The Millionaire on God’s Payroll.

Rows of sick people queue up one afternoon in downtown Lagos. There are people with crutches, mothers with crying babies, a couple of wheelchair-bound people and several with bad coughs. This is not a hospital; it’s a sports center. And they are not waiting to see a doctor; they are here to see a priest. 

T.B. Joshua is one of Nigeria’s most controversial clergymen. Besides claiming to have a direct line to God, this 52-year-old has been performing so-called “healing miracles” for 20 years. Call him the Oprah of evangelism, the African case study in the kind of mass preaching that much of America is so famous for; he has his own TV shows, two million Facebook fans, sold-out events and branded merchandise. And like Oprah, he’s rich as hell. The latest estimates put his wealth at about $150 million. His church has branches all over the world, from the U.K. to Australia. He often goes on what he calls “Miracle Crusades” to other nations, and he claims that more than a million people have paid to attend his Tony Robbins–style seminars worldwide.

Joshua is certainly not the only millionaire priest in Nigeria. Over the past 15 years, televangelism has taken over the country, and Pentecostalism — a Christian renewal movement that emphasizes a direct, personal experience of God — is booming across the entire African continent, as well as in Latin America.

His pastoral style is sui generis. Joshua, who didn’t respond to OZY’s requests for comment, doesn’t preach that much. Rather, for a few minutes, he screams into the microphone, often prophesying what is to come — wisdom garnered from the latest chat with God. (He claims he foresaw the September 11 terrorist attacks.) Then, he takes his powers away from the mic and toward the sick, praying over the bodies of the afflicted and asking God to release the object of his prayer from cancer, syphilis, whatever disease it may be.

Chimbiebere Stanley Okah, 42, one of Joshua’s followers, tells us that he found the preacher through TV and was convinced when he saw one of Joshua’s “miracles” — healing a man from baldness with a sip of water. “I’ve seen countless miracles,” Okah says. “His preaching is flawless.” As for Joshua’s critics? “I have nothing to say,” Okah tells us. “The Holy Book teaches us to love even our enemies.”

It would be churlish to paint all of Joshua’s followers as naive or wooden-headed. “It’s hard to believe you can run on empty claims for over 20 years,” Marshall says. Those who come to Joshua are, after all, seekers; many have prayed and dreamed for years on end. Like Paul Ighodaro, 37, a Nigerian living in Greece. A composer, singer and writer, Ighodaro tells us about a vision he had: A son of God would appear in Nigeria. Ighodaro himself began to spread this word, which brought him to Emmanuel TV and Joshua. “I know the signature of God when I see one,” he writes. Ighodaro doesn’t even need to go to Joshua’s church, he says — he never has attended. He’s seen himself in Joshua’s congregation in a dream, wearing the choir garment. But don’t think he’s just relying on visions to connect with Joshua. Ighodaro credits the internet most of all. 

Courtesy: Laura Secorun Palet,Ozy Sun, Sep 18 1:00 AM PDT .

Miracles Happen on the Platform of Hard Work.

Remember the paralyzed man in the Biblical Capernaum, how he was carried by four of men? They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, yet the men refused to give up. They made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. Among other things, it was their hard work along with faith that impressed Jesus who then said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

What about the wedding at Cana in Galilee where Jesus turned water into wine? Most times, people don’t refer to the efforts of the servants who had to fill six stone jars to the brim with water, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

And lest we forget the encounter a widow had with Prophet Elisha. The prophet could have performed some “abracadabra” to make the jar become multiplied in numbers. Rather, he directed her to first go get a lot of empty vessels (which she borrowed from neighbors). It was only then the poor woman was able to fill all the vessels with oil.  

Out there are too many folks who are practically folding their arms while waiting for some miracles to happen in their careers, marriages, relationships, business ventures and life generally. They call it faith. But ask them what they are doing to bring about the manifestation of their faiths and they glare at you as if you are of little faith. They see great things happening in the lives of others and automatically attribute them to some mere luck. If only they can move closer to behold the other persons’ many painstaking efforts.   

will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas) & "The Four Amigos."

Most times, celebrities get on my nerves. Why so? They are vain, self-loving, self-admiring, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, conceited, self-centered, self-regarding and grossly egotistic. Many of them (especially the blacks) don’t even care a hoot about giving back to their communities.

It was therefore with an impressive and appreciative heart that I read about the great, heroic feat performed by will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.

In 2009, four high school students from Delaware (my awesome state), Elijah, Darien, Jaiquann and Barien were accepted into their dream universities. But there was a mutual problem. They could not afford the costs. This was in spite of the fact that these young men were Field & Track stars and top academic students. In fact, they were said to have worked assiduously in a bid to help their respective single mothers.

Two of the boys, twins Darien and Barien (their father was in jail) went further to continually motivate the others to keep their grades up.

"Well, I've tried to learn from my dad's negative decisions,” Barren said. “…and it has influenced me to strive in school, and to get good grades…"

Then fate intervened one day. The young men were invited to share their story with Oprah. That was where they got the biggest “pleasant shocks” of their lives. Black Eyed Peas star (will.i.am) stepped in and gave all four boys the first-ever “i.am scholarships” that covered their tuition, books and fees for four years.



 

Trust Oprah. She did a follow-up with the young men. This was to find out how the boys were doing today. They filmed a video update, calling themselves "the four amigos."

Barien is now in his second year of pharmacy school. He will be graduating in 2016.

Elijah graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in May. "I want to get into the architectural field, so it's just been a lot of years of hard work," he declared joyfully.

Jaiquann earned his degree in education from Cabrini College and is now a teacher. He admits that he was holding back tears when he found about the scholarship.

Darien is currently attending Morgan State University in Baltimore with plans to graduate with an industrial engineering degree next year fortune enough to have a full-time position lined up for once I graduate."

Although will.i.am is the greatest hero here, the young men also deserve some commendations. They did not just cry for help. When the help finally came, the young men did not disappoint their benefactor. These great acts are worthy of emulation by the many other celebrities out there and the numerous young black folks who are desirous of a better life.

 

 

 

Everyone is a Miracle.

What Do You Believe in the Bible?

It's funny how many of us Christians love certain books or sections of the Holy Bible while ignoring those we detest.

For instance, there are people who will always stay away from the Book of Exodus only because it contains the Ten Commandments. And these are the reasons why:

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

- Tell that to those who are so emotionally weak that they swear and curse every micro-second of their lives due to the most minor form of frustrations.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

- Yeah right! It’s on a Sunday that a whole lot of people engage in the most dirty forms of recreations…illicit sex, substance abuse, etc. 

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

- Unfortunately, there are too many temptations out there (including houses of worships) beyond the control of lots of people, especially men. 

8. Thou shalt not steal.

- Let’s hope the stealing of office stationery is not included.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

-Mischievous people hate this commandment as if it is a plague.

10. Thou shalt not covet.

- This is similar to adultery except that eyeing someone else’s wife or husband is worse.

As for pastors, many of them love to quote excitedly from the Book of Malachi all because of a tiny line about the payment of Tithes. The same pastors however will not be found dead quoting from the Book of John Chapter 2 (verses 1-11) where Jesus turned water into wine. 

Now, the trick of some pastors is to quickly point out that the wine produced by Jesus (through miracle) was non-alcoholic. For God’s sake, it has been proven that non-alcoholic wine did not exist until thousands of years after the transition of Jesus!

It is very important for us as Christians to always keep in mind, the primary purpose of the Holy Bible as a message about salvation. It’s primary sphere of authority is salvation. And it is a sufficient guide that tells us how we might be given eternal life with God. 

Such a great book therefore cannot be turned into a tool by any individual to serve a selfish or personal purpose.