Associate pastors see senior pastor’s children as 'competition' – Agyinasare

Bishop Charles Agyinasare has said church members must endeavour to honour the spouse and children of their senior pastor.

The founder of Perez Chapel International told his congregation on Sunday, 21 March 2021 that it is imperative for the church members to love and care for the senior pastor’s spouse and children.

“Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?” he quoted 1 Corinthians 9:5 as saying, noting: “Apart from Paul and a few other Apostles who were not travelling with a wife, other Apostles travelled with their wives”.

Marriage in the Bible, Bishop Agyinasare noted, “makes husband and wife one flesh”, thus, “to honour the prophet will necessarily mean honouring the wife”.

In his view, “when you hate my wife, you have dishonoured me”, adding: “You cannot love Christ without loving the Church”.

Similarly, he pointed out, “you can’t love the pastor without loving the spouse”.

In many instances, Bishop Agyinasare indicated, “pastors’ wives or spouses are relegated and not treated so well”.

“Some are even seen as rivals who don’t deserve their place”, he observed.

“This can have a telling effect on the home life of the pastor”, he noted.

He said, “one way to honour your man of God is to love and cherish the wife and children”.

“When pastors see that their wives are loved and cared for, they relax, feel confident and appreciated, and give their all to the work,” he acknowledged.

“Many churches grieve the pastor because the church sees his children as competition. Many associate pastors see the children of the senior pastor as the cause of their lack of promotion. Many pastors are afraid to use or allow their children to function in the church because they are afraid the associate pastors would kill their children,” Bishop Agyinasare said.

He said: “Many pastors handle a church they know does not love them and their family. When their children falter, the people are happy to spread it and use it to accuse them. When the pastor’s wife has a problem, they would quickly accuse her of witchcraft. Many pastors’ children don’t want to do anything in their father’s church because they can feel the animosity.”

“The pastor has to harden his face and heart to his surrounding to use his children. When pastors see their families being loved and accorded respect, they also feel confident and appreciated.”