The Nation Newspaper

Category: Worship

  • ‘Nigeria does not need a Christian or Muslim President’

    ‘Nigeria does not need a Christian or Muslim President’

    The General Overseer of Victory Life Bible Church (VLBC), Abeokuta, Ogun State, Apostle Lawrence Achudume, believes Nigeria needs only true leaders and not religious bigots. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola ahead of the 2014 convocation of the church. Excerpts:

    We keep hearing about the God’s factor, which is the theme of your 2014 convocation. What is it really all about?

    It simply means the God’s dimension in a man’s life. I have often preached that you can succeed without God.

    So, one does not really need God to succeed?

    Sure, it is not compulsory. Man can succeed without God but many of us have chosen to succeed with God. Success with God lasts forever; it is transferable and peaceful. Success without God is never lasting. Often times, before the seemingly successful person dies, everything is gone. You may see the wreckage but the glory is gone.

    So, the God’s factor simply means choosing to succeed with God; entering a covenant of lasting success through God.

    Many have said they would want to succeed with God but He takes too much time. Why does God like to keep people waiting, almost endlessly?

    I have handled this question in several meetings with pastors. Someone sent me a message on Face book on how she has been paying her tithes and everything without results.

    First, God does not bestow wealth on people He cannot trust. He takes us through a process because many have been tested with money and misbehaved. Our souls are so important to God that He wouldn’t give us anything that will destroy them. He prefers to save souls than bless people with money.

    Two, nobody likes to wait. These days, people just love the micro-wave blessings. But God is not in a hurry. He takes time to build our capacities. Someone may have just N1 million and start acquiring more women but someone else might have dozen or more without misbehaving. God takes us through a process to test our faithfulness. He does not bless people who are not kingdom-minded.

    He wants people who will not hoard resources but choose to serve as channels of blessings to others. Anybody that will misbehave with wealth will go through a long route to get it. God simply takes His own time; it is we who say He takes time because we are counting the chronological time. If in 1994, I was given N10 million, I probably would have misbehaved. Some pastors did not even wait to have N1million before misbehaving. So, God is not in a hurry at all.

    People equate prosperity with righteousness these days. But is it possible to be rich as a Christian and not be in good standing with God?

    Yes, it is very possible. You can have money and not be a child of God though you are in the church. And also you can be righteous and have real money, stupendous money.

    Stupendous money?

    Yes stupendous money and I am using the word very deliberately.

    But some Christians say they don’t want mega wealth because it could lead to mega troubles

    Mega wealth only means you have mega mouths to feed. If God blesses you, He would place people you are to bless with it around you. If God blesses you, He sends those in needs. There are people who need the money God has given you. The more you give, the more you receive.

    But many Christians are acquiring these days and hardly dispensing. How come they are still blessed?

    They will soon run dry if they don’t dispense. The money is not for them. When God gives you money, He has an assignment for it. If you hoard the resources, you are setting yourself up for a big fall. God will not come down to dispense money; He sends it through willing vessels to the needy. If you keep it to yourself, the money will kill you because you are afraid the money won’t return. But that is not how God operates.

    What has told you about 2015 elections?

    One, Nigeria will not break. Anybody saying Nigeria will break might break but Nigeria will remain indissoluble. Nigeria will not split in any form whatsoever and it does not matter who is saying the prophecy. The elections would be peaceful. Whoever God has determined to win regardless of what people say and do. I don’t see any crisis in 2015 at all. There would be noise but then everything will end.

    There would be rumbles?

    Of course, that is normal with human beings. It doesn’t matter who wins and loses. Somebody who contests elections and does not win will cry out.

    The bother is that politicians are playing religious politics…

    … That is very childish and wicked thing to do.

    What would you be telling your members?

    From time, I have always told them to vote according to their consciences. I tell them to vote for only those they consider competent.

    You won’t endorse?

    No, I won’t because there are people of different political persuasions in my church. It won’t be fair to say they should vote for somebody. Even if God tells me who will win, I will allow people make their choices. Some of their relations are contesting and even if your brother is going to lose, you must vote for him. So I won’t bother myself. But anybody who plays religious politics is bad. We don’t need a Christian or Muslim leader but a true leader. We need incorruptible leader who stands for Nigeria, not for Muslims or Christians; not for South or the North but Nigeria.

    Religion should be a private affair. A leader should not throw his religion on people’s faces or impose it. You are voted by Christians and Muslims. Go to your church or mosque but do justice when it comes to administration. But religion has always played major roles all over the world. Check Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. Even in the States, religion plays out. But it is just getting here now because of some fundamentalists.

    If the president wants to come to VLBC between now and 2015, would you welcome him?

    Why not? He is a Christian and even if he is not, he is most welcome. The church is always wide open to people from everywhere.

    Would you allow him to canvass for votes?

    No, I won’t because the pulpit is not for campaigns. To do that is to put the church in troubles. The church is for worship. As a respect and honour, he can greet the brethren but to campaign on the pulpit is dishonourable. A pastor who does that has lost his honour.

    What vision do you have for convocation 2014?

    If you look at the crop of invited guests, you will see it is huge. From Mensa Otabil to Dr Felix Omobude, Paul Eneche and Dr Abel Damina, you see the list is really inspiring. We are bringing a generation of three ministers for a balanced diet at the meeting. My desire is that we should know God for who He is and not what we can get from Him. Until then, we cannot be serious Christians. Many of us don’t really know Him; if we do, we won’t do half of the things we do. That is why the theme is living a triumphant life: The God’s factor.

    If we know God, our politicians won’t misbehave though they come to church. I learnt in Jos that one of the people the EFCC is investigating is a board member of the commission. How can there be fairness and justice?

    You seem to be an endless builder of multi projects. What is driving you?

    I think it is just the vision. I keep building auditoriums upon auditoriums. God was dealing with me sometimes ago and He said, ‘it takes structures to make a city’. And you know the structures in a city determine the people who live in the city. For us in VLBC, we are building again not because I wanted but because I realised that God wants it. If I had my way, I won’t do it because it is costing millions.

    But I am not under any pressure because it is not my work. God is just doing it. Where we are hosting the convention is a miracle. Maybe I have the anointing of Solomon to build

    You once said you don’t hold anything against anybody. How are you able to forgive people easily?

    You know even my wife asks me whether I am a human being. Sometimes I don’t know how to explain but when people do the wrong thing, it doesn’t enter my head. I don’t know how God did it. So, it’s easily for me to forgive and move on. Till date, I don’t know how to quote people on whatever they said. I don’t know how to record wrongs.

    I know people do something but I can’t remember. I have also come to know man by nature is evil. It is only when people do right that I am surprised. I realised that when I keep malice, I am destabilised and cannot plan or pray well. A pastor has so many problems already, why add you to it? Offence is a trap to destruction.

  • Rededicate to divine assignments, church leaders charged

    Church leaders have been urged to win souls for God rather than engage in blind pursuit of materialism.

    The General Overseer of the Christian Pentecostal Mission (CPM) International, Dr Obiora Ezekiel, gave the advice at the last Back-to-Bible conference of the church with the theme glorious divine nature.

    The annual conference, which held at the Ajao Estate Lagos international headquarters of the church, is aimed at imparting and re-igniting the fire of Pentecost that dismantles carnal and worldly reasoning.

    Ministering at the conference, Ezekiel challenged ministers to remain steadfast and focused in their divine assignments.

    He urged them to put on the divine nature of God to enable them focus on the things of heaven.

    He said it is spiritual empowerment that will bring solution to many sick souls in churches.

    He called on ministers to improve their standard by rising to their responsibility of healing spiritual wounds.

    Ezekiel charged them to meet the need of this generation through awareness, enlightenment and unveiling the hidden truth.

    He said today’s churches need serious discipline and salvation of souls which attracts rewards.

    He tasked pastors to build and disciple believers to the level where they will know the truth and resist the love of money, killing, deceit and hatred.

  • Presbyterian Church canvasses true federalism

    The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has challenged delegates at the on-going National Conference to enthrone true federalism and the nation’s secularism.

    It said these will form the basis for the peaceful co-existence of Nigerians.

    This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the first quarterly meeting of the General Assembly Executive Committee (GAEC) in Calabar, Cross River State.

    The communiqué, signed by the Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church, Most Rev. Prof Emele Mba Uka and the Principal Clerk, The Rev. Ndukwe Nwachukwu Eme, expressed delight with the commencement of the Conference.

    It urged delegates to courageously tackle the issues before them in the spirit of justice and fair-play.

    The church also commended President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration for a possible referendum to back up the decisions of the Conference.

    It praised the decision of the Northern States Governors’ Forum to abolish the payment of secondary school fees in the northern part of the country.

    It however called for a total declaration of free primary and secondary education throughout the nation as a uniform system of investing in our children to secure their future as the leaders of tomorrow.

  • Ex-leader appeals to warring factions in CAC

    The former General Superintendent of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Daniel Oloye, has appealed to warring factions in the church to give peace a chance.

    He asked leaders of the groups to drop their personal agendas and work for the progress of the church.

    Oloye spoke last Sunday at the 26th anniversary of the Christ Apostolic Church Transfiguration Hill Zone, Ajuwon, Ogun State.

    The weeklong celebration attracted government functionaries, traditional rulers, captains of industries and church leaders.

    Decrying the disunity in the church, Oloye said the leaders must close ranks to fulfill the end time mandate of the church.

    He pleaded: “Let us reconcile with God and with ourselves without any delay because we will one day personally give accounts of our stewardship here on earth and it will be very unfortunate if, because of our quest for positions, we miss heaven and our rewards.”

    Oloye noted there would always be differences since the church is made up of human beings.

    He however said Christians must learn to resolve such differences “so as not to give room for the devil to scorn us and make mockery of our faith in Christ.”

    The Chairman of CAC Transfiguration Zone, Pastor Emmanuel Odejobi, said the anniversary was a celebration of God’s grace, love and faithfulness to the church which are innumerable.

  • Let’s work together, Uche pleads with Christians, Muslims

    Christians and Muslims must learn to tolerate one another and collaborate for national development, Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Samuel Uche, has stated.

    He said all the different religious groups need one another, stating that none can exist on its way.

    Uche spoke last week at a media parley ahead of the city wide crusade of the Archdiocesan of Lagos billed for April 10-11.

    Stressing that Nigeria belongs to all, the prelate stated that those working towards imposition of any particular religion in parts of the country are misguided and misinformed.

    No religion, he stressed, can survive on its own.

    Uche also berated those beating the war drums, dismissing them as myopic and novice.

    War, he explained, cannot solve anything but will only bring more sorrow to Nigerians.

    According to him: “There is so much insecurity in the country, massive unemployment and so much poverty.

    “We do not want anybody to put religious sentiments into these. There is the need to de-emphasis religion and tribal sentiments as a reason for fomenting trouble in the country.

    “So we are appealing to both Christians and Muslims to come together and cohabit peacefully.”

    Uche challenged Nigerians, irrespective of their religious and tribal sentiments, to condemn the activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    He said: “Boko Haram is evil. We must all as a nation rise up to condemn the sect and also pray fervently for the peace and progress of the country.”

    He crusade, according to him, is aimed at praying for the nation and empowering Nigerians through the initiatives of the Prelate’s family NGO-Care and Touch Foundation.

    He assured that free medical screening would be available from 2pm daily during the crusade aside from the spiritual blessings.

  • City of David’s women offer free treatments

    No fewer than 1000 residents of Oshodi, Igbosere and Bamgbose in Lagos have benefitted from the free medical treatment of the

    Arise Women Ministry Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) City of David Victoria Island.

    The convener of the programme, Pastor Siju Iluyomade, said the gesture is patterned after Christ who not only fed the hungry but also healed the sick.

    She informed there had been six outreaches at Makoko, Ebute Metta and Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) among others with over 5000 people treated for minor ailments.

    The initiative, she said, is to attend to the well-being of the people to ensure their health is on the front burner, adding: “Without healthy women the country will never grow.”

    Iluyomade said people were screened diabetes, hypertension, malaria and pneumonia, among others.

    She said that the life expectancy of 52 years for women in the country as stated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is disturbing.

    Iluyomade said God is concerned about people’s welfare, especially their health, adding that this was the motivation for the group.

    On the quality of the treatments offered, she explained: “We offer treatments similar to what they will get at the Primary Health Care Centres (PHC).

    “If we found complicated cases, we refer them to any secondary or tertiary facility closest to the patients”.

    She identified hypertension as the most common ailment detected among the tested women.

    “I don’t know if it is stress- induced or caused by people’s lifestyle. Also, there are cancer cases. We hope the next initiative will be able to bring fund for cancer research into the country,” she stated.

  • Is there no balm in Gilead?

    Without any doubt, health stands out as the greatest asset of life. When a man’s health is challenged, everything he has loses value. That is why the world says, “Health is wealth.” In the world today, healthcare is one of the most costly services. That is why God is visiting you with free health and cure now (Jeremiah 33:6-7).

    God does not only want you to be spiritually robust; He wants you to be physically, mentally, psychologically and emotionally robust (3 John 1:2). When you are hurt, God is hurt. He is hurt because He had already fully paid the price for your total health (Isaiah 53:4-5). You have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20). You don’t pay for any product twice.

    Your body has been redeemed from the corruption of sickness and disease. Your body is now to glorify God, not the devil.

    Who is this Great Physician?

    He introduced Himself as the Physician that was prophesied by Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 8:19-22. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick… (Matthew 9:12). His Name is Jesus.

    On the Cross, Jesus carried on His head every sickness and disease that have tormented you. Jesus paid the ultimate price to credit total health into your account and my account. We are told that He received 39 wicked Roman stripes that had iron thorns attached to them. When they whipped Him and pulled it, it drew flesh from His Body and His Blood gushed out. Jesus painfully received 39 of them, for every form of classified sickness and disease that the world will ever know (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4-5).

    The end came to all our sicknesses and diseases. For surely He had borne our sicknesses and carried our pains, therefore, every pain and sickness has become illegal (Isaiah 53:4-5). The end came to every torment, when Jesus rose from the dead; the deal was sealed and you are now free (1 Peter 2:24).

    Every health issue was fully settled before they began to rear its ugly head. Every sickness and disease bows to His authority (Philippians 2:9-11). This is what qualified Him as The Great Physician.

    What is His Great Prescription?: Understand that behind every sickness and disease is the spirit of infirmity; that literarily translates as the spirit of sickness, according to Luke 13: 11, 13. Also, behind every affliction of sickness and disease is the wickedness of the devil at work (Job 2:7). The devil’s stronghold is darkness: his power is called the power of darkness (Luke 22:53; Psalm 74:20; Ephesians 6:12). But the strength of darkness is in the absence of light.

    Every time you turn on the light in your room, darkness gives way (John 1:1-5). When the light of the Word breaks forth, your health springs forth speedily (Isaiah 58:8). God’s Word is the all-purpose Balm in Gilead. God’s Word is the greatest Balm for the cure of all manner of sicknesses and diseases (Psalm 107:20; Matthew 21:8; Jeremiah 8:19-22). When you are lighted by the Word, you are in command. You don’t need to pray to be healed, just pray to be lighted. When light comes, darkness packs out instantly.

    What is this Prescription Worth?: The Word of God is the all-purpose Balm for the all-round restoration of your health and vitality (Proverbs 4:20-22; Luke 5:17). There is no other source in this world that compares with the efficacy of the Balm in Gilead. This Balm does not only answer for the living; it answers, also, for the dead (John 11:25, 39-44). Every other medicine only attempts to cure, but the Balm in Gilead guarantees cure and beyond that, guarantees restoration (Job 33:21-25).

    Friend, the power to key into divine health, is the preserve of those who are children of God. Are you a child of God? You become a child of God, by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be God’s child now, if you haven’t been, by saying this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan, to serve the Living God. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again!”

    I will continue with this teaching next week. Exceeding Grace and the Unspeakable Gifts of God are your portion this year!

    Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books: Keys To Divine Health and The Healing Balm and Satan Get Lost!

    I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:35 a.m., 9:10 a.m. and 10.45 a.m. respectively.

    I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

  • Theme: His knowledge and the edge

    Theme: His knowledge and the edge

    Text: “……… but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” Daniel 11:32b

    The world is now governed, led and directed by knowledge and not brawn, deception, lies, cultism, thuggery etc as being brazenly displayed in the political life of our dear nation. Today’s world is a world of advanced technology where yesterday’s implements have been rendered useless. Therefore, whosoever is desirous of having full benefit of today’s opportunities must seek knowledge and never stop to seek knowledge. It is difficult if not impossible for anyone to enjoy the full benefits of life without having an understanding of its dynamics. 3 John 2 says that prosperity and health are products of knowledge development.

    From our text, the Bible says that knowledge is the key to strength and doing exploits. Suffice to say that when the knowledge of God increases, it opens the gateway for good health, success, prosperity, breakthrough and testimonies. The advantages of knowing God are that it will give you an edge of strength, meaning that you will be immovable, unshakeable and untouchable. Secondly, you will experience an edge of prosperous life. Where others are failing, you will succeed like Isaac who during the time of famine in Philistine heard God and that year, reaped a hundredfold and was envied by the entire city ( Genesis 26:1-13).

    No wonder Hosea said that “ My people perish for lack of knowledge” ( Hosea 4:6a). What he meant was that ignorance is a major highway to destruction and sudden death while knowledge, which is from two words “know” and “edge” means that it is what you know that sets the pace for the edge you have over your peers and contemporaries. Prophet Isaiah shed more light on that spiritual axiom when he wrote that “my people are led into captivity because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” ( Isaiah 5:13).

    It is not knowledge of powers of wickedness or the terrible things they are able to do that avails but knowledge of Jesus Christ, His powers, supremacy of His power, greatness of His name (Philp 2:9-10) and the weapons of warfare that are available to us to counter and destroy the schemes and attacks of the wicked (Ephesians 6:10-12).

    The armies of Israel, for example, were once in the bondage of fear by the Philistines for many days as a result of Ignorance of who they were in God until a young man of knowledge called David came to the battlefield. He heard the threat of Goliath but juxtaposed it with what he had experienced as a shepherd boy who partnered with God, and knew that the battle would be of no significance (1 Samuel 17: 32-37). He knew God so much that he dropped the garment of warfare that was given to him by King Saul for five stones. The end result was that God went ahead of him and the shame of many days was halted with a stone ( I Samuel 17:40-50) – His knowledge gave him an edge over his brethren!

    Beloved, the knowledge of God, and not fear, is very principal to success and living a life of victory over the devil and his agents. During this season of Lent, kindly ensure that you devote more time to studying the word of God as stated in Joshua 1:8, increase your knowledge of Him, meditate in the word every time and observe to do what He commands then you shall have good success in Jesus’ name.

    Prayers: Oh Lord, increase my knowledge in you and let me have strength and grace for exploits in Jesus’ name.

  • ‘Why churches must be politically neutral’

    ‘Why churches must be politically neutral’

    Bold and daring, Rev. Yinka Ojo is the senior pastor of Grace Family Church Lagos. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on issues affecting the church and the nation. Excerpts:

    What is your definition of ministerial success?

    A minister of the gospel is not a celebrity, a corporate entity or a superstar but a called person. So, the yardsticks for measuring his success would be different. It can’t be about material acquisition. The definition of success for a minister then is finding out what God has called you to do and progressively achieving it. Success is progressive achievement of God-given goals.

    This means each minister of the gospel has been given different roles and so there can’t be a universal parameter for measurement of success. So, in essence, only Jesus knows who is truly successful in the ministry because He is the one that calls people in the first place to do works of the ministry.

    So, it is not necessarily about having a mega church?

    Not at all. Mega churches could be wonderful but are they producing disciples? Large, visible ministries could be good but are they really visible in the eyes of the Lord? So, we have to really be careful. I wonder sometimes if some of these mega churches can survive the testing of their works by fire. I say it that the bigger the churches, the bigger the ashes for founders of mega churches in the last days, if they are not doing what God really called them to do.

    I think that we have to be careful really because a lot of secular, humanistic, secular teachings have found their ways to the church. We now measure our success by our cars, sizes of congregation and financial muscles.

    We are celebrating these things more than the teachings of Christ. I heard one preacher say ‘go only where you are celebrated’. I said to myself had Jesus gone only where he was celebrated, nobody would have been saved. His own people rejected him but he kept at it and he fulfilled the goals of God. We really have to balance our teachings. The will of God could be enjoyable sometimes but could also be unpalatable. Remember Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted.

    So, we should stop telling people success is about fame, wealth and comfort.

    Don’t you think it is just an innocent attempt to make the gospel man-friendly?

    Well but at what cost? How related to that is to the message of Christ? Had Jesus been living today, many would have said his messages are not user-friendly. He said things like brood of vipers. He confronted the powers of his days and said ‘your father, the devil…’’ These are not motivational or positive thinking but hard core messages. He didn’t preach that all of the times but he did sometimes. So, I don’t buy that school of thought that is after man-friendly messages. I would rather preach the whole, balanced gospel. If you are obedient to the master, He would bring people in.

    Those who will be strong spiritually must be fed on balanced diet. If you feed a child only on cakes, he won’t be strong and will have bad dentition. You have got to introduce stuff like vegetables, proteins and others with occasional cakes.

    But is anything wrong in baiting in before feeding them on real stuff?

    The question is: Has that worked? In the last 25 years, what kind of Christians has that produced? If you check the quality of most Christians, it is nothing to write home about. We should just go back to the way the gospel was preached by Christ and the early church. It was not popular but it produced great results. We need to be secure that people might not like our messages but must hear what God has to say. God did not call us to be popular; only Jesus should be popular.

    If you preach the correct gospel, you might not have much people but God will take care of you. The fact is that most pastoring today were called to be teachers, prophets and evangelists. The lure of tithes and offerings has enslaved many. If you are where God wants you to be, He could send a raven like He did to Elijah to take care of you. The raven was not a member of Elijah’s church. At a point, he had just a member, a widow, who took good care of him.

    You just spoke about Elijah. How come we don’t have such radical, outspoken prophet in the land again? How come most of our preachers just want to romance the powers-that-be?

    I think the more political you are as a pastor, the farther you are from your true calling. Two, the roles of Old Testament prophets are different from what we should have now. The old prophets spoke to kings and the nation. In the New Testament, the primary assignment of prophets is for the church, not for the political class. They could speak occasionally to the nation but they are primarily for the church. They strengthen the church and disciple people to take over the business, political and other arms of life. The more of such trained people we have, the more we see changes in the society. They are above corruption and pollution because they have been dead to the flesh.

    The president has said he would be worshipping in different churches from now till 2015. Would you be happy to receive him?

    Oh, sure because there is no gate fee in the church. Anybody that wants to come is most welcome. If the president chooses to worship with us, we would allow him. I don’t know him too well to allow him speak but if I know him a little bit and I have an idea of what he wants to say, he would speak to the church. He won’t preach but because of his office, I would allow him to speak for a brief moment, if he asks for it.

    Would you allow him canvass for votes?

    Capital NO.

    Why?

    Every political persuasion is represented in my church. If he canvasses for votes, I must then look for other political leaders to allow speak. I believe the church should be careful not to be used to push any political agenda. Jesus did not say ‘go to the world and preach politics’. He said we must only preach the gospel because it is sacred. I feel every church and pastor should be politically neutral or else we would hinder people from hearing the gospel.

    Is that not being politically naïve and inactive?

    It is not at all. I will vote during elections but I will never tell my members to vote for one candidate. But I will teach them enough to know how to identify good candidates, without endorsing any.

    Is anything bad in endorsing candidates as a Christian leader?

    Everything is bad. I will never endorse any candidate. It could get you into troubles. If you endorse a candidate in the US, you could lose your non-profit status. They endorse but they do it in a subtle way. But I will never endorse. I will just tell members to vote for someone their conscience tells them to.

    You mention the US but pastors endorse candidate there. Even Billy Graham does that a lot, especially during presidential elections?

    Yes but Graham has got his fingers burnt many times. There was a particular candidate he endorsed who happened to be a member of the Mormon Church. He got into troubles and had to change his website. He lost his non-profit status. But I have found nobody goes to Joel Osteen’s church, which is the largest in America today. I think he got it right on endorsement. He said his father told him to allow people support whoever they want to sustain neutrality.

    So, what would be your advice to that pastor in the remotest part of Nigeria, feeling shortchanged for being in the ministry?

    I will just say who called you? What did he call you to do? If you are doing it, you are successful. Don’t look at others. Just hang on to God and you will glad

  • ‘Why many are spiritually blind’

    The Presiding Pastor of Christ Chosen Church of God, Pastor Isaac Balogun, has declared Nigerians must overcome spiritual blindness to achieve destiny.

    He blamed blindness on spiritual apathy, saying Christians must be alert to get the best of God.

    Balogun spoke last weekend in Port Harcourt when he was consecrated as the Senior Apostle of Christ Chosen Church of God, Nkpolu, Rivers State.

    In a chat with The Nation after the ceremony, the cleric said only living in the counsel of God will help man overcome all his numerous challenges.

    He attributed his elevation to God and commitment to kingdom affairs.

    Balogun said: “I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve Him. To be frank, He has been a good God for me and my family.

    “My elevation today has been dedicated to God, but one thing I will not forget to say before Him is that He made the journey so easy for me.

    “The authority of the church finds me worthy of the crown but who am I to wear this crown?”

    He called on other ministers to remain faithful, assuring that they would be elevated in no time.