Something happened a few minutes ago
A lady called me
She is a single mother of a ten-year-old boy
She called to report a crime and seek my intervention
She is located in Ibadan
She met a pastor I once worked with at Ibadan
The pastor was located in Warri at that time
She asked
the pastor to help her out with some money to buy drugs and feed herself and her son
The pastor didn't have cash but he transferred twenty-four thousand Naira to her
Eleven thousand for her child's school fees, four thousand naira for the drugs she said she needed and rest for
food
This was ten months ago
She called this pastor again several times
The pastor didn't pick her call (I don't know why but it is likely the man didn't want her to turn him into her ATM)
She took offence that the pastor refused to pick her call or return her call
She said his
behaviour made her feel worthless
They transferred this pastor to Lagos from Warri
She heard about it
She went to his office and asked to see the most senior pastor
When she got to the most senior pastor, she told him that this pastor slept with her, got her pregnant and gave
her four thousand naira to commit abortion
She had the bank transfer done to her as evidence
The senior pastor sent for this pastor
The pastor was shocked
He admitted to knowing the woman but explained that he only met with her once and helped her out financially
That was all
This lady told the senior pastor that if she was not given two million Naira, she would escalate the matter to the National Headquarters of the church
The senior Pastor told this pastor to go settle the matter or get the sack
This pastor reasoned with this woman
The woman said
She will collect two hundred thousand naira
The pastor didn't have two hundred thousand Naira
He begged and went a borrowing
It was during the lockdown and things were tight
The woman kept calling the senior pastor and this pastor
After a mon, the senior pastor escalated the
issue himself
He said it would be remiss of him not to be the one to report it
If the woman reported it herself and said he was in the know, he would be accused of being involved in a cover-up
The National Secretariat of the church didn't wait
They suspended this pastor and
sacked him after twenty-one days "investigation"
They didn't call the man or the woman for a meeting
They just wanted to avoid a scandal at all cost
This man has served in this church as an accountant for twenty years
He had also pastored to the level of a Zonal pastor
Hmmm!
This lady called today saying she was desperately in need of money to process her visa and other documents in order to leave the country and decided to use the ploy to get some funds
She said she didn't intend to escalate the issue
She said she didn't know he would get sacked
This pastor was sacked three months ago
He had gone into farming
He had found himself in trouble because he helped someone in need
He had to leave his rented accommodation in Lagos because it was being paid for by the church
He returned to his house in the village
He is bitter
Someone told this lady that the pastor respects me and would forgive her if I intervene
That was why she called
She said "I am calling to report myself and to ask you to plead on my behalf for forgiveness"
I called the pastor's assistant immediately after the call
He confirmed it
He told me everything he knew and it corresponded with the woman's story
He said the pastor's job was terminated
This is a family man
This is a man of God
This is an innocent man
This is a man who tried to help when there was no one else to help
This is a good man
This is a man
whose wife would never look at with assurance again because of the shadow of doubt cast by this lady
This is a man whose relationship with God would have been shaken by this accusation
A man whose work over the years would be sullied by this scandal
This is a man of God!
Why was
the lady asking for forgiveness?
She said she has been having nightmares and all sorts of evil premonitions since the pastor was sacked
She had tried to call him but he had blocked her number
She said she felt she needed to make things right with him immediately
She was crying!
I have not called this pastor
I don't even know what I would say or how I would go about it
I respect men of God a lot
I respect everyone who has the name of Jesus named upon them
What to do?
What to do?
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
She reached out to me that she needed 2 million Naira for her business
She has a very wonderful business idea that I knew would take her and her family out of poverty
I didn't have the cash but i had an investor who had whispered in my ears that she had some loose change and
wouldn't mind investing in some businesses. Her only criteria were integrity and professionalism. She said she is sure her money will never be squandered as long as the person knows what he or she is doing and is trustworthy.
This lady matched the criteria
The business was in her
area of specialization and she is very trustworthy and disciplined.
I linked the two of them together
A few hours later, the lady who needed the money sent me a message
Brother Gbenga, how old is this investor?
I asked her why she was asking about the age
She said "She sounds so
When people say Rahab was a prostitute, they often forget that while reading her story, she was portrayed more like a brothel manager rather than a prostitute
The Prostitutes in the story of Solomon fitted the description better than Rahab
Why?
They had a room each where they ply their trade
Rahab had more than a room!
Those who patronize drinking pubs and brothels in those days were often wayfarers, travelers, warriors and adventure seekers.
They often bring great new from afar and after a bottle or two, they tell
Their stories
Prostitutes usually pay little attention to anything but money
Rahab did more than that
She gathered information and she had the presence of mind to take full advantage of the information when she had the opportunity
They had gods in Jericho but she was not fooled
Her first daughter got married in 2004
Prophecies about the marriage came to her as far back as 1992
The girl was only fifteen years old at the time
She went to a pentecostal church with a friend and as they were leaving the church
Somebody called her "Tokunbo's mother"
Her first
daughter was named Tokunbo
She turned around expecting to see a familiar face
The person was a stranger
The person was the invited guest that ministered in that church that day
The man said "Tell your daughter her husband shall come from America, I see her in a NYSC uniform, is
she observing the NYSC at the moment?
She said no, her daughter was in SS 2
He said, her husband will come when she is observing the NYSC, they will both relocate to America
She will live most of her life in America
She will have a good home
Tell her to be full of the Holy Spirit
I was having a discussion with a 28-year-old daughter of Zion recently, I do not know her full life story before that conversation and I assumed she had lived the perfect life
(I always assume this of everybody who is a born-again
believer)
I know how I was before I met the Holy Spirit and I know how my walk with his transformed my life. I also know that the same way the Holy Spirit works in me, he works with every one of those who willingly desire to walk with him that same way. This is why the gifts we
walk in may be different but Christian character is always consistent
Christ is the end product
It is not difficult to see eighty to ninety percent similarities in the character of every believer even though one is a gifted minstrel and the other cannot hold a tune to save his
There was a season of my life when I felt or assumed Jesus didn't bother with counseling people
From all the accounts I have read in the scriptures, i didn't see Jesus sitting down listening to sob stories, all he did was "speak a word" and problems were solved.
I was young and
naive at the time
I will meet with people, hold their hands or look at them and tell them what the Holy Spirit says to me.
It worked
It kept complaints out of my ears and i was able to attend to more people
It is a fact that some people can gripe and cry and tell you sob stories
from morning till night!
Sometimes while listening to them, you get carried away and start to cry with them
It doesn't solve their problem and it reduces you to a sympathizer
The worst time is when you just had a church programme or a vigil
You have prayed and they have prayed
I often wonder how i got here
What if I didn't respond when He called?
What if I insisted on digging for water all by myself
What if I didn't pay attention to His prompting and calling?
What if I still slacked as I once did because it was an unpredictable path and I had mouths
to feed
What if I didn't see his visitations as anything but the reassurance of His realness?
What if i had allowed the ones who said "Conform" and
"Fall in line" to badger my spirit into submission
What if I had allowed my past to drown me in uncertain waters?
I remember a call
I received from a certain Brother Emmanuel who I went to the University with some years ago.
At the time I was working for Ekklesia Magazine and the magazine depended on support from believers who sowed seed into the ministry and partnered with its founder. I joined them in 2008