Author: Deji Okegbile

THE SHREWD CHURCH?: Overcoming Leadership and Spiritual Misrepresentation

In Luke 16, Jesus commends shrewdness. To be shrewd in the context of a missional practices and skills goes beyond clever actions, plots, schemes, and speeches where the heros or heroines do something for the audience applauds and acceptance. Beyond the use of money to secure our future, Jesus’ parable points us to our ultimate missional future, our eternal future. The use of money is a good test of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Money with a lot of power can be use for good or evil hence, Jesus’ parable of the shrewd steward summons us to use our...

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“LOST PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD”: RENEWING LEADERSHIP FOR EVANGELISM 

Parables are stories which a meaning. In the Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus’ three parables in response to the complaints of the temple leaders, Pharisees and scribes against Jesus’ ministry points us to the importance and God’s priority in renewing leadership to reach the lost (v.2). The complaints by these religious people were a symptom of larger problem – the lost of leadership/church’s focus to reach out to the lost hence, the disunity and lack of cooperation even in rescuing the perishing and caring for the dying. To be “lost” means to be away from the Good Shepherd...

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YINKA’S price is far above rubies.

It was during my ministry at Wesley Cathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos in the late 90s that I met Mrs Jumoke Soyemi, a member of the Cathedral and Methodist Evangelical Movement. Mum Soyemi later introduced me to her daughter, YINKA Ajai-Ajagbe who occasionally joined us in some of the evangelical meetings at Olowogbowo. YINKA later introduced me to her fiance and I was privileged to be part of their marriage preparation and we became very close family. YINKA, at 48, my initial responses to your sudden transition and change of address was shock, denial, replay, yearning, confusion, powerlessness, anger, and loss...

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IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE: Healing for the church and nations from infirmity.

Every word of Jesus especially in the Gospel reading from Luke 13 is full of meaning. Jesus used the word “Now” to draw attention to a particular statement or point in a narrative. “Now” in the context of this text marks a consequence of Jesus’ earlier fact about the necessity of repentance. Repentance is necessary to escape not only eternal death but also to overcome earthly infirmity (vs 1-9). The healing of the crippled woman was a sign that God’s kingdom had come in power to deliver people from bondage (vs 10-17). With opposition from the ruler of the...

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O Lord, set our hearts on fire again!: God’s identity and role in the midst of human unfaithfulness.

The Old Testament and the New Testament readings on the 9th Sunday after Trinity reminds us of the meaning and need of this present time, a perilous polarising time when the soul of the church and the world and most especially when the integrity of the Christian faith are at stake. In order to discern and know the need and meaning of this time, the two main texts – from Jeremiah and Luke highlights God’s identity and role in the midst of human unfaithfulness especially in an age of false prophets and preachers. Theologically, the two texts reveals a...

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