Church in the News: Pastor Bakare picked as Buhari's running mate

General Buhari

Pastor Bakare

He is one of Nigeria's most famous pastors, known for stating his opinion without fear or equivocation. I personally have always dug his style and his conviction - fantastic bible teacher.  Gen Buhari, running for president on the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) platform, is a former head of state (by coup) and an unrepentant advocate for Sharia law. You can read a great interview where he states his opinion on the matter here.

Strange bedfellows no? I am still not sure what to make of  it. I have no idea whatsoever whether to clap or cry. This could be great, or it could end veeeery badly!! Well sha, GOD knows.



Article below:

Church in the News:Jos crisis: PFN warns Christians against retaliation

Na wah oooo! So which one are we to do now? Retaliate or not? So the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says retaliate.  They are a group that is more conservative - the more mainline churches. The Pentecostal fellowship  (PFN) though says Praise GOD through it all.

I found this particularly funny  : 

Williams said that giving praises to God would change the situation of the country, especially the killings in the north and kidnapping in the south Eastern region.” Williams explained that it was always good to praise God in the time of persecutions and war, calling on Nigerians to worship the almighty with their songs.
“Through this alter of praise, war will subside. We will challenge God with our praises even in this period of challenges,” he said.

So someone comes at you with a dagger and you praise your way out of it. Well sha, what do y'all think? Who is right - PFN or CAN? 

Article when you click:

Ugandan Gay rights activist murdered

So homosexuality is something that has been thoroughly discussed on this blog. See: Homosexuality Part1 Part2 Part3 Part4 and this well thought out response. While it is clear from the comments that we don't really agree on the topic, all thinking people, whatever their views on the topic should be outraged by what happened in Uganda. Every life is sacred, and the law should provide equal protection for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. If you don't agree with them, pray for them, minister to them, but do not kill them. HABA!! Having said that though, I am not sure I agree with politicizing the situation. The US needs to leave Uganda alone to figure out their gay policy. I just don't think that policy should involve killing anyone.
Hmmm!!
Article and video below

Church in the News: Archbishop urges clergy to re-evangelise USA

Hey folks, I thought this was very funny! Particularly the  "leading them in the path of holiness and righteousness” part.  Not that its not appropriate - its just funny. What say ye?

ARCHBISHOP and President of the Gospel Baptist Conference of Nigeria and Overseas, Most Rev. Professor Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, weekend, urged Nigerian missionaries to lead in the re-evangelism of America that has been overtaken by materialism and carnality.
Atilade, who spoke at the ordination and commissioning of Pastor Dr. Theophilus Lambo at Mushin, Lagos, said: “Americans brought the gospel to Nigeria, but now is the time for Nigerians to assist them by leading them in the path of holiness and righteousness.”
Noting that the church already had missions endeavours in West Africa, Atilade said it felt obliged to support a Nigerian pastor who was relocating to America in the missions task of re-evangelising that continent.
He said the church would support mission work in Asia whenever it had missionary volunteers there.
Earlier, the Rector of the church’s seminary, Bishop Dr. David Omole had compared the commissioning of Pastor Lambo to that of Prophet Jonah, but indicated that while Jonah resisted the divine call, Lambo was willing and ready to respond.

 Source

Church in the News: CAN orders Christians to defend selves in Borno

 What say ye? Good decision? Or its against the "turn the other cheek principle'? Actually, what is the right way to deal with persecution?

CAN orders Christians to defend selves in Borno

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Borno State Chapter has called on Christians in the state to do everything possible to defend themselves against any aggression and attack by any group or individuals as Christians should no longer fold their arms and watch churches being destroyed and their members killed.

Devotional: Prayer III

The last two devotionals have focused on the essential nature of prayer. We have started to answer the question “Why should we pray?”  So far we have identified the following reasons:

   a)      We pray because it is essential to our spiritual growth.

   b)      We pray because Jesus did

   c)      We pray to hear from GOD, understand his purpose for our lives and get his direction and guidance in every situation.

I only briefly alluded to the third reason for prayer in the last post, so today we will deal with this reason in a little more detail.

Martin Luther King Jr. , the Christian beyond the pulpit.

Hi Folks,

It is my pleasure to introduce guest writer Hilary, a giant with the pen and a strong believer who will also play a huge part in some major changes that are about to come to Holyebony. Stay tuned as exciting things are planned for this year. In the meantime, enjoy his reflections on Martin Luther King day. 

Martin Luther King Jr. , the Christian beyond the pulpit.

by Hilary Afeseh Ngwa,  http://afeseh.blogspot.com/

 As we pause at this time of the year to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr, a man who might have been small in physical stature but in many ways towered intellectually and morally high above the average person, I am touched by how he brought his pulpit Christianity to his life without the boundaries of Church buildings. 

We need a Nigerian Christian leadership conference

I got this in my email and thought I should share. What do y'all think?

A Plea To Seven Ministers of God:
We Need a Nigerian Christian Leadership Conference

by Ahmed Olayinka Sule, CFA, 

http://zangodare.wordpress.com/

11 January 2011

So often the contemporary church is a weak,
ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often
it is an arch-defender of the status quo. Far from
being disturbed by the presence of the church, the
power structure of the average community is
consoled by the church's silent and often even
vocal sanction of things as they are.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The church must be reminded that it is not the
master or the servant of the state but rather the
conscience of the state. It must be the guide and
the critic of the state and never its tool.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

To:

Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Pastor Tunde Bakare
Pastor W.F. Kumuyi
Bishop Mike Okonkwo
Pastor D.K. Olukoya
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
Bishop David Oyedepo,

Grace, mercy and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In the aftermath of the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr invited 60 other black ministers to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to discuss the formation of an organization to address the injustices melted upon members of the African-American community. The organization, which was named The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), was formed to draw on the unity of the churches to fight for racial justice through nonviolent resistance. In explaining the purpose of the organization, Martin Luther King stated that “This conference is called because we have no moral choice, before God, but to delve deeper into the struggle—and to do so with greater reliance on non-violence and with greater unity, coordination, sharing, and Christian understanding’’.

Devotional: Prayer II

Like I said earlier, we will be talking about prayer in month of January. Part 1 of this series can be found here

Today, the focus is on praying because our example, JESUS prayed.

Why should we pray?

It is a way of building intimacy with GOD. Everybody knows that no relationship will survive without communication. How weird would it be if you were dating/married to someone, and you only spoke to each other in public when you went out together, at the park or at a party. However, when you are alone, you have nothing to say to each other.  What kind of relationship would that be? And how long will it last?  Now when we communicate with someone, it’s a two way thing – we make eye contact, we listen, we speak, we hear what they have to say, they respond to us, we listen to them. 

What Nigerians think of each other

This is a great video I think. Although it only covers the three major tribes in Nigeria, it applies to every country in Africa. Thanks to the filmmakers for making it. And now we all need to go think about it. We will make no progress as a continent if we continue to hold on to these prejudices. Enjoy:

Church in the News: Worshippers pay to enter Chris Oyakhilome's church

Okay, so I will admit that I have never been a huge fan of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and his Christ Embassy Church and this is one of the reasons why:

Christ Embassy Church in Lagos, South-West Nigeria, is being turned into show business as members were made to part with N1, 000 each as gate fee before they could enter their church to attend the New Year’s Eve service, P.M.NEWS can reveal.

P.M.NEWS confirmed that only members who could afford the N1, 000 gate fee were allowed into the premises of Christ Embassy Headquarters at Oregun, Lagos, where self-styled cleric and business man, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, preached on 31 December 2010.

Indigent members who could not afford the N1, 000 tickets, were denied access and sent back by security men at the gate, it was learnt.

The church, a source said, realised about N25 million from about 25, 000 members who bought the tickets.

It was gathered that the church informed its members that it decided to impose a gate fee to control the huge crowd that always besiege the church on the New Year’s Eve church service.

“Pastor said that to control the crowd and only allow genuine members who could do anything to be in church, it was good to pay a gate fee. Last year for instance, even senior pastors in the church could not secure a seat in the church on New Year’s Eve service,” our source said.

The ticket, bought by our correspondent, was still on sale today, five days after the New Year’s church service took place.

A copy of the ticket has the following information printed on it: “one service…different locations worldwide impact! Time: 7 pm, Venue: Loveworld Convocation Arena, N1,000, December 31st New Year’s Eve Service With Pastor Chris.”

There is also a bold picture of Oyakhilome wearing one of his flashy suits. On the background there is a huge crowd in adulation of the man who once boasted that he will never be broke in life.

At the back of the ticket is a bold inscription : “ This ticket admists one person.”

The development, described as scandalous by those who got a glimpse of it, is unprecedented in the history of Christianity in Nigeria.

In the medieval period, similar scandals led to the break-away of Martin Luther from the Catholic church. This led to the formation of the Protestant movement.

At that time, Catholic priests were collecting money, known as indulgences, from worshippers before they could confess their sins.

These indulgences had become big business in much the same way pledge drives have become big business in Nigeria.

The development outraged Luther and others who kicked against it, quit the church and founded the protestant movement.

The latest scandal in Oyakhilome’s church comes only weeks after he appeared before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to answer questions on money laundering allegations.

According to TheNews magazine edition of 13 December 2010, the alleged laundering of $35 million by Christ Embassy was traced by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with the help of foreign partners.

The magazine reported that Oyakhilome and money have had a bitter-sweet relationship. While money has brought him a lush lifestyle: an eye-popping auto collection, a movie-star wardrobe of stylish suits and choice properties that include a stunning church auditorium, it has also brought him an arm-long list of scandals.

 Source

You can also go to the source to view a copy of the ticket.  I am trying to wrap my mind around this and not really succeeding.  Any thoughts? Na wah!

Devotional: Prayer (I)

Every new year, we all make New Year resolutions - something that we are going to do differently  in the new year. For most people, it is losing weight - which reminds me that I need to work the gym back into my schedule (sigh)! However, I hope that prayer featured prominently in your new year resolution list, because it did in mine. Prayer is the most important activity you will ever partake in as a christian and in 2011, you need to commit to praying often, regularly, persistently and fervently. So for the month of January, all the devotional posts will be on prayer. It is foundational, it is important, without it, you will make no spiritual progress.  Believe me.

I will begin today by highlighting the centrality of prayer to the Christian. JESUS spoke often about prayer, and when HE did, HE assumed that it was something that was happening regularly. HE said "when you pray" - not if you pray.

Examples:

Matthew 6:5

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:6

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:7

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Mark 11:24

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
So in today's post, first we establish that prayer is fundamental. You have to pray. I had this conversation with somebody recently,  and this was the illustration I used. In order for the human body to survive, it needs three basic things - air, food and water. Everything else is extra that makes life comfortable. I know that somebody will say something about clothing and shelter, but in warmer climes, those may not be necessary. No human being anywhere on earth can survive for too long without food , water and air.
Similarly, once a person is born again, they need two things to nurture and grow their recreated spirit - prayer and the word. Without those two things, the spirit will shrivel up and die. So we don't only eat because we want to - we eat because we have to. Therefore, we should not only pray because we want to, but because we have to. I will die if I don't eat, and my spirit will be stunted if I don't pray.

I must pray!! Is it easy? Nope not always. Will I always feel like? Nope, not at all, but I must pray, and so must you.
One of my favorite books that motivates me to pray is "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" by Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Its not a book on prayer as much as a testimony to the results of prayer. I highly recommend it.

This topic will be covered through out this January but I want to encourage you to prioritize prayer this year. Your life will be completely transformed when you do.

I leave you with one of my favorite songs with which to enter the throne of grace: Baba by Sonnie Badu. There is just something that happens when I play this song. Enjoy HIS presence today

Blessed new year!!

Its been a really long time since I have been to a watchnight service African style. I just left one and I am all fired up and ready to face this year. It was nothing short of fabulous!! A very lovely lady ministered in dance to this song and I feel that it is a message to you in this new year.so I am sharing it with you.  No matter what is going on, know that GOD is able! This is going to be a fantastic year. I can feel it!! Enjoy the song: