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Rowan
International Church of Salisbury simmers in rumors of
corruption and wild accusations
Friday,
December 01, 2006
By Patrick Fallah Salmolu
Rowan International
Church (RIC) of Salisbury, North Carolina, which was
founded to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to
Liberians who fled the civil war in their homeland
decades ago, is now embroiled in a series of
controversies that have the potential of destroying
the vision of a once promising sanctuary.
These
unfolding events give credence to the old saying, “A
man can leave his home, but will never depart from
some of his old ways.” If these rumors are true, then Liberians are still hatching
the rotten eggs of their homeland. Have we not learned
from our past mistakes yet?
It all started when certain founding members of
Rowan International Church were accused of undermining
the pastor and lusting after his wife. This writer is
one of those whom Pastor Jacob Doe falsely accused of
having an affair with his wife, an allegation he could
not back, but claimed was revealed to him by “God”
in a dream. When the matter was brought before the
Elders and Deacons of the church for healing and
reconciliation, Pastor Doe surprisingly decided to
dodge the matter.
As other rumors go, financial transparency and
accountability have become subjects of numerous
gossips at RIC. It
is rumored that the pastor along with his cronies
misappropriated money to pay for his religious
education.
Pastor Doe and his friends are intolerant and
are not amenable to ideas and suggestions pertaining
to the smooth running of the church, especially when
one is not considered part of his inner circle.
As a matter
of fact, the church has become the pastor’s
exclusive domain.
It all began when he and members of a caucus
engulfed his predecessor in a whirlwind of rumors of
dishonesty.
His
predecessor subsequently left the pastorate in the
midst of the rumors.
A similar incident occurred when an evangelist
who was largely favored to succeed his predecessor,
was hoodwinked in a scheme designed to keep the
present pastor, and maintain the corrupt state of
affairs.
The
evangelist then broke away from the church and
organized the Blessed Assurance Ministry, which is
under the auspices of the North Main Baptist Church.
Rowan International Church, which should be
championing the cause of unity among Liberians, has
now become the sole agent of divisiveness in the
community.
Since its
beginnings, the trail of RIC has been tortuous and
laden with rumors and stories of unwholesome
practices. This
has led to the mushrooming of many splinter groups and
the flight of disgruntled members to other churches.
As the saying goes, “Where there is smoke, there is
fire.”
Rowan
International Church must straighten its financial,
moral and ethical priorities, or else it will
eventually cave in for its lack of honesty and
uprightness.
Patrick
Fallah Salmolu, a union leader, is a criminal
justice major. He lives in Salisbury, North Carolina.
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