Right Person To Replace A Dead Pastor In A Church – (Mistakes) , DON’T HANDOVER THE CHURCH TO YOUR WIFE OR KIDS, FOR IT IS NOT A FAMILY BUSINESS UNLESS THEY ARE CALLED BY GOD:
If your wife and kids don’t have a calling into Ministry, don’t because you want to secure your ministry’s investment, hand over the church to them.
Ministry is either a Call or a Curse.
If succession is not done by the Holyspirit, the Holyspirit will quietly walk away from the Ministry.
At the moment in Nigeria, I have not seen any husband-to-wife succession that improved on the results the husband left behind.
You can handover methods but you can’t handover mantles.
Imagine if the founder of Redeem gave it to his wife or first son.
The Holyspirit can lead you to your wife, your kids or even your in-laws.
But be very sure of the voice you heard.
Because if you get Romans 8 verse 14 wrongly, you can’t arrive at Proverbs 4 verse 18.
According to the first verse, only those that are led by God are the Sons of God.
Then the next verse: ‘the path of the just is like a shinning light that shines brighter and brighter into the perfect day’.
Just be sure you are led by God, so that your progress will not be hindered by your arrangement.
My greatest desire at the moment is to see how the Church I pastor can operate like catholic church in structure and succession.
We claim there is no anointing in catholic church but they are over 200 years in existence. But with all our pentecostal anointing, we close churches every year.
You can’t be begging your members every week to forgive you for closing late. That is not how to run it for it to continue when you are no longer there. There must be a time the Holyspirit must not cross, because the Holyspirit is not the author of confusion.
We have at the moment: “NOW THAT YOU WANT TO BE A MEMBER OF ANSWERS ASSEMBLY, THINGS YOU MUST KNOW.”
I have added “ANSWER’S ASSEMBLY WORKERS MANUAL”
God helping me, I will soon finish “ANSWER’S ASSEMBLY BEFORE AND AFTER THE DEMISE OF THE FOUNDER”.
Don’t be thinking you will die if you address this issue.
You won’t die.
But you will one day die.
So don’t run from what is inevitable.
In conclusion, let us consider 8 reasons why you must put a SYSTEM OF SUCCESSION in place:
1. You need a System of Succession because you will not always be around.
This is not about death. But you may be unavoidably absent.
2. You need a System of Succession because you will one day be called home to be with the Lord.
We take the Holy Communion to live long, but the owner of the Blood we drink died at the young age of 33 after he finished his Ministry.
Whether you like it or not, you will one day finish your ministry.
3. You need a System of Succession to avoid confusion everytime there is a demise of a Leader.
I have never heard of any confusion in catholic church as a result of the death or resignation of a Seating Pope.
4. You need a System of Succession to keep the Ministry above the control and influence of an out-going Leader.
5. You need a System of Succession to create an atmosphere of transparency.
It helps them know you are not hiding anything from anyone.
6. You need a System of Succession in order to create room for an all inclusive Church Leadership Involvement that is devoid of tribal sentiment.
7. You need a System of Succession in order to know those that are for you or against you.
This will help you establish loyalty while you are still alive.
It is safer for people to leave you now for handing over to your wife or kids than for you to depart and create a ministry crisis in your absence.
8. We need a System of Succession in order to make succession simple and straight forward than to make it complex and conflicting.
Thanks for reading.
Bishop Irabor Wisdom.
Presiding Bishop Answer’s Assembly warri Delta State Nigeria.