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Every generation has its peculiar challenges and trends. After Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, every human being that ever lived or that will ever live on mother earth must contend with what quintessential gospel preacher, Rev. Silas Yako, calls ‘generational devils’ who infiltrate and try to corrupt Gods goodness and purpose for every generation. This implies that every generation has a devil to conquer. Little wonder, Rev. Col. (Dr.) S.K Bargo’s admonition which I cited in my book, ‘Luring Trends’ comes in handy; “God reveals His wisdom generationally” (Dickson, 2021: xv). Thus, the wisdom of God and the power of God are fundamental to conquering the ‘generational devils’ ravaging our children, the Church, society, and the world.
The ‘generational devils’ of this 21st century are complicated. Complicated not because the devil has become more ferocious than he was in history or because of the absence of right or wrong, evil or good. It is complicated because this generation is making relative of Christian’s standard of measurement- the BIBLE. Ironically, the infallible truth in the Bible is being distorted by both the preachers of the Bible and practitioners when it relates to practicing biblical truth. For example, some practices that the Bible calls sin are what our Society (sometimes, even the Church) preaches against, but are guilty of the same in practice. Here are some of such practices: The truth which used to be absolute is now relative, i.e. truth is now determined by the individual preacher or Christians, not the Bible. Once upon a time when the Bible speaks in the ‘Acts of the Apostles’ all Christians responded ‘Amen’, but today (“Now upon a time”), experience has it that Christians now question Biblical positions on life, morality, and value systems, especially biblical teachings that expose and speak against the works of the flesh as written in Gal. 5:19-21 (Tree of Life version). 19 “Now the deeds of the flesh are clear: sexual immorality, impurity, indecency, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostility, strife, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, just as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” The practices of these things in any form are unacceptable by the biblical truth- irrespective of who is practicing them. Though ‘Now upon a time” these vices seem entertained and celebrated in some Christian gatherings. Let us frown at and speak against these vices as negating biblical standards of Christian living. How can we entertain the practices that the Bible condemns and still professes to be Christians?
Another twist in the “Now upon a time” is the praxis of dressing. Dressing that used to be seen and addressed as nakedness / immoral is now colorfully termed ‘fashion’ or ‘trendy’ or ‘looking sexy’. A former Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Eme Ekaette, Chairperson of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Women and Youth, once said that “no responsible society should fold its arms while its institutions, put in place to perpetuate the nation are taken over by forces promoting unbridled freedom.” She went further to say “those who want to parade the streets naked in the name of modern fashion can do so in marketplaces, public squares, and perhaps on the beaches, but the state and civil society owe a responsibility to civilized behavior to protect institutions such as schools, churches/mosque and government buildings from disoriented models of new fashion. If we must be sincere, naked women are among the remote causes of the alarming breakdown of public morality and the general moral fiber of our contemporary society.” Professor Michael Asuzu of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, concurs and adds “women who dress to reveal flesh wish to make this simple statement, ‘I am available- take me, if you like what you are seeing.” (Daily Sun; Feb. 13, 2008, pg. 16). Trust me when I tell you, we must intentionally address the issue of dressing in our Churches. Body-revealing dresses by ladies and boxer-revealing dresses by men invite us to question the content of the minds. Remember that a wo/man’s mind reveals who s/he is (Prov. 23:7), so does a wo/man’s fruit (action) reveal her/his mind (Mt. 7:16). So, though nobody knows your mind, your fruit as expressed in deeds/actions and behavior, reveal your mind.
One more twist in the ‘Now upon a time’ is integrity. A mentor, Dr. James Zasha told me a story of how in his undergraduate days at Ahmadu Bello University (A.B.U) Zaria, the newspaper vendors will bring their newspapers on campus in the morning and leave them at the paper stands with some money (change) and go back home. Students and lecturers, he said, will go to the stand, pick the paper of their choice and leave their payments at the designated newspaper stand (remember that the vendor is not present). At the end of the day, the vendor returns pick money left as payment and his ‘unsold’ papers. Distinguish ladies and gentlemen, can that happen in our universities today (be it a secular or religious university) or seminary, or even inside religious worship centers? I agree with your answers. Integrity in words and deeds is a potent message of Christianity.
In conclusion, every one of us must conquer the ‘generational devil’ of “Now upon a time” by getting back to the Word (Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 4:20- 27). We must also discipline ourselves to believe and live by God’s Word. It was the ECWA president, Rev. (Dr.) Stephen Panya Baba observed that “a lot of Christians Study the word but either don’t believe in it or don’t want to live by it.” Until the Bible determines our values, reasoning, relationships, and ‘culture’, we may end up sustaining the religiosity of Christianity without breathing the life that Christianity gives to society.
For ongoing discussion, contact: YouTube: OJ Dickson Tv Website: www.ojdickson.org WhatsApp: +2348061582006 Facebook Page: OJ Dickson Ministry
The story was told of a young man who once lived in a community with his parents. His father was reputable for addiction to alcohol, and his mother was famous for petty trading. In that community, there was a weekly market where his mother sold grains every Thursday. Someday, he mobilized his friends (the youth) in that community to fix all the leaking thatched roofs of shops in the market. On account of this young man and his friends, the shops in the market had better roofs over them that prevented rain from ruining the community women’s business.
In the annals of this community, what do you think this young man (and his friends) will be remembered for?…….. Exactly my point. Posterity remembers them for fixing the roof of the shops in the community market, though with thatched grasses which they went and gathered from the bush. Posterity will not remember him for his father’s or mother’s preferred choice of life, but for what he and his friends did for the benefit of their community.
Life is sometimes lived in transit- being with different people in different places. Where you live and the people you are currently relating with were probably not in your inner circle twenty years ago. Reason that life is sometimes lived in transit. Interestingly, you are remembered for something- rightly or wrongly at every spot on that transit. Thus, for posterity’s sake, be intentional in your actions and inactions as you relate and experience people within your space and fellowship. Honestly, you will be always remembered for who you are and what you do (or are doing right now for the benefit of others, the Church and society). More so, the people you help will remember you for your help while the people you refuse to help will definitely remember you for not helping them even when you had the privilege to do so.
The posterity question this article wishes to ask and stir in your heart is “what are you remembered for?” Within your environment, office space, what runs through the minds of colleagues, relatives, and Church members when your name is mentioned? Whether dead or alive, these questions are timeless. The answer to these questions is simple- the impact of your actions in other people’s lives, not because of the sound of your name or title or length of years on earth. Trust me when I tell you that your today’s acts of making life worth living for others and the Church of Christ constitute posterity for future reference.
Permit me to stretch your thought and awaken your sensitivity; in the next two or five or ten or 50 years (2, 5, 10, 50 yrs.) if Christ tarries, you may be alive or gone to rest with the Lord, but your today’s acts in terms of actions and inactions in other people’s lives will be remembered for posterity. You may or may not have the opportunity to write your history twice. Thus, wisdom demands that you write your story exactly how you want it read for posterity. I strongly suggest that you write the script of your life with the ink of what you are doing for others in your family, Church and society.
For ongoing discussion, contact: YouTube: OJ Dickson Tv Website: www.ojdickson.org WhatsApp: +2348061582006 Facebook Page: 犀利士
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Mentorship is a relationship which affords people the privilege to share their personal skills, professionalism and assimilated experiences over years, with an in-experienced, unskilled person called the mentee or protégé who is willing to grow and develop in the process of the relationship. Martin Sanders in his book, ‘The power of mentoring: Shaping people who will shape the world’ notes that “mentoring is the facilitation of the lifelong development process whereby individuals move through various stages of human, emotional, spiritual, educational and intellectual development.” The mentor (older or experience person) is to supports, advises and guides, and eventually significantly influence the mentee/protégé (younger or in-experience person) in the realization of his/her potential.
Mentoring in Pst. Nathan H. Chiroma words, “is a dynamic, shared personal relationship in which a more experienced person acts as an adviser, guide and role model for a less experienced person (the protégé).” The concept of mentorship relationship originated when Homer Odysseus, a Greek warrior went to fight in the Trojan War and left his son Telemachus for 20years under the custody of a man called Mentor to look after for him. Thus, Mentor (older and experienced person) mentored Telemachus (younger or inexperience person) into becoming a more responsible and reliable young man.
Mentoring is therefore raising younger people with values, skills, wisdom and nuggets that will enhance their relevance to themselves and society. In mentorship, parents need to mentor their lads with godly and morally sound values that will enable them to become the men/women that they were created to be; men with impeccable character and conduct, men who know how to treat women with respect, men who will not jeopardize their family values for work, men whose words can be trusted, men who know how to sacrifice for their families… Likewise, ladies need their parents (especially mothers) to mentor them on how to cook a delicious meal for their future husbands and family, show submission to spouses, balance career and family life, be women of noble character, teach them about sex and marriage… just to mention but a few. It may surprise you to know that there are families whose business is in ruin because the parents (mentor) didn’t mentor a successor or there were no willing successors (mentee).
Leaders in various organizations are shopping for emerging leaders who will be capable of sustaining already achieved success and take the organization to the next level of influence and relevance. This goal is achievable in the context of mentoring. Mentoring is intentional and holistic in content: an older person will need to consciously invest his/her skills, experience and finance in the lives of a younger adult because life is seasonal and temporal. You are not a successful man/woman on earth until you have successfully raised a successor. In Dr James Zasha words, “you are only a great man/woman when you are able to raise great men/women who will succeed you”.
One cogent goal of mentorship relationship activities is to create an enabling environment that will help the mentee to progress along the learning curve and mature their practice skills. Another goal of mentoring relationship is to be a Paul who has a Barnabas who mentored him and Timothy whom he mentored under his tutelage as his own mentee. That is, being raised by an older or experienced person, while also pouring your own experiences in a younger or inexperienced person (mentee).
One stumbling block in many mentoring relationships is in defining exactly what mentorship means to the individuals involved. The interpretation of mentorship is largely subjective, so the process and contents of this activity need to be defined at its inception for it to be effective for both parties (mentors/mentees). If there is no open communication between mentors and mentees, unrealistic expectations could be set on both sides of the relationship, so that frustrations will mount, performance will be affected and inevitably, many of the relationships will dissolve unnecessarily without achieving the goal of mentoring.
In the last article, we engaged leadership as earning the right to be followed- being a living testament who models words and live out the essence of your conviction in praxis. In this article, we will engage leadership from the paradigm of leadership as a platform for influence. A story was told of a lady (first child of her family) who after graduation from a tertiary institution got employment at a lucrative organization. Two years into her employment, she took responsibility for the four widows in her extended family by providing them with quarterly foodstuff and paid the school fees of her two siblings. If I may ask, in your own opinion, is this lady a leader of influence or not? Your guess is as concrete as mine. Thus, leadership by influence is adding values to someone else’s life, helping and aiding people to fulfil their God-given potential, creating content that can potentially change and transform people’s lives.
Pst. O.J. Dickson
The term “influence” connotes having an indelible impact on someone, something or an institution. Leadership by influence thus entails being a leader of a small or large group of people who registers impactful memories, stories and experiences for those under their tutelage/leadership. Leadership by influence invites the leader to use their statutory position(s) of leadership or followership to make life more meaningful to their followers. John Maxwell submits and I infer, the true measure of leadership is influence- nothing more, nothing less.
In the viewpoint of my friend, Enoch Joseph Aboi, while some have statutory leadership position accorded them by a group of people in the Church, political and economic space, or on any of their social media spaces, others occupy statutory leadership and having less influence or no constructive influence in leadership. For youth in the Church, one among their many influences, entails helping their siblings to fulfil their purpose, helping their aged parents with financial substance, disseminating biblical truths within their space of influence, and living out those biblical truths to the admiration of God. This space could be their younger siblings at home, teenagers or adults in the Church, and even the boundless space of social media. Among these spaces of influence, as a communication medium, the social media platform offers youth the opportunity to share their Christian life and convictions with a much larger audience that extends beyond local, national and international boundaries, and cuts across ethnic, cultural and religious affiliations.
For example, in October 2020, I boosted a quote on my Facebook page (OJ Dickson Ministry), and I was able to reach out to twenty-six thousand, eight hundred persons (26,800) through that medium. It was a waw experience for me. With this in view, youth should equip themselves with biblical and theological understanding of God’s mission to the world so that the latter can evangelize and influence this generation via social media and spread the life-saving gospel message, and thereby, make the vision, goals, and ministry of the Christ known as they influence their generation with God’s truth and life. This praxis, in turn, will publicize the biblical and theological truth, and bear witness to, the mandate of the Church, so that they will not wink their Christlikeness in the dark.
The point I wish to make here is that, in addition to assuming the statutory helm of leadership in the church and society, the youth are also influencers in-and-through their social media platforms and physical space of influence (like the story in the first paragraph). As leaders, they live a life that earns them the right to be followed and, as influencers, they have the role of propagating the gospel and influencing all within their tradition and social media space of influence.
It is often said in some, if not most, quarters that, “youth are the leaders of tomorrow”. Well, there is a fragment of truth to this statement, except that, youth are also the leaders of today. If leadership is perceived as statutory, then youth are the leaders of tomorrow, but if leadership is understood in regards to earning the right to be followed, then some youth are the leaders of today.
One cogent role of youth in the church and society is to provide leadership that is earned and not statutory in the church or society – although, a type of leadership that is premised on influence. Let’s reflect on the two words underpinning the conceptual framework of this writing—“leadership” and “influence”. These two words spell out that the youth are leaders and influencers in their churches and society. In this writing, I will stimulate your thoughts on youth as earned leaders. Youth as influencers will be discussed in the next writing.
Sometimes the terms we use for leadership have nuances of meanings in different contexts. So permit me to define leadership here from my own point of view amidst the myriad usages of the concept. Leaders are individuals who have earned the right to be followed by virtue of who they are and what they do. When I say youth are leaders, it encompasses two fundamental aspects: First of all, it suggests that some youth have earned the right to be followed. They are ‘Christ addicts’ in deep pursuit of God’s righteousness, which is noticeable in their admirable conduct—they are unemployed because they refuse to make bribery payments or have sex with older adults who demand such in order to get a job. Furthermore, some are without admission into higher education institutions, not because they lack eligibility or the required qualifications, but because they refuse to pay a bribe in exchange for admittance.
Imagine the Acts of the lady, Leah Sharibu; a Christian lady who with some of her school mates was abducted by on February 19th 2018 in Dapchi, Yobe State, Nigeria and still in captivity because she has refused to denounce her Christian faith in Jesus Christ. In this Act of Leah Sharibu, I cannot but say that she has earned the right to be followed and emulated as a leader. I can unequivocally say that young people like Leah Sharibu have the proclivity to do the right thing – at all cost.
Secondly, some youths are freely and wholeheartedly serving God in their respective churches. Their trailblazing endeavours are evident in what they are doing. In that, some are putting their minds to work and creating contemporary approaches to contextualizing the gospel for their generation (fellow youth, teenagers, adults and parents) without compromising the biblical truth. In Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), examples of such approaches are exemplified in church-based ministries in Abuja, Nigeria are “Church beyond walls” and Young People’s Church (YPees) at ECWA Wuse II, “Rhythms Of Life” (ROL) at ECWA Goodnews Maitama, “Youth With A Glorious Sparkle” (YWAGS), “Valentine Extravaganza” and “Intergeneration Connect” at ECWA Central Area, and “Single’s Forum at ECWA Goodnews Jikwoyi… just to mention but a few. These are church-based contemporary and contextual ministries that are lead by youth.
More so, some youth in their potentiality as earned leaders have revolutionized the experience of the Church by introducing software, such as easyworship, pro presenter, shareFaith presenter, worshipTrac, zionWorx, openLP, BibleShow, e.t.c to facilitate the worship experience of the church. Further developments include the importing of ever-evolving technological and computer devices to enhance the worship experience, which is noticeable in the Church visuals, sound and lighting.
Some youth, of a surety, are leaders in their strides through exemplary living and pathfinding innovative models for an upward mobile Church- and society at large.
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