- Responding to queries on why he keeps dreads and facial hair, Odukoya claims that what people personally consider to be sinful differs from what the Bible considers to be sinful
- He stated that everything he does has a spiritual foundation
Actor and senior pastor of the Fountain of Life Church in Ilupeju, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, has addressed the complaints about his dreadlocks and beards.
In a recent interview BBC pidgin, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya, popularly known as Pastor J, addressed the question that has been frequently raised by many: why does he choose to keep his long dreadlocks
In response to the inquiries surrounding his dreadlocks, Pastor J expressed his belief that appearance should not dictate one’s connection with God, emphasizing that spirituality transcends physical appearances.
Jummy Odukoya emphasized that his calling as a preacher has nothing to do with how he looks.
He stated that nothing he undertakes is done on a whim but rather has a spiritual foundation.
He said:
“God called me the way I am, just as I am. As for my dreads, the story behind it is long but the thing is everything I do is backed up by scriptures. If you tell me something, I’d tell you ‘Let’s check the scriptures’. If someone says that long hair is wrong, I’d tell you to check the Bible where the Lord told Samson not to cut his hair.”
Regarding his facial hair, he defended it by pointing out that Jesus had a beard that was removed during his crucifixion; as a result, his beard cannot possibly be sinful.
Odukoya said:
“When people say, ‘Oh he’s a pastor and he has a beard,’ remember the Bible said that when Jesus was tortured his beard was pulled from his face. If he didn’t have a beard, what hair did they pull from his face, was it fresh skin?”
Because personal preferences and ideas do not always entail sin, Odukoya urged people to discriminate between the two.
“Personal opinion is different from sin, If you like short hair or long hair no problem, but if you tell me that I can’t have long hair because, ‘It’s a sin,’ my brother that’s where we won’t agree,” he said
Pastor Jimmy Odukoya was ordained as a minister in 2009, serving as the organization’s youth leader until 2022. In 2019, he established a new branch called “The Cave.”