Is the church a family empire? That is the question many in the Christian circles are currently asking.
When Pastor Jimi Odukoya, the first son of the late Senior Pastor of the Fountain of Life Church, Taiwo Odukoya was unanimously appointed by the leadership of the church to succeed his father, there were diverse reactions to the development.
Many were shocked about the appointment because of the antecedents of Jimi. Except for those who were close to the church, many people outside the church saw Jimi from the prism of an actor who had nothing to do with the celestial world.
Unknown to many, Jimi had been prepared for the new role and it was not difficult for him to adapt to the leadership role of the church.
It has become a trend in the Christian cycle for either the wife or the first son to succeed the founder of the church. But the question in many quarters is, “Must it be the son, or family members of the founder?”
Our correspondent gathered that just the way the late Taiwo Odukoya prepared his son for a leadership role, it brings so much joy and excitement for church leaders to see their children or spouses pick an interest in the ministry and grow to follow in their footsteps.
They are quick to quote the bible verse which states that “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children and his children’s children.”
While this may be apt in scripture, the question again is whether the minister’s children or spouse are called, prepared, capable, ready or positioned by God to take over the leadership of the flock of God that the founder left or is leaving behind. This has become a subject of concern or debate in many quarters. Some of the founders of churches are often concerned about strangers taking over their ministries, properties, and investments, after passing on.
Barely a month ago, The President and Founder of Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo appointed his second biological son, Isaac as the National Youth Pastor, of Youth Alive Fellowship (YAF) which is the youth arm of the church. It generated a lot of reactions about the succession plan of the church. Just a few days ago, it was reported that the son resigned from the church to start his own ministry amidst strong disagreements about staff welfare in the church by an inside source.
The appointment of Jimmy Olukoya equally raised a lot of dust largely due to his past lifestyle- body piercing, wearing dreadlocks, and earrings, among others.
The question of whether the church is a family empire has for decades been a subject of concern across Pentecostal churches in parts of the world. In the United States, most of the mega-churches are currently being superintended by the children of their founders. The likes of Billy Graham, John Osteen, and the latest which is becoming a reality is the daughter of Bishop TD Jakes.
In Nigeria, the issue and controversies around succession are usually prominent in most Pentecostal churches and churches that make up the Organisation of African Instituted Churches, (OAIC) popularly known as ‘Aladura’ and the likes who see the church as a family heritage. Most Orthodox churches and churches with their headquarters abroad have tried to fashion out the simplest ways of succession planning.
Bishop Oyedepo while speaking during one of the Church’s programmes had spoken largely on his position about succession planning for churches which was monitored online by The Nation.
According to Oyedepo, many charismatic churches have died because their founders made those churches a family business.
He said the Living Faith Church has a succession plan which is in the booklet called Mandate and available for everybody to read.
“In this church the moment you are 70 as the leader of the Church, you step aside and select three people to be presented to the church council. The church council will pick from the three. But if they are not qualified, the leader will be given another opportunity to present three people and afterwards step aside for the council to take over while they sort out the leadership issue,” he said.
He further stressed that making the Church a family business is a disservice to the kingdom of God while also warning that servants of God should refrain from calling their children to Ministry.
“When your church becomes a personal property, it is dead on arrival. Don’t call your children to ministry. If you do not want to frustrate their destiny, let them be positioned where they belong,” he warned.
While Oyedepo is averse to turning a ministry into a family business, many have argued that in reality, it could be a bit difficult to implement.
Many have argued that irrespective of Oyedepo’s resolve towards succession in the ministry, there is the likelihood that his son might take over the leadership of the church in the near future.
The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Christ for All Nations (CfaN), Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke seamlessly officially handed over his mantle to his successor, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda as in the case of Prophet Elijah and his servant Elisha should be a lesson for every church leader.
In an interview with The Nation, some pastors shared their position as regards succession in the church.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in the choice of who takes over the church- Ighele
The Chairman, of the Financial Accountability Commission of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and General Superintendent of Holy Spirit Mission (Happy Family Church), Bishop Charles Ighele while enumerating three types of churches, stated some churches were established by God; some by the devil, using some people who have the Bible in one hand and demonic powers in the other, quoting 2nd Corinthians 11:12-15. According to him, “They use demonic powers to perform miracles.”
The third is churches set up by men due to greed or personal ambition.”I can confidently tell you that churches established by the devil or personal ambition can easily be run as a family empire. It is pure personal business and not God’s business.”
Explaining how the mantle of leadership fell on him, Ighele said the Holy Spirit Mission (Happy Family Church) started in 1974 with Bishop Michael Marioghae as the first General Superintendent. “After I graduated from the University of Ife, Nigeria in 1980, I found myself being pastored some years later by Bishop Michael Marioghae. I was looking for a church leader with transparent honesty. I was looking for a man who would not exaggerate, a man whose ability to tell a black-or-white lie was no longer in existence. I was looking for a church leader who would quote a quotable quote and not steal the honour as if the quotable quote originated from him. I found these in Bishop Michael Marioghae.
“I later got married to his second child who was then a banker. After I served in the headquarters church then based in Benin City, Nigeria, I started a branch of the church in Government Reserved Area (GRA) Benin City. The branch grew and became larger than the headquarters church which was already large in size and population.
“The most important factor was that in December 1996, he addressed about 19 of us, his pastors, on a Sunday evening. He then informed us that God had told him that He would soon call him to his Heavenly home and that his stay on planet Earth would soon be over. Bishop Michael Marioghae went on to say that God told him to put things in order and hand over the leadership of the church to me. He was about Seventy-one years old as of then. At a well-publicized service, he formally handed over to me on January 19, 1997. He never stepped into the office till he died a few years later.
“It will also interest you to know that Bishop Michael Marioghae’s first daughter and first son were also pastors. But he did not hand it over to any of them because he believed that the leadership of any church of God should be left for God to decide.”
Ighele disclosed that the key issue is whether the outgoing or former leader was led by God to pick the successor he/she picked. “As for me, I will put other personal interests aside and allow myself to be led by the Spirit of God in picking a successor. I want what I laboured for until the last day.”
My son can succeed me if God says yes-Ojo
Reacting, the General Overseer and Founder of Calvary Kingdom Church (CKC) International, Archbishop Joseph Ojo who spoke to The Nation at the 21th Annual Convention of the church, said that most of the people are not actually involved in church management or church administration. “You manage from the inside, you don’t manage the company from the outside except maybe you are a board member and you come once in a while. If you did not interview me to get to speak on this, someone out there might say ‘his son has succeeded him’. I had someone who was the National Overseer who left about 10 years ago, that should be in 2013.”
He disclosed that his son, Best, is in full-time ministry. He served as the youth president, music director, head of media and other departments. “He grew up in the music ministry, he was nine years ago when he started playing the drums and Papa Idahosa gave him a scholarship because of his gift.’
On whether he sees his son succeeding him, Ojo says “If God says yes, why not? Like I said before, he has served in different capacities. We do not give responsibility to people because of their age; we give responsibility to people because of their commitment. When you see someone committed irrespective of age, and you know he has the wherewithal to perform you appoint such person not minding the age.
God call men into ministry, you cannot call your successor -Kasali
The Senior Pastor, Foundation of Truth Assembly, Surulere, Lagos-Rev. Yomi Kasali said The subject of succession in running churches and faith-based ministries has always generated some friction in the past because there was no clear model mentioned in the scriptures. Churches are both organisations (corporate entities) and organisms (life-giving entities). Catholics have gotten the model right. God calls men into ministry, you cannot call a man to succeed you. Find someone that God has called to succeed you.
“We see this model worked in The Redeemed Christian Church of God when Pastor Enoch Adeboye was appointed as the successor to Pa Josiah Akindayomi as God led him. Children can work in the administration department and may not be on the pulpit. Though I’m not against children of founders of churches taking over we need to get it right. God appointed successors and not man,” he said.
