Pastor Sunday Adelaja: From a Humble Beginning to a Greedy Ending
When pastors fall, they often fall hard. Such is the case with the once Nigerian Pastor of Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations Church in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday Adelaja. His church boasted the largest congregation in all of present-day Europe as well as in all of Europe’s history. It had a membership of over 25,000. This was quite a feat from someone coming from a poor region in Africa.
Many fallen pastors have redeemed themselves through acts of true contrition and mending their ways. God doesn’t expect perfection, but only that we recognize our imperfections, atone for them and strive to do our best not to commit the same sins again in the future. This same expectation is true of lay people as well as pastors.
photo by Moto Films courtesy of Fathom Events
It appears that the prideful Pastor Adelaja, who has admitted to having affairs with female members of his church, doesn’t seem to want to realize the serious nature of the sin he committed. He said, “Sexual Sin Is Not Enough to Take You to Hell.” It’s not as if he just had affairs with one or two of the church members, either. It is alleged that he had affairs with over 20 women from his congregation. There was much pressure from Evangelical leaders to do something about removing Adelaja. They said that those not agreeing that he should be defrocked would be complicit in the sin for their complacency in the matter.
In March of 2016, Pastor Adelaja was removed from his leadership duties by the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (ROSHVE) after his confession of fornication. This is not the only incident for which Adelaja is under scrutiny, however.
It seems that as far back as 2006, and investment fund that turned out to be a Ponzi scheme and bilked many of members of the congregation out of a total of $100 million, was endorsed by the Pastor. Ukrainian prosecutors say that Adelaja actually ran Kings Capital and want to prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law. Adelaja flatly denies that allegation. Whether or not he’s telling the truth in this instance is not known. It is likely that he did at least strongly encourage investment in King’s Capital, going along with his prosperity preaching that God wants his flock to be successful. Many were lured into the scheme as a result of this false ideology that Pastor Sunday advocated and preached.
The fact that his sins have left him without a congregation for the time does not stop Adelaja from preaching, but the preaching he is doing now does not have anything to do with the teachings of Christianity or the gospel of Jesus Christ. Adelaja has gone from being an adulterer to a petty, jealous man who puts down other pastors who have experienced some of the success he once had. He recently vented his animosity toward Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. He accused Pastor Adeboye of interpreting a particular Scripture for his own personal gain instead of the interpretation intended, that of giving to the poor and needy.
Whether or not the Scripture in question can be interpreted the way Pastor Adeboye alluded to in his message to his congregation is moot. Christian pastors just don’t attempt to slander and degrade other pastors publicly. If Adelaja had a legitimate grievance to bear against the Pastor’s sermon, he should have gone to him privately to discuss the matter, as that is the Christian way to handle this sort of thing. Spreading hatred and dissension are never the ways Christians are taught to handle disagreement. It is obvious that Adelaja’s comments to put down Pastor Enoch Adeboye were only a malicious attempt to discredit Adeboye, while trying to make himself look better. Dr. Adeboye himself labeled Adelaja’s rantings as “flamboyant, attention-seeking and unbecoming of a man who calls himself a Christian.”
Another, even more flagrant and malicious attempt to discredit Adeboye can be read here as a title to one of his social media posts. Christian men and women would never have the nerve to post that a pastor is the God of Mammon, even if it were the case. It’s just much too scathing a comment, so much so that the actual truth to the matter would have to be the judgment of God himself. Libeling someone by telling people that he places curses on people sounds more like a schoolyard taunt among 8-year-old children akin to the old insult, “Your mother wears army boots.”
Taking a brief look at the personal record of Pastor Adeboye, it would seem that Adelaja may indeed be jealous of the man. For a man who didn’t own a pair of shoes until he was eighteen years old, these accolades and his Doctorate in Applied Mathematics certainly prove he’s come a long way from his humble beginnings. The difference between him and Adelaja who also came from humble beginnings is that Adeboye appears to still be humble.
It’s so unfortunate that Christianity is tainted with such hatred when it is supposed to be a religion of love and forgiveness. It is especially unfortunate when some of the leaders of the faith are such poor examples for their followers.
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