He ran out as the pastor gave the altar call.
Everybody in the hall was stunned.
He was very popular in the neighborhood, everyone knew him as a bad guy.
He smoked, inhaled & injected everything.
He was drugs personified!
But he gave his life to Jesus that day.
When he walked into the church that Sunday morning, some people walked out.
He was trouble & they didn't want to be caught in any cross fire.
He was the center of attention.
Even the cameras were focused on him.
The pastor knew him & had been praying for him.
He was a big fish...
If he could get converted, the other small fish around would easily do so too, the pastor thought.
So, when he walked into the hall that morning, the pastor was elated!
He knew he had an opportunity to land a big one for Jesus.
He gave it his best shot- he preached with his all..
And he made the altar call.
The guy stood up, tears streaming down his face.
He ran out.
17 people gave their lives to Jesus that day.
But he was the one on everybody's lips.
It was like Satan Iscariot himself becoming a Christian!
Pastor was overjoyed!
Everybody was happy!
He started attending Church regularly.
He was slowly but surely changing within.
The word of God was touching him, chipping away the old man, revealing the new.
But there was a problem!
He was having a difficulty with drugs.
He found it hard to stop!
He'd stay off for a week...
But he'd see himself going back to it again.
He wept.
He fasted.
He prayed.
He told the pastor about his challenges.
The pastor prayed for him.
The pastor took him as a personal project.
He wanted to see him grow up as a sound Christian.
His testimony would be great, he imagined!
After about 6 months of oscillating between victory & failure, he came to see the pastor.
He had a request:
He wants to be a Church worker.
The pastor asked which department he would want to work in.
"The Choir, sir. I want to use my voice to glorify God", he responded...
Pastor knew he had a very good voice.
He wouldn't even need much training.
He'd be a good addition to the choir, pastor thought.
But this drug addiction he doesn't seem to have the power to break totally from...
How would it look?
What would people say?
It'd be bad optics!
But then, pastor knows this guy is genuinely saved.
His problem is known & seen: drugs.
Everybody knew he still took drugs once in a while.
But the other people in the choir may not necessarily be any better- nobody really knows what they do when nobody is watching...
Now, f you are the pastor, what will you do?
Will you allow him join the choir & not be concerned about the bad optics?
Or if the pastor asks you for advice, what will you say?
Or if you're a member of the church & you hear this guy wants to join the choir, what will you do?
🤔
What really is the criteria for being in a visible ministry in church?
Would you rather such a person joins the "Grounds & Parks Department", where they just direct traffic?
Or even the "Decorations Department" where he wouldn't be seen?
What are your thoughts?
Let's do this!
😇
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I worked on a site in Abuja years ago.
An Okada guy would drop off his wife on the site with her food to sell to the workers in the morning & come pick her later in the day when she's done selling.
He would hug her before leaving after dropping her in the morning...
Many years ago, I sat in the car with my then girlfriend around 10pm.
I just drove her home after we hung out that day.
This was about 2 weeks before we got married.
We were just gisting, laughing & enjoying each other's company...
Then I asked her a question:
"Babe, if we ever get into a fight & you feel I have gone MAD & you can't reach me again, who do you think you can call to talk to me?
Who do you KNOW that no matter how MAD I get, I will ALWAYS listen to because of the RESPECT I have for him/her?"
She responded with a name...
She didn't even THINK about it: she just mentioned the name as soon as I asked.
Her response gladdened my heart: she KNEW I had a RESTRAINER.
She knew I was not a headless man who had no RESPECT for AUTHORITY.
She was comfortable knowing her man was under CONTROL...
Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.
From the time he left office, his next ambition was to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It took him 16 years & 4 Election Cycles to get there.
He understood TIMES & SEASONS...
That IS wisdom, folks.
Now, look at Atiku Abubakar who had been running for the same office since 1992.
He has been on the Ballot several times, but he NEVER won it.
Why?
He does NOT understand TIMES & SEASONS!
That IS foolishness.
He lacks the capacity to THINK & STRATEGIZE!
Atiku Abubakar ALWAYS throws his hat in the Ring, crossing from one Party to another in search of a Presidential Ticket.
And whenever he gets it & is on the Ballot, he LOSES.
He WILL get the ADC Ticket in 2027.
But he WILL lose as he always does.
I built an 11 unit Estate in Abuja in 2019 & needed electricity meters for the houses.
I went to see the MD of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Engineer Ernest a Zambian & he told me to talk to the AEDC Area Manager about it.
I did, he told me they had no meters available.
I called the MD & put it on speaker.
MD told him, "you KNOW we have over 20,000 meters in the store! Why do you folks keep telling customers we don't have metres???"
It was a Friday.
The MD told the Area Manager: "if that estate doesn't have meters by Monday, heads WILL roll!"
Monday, 9am I got to the site.
10 meters had been installed, they were on the 11th.
They begged me to wait for them to finish with it before calling their MD.
You wonder why the Zambian MD had more sense & was more easily accessible than the Nigerians under him...?
Bola Tinubu is an interesting character.
He makes his detractors & opponents underestimate him on purpose.
He has this demeanour of a dour sleepy Man with half a brain, but he is FAR from that!
He is a very deep thinker & master strategist.
He always KNOWS what he's doing...
Do you remember the song, "hand dey shake, leg dey shake, Baba wey no well...🎵"?
The Opposition thought he was going senile!
When he presented the 2025 Budget to the National Assembly, he made a Freudian slip (or so we thought): he called them the 11th National Assembly...
I think today y'all should KNOW he was DELIBERATE! He ended his speech with, "That means you are ALL reelected!"
They gave him a standing ovation!
That man ALWAYS KNOWS what he is doing, folks.
Underestimate him at your peril!