15/08/2025
When Men Roar for Men, but Whisper for Christ
The recent statement by the Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C) responding to Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo’s remarks about Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola has been widely circulated. It was thorough, Scripture-filled, and unwavering in its defense of their founding General Evangelist. Defending truth, correcting falsehood, and setting records straight is commendable.
But here’s the piercing question: Where is this same holy fire when Christ Himself is slandered?
When a preacher boldly claimed that poverty drove Jesus to the Cross — that lack in the life of one of His disciples nailed Him there — where was the C.A.C.? Where was the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN)? Where was the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN)? And you, believer — where were you?
This is the shameful pattern: When our Lord Jesus — the Head of the Church, the Savior of the world, the Name above all names — is mocked, there is silence. No pulpit thunder. No public defense. No righteous outrage. Yet when a revered pastor or founder is criticized, the Church rallies like an army under siege.
Let’s be clear: defending Apostle Babalola’s legacy is not wrong. But defending men more passionately than we defend Christ is a grievous imbalance. Have we, without admitting it, placed our fathers in the faith above the Lord who called them?
Jesus warned: “If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory” (Luke 9:26). Silence when Christ is insulted, yet loud protest when men are offended, is not loyalty — it is idolatry in disguise.
No General Overseer, no founder, no apostle, no bishop, no prophet — no matter how anointed — will ever share Christ’s throne. They are servants; He is the Master. They are vessels; He is the Source. They are dust; He is the eternal God.
If the Nigerian Church wants to regain moral authority, it must match — or surpass — its zeal for defending men with a blazing zeal for defending Christ. Press statements, pulpit declarations, and public corrections should be just as swift when His holy name is dragged through the mud.
To be silent when Christ is mocked, yet loud when men are attacked, is hypocrisy wrapped in church garments. The Church belongs to Christ, not to any man. He declared: “On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18).
Respecting our fathers in the faith is biblical. But exalting them above the Lord of the Church is sin.
May God give today’s Nigerian Church leaders the courage to roar for Christ — louder, quicker, and bolder than they roar for any man.
©️ Dr Josiah Adeogo Akintunde's Corner 😘