Pastors Divided Over Sack Of Ighodalo

By Simon Ateba, Kazeem Ugbodaga & Funmilola Oyelola
Clergymen in the country have expressed divergent views over the sack of a popular provincial pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, by the General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
Ighodalo, who was the pastor of the Christ Church Parish of the RCCG, in Gbagada, a suburb of Lagos, was compelled to quit because he got married a second time, ten years after he separated from his wife, Lucy-Ann Summer, now married to another man. Ighodalo, an accountant, got married to former Miss Lux, Ibidunni Ajayi in 2007.
While the General Superintendent, Deeper Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi and the General Overseer, Four Square Gospel Church, Reverend Wilson Badejo, say that divorce is unscriptural and Christians who choose the path of divorce should not be pampered, other pastors say a man of God is free, according to a biblical injunction, to divorce his wife and remarry in the case of adultery.
“I don’t think it was right for pastor Adeboye to ask Pastor Ighodalo to resign because he remarried a second time. This matter is not to be looked at the way we want, but to see it the way the Word of God sees it. 1Tim 3:2 says that a bishop must be a man of one wife, and Jesus Christ said in Math 19:9, a man should put away his wife if she commits adultery! So if this woman had left her husband for ten years and had been living with another man, this pastor is free by the word of God to put her away and get married again,” Pastor Azuka of Faithword Ministry said.
Another Clergyman, Pastor Samuel Oduyemi of the Holy Order of Cherubim and Seraphim (Ayo ni o), Iba, expressed a similar opinion. He said: “The bible says in Matthew 18, except for the case of adultery, should a man divorce his wife. The bible says if a man marries legally, he is supposed to divorce his wife if she commits adultery. And if the divorce is going to take place, it is supposed to be legal. If they have been to the registry for marriage, then they should go to the law court for the divorce. If the divorce is legal, then, they are free to remarry to avoid temptation.”
According to Pastor Badejo, only death can separate a Christian couple.
Speaking on the sack of Pastor Ighodalo, the General Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church, Rev. Wilson Badejo said the church has its policies that must be adhered to strictly.
“You are talking of somebody who was told that if you remarry, you cannot fit into our mould again. In the Catholic Church, for instance, you cannot marry at all if you want to be a reverend father or what we call priest. The moment you make up your mind to become a reverend father in the Catholic Church, you are bound by the law of celibacy.
“The Redeemed Christian Church of God says if you have a living partner, you cannot remarry. So, with that guiding principle, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo is aware of it; he has been with it over the years—he has been coping…except the Lord has now advised him to the contrary.
According to him, “We have biblical support to back the prevailing circumstance. When you read I Corinthians 7, that if your wife separates from you, it should be for a while and you should be rejoined together so that you are not tempted beyond measure.
“We have a similar case of that of Ighodalo in our church. One of our district overseers, whose wife deserted him for over 48 years, never remarried. It takes a lot of grace and takes grace to hear the voice of God. Our stand in the Foursquare Gospel Church is the same. However, what we say is that if come like that, you cannot be a leader but you can continue to worship in the church as an ordinary member. You are free to come in and join us in worship but you cannot be a worker or a leader. That is our stand. We won’t excommunicate you but you will not be a leader.”
Reverend Jonathan Itietite of Church of God Mission International, (Favour Embassy),Iba Estate, remarked that Christians now get divorced because of the attitude of their spouses, saying that Jesus Christ did not condone separation.
“The bible says what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. People divorce because of the attitude of their spouse. Even when Jesus was preaching, he did not condone separation.”
According to Pastor Erastus Deji of the Parliament of Faith Ministry International, also known as Peakmark Arena, Ogba, “It is true that in Christendom, divorce is not a thing to be celebrated because it has to do with separation and Jesus did not teach us to separate after marriage.
“Although most of this is obtainable outside the country in the African setting, divorce is not celebrated. Jesus told us basically on the ground that if the woman committed adultery, now separation will come in, but on the other hand, if the man is merciful enough to forgive, then, there should be no divorce. There could be forgiveness because God said you should forgive one another.
Evangelist Elishama Ideh of Christ Ever- Present Ministries, Ogba, said “there are different angles to marriage and divorce in the bible. If you look at the old testament in the time of Moses, he actually gave a view of a woman who is not happy living with her husband to take a divorce. But when Jesus Christ came, he disallowed that and said no man can divorce his wife except in the case for adultery. In the same new testament, a man and a woman are allowed to separate on the ground of adultery, and again Christ put it to us that though we can separate, on the ground of adultery, it is much better to forgive and be at peace. So indirectly, He is saying it is not really allowed, you should be able to forgive.
“There is another one again in the book of Corinthians 7:14-16. It says when the person departs, there is no case for forgiveness because the person has already departed, because it says a brother or a sister is not under bondage. You are to forgive because you don’t know if you are the one to save that person.”