HONOUR TO GOD FOR THE MINISTRY OF PASTOR W.F. KUMUYI

(NOTE: This might be too long for lazy readers. To avoid "wasting your time", don't read this if you are a lazy reader)

Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi is an inspiration to the Church of God in Nigeria – particularly in a challenging period like this.

Let’s be honest, Pastor Kumuyi (PK) is not a perfect minister of the Gospel (hardly any one of us is!) but God Almighty has ever been helping him in his ministry and other areas of his life

For today, please let us thank God for an aspect of the life of PK that even his sternest critics will concede to him – INTEGRITY OF CHARACTER.



Let’s start from the on-going political process in the country. Did you observe how Pastor Kumuyi was completely untainted by the embarrassing shenanigans that engulfed the topmost hierarchy of the Church leadership in Nigeria in relation to the on-going elections? When allegations were flying around about the pastors that had collected billions of Naira to influence Christian voters, PK’s name NEVER came up in the frame. When Church pulpits were being used as a political soapbox, PK was not in the fray. When the Church became embroiled in the controversy of endorsing a political party, we didn’t read about PK’s name in the reports.

Today, as the top leadership of the Church in Nigeria retreats in embarrassment over their conduct in the election (especially the failed prophecies), PK is a man that can be excused from that bandwagon. My guess is that one of the reasons that the politicians did not fawn all over him is simply because he has not been grovelling in the corridors of political power for favours. For patronage. For donations. And to invite politicians to grace his pulpit.

Of necessity, Church leaders ought to have cordial relations with political figures, where possible. For politicians also need the Gospel, as well as other segments of the society. But in this relationship, the challenge for most pastors relates to how to maintain the dignity and neutrality that their sacred office requires. Particularly, by being careful of gifts/favour from politicians. Thankfully, PK is a worthy example to Christian leaders, his conduct shows that these considerations can be successfully balanced.

Beyond the political aspect, PK shines very brightly in a crucial area of the faith – a single-minded focus on the interest of the Kingdom. Like every pastor that is into denominationalism, PK, unfortunately, is also building an empire. But, unlike most others, PK’s empire building DOES NOT come ahead of what he holds dear as Christian doctrines. He does not compromise these doctrines just to attract crowds into Deeper Life Bible Church (DLBC).

If anything, in a manner of speaking, PK erects ‘barriers’ that make membership of DLBC more difficult than it ought to be. Several ‘traditions’ and ‘taboos’ have to be observed before a member can feel truly comfortable in the Deeper Life family. Whereas this is not healthy for Christianity, it does show that PK is NOT in this for the crowd.

Let me give an example. I was in one of his services, over two decades ago, when he made a solemn, shocking announcement. He told his sprawling congregation that, with immediate effect, he would stop holding miracle services, and all services from that point would become Bible studies. He said he had observed that most of the people that were coming to the Church were coming just for the miracles – not for salvation. He said his observation of the Church did not reflect a people that were truly being transformed in the direction of holiness. So, he stopped the miracle services, and all the Sunday, Monday, and Thursday services became Bible study focused. In a matter of months, the Church’s attendance dropped massively. I mean massively!

In spite of that, PK did not panic. He expressed a preference for a slimmer church that was heaven-bound, than a behemoth church that wanted the blessings of Jesus Christ, but not His Lordship. He kept the emphasis on the main issue. Please look around Christendom today, how many pastors have a godly focus on quality, rather than quantity in church membership?

Please do not get me wrong. I am not advocating that the Church should be made up of only ‘saints’. And I am sure that this was not what PK was driving at too. The Church is, and is always likely to be a mixed multitude. My respect and admiration for PK in this area relate to the fact that he was not pandering to the needs of the crowd – above the dictates and imperatives of the Word of God. He was more focused on the Word, and the Word alone. How many pastors are like that today?

In dishing out the Word, PK does not pull punches. He does not teach a watered down version of the Word that will make your bum more comfortable in the pew. He speaks eloquently against worldliness (when last did you hear a real message against worldliness – even if not in the Deeper Life ‘above-the-top’ style? Uh, when?). Love-not-the-world is largely a lost message in the Church today. PK speaks about separation. He speaks about sanctification. He speaks about consecration. He speaks about dedication. He speaks about humility. He emphasizes Christian living.

PK is a man of God that challenges you on every facet of the faith. Just as the Word of God, faithfully expounded, will challenge every single believer. If you speak to most ex-DLBC members, they are likely to tell you that few pastors have ever challenged them like PK – once you are able to sift out the traditions that were unfortunately woven into some of his great messages. So, in this regard also, PK is inspirational.

Please observe Deeper Life retreat programmes. Unless if things have changed now, Deeper Life is about the only behemoth Church that ALWAYS has its retreat theme centered around the believer’s walk in the faith – not just what the believer can get from the Lord. Even in preaching about the blessings of the Lord, PK has a peculiar way of weaving it into the believers’ walk with the Lord in a way that you cannot overlook the latter.

This was how the Lord graciously drew me into the Kingdom in a DLBC service over 25 years ago. The title of the message on that day was “GOD’S POWER IN THE CHURCH”. PK expounded on how God has graciously made His awesome power available to mankind through Christ Jesus. But he emphasized again and again that you cannot be a carrier of God’s power if you are living in sin. Through God’s mercy, my eyes popped open! I realized I was indeed a sinner, and thought it would be cool to have this power of God. So I surrendered to Christ in that service. And though I left DLBC not too long after then because I was struggling with some of their traditions, I have not once looked back from Christ since then.

Till date, I still recall with nostalgia some of PK’s sermons. One of my favourites is ‘ADULTERY FORBIDDEN’, where he read at least a verse in virtually every book of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, to show us how much the Lord loathes fornication and adultery. There are many classics like that. And I believe the Lord will bless him for each of those soul-stirring messages.

Finally. And this is the point that thrills me to the marrow, and convinces me that PK is indeed a different breed. As the Lord has commenced the cleansing of His Church preparatory to the return of the Lord, PK is the ONLY one out of all the top pastors in Nigeria to OPENLY declare that HE HAS BEEN WRONG ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS HE TAUGHT THE CHURCH. In a video that circulated widely a few months ago, he urged the church to re-focus on the new things the Lord is doing, and to forget what he taught them in error. This takes humility. And it takes courage.

Brothers and sisters, please join me in praying earnestly for PK. That the hand of the Lord will be renewed daily upon his life and ministry. That the good work of re-positioning that the Lord has started through him will flourish greatly. That in this latter part of his ministry, he will become even much more fruitful for the Kingdom.

In these days of scarce great examples of TRANSPARENT INTEGRITY among our topmost pastors, Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi, through the grace of God, shines like a thousand stars. May his light never grow dim in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Thanks for reading, and God bless.

[size=18pt]HONOUR TO GOD ALONE FOR HELPING THE MINISTRY OF PASTOR W.F. KUMUYI[/size]

CAVEAT: This piece is an opinion-based article, and may therefore be flawed.

SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/adeniyi.taiwo1/posts/860274397354270:0

amen, preach christ not pastor . He will have his reward