Presiding Bishop of Liberation Word Ministry International, Matthew Omodiagbe, in this interview with TEMITOPE OJO, speaks on the challenges of running a ministry in a slum and efforts of his church in impacting the people in the environment.
What are the challenges of running a church in a ‘ghetto’?
Where you are located is a function of your calling. Most times, it is not a matter of choice but where God wants you to be and the purpose for which He wants you to be there. A lot of people see Ajegunle as a ‘ghetto’; but I don’t see it as such. The things those churches outside Ajegunle are doing, we do here: fulfilling purpose and meeting humans needs. So this scarcely makes me remember that it is a ‘ghetto’ because we are seeing fulfilment. We are seeing lives change; we see people who are poor-rated growing in faith, in spirit, financially and educationally. People are going to schools graduating and are working in good places. It’s normal to face challenges wherever you are; the ultimate is that any ministry called by God is called to fulfil purpose with the people you have been called to serve, whether in the ‘ghetto’ or the highbrow areas.
However, one of the challenges of this environment is that the people around may not be wealthy to help make the vision you have flow. Another challenge, which we are surmounting, is that of changing the mindset of people because people live in certain areas and allow such environment to make them have a mindset that they are poor.
There is this opinion that teenage pregnancy, prostitution and other vices are on the increase in Ajegunle. Is it that the churches located here are not doing enough to reduce moral decadence?
I think it will be an error to think that moral lapses are associated with poor areas; one may say they are more pronounced, not that they happen only in locations as this. Anyone who is not born-again is a sinner. A sinner in Victoria Garden City (VGC) is also a sinner in Ajegunle.
I will rather say the churches here are trying their best in preaching the gospel and rehabilitating people. However, they can’t go beyond their limit. I can tell you that lives are changing. A lot of people have not been to Ajegunle due to the stories they hear about it; anytime Ajegunle is mentioned, they get scared, not knowing that Ajegunle is no longer the way it used to be.
You see a lot of tarred roads, you see developed streets, and Governor (Babatunde) Fashola did well to better the area. To some, Ajegunle is where you have criminals, but it is a lie; it’s a good place, you have peace.
You have free life, unlike in some places where as soon as it is 7pm people are afraid of moving around. Here in Ajegunle, you can get things to buy and move around even by 10pm or 11pm. I don’t live in Ajegunle, though I work there; but I have come to realise that it is one’s nature that influences how a person behaves and not necessarily the environment.
How has your church positively impacted its immediate environment?
Yeah! This is very important because that is what we call communal evangelism. We don’t only win souls for God by preaching to them but by caring for them. People don’t want to know how much you can preach, but what you can do. We have a welfare unit that caters for the widows and the needy, whether you are a member of the church or not. We also have the unit that visits the hospitals. In as much as we cater for their physical needs, we also try to meet their soul needs which is feeding them with spiritual food: God’s word. We may not be able to meet the needs of everybody, but we are trying our best to put smiles on faces.
Over time, pastors have been reported to have been involved in drug trafficking and sexual immorality. What can you say about this sir?
The name ‘Pastor’ is an office that anybody can occupy; that you are a pastor doesn’t change your nature. It is not the office that changes your nature, it is the person who occupies an office that matters. A man of God who is called into the office of the pastor will not carry drugs because before God calls him. God must have moulded him. We shouldn’t forget that on the other hand a pastor is still a man who can be tempted, that is why the Bible says (in 1 Cor 10:12), “let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall”. So it’s not good news, but it doesn’t in anyway derogate the office of a pastor.
You are a good looking, stylish and fashionable cleric. How have you been able to cope with women?
(Laughs) Where did you get this from? What matters is what is driving you. If you have a passion and drive to fulfil purpose, you will not even know what you look like, whether you are good-looking or ugly. I am a person driven by vision and my overall interest is to see that souls are saved. Well, women are everywhere; we hear a lot of news of pastors being involved with women. I think it depends on the individual. The Bible says “lead us not into temptation”. There is nowhere you are that temptation will not come; even if you are not a handsome pastor, temptation will come because you are leading people. For the fact that you are a leader, you will be tempted, but it depends on a pastor not to sell his birthright.
Is there any practical approach that has helped you in overcoming temptations?
The good thing is that a pastor ensures that he is close to his wife; he should make sure that the people he is leading know that he is in a very good relationship with his wife. When she is beside you all the time, doing the work with you and you talking about her, it will quench some intentions in the hearts of those who might be used by the devil. My advice is that as God’s servants, we should not forget our primary purpose, which is to preach the Word of God, in and out of season. We should use the available resources to reach out to humanity, both in the spirit and physical.
What is your take on the controversial issues of wearing of trousers and non-covering of hair by sisters in some churches?
These are issues by the devil to disorganise the church because the basic thing specified in the Bible is that we should be moderate in the things we wear. I see that, basically, a believer should dress modestly and cover their nakedness. If someone’s inner man is changed, he or she will not having problem dealing with modesty. On the covering of hair, the Bible says the hair is given to a woman as a covering. In 1 Corinthians 11:15, “but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. (16) But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.”
There are two interpretations one may give to this. The Bible says a woman should cover her head, not her hair when she is praying. So the issue is, who is her head? A woman who is respectful, submissive and has the virtues of the fruit of the spirit covers her hair; but when you are troublesome and not virtuous but tie a piece of cloth to your hair, you are deceiving yourself. As much as I don’t condemn those who cover their hair, I am not fighting those who don’t cover their hair.
Let’s not also forget that 1 Corinthians 6:12 says “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
Nigerians seem to have high hopes in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari. Do you think they don’t stand the chance of getting their hope dashed?
The Bible says love covereth all things. So we should not be pessimistic. They are barely months in as our leaders, so we should not start judging now. As a person, I feel the government will be good. Let us keep praying for them and believe that God will use them for the betterment of the nation. After all, other nations doing well are not better than Nigeria. It’s just that they have been able to organise themselves well and harnessed their resources. So we believe God for more progress in our nation.
