DR WILLIAM F. KUMUYI’S MENTORS

By Akin Ojumu

In this 1-min video clip of an old sermon, Dr. William Folorunso Kumuyi talks about his spiritual mentors. These are the preachers whose books he read that shaped his theology. They are the sermons he listened to that molded his doctrines. 

Such was the respect and regard Dr Kumuyi had for these preachers that he spent hours, days, months, and years consuming their materials. Till today, he claims to still read the books and listen to the messages of these people. 

The resultant effect on Dr Kumuyi of feeding on the books and listening to the messages of these his heroes of the faith was that he was able to attain depth and height of spiritual exploits. Dr Kumuyi claims he obtained his spiritual power by consuming the materials of these people all of whom he considered to be spiritual giants.

You may be wondering who these “great and powerful” preachers are/were who had such a powerful influence in shaping Dr William Kumuyi’s understanding of Christianity and from whom he acquired spiritual power.

In the video, Dr Kumuyi named five people. They are T.L. Osborn, Gordon Lindsay, John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, and Maria Woodworth-Etter. As you can see, the last three people are popularly known as the God’s Generals.

Well, let’s examine what the history books have to say about them. By history books, I’m not referring to image-cleansing, factually inaccurate, and deliberately deceptive PR books written by fawning fans and offscouring hucksters out to make a quick buck, i.e., books such as the God’s General written by Robert Lairdon, a man who admitted to engaging in a homosexual relationship and had to step down from ministry.

When I say history books, I’m talking about well-researched literature based on objective facts, documented evidence, and publicly available newspaper records.

T.L. OSBORN

T.L. Osborn was a fake healer and miracle worker. The man was a great admirer of William Branham, a false prophet, false teacher, and heretic who denied the doctrine of the Trinity. In addition, T.L. Osborn was a disciple of E.W. Kenyon, the true father of the Word of Faith Movement whose life and ministry were patterned after ideas he borrowed from such cults as Science of Mind, the Unity School of Christianity, Christian Science, and New Thought metaphysics.

GORDON LINDSAY

Gordon Lindsay was born in Zion, Illinois, a theocratic utopia founded and operated by John Alexander Dowie who was a scam artist and a fake healer. Zion City has been described as a den of robbers and a haven of thieves. The operations of the city are “a carefully devised large-scale platform for securities fraud.” Having been raised in such scam-infested environment, Gordon Lindsay went on to be associated with and greatly influenced by William Branham (a Trinity-denying heretic who believed that: Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden was having sex with the snake, and that hell is not a place of everlasting punishment), Charles Fox Parham (a false teacher who was charged with and confessed to sodomy and was the mentor of William Seymour of Azuza Street fame), and John G Lake (see below).

JOHN G. LAKE 

A scoundrel, pathological liar, and veritable conman, John G. Lake faced allegations for “Blue Sky” Fraud which is a fraudulent and speculative investment schemes that lack substance and are designed to deceive investors. After returning from South Africa in 1921, John Lake and his son, Otto, were jailed for selling worthless securities to church members. Lake used the church as a platform to sell stock to his parishioners from his mining schemes. He went as far as defrauding a couple as much as $1,000 (which is equivalent to about $20,000 in today’s currency). 

SMITH WIGGLESWORTH

A false teacher and fake faith healer who blamed the victims for his own failed healing attempts. Smith Wigglesworth was known to use violent antics while trying to heal people. The man believed that physical ailment is caused by demon possession. He claimed to be able to see the demons of these illnesses attached themselves to people, and the only way to dislodge the demon from the sick person was to give it a punch. So, Wigglesworth was known to kick sick people in an attempt to heal them.

MARIA WOODWORTH-ETTER

Popularly called the Trance Evangelist, Maria Woodworth-Etter was known for going on prolonged trances. People in her audience would also fall into trances, some standing rigid gazing into heaven, others lying on the floor unable to move for hours or even days. She was arrested for being a fraud after accepting money from people seeking healings and failing to deliver.  

Matthew 7:15-20

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 

“Do not be misled: “Bad companionships corrupt good morals.”

As the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. And again, we are shaped by the books we read. 

It leaves a lot to be desired that the doctrinal and theological worldview of one of the most influential preachers in Nigeria is shaped by a cast of character as those listed above. The man who heads one of the leading denominations in Nigeria is a protege of false teachers, fake healers, New Age mystics, and convicted felons. 

If that doesn’t scare the living daylight out of you and set off alarm bells in your mind, I don’t know what will.