...writes Nkem Ike
This is certainly a very important issue that the respected man of God Pastor E.A Adeboye, who is at the moment one of the world’s famous General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) must address with absolute urgency. Shortly after the RCCG’s annual Convention in August 2010, the instruction had gone out from the Church’s headquarters for pastors who had spent upward of 5-6 years in their parishes, to be transferred. This, we gathered, is in line with the policy of the church, aimed at propagating the experience of the pastors, as well as strengthening in them, the resolve and commitment to be able to serve God wherever the Spirit leads.
Unfortunately, however, www.gistclan.blogspot.com can report authoritatively that, unknown to Daddy G.O, as Pastor Adeboye is fondly and respectfully called, many zonal and provincial pastors have had to accede to vigorous lobbying by pastors who did not want to be posted to struggling or underdeveloped parishes some even go to the extent of paying huge amount of money to buy over their provincial pastors.
As the sad story gives, many pastors who enjoy close relationship with their zonal or provincial pastors succeeded in lobbying to be posted to those, posh, sophisticated parishes where their comfort would be guaranteed. More sad is it that those pastors who are not connected to these coordinating pastors are posted to those parishes where it is believed a lot of hard work and financial resources are still required to build them up. And this we hear is gradually tearing the church apart and generating bad blood among these men of God affected.
A major trend in the current transfer controversy we hear is the scenario where Pastors –in – Charge of Areas, as well as Pastors –in – Charge of parishes are transferred from Areas and Parishes they have built up to enviable levels, to parishes where the plot of land , for instance, is yet to be paid for.
For fear of what, in spiritual terms, is called murmuring, most of the affected pastors, we gather are merely suffering and smiling, apologies to Fela.
An investigation carried out by this site, further reveals a pastor’s experience, of how he single handedly over 12 years struggled to build a parish in one of the branches in Akute area of Ogun state Nigeria to international standard, only for the provincial pastor to turn around and transfer him to another parish where they were yet to purchase a land for the church auditrium construction.
Sad enough, according to the pastor who spoke to us in anonymity, “the same day the announcement was made in the church; I had already made provisions for 20 pieces of splint unit air-conditioners to be deployed to the church premises, I quickly asked the motorist to move them back to my house immediately.”
The aggrieved pastor, refused to harcken to the instruction given him to go and serve in that remote parish, and quickly stopped every member of his family from even attending church services in that same parish too.
According to him; I don’t have any problem with God neighther do I have a problem with the G.O. but the fact remains that I have made a decision to remain an ordinary member in Redeem church until this whole issue is resolved by the G.O. himself.
As at the time publishing this story, he had since resumed church service in another parish somewhere around Wempco road in Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria.
The respected general overseer, is expected to quickly come to the rescue of this controversy, before “gun go turn to wetin all pastors wan carry” if I should borrow Ruggedman’s sloggan
