In June 2015 during my first week in Senegal, I visited the local Lighthouse assembly in the capital, Dakar, for the first time. I probably had attended one or two Lighthouse church campus ministry events during my University of Ghana days, but my first church service was the one in Dakar. If Senegal counts as the Ghanaman’s “abroad,” then my JJC (Johnny Just Came) moment was at the Lighthouse church.

With no knowledge of Wolof or any other local Senegalese language, and with my only French word being “Bonjour” (in my Ghanaian English accent), I found myself in a church where French was intertwined with the local Wolof.

Each time the young pastor, a Ghanaian, spotted me in the audience and could clearly see the confusion in my face, he would make attempts to sum up his sermon in a line or two in English – just for me!

While this intervention from the young Ghanaian Lighthouse pastor was comforting, it did little to help his young visiting Ghanaian fellow. None of the songs were in a language I was familiar with, and on top of that, I could barely hear a word from the sermon. So, after my third attempt at the church, I moved on to the International Baptist Church (IBC) - a bilingual church – where, to my pleasant surprise and great relief, I found another Ghanaian minister of the gospel, who preached in English.

I found a community and a family I was greatly connected with and for the next three years, IBC became my home, and I would go on to play various roles in the church.

This Dakar anecdote highlights the fact that the church of God on this earth is a human institution, and while pastors and leaders may play a divine role, they are still fallible – humans as they are!

It is in light of this that I found it very troubling the recent outburst by the founder and leader of the Lighthouse Church (now United Denominations) Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, against a pastor of his church. A troubling video capturing the moment has been trending online with viewers expressing mixed reactions. While I do my very best to stay away from critical comments targeted at men of God, I found it very compelling to write about this latest incident, partly because of my reverence for Bishop Dag Heward-Mills but also because our continued silence leads to incidents like this one. What is more troubling, such infractions give critics of the church (and there are many out there today!) the leeway to drag the church and its leadership in the mud. And what do believers do? We cover our faces in shame and stay clear of such criticisms. It is for this reason that I write, hoping that it provides some constructive feedback for a church leader who cares to hear.

While the video of the Bishop’s scolding and purportedly demoting the pastor lacked context – we did not know what the said pastor did nor did we know what tasks those in attendance were expected to perform – what we found troubling and which we can all attest to, is the manner in which the Bishop spoke to the said pastor.

Whatever the pastor was doing (some suggested he was reading a book authored by the same Bishop), it was clear that something went awfully off. Perhaps, he was caught off-guard. Perhaps, he was indeed reading or even on his phone. Perhaps, he was intimidated by his leader and Bishop of the church! Or, perhaps, he was intimidated by the audience in the auditorium.

Still, could it be possible that, like me in that audience in Dakar, he could barely understand the language in which the Bishop was preaching, let alone express himself in it? These are all questions that beg for answers.

Whatever the offence of the said pastor, it is evident that he was not caught in a serious violation of the word of God, say, like stealing or committing murder.

Had he been caught in one, our Lord Jesus Christ, the founder and leader of the church on earth, teaches us the way: To love and to correct with lots of love and patience. When once a woman was caught in adultery, our Lord Jesus Christ, with love, patience and sober reflection told her: go and sin no more!

Christ Jesus could have scolded her in public. In fact, he could have done condemned and watch her stoned to death. Instead, he reached out in love. The least expected of Bishop Dag was to ask the pastor to see him later, and he could then admonish him over whatever the beef was. Sadly, that was not what we witnessed in the viral video.

Read the reactions online and you will understand my point. Some have suddenly turned their anger on all Christians and calling them names and doing everything to promote that video. One such respondent, a Ghanaian resident in the UK, recounted his experience in the church while being on drugs, and as Christians, we can all relate. While struggling with cocaine and other drugs, the single place he faced the most ostracisation and shame from his friends and others was in the church, he claimed.

And anyone who has been to our churches can attest to the cold treatment we mete out to those who do not conform to our religious and cultural traditions and beliefs, including simple things such as hairstyle and the clothes people wear to church. We are quick to judge and cast aspersions at people over minute issues, and yet are slow to reach out and help those in need.  

Had Jesus Christ treated people that way, my fellow Ghanaians and I would not be anywhere close to a church. But Christ reached out to us all with open arms. Who are we to keep on shaming others and driving them away from the house of the Lord?

I am a Christian and I have a high regard for leadership, so, I will not dare criticise the man of God. I will also wish and pray that our church leaders find better ways to resolve conflict when they arise. Without the congregation, there would be no pastors.

It is the very members that God used to bless a mega televangelic ministry, and it pays to treat each member more humanely, let alone a pastor of a local branch of the same church.

I pray strongly for the pastor for all the shame he had to put up with. I pray that he remains strong in the Lord, and that he would not lose his faith and quit. And with equal magnitude, I offer the same prayer to anyone who finds themselves in the shoes of this poor pastor.

May God have mercy on us all.

The author can be reached on Twitter: @benjieluv Email: benjieluv@gmail.com