An incident happened in my compound few weeks ago between me and the young man hired to mow my lawn. He is very good at his job, except that he hardly follows instruction when it comes to trimming the flowers. My lofty dream of nurturing some plants to a particular height doesn’t seem to fit his mindset. His mind is made as to the height of those plants. Very skillful and knowledgeable about what to do but strongly lacking in comradeship. I was about picking quarrels with him again when the Lord took my mind to the rebuilding team put together by Nehemiah.
Between my Gardner and Nehemiah’s team God taught me that it is not enough to have a great team who know their jobs and are armed with the right set of skills, the team must be willing and obedient. Unlike my Gardner who takes pride in his skill, to truly mobilize the Church for right impact across the world, the church must work harmoniously, brick to brick, bolts and locks – leaving nothing unattended to. “So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half of its height, for the people had a mind to work.” Neh. 4:6
Not all Nehemiah’s team members were builders. Some were perfumers, goldsmiths, politicians, priests, merchants, all kinds of professionals. I was savouring this breakthrough team when I arrived Abuja with my own team of planners, preachers, writers, artists, drivers, chefs, musicians, photographers, recordists, and several others to execute the M2414Summit. Attended by hundreds of participants (though far less than we had hoped and planned for) the Summit witnessed incredible utterance and insights from God’s servants.
Building the wall was their collaborative call, and doing it together was of utmost joy to them. Like Uncle Nehemiah, we also had months of planning and praying. All that came to crescendo last week as we successfully held M2414Summit 2018 edition at Asokoro Foursquare Gospel Church. Every session was a treasure of sort. “If this Summit is called again next week or month I will attend” says one of the leaders. “I am awed by the quality of the word and practicality of the instructions”, he concluded. Every speaker, every planner, and every team member were on course at the Summitto heed God’s call: Mobilize your Church; Multiply your impact.
The Summit calls for a new generation of believers who will respond to Evangelist Matthew Owojaiye’s concern “It’s true that we are carrying the Jesus gene in us but the question is when will it manifest? When are we going to truly live our lives for Him?” While calling for national rebirth, Dr. Ilechukwu wonders if what he terms our national prayer (the second stanza of our national anthem) is answered, what kind of nation will be born.
Certainly, God wants to reach the world with his saving grace through His Body. But first the Church must hear and obey God’s word for herself before shoveling it down the throat of this sinful world. A broken, fractured and bleeding church needs God’s fresh touch and grace to serve as healing agents to the rest of the world. The Church has never lacked the strategy to win the world for Christ… This strategy is called the Great Commission” Dr. Ayokunle, the CAN National President opined.
Like Nehemiah led the team that rebuilt Jerusalem wall, God is calling everyone in the Church to do his or her own bit. And at the Summit, everyone did just that to fulfill God’s call because M2414 Team had the mind to work. It is such a humbling experience to see that we heeded the holy order to get the church mobilized and empowered the Body for maximum impact.
