African Plume

By Akin Ojumu During a Q&A session at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, a woman from the audience stepped up to the microphone to ask Pastor John MacArthur a question. You could sense her apprehension almost immediately. The paper from which she read was visibly shaking. Her voice trembled. She was clearly uneasy about what she was about to ask. Nevertheless, she gathered her courage and pressed on. And the question she asked is, I believe, one that sits silently in the hearts of countless confused, intimidated, and spiritually battered Christians around the world—people who have been abused, manipulated, controlled, and sometimes terrorized by pastors who have grossly exaggerated the scope of pastoral authority. Her question was simple: “How much authority does a pastor actually have over the people he shepherds?” The answer she received may come as a shock to Christians who have been conditioned to regard their pastors as spiritual monarchs. It is certainly not th...

“The Gnostic Echo in Arome Osayi’s Teachings” By Akin Ojumu Secrets. Dimensions. Hidden protocols. Arome Osayi’s teaching seems perpetually fascinated with the hidden: secret realities, mysterious principles, spiritual dimensions, concealed protocols, and privileged spiritual intelligence. Listening to him—and to his fellow travelers in the realms, portals, dimensions, and “deep mysteries” movement—you could easily come away with the impression that they belong to an elite caste of Christians whom God has taken into His private confidence and entrusted with Top Secret, classified intelligence from Heaven, while ordinary believers are left standing outside the celestial briefing room. But this fascination with hidden spiritual knowledge is hardly new. The early Church encountered people who spoke in remarkably similar terms. They were the GNOSTICS. These speculative mystics claimed possession of a higher, secret knowledge, called gnosis, that was supposedly unavailable to ordinary belie...

“Stop Looking for God in Numbers, Fleeces, Feelings, and Coincidences” By Akin Ojumu Perhaps the most dangerous feature of sign-driven Christianity is the confidence with which human interpretations are attributed directly to God. A circumstance occurs. You interpret it. Then you announce: “God told me.” But notice what actually happened. God did not audibly explain the event. Scripture did not explain the event. No biblical prophet explained the event. You observed something, interpreted it privately, and then attached God’s name to your interpretation. That should make anyone who takes divine revelation seriously extremely cautious. There is a profound difference between saying: “I think this circumstance may be significant.” and saying: “God is telling me through this circumstance that…” The second statement claims divine authorship for your interpretation. And Christians use such language with astonishing recklessness. “I felt goosebumps, so the Holy Spirit confirmed it.” “The door...

By Pastor John MacArthur The primary role of the Pastor is to:  “Feed my sheep.”   That’s what Jesus said to Peter.  “Feed my sheep. Feed my Lambs. Feed my sheep.” That ’ s what pastors do.  Feed, and therefore, lead, the flock of God.  That is our calling.  And, in fact, it’s explicitly spelled out:  “Teach the things that are connected to sound doctrine.”   And to do that, you have to:  “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman needing not to be ashamed, but rightly dividing the word of truth.” If you’re not rightly interpreting the Word of God and feeding your flock, Paul says:  “You should be ashamed.”   That ’ s the role of the Pastor. Let me stretch that a little bit.  The Pastor is a Bible teacher, and a Bible preacher, and a theologian. The pastor is a theologian.  In fact, you might think: “Well theologians are all up in Seminaries somewhere or Universities. They are in Ivory Towers. That’s where theolo...

“When Numerology, Dreams, Fleeces, and Coincidences Masquerade as the Voice of God” By Akin Ojumu There is a strange form of paganism flourishing inside modern Christianity. It speaks Christian language. It invokes the name of Jesus. It talks endlessly about the Holy Spirit. It uses words such as prophetic, discernment, confirmation, divine alignment, and “God told me”. But beneath the Christian vocabulary lies an ancient practice that Scripture explicitly condemns: Omen-reading. A number appears repeatedly on a clock, and someone concludes that God is speaking. A bird lands on a windowsill, and suddenly Heaven has issued a prophecy. A light flickers during prayer, and someone announces the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.  A person dreams about water, snakes, shoes, babies, airplanes, or houses and immediately begins searching for the “spiritual meaning.” A preacher says, “If you see this video today, this is not a coincidence.”  Someone asks God for a “sign” and then spends...