17 May 2008
opinion
Lagos — One of the most important qualities of a leader, according to John C. Maxwell's 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, is succession. In business, politics or religion, what often guarantees continuity or perpetuity of a dream, tradition, business or culture, is the ability of the man at the top to hand over to a protégé of sorts. It's what has made some businesses survive ten generations; and what has made others crumble barely 12 months after the founder's death. The church in Nigeria is an important case study, when the issue of succession crops up. While the older, orthodox congregations are adhering to a succession formular that should guarantee continuity, most of the newer, Pentecostal churches are 'keeping it all in the family'. What effect does this have on the religious system? Is there a disconnect between the leadership and followership? What's the succession pattern and how has it influenced the success of these churches and the way worshippers perceive them? As the first in a series of success and succession features, Glitterati invites you to come along into the world of the modern-day church in Nigeria. By Nseobong Okon-Ekong
The baton of leadership is being passed around within the same family, particularly in the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria. It appears a trend has been established that once the founder of a church passes on, the headship goes to his wife or to one of his children. This tendency is not there at all in the orthodox churches, where ordained channels are set for entry into the priesthood; and everyone is welcome to aspire. In the Catholic church, for instance, priesthood is a deliberate, even if weighty choice that sometimes evokes a lot of emotion in members of the immediate family because a reverend father in the Catholic church can not raise a family of his own, so the question of handing over to his better half or off-spring does not arise. He undergoes a period of training, of no less than, 20 years-acquiring various levels of knowledge in the seminary. While priests in the Anglican Communion, Methodist, African, Baptist, The Apostolic fellowship allow their priests to raise families, the baton of leadership does not switch automatically to members of the same family. In the few cases where father and son have served in the same priesthood in these churches, each was recommended on his merit and often they have to enter from the normal starting block and rise through the hierarchy. There is no Primate, in living memory, whose son was privileged to reach that mark in the Anglican or Methodist church.
Apart from the Pentecostals, some-Christian sects, better known as, 'white garment' churches are also inclined to keep headship of the church in the family. Leadership (from the father to various sons) of The Church of the Lord, Aladura has remained in the Ositelu family of Ogere-Remo since it was founded. It was the refusal to accept one of Pastor Bilewu Oshoffa's children to succeed him that has factionalised the church. Till today, a good segment of the Celestial fold owe allegiance to one of Oshoffa's children. In the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, Bishop Roland Obu has virtually taken over leadership of the church from his father, Leader Olumba Olumba Obu. Roland had fought a spirited battle with his sister, who now appears to be satisfied with the title, 'Queen Mother'.
No where else is this fashion of 'me-and-my-wife-church' better entrenched in Nigeria than among the Pentecostals. Justification for this is both founded in the Bible and by convention. Critics of the vogue point to its susceptibility to corruption and other forms of abuse.
To be sure, order of priesthood started with Aaron. Back then it was a family affair with Moses, his younger brother, carrying the mantle of political leadership and their sister, Mariam operated in the office of a prothetess. Two incidents are worth recalling here: The Bible records how Aaron conceded to make a golden calf, to which the children of Israel bowed and this made God angry. Moses had been away to the top of Mount Sinai to commune with God. He returned to find this abomination. Vexed beyond words, he asked, 'who is on the Lord's side?' Only the children of the tribe of Levi answered in the affirmative, therefore, God entered into a covenant with them, saying they shall be priests onto him forever. Another Biblical incident Numbers Chapter 16 records how Korah, Dathan and Abiram challenged the authority of Moses. They sought to know if Moses was the only medium God could use. "You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?" In response, Moses sounded a spiritual battle cry, " the Lord will show who is His and who is holy " God showed He was with Moses when the ground opened and swallowed all the 250 men and their families who were with Korah. The next day, the slaughter continued as over 14,700 lives were lost in a plague. One of the signs that Moses had demonstrated by asking Korah's group to fill their censer with incense in order to see which one God will accept by lighting it up with fire from above, is what the Catholics use till today in the choice of a new pope. Usually, all candidates for the exalted office would be asked to bring up their censers and during a prayer session, the one whose censer is ignited with fire is believed to be the divine choice for the Catholic Pontiff.
Pastor Reham Benjamin of Warfare Pentecostal Assembly, Isheri Oshun, Lagos anchors his opinion against the emergence of a woman as head of the church on the scripture in 1Corinthians Chapter 14 verses 33 and 34, which reads, in part, "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says . For emphasis, this teaching is further rooted in 1Timothy 2 verses 11 and 12: "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence".
Benjamin believes no wife should succeed the husband on the pulpit. He would not enter into an argument with those who decide to do otherwise, except to standby what the Bible says. His conviction is that greed has entered into church; and that church leaders who hand over the baton of leadership to their wives have no other consideration than the pecuniary. "Once the father dies or is no longer fit to carry on the work, the church council should sit down and appoint another worthy man according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. For the avoidance of doubt, Benjamin insists that the matter was settled when Jesus Christ set the example by not having any woman among His 12 disciples. "There are certain roles women are allowed to play, but not to officiate on spiritual matters over men".
The emerging fashion of having the wife or son of the founder of a church take over the leadership at his demise cannot be put past the quest for materialism. "Many pastors are working for their belly. That is why they engraft their wives into the inner caucus of the church council. Their wives advise them from their bedrooms and they begin to hear the voice of the woman instead of hearing from God".
Rev. Kenneth Nwononeze of His Glory Christian Centre in Lagos who holds this opinion called on his colleagues to repent and re-trace their steps to the full gospel. "It is unfortunate that some pastors are making a shipwreck of the gospel. There is a difference between a ministry and a church. A woman can stand by her husband, support him in many ways but it is not her place to take his place on the pulpit. A pastor is sometimes called a shepherd. Ordinarily, this is not a job for women. Look around, how many women do you find leading a flock of cattle in the fields?"
Pastor Emmanuel Oluwagbemiga of the Goodnews Christian Outreach International whent back to the Old testament to put in perspective the issue of church leadership. God, he said, appoints a leader and He doesn't place a premium on gender. But in accordance with Jewish tradition, men were given the position of leadership. Oluwagbemiga emphasised that the most important quality to God is a willing and faithful vessel. He recalled the example of Deborah who led Israel at a point in time. To Oluwagbemiga, Jesus' choice of 12 male disciples doesn't mean that women didn't have a role in His ministry. Up to the time He suffered and died on the Cross of Calvary, you find that the men abandoned Him, but the women were with Him all the way. Women cared for him so much that on the day of resurrection, they were there first to see Him and report to the apostles. There were women like Phebean and Priscillia.
Oluwagbemiga finds nothing wrong with women holding positions of importance in the church, as long as, it follows the leading of the Holy Spirit. When men make the choice, self comes in. There is no authority anywhere in the Bible that says the baton of leadership should go to the wife of a founder of a church, when he passes on. All the same, we must not rule out the fact that women stand by their husbands. When the man dies, there are times that nobody else can shoulder the responsibility.
At the sudden death of Bishop Anayo Iluoputaife of the Victory Christian Centre, the elders of the church held a meeting and decided that no one else had the spiritual, emotional and physical capacity to head the church. Till today, the church is growing into dimensions that the man did not take it. It was the same when Archbishop Benson Idahosa of the Church of God Mission died, the council of bishops in Nigeria and the leadership of the church decided that his wife, Bishop Magaret who had been with him all along should carry on in his stead. I can't say that her choice is that of the Holy Spirit, but a good clue is that when the choice is not God's, it can't stand, but if God has a hand in it, even if men oppose it, it will stand and we are all witnesses to the fact that the Church of God Mission has continued to grow, although many of the male bishops who were with Idahosa and thought they stood a chance for the leadership of the church left.
Another veritable example is that of Apostle Gabriel Oduyemi of the Bethel Ministries. Similarly when the man died, the pastorate met and willingly agreed to submit to the authority of Oduyemi's wife. Now you can see that the church that was on a downward slide is up and running again through the efforts of Oduyemi's wife.
The tendency for succession from husbands to wives or their children has created unhealthy rivalry in some quarters. Not a few churches are burdened with situations where there is serious competition for dominance and attention between the wife and the husband. The case of the Fountain of Life Church cannot be exactly said to be a good example of rivalry, but it was clearly one in which the wife, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya was better known and appreciated by the larger public than her husband, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya. In her lifetime, Bimbo was a good role model and it was said that she submitted completely to her husband; and in fact, it was her husband's support that shot up her fame and reputation. Pastor Taiwo willingly gave his wife, Bimbo, all the opportunity she needed to do exploits.
Opinions are divided concerning who should wear the title 'father of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria'. While many surrender the title to Archbishop Benson Idahosa for his ebullience and ability to forge unity between all shades of opinion, not a few think it was the late Apostle Joseph Babalola of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) that was responsible for the great revival and move of the Holy Spirit that can be witnessed today. Babalola was unassuming and buried himself into evangelism. Idahosa came along with an American-type of preaching. He was charismatic, flamboyant, gave prominence to material wealth and shunned poverty. He broke new grounds by driving the gospel on the wheels of material evidence. At the same time, Pastor William Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Church was also doing great exploits in Christendom. His ministry is famous for its adherence to strict and spartan philosophies of the Bible.
What may have fuelled the communal succession fad in the Nigerian Pentecostal movement is not unconnected with the love for titles. It is apparent that many of God's generals insist that their wives should be accorded the same place and respect in the hierarchy. It is common to have a 'Daddy GO' (General Overseer) and a 'Mummy GO'. Some of these church leader's wives carry flashy titles like 'Mother-in-Israel' and occupy a place of affluence that makes them so powerful that nobody can see the GO without passing through them. 'Mummy GO' must be pampered with gifts and flattered with trivialities. She is often the one who carries many favours in her pouch and dispenses them to whoever takes her fancy.
Oluwagbemiga opined that the trend is one of the signs of the end times. "The growth of the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria is not balanced. There may be a lot of noise, material wealth may be evident everywhere, even the flamboyance that we all see may not be proof that the Holy Spirit is present in such places.
Those who harbour reservations about the inclination towards passing on the baton of church leadership to family members do so tongue-in-cheek. While they are cautious to avoid the wrath of the Holy Spirit, they do not compromise the possibility of a wrong motive. Their argument is that this trend must not become a tradition that allows the husband to sit on top of the church hierarchy while his wife or his son is both the secretary and treasurer. This scenario presents the church as a family enterprise that can be run at the whim and caprice of the founding family. The correct picture is that church is not a personal industry. Ultimately, God is the founder of the church and everybody else, including the GO, pastor, bishop, reverend (or whatever designation) is a co-labourer in the vineyard of the Lord. For this reason, there have been many cases of breakaway and factions, at the death of the founder, led by high ranking officials whose hope of leading the church were dashed as the wife or child of the founder assumed leadership. Having served the father, they frown at prospect of continuing to serve the son or his wife. Such persons refuse to buy the notion that their service is to God, ultimately.
Headship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) held by Pastor Enoch Adeboye today is a departure from the direction in which many Pentecostal churches are going. Pastor Josiah Akindayomi who founded the RCCG was not related to Adeboye by blood. As it stands today, there is no chance that his wife may succeed him. Even though one of his sons is a pastor at the City of David Parish of the RCCG, he is not anywhere near the top rung on the hierarchy. However, ascendance to the headship of many churches doesn't follow strict adherence to hierarchy. For instance, Adeboye was not the most senior when he took over from Akindayomi.
The Living Faith World Outreach, better known as Winners' Chapel has already established what appears to be a definite succession hierarchy. The need for this became more urgent when one of its bishops in-charge of the church in Ghana successfully factionalised it and broke away. While Bishop David Oyedepo is firmly in-charge at Winners, his undisputed deputy is Bishop David Abioye, a man in whom Oyedepo is well pleased.
Rev. Atobatele Theophilus of the Best of Grace International Evangelical Ministry believes there is nothing wrong if a wife succeeds the husband as head of church. "When a man is called, his wife becomes a co-visioner. A man and his wife are one. That is the way God does his mathematics. It is a mystery, that one plus one is one, in God's equation. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost fell upon both men and women, so I believe women have an equal place in the ministry of Christ. Having said so, I do not want to be misunderstood, it is important to seek the face of God on this issue as in everything that a Christian engages in. We need to warn the male church founders, we have had cases where the wife was implicated in the death of her husband, because she wanted her husband out of the way so that she could have full control of the church. Such women usually tell anyone who disagrees with her to leave the ministry. Usually, this is an ingredient that splits the church and injects bad blood. I think the system came from the US where the Pentecostal movement was founded. Many of our Pentecostal pastors are admirers of famous American preachers like Kenneth Hagin, Joel Austin and Oral Roberts. These people have members of their families holding top positions in their ministries. Again, you could say that it is because they merit it by a dint of hard work and submission to the Holy Spirit".
As far as Rev. Ladi Thompson of the Living Waters Unlimited Church is concerned, the issue of running the church as a family enterprise is nothing to be worried about: "God has been known to work with a father and to continue working with the son, and even into another generation. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus Christ. There is a check and balance, instituted by God Himself. The Bible says in Hebrews Chapter 5 verse 4, "And no man takes this honour to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was". We are all familiar with the story of Eli. He was a righteous man, but his children did abominable things, therefore, God took the priesthood from the house of Eli and gave it to Samuel. I don't think anybody should lose sleep over this because nobody can cheat God, such a church is moribund. Ministry should not be hereditary except designed by God. Check ministries that have tried to corrupt the work of God within five and 10 years after the demise of the founder, the ministry will collapse".
The founding father of a faction of the Christian Methodist Church in Ikot Ibok, Etinan local government area of Akwa Ibom state made sure there were two factions of the church while he lived. The acrimony was so deep that some members of his family looked the other way. Today, one of his sons who has since become a pastor in the main faction of the church is erecting his personal building on the wreckage of his father's church, erasing the memory progressively.
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A truly great peice of work,pity the majority of people on this continent cannot read.