Senior Pastor, Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Biodun Fatoyinbo has backed a senior colleague, Bishop David Oyedepo over the reason that the latter proffered for sacking some pastors in his church.
Oyedepo, who founded Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, has been in the news in recent times after two pastors in the church claimed that they were sacked alongside 39 others for not generating enough income in their branches.
However, Oyedepo responded in a video, which went viral, that the pastors were sacked for not being “fruitful”.
He also called them “blatant failures”.
Many Nigerians took to social media to berate the church for firing the clerics, and some others castigated Oyedepo over the language he used to describe the sacked pastors.
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Reacting to the controversy in an Instagram post, Fatoyinbo defended Winners Chapel.
According to him, there is no room for “laziness and unfruitfulness.”
He queried if the sacked pastors would have cried out on social media if they had been sacked by a bank.
“Question! ‘if you were fired in the Bank for not meeting up with your deliverables will you go on social media?” Fatoyinbo asked.
He recalled a passage in the Bible where Jesus Christ cursed a fig tree that did not produce fruit.
“He (Jesus) spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none,” he added.
“Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
“And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. Luke 13 : 6 – 9,” Fatoyinbo said.