Latunde Akin, his supposed anti-Kumuyi posts and Deeper Lifers’ outrage — by Paul Dada

Blue murder is what members of the Deeper Life Bible Church have been screaming over a series of posts made by a certain Bro. Latunde Akin about the alleged ill treatment of some former Deeper Life overseers and top figures by the supreme leader of the denomination, Pa William Kumuyi.

Although Latunde has repeatedly stated that his intention is not to disparage Kumuyi, but to highlight the fact that good men have weaknesses and to help well-meaning believers avoid such mistakes, many Deeper Lifers remain outraged by what they see as a brazen and “impudent” demystification of their “father in the Lord”.

1. LATUNDE AKIN AND PAUL DADA

Let me say that I do not currently have any close relationship with Latunde. We interacted a bit on Facebook several years ago. We are currently not Facebook friends. We probably only saw each other once, and that was when he drove a mutual mentee, who used to stay in my house whenever she came to Nigeria, from Ibadan to my workplace in Lagos.

Let me also say that Latunde and I do not share the same persuasion on many Christian matters. He is denominational. He believes in that system. I am unapologetically non-denominational. I strongly believe that the denominational system is aberrant and that there are levels of spiritual fulfilment genuine believers within denominations cannot attain. So, Latunde and I do not have a lot in common, even if he is a genuine Christian.

2. THE RISK OF SINGLE NARRATIVES

If you know me well, you will know that I generally do not accept single narratives. If you tell me something about someone which is unknown to me, I would like to hear from the other person before making a judgement, or see a document or any other evidence proving beyond reasonable doubt that the person did what they are alleged to have done.

This is why I usually focus on the public misdeeds of false teachers and pulpit gods, and not on things they are said to have done privately. I have heard a lot of hidden stories about Deeper Life, Kumuyi and other major denominational pastors. They are not worth discussing publicly because they are one-sided accounts.

3. LATUNDE’S CHALLENGE TO DEEPER LIFERS

While I do not endorse, and cannot attest to, the veracity of all the stories told by Latunde, I cannot readily dismiss them either. The good thing is that Latunde has consistently challenged anyone with counter-narratives to present them.

4. THE TYPICAL EMOTIONAL AND IDOLATRY-TAINTED RESPONSES OF DEEPER LIFERS

I have not seen any robust response from any Deeper Lifer to the stories told by Latunde. What I mostly see are emotional outbursts. Latunde’s posts have been greeted with name-calling and insults. To many of them, he appears to be merely a content creator seeking to cash out from the posts. To Deeper Lifers, Latunde is a lying turncoat. He is a backslider, or something close to that, defaming the General Superintendent.

There have been no serious rebuttals of Latunde’s posts, only emotional reactions. The only thing close to rebuttals came from two people who merely challenged Latunde’s position on the relationship between Pa Kumuyi and Pa Enoch Adeboye.

If you are familiar with the way Deeper Lifers respond to public criticism of Kumuyi and their denomination, you can hardly be surprised by the streams of vituperation and toxic pushback emanating from their keypads or keyboards.

Some of us have faced this treatment even though our criticism of Kumuyi and the travesties within his organisation is based on matters already in the public domain. Personally, I have been called a deserter, a backslider, an envious person, a mere content creator, someone seeking cheap popularity, a pestilence, and have even been threatened with calamities, divine judgement and evil befalling my family, all because I tell Deeper Lifers to stop worshipping Kumuyi and follow New Testament principles.

Without admitting it, the average Deeper Lifer adores Pa Kumuyi like a flawless god or demigod whose weaknesses must never be highlighted. To them, it is acceptable to criticise the president of a nation, a senator, a state governor or any other public figure, but once it concerns Kumuyi, they bare their fangs. How ridiculous!

5. THE TRUTHS EMERGING FROM LATUNDE’S POSTS

I have heard some stories too, but I will not tell them publicly like Latunde. Neither will I confirm Latunde’s stories as factual. However, his stories reinforce a certain unimpeachable truth: the system and structure of Deeper Life breed tyranny and oppression. From Kumuyi down to the lowest level of leadership, examples of this can be found.

Let me give a few examples, which many people who have been in Deeper Life can testify to.

(A)
There was a time when Kumuyi used to walk around during congregational hymn singing. If he noticed that you were absent-minded, he would bring you to the altar to stand before thousands of congregants. I witnessed him do this to an elderly man. He also disciplined pastors and workers for being absent-minded. He once asked a top pastor to stand on the altar. The man felt offended and left the church building. Other pastors ran after him, but he refused to listen.

How did I know this? Kumuyi himself told the story. I heard him directly.

(B)
He disciplined all members of the adult choir in Lagos for a mistake committed during a combined service ministration by a choir group.

(C)
At a Tuesday leadership meeting at the old Gbagada church building, he came out and called some names. He then instructed the leaders to discipline those who were absent. There was no instruction to find out why they were absent. Were some of them sick? Were some discouraged? Were some delayed by traffic?

I can go on and on, but suffice it to say that tyranny cascades down to the lowest rungs of leadership. In Deeper Life, people have reportedly been disciplined for shaking hands with or hugging the opposite sex, eating from the same plate as a fiancé or fiancée, sound system failures, a pianist making mistakes, and so on.

I must confess that, as a former Deeper Life leader, I also disciplined people for foolish reasons. A few years ago, I had to apologise to some ladies who reminded me of the harsh punishments I gave them when they were in my choir. I reached out to all of them and apologised. I was simply a product of the system. I did not know any better.

6. LESSONS FOR CHRISTIAN PILGRIMS

While we may justifiably shake our heads at the hard-heartedness of some Deeper Lifers, we must understand that they are the way they are because one man became a god over them, even if he never intended it.

We must be careful to understand that church leadership is not about running and ruining people’s lives. A true Christian leader is an under-shepherd. Christ is the one true Shepherd of the Church. All a leader needs to do is introduce people to Christ, encourage them to remain with Christ, and stay out of the picture. A true leader decreases so that Christ may increase in people’s lives.

Let us also understand that the plurality of co-equal elders and leaders is the biblical prescription for the Church. The General Overseer model and the single-pastor system for a local assembly will ultimately breed dictatorship, even if that was never the original intention.

Finally, let us remember that only one flawless being has ever walked this earth. His name is Jesus.