AFRICAN PLUME

“Nigeria Churches are Places Where Faith Goes to Die” By Akin Ojumu Appointments of people to spiritual positions in Nigerian Churches are based on, among other flimsy things, how long the person has been attending Church, how consistent they are in paying tithes, and the sheer size of the offering they give every Sunday. Very often, Churches ordain individuals to pastoral offices because of their eloquence of speech and the gift of gab.  Churches in Nigeria flippantly elevate people to pastoral positions without giving much thought to the qualifications of pastors established in Scripture. Even Churches that give cursory consideration to some of the requirements stipulated in Titus 1:5-8 and 1 Timothy 3:1-13 for the appointment of Church leaders, those also tend to completely ignore Titus 1:9 and 1 Timothy 3:2 both of which require fidelity to the Word of God and fealty to sound doctrine as important prerequisite for becoming a shepherd of God’s flock. “He must hold firm to the tr...

“Biblical Qualifications of a Pastor” By Akin Ojumu Apostle Paul, writing to Titus, gives us the requisite qualifications a man must have before he can be elevated to the office of an Overseer, i.e., bishop or pastor or elder, in the Church. “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you – if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy Word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:5-9). The Pastoral KSA, i.e., knowledge, skills, and abilities, for becoming a le...

“The State of Our Union is Dire” By Akin Ojumu At the beginning of every calendar year, the President of the United States (POTUS), in fulfilment of his constitutional obligations, addresses a joint session of Congress. During the address, the POTUS gives a report on the current condition of the United States and provides policy proposals for the upcoming legislative year. This is what Americans call the State of the Union (SOTU). Regardless of the true condition of the citizens and their actual daily lived experiences, US Presidents have almost universally characterized the state of the union as “strong” in their SOTU addresses. Till date, the only exception to this rosy and optimistic portrayer of the condition of the nation has been President Gerald Ford. In his 1975 SOTU address, President Ford bluntly told Congress, “The State of the Union is not good.” President Ford gave a brutally honest assessment of the nation under his watch. The country had just struggled through the Waterg...

“Abattoirs of Human Souls” By Akin Ojumu Whether you are one of the faithful few who see some sense in what I write, or you are just a passerby who by share happenstance stumbles on this blog, the palpable stridency in the tone of my commentaries is the outward expression of the flood of adrenaline of indignation pumping into my boiling blood. What makes my blood boil, if you care to know, is seeing the Word of God come under siege by charlatans who have set up shop in the House of God. These rampaging wolves in sheep’s clothing in the Household of Faith are rapacious beasts sent to feast on the soul of God’s people. If you think I have a personal axe to grind with your pastor or your so-called apostle, think again. Your General Overseer has not offended me personally. I’m not, out of envy, trying to pull down your daddy-in-the Lord.  Bitterness is not my motive. Vindictiveness is far from it.  These commentaries are not for self-promotion. My vexations are certainly not for s...

“Christ Is Not Enough Christianity” By Akin Ojumu Mysticism, like every other sinful plot hatched in the dark recesses of the human soul, is rooted in unbelief. What fuels the incessant quest for mystical encounters by a large swathe of Churchgoers in Nigeria is the belief in the demon-spurn lie that the Bible is not enough. Fully convinced that Scripture is inadequate for the attainment of a full spiritual experience as a Christian, a vast majority of people who fill the Church pews in Nigeria set out in pursuit of other things to make up for what they perceive to be lacking. Because for them Christ is not enough, it has to be Christ plus some esoteric experiences. As soon as one does not completely and wholeheartedly and unreservedly trust in the Word of God as absolutely true and the source of our highest joy and greatest good and deepest satisfaction and broadest pleasure and most consummate fulfillment then mistrust has gained a foothold of sin in the heart (John MacArthur). The m...

“A Jesus-like Apparition Visited Joshua Selman” By Akin Ojumu Given the prevalent cultural milieu of myth and mysticism in which it exists, Christianity in Nigeria is largely driven by an insatiable quest for the manifestations of supernatural experiences. Church crusades are commonly advertised with promises of spectacular phenomena and their Holy Ghost conventions are usually promoted with assurances of otherworldly occurrences. Subliminally, a large swathe of Nigerian Christian converts often conflate spiritism with spiritualism. They are programmed to believe that to be spiritual is to have insights into the spirit realm. Because these people come from a background of idol worship, their perception of the Christian faith is shaped by their antecedents in mysticism. Like a moth to a flame, many self-identified Christians in Nigeria are drawn, in droves, to the Myth and Mystery category of Churches scattered all over the country’s landscape. These horror houses appeal to the natural ...

“Frequent-Flying Intergalactic Travelers” By Akin Ojumu Last time in this commentary on the houses of horror that are called Churches in Nigeria, we introduced the Myth and Mystery Churches. We identified them as those spooky spiritual folks who are characterized by mysticism, steeped in mythicism, and suffused with esotericism. Predictably, this rapidly festering strain of corrupted Christianity has found widespread acceptance among Nigerian young adults who are easily drawn to the ecstatic and enthusiastic display of experiential pseudo-spirituality of the Myth and Mystery Churches. Not satisfied with what they regard as mundane Christian experience, impressionable university and secondary school students have fallen for the deception of made-for-TV spectacles common at Myth and Mystery meetings. Presiding over the various denominations that make up this category of Churches are self-styled apostles who boast of having vast knowledge in the secret things of God; knowledge that’s hidd...

Bola Tinubu’s process is a failed national experiment and an adventure in futility that should never have happened.  If Nigerians care at all about their future, they ’ ll bring this  disastrous escapade into the abyss to a quick and painless end.  I can ’ t begin to tell you the heavy price they ’ ll pay if they don ’ t terminate this national catastrophe.

By Akin Ojumu For a variety of reasons, yours truly has not had the time – or to be more exact, created the time – to coalesce my thoughts and refocus on the subject of the houses of horror in Nigeria. I could tell you it’s all because of professional commitment, international travel, or familial obligation. That amounts to making untenable silly excuses. If I’m being honest, there’s really no good excuse for the intermission. It all boils down to laziness. My sincere apology goes to the loyal and faithful members of the African Plume Reading Club who, having had their appetites whet, are now left in suspended animation as they wait in earnest expectation for the Part X of the Nigeria House of Horror to drop. Hopefully, we'd be able to conclude the series in due time. But while we wait for me to gather my thoughts and shake off the cobweb of complacency, let me introduce to you a book I’m reading. Titled “The Christ Key,” this is a book written to demonstrate the centrality of Chri...