Prophet Israel Ogundipe is one of the young, dynamic leaders in the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC). The shepherd-in-charge of Genesis Model International, CCC , Alakuko, Lagos spoke with Sunday Oguntola on how he is trying to change ”barbaric practices and doctrines” in the church. Excerpts:
You were in the banking sector. Why did you leave?
Yes, I was in the bank for three years. The last place I worked was Gateway Bank Plc in Abeokuta before it went under. I came back to Lagos then and concentrated on tilling. I had passion for tilling because when I was in school, I used proceeds from it to keep body and soul together.
Can you talk briefly on your background?
I attended Universal College of Technology, Ile Ife, Osun State. Even when I graduated, I was still into tilling. I did it until I was called in 2000. I was actually born into a Muslim family. My Muslim name was Wasiu but my parents got converted. They joined Christ Gospel Apostolic Church (CGAC) and my mother became a deaconess. My father happened to be a deacon there too while I used to play instruments in the church.
But I used to attend this Celestial Church and the man in charge was like a father to me. His name is Prophet Femi Shoyoye. He loves children and youths. I was playing instruments that day when I went into a trance. Later, the gift of prophecy came and miracles started happening.
How easy was it for you to run a Celestial Church considering your pentecostal background?
I never desired to have a church but people started gathering. They suggested we start a fellowship, which we did. But it was challenging from day one because I wasn’t born into the Celestial Church. I was operating differently from what people expected. I added my pentecostal background to what I met on the ground, which elicited a lot of criticism from the people on ground. When they started seeing the hands of God and found nothing incriminating about me, they started becoming more open.
And your parents accepted the movement without any fuss?
A lot of CGAC members, of course, met them and said they should kick against it. But my father is a liberal Christian. He stood his ground and said he believed God must have sent me to the CCC for a reason. He believes there is no Church in heaven. So, they accepted it and support me 100 percent.
So, how well have you assimilated the CCC culture?
I believe the Church has its own doctrines but, of course, I have seen some barbaric beliefs among some CCC members too. Some people brought in what the founder did not receive. So, I have been close to the leaders and realised there are good doctrines here. I know the rules, especially major things like why we are not wearing shoes and the use of white garments. They are all in the Bible. My own is raising a people of values and preparing them for transformation. There are things, however, that we don’t do here.
Like what and what?
We don’t restrict people to come based on whether or not they have white garments. If you come here during service days, you will find more people with muftis. Some of them were in the CCC before but left when they saw some abuses. They are comfortable worshipping with you now. We don’t do stream-bathing or cleansing. I believe that it’s barbaric and uncalled for. You may bath, but can you bath away bad character? If you lack values, it is all a waste of time.
What kinds of reformations are you bringing to the CCC?
Well, I am just trying to change the notion that the Church is barbaric and fetish. Before we applied more energy but now we need more strategies. When you apply strategies, you do more creativity and spirituality. We teach people a lot of the Bible here. We do marriage seminars, youth empowerment, women fellowship and run a leadership school. We just graduated some people from courses like management, finance, delegation and personal development. We tell people not every problem is caused by witches and wizards. So, we ask people to be value-driven and be purposeful.
Being here was never my choice; it was the will of God. I believe that what I am enjoying is the grace of God. I have embraced wisdom and allowed God have His way. We also do not do spiritual isolation for people. Once we finish services, everyone goes home. When we have special retreats, people are encouraged to take hotel accommodations around and never sleep in the Church. There is nowhere here that people cannot go to. We only have our altar, which is always not accessible to everyone in other churches too. We don’t have any shrine or special praying ground. We are just guarding against the many abuses that have been seen in the CCC.
You are one of the most criticised preachers in CCC. Why is that?
You know when you are trying to introduce reforms, you will be singled out for attacks. We love rumours and grape vines. We love celebrating people’s shames and pulling down those on top. Since we don’t go to streams, we start our Sunday Service for 10am and end 12noon, there are bound to be criticisms. We also empower women and youths so they are sure to misinterpret our intentions. Nobody likes those who are ahead. They want to do everything to assassinate your character.
Are you still in touch with your pentecostal root?
I have many friends in the pentecostal churches. Some of them have been here to minister. I also get invitations to minister in pentecostal churches. I minister with my sultana, not because I have to but because I always like people to know who I am. I tell them if they are not comfortable with my sultana, they can let me be. My mentors are Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, Bishop T.D Jakes and Pastor Paul Adefarasin. So, you will know my pentecostal roots are still intact. I read a lot because a reader is always a leader. Many people thought I was going to change the church to pentecostal when we started but here we are today. I am a reformist and I am prepared to step out of the comfort zone.
Tell me what really happened about the case of the people who were involved in a fire accident in your Church that went viral in the media?
The Bible says by their fruits, you will know them. Anytime you want to go to a new level, one must expect a new devil. We are not into going to trance in this church. But this lady came and said she was in a trance. I was not around then but a reception was held for her. There was a perfume spread on her while she had a burning candle in her hand. It caught fire and she and others suffered burns. They were taken to a private hospital and referred to the General Hospital. We spent close to N1million on all of them.
In the process, some people started suggesting to the lady who went on a trance to get more money from me. I have never touched Church funds in my life. I don’t charge but live only on what people give me. While the others celebrated our gestures, she became greedy. She asked us to rent her an apartment, which we did. We even furnished the house for her.
We gathered she refused to be treated again. Others got well while her burns became severe. She apparently wanted to use that to get more money. She asked for surgery, which they declined. We placed her on a weekly allowance of N5,000 and she went to a private hospital somewhere in Ijoko, Ogun State to get a bill of N1.5 million for surgery. I refused to pay because one cannot even operate a chicken in that kind of hospital.
We would found out she had a plan to get N500,000 while the doctor pocket N1million. I started getting threat text messages and she took me to Labe Orun, a Yoruba programme on TV. I went and succeeded in exposing all her lies. People are always like that and we have moved on.
How about the evangelist who was reported dead a few weeks after the gift of a new car from you?
The man was one of the most loyal workers. So, when he died, I felt a sense of loss. He was a good evangelist. But I don’t see a Church where people don’t die. This man should have been 50 next year. But we never knew he was hypertensive. He was sick for a while. One day, he had an attack and was rushed to the hospital. His BP was over 200. He took a drug, which aggravated the condition. Before then, I gave him a Peugeot 406 and people celebrated him. He died and we did his funeral. We gave his wife money, sold the car and returned the proceeds to her too. When I read that a fellow in this church threatened to deal with him and that was why he died, I was baffled. These are just speculations. The devil will fight back when you are a reformer and we shall overcome.
