Pastor Ghenhnen has always lived in the hold of the smile. It is a fortress that misfortunes find difficult to penetrate much as they try. Pastor Ghenghen lives securely within the hold, and takes some of its rays everywhere he goes. The rays reflect as welcoming smiles for everyone. Sometimes they look as if they had been chiseled into his face.

After my first encounter with him, which ended on a great note, I set for myself the task of catching Ghenghen without his smile. I believed it was impossible to smile always. I told myself anyone could smile when things were rosy but when the tide turns, most people, if not everyone, frown.

Much as I tried, I could not catch Pastor Ghenghen without his smile so I gave up my search. A couple of years ago, when the Financial Reporting Council, FRC introduced some guidelines that agitated the minds of many persons who felt they were targeted, Ghenghen smiled all the way.

When Covid-19 disrupted his life and ministry, he smiled yet. Even these days when he wears the now compulsory face masks, you suspect he is smiling behind the cover. One look at his forehead, especially between his eyes and you have your proof that the smile remains.

Then along came CAMA, the Companies and Allied Matters Act, currently distressing the minds of many persons. That too could not take away, Ghenghen’s smile. Why, I asked him? I found his answer worth sharing. This is it:

“I am only a pastor, an employee responsible to my boss. I am not the builder of the church. In specifying roles, duties and functions, my Boss has categorically stated, I will build my church… The responsibility of building the church is not mine. So, I don’t lose sleep or become agitated about any situation that seems targeted at the church (this has nothing to do with physical infrastructure). My primary duty is providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”