My first exposure to a Christian community was a gathering led by one person. He was the pastor, whose sole role was to preach on Sundays. He rarely attended training workshops. Nor was he involved in further studies. There was also no commitment from him to raise up elders or engage in evangelism. That church fits something Timothy Whitmer labels “bishop-ism.” You can see forms of this across Africa, where the one-man show is far too often a true description of local churches. Whether this man takes the title of apostle, prophet, or bishop, among others, his authority is absolute.…
Author: King Jaja
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The Nigerian hurdles sensation, Tobi Amusan, claimed victory in the women’s 100m hurdles at the African Games in Ghana on Wednesday with an impressive time of 12.89 seconds. Amusan encountered a false-start scare during the initial race attempt, which could have led to her disqualification. Nevertheless, the officials decided to go easy on her and issued her a yellow card instead. With that victory, she secured her third consecutive African Games championship. Amusan emerged victorious over Sidonie Fiadanantsoa of Madagascar, who finished in second place with a time of 13.19 seconds. Faith Osamuyi from Nigeria narrowly missed securing a spot…
With Rachel Dolezal in the news again after being fired from her job, it seems like a great time to talk about what in the Creole language lexicon is known as passé noir. This phenomenon has been going on in Louisiana and elsewhere for centuries. This lesser-known, seldom-discussed passing phenomenon is where whites pass into blackness. One recent passé noir has been Rachel Dolezal. Her passing as black set off a firestorm of hatred that ruined her reputation and lost her a prestigious job at the NAACP. She was the target of ridicule and animus from both the black and…
Many Nigerians and observers of Nigerian politics reacted with a mix of outrage and disbelief when, last November, it emerged that a supplementary budget by the Bola Tinubu administration had earmarked upward of one hundred million dollars for imported sport utility vehicles (SUVs) at a cost of more than $150,000 each for the country’s 460-odd lawmakers. Pressed to defend the costs at a time when a majority of Nigerians were struggling to put food on the table, some of the lawmakers argued, without any irony, that the vehicles were essential to the performance of their everyday jobs, citing “the ability…
In this post, we discuss some of the most incredible towns and cities on the Camino de Santiago the French Way. These are all great stops for rest days during your Camino Francés pilgrimage through northern Spain. The Camino de Santiago is a network of pilgrimage routes that start in different places across Europe and finish at the tomb of the Apostle St.James in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Mountain scenery on the Camino Frances in the Pyrenees between the towns St Jean Pied de Port and Roncesvalles. This is not just a long hike, it is a pilgrimage followed by millions since…
Boats full of African migrants set sail from North and West African shores destined for Europe. Whether they reach their destinations or not, climate is to blame. In life so in death: climate and environmental factors are, paradoxically at once, the drivers, the detractors, and the solutions to the “pathology” of human mobility. Countless pirogues leave Senegalese and Mauritanian shores—and many more flayk and dingy boats leave Moroccan shorelines headed for the Canary Islands. Others in the backway enter Dante’s nine circles of Hell in the Sahara Desert before embarking on perilous journeys in the Mediterranean Sea. Climate vagaries, amplified…
Arsenal’s Thomas Partey in action by Thando Mpembe Tuesday Mar 05, 2024. 17:04 Arsenal FC manager Mikel Arteta has reacted to Thomas Partey’s return after four months on the sidelines due to injury.The Ghana international came on as a second-half substitute as the Gunners hammered Sheffield United 6-0 in a Premier League game played at Bramall Lane on Monday night.Arteta also made it known that Partey will have to fight to re-cement his place in the London giants’ starting line-up. “Today obviously Thomas is available now to play a certain number of minutes,” the Spanish tactician said on the club’s…
The average person’s thumb travels the equivalent of two marathons a year, scrolling through social media. The average person; not just teens or twenty-somethings! What would the ancient writer of Ecclesiastes have said of the amount of time we spend on TikTok, X, YouTube, and Instagram? He had everything he desired—pleasure, possessions, passion, and palaces—and denied himself nothing. Any millennial influencer would drool in envy. Yet, as he considered all he had acquired and achieved under the sun, he lamented that it failed to provide meaning (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). Pointless. Unfulfilling. A chasing of the wind. How much more so the…
What fuels your passion to advocate against gender-based violence? We cannot discuss gender equality and gender-based violence in the same sentence. Likewise, we cannot discuss children and violence in the same breath. This is what fuels my passion, along with my own personal experience of being violated and knowing how it feels. This is why I felt compelled to break my silence. Many women and young girls remain silent, not because they want to, but because they believe no one else will hear their voices. Do you sense a shift in attitudes towards gender equality? We now have more people…
Every institution needs leadership not only to set up the vision and goals of the institution but to also give guidance on how to live out and achieve the goals of that institution. Modern leadership training comes in a variety of models, with different emphases depending on the goals of each institution. But Christian leadership is different, and training should be guided by three basic biblical principles or values: 1. The Call to Shepherd The apostles of the early church give us a good sense of what’s involved in leading God’s people. One of the instructions Paul gives to the…