By Bamidele Johnson
It has to be one of life’s greatest mysteries that COZA’s Biodun Fatoyinbo is thought to be a Christian, let alone a shepherd of souls. It cannot be unreasonable to say the souls he shepherds are those of livestock. Otherwise, his congregation would not watch him say that if God Himself told him seed sowing did not work, he would say, “Sorry, Sir. It works.” That video is available online.
Not Abraham, not Moses, not even Paul, men recorded to have met God in fire, cloud and blinding light, ever presumed to correct the Almighty. Yet, Fatoyinbo came strutting into theology like a peacock, telling the one he claims created him to sempe, sit quietly and learn from him. That was K1 before K1. By implication, God is the apprentice, while Fatoyinbo is the Master. A middle finger to El-ShaddaI, that. Even a devotee of Ayelala, deemed a lesser deity, would not try such mouth.
Fans of Fatoyinbo and devotees of diva Christianity, I doubt, see him as a servant of God. The see him as his ilk as God’s boss. They worship him, which was why their mouths were ajar in awe when he talked tosh about seed sowing. He does not worship God. What boss worships his subordinate? He worships two things- himself and money. The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), with far more Bible under its belt, has rightly called his faith out for what it is: simony.
Simony, I was told by Dr. Peter Awelewa Adebiyi who taught me History of the Early Church as an undegrad, is the ancient sin of buying and selling the gifts of God. In Acts, Simon Magus offered the apostles money for the power of the Holy Spirit. They rebuked him so hard his ancestors probably felt it. But in COZA and others like it, Simon Magus would be ushered to the VIP section, draped in a designer shawl, given a “Covenant Partner” badge and made an. Ambassador of Kingdom Principles, the euphemism for fraud.
If the Apostle Peter walked into COZA or any church of similar inclination, security would bundle him out for disrupting the seed-sowing flow. Their pulpits are showrooms. Grace is a product line. Prayer comes in standard, gold and platinum packages. God is marketed as a celestial courier service who delivers faster when you “partner”. Anointing is monetised. Salvation is available on easy instalment plans.
Their ministries are like real estate developers. They preach “It is finished” but sell it in retail portions. It is why Fatoyinbo, raised on diet of CBEX Christianity, attacked the legacy of Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola, the long-deceased CAC founder. In a sermon, he declared that although Babalola was heavily anointed, he was not financially prosperous. “He had no money, and all that grace just went like that,” Fatoyinbo said.
I am delighted that t he CAC did not turn the other cheek, but smashed the rod of Moses on the head of the man with as many sex scandals as Donald Trump. It called the remarks insensitive. Suggesting that a calling is incompletewithout cash, even with my skimpy grasp of Christianity, is not just poor theology, but blasphemous capitalism.
This is the core of the disease Fatoyinbo has been diagnosed with. In his prosperity gospel, a ministry’s worth is counted in banknotes. Anointing is validated by the make of your car. By that standard, Jesus Christ Himself, without a place to lay His head, a donkey of His own, robe-wearing and sandal-wearing, would be deemed a paragon of failure.
What Fatoyinbo peddles as the gospel is a load of pseudo-biblical nonsense under which grace is the luxury brand, faith is the sales pitch, worshippers are the customers and pastors are the contractors.
The CAC’s rebuttal is not only a defence of Babalola’s life. It is a reminder that real ministry is about surrender, not primitive accumulation. Babalola’s revival fire and devotion to God were the wealth he left behind, not the number of zeroes in his account.
If Simon Magus, Fatoyinbo’s spiritual father, visited a Nigerian church, he would not have to beg for spiritual power. He would simply fill out the partnership form, swipe his debit card and collect his miracle receipt in a branded paper bag. And the only thing more tragic than this is that the whole circus still gets called Christianity. Pentecostalism is an epic swindle.
