church

Bishop Neil Ellis won’t comment on his recent church split which has gained widespread attention.

“I am not talking about that,” he told a reporter following the National Day of Prayer Service in Rawson Square on Monday night.

He was there to offer prayers for the nation and the government,  but appeared solemn.

“I’ve been quiet and I remain quiet on that,” he said before walking away.

Bishop Ellis appointed Pastor Rickeno Moncur to the church as senior pastor one year ago, but the relationship seemed to have soured, resulting in Moncur’s resignation on Friday in a video post.

Moncur, in his first Sunday service, acknowledged that he was  “hurting for one year” while “preach[ing],” “serv[ing]” and “minister[ing] through it.”

“Some of you didn’t even know about it because I did not make it the priority,” he said on Sunday while he met with new congregants at the Super Flex Fusion. Moncur seemed to have carried with him some faithful members of Mt Tabor’s pastoral team, some church mothers including Bishop Ellis’ mother-in-law, and those who would have joined during his tenure.

Mt Tabor continued as usual though, with Bishop Ellis’ brother Delton Ellis on the podium offering the preached word where the pews seemed scant compared to other Sunday services.

At the end of his sermon, he invited hurt members to the altar to release their pain. Bishop Ellis’ wife Patrice was the first, where she knelt and prayed. Their eldest daughter stood near Bishop Ellis, and she was seen wiping tears from her eyes.

This makes the second humiliation for the church in one year. Bishop Ellis was preparing to appoint US-based Pastor Dario Carey to the post. Eventually, Bishop Ellis reneged on it, saying God told him not to do so anymore, after introducing Carey to the church and placing billboards on street corners.

With his wife and children, Carey moved back to New Orleans.

Claiming this is what God wants, Bishop Ellis then appointed Moncur.

As Mt Tabor Church begins its search for a new senior pastor, newly resigned Pastor Rickeno Moncur held his first service at Fusion Superplex.

Since his separation from Bishop Neil Ellis and the congregation of Mt Tabor just two days ago, he and a packed theater of worshippers gathered at the facility for Sunday service.

“I was hurting for one year. I had to preach through it,” he told the congregation of his plight. “I had to minister through it. I had to serve through it. And some of you didn’t even know about it because I did not make it the priority,” the apostolic preacher acknowledged.

On Friday in a surprising move, the thirty-nine-year-old preacher who was appointed by Ellis as the senior pastor of Mt Tabor last year, announced by video that he resigned because of “challenges that surround my presence.”

Moncur said it appeared as if he “created some offenses” while he served at the mega church, and after praying and reflecting, he determined it was “the end of this particular season.”

“Doing what I did was not easy,” he said on Sunday morning. “But I believe it was a God move.”

The packed audience consisted of some members of Mt Tabor’s pastoral team; some church mothers of Mt Tabor including Bishop Ellis’ mother-in-law; those who would have followed Moncur after he first closed his church Word of Life Kingdom Ministry; newly joined members of Mt Tabor; curious onlookers and some of his pastoral friends.

“I follow God. I did not do this thinking this would happen. It is not about this. I did this when I had 20, 50, 70 people. It didn’t matter to me. It was about pleasing God.

“It’s not about pomp, pageantry and platforms.”

Before Moncur’s appointment to Mt Tabor, Ellis sought to appoint US-based Bahamian Pastor Dario Carey to the top post but that fell through when Ellis reneged on his promise and suggested that God told him not to do so anymore.

Carey, his wife and children then moved back to New Orleans where he pastored Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church, and Ellis soon appointed Moncur to the position in an official ceremony.

The fiery pastor changed the dynamic of Mt Tabor, helping to rebrand the church and increasing its membership.

All seemed well until an article written in the editorial of Tuesday’s Tribune sounded the alarm that something was amiss at the church.

By Friday, Moncur resigned.

He formerly pastored Word of Life Kingdom Ministry, which was dissolved because of the move to Mt Tabor.

It is not known if he will reuse the name as he moves forward.

The new congregation is expected to meet again next Sunday at 8 am.

“I have no plan…so give me some space. I believe God will give me the details as I go.”

The fragmented congregation of Mt Tabor Church was reminded to trust in God through the pain at its first Sunday service since Rickeno Moncur resigned as senior pastor of the mega-church in the Bahamas.

“In every separation, there are casualties of war. In every separation there is pain. But don’t make a permanent decision on a temporary situation,” Bishop Delton Ellis, brother of Founder Neil Ellis cautioned the congregation.

After 34 years of preaching, Ellis handed the church over to Moncur last year, but his reign as senior pastor did not last long and seemed to have been mired in controversy as revealed in Moncur’s resignation announced by video on Friday.

Service was noticeably different as Delton preached. The seats seemed sparse and occasional sounds of “hallelujah” littered the church as congregants listened attentively to the preached word.

“Bishop Ellis has been my brother before and he will remain my brother after,” Delton boldly stated as Ellis’ wife and children sat in the first pew.

“I stand in the gap to carry this family through.”

“Lift your head up, strengthen your feeble knees,” he told Bishop Ellis who sat stoically. “The devil desires to sift you like wheat, but we pray that your strength will remain.”

Pastor Kenneth Romer did not hesitate to discuss the matter, reminding the congregation to be grateful for Moncur’s service to the church. “Pastor Moncur has blessed my life [and] this ministry. We are not an ungrateful church,” to which the congregation, including Bishop Ellis stood in applause.

Moncur served as the pastor for one year before his immediate resignation.

On Saturday Mt Tabor issued a response, stating that it was unaware of Moncur’s decision before the video was released but assured followers that the service would be held at its regular times on Sunday.

“We wish him all the best.”

Bishop Ellis told ZNS that he awaits the decision of the board but has no plans to pastor the church.

The church will hold a general membership meeting on January 29.