AFRICAN PLUME

By Akin Ojumu It was during a Pentagon news briefing in February 2002, that Donald Rumsfeld, the then United States Secretary of Defense under the administration of President George W. Bush, coined his now famous “there are unknown unknowns” phrase.  In response to a question about the lack of evidence linking the government of Iraq with the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups, Secretary Rumsfeld stated: “There are Known Knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are Known Unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also Unknown Unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones.” Unlike Secretary Rumsfeld, the Unknown Unknowns are less of a problem for me when it comes to my knowledge of the Word of God. As difficult as the Known Unknowns may be, they are equ

By Akin Ojumu Regardless of how often you grace the Church assembly with your presence, the Apostles’ Creed is something you are probably familiar with. Even if you are a nominal Christian, who goes to Church once a year on New Year’s Eve, you must have recited the Apostle’s Creed on one of those rare visits. Written about 150 years after the death of the last Apostle, the Apostles’ Creed encapsulates the Christian doctrine as taught by the Apostles. While not specifically found in the Bible, the Apostles’ Creed succinctly summarizes the fundamental beliefs of Christianity in a few short words. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almig

By Akin Ojumu The following is an exchange I had with a young gentleman – we’ll call him Christian – who wanted to defend his beloved man of God whom I had criticized for preaching a gospel of self-glory. Christian: So, when Paul said that I thank God that I speak in tongues more than ye all, was it self-glory? 1st Corinthians 14:18. Or when Paul called the Galatians church “bewitched” was he representing Christ??? How can Paul tell a whole church that he speaks in tongue more than them all? And he even said he labored more than all the Apostles. Paul must be glorifying himself then. Akin: I’m always thrilled when I see a Christian go directly to Scripture when engaging in a discourse like this one. Such a Christian shows he understands the true source of our faith, which is the Word of God, and not the wisdom or word of men. It’s on that note that I will respond to your comment which, ordinarily, I’d have ignored otherwise. There’s a fundamental principle that guides the exegesis – i.

By Akin Ojumu According to Dr Brian Simmons, the lead translator of The Passion Translation Bible, all this talk about the rapture, millennial reign of Christ, and the Second Coming, is all a figment of our wild imagination.  “I know when Jesus is coming back. When we bring Him. We bring Him back. If the “Second Coming,” which is not in the Bible. It’s amazing how many eschatological dogmatic doctrines we built around terms that are not even in the Bible. “Rapture,” “Millennium,” “Second Coming.” Those words are not found in the Scripture…” So far out of left field are these incredibly heretic comments that I’m left speechless. That the man, out of whose mouth came this nonsense, is an author of a version of the Bible leaves me stunned.  For want of what to say in response, I think it’s better to just turn to the Bible and hear directly from the Lord Jesus what He told His Disciples about His Second Coming. MATTHEW 24:3-31 “As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him pr

By Akin Ojumu Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a massive tidal wave of Pentecostal expansion swept across Nigeria. All over the country, the fire of revival raged on the college campuses. As the heat of spiritual awakening melted away stony hearts in the Ivy towers, the light of righteousness descended on a nation hitherto covered in pitch darkness. Propelled by the vibrancy of young college students, evangelical Christianity in Nigeria took off like a runaway rocket, with the engine roaring, smoke billowing, and lights glaring. Traditional denominations, such as the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, etc., witnessed a mass exodus of spiritually hungry youths who left their parents’ Churches in droves to join the emerging unaffiliated evangelical groups where God was moving in mighty ways. Under the spiritual tutelage of pioneers like Pa Sydney Elton, Benson Idahosa, W.F. Kumuyi and a few others, young Nigerian students on University Campuses across the country established strong Christian fello

By Akin Ojumu Without question, these are the Last Days. A tsunami of chaos is ripping through the Church, laying waste to the foundation of the Christian faith that was laid by the Apostles and the Prophets. We live in a time when self-professed Christians shun sound and wholesome teaching but instead subscribe to housewives’ fables. With itching ears, they surround themselves with soothsayers who fuel the fire of their carnal desires. Inundated with psychics who profess special ability to tell the future, the Household of Faith is ablaze with strange fires. Conjurers, disguised as God’s shepherds, lure many away into new age mysticisms with their ecstatic utterances and revelations that come from altered states of consciousness. Claiming to receive divine revelations directly from God and thus making themselves oracles of God who must be obeyed, they lead the flock of God astray into idolatry. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various w

By Akin Ojumu Superficiality, frivolity, and triviality of the Word of God are the composts that make up the rotten soil of rampant carnality found in many Christian congregations.  Pusillanimous Believers, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, are the byproducts of the juvenilization of the Christian message common in many Christian assemblies. Deploying gimmicks will not grow a Church. Employing fads is incapable of building up the faith. Adopting quick fixes will only lead the Believers down the rabbit hole of ungodliness.  A denomination that’s only invested in techniques, entertainment, showbiz, storytelling, human philosophy, and all whatnot is a religious country club of unregenerate souls and not the Church of the Living God. Such a gathering is an intransigent crowd of pseudo-Believers and not a true Christian gathering. “So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of C

By Akin Ojumu On the Sunday preceding last year’s Saddleback Church Block Party, Andy Wood – the guy who succeeded Rick Warren as Senior Pastor – took to the pulpit to promote the event. Standing before the massive crowd, the following “you won’t believe he said that unless you heard it yourself” remarks gushed out of his mouth. “From the beginning of time God has been working to throw one massive party for humanity to experience his heart. In fact, when Jesus was here – for 33 years, God in human flesh – so much of his life was spent partying.” According to Senior Pastor Andy Wood, Jesus was a party animal who spent the 33 years of his life hopping from one party to another. For the brief time he was here on earth, the Son of Man never let a good time pass him by. The party-loving Messiah never turned down an opportunity to boogie down. He partied till He dropped. The party time started at the wedding in Cana. There He turned water into booze so that the groove could go on till daybre

By Akin Ojumu All this time you’ve been going to Church, when was the last time you heard a new song about the wrath of God? Can you remember when last the praise and worship leader raised a chorus that talks about the fury and anger of God that’s coming upon the doer of unrighteousness? Is the terror of the LORD that’s going to be visited upon all the workers of ungodliness a theme of any of the messages preached in your place of worship lately? Haven’t you noticed that the vast majority of the sermons that emanate from the pulpits are all about blessings, miracles, and gaining the world? Isn’t it the case that the theme of the songs is almost always about enlargement of territories, fulfillment of destinies, and accomplishment of purposes? You’d agree that the most popular sermons – the ones that elicit the loudest cheers of “Preach it, Pastor! Go on soun, Papa!” – are often about instantaneous breakthroughs and spontaneous increases. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven aga

By Akin Ojumu David Crank is the founder and lead pastor of Faith Church which, according to their website, is “a fast-growing, multicultural, multi-site, nondenominational church. With four campus locations in St. Louis, Missouri, two in the West Palm Beach, Florida area, one location in Fairview Heights, Illinois and Online; the church was recognized in 2017 as Outreach Magazine’s 53rd Largest Church in America.” Pastor Crank is so heavily anointed that even his dogs and pants (i.e., trousers) can and do preach. At least that’s what he claims in this video clip. So heavy is the presence of God in his life that everything he owns is a preacher of some sort. House, automobile, shoes, shirts, you name it, they all preach. While the particular “gospel” these things preach remains unclear, I believe we could each use a pair of preaching pants too. Just imagine how many souls would have been won for Christ if all we have to do is put on our preaching pants and simply walk around the market

By Akin Ojumu Contrary to what society wants you to believe, old age is a beautiful thing. Yes, the hair may be graying out and the joints and bones are barely hanging in there, old age is a joyous event. The memory may be playing tricks and the stomach limited in the quantity of food it can process at one time, getting old is fabulous indeed.  Aging is a triumph and not a tragedy. Gray hair is a crown of glory. Wisdom is with the aged and understanding in length of days. While the young glory in their strength, the old man is venerated in his gravity and experience. The gray hair is a badge of honor that qualifies the aged to give counsel on matters of doubt and difficulty. The old man’s hair is an index of prudence and wisdom. “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” (1 Corinthians 13:11) As the blinding fog of youthfulness gives way to the brightness of maturity that flo

By Akin Ojumu To many Christians, the book, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” is a Holy Writ in its own right. Originally published in 1952, the international bestseller authored by Dr Norman Vincent Peale has been translated into over 40 different languages with as many as 15 million copies in print worldwide. The extremely popular book was on the New York Times’ bestsellers list for 186 weeks, 48 of which were spent in the No. 1 non-fiction spot. Considered one of the most influential self-help books in print today, The Power of Positive Thinking is credited with helping people around the world achieve fulfillment in their lives through Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s powerful message of faith and inspiration. Mental health professionals have incorporated some of the techniques and methods described in the book into their practice. Likewise, many of the book’s ideas and concepts have been canonized in the Church, and its positive mindset prescriptions are woven into sermons. Just as it is

“Kathryn Kuhlman: Publicly Pious, Privately Perverse” By Akin Ojumu Considered to be a forerunner to the present-day charismatic movement, Kathryn Kuhlman was a rockstar who drew millions to her miracle crusades in her time. Even now, the Queen of faith healing continues to enjoy godlike status in many Christian cycles. Many modern-day charismatic preachers draw their inspiration from Kathryn Kuhlman, and not a few of them borrowed their techniques, styles, and mannerisms from her. As is the case with many charismatic preachers, Kathryn Kuhlman’s spirituality was performative theater characterized by public piety and private perversity. Not only were her teachings erroneous and based on flawed theology, but the woman also engaged in unsavory behaviors for which she never once publicly repented. Early in her career as a faith healer, Kathryn Kuhlman became entangled in a sordid relationship with a married evangelist by the name Burroughs Waltrip. It all started when the pair began to sh

“The Lies and Frauds of John Alexander Dowie (Part 1)” By Barry Morton Originally published in 1996, "God's Generals: Why They Succeeded and Why Some Fail” is a widely popular book among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians. In the book, Robert Liardon chronicles the lives, teachings, and ministries of prominent 19th century leaders of the Pentecostal movement such as William J. Seymour, Aimee Semple McPherson, Smith Wigglesworth, and Kathryn Kuhlman, to name a few. Although God’s Generals painted a glowing portrait of these individuals, this series of commentaries will shed light on some of the unreported atrocities committed by a few of the so-called powerful men and women of God. Today, we are going to start with John Alexander Dowie. Prior to the emergence of Dowie, faith healing was well known to be “a means of obtaining money under false pretenses.” What set Dowie apart from other religious con men was the sheer enormity of his fraud – which made him a multimillionaire

By Akin Ojumu In this short video clip, this individual, by the name of Kevin Basconi, claims that Heaven is experiencing a severely acute job shortage. “There are millions of unemployed angels in the kingdom of heaven. And my heart desire, and I believe the Lord’s heart desire, Sid, is for God’s people to get the revelation that we can co-labor with His angels.” According to Kevin Basconi, there’s an employment crisis in God’s kingdom unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. The situation is so dire that millions of angelic beings are out on the streets looking for jobs. These unemployed angels are so desperate they’ll take any job they can get. For the employment market for angels to get this bad, the economy of God’s kingdom must be in recession or depression. What this means is that the balance sheets of heavenly businesses have taken a major hit and they now have no choice but to lay off their angelic workforce. It may be that God can no longer afford to keep so many angels on his