Hello Enekem,
I will be glad if u publish this story. A lot of injustice and abuse is going on in the church. I want narrate what I witnessed on Wednesday the 28th of January In Winners Chapel, Owerri.
I will title this story " What is the church turning into? Atten: Pst Moses Oyedele of Winners Chapel." A family came to see the senior pastor of winners chapel Owerri at about 12:30 pm on the 28th of January . The receptionist who is also a pastor (male ) showed them to the waiting room where about six or more other persons were waiting.
The three kids who are under ten years started playing and moving from one chair to another as kids usually do.
All of a sudden, the receptionist walked up to the one who was talking loudly and started hitting him. " keep quiet. Stop making noise", he said to him.
The mother woke up angrily and grabbed the pastor in defence of the child. " why are u beating my child right in my presence?" The mother asked. "Couldn't you have cautioned him to stop noise or tell me to instruct him to stop noise. What has the child done? Are children forbidden from playing here?" she continued.
The pastor replied, " it is a corrective measure. The child was making noise and pulling the curtains, I had to beat him."
This infuriated the child's mother more. She grabbed the pastor now by his shirt even tighter and made a move to hit him, before other people waiting intervened. But the woman won't release him.
He told the pastor, that it was the height of disrespect to beat a child right before his mother's presence. Besides a child who came to the house of God.
At that point the the senior pastor ( Moses oyedele) walked in . When the receptionist saw him, he started saying " ejooooh, ejooooh" in Yoruba. Then he added, " "Sorry please".
Pst Moses Oyedele did something that shocked everybody. Instead of calming down everybody or asking what happened, he shouted at the woman in the most disrespectful way.
" if you will not calm down, walk out! He ordered. "I said , get out if you will not accept his apology," he repeated.
Everybody felt disappointed, but nobody had the courage to tell him that what he did was not correct.
The woman asked, " is this what u will say!" Pastor Moses replied, "if u will not calm down, get out."
The woman walked to her chair picked her bag and asked all her family members to follow her. She walked out angrily. Her mother who is a deaconess in the church tried to stop her from leaving, but she insisted that she wanted to go. Some other visitors who felt concerned also tried to stop her from leaving. They begged her to calm down and wait for her turn to see pastor Moses oyedele.
But she replied" I am no longer interested in seeing him! I am not a member of the church, my mum only insisted that I see their pastor before going back" , she replied. ( The woman lives in the states and was just on a visit to Nigeria)
"Please calm down, don't miss your miracle because of anger. This is the devils work. Ignore the way pastor Moses handled the situation", another person said. "
" What miracle? Is he a genuine pastor? Is he born again or one of those who became pastors because of unemployment? He has nothing to offer. How can a pastor who lacks leadership qualities pray for me? Is this how he runs Winners Chapel Owerri like a tyrant? I am so disappointed that a man who is emotionally unstable will be made in charge of such a big congregation like this" she snapped.
She walked towards her car, her family members followed her. But some people tried to stop her from leaving. She insisted and drove off with the entire family.
My question is, what is the church turning into? This is not the first time this type of incident is happening in Winners chapel. It is either a woman is slapped or a man is punched or children are beaten as corrective measure.
Don't the pastors get some form of training? Why are pastors so wild and authoritative? What are they feeling like?
Is the church not supposed to be a place where people seek solace? How can pastors who feed fat on members offerings and tithe, turn around and terrorize the same people who put food on their table? In developed world toys are kept at the reception of most offices so children can keep themselves busy with that while their parents wait. It is even a serious crime to beat a child.
How can a pastor beat a child in his mother's presence? A child who committed no other crime, other than play.
I want to use this opportunity to caution pastor Moses Oyedele. He should learn how to shepherd the flock put in his care and stop being a dictator. Better still he should resign,instead of misleading members. Enough is enough.
This is not only for pastor Moses, all clergy should learn from this
.
Chioma Jacobs
