Thursday, April 2, 2009

BAMGBOLA TAKES OVER AS LAGOS PFN CHAIRMAN


He comes to the office with an acute awareness that his experiences in the secular world count for nothing in what he sees as a strictly spiritual assignment. I have no agenda of my own, he told reporters. “I shall depend completely on the Holy Spirit all through my tenure”, he said.


Apostle Alexander Bamgbola is the new Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Lagos Chapter.. He succeeds Pastor Wale Adefarasin of Guiding Light Assembly, Ikoyi who has recently completed a single two-year term.

Bamgbola, an erstwhile top-flight banker who voluntarily retired as CEO of Victory Merchant Bank in 1993 after 20 years in the banking sector, he is the Overseer of Zion The City of The Lord's Ministries, Obalende, Lagos, a ministry he founded in 1999.

A widely travelled man, he comes to the office with an acute awareness that his experiences in the secular world count for nothing in what he sees as a strictly spiritual assignment. I have no agenda of my own, he told reporters. “I shall depend completely on the Holy Spirit all through my tenure”, he said.

In a congratulatory message to the new helmsman, Pastor Remi Akano, Editor-in-Chief, KINGDOMPeople magazine and this newsletter, who served with him on the Editorial Board of Nigeria Banking Annual (Incorporating Who’s who in Banking), recalled Bamgbola’s humble mien and godly comportment even during his days of great banking exploits, and wish him a successful tenure.

NIGERIAN WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD HEALED


“One lady testified tonight that she had suffered with a constant issue of blood for the past 15 years. This would be a torment for anyone, but how much worse for someone who lives in the primitive and unsanitary conditions of the third-world..She had been to doctors and hospitals, but no one could help her. Then she heard that a Bonnke crusade had come to Bali.On the first night of the Crusade (Wednesday) at midnight the menstruation stopped flowing. From that moment on, she was healed..


Of course, you remember her, the woman with the issue of blood! Dr Luke, the apostle recorded her story in the Bible Book of Luke Chapter 8, verses 43-48. She had haemorrhaged continuously for 12 years before meeting the Saviour. But this is her twenty-first century sister and she’s in Nigeria!

According to a report on the weblog of Daniel Kolenda, one of Reinhardt Bonnke’s travelling partners, she received her healing at a recent Crusade of Christ for All Nations held in Bali

Kolenda’s report: “One lady testified tonight that she had suffered with a constant issue of blood for the past 15 years. This would be a torment for anyone, but how much worse for someone who lives in the primitive and unsanitary conditions of the third-world, where even running water is a luxury that none can afford. She had been to doctors and hospitals, but no one could help her.

"Then she heard that a Bonnke crusade had come to Bali. She said that her husband refused to go and even refused to give her any money to make the long journey. Determined to receive her healing, she persisted like the woman in the Bible who also had an issue of blood. She sold her skirt to pay for the transportation and travelled all the way alone. On the first night of the Crusade (Wednesday, March 11) at midnight the menstruation stopped flowing. From that moment on, she was healed and came tonight (two days later, Friday March 13) to testify of her healing”

AMACHREE, LONDON COUNCIL STAFF SUSPENDED FOR DISCUSSING HIS FAITH


Amachree recalled that the woman aged about 30, “was in a state of absolute despair. It was out of compassion that I said to her: 'Sometimes the doctors don't have all of the answers. I suggested she could put her faith in God. I said 'Sometimes we read in newspapers, or see on television, instances where doctors have declared a patient's condition incurable but they went on and recovered'."


A spirit of the anti-Christ has struck once again at a London, England, borough council, leaving 53-year-old Duke Amachree, a Nigerian by birth, jobless – at least for now.

Amachree, a Homelessness Prevention officer with Wandsworth Council, was suspended on January 28 for discussing his faith with a client. He had worked in the council for almost 18 years.

Agency reports say Amachree’s problem began on January 26 with a visit to his office by an unnamed woman described as having an “incurable bowel condition” who approached him for advice in his official capacity. For 50 minutes they discussed her concerns that she was going to have to move out of her privately-rented flat because her landlord was selling it. The woman, an artist, was hoping she could find alternative accommodation nearer a hospital, where she could be treated for her illness.

Amachree recalled that the woman aged about 30, “was in a state of absolute despair. It was out of compassion that I said to her: 'Sometimes the doctors don't have all of the answers. I suggested she could put her faith in God. I said 'Sometimes we read in newspapers, or see on television, instances where doctors have declared a patient's condition incurable but they went on and recovered'."

The woman was said to have replied that faith doesn’t seem to work for her and that she had accepted her condition and was willing to live with it. Amachree, who worships at the UK World Evangelism Church in London, remembered that “she then smiled, thanked him and left.”

But two days later Amachree was approached by his line manager who escorted him to see Roy Evans, the council's director of housing. In the presence of a personnel officer, Amachree says he was handed a two-page letter of suspension. He was accused of making “a long and aggressive religious rant” against the seriously-ill woman, in defiance of past warning not to raise his religious beliefs with members of the public.

Amachree recalled that moment on January 28: "I was stunned. I was speechless. It was a like a bad dream. I could not believe it. I was so stunned I could not even bring myself to tell my wife what had happened." Since then, the £30,000 per annum, married father of two young children has been out of work, in spite of two further meeting with his employers. "This is a worrying time for me," he said.

Michael Phillips, a solicitor working with the Christian Legal Centre CLC, which is representing Amachree, was present at the latest meeting on March 17. He told newsmen: “Mr Amachree's employers told him that 'God had to be kept out of the workplace'. He was accused of crossing boundaries. The issue of religion, according to the interviewer, should not be raised in a housing issue."

Mr Phillips said he queried this statement by asking if "God bless" would be an appropriate comment. He says he was told that it would not be appropriate and that any complaint would again lead to an investigation.

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council, run by the Conservative Party, said in a terse statement: "A serious allegation has been made against a member of staff by a member of the public, which is currently being investigated as a disciplinary matter. The allegation is that the member of staff gave wholly inappropriate and unprofessional advice to a very sick person who has an incurable illness, which caused great upset and distress. Until our investigation is concluded, the member of staff remains suspended."

Amachree's legal team is waiting to hear the outcome of the internal council inquiry before deciding on the next step in a legal action planned against the council decision, which he says effectively "privatises" Christian faith and is against his human rights.

Andrea Williams, the director of the CLC said: "We are supporting Mr Amachree in this case because it is absurd to think that any public body could be in a position to enforce a policy which means that you can't even say 'God Bless'.
"This would effectively mean that faith would become entirely privatised. A Christian cannot leave faith out of any aspect of his or her life including work."

An anti-Christ spirit has been on the rampage in public institutions in the UK lately. Last November, Caroline Petrie, a 45-year-old nurse from North Somerset, was suspended for offering to pray for an elderly patient's recovery from illness. Mrs Petrie, also a Christian, was accused of failing to demonstrate a "personal and professional commitment to equality and diversity", but she was later reinstated by her employers, the North Somerset Primary Care Trust.

Similarly, a primary school receptionist Jennie Cain remains under disciplinary investigation after the headmaster got hold of a copy of her private prayer email to friends. Mrs Cain had asked friends to pray about her five year old daughter Jasmine, who had been reprimanded by a teacher at the school for discussing her faith with another pupil. The headmaster informed Mrs Cain that she was under investigation for professional misconduct and could be subject to disciplinary action up to dismissal.

Also last year, a highly experienced Christian foster carer had her name struck off by a council carers’ list because she allowed a Muslim teenager in her care to convert to Christianity.

CHURCH UNITY GETS A BOOST

...It is already generating a lot of excitement as it will mark the official merger of the 75-million-strong WARC and the 12-million-strong REC after years of talks.


Church unity, described by many as one of the greatest items in God’s end-time agenda, got a boost recently as the two largest Reformed Church bodies in the world took a major step towards unification.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) on Wednesday launched a website (www.reformedchurches.org), which focuses on the schedule of activities that will happen before, during and after the creation of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

Although the meeting of the merger body, the Uniting General Council (UGC), is still more than a year away, it is already generating a lot of excitement as it will mark the official merger of the 75-million-strong WARC and the 12-million-strong REC after years of talks.

A Christian Post report recalled that the REC initiated the merger in July 2005 after seven years of bilateral talks with WARC. Things moved swiftly from then on with leaders of the two fellowships recommending ,less than six months later ,that the church bodies begin to take steps leading to the forming of a larger group to succeed both.

In March 2007, REC’s executive committee approved the idea of a new Reformed body, which will be the largest association of Reformed Churches in the world, later consolidating plans with WARC leaders in October 2008.

After the formalizing the merger at the upcoming gathering, June 18-28, 2010, the new Reformed body intends to invite movements, agencies and theological institutions of the Reformed movement to become affiliates of the group.

Aside from making the merger official, the joint gathering, titled "Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace," will address a range of issues, including Reformed identity, theology and communion, Christian community and ecumenical engagement, justice in the economy and on earth, worship and spiritual renewal, leadership development, gender justice, and empowerment of youth.

At the moment, more than 1,000 delegates, guests, volunteers and staff are expected to attend the meeting at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. Women and youth will hold additional events just prior to the meeting.