By More Tributes to the Late Pastor Taiwo Odukoya
More Tributes to the Late Pastor Taiwo Odukoya
By Church News
Dr Amos Olu Oladele wrote, “I had a rough and tedious week running between my secular office work, my pastoral assignments, and my itinerant ministrations. So I came down with serious cold and needed a day or two off work. I approached my boss to demand for two days off from work. “Do pastors fall sick”? She said with all seriousness in the tone of her voice. Do pastors fall sick? That is the attitude of many, especially believers. I had that experience over twenty-five years ago. Pastors are humans. After all, the Bible says about John the Baptist:“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John” (Joh 1:6)“He was a man sent from God; yes. He was a man of God; yes. But that does not change the fact that he was a man. Elijah called down fire from heaven. He even shut the heaven such that there was no rain for more than three years. But he was still a man.“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours [with the same physical, mental, and spiritual limitations and shortcomings], and he prayed intensely for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months” (Jam 5:17 AMP)“Thank God these verses are engraved in the Holy Writings, otherwise, some “supernatural brothers” would have “theologised” that there is a level of anointing you will possess that will make you not to be a man again!“If men of God are men, who care about their pains? They are the ones who must console and comfort all men, who will console and comfort them? I hear you say God or Holy Spirit. Yes, but church people also have God and the Holy Spirit, yet they need the comfort and consolation from men of God in critical times.“In my place, the elders would say, “Eni ija o ba, nii pe ara re l’okunrin” (once you are not confronted with serious battles, you will claim to be a strong man). There is no strong men in the face of battles. Champions do bleed, have pains, and carry scars. Only the elderly can understand this.“I have been in the ministry for over three decades. I have also walked closely with many ministers of the gospel. I know that pastors do cry. I have cried many times before. I mean, serious cries!“Sometimes in April 2002, I was recovering from a great loss. As I sat in my office in the church that cool morning, I felt like crying and I did not deny myself the privilege 😅. As I was “enjoying” my crying 😢, I heard the voice of a woman greeting people in front of my office. I knew she was coming to see me. Quickly I cleaned my face changed my mood, and put up a smile 😃. That is the demand of our job; we must always smile!“Like every normal person, pastors have many personal issues. They feel pains. Many times, they are heartbroken, they are disappointed by people they trust, they are abused by the people they serve, they are trampled under by people they love and so on and so forth. Pastors feel hunger. O, you think it is all of them that have private jets from tithe? Many trek very long distances to discharge their duties. On many occasions, I have been given honoraria which did not cover the cost of my transportation to places of ministrations. Pastors go through a lot, yet they must always smile 😃.“Have you ever seen a man of God lose his spouse; more so when that spouse is a pillar of support? Hmmm… I have seen pastors who lost wives, nay, two wives one after the other. I lost one. I knew I will not survive losing another. Even that one, it took God to keep me alive.“When people are in trouble, the first person they call is the pastor. When pastor is in trouble, the people flee and gossip from afar. When a pastor falls into sin, everybody, including secret sinners and hypocrites throws stones. They all forget that no man receives more focus and attacks from Satan than he whose job is to trouble and destroy the kingdom of darkness. work of a pastor is a lonely job.“They are always surrounded by people, but they are lonely. The crowd around them, like those around their Master, are there to draw virtue. When tragedy strikes, like they did to the Master, the people will “pick race”!“Please be close to your pastor with genuine love. Care for your pastor. Be a true son or daughter. Stop thinking only about what you can draw from your pastor. Also, think about how you can be of help and assistance to him. Ask your pastor questions. Ask him, “How are you doing sir”? More importantly, pray for him; don’t prey on him. Care for him. Be there for him at his down moments. Let him feel truly loved. Love has great power of healing. Loneliness is killing. Never allow your pastor to be lonely. Be very close with true love and sincerity. Give your pastor surprise gifts. If you can afford it, pay for a holiday and ask him to go. Send packs of fruits to him. Send someone to clean his house or office. Take his car to car wash. Pay a laundry man to clean his dresses. Do something to make your pastor smile.“Sorrow and grief can kill, and pastors can die. If your pastor will die, let it not be of sorrow or grief. If your pastors will go to glory, do all you can so that he will not go too soon.“I celebrate the life of our beloved elder and man of God, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya. Take your rest beloved. You came, you saw, and you conquered. You are now in a land where griefs and sorrows cannot enter.“God bless all sincere and genuine men of God all over the world. God bless the men whose assignment demands that they must always smile, even when they are in griefs!ALSO READ: Pastor Taiwo Odukoya: More Tributes Flow in from All PlatformsDiscover more from Church News
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