Oyedepo sparks firestorm: ‘Lazy Pastors are killing the Church’

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo, has taken a hard stance against laziness within the church, calling out idle believers and pastors who, according to him, mask indolence under the guise of ministry.

In a fiery sermon delivered on Sunday, Oyedepo declared, “Some pastors say they are full-time pastors, but they are full-time lazy. There are too many lazy people in the Church.”

His comments sparked reactions across social media after Church Gist posted excerpts from the message.

The influential preacher, known for his no-nonsense approach to discipline and work ethic, recounted a personal experience that inspired his famous teaching titled “There Is No Food for an Idle Man.”

He said, “I came back from Ghana one time and I began to teach on ‘There Is No Food For An Idle Man.’ I saw that inscription on a lorry in the hotel where I was staying, and I said if I was going to Nigeria by road, this is the lorry I would board—because it will be speaking to me till I get there.”

Emphasising the weight of responsibility that comes with ministry, he warned against viewing preaching as the totality of pastoral work.

“I told my sons working with me: Most people think ministry is preaching. They have lost 90 per cent of it. Preaching is 10 per cent. The work that brings the preaching is the real work,” he said.

Oyedepo also spoke directly to unemployed youth, urging them to break free from idleness and take initiative—even in small ventures.

He cited examples of young people who hustled their way through school, stating, “One young man here was hawking bread to pay his way through school in Covenant. Another one was hawking bread in molue to earn his first degree in UNILAG.”

He continued, “There is someone here that was selling smoked fish in Britain and built a factory and a house. Smoked fish! You think they don’t like it? They were saying, ‘I want smoked fish.’ When the idea is from God, everybody will like it.”

With a sharp rebuke for those who make excuses, Oyedepo added, “You sit down from morning till night in the name of looking for a job in your mother’s house. You eat morning, afternoon, and night. They say fast, you say you have ulcer.”

Wrapping up his message, he delivered a strong biblical charge: “He that does not work, let him not eat. God provides for our daily bread by showing us what to do to keep going. There is no place for an idle man in the Kingdom.”

The sermon has drawn widespread attention for its blunt tone, with many praising the bishop’s emphasis on diligence and self-reliance, particularly in a climate where unemployment remains a major issue among Nigeria’s youth.