House on the Rock Abuja Pastor, Pastor Uche Aigbe has tendered an apology to his congregation and the entire Nation for mounting the pulpit with an unloaded AK-47 rifle.
Recall that the Abuja-based pastor was detained by policemen after a video of him carrying a gun while preaching surfaced on social media early this month.
While admitting today that his action caused a lot of embarrassment and pain to the church and his family, he said: “This morning I stand before you with a deep sense of sobriety and contrition as I humbly address the event of last Sunday at the second service which most of us were part of, where I used an unloaded firearm to illustrate some texts from the Bible regarding the good fight of faith.
“Of course, like you all know, it has caused a lot of embarrassment and pain to the entire church family, to you House on the Rock (The Refuge), to my immediate family and, of course, to myself. The decision that I made to use that firearm was not thoughtful. It has left me disappointed in myself. My action has been very traumatic for me, my family and, I am sure, for many of us. And I trust that we will never ever experience such again.”
Pastor Aigbe also used the opportunity to announce his withdrawal from his pastoral duties.
His words: “I want to thank you all for your prayers, love, empathy, goodwill messages and emotional support during this traumatic period. As Christians, time is of such trial that I have presently experienced, learning opportunities to grow in grace. I appreciate the love of our heavenly Father who never leave us nor forsake us. He has promised us that no matter what happens, he will always be with us.
“To this end, I have consulted as necessary and with acceptable guidance from the senior leadership of the Church. And I would like to humbly ask for your permission to take some time to pray, meditate, reflect and also to heal from all of the things that happened and its consequence. Notwithstanding, I will always be in church on Sundays and Wednesdays to worship with you.
“Let me say that I bear no grudge against anybody in my heart. If I have offended you, please forgive me. God is God and He will always remain our Father.
“So let’s remain resolute in our faith and trust in God. Let’s continue to labour in the house and not allow the enemies to deter us in any way. I also believe God for a peaceful election on Saturday and the weeks after that.”
