When Pastors fall from their exalted position, their church councils are expected to call them to order. Omolara Akintoye examines whether pastors who committed immoral acts should still continue as General Overseers of their churches
The duties of Pastors and ministers are almost limitless as leaders of church congregations. Pastors provide counsel or support to church members in a variety of ways. Offering advice or counsel during challenging times or for pre-marital couples is common.
More importantly, pastors are expected to lead by example and to challenge church members to follow biblical principles, they are expected to maintain a higher standard of behaviour to effectively guide others. But when such high standard behaviour is lacking then what should the church do about it?
Such is the case of the popular Abuja-based pastor, Joshua Iginla, who has admitted that he and his wife, Yemisi, had children out of wedlock.
Iginla, who is the Senior Pastor of Champions Royal Assembly, who spoke to his congregation during a Sunday service, said when his wife brought an illegitimate child into their home, he forgave her, but that she refused to forgive him when he had his own child with another woman.
It was also in the news that the self-proclaimed Prophet Joshua Iginla married Stella Zimasa Ndamase, (his baby Mama) who is pregnant with his second child. Iginla had recently announced that his marriage to Yemisi had crashed because he made the mistake of having a baby mama.
The Prophet however forgot to add that he married his baby mama as far back as October 2014 in a Civil Marriage. In fact, it is reported that she is carrying a second pregnancy for him. The first child is named Rhema.
The Baby Mama Stella Zimasa Ndamase Iginla who is from South Africa is whispered to be ‘’so rich she does not know what to do with money.’’
Solving a spiritual riddle
Stories abound of so many men of God in developing countries who after having committed immoral act, rather than stepping aside continue to preside in that spiritual capacity, this no doubt is a wrong signal to the body of Christ and the society at large.
The question is what should Pastors or Minister of God who have fallen from such exalted position as a result of immoral act do, should they continue to preside over their congregation in that spiritual capacity? Pastor of Apostolic Impact Ministries, Abuja, Emmanuel Adeyomoye, is of the view that “When someone is found to have committed immoral act, such a person steps down from leadership, because leadership either spiritual or physical is a respectable and a responsible office. So if a leader is caught in an immoral act, not only sexual immorality, it could also be financial immorality, I mean misappropriation of funds, he should step down from that position of leadership until proper investigation is carried out. If he is found guilty, then he should be prosecuted according to the law and if found to be clean, then he can be restored to his position. But in this case, it is a spiritual matter so that he will not begin to celebrate sin in the body of Christ. He should step down so that people will not begin to abuse such office by believing that they can commit such immoral act and get away with it, by saying if that Pastor can commit immorality and get away with it then how much more me a worker or an ordinary member?”
According to Adeyomoye, it is important for the Church Council to take the necessary disciplinary action so that it does not send a wrong signal to the body of Christ, anybody can go and mess up and come back to pretend as if nothing has happened. “He might be the General Overseer of his church but he is not the God of that church, he should step down and go and reconcile back to his God, repent of his sin. Then if the church has a council that is independent from his authority, they must ensure that he steps down and in the process must see a measure of repentance and remorse in their Pastor who will now reinstate him. His reinstatement must be done by the council who will tell the church the true part of the story and the woman concerned must be given a fair hearing to be able to defend herself.”
He warned that this might make some men in that church to begin to do anything to their wives knowing full well that they can get away with it. “It is a spiritual matter and must be handled that way. For him to have the moral standing to stand before the congregation, to be able to truly deliver God’s counsel and message, he should stop defending himself, rather he should own up by saying that he has committed the act and that he is sorry and step down for as long as the council wants. Else it will give room for immoral act to thrive in the body of Christ.”
On her own part, the General Overseer, Divine Souls for Christ Church International, Lagos, Bishop Dr. Joy Oberiko, said the Pastor needs to ask God for mercy because he has committed adultery. He must realize the fact that he has sinned against God, and then confess before God and the congregation. But if he continues in the sin then something is wrong with him, whether he is the General Overseer or the Pastor, he should not be cast away, he needs to ask for forgiveness. But if he did it intentionally because his wife had committed the offence in the past, then there is no doubt that he will continue in such sins,” she said.
For Pastor Adetokunbo Emmanuel of Grace Missions International, he is of the opinion that gross sin among Christian leaders is a signal that something is seriously wrong with the church. “But an even greater problem is the lowering of standards to accommodate a leader’s sin. That the church is so eager to bring these men back into leadership is a symptom of rottenness at the core.”
He added, “Some have claimed that a leader’s failure makes him more effective in shepherding fallen people. That is ludicrous. Should we drag the bottom of sin’s cesspool for the most heinous sinners to lead the church? Are they better able to understand the sinner? Certainly not! Our pattern for ministry is the sinless Son of God. The church is to be like Him and her leaders are to be our models of Christlikeness.
“We must recognize that leadership in the church cannot be regarded lightly. The foremost requirement of a church leader is that He be above reproach according to1 Timothy 3:2, 10; Titus 1:7. We must try as much as possible to be without reproach and should that happen, he should step down for a while to undergo disciplinary action,” he said.
American Pastors who fell from grace and had to step aside
There are notable examples of American leaders who fell into immoral act and had to step down for a while they include:
William Hybels: He is the founding and former Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, one of the most attended churches in North America, with an average attendance of nearly 24,000 as of late 2018. Hybels is also an author of a number of Christian books, especially on the subject of Christian leadership. He resigned early after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him, though he has denied all allegations.
Ted Haggard: Haggard is an American evangelical pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of Evangelicals from 2003 until November 2006. In 2006, a male escort named Mike Jones publicly claimed that Haggard had been a client for years. Not only that, Haggard had allegedly used crystal meth in front of his male lover. Ted Haggard was forced to resign from his church. Following his downfall, he attempted a form of conversion therapy and embraced his heterosexual side. His wife stood by Haggard during the scandal.
Jim Bakker: He was perhaps the most popular televangelist in the 1980s, though his wife Tammy Faye gave him a run for his money. That all ended when Bakker was brought down by an enormous scandal that included sexual abuse and fraud. In 1987, Bakker’s secretary publicly accused the televangelist of raping and drugging her. After Bakker resigned from his ministry, he was charged with accounting fraud and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Bakker was replaced by Jerry Falwell, who called his predecessor, “the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history.”
Bill Gothard: Gothard is famous for his home schooling ministry, known as the Gothard Institute of Basic Life Principles. He promoted extreme submission of women and ordered them to dress modestly. In 2014, more than 30 women accused Gothard of molestation and assault, including underage girls. The allegations included sexual harassment, inappropriate touching, molestation, and rape. He was forced to resign from his ministry, though he resurfaced on the Internet with a blog in 2016.
Bob Coy: He was the most famous evangelical pastor in Florida. His Fort Lauderdale mega church had 25,000 members, and George W. Bush even visited Coy. But it all came crashing down in 2014 when he admitted to multiple affairs and pornography addiction. He resigned in disgrace––but the worse was still to come. In 2017, Coy was publicly accused of molesting a four-year-old child. Police sat on the accusation for months and dropped the inquiry without interviewing Coy. The case is still ongoing.