A pastor of Deeper Life Bible Church, 84, Nnobi Road, Nnewi, Anambra State, Ogueze Venitius Chinyerugo, has resigned as the district pastor of the church on account of the apparent support of the general superintendent and head of the church, William Kumuyi, for the government of President Bola Tinubu, exemplified by recent comments on the administration.
Chinyerugo, in a letter dated August 23, 2023, said he was resigning from his pastoral assignment following a viral video of the superintendent of the church delving into politics by supporting the Tinubu administration that he claimed has brought hardship on Nigerians.
In a letter addressed to the regional overseer, Deeper Life Bible Church, Chinyerugo stated: “I write this note with great burden, bearing in mind its far-reaching spiritual implications.
“I feel that our father in the Lord and our general superintendent, Dr WF Kumuyi, have made a costly mistake and there is no way for me to effectively convey my mind to him than resigning as the pastor of the above district, effective from today, the 23rd of August, 2023.
“My decision was taken after watching the video, which I forwarded to you, where he advised Nigerians to support the government and the ministers, because, according to him, they will perform, especially going by their antecedents.
“Honestly, I was devastated and felt terrible, humiliated and disappointed after watching the clip. For the records, I became born-again on April 10, 1984, as an undergraduate under the Christian Union, and later in that year I joined Deeper Life, after months of searching for a church that reflects the Bible. Why not? I could not have left the world only to fool myself and surrender myself again to be deceived. I have not been disappointed since I joined the church.
“God has so graciously used the pastor to mould my Christian life and, of course, the life of many others. He has also, by words and conduct, taught us to mind the kingdom business and to refrain from dabbling into political matters. He had exemplified this teaching for several decades by steering clear of political controversies, until lately.
“Most debilitating was his visit in 2019 to the President of Nigeria then, Muhammadu Buhari, at a time when Nigerians, Christians, pagans, Muslims and atheists, were wishing and praying for him to exit. While Nigerians with their short memories are trying to forget that visit blunder to such an insensitive leader, a tribal and religious bigot, our pastor has committed another terrible blunder.
“He has recommended this present administration, in which every detail about the administration is antithetical to the pastors’s preaching. And this is while the presidency is still subject to national and international judicial contests. As a mathematician, I wonder what mathematical principle he used to arrive at that conclusion because my elementary arithmetic taught me that zero multiplied by one trillion amounts to zero. So, on what moral principle would this administration fight corruption? On the past performances and quality of the ministers, I wonder if our pastor knows about Isa Bagudu and many of the former governors.
“Sir, if I do not remove the speck in my very own eyes, then I will be one of the hordes of hypocrites marauding everywhere in Nigeria. I am one of those who vehemently criticise members of Catholic, Anglican and some other Pentecostal churches for not drawing the attention of their own leaders when they go wrong, hence my decision to resign. I am particularly let down by the demeaning comments in the social media space, and, unlike usual, I am silenced to defend him because the comments are correct! He has given the enemies of the Lord the opportunity they are looking for to talk down on him and, by extension, the church.
“All through the election campaigns, he maintained a glorious and dignified silence, and we members of the church earned respect for that. I wonder about the need for this comment at this point in time.
“I wish this message reaches him, but considering that the office bureaucracy will likely make it impossible for it to get to him, I may have to pass it to him through social media in the next one or two weeks, unless he speaks to Nigerians.
“Thanks a lot for indulging my several irritations. I pray for heaven at last for all of us.
“Supporting our leaders presupposes that such leaders meet up with 2 Samuel 23:3, that is, ‘They that want to rule among men must be righteous and fearing God,’ which obviously means that they should not rig, kill and corner power by force, they should have a popular mandate to rule. Any other prayer reserved for such leaders without the above qualifications is that God should give us the courage to stand up against them like the people of Sri Lanka. Since an Ethiopian cannot change his colour, praying for such people to change and, maybe, become born-again at this point in time is unrealistic.
“However, since faith without works is dead, when we have done all that we are supposed to do and there’s nothing else left, then we should resort to prayer, since, with God, nothing shall be impossible.”
(Real News magazine/Daily Sun)
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