Deji Okegbile has been my student, colleague and friend in the ministry for more than a decade. He has demonstrated himself to be a man of exceptional spiritual depth, academic ability, and missionary insight. I believe his work has an important prophetic and cutting edge that cannot be found elsewhere. And so, I recommend his work for publication as a unique contribution to the missiological literature, but also for the future of the Methodist movement in Nigeria.
This book represent the fruit of much careful research. The work, on Missional Leadership began as a dissertation for the MA degree programme at Cliff College. This piece of work was successful, and passed through the scrutiny of external examiners.
Deji’s passion is for mission and evangelism, and this book explore a more missional future for the Methodist Church in Nigeria. This book share a number of important things about the need for missional leadership. First, the future of the Church will depend on a deeper understanding and more intentional participation in the mission of God. Second, this has implications for Methodist ecclesiology, or how one should think about the nature, structure and function of the church. Third, this is necessary for bringing about change from a maintenance mode which can only end in death, to a missional model which can bring life, health and growth. Fourth, this shift requires a transformation in the nature of church leadership that is biblical, Wesleyan, missional and relevant for the Nigerian context.
To these ends, Deji’s book focuses on developing missional leadership that is more concerned with the Great Commission to make disciples than it is concerned to preserve structures that get in the way of this vocation. From this perspective, it is crucial that leaders should develop their own discipleship, so that their lives might be worthy of imitation. In short, missional leadership is about becoming disciples who make disciples by precept and example.
I warmly recommend this book to you. Every blessing in Christ.
Rev Dr Philip R. Meadows, Sundo Kim Professor of Evangelism, Asbury Theological Seminary
Wilmore, Kentucky, USA.
For too long Christian churches have focused on organisational leadership. In this book Deji bring a challenge to this and argues strongly and clearly for the need for missional leadership – a call needing to be heard in the Methodist world. He writes as a missional leader and evangelist, and I warmly commend this book to you.
Rev Dr Stephen Skuce, Director of Global Relationships, The Methodist Church in Britain.
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