By Mogbekeloluwa Koye-ladele
I must start by saying this is not a response to Ms. Walter’s exposé of her short-lived affair with Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA. What follows is a collection of random thoughts and beliefs, some of which I have held for years – and have now decided to share. You will find that not all of them are directly correlated to the situation Ms. Walter describes.
Let’s go:
1. At their very best, Pastors are only MEN of God. There is no simpler way to convey this truth. Your Pastor, no matter how holy he behaves and how many times a day he says “God bless you”, is only a man. His ‘Pastoral calling’ does not grant him immunity to the temptations and fallings that befall other men. Guys, even Jesus was a man! (I Tim. 2: 5). He grew hungry, thirsty, and was equally tempted by the devil!
2. We are ALL the anointed of God. The verse which says in part “…touch not my anointed, and do my Prophets no harm” is often quoted out of context. A while back I was reading about a Pastor who sexually molested a 2-year old, and someone in the comments section was taking everyone else to the cleaners – arguing that they were “touching God’s anointed”. Chimo! If you would make time to read I Chron. 16: 16-22, you would see that the phrase “my anointed” referred to the people of Israel! All of them, and now ALL OF US!
3. It is okay to correct church leaders when they slip up. Yes! I said that, and I’ll say it again. Church leaders sometimes make mistakes, and it is totally okay to correct them – so long as it is done in love. Do you guys remember Peter? Remember how he became de-facto head of the church after Jesus’s ascension to heaven? Okay. Now do you remember Paul? Remember how he was travelling around persecuting Christians while Peter’s shadow was healing the sick (Acts 5: 12-16)? It might interest you to know that Paul corrected Peter “to his face” in Antioch “because he (Peter) was clearly in the wrong”. (Gal. 2: 11-21, NIV). It might also interest you to know Jesus regularly corrected the Pharisees and Sadducees (leaders of the religious institution of the time) in public.
4. A man who does not answer to any higher authority is a disaster waiting to happen. When female friends call to tell me they are entering into ‘maritally-intended’ relationships, I often ask them if their partners have mentors or people they hold in high esteem. (Males rarely call to ‘announce’). Times come when men make mistakes (some of them honest and sincere), and their families need to cry for outside help as a last resort. Woe betide her who marries a man without mentors/role models/father figures in his life. No man is reasonable 100% of the time. Accountability is important! Very important!
5. If you ever need to ‘report’ your Pastor, ‘report’ him to his mentor – not to his protégés. In I. Peter 5: 5, young men are exhorted to submit to those who are older. Spiritual authority is taken very seriously amongst Pastors and their protégés, and it is foolhardy to expect a protégé to correct his ‘Senior Pastor’. If you ever run into an issue with your Pastor that needs to be discussed with a third party – find his mentor; not a subordinate!
6. We need to help our Pastors, not worship them! I have been to churches where members fawned over their pastors, seeming to worship the ground they walked on. Kai! That is idolatry o! We should respect our Pastors and leaders, but NOT WORSHIP THEM! I have heard testimonies where people gave thanks to “Papa”, blessed “Papa” for interpreting their dreams and praying for them, and asked the congregation to rise and clap their hands for “Papa”. Ewe! Guys!! What is the place of God in all that when you ascribe all the glory to “Papa”?
Pastors and leaders need help o! My one year as General Secretary (I was not even a Pastor o) of OAU’s University Joint Christian Mission (UJCM) was one of my toughest! Believe me when I say I experienced temptation in a new dimension entirely – and ask Busola or P Soj for details if you don’t. I could only wonder what people like Pastors Olumide and Kolapo, and fine-boy Pastors like Ayotunde Ilesanmi of CASOR were facing on a daily basis.
If Pastor asks you to come to the hotel, do him a favor and DON’T GO! If he asks you to sit on his laps, kick off your shoes and run!! If he asks you to wait behind after two or three consecutive services for extra counselling, tell him you prefer to speak to his wife!!! Help Pastor!!!
7. You MUST know God for yourself! This is the most important of all these thoughts, and I have saved it for last. One of the greatest things that happened to Christianity was the ‘democratization’ of the Bible. Read your Bible, and get to know YOUR God for YOURself! When we stand before God, we will all stand by ourselves for ourselves! There will be no singing and dancing “awa egbe SCM, aa de!” No! Pastor will not be able to say something in your defense on that day!
A number of ‘commenters’ on Ms. Walter’s post have asked her to take it down because it might hurt other people’s belief in God. Frankly, this is balderdash. I understand that we hold some men in higher esteem than others, but if your belief in God can be hurt by your Pastors shortcomings, then maybe you need to lose this ‘belief’ and rediscover God for yourself.
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you!
PS:
Please feel free to disagree with any of the thoughts/beliefs expressed in this post. Use the comments section below so that we can all learn and grow as iron sharpens iron. Thanks!
In the event that Ms. Walter’s side of the story is the true one, I am very happy for her. She seems to have found healing, and that is a good thing.
________
You can read more from Koye on his Blog
In all of this,i can't but fear for Ese's life. Why can't we women come out&fight it together instead of bashing her? Thanks Myne for posting this.
ReplyDeleteEse, Franca E. and whoever come up later will get the bashing of their lives from women like them, but that should not stop more from speaking, however, a man of God is still a man, not God. He has his weaknesses, but could Ese's story be true?Ummmmm....
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. When true Christians write, one knows.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great write up. However, it is based on a 'fact' that really may never have happened. I think that as relevant as the points raised are, the word "alleged" in the topic could have demonstrated that you are willing to give the pastor the benefit of doubt and not make him guilty until he is proven innocent (or otherwise).
ReplyDeleteAnd I just observed that there is another title similar to this one on this very blog. We should not just accept an emotional story as gospel truth merely because it is emotionally captivating. Don't get me wrong. The story MAY eventually turn out to be true and the girl MAY be right. But until then, it is only fair to at least allow the pastor reply first! If you are already making conclusions based on a yet unverified story...
The author made it clear that this post may seem related but is not about the affair. Alleged or not.
DeleteCome on! An article is titled "Koye's Thoughts on #EseWalter's Affair With Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of #COZA" and then you say it is not about the "affair"?
DeleteLike I said earlier, it's a great article. I even agree with the points raised. I'm only saying that there is a good reason why media houses use the word "alleged".
Hi, Olumide. Thanks for reading and writing. I understand the point you are making about the use of the word "alleged". However, my original title was "Random Thoughts on 'My (Ms. Walter's) Affair With..." I briefly considered using the word "alleged", but that would have corrupted. Ms. Walter's original title.. :)
DeleteThis is the best write up on this issue so far! (that's if the pastor is guilty) am not even a christian but you did justice to the matter.Defending him (if he's guilty) is like a muslim defending boko haram killing people or defending yerima thirst for under age girls
ReplyDelete"If Pastor asks you to come to the hotel, do him a favor and DON’T GO! If he asks you to sit on his laps, kick off your shoes and run!! If he asks you to wait behind after two or three consecutive services for extra counselling, tell him you prefer to speak to his wife!!! Help Pastor!!!"
ReplyDeleteThis is just it! Help your pastor who is just as human as you are!
As at this moment, the only one that is really rejoicing is the devil. He probably thinks he has achieved this aim – another giant going down! Maybe the ‘higher level of grace’ will come to bear if pastor seeks genuine repentance (if the guy really commit).
ReplyDeleteI ask myself, what is Ese’s objective/motive in all this - to glorify God? Could it have been achieved in another way?
Imagine this situation, I am a married man and a lady makes an accusation that I slept with her and other women and my wife asks for an explanation and I tell her I will reply later. This just sums up what is happening to COZA pastor. I personally can't keep quite if I know someone tarnished my image publicly except I am guilty. There is no excuse for what he did if he did it and our spiritual leaders should be held accountable, not praised.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Myne, for re-posting this. Thanks also to everyone for reading, agreeing, and disagreeing :)
ReplyDeleteI"m not a christian however, well written. Unfortunately most people who idolize pastor never take the time to study their scripture for themselves. The scripture they so claim to be the guiding principles of their lives, the manual they claim to live by. Otherwise they would know their bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15 to study to show thyself approved unto God." Blind sheeple" following pastor because they themselves are mentally lazy.
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