The Todd Bentley Issue: Implications for the Nigerian Church

I just happened on this story this morning while reading Strang's Report in the current edition of the prestigious Charisma magazine.

This is the story of a Church minister in the US allegedly engaged in some unethical ministry practises and now on the verge of divorce with his wife. Please click on this link to read Strang’s and other comments http://www.strangreport.com/2008/08/emperor-has-no-clothes.html

What really caught my attention is not the really the details of what is happening at Lakeland Ministries headed by the Todd Bentley and the issues of his personal life that brought all these ugly incidents out. My attention was actually drawn to the way the Church leaders in the US always respond to issues such as these and how such responses have & I believe will in this same situation bring some restoration of dignity and the much needed fear of God back into the Church.

But I must not fail to express this view here that many more Todd Bentleys are in their cocoon and will soon be revealed unless we urgently do a re-examination of what we call revival. For as long as we validate our ministries by how many people are healed or received some sort of miracles externally and not the Biblical evidence of change in lives, we will always have wounded soldiers on our hands which we will shoot more than care for.

But at least the Church in America as inaccurate as they might be on many fronts, they have something that we can still emulate – they are sincere in dealing with their weaknesses, they do not pretend as if there is no problem.

It is something I believe that the Church leaders or should I call them fathers in our great nation Nigeria should borrow a leaf from.

I was led to a whole comprehensive response of the well respected American preacher Dutch Sheets, who dared to put his integrity and popularity on the line for the sake of the gospel.

The issue here is not the correctness of these responses, but the fact that the Church leadership in America do not ignore issues that affect the well being of the Church in their country.

This attitude is in great need in our nation, the only thing we have on the websites of most of our Nigerian mega Churches is the direction to the nearest parish to you or some Bible stories in the name of a sermon and an invitation to their next healing service.

Our leaders are more concerned about their little ponds than God’s big ocean; they cannot afford to risk their source of livelihood – that is what ministry is to them.

The Church in Nigeria is sick, many of the so called congregations are pastored by unqualified persons parading themselves as men of God and all these are happening in the midst of the Bishop epidemic in the nation.

What we hear on Radio & see on television in the name of Church is scary and a total aberration; it is nothing short of voodoo with the precious name of Jesus put on it. We hear all manner of spiritual prescriptions and formulas that are totally unBiblical which the people receive with eagerness, our African heritage not helping matters.

Our leaders have enlisted in the cult that someone called the “cult of the do not judge” forgetting that the same scripture says that he who is spiritual can judge all things with righteous judgement.

There is an ongoing case of the Pastor of a large Church in Lagos on trial for murder but the Church either under the auspices of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) or the Pentecostal fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have kept mum.

Pastor Chris Oyakhilome was accused sometimes ago by the media of hypnotising a staff of the Sheraton Hotel to donate huge sums of money to his ministry. The allegation was that a junior staff of this hotel donated millions of Naira to the Church and the said staff was later accused of pilfering company funds which was traced to the Church. Our “Church fathers” kept mum.

For as long as we leave the judgment of the Church to secular media, we will continue to open ourselves up for ridicule and the world which our Master has called us to save will continue to see our irresponsibility.

We seem not to care about any disgrace or insult coming to the precious name by which we are called; we are more concerned about our fake integrity.

I hear many times the way American preachers and Bible teachers eulogise the "Revival" that is currently happening in Nigeria, I have no doubt that there is an ongoing revival in Nigeria, even as I am not too quick to use the word REVIVAL because many times this “revival thing” is often interpreted in terms of big meetings, the big miracles of healing and all the "falling downs" and the big names that spoke in the meeting and not measured in terms of the Biblically correct standard of changed lives which can easily be seen in the rate of social transformation.

If the number of big Churches and big meetings which our nation pride herself in is anything to go by, then Nigeria should be one the most righteous and transformed nations in the world. But a situation where Churches spring up every minute and a sizeable percentage of Radio and TV air time is taken up by Church programs without a corresponding change in the socio-political experience of the nation speak volume about the kind of REVIVAL that we are talking about.

We have all read of the Nashville Revival of Sam Jones, the Welch Revival of Evans Roberts and the rest of them that resulted in pubs closing down & price of alcohol falling due to fall in patronage.

If the Revival does not result in changed lives with a corresponding transformation in the socio-political experience of the nation, then the Revival can be safely called a pseudo-revival. The Americans can be easily carried away by the attendance in our Churches and crusades, but we know what their own attendance which cannot be compared with ours has done in their own nation.

Their own attendance has brought the Church and her views to the forefront of their socio-political life. The Church is not silent on issues that concern life and how to live it. Any politician that ignores the opinion of the Conservative Evangelicals in America does so at his/her political peril.

How many of our mega Churches took the pains to take our political office seekers to task on issues that affects that the Kingdom of God and the opinion of God as Rick Warren of Saddleback Church did with Obama and McCain in the past week.

This interview will no doubt determine the fate of Obama’s ambition to lead America if what happened to George W Bush in 2004 is anything to go by – the Evangelicals has a very loud voice in the American political experience.

One of the many reasons why the Church in Nigeria continue to wallow in insignificance is because we are yet to fathers who will rise up to correct the ills and the unethical, the unBiblical practises going on in those gatherings in the name of Church.

God’s cry through the mouth of Ezekiel is still reverberating in our nation:

Ezek 22:30

30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
NKJV

Ps 94:16

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? NKJV

The self styled fathers of the Church in our nation are only inward looking, building their own kingdoms and care less about what happens to God’s kingdom and the integrity of the name of His son.

The tale of two Chris’ (Okotie and Oyakhilome) is still very fresh in our memory when one accused the other of practising Shamanism and fraternising with the controversial TB Joshua; this controversy raged for a while; it caused the precious souls untold confusion. But in the midst of all these, nothing was heard from the Adeboyes, the Olukoyas and other leaders of the so called mega Churches and till this present time, the Church leadership has not made any categorical statement about the controversy that surrounds the ministry of our own TB Joshua.

The American Church might be accused of washing their dirty lines in public but l believe that they have shown that they are truly a BODY because the body possess the power and ability to heal itself of any disease.

The Nigerian Church need to learn from the way and manner the American Church has dealt and dealing with their own TB and let us deal with our TB in the same manner. Our neglect of the situation has given birth to many other TBs who grace our TV screens daily and show their faces on the many posters that colour our cities.

A lot of the decay in our Churches may be hidden now because of our defective press structure, but I don’t believe it will continue for too long.

It is time for our so called leaders to speak up, add their voices to the likes of Bakares and many others who dare to raise the banner of purity of the gospel.

The time is now for judgement to begin from the household of God.


Pastor Dotun Reju is the Director of Patris Initiative Foundation, a Christian Social Action Group for the promotion of responsible citizenship in Nigeria; he also pastors the Kingdom Citizens’ Pavilion Jos City Nigeria

The PATRIS INITIATIVE - Seed for Socio-Political Transformation in Nigeria

I have carried a burden for our nation Nigeria since my early days as a believer. I remember vividly that the first time I got really emotional in the place of prayer that i shed tears was when praying for Nigeria. I have since then wondered how I can do something about the situation in Nigeria to make an impact for change, but the problem in the nation soared to a height where there is a situation better described in the words of the great prophet, Tunde Bakare of The Latter Rain Assemby, Lagos Nigeria that "Nigerian government officials are not corrupt, but corruption has become official in Nigeria".
The nation's problem seem to have overwhelmed everybody that even the Church seem to have lost hope, prayers for the nation has become just an item on the agenda of our meetings; citizens accept the wrongs in the society and every will to fight for change seem to have failed us.
The problem seem unsurmountable, but it recently dawned on me that God has not given up on Nigeria and that He is waiting for His agency which is the Church in the country to do something about the situation, He is waiting for the Church to give Him a platform to stand upon, regardless of how small. This brought the message of the "Parable of the leaven" home to me.
Our Church, The Kingdom Citizens's Pavilion decided two weeks ago to respond to this by offering God a platform & this gave birth to the PATRIS INITIATIVE.
The Vision, the affirmation & vows of this initiative is what i have decided to share as the Proceeding Word in this edition.
God bless you as you read and I challenge Nigerians reading this to consider being signatories to our Affirmation and Denials on our website: www.thekingdomcitizens.org

Patris Initiative
The Vision, The Affirmation, The Denials & The Vow

Patris Initiative is a ministry of The Kingdom Citizens’ Pavilion with a mandate to restore the values of responsible citizenship in the national consciousness of Nigeria.
The Word “PATRIS” is a Greek word which means FATHERLAND and it is the root word for PATRIOT which means one who supports his own fatherland, a proud supporter and defender of his own country and its way of life.
This definition especially the part that has to do with defending “its way of life” poses a great challenge as the current way of life in Nigeria needs a confrontation rather than a defence, hence this action initiative.
PATRIS INITIATIVE (PI) is a Christian Action Initiative which is borne out of the belief that the Church stands as the only hope of National well being for both the government and the governed.
We desire to restore PATRIOTISM, (a passionate love for our fatherland) as a core value in our national life through the application of Biblical principles and God revealed strategies.
In the words of Martin Luther, the great reformer “If our speaking fails to address the precise point at which the world of our time aches, we are not really preaching the Word”.
This aptly portrays the experience of our nation Nigeria where Churches dot every corner of our towns and cities; a large percentage of TV viewing time is given to all forms of religious programs but this trend has not in any way impacted the nation in any meaningful way; it has no effect whatsoever on our national life. It is as if the upsurge of Churches and the increase in social, economic and political degradation are somehow related.
This situation has remained the way it is because Christians have lost sight of the purpose of the Church as Jesus intended it in His words in His first mention of the Word Church – “I will build my Church and gates of hell shall not prevail against it”.
This very statement reveals that the Church will engage some hostile powers and will definitely overcome them.
These words played out in the experience of the early Church in the book of Acts and down through the ages, the Church has always been an agent of social change by serving as leaven permeating and transforming the social order.
This position may conjure up the historical images of the dark age of the Inquisition, the violent militance of the Crusades and the Western Protestant Empires; it is so because recent experiences have revealed the Church as a docile and moribund institution whose major duty is singing hymns and printing posters to advertise some unrealistic healing and miracle meetings without any societal relevance.
Patris Initiative is a humble attempt of our ministry to respond to God’s desire to return His Church to that leaven that permeates society, we firmly agree with the words of the Pilipino author who played a formidable role in the fight for social justice under the totalitarian government in the Philippines – she wrote:
“The Church seems such a straggling minority to take upon itself the task of changing society. This overlooks the fact that the powers of the kingdom are already present. The Kingdom is not entirely future...It is here, leavening history in a powerful way”
Melba Padilla Maggay, (Transforming Society- Reflections of Kingdom and Politics 2004)
PI agrees with T.S. Eliot when he argues that “The Church’s message to the world must be expanded to mean ‘the Church’s business to interfere with the world”’.
The gospel when faithfully and accurately preached will turn the world upside down. To speak of Jesus as Lord is to demand subjection of personal and social life under His kingly rule. To call for repentance is to ask people to turn away, not simply from their individual vices, but from participation in the collective guilt of organised injustice. To invite people to come in faith is to challenge them to walk in trusting obedience, to God in the agony of commitment and concrete engagement in the life of the world.
The Gospel is more than a set of things to believe about Christ, it is a radical call to come under the discipline of the Kingdom – rich selling all they have and giving them to the poor and the corrupt Inland Revenue official to repay what he has stolen.
The Church in its present state especially in Nigeria with all its wealth and size is proving to the world that in spite of its physical presence and millions on its roll call, it is still “a straggling minority to take upon itself the task of changing society”; the reason is that the Gospel has been limited to the salvation of the soul as a means of going to heaven and avoiding hell even if it means living in hell in the earth.
Our mandate in Patris Initiative is to wake up this sleeping giant to begin to take its God given role as world changers.
Patris Initiative strives to wake up the Nigerian Nation from the slumber of “Shuffering & Shmiling” to borrow the words of the late musician, Fela’s words.
The nation has gotten used to dead infrastructures and unrighteous governments only to be contented with complaints and talk. We have lost all juice to sustain any struggle; it is almost impossible for any civil society in Nigeria to sustain a struggle for more than few days without breaking ranks.
It is to these trends that Patris Initiative is saying NO.
We believe that it is only the Church that can take on the fight for social justice and righteousness and it will still be correct because it will be done through the Biblical injunction of the expansion of the Kingdom beginning from within us.
There is something about the faith that Jesus Christ left for us as a legacy that has the power to turn the world upside down.
Patris Initiative firmly believes that there is a relationship between real evangelism and social action.
When the Church begins to preach the “Authentic Gospel” TM, that is, the gospel that Jesus Christ preached and bequeathed to His disciples to preach – Matthew 10:7-8:
Matt 10:7-8
7 And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8 "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. NKJV
The gospel is that the long awaited kingdom, its reign of peace, justice and righteousness has finally come and it has come in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ present here on earth.
It is a sin for a believer to abstain from the politics of his day because the Kingdom as Jesus preached it is a political term, it has more to do than just the saving of souls.
The idea that Jesus proclaimed Himself as King reveals the political content of His mission; His kingdom was not just a spiritual kingdom, scripture reveals that He is not just king over the human heart, he is also the ‘King of the Jews’ (Matthew 27:11). He never said that His Kingdom was not in the world; it was simply not of the world.
It is on this premise that PATRIS INITIATIVE stands – to use the timeless spiritual Biblical principles of social action to influence our present national experience to establish responsible citizenship and good governance.
We believe that the God of Creation will direct our noble cause.

The Authentic Gospel

Hi there,

My book "The Authentic Gospel" is at the concluding stage of its release.

I thought to share the opening chapter with you.

God bless as you read.

Foreword

Since the death and resurrection of Christ 2000 years ago, countless doctrines and gospels have emerged, every one of them claiming superiority. For this reason, it has become increasingly hard for Christians; especially baby Christians to tell the true Gospel of Christ from the false Gospels. More importantly is the fulfilment of the Biblical prophesy of men having itchy ears such that they yearn only for that which they want to hear and not what they should or need to hear.

We are living in the days of the fulfilment of Prophecies that are being fulfilled at a very fast pace because the heavens are eager to release the Spirit of the Son (see Acts 3:21) on willing and true saints.

The increasing rate of false doctrines and gospels are not only alarming but also devastating. The falsification, misinterpretation, misapplication, adulteration, denial, corruption of the scriptures and its gospel is more than ever pervasive; as people preach about “another Jesus”, they yield to the Jesus they preach, receiving a “different spirit” and embracing a “different gospel”. This gospel, which they receive, proclaim, and even die for, is symbolic of the life they yearn to live without God, outside God, or identifying with Him but partially or completely denying the power of his word, or ignoring His divine principles.

The purpose of this book is not to dwell on what has gone wrong with the gospel; neither is it aimed at adding to existing volumes of opinions on its perversion, rather it is a voice for The Authentic Gospel, aimed at raising its standard and restoring it to its original place.

The authentic gospel as presented or represented in this book is an expression of truth -- the truth of its genuineness and the attempt of men over the years to falsify it, not my personal opinion. My opinion serves as a medium of conveying the truth of the gospel, while allowing the gospel to reveal itself, so that the counterfeit will be exposed in its true colour. The best way to know the counterfeit is not to study it but to study the genuine and that is the background upon which I have written this book.

Just as there is no sin without law, so also is there no any counterfeit without the genuine. The classification of a thing or product as counterfeit is possible only because it is measured by a standard that is considered as the genuine. The value of the gospel has been cascading into near meaninglessness in the past decade; many preachers or pastors have reduced it to a means of wealth acquisition and dragged it into unsavoury reputation. For the laity, Jesus is to them a servant at their beck and call to meet their needs. This largely explains the upsurge of ministries and Churches across the nations of the world, without tangible transformation of lives, and reformation in governments and corporations.

Paul captured the situation appropriately in his second letter to the Mega Church in Corinth, that their lack of effectiveness, in spite of their size is traceable to the embrace of “another Jesus”, a “different spirit” and a “different gospel”. (2 Cor 11:1-6)

It is an anomaly to see the prevalence of evil and perversions in the midst of the seemingly endless upsurge of Churches in our societies, claiming to preach the gospel. We must begin to ask questions why we are not seeing the same results as seen in the early Church. The Bible declared that the disciples of old turned their world upside down. And this was accomplished in an environment without telephones (cell, land or fixed wireless), computers, and the Internet. None of the sophistication of communication technology of this day and time was available at the time. Yet, their accomplishments remain unprecedented. Is there not something they possessed that we lack?

I believe there is an ancient wisdom and power of the gospel that is today missing, but still relevant. And until we not only discover but also tap into them, the power of the cross will continue to elude in the church. The Church must return to the authentic gospel, with alacrity, reposition itself, and collectively key into the power of the gospel.

The gospel our Master Jesus Christ preached while on earth was a gospel of power, efficacy, and purpose, a penetrating gospel that consistently revealed the ills of the society in which it was declared, exposing falsehood for what it was. He also called every evil by its name, confronting evil and immoral men and women with their sins, regardless of their status, and letting people know his stand, his purpose and mission, a gospel that declared God’s kingdom principles on earth. He did not only teach men these principles, but lived by them as well.

It was a gospel that could not be ignored by the powers that be; its force, consistency, and integrity were so efficacious that like magnet it drew multitudes to itself amidst opposition and persecution of the kind that Modern day Christians may not have experienced. But that was not what validated it; the distinctiveness and authenticity of the gospel did. The authentic gospel was the one the early apostles preached. It created so much fear in the minds of the people that they were afraid to join the Church.

The message in this book is for as many ministries today who validate their calling by the size of their Churches. You need to ask why people find it easy to come to your Church, and it might be because it is “user-friendly”. What attracts men might not necessarily attract God, but if it attracts God, then it will attract only men who are sincerely seeking God.

If your Church is user-friendly, I have come to tell you that it falls short of the standard of the Bible – it was not easy following Jesus, the message of John the Baptist was not the attractive type. Paul did not preach a too attractive message either – if yours is attractive, you need to check the source of that message, it does not represent the message our Master (Jesus Christ) preached, which He handed down to the apostles.

If we are to appraise Jesus’ ministry by the standards of today, He will be considered an ineffective minister – one who preached a sermon that reduced His Church by almost 95% - we will begin to check His credentials or who His mentor- we will wonder if He has a good “covering”.

A prophet of God in my nation Nigeria, who I believe God, has commissioned to preach the authentic message of Jesus was once asked by some journalists why he was the only one being arrested all the time by the government. His response was revealing. “The question you should be asking is why are the others not being arrested?” This man represents a departure from the norm, the consequence of telling the gospel as it is. As you read, may the truth in this book cause a mighty turn around in your life and ministry.

You may wish to place an advance order by e-mailing theauthenticgospel@thekingdomcitizens.org or call Gbenga on 234-806-0542-949

GOD IS SEARCHING

I am sorry for the long silence, I have been busy preaching this message in our Wednesday services that leaves me with no time to share it with the wider audience and i believe it is not too late to say Happy New Year or like we greeted ourselves in KCP at the dawn of the new year Happy New You.

God opened the year with us here in KCP with the words of Prophet Hanani to King Asa in 2 Chronicles Chapter 16 verse 9:

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him...NKJV

The Prophetic Word that is making rounds in the Church is that this year 2008 will be a year of new beginnings; I have the same witness but I believe this should not be received in the isolated form that it is being received in many quarters. Many see this only from the stand point of blessings, yes God will bless and He is blessing ( I am a witness) I believe that God is set to do a new thing but the “new things” will come by doing away with that which is old – old in thought, mentality, structure and pattern.Whatsoever does not meet divine standard will be done away with for this new day to dawn; just as Jesus invaded the temple to drive out those who turned the house of prayer into a den of thieves, God is invading the His temple which is hearts of men to do a purging, He is checking our motives why we do and say the things that we do and say. God is doing this because He desires for His true nature to be revealed to earth.The words of Prophet Hanani to King Asa is re-echoing throughout the whole Church today; His eyes are searching to and fro the whole earth looking for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him so that he might show Himself strong on their behalf.Some tables are going to be overturned this year. Don’t be dismayed when you see this happen. It is the hand of the Lord. God is refining the inward motives of the heart. Any work done with a selfish, self-seeking motive will not survive the refining fire.I believe that it is not just about Him doing a “new thing” but He desires people who will offer themselves to Him to work on and then through so that they can be “the new thing”.This is the Proceeding Word that we must live by in this new day.

(The full text of this message can be obtained from the Fresh Manna Ministries of The Kingdom Citizens’ Pavilion Jos Nigeria or by calling Jonathan on 234-803 718 3160)

The PowerPoint Presentation of the message can be downloaded free from our website www.thekingdomcitizens.org

LIKEMINDEDNESS: a tool for EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

This is the report of a study on leadership that the leadership of our Ministry here engaged in during our Mid Year Retreat. I have always been an ardent student of leadership and I have since discovered that the subject is very heavy on God's heart as the subject is the major undertone of the "Creation Mandate" given to Adam in Genesis 1:26 - it was a call to Adam to provide leadership i.e. taking responsibility for and effectively manage God's real estate called earth.

This concept is also central to the Great Commission given to the Church through the Apostles of Christ - to make disciples is to provide direction for learners. The Church therefore is supposed to be God's agency that is charged with the responsibility of providing leadership for the nations of the earth by producing leaders.

This is the reason why it has been generally agreed that the greatest problem facing the world today is that of effective leadership; this will continue to elude mankind until we go back to God's oroginal blueprint for leadership.

It is my prayer that this piece will be of tremendous blessing to you all as you read.

Many thanks to my Media Assistant, Ngozi N. Uffele, who put this article together.

Stay blessed.

LIKE-MINDEDNESS: A TOOL FOR EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

The term leadership refers to the office or position of a leader and a leader is one who leads guides or takes initiative. In other words, a leader is more or less a commander who is charged with the responsibility of providing direction for his followers, formulating plans and motivating those, he leads. To be a leader means that one must have followers as leadership implies follower ship. Leadership is not all about occupying a position but much more than that leadership is about influence i.e. training people to become people of influence.

Leadership can be either a one-man structure or a team structure. A one-man leadership structure is one in which the person at the helm of affairs is solely responsible for the initiation, formulation and execution of all ideas that has to do with the vision. That is to say, all decisions, plan formulation and execution rest solely on one man. The danger inherent in this type of leadership structure is that it leaves no room for the training and equipping of followers to eventually take up the responsibility of assuming leadership position over others.

Again, due to the weight of responsibility that rests upon the leader and the various tasks he has to perform and oversee, he tires very easily and this has a direct impact on the work, in that the pace at which the work is executed is slowed down.

Furthermore, in a one-man leadership structure, the followers are not exposed to situations, circumstances and opportunities that will help them explore and develop their hidden potentials.
There is also no room for delegation of responsibilities in a one-man show, this in turn undermines the effectiveness of the followers who are also potential leaders, and ultimately the work is slowed down.

In Exodus 18:13-16, we find this one-man show displayed by Moses. He assumed the responsibility of judging the people and both great and small matters that ordinarily wouldn’t require his attention were brought to him to resolve and this he did all day long with the people lined up before him from morning to night. Moses was judging and teaching the people God’s laws and instructions, he did all of these by himself without any form of assistance from anyone. The resultant effect of this was expressed in the counsel of Jethro, his father in law that because the task was excessively much for one man to handle alone, he would only not only wear himself out but also the people because he failed to train people to whom he can delegate some of the task and thereby lessen the burden on him. It was too great a burden upon his shoulders, what his strength was not equal to; for though his internal abilities were exceeding great, and he had a good will to do the work, to serve God and his people, yet it was more, humanly speaking, than his bodily strength would admit of.
It was tiresome to the people also, who because of the multitude of cases, were obliged to wait a long time, some of them from morning to night, and yet could not get their suit to come and so were obliged to attend next day, and perhaps day after day.

On the other hand, the team leadership structure unlike the one-man structure, is one in which though the set-man is the altar-ego; he is surrounded by people to whom he has not only delegated some of the responsibilities but has also trained them to oversee smaller groups within the larger entity such that only difficult issues which cannot be resolved by the appointed leaders gets to him. This way the work is accomplished much faster and the set-man still has lots of energy to channel to other projects with respect to the vision. This much we saw in Exodus 18:24-26 when Moses heed his father-in-law’s advice and appointed leaders over groups of thousands, hundreds and fifties, the work became much easier and simpler for him to handle.

However, it should be pointed out here that the fact that leadership structure is patterned after the team concept does not make such a structure effective. Jethro did not advice Moses to appoint just anyone as leader over the groups, he rather advised that anyone chosen to be appointed must be someone who is competent, God fearing, have integrity and is incorruptible. The connecting rod here is that Moses and the men he has chosen must drink from the same source and this reflected in their level of effectiveness and efficiency.

Effective leadership is a leadership that is not only competent but also result oriented. It is a leadership that functions on a team concept/spirit. It is not unlikely to find a disconnection between the leader and the followers. The only effective way to bridge, this gap is for all the principal players to see themselves as being part of a team i.e. irrespective of their differences; they work towards one purpose. This team concept can be likened to a football team made up of the coaches (leaders) and the players (followers). It is not every time that the players will agree with the match strategies of the coach but once they are on the pitch, they forget their personal misgivings about the strategy and partner with the coach to achieve a common purpose, which is to win the match. The point being made here is that for the team leadership structure to be effective, all the parties involved must be of one mind and heart as was exhibited by Moses and his appointed leaders.

God instructed Moses in Numbers eleven to appoint seventy elders and the He God will come and put the Spirit that is upon Moses i.e. the power that inspires and motivates Moses upon the seventy elders so that “they can stand with him” in the assignment.

The effectiveness of Elisha was traced by the sons of prophets to the operation of the spirit of Elijah in his life.

In the kingdom, the one tool that makes for an effective and efficient leadership is the tool called “like-mindedness”. It is critical for everyone on the team to share the spirit of the arrow head.

In order to fully appreciate and understand the concept of like-mindedness this article will focus on Paul’s letter to the Philippians as contained in Chapter 2 verses 1 to 11 of the book.
In Chapter 2 verses 1-2 Paul admonished them in the following words;
1. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2. Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being
of one accord, of one mind.( King James Version)

The import of the above is that among the Philippians, there should be harmony and mutual affection taken from the consolation that is in Christ Jesus. They are also enjoined to express this harmony and mutual affection by having likeness of mind, sameness of love and unity of love.

WHAT DOES LIKE-MINDEDNESS MEAN?

To be like-minded simply means to be similarly disposed in opinion and taste, to give one’s heart consent to a declared intention.

The above is key because in the kingdom, the common purpose between leaders and the followers is the pursuit and realization of the vision, which though revealed only to the leader, requires the full co-operation of the followers to make it come through. In other words, both parties must not only be similarly disposed towards that vision but the followers especially must be seen to have voluntarily given their consent to the declared intention of the leader (which in this instance is the vision).

It is instructive at this point to note that for like-mindedness to be used as an instrument for effective leadership, all parties involved (i.e. the leadership and the followers) must be united in Christ, is in a community of the spirit and have a tender and compassionate heart towards each other. In other words, they must see themselves as one family.

Like-mindedness also means that we are not opinionated. Being like-minded does not take away our individual uniqueness and differences but rather it requires that as members of the same team once a conclusion has been reached it becomes unanimous having the same goal and objective in view. Like-mindedness works in diversity where not everyone is the same.

FACTORS FOR AND AGAINST LIKE-MINDEDNESS

The factors that work for and against like-mindedness can be gleaned from verses 2 -4 of Philippians Chapter 2. Some of the factors that work against it include selfishness, pride and eye-service, while those that promote it include love, mutual purpose, humility, care for one another, obedience, and selflessness.

Leadership will not be effective where you have leaders and followers alike who, rather than put all their energy together and pursue the common vision are overtly obsessed with getting their own advantage, sweet-talking their way to the top and pushing their way to the front without as much as sparing a split-second thought for the vision which ought to be the unifying factor. Imagine every player in a football team abandoning their primary roles in the pitch and struggling to be the one to score the goals so that he can be in the limelight!

Like-mindedness requires you putting yourself aside and helping others get ahead i.e. forgetting ourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. Take genuine interest in others more than we do in ourselves. It also requires that as a leader, you influence or inspire your followers to make them function optimally. Trying to impress others has no place in teamwork.

JESUS OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE

From verses 5 to 11 of Philippians Chapter 2 we see how like-mindedness in the form of humility and obedience played out in the life of Jesus Christ. Though he had equal status with God, he did not think so much of himself to cling to the advantage of that status. Rather he set his rights and privileges aside to take the position of a slave. He never for once claimed any special privileges instead he lived a selfless, obedient life and even died the worst kind of death, which is death on the cross! He was willing to be humiliated and made himself of no repute because of the cause which He and His father have agreed upon.

The lesson here is that Christ was obedient and humbled himself in order that the goal to redeem man might be accomplished. Even when he had the opportunity at Gethsemane to call quits, he still allowed the common purpose to take precedence and lead him to the cross. He was willing to go to any length to obey. If leadership is not about position but influence, then Jesus is the ultimate leader as he is still influencing millions of people thousands of years after his death. We must know that when we humble ourselves, it takes the limit off obedience and like Christ; we must be willing to go to any length to see that the vision is accomplished.

If we are going to be effective leaders, we have no choice but to follow in his stead. Jesus Christ is the son of God and between them there was a vision, a common purpose and he did not allow his status as son to affect or hinder the fulfillment of that purpose. Indeed Jesus himself made the following pronouncements in the book of John Chapter 5 verses 19 and 30 to show the extent of his obedience and commitment to the cause;
19. So Jesus explained himself at length. "I'm telling you this straight.
The Son can’t independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father
doing. What the Father does, the Son does.
30."I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You
can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but
only to carry out orders.( The Message Bible)
There was no clash of interest or personality, he has completely sold out to the father’s vision and was by his actions determined to see it accomplished. Such is the power of like-Mindedness.

CONCLUSION

In concluding this article, there is need to know that what makes for effective leadership is not because one occupies a position as a leader but that the occupier of that position is a person of influence. In other words, he has been able to inspire his followers to be their best. In being your best as a follower, the critical factor of being like-minded i.e. working towards the same goals and objective with the leader comes into play.

Like-mindedness does not mean we all have the same opinion- but that none of us is opinionated. It does not mean we do not argue or struggle to get things done, but that once a conclusion is reached, it becomes unanimous. It does not mean we have or use the same strategy to get things done but that we all have the same objective and goal in view. It also does not mean that we flow with the process but disagree with the final purpose (vision).

In conclusion, like-mindedness is being united in spirit and purpose as exemplified by Christ who is our perfect example. We must all strive to be like-minded for only then can leadership be effective.

THE EMERGING DELIVERERS

There is something happening on the face of the earth; it is being nurtured in the Church, it is the emergence of deliverers or saviors as the King James Bible calls it in the book of Obadiah verse 21.

Ob 21 Then saviors shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's NKJV

This message is therefore a wakeup call to everyone to check whether they are part of this company of deliverers that God is raising up within the rank and file of the Church.
What can be seen of the Church on the surface now might look like failure but as I always say that it is true that Church is failing but the Church cannot fail in the final analysis because built into the very nature of the Church is an indestructible force – whatever is born of God overcomes the world 1 Jn 5:4, also check Daniel 7:19-21.
There is the tendency to draw our conclusions based on the present outlook of the Church, but if we take a cue from the story of Israel in the Old Testament, we might be wrong because, at the very height of Israel’s subjugation in Egypt, there was something going in behind the scene which was the grooming of a man called Moses who became the deliverer of Israel from Egyptian servitude.

The same is happening in the Church today as we come to a point in our experience where the reproach is on all time high – notable ministers announcing divorce on national television & others hailing them for being “on top of their game”. The US senate is currently investigating some other “big” ministries for some questionable activities & the President/ Founder of TBN is calling the senator an agent of the devil, forgetting that Peter the apostle said that judgment must first begin in the house of God.

In the midst of all these happenings, there is a move behind the scene – a Moses generation is being raised by God.

There is the tendency for many to be deceived by these ugly occurrences and throw caution to the wind claiming that Christianity is fake – this is what the enemy wants to accomplish through these BUT God has greater plans which is to raise the level reproach to a level of groaning which is happening now & God is getting the attention of His Moses in the burning bush.
Which one are you seeing? Is the burning bush or the reproach of the Church?

The Divine intent for these emerging saviors is to fulfill the prophecy of Rev 11:15 – to deliver the kingdoms of this world to our God.

The Proceeding Word NOW is a call to all to see to it that all of our actions and activities must now be appraised on the basis of the extent to which they contribute to the coming of the kingdom of God in the earth.

We need to ask the question: What does it mean for the kingdom of God to come? What has to be in place before we can say that the kingdom of God has come? Is it when people fill the church; is it when souls are saved?

When can we claim that the kingdom of God is here?

It is when the church begins to experience the activities of saviors; when deliverers begin to arise from the church. Not those looking for salvation, but they themselves are saviors, not those looking for deliverance, but themselves are deliverers.

We can safely say the kingdom of God has come, when the values, powers, dominion and influence of God is in place in the life, first of all of an individual, then it spreads into the environment. People must be thinking God’s thoughts; people must be in absolute submission to His opinion.

The disciples had the experience of the Holy Ghost in the upper room and from there like wild fire, the effect of their experience entered into every home.
The kingdom of God has come when God is the primary beneficiary of whatever we do on earth, when the motivation for whatever we do on earth, is to make sure that the kingdom of God is in place, that is when He gets the glory. But it takes saviors to do it.

We live in a time when prophecies are been fulfilled in acceleration, what we read in scriptures are playing out, but because the volume of the troubles around us are louder than what God is doing, we seem not to know & the purpose of this message is to sensitize us to see and most importantly participate in what God is doing.
When we say saviors are coming from Zion and the kingdom will be the Lord’s, it is not something to begin to celebrate and rejoice about but our response should be to check our lives whether we qualify to be in the company of these saviors?
Whenever we hear such declarations, it must birth a desire to know how God fulfills prophecies. There is a way God fulfills prophecies.
Prophecies are given and fulfilled by a process called God human partnership.
God all by Himself will not fulfill what he says. Wherever God wants to say something he will look for a yielded vocal cord that will not be intimated by the faces of men; not be intimated by culture or tradition or experience; not allow himself to be deceived by what God is telling him has not happened before.
Many of us cannot speak for God, because we are intimidated by people, circumstances, positions, and experience. But those who wouldn’t be intimated are those known as prophets. And you don’t need to have spent so long knowing God to be a prophet; you just need to be yielded. When God wants to accomplish what he had said to a people or a person, he will also wait for the person to come in agreement with him.
God’s intention for us is not to be a people who look into the Bible for promises to claim, but a people who look into the Bible for prophecies that God wants to fulfill and partner with him; we must become people who will offer their lives to make sure that God realize his intention on the face of the earth. If Obadiah prophecies about saviors coming, I want to position myself to ask God what are the strategies and principles that will bring saviors to Zion, because the kingdom been yours is predicted on that.
Rev 11:15, Dan 7:19 – 21
Judgment is being made today in favor of the saints and they are being released to posses the kingdom, all these prophesies have one goal – the coming of the kingdom of God to influence the earth. Because it has been prophesied the kingdom must become the Lord’s, the saints must posses the kingdom, because if the world is not under the influence, the control and management of God’s saints, God doesn’t have access to it. So the saints possessing the kingdom, the kingdom is the Lord’s is the same thing.
Whatever we’re doing on this earth, God is doing it through us, and it must be primarily for his benefit. You can’t be fulfilled on earth except God is receiving pleasure; your fulfillment on earth is predicated on God’s pleasure.
It’s one thing to know what God wants done and accomplish, it’s another thing to know the process of accomplishment. We must go beyond knowing what, we must know the how.
In Obadiah we see the how saviors /deliverers emerge: a distinction, conflict & subsequent separation between the house of Jacob becoming fire & the house of Esau becoming stubble.
This is going to be the state of things, in these times; you will either be fire or stumble, because the Bible says every man’s work will be tested of fire to know what sort it is. Daniel spoke about the conflict between the saints and the four beasts; four is the number of the earth, horns talk of authority. This is talking about the powers of the earth warring against the saints of God and prevailing.
The temporary prevailing is what is deceiving a lot of people, they don’t know that it will last for a while, because there is an “until” there. Until the ancient of days will rise up and give judgment in favor of the saints. These are dangerous powers, for as many that will go into the marketplace, needs to know this; but we know that the end result of the battle, because it is impossible for darkness to defeat light, righteousness will win at the end. The temporary victory of the horns is deceiving many. Regardless of the state of the church now, it is wise to side with it, because the church might be failing, but the church wouldn’t fail.
How does God brings deliverance to nations? He does so by raising deliverers, Exodus 3: 4 – 11
When a nation cries to God, in their oppression for deliverance, the way that God response is to look for deliverers. Moses is a case in point of how God delivers nations. Israel cried to God because of their affliction of their taskmasters and this cry came to God and this is the way God responded, God responded by praying to a man. They wanted deliverance, God said this is the way I deliver I raise deliverers, so God wants to raise deliverers in Nigeria, are you going to be part of them?
Looking at the scripture, at the life of Moses, we see the reason for all the favors, the reason why God delivered him, while other Hebrew children were been killed, the reason for the miraculous protection, for been positioned in the palace, is to prepare. Every blessing you have received in your life, all the privileged people you have met, the place you’ve been privileged to visit, every exposure that you have been given in life, is to prepare you to be a deliverer. Moses been saved from death, is not for the parents to rejoice, it was God doing His thing, God needed a savior and He was protecting him.
Life is not all about you, your life is borrowed you must pay back.
The end point of whatever you become in life is to produce a deliverer in you, if it does not, you are a failure. The true must dawn on us, that God will deploy us as deliverers. The way God answers prayer for the restoration of a nation’s integrity and pride, is to raise deliverers.
Judges 3:9, 15
It is time to come to terms with this truth, that the nations cannot be transformed by political process; a nation can only be transformed and reformed through a spiritual restoration, not through political machinery. Any meaningful national restoration, begins when the people of God, begin to live by their convictions which are the values of the kingdom of God. And it begins with you, you beginning to live by your professed faith and are willing to die for it.
Isaiah 59: 14
God is looking for men that will stand in the gap between that nations and him. Who are these men? They are those with spine, to take a stand and challenge the present lawlessness; there is a lawlessness that is close to you, in your office, in your home and amongst your peers - it begins form there. These men are those that will listen to the message of the cross and see how it translates to national reformation, they are the ones that will put a social face to their salvation.
God is looking for churches who can add values.
Imagine if 65% of the church in Nigeria or in your country were to close down, what will your nation miss? Bringing it down what if you’re to move from your neighborhood what will they miss? If you move from your office, what will they miss?
God calls a person a man, only when he/she identifies with God’s values, and stands for truth and justice, because it is then that the kingdom of God comes. These are the kind of Christians, God is looking for today, cos it’s time to take action.
It is time to add works, to our preaching, this is because a deliverer doesn’t only gives answers, not just prefer solutions, he is the solution, he is solution personified. Only the church can engage in social works for the right reasons, because only the church has the juice to be right. That is why we must become messengers in our message that is when messages produce unprecedented results. So any time there is a national affliction, what moves God is not the cries, what he is looking for, his focus is the emergence of deliverers. So the accurate way to cry is to present you saying, I am ready to pay the price to being a deliverer.
There is a cry in Nigeria and in nations of the world today for things to be done right.
This was the state that Israel found them selves, and the way God responded then is the same way God wants to response in our times. When you no longer enjoy what you used to enjoy, when what used to give you satisfaction begins to lose it meaning, then that is when God raises deliverers. God loves Nigeria, he grieves over Nigeria, but the way he shows his grief is that he looks for deliverers, are you going to be available?
Deliverers are people, who just not pray, they become God’s answers to prayers. Deliverers are people who know how to take responsibility. Just like Nehemiah, Daniel, & Gideon. You can’t distance yourself from the problems in Nigeria, you can be a deliverer. Taking responsibility begins from that repentance, Lord we have missed it. When people pray for deliverance, God prays to a man, and He is praying too many of us today.
The importance of this message, the heart of the message is for us to know there are many out there heeding the call, there is a generation of deliverers out there, God has come so that he might include us.
Deliverers are people who know how to take responsibility, when God sees these kinds of people; it is to them he delivers his plans. But the moment God commits his plans to your hands; you must be ready for confrontations. Because there is no change without confrontations. It must begin with you, you must begin to confront those unpatriotic attitudes, then God can use you as a standard.
We can pray for the kingdom to come all we want, the kingdom will only come when deliverers arrive; those who will put a social face on their Christianity, those who will pursue being a relevant church. Do you want to be part of it?
…to be continued

DARING TO BE A NEHEMIAH

I woke up this morning with a feeling I always dread having; my two lovely girls are packed up to go back to school after three months of vacation – I always don’t look forward to this day because I miss them so much. I just dropped them at the park and trying to focus my thoughts on my preaching schedule in this evening's mid week service.
I have a great burden for my girls and always seek God’s face for them to turn out good in life especially in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation of low waist line jeans trousers and belly button showing tops – these were the contemplations of my mind when I switched on my laptop to start putting materials together for the evening service and I happened on a youth ministry website www.threadsmedia.com and I read through a wonderful article on Nehemiah and he responded to God’s call to build the fallen walls of Jerusalem.
My eyes suddenly opened to see what I need to do about the burden that I carry for my two girls.
I have always loved to minister to youths of 18-34 years, infact most of my Church members are in this age bracket, I recently reorganized our youth ministry and brought them under my direct supervision, BUT it has ended there, I have not really done much to deliberately decided to impact these young boys and girls with the life that God has patterned for me.
It suddenly dawned on me that it is not enough to as good as it is to mourn, pray and plan as Nehemiah did and as I have been doing, it is most important to go ahead and execute the prayed plan as exemplified by Nehemiah.
God spoke to my heart thought this article this morning that in as much as I don’t have my two lovely girls with me, I have many of their likes under my direct influence always, I must begin to do something about their lives on a well intentional and deliberate basis.
God did something awesome through Nehemiah and his team in 52 days, the walls were built and honour, glory and praise went up to God.
The walls of the lives of many youths and young adults are broken down today, they are plagued by serious lack of fulfillment, and life is fast losing its appeal for this potentially gifted humans; for most the gifting are being misapplied – statistics on teenage pregnancy and youth school dropouts are helpful but will not proffer solutions to the problem.
This article came to me as the report of Hanani (he is the guy that brought the situation report to Nehemiah from Jerusalem, if you have never read the book of Nehemiah, please do, it is a page turner, it’s on page 335 of my Bible “lol”). The report has jolted me to pick up the pieces of my life and ministry and release to these boys and girls and young adults with what God has enabled to see and learn of life.
For starters, we are revisiting the BOOT CAMP( our youth program whose walls are broken down) – if you are reading my blog from the city of Jos and environs in Nigeria, please contact Ayo Chima our youth ministry leader on 08036097456 or email cyrusayo@thekingdomcitizens.org for details of this reloaded BOOT CAMP, or you may wish to call me directly on 08055232735 or email pastordot@thekingdomcitizens.org .
Thank you very much, Brother Jim, I will like to let you know that your article has rekindled a fresh fire in me and I am glad to know that the threads team are hanging in there with us as we rebuild the broken down lives of our youths and young adults.
Now! My heart is at peace as regards the truth that my two lovely girls are destined for greatness and are difference makers.
It’s back to the BOOT CAMP to adopt the Nehemiah model.
You may wish to read Jim’s article by visiting www.threadsmedia.com .
Thank you for being a part of my day, I miss my girls…

Shalom


Pastor Dot