Aftermath suspended FRC code: Church leaders and the question of succession

As many clerics across Nigeria struggle to come to terms with the provisions of the recently suspended code of corporate governance of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, which saw the stepping aside of Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God as General Overseer, RITA OKONOBOH examines the underlying, yet knotty, issue of succession plan, especially as it affects church founders and spiritual leaders.

PASTOR Enoch Adeboye’s recent stepping aside as the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of god (RCCG), sequel to the code of corporate governance requirements by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria threw up a number of critical issues for public discourse. One of them was that of succession plans for some churches.

Beyond the concerns that seemed to have been the thematic preoccupation of many church leaders in the past week, the dicey question of succession, especially for pentecostal churches, came to the fore.

Unlike many orthodox churches in Nigeria which have clear cut rules on leadership positions, many Nigerian pentecostal churches have their founders as Nigerians, with many heeding the divine call to set up churches. Thus, the question of succession sometimes causes crises in various churches.

The orthodox have clearly defined rules and regulations on such matters and many other critical issues.

The orthodox, pentecostal example

For instance, the Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), according to the Prelate, Most Reverend Samuel Uche, has a retirement age of 70 for clerics in whatever position. For leadership positions, such as prelacy, there are single terms of five years each.

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, is also very strict on retirement issues. In fact, a cleric is expected to retire on the date of his 70th birthday, whether he is still a reverend, a bishop, archbishop or primate.

For the Catholic Church, 75 is the canonical age stipulated for retirement of bishops and cardinals, while the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC) has tenured positions.

According to the NBC’s constitution, the “convention chairman shall be elected for a three-year term and may be re-elected for a second three year term, after which he shall not be eligible for re-election. The convention vice-chairmen shall be elected for two-year terms after which they shall not be eligible for re-election. Geographical spread shall be considered in their selection.”

Church leaders and the question of succession

Of the many church founders available in Nigeria, especially non-orthodox churches, only a handful come to mind as having handed over while still in active ministry. Aside Pastor Adeboye’s recent reorganisation of the church’s structure, in which he stepped down as the general overseer, citing the Financial Reporting Council governance code, which has been suspended, another example in the not-too-distant past is that of Pastor Uzodinma Obed of the Glory Tabernacle Ministry – established in January 1990 – who voluntarily handed over the leadership of the church in January 2011, an action which he said was by divine instruction.

For the RCCG, which will clock 65 this year, as it was established in 1952, there is a structure for leadership positions, according to information available on the church’s official website. There is the governing council made up of the general overseer, who is also the chairman of the governing council; wife of the general overseer; deputy general overseer; five assistant general overseers (who are retired clerics); national elder; national assistant elder; and regional evangelist. This is followed by special assistants to the general overseer and then, members of the board of trustees, comprising the general overseer; deputy general overseer; assistant general overseers, and elders.

From the position taken by Pastor Adeboye, succession plans are by divine instruction given to the general overseer. This is represented in statement on the history of the church which reads: “Pa Josiah Akindayomi [founder of RCCG] was 71 years old when he died. Amidst controversy, Pastor Adeboye’s appointment was formalised by the reading of the sealed pronouncement after his burial.” As such, Pastor Adeboye took over the reins of the church in 1981, at the age of 40.

When the time comes, God will reveal whom He has chosen —Pastor Kumuyi

Pastor William Kumuyi, had in an in interaction with newsmen in the not-too-distant past, responded to the question of the succession plan of the Deeper Life Bible Church (DLBC), giving biblical examples to back the need or otherwise of a succession plan, as well as citing the all-important divine direction.

“I can take examples from history and from the Bible. Aaron was 83 years old, when God joined him and Moses who was 80 at that time. People would have asked what the succession plan was, especially with regards to leadership for the crowd of people that would be left behind after his death. When that time comes, God will do the right thing. The DLBC is not Pastor Kumuyi’s property. It is God’s church. And because it is His church, He has the plan; but when the time comes, He will reveal whom He has chosen.

“Human beings are very much inquisitive. Take the example of Jesus Christ. He went around performing miracles and James and John were interested in bringing to his attention a succession plan. 2,000 years have come and gone and the church is now all over the world. God has whoever will take over in mind. That succession plan is in the hands of God and He cannnot fail. The DLBC will continue to wax stronger. When I am there, praise the Lord; when I am not, Jesus will continue his ministry,” Kumuyi stated.

‘Certain positions in church are not open to retirement’

For the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, the tenure of prophets and pastors, employment of certain clerics are renewed every three years. Besides, such persons can be transferred or, if they wish, they can leave the church.

An official of the church who spoke to TribuneChurch, stated that “Apart from persons anointed to their positions, every other person’s employment is renewable after three years. It is after that three-year period that the person can be transferred and if he/she wishes to leave, can be asked to leave the church. However, for positions of leaders-in-charge and district chairmen, they are more or less permanent because they are anointed to such positions by the spiritual father, following a vote of confidence passed on them by other church leaders in that district. However, if there is crisis in their domains, their positions can also be reviewed.”

The official also noted that the position of spiritual father is a permanent position which a person occupies for life.

For the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Movement, Ayo Ni O, the next most senior church official takes over after the spiritual leader leaves office.

For the Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners Chapel, which was reportedly stated by its founder, Bishop David Oyedepo, to have six million members in 147 countries, as at 2014, retirement age or succession plans do not also seem to be an issue, going by the belief that call to ministry is divine and that the church is the Lord’s.

The greatest headache of church leaders is the question of ‘who is capable?’ —Bishop Wale Oke

Bishop Wale Oke of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries, when asked the succession plan of the church, had stated that “Every mega church has a structure. There is a limit to what one person can do. The better structured a church is, the bigger they are. If there is a structure, then there is a succession. If God calls me today, the church will grow bigger. There will be no crisis about succession because the arrangement is clear. But the greatest headache of church leaders is the question of ‘who is capable?’ Leading a big church is not a piece of cake. It is not our church but the church of Jesus Christ and He will give leader to each church when the time comes. If your first son or townsman succeeds you, there’s no problem with that, as long as it is what God wants. Every genuine leader seeks the heart of God.”

For the Christ Apostolic Church worldwide, the retirement age, whatever position the person occupies, is 75. On succession plans, however, an official of the church, in an interaction with TribuneChurch, stated that “the constitution is very clear on succession plans. The constitution stipulates a hassle-free succession plan. The CAC has three principal officers: – the president, general superintendent and the general evangelist. The office of the president is the highest position in the church. Whoever will occupy the position of the president must have been a general superintendent before he can occupy such position. When the office of the president is vacant, the general superintendent steps in and the highest decision making body of the church confirms it. The position of general evangelist is a specialised position that can only be occupied by prophets, and whoever holds such position of general evangelist holds it for life, until they retire. The president’s position also becomes vacant, when he retires.”

For over 10 years, everybody knows who would succeed me —Pastor Emmanuel

General Overseer, Calvary Bible Church, Lagos, Pastor Olumide Emmanuel, in his reaction on the issue of succession, stated that “For over a decade now, everybody knows who would take over from me. We have another resident pastor, also in waiting. God forbid, if anything happens now, there is no wife that will fight the church or a mother that will say we started the church together. In 20 years, we have not had breakaway because we allow people to display their talents. There can be visions within visions. When people leave, we celebrate them. We also support them if we can.”

Ensuring smooth transition

Like the controversy that erupted when Pastor Adeboye was to take over, such crises are not strange to the Nigerian Christian community on account of the tussle for leadership positions. The Assemblies of God Church; the Celestial Church of Christ worldwide; C&S church, among others, and even certain orthodox churches have found themselves in the crossfire of controversial claims for leadership positions.

Beyond divinity and the will to shepherd God’s flock, many researchers have called on pastors to look into succession plans as a way to resolve crisis after the founder or spiritual father steps aside for whatever the reason may be.

William Vanderbloemen, former pastor, and president and Chief Executive Officer of Vanderbloemen Search Group, the leading search firm, specifically focused on connecting churches and ministries with the right leadership for their teams, in a research on the need for churches to have succession plans, stated that “Succession planning can make or break a church. Someone has to fill your shoes when you move on, but few pastors think about what that transition will require in advance. An effective succession plan requires planning and intentionality.”

He further provided four steps pastors could adopt for planning succession. They include immediate planning, objectivity, financial assessment and plans for retirement.

In his view, Dr Warren Bird, cleric and research director for Leadership Network, in an article entitled How Pastors are Passing the Leadership Baton, stated that “Every pastor is an interim pastor. That statement may sound harsh or abrupt, but it’s becoming a catchphrase. A day will come for every church leader when a successor takes his place.”

According to him, based on his research, “the smartest churches address succession head-on. A church that doesn’t handle it well faces significant losses, sometimes to the point of no return. An outstanding long-term pastorate offers no guarantee that a church will survive, let alone thrive.”

Vanderbloemen and Bird suggested steps for clerics to take on ensuring smooth succession, which they described as the commandments of succession planning.

According to them, “too many pastors push away ideas of succession planning, initially thinking of it as an unrealistic task or something they don’t need to think about until they’re facing retirement.”

They advised church leaders to include the board in the plans for succession, ensure accountability, have emergency safe nets, and anticipate the future. According to them, “Find an accountability group that can be your safety net. Too many successions are on the heels of a moral or financial failure because the pastors were (a) tired and (b) didn’t have anyone to talk to about their personal fatigue; formulate an emergency succession plan and communicate various pieces to the proper parties; develop a plan for a nonemergency but unforeseen departure; and anticipate your (eventual) retirement.

“While every succession is different, carrying its own complexities, these steps seem to be applicable to the majority of the case studies we’ve encountered. Begin applying these ‘five commandments’ to your setting, and you will be well on the road to a successful succession.”

5 reasons why successions fail

Pastors don’t let go

Many pastors resign but then stay—or let their spouse, children, or other relatives stay. They micromanage, typically allowing their shadow to remain longer than they realise.

Pastors wait too long

Many long-standing pastors stay well beyond the church’s glory days, watching the church’s vital signs ebb year after year yet hold on, thinking next year will see a turnaround. The successor inherits many challenges and disadvantages.

Multiple candidates fight it out

Power struggles, often highlighted by media coverage, cause members to quickly become disheartened and leave. The “winner” has little remaining to work with.

Change comes too quickly

The incoming pastor is given a mandate for change (perhaps “help us become outward focused”), but moves far faster than the culture of the church is able to shift. Broken trust along the way thwarts future success.

Pastors hit hidden landmines

Many successors have uncovered a moral issue, huge debt, badly conflicted boards, or other toxic issues that explode upon their arrival.