Pastor Enoch Adeboye Calls Out Pastor Sunday Adelaja for Attention-seeking, Vicious Online Attacks

Written By: Isaac Ogungbe; Twitter: @Trusted_Justice

In a conversation with companions, the prominent Nigerian religious leader, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, was overheard sharing a few choice words about outspoken critic and bully Pastor Sunday Adelaja.Pastor Enoch Adeboye was recently overheard discussing the latest rantings of Pastor Sunday Adelaja with a few of his associates calling them “flamboyant, attention-seeking and unbecoming of a man who calls himself a Christian.”Pastor Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, is not the first high-profile Nigerian pastor to speak out against the venomous online attacks of Ukrainian-based Pastor Sunday Adelaja. Adelajahas become notorious for his open criticism of notable Nigerian pastors. He targets them in his prolific social media posts, blog articles and in catty amateur YouTube videos.

A Sinful Past

Many believe that PastorAdelaja’scriticisms are simply an attempt to draw a juxtaposition between himself and these men, highly-respected in the religious community and loved by their thousands of loyal supporters, and to whitewash his own colored history as a pastor.

Once a respected leader of the faith, Adelajabetrayed his followers and Christ through immoralactivities and has been all but abandoned by his once numerous flock. When he established his church, Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations Church, in Ukraine he aspired to bring the people the enlightening Word of God. But PastorAdelaja was blinded by his own pride and misinterpreted his congregation’s worship of God as the worship of the pastor himself. He took advantage of the trust his church members lovingly bestowed upon him.

Former members have asserted that PastorAdelaja manipulated them into investing in a scam that resulted in the loss of over $100 million. These former parishioners claim that Adelajawas complicit and even benefited financially from a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by King’s Capital and run by a member of his church. These claims remain under investigation by the Ukrainian authorities, who have enough evidence to restrict the movement of Pastor SundayAdelaja and prevent him from leaving the country, one of the reasons why he has chosen the internet to broadcast his spiteful attacks.

For PastorAdelaja, claims that he abused his leadership position did not stop after the financial scandal damaged his image and eroded his congregation. In 2016, the pastor became ensnared in a shocking sex scandal when it was alleged that he had had extramarital affairs with several women in his church. While at first Adelajarepeatedly denied the allegations, he later publicly admitted to having affairs with upwards of 20 different women from his congregation. There were immediate demands for PastorAdelajato step down and he was later defrocked and removed from the leadership of the church, preaching, and counseling by the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (ROSHVE).

Sunday Adelaja’s DirtyTricks

Pastor SundayAdelaja has clearly not learned from his previous sins nor has he sought redemption and forgiveness from God and the Christian community. Instead, Adelaja  has turned his animosity over losing his prominence and followers against the men he views as his ‘competition,’ – as if Christianity is a game, won or lost by the size of your flock.

He has created an online social media machine devoted to discrediting and shamelessly assailing the good and God-fearing ministers of his home country of Nigeria. He has devised a systematic campaign against these respected leaders of the Christian community in a last-ditch attempt to clean his own reputation by destroying theirs. This strategy does little but breed negativity and spread hate, not very Christian-like for a man that claims to be a Man of God.

SundayAdelaja has made slanderous accusations against Pastor Enoch Adeboye stating in a YouTube video that through his ministering Adeboye is scamming Christians out of their money. He alleges that Adeboye lies and manipulates the scripture for his own personal and financial gain, leading followers to idol worship rather than guiding them on the true path of righteousness. But, in fact, Adelaja’s criticisms better reflect upon his own actions and deeds rather than of the men who have become the subjects of his so-called ‘exposés.’

These dirty online tricks employed by SundayAdelaja are motivated by pure greed. Adelajapossesses a selfish desire to destroy those men who have achieved what had once dreamed of for himself and in doing so, capture their followers for himself. But what PastorAdelaja fails to understand is that these men are leaders because they are teachers of love and healing, they are not spreading hate, hell-bent on amassing internet subscribers.

Life is a War

Pastor SundayAdelaja is no more than a bitter has-been who is trying to stay relevant through the manipulation of social media. He has cleverly discovered that by featuring prominent Nigerian pastors in his YouTube videos he can capture a staggering amount of views. While his incessant daily posts are lucky to glean a few hundred views, when he attacked Pastor Adeboye in a particularly colorful and fiery video, the number of viewers skyrocketed to over 90 thousand. It is noteworthy that Adelajachooses to use his social media pages and personal blog to take repeated swipes at other pastors rather than cultivating an online community of love and belonging.

Pastor Adeboye said in the recent May Holy Ghost Service at his church that “Life is a war… From the day you were born till the day you die, it is war!” He may not have been speakingdirectly about Pastor SundayAdelaja, but it is curious that he concluded his sermon by saying, “All who gather against you shall fall by you!” His words capture the sentiment felt by all of the victims of Adelaja’scharacter attacks. That they are now unwittingly part of an online war waged by a Pastor Adelaja and it is through their unwavering faith in God that they will be victorious.

Pastor Adeboye assessment of SundayAdelaja, while it may be bold, is strikingly accurate. Adelaja’sonline behavior is abhorrent. PastorAdelajaneeds to be exposed for what he truly is – an egotistical and narcissistic man who is angry with himself and at God. He has turned from the path of true righteousness, burdened by his own pride and jealousy. Redemption and salvation cannot be found on the internet, it is earned by those who seek forgiveness. Pastor Sunday Adelajashould be asking forgiveness from the many whom he has betrayed and from those whom he has caused irrevocable harm with his malicious social media posts.

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