is now ‘Deaconess Sade JP’. And God help you if you fail to call her that during testimony time — you may just be accused of disrespecting “the anointing”.

Today, every Christian will do everything in their power to ensure they visit Jerusalem, not necessarily to seek God afresh but so they can slap JP onto their names like a badge of divine promotion. Never mind that this trip often comes to the detriment of their struggling families, who could have benefitted from the funds now being lavished on a spiritual tourism expedition.

How many children have had their school fees delayed because Daddy or Mummy must “answer the call” to Jerusalem? How many homes have gone without basic needs while their breadwinners emptied savings or took loans just to secure that golden JP title? You will hear stories of people selling land, cars, even borrowing money just to ensure they step on Israeli soil, as if heaven’s gates will not open unless their passport has a Tel Aviv immigration stamp.

JP — Jerusalem Pilgrim or Just Positioning?

What exactly are we doing? I have seen resumes, business cards, and even wedding invitations with the sacred ‘JP’ boldly flaunted like an honorary doctorate. Some proudly introduce themselves as ‘JP’, not in quiet gratitude to God, but like they have just received a national honour from heaven. Ironically, many who wear it have not changed one bit — still bitter, still quarrelsome, still stingy, still power-hungry, but ‘JP’ must follow.

The real question is: what changed after the trip? The Bible says, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). Sadly, some of our “Jerusalem Pilgrims” came back with nothing but fridge magnets, olive oil bottles, and a fresh supply of religious arrogance.

Biblical Pilgrims Didn’t Brand It

Let’s do some Bible study, shall we? Abraham, the father of faith, was a pilgrim who walked the promised land. Did you ever hear him introduce himself as ‘Abraham JP’? Jesus made several pilgrimages to Jerusalem, including the one where He cleansed the temple, but never signed His letters, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, JP’. The apostles walked, ate, and suffered with the risen Christ, yet not even one added ‘JP’ to their names. Infact, Paul went to Jerusalem several times, and what he returned with was persecution, not a plaque.

Yet, in today’s Nigerian church, once someone touches foot in Tel Aviv, he or she returns as a self-styled general overseer. Yes, I said it! We have turned pilgrimage into a title-grabbing ritual rather than a soul-renewing experience. Some return not with a renewed spirit but with a bloated ego and a Jerusalem-stamped ID card ready to oppress the unsuspecting.

There is no new compassion, no burden for the lost, no desire to serve — only the fresh desire to sit at the front row with the “JP clique” and be addressed as ‘Elder, Deacon, Pastor JP’.

Is it not ironic that the very Lord whose footsteps we claim to follow warned against this nonsense?

“They love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.” (Matthew 23:6-7).

If Jesus Himself resisted titles, who then authorized us to start forming ‘JP Incorporation’? Was it the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Board or the Holy Spirit? Definitely not the latter.

The Syndrome of Empty Titles

Let’s be brutally honest. Some return from the so-called holy pilgrimage worse off spiritually. They left with impatience and came back with impatience, plus ‘JP’, of course. They left with gossip and came back as certified ‘JP’ gossipers. They left stingy and returned with extra-tight wallets, only now wearing an expensive ‘JP’-embroidered cap. What exactly is the gain?

Brethren, how does this sound: ‘JP without fruits is just Performance’. It’s religious theatre, nothing more. Meanwhile, the simple carpenter from Nazareth who saved the world never went about with holy badges. He simply obeyed the Father and did the work. Are we not supposed to be walking in his footsteps?

The Real Pilgrimage is Within

I am not condemning pilgrimage — far from it. The Bible acknowledges journeys to sacred places (Deuteronomy 16:16). Even Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-42). But the difference? He returned more focused on His divine assignment, not a self-appointed title. He washed the feet of disciples, He healed the sick, He stood for the oppressed. He didn’t print “Jesus JP” on scrolls.

Beloved, when Jesus told the woman at the well, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:21), He wasn’t just talking geography; He was correcting our religious obsession with locations and physical symbols. Worship, transformation, and true spirituality are not about the kilometers you travelled but the distance your heart has moved closer to God.

For Today’s Christian Leaders

Dear pastors, evangelists, bishops, deaconesses, and ‘JP’-wearing pilgrims, let us be careful not to make God’s business look like a club of title-collectors. Pilgrimage is not a shortcut to spiritual ranking. There is no ‘JP quota’ in heaven. Jesus will not be separating the sheep and goats with ‘JP’ holders on the right and ‘non-JP’ holders on the left.

If we must be marked by anything, let it be by the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23): love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I tell you, these fruits weigh more in eternity than any ‘JP’ title you can add to your name.

So, permit me to remain just ‘Pastor Jerry Adesewo’, no ‘MP’, no ‘JP’. I’d rather be a Marseille Pilgrim in the flesh but a Heaven Pilgrim in the Spirit.

As you read this, remember: God is still looking for transformed hearts, not decorated passports.

“Let no one deceive you with empty words…” (Ephesians 5:6) for how long do we continue to wear this badge of dishonour