AGAINST ALL ODDS

BY AKINWALE KASALINot many would have predicted that the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church, Amazing Grace District fold could withered the turbulence it had gone through after the transition and interment of its Late Chairman and General Leader, Spec. Apos. Pro. Pas. (Dr.) Solomon Olanrewaju Aiyegbusi.Star gazers had thought the end was near for the Church following the brickbats that ensued within the leadership of the Church as regards succession tussle, leading to accusations and counter accusations targeted at tarnishing the image and body of Christ over selfish, material and worldly interests at the expense of the mission and vision of the founder and pioneers’ of the Church.Propaganda of Calumny, Greed, Conspiracy, Factionalisation, Alignment and Re-Alignment became the order of the day, polarizing the Church and setting it on the verge of collapse.Observers had thought in addressing the issue, there was urgent need to have a Round Table discussion, reaching a compromise, having a Win-Win situation, which in turn would have done the Church a lot of good. It would also have led to aggrieved and sympathetic parties sheathing their swords and navigating the way forward.Interestingly, the vacant position of Chairman and General Leader of the Church was the ‘Juicy Pie’ that led to the crisis that brewed and escalated.The determination by the aggrieved parties to forcefully attain this position and the resistance of the founder’s family led to witch hunting, judicial brickbats, Police harassment with the Main Church under key and lock for certain period. The media feasted on the news about the crisis rocking the Church. It took the intervention of yours truly to pacify some colleagues not to use the Story. It would have been disastrous if the dirty linen of the Church was further washed in Public glare.“Oba Kin Je Lehin Odi”, goes a Yoruba mythology. It literally means a King cannot be enthroned in a foreign land. But this myth was ignored in the desperation of the aggrieved faction that were bent on succeeding the Late Chairman and General Leader of the Church, who went to another Church to ordain their Candidate.This however raised series of question among the Congregation and observers who had keenly watched as events unfold.What is the motive behind this desperation? Are you the Chairman/General Leader of the Church you got ordained At? What is the incentives behind been the Chairman/General Leader? Is Christianity all about position tussle? Where our salvation does lies? Are we truly fishers of Men? Can you lead a disjointed Church? Why allow material/worldly largesse take away the Kingdom of God? If the Church crumbles who are you going to lead? Why deviate from the vision and mission of the Church at the expense of personal interest?These and many unanswered questions keeps reverberating in the minds of people.Following the unacceptability of the ‘kitchen coup’ perpetrated by these few, as the Church was unperturbed by this development with religious activities going on in the other wings of the Church it brought about the “Aka Ki Eku Ma Je Sese, Afi Se Awada Nu Ni” Yoruba adage, which literally means; “If I don’t get or achieve a particular goal, no one does”, became the attitude of those that were saddle with the responsibility of paddling the Salvation Ship to Shore. Rather, they never bothered if the Ship wrecked, Sank, Capsized with the People aboard losing their lives.What baffles one is that these aggrieved parties never utilized all the armouries in their Arsenal to have a peaceful dialogue before taking such steps that could crumble a Church that took decades to be built by the Late Aiyegbusi. The wall of Jericho wasn’t built in a day, it took years for it to be built, but within Seconds, it was destroyed.Noticing that it had become unpopular and been perceived as a traitor and enemy of the Church, with shame gradually setting in, the aggrieved parties left the Church, with the mindset that they are indispensable. Unknowingly, and in what one would term as ignorance on their path, only God is indispensable.Criticism, backlashing, insults, tantrums and all sorts of mischievous acts on Social media by the aggrieved parties became the new fad. It was said by the aggrieved parties that the Late Aiyegbusi belong to a Cult, alleging that he was buried by his Cult members.Though, the allegation has been dispelled by people who graced the colourful burial rites, further revealing how petty, shallow minded and bitter they are over earthly position that doesn’t guarantee salvation.Certain sacrifices may have been made by the aggrieved parties for the growth of the Church together with the Late Founder, or certain agreements have been reached with him before his demise which aren’t documented, perhaps, and as human, we are expectant of some juicy packages that could show for our commitment and services, and one feels been denied of or shortchanged, but this shouldn’t be at the expense of the Church you all laboured to build, nurture (probably) and see it grow astronomically, and want it to crumble because of personal desires is rather appalling.It would be foolish to kill an ant on your Car windscreen with a sledge hammer, when there are other ways to approach the situation. Am not at this point apportioning blames but looking for a common front where issues would be addressed with all the affected parties burying their hatchets and embracing the olive branch for the growth of the Church and propagation of the gospel.Collectively we can make this happen if we all unite and put away rift, rancour, selfish interests, unnecessary propaganda that would fan the ember of hatred, biases, pains, unhealed wounds and bitterness. Our main goal is the kingdom of God.We should all have at in our heart that every day that passes, we are edging closer to the grave. All the aggrieved elders enmeshed in this crisis are getting older, and God sparing their lives will live longer, but they should know that death is inevitable as every one of them will soon join Aiyegbusi either sooner or later, but one thing that is germane is what will be said about them after their demise. This is a food for thought they need to ponder upon.This position that they are clinging on that has plunged them to this state where they have lost their respect and distance themselves from the Church is of the world, and doesn’t guarantee heaven. We brought nothing to this world and we will leave with nothing. Aiyegbusi has done his part and left with nothing so also is every one that is bent on going extra mile to attain worldly status.K&S 864 in the Church hymn talks about our service and work in the world, stressing that if it is fruitless it result to a shame and this doesn’t matter our position in Church. Losing Heaven will be unfortunate and disastrous because of worldly gains.Am a very optimistic young man. I strongly believes that forging ahead regardless of our differences will do us a lot of Good. It is necessary that we swallow our pride and redirect our steps and unite for the propagation of the gospel and growth of the body of Christ, so it can be written and said that we did our part judiciously.I know many of the aggrieved elders followed the bandwagon because of favouritism, friendship, relationship and other things, but synergizing and retracing our steps is for the betterment of all. Together, we will achieve a lot and this will make unbelievers repent and follow the right path. We are address as the light of the world and our lives should be reflection of Christ on earth among the heathen.What are we showcasing to unbelievers with our action and in actions? Will this avoidable brickbats that has polarized the Church make us win souls for Christ? What are we preaching and propagating? This is worth reminiscing upon. Let’s all have a change of heart and ponder on this.In Spite of all these allegations, crisis and plot for the Church to crumble, the Church has been waxing stronger spiritually. It has been able to wither the storm, as it has continue to grow in Unity, Faith, persevered and endured this trying times.Interestingly, the Church has continued to soar in numbers, mostly in the Youth and Ambassador of Christ Fellowship (Other Wings of the Church). Testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness have skyrocketed among the worshippers, as no week passes without the congregation testifying to the miraculous and awesome works of the Almighty God.The supernatural turnaround experienced by members of the Church in this critical period further authenticates the fact that the Late Aiyegbusi was a true prophet of God whose primary objective is to liberate humanity, prioritizing God’s kingdom.Kudos to those who stood behind the Church in its time of travails through relentless prayers and spiritual guidance that hasn’t made the Church to go into extinction.It is not yet uhuru for the Church. It is still a long walk ahead, with relentless prayers, been watchful and with God on its side, the sky is the starting point for the Church and not its limit.Akinwale Kasali is a seasoned Journalist and a Social Commentator, he writes from Lagos State….