Author: Deji Okegbile

BABA, VERY REVD. SOMOYE, Unforgettable loved figure in the Nigerian Methodism.

One of the unforgettable loved and leadership figures for me since I joined the service and ministry of Nigerian Methodism 30 years ago was Baba, Very Revd David Oludare Somoye. I found trust as a spiritual and performance multiplier in Baba Somoye as a member of the Editorial Team and Most Rev Ayo Ladigbolu as the Chairman of the Editorial Team, Methodist Church Nigeria. When your leader can trust you, you will be loyal and inspired to go the extra mile. With Baba Somoye’s and Archbishop Ladigbolu’s trust, I worked by permission, not authority. Every leader has a title. ‘This title...

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Celebrating Sir Dr. Aina: A Giant in Medicine and Knight of John Wesley.

At a time when modern Medicine is in danger of losing a powerful, old-fashioned tool, the human touch, the transition of Sir Dr. Wilberforce Olumide Aina, a Knight of John Wesley (KJW) raised the alarm about ‘our strange new world where patients are merely data points and calls for a return to the traditional one-on-one physical exam.’ The world and Methodism lost an exceptional doctor and a kingdom treasurer in Sir Dr. Aina. His career and legacy strongly endorse the value of the patient-centered family physician needed within today’s healthcare system. Sir Dr Aina lives on. His career, life,...

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CELEBRATING HIS EMINENCE MBANG, A BORN LEADER AND A SPIRITUAL ADVOCATE FOR THE MASSES.

‘A mighty tree has fallen’ is the traditional response in Africa, to the passing of such a great soul and a towering international figure of monumental moral and missional authority as His Eminence Sunday Coffie Mbang (1936-2023). His broad smile and hearty laugh will be challenging to forget. Beyond the order of ministry and episcopacy to which he was called and elected as the second Patriarch and first Prelate, Methodist Church, the offices he held locally and internationally, or the titles he bore as a renowned academic theologian of his age, the most distinguishing mark of His Eminence Mbang’s...

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ENUGU 2023, PATRIARCH IDOWU @110, AND EPISCOPACY @47: DECOLONISING METHODISM FOR OUR WORLD TODAY.

Methodism as part of a universal church faces serious questions about its future. Methodism is not only contending with aggressive secularism, but its decline also suggests a church in danger. The mother-church of Methodism, like ‘the founder of the worldwide Anglican Communion, no longer guarantees a leadership role as the power centers move to Africa and Asia.’ [1] Methodism now faces the loss of its distinctiveness or historical perspective and the erosion of clarity about the purpose of Methodism as envisioned by John Wesley. To overcome the danger Methodism is facing, Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN) corporate episcopacy impacted by usable postcolonial...

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The Missiology of Jesus and the Great Commission: Overcoming Great Omission and Church Decline.

The mission is the lifeblood of the church. The church, therefore, goes into decline when missions go into decline. The importance of missions and the discipline of missiology is that without missions, there is no church. However, missiology as a discipline and practice of life is much more profound and transformative. Missiology equips ‘disciples who walk with Jesus and equip others to reflect the life and teaching of Jesus in maturing, faithful, reproducing communities of faith.’ [1] The missiology of Jesus challenges the church’s compromise with ‘the world—with a business structure of full-time people administrating an organization—rather than a community of...

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