Pastor Tola Odutola, one of the most prominent pastors of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, in the United States has broken away from the church.
Odutola cited lack of care by the church leaders. The church, with headquarters in Nigeria, was founded in 1952. In a viral video, Odutola said his church would now run independently.
In a statement that would worry the church, he said there are other pastors following him out of the church. His announcement to the congregation on Sunday was met with standing ovation several times.
He said that though he is going to be greatly criticised for his decision online, he would not respond to them. Pastor Tola said it is expected that he would be demonised on social media for his decision, adding it is ‘okay’. He, however, asked his members not to bring the reports to him.
The pastor said that it is also okay if members want to counter such a report online, saying that he would not do so but rather focus on the job at hand. The cleric also said he “would not throw stones”, adding that he helped built his former church. Pastor Tola said this is the last time he would be talking about his resignation as he wants to move on.
According to the website of Jesus House Baltimore, Odutola was a Chartered Accountant at Peat Marwick, KPMG in Nigeria. He was also at DHL as Treasury Controller and Business Development Manager before being called into full time ministry.
“In addition to being the Senior Pastor at Jesus House Baltimore, Pastor Tola is the Regional Pastor of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCGNA) North America Region 9. (NAR 9). He also was the founding chairman of the Redeemer’s Leadership Institute (RLI). RLI is the Leadership arm of the Redeemed Christian Church of God North America (RCCGNA) which provides continuous training for Religious Leaders worldwide.
“Pastor Tola is the Chairman of Alpha Leadership Conference (ALC), an organization charged with promoting and teaching leadership skills to all people of all nations.
“He consults, mentors and coaches Pastors, speaks regularly at Leadership Conferences, Churches, Corporations, Minister’s Conferences, Seminars and other Leadership Development Opportunities”.
