When I was to write on this topic, I initially had my reservation because the Christian world has so trivialised Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm –1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15. Many Church leaders have come to believe that the Biblical quotations apply only to them.
A few months ago, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, and one of Nigeria's most respected Christian leaders, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, noted in an interview with a global news network, Al-Jazeera, that he bought a private jet to aid him in his work as the head of the church. "When you have to oversee churches in 160 countries, you can't do that on a bicycle", Adeboye was quoted as saying in the interview. When you juxtapose this with what you see and hear among pastors, you begin to wonder where we are heading as a congregation. Recently, we have heard of pastors competing over who has the best private jet to the biggest university and things of the world have become the vogue amongst them. So when you try to question the rationale behind this show of profligate waste by these men of God, what you hear is that you are touching an anointed one.
It was, therefore, not surprising to read online the intercourse scandal involving the presiding pastor and founder of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Abuja, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo and a certain Ese Walters, one of his former members who claimed guilt over her immoral escapades with the pastor compelled a confession of her sins via the social media. To some of us, it wasn't a new thing; over the years stories had emerged of pastors being arrested for armed robbery, drug trafficking and several other vices you will not expect from a man of God. So, when Ese went to the social media with the exposé, we expected the pastor to respond to the allegation; rather he went on saying he had been advised not to respond to the allegation.
Strangely, the Fatoyinbo/Walters escapade happened a few days after the death of Prophet Elijah Ajanaku, another controversial pastor and spiritual father of gospel artiste Tope Alabi who he had a few weeks before his demise accused of trying to seduce him and when he refused her intercourse advances, she parted ways with him and left his church. When I read the interview where the prophet made this statement, I was utterly disappointed a man of God will condescend to granting an interview and accusing a member of flock of intercourseual advances which he cannot prove. Like I have always said, these pastors are humans, and as such, are fallible and open to failures too, even though we are often disappointed by their actions.
However, the scenario that has played out since the Fatoyinbo/Walters scandal is the defence and attack from those who feel the aforementioned Bible quote protects pastors and clergies from being questions. That is why you see many church members defending their pastors and not being bold enough to question their pastors. Like in the Ajanaku interview, the prophet actually called his church members to confirm his allegation which, strangely, they did in the interview. My question is simple, were they there with Ajanaku when Alabi was demanding for intercourse? What you see is members following their pastors blindly.
We have also been inundated with the revelations about Pastor Lazarus Mouka of The Lord's Chosen Ministry whose member had gone on social media to make some damaging revelations about the General Overseer of Lord's Chosen. Regrettably, it has been the same pattern where members are too scared to touch the anointed.
Outside of mere ignorance, pastors use 1 Chronicles 16:22 and Psalm 105:15 to make the 'sheep' afraid to question them, even when the leadership is wrong. I have discovered that many Church leaders have no idea what this scripture means. The context of these passages refers to God's protection of the patriarchs, particularly to an episode in Abraham's life in Genesis 20:6 when Sarah was about to be taken into Abimelech's harem, but God reproved him for Abraham's sake. God was protecting his covenant people from heathen interference.
This scripture should never be used as a weapon or to imply that the congregation should not or can't question church leadership. As a matter of fact, all spirit-filled believers are anointed with the Holy Spirit, thus God will protect them from the ungodly.
National Mirror
I don't think so many Nigerians support the idea of our Nigerian pastors going for private jets to aid the work of God in their churches. They still feel it's waste of money!