A Message Delivered at the 2021 Baccalaureate Service of the Baptist College of Theology, Igede-Ekiti on Sunday, 6th June 2021
Preamble
I am indebted to my friend and brother, Rev. Dr. Dayo Odesola, Rector of the Baptist College of Theology, Igede-Ekiti, and his administrative team, for the invitation to speak at this year’s baccalaureate service of the College. Until his recent appointment as Rector of the College, Dr Odesola was my colleague at the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, where he served selflessly, creditably and diligently as lecturer and chaplain for many years. I am convinced that God’s work at this College will experience a positive turnaround as his servant brings here the same level of passion, selflessness and diligence to his new role. We pray for God’s blessing upon his efforts in Jesus’ name.
I am sorry I am not here in person to deliver this message. The last time I was here was in 2006 when I was invited to lead the spiritual retreat and to speak at that year’s matriculation ceremony. That was in the early days of Dr P. S. Akinbobola’s tenure as Rector of the College. The present invitation gave me joy as I looked forward to being here again to be part of what God is doing. So, I regret my inability to come but believe God will provide us another opportunity to do so.
Introduction
I understand that about 70 students will be graduating this week from the various programmes of the College. I congratulate all of you on the successful completion of your programmes. Heaven would be delighted today as 70 new workers are being released into the vineyard which our Lord Jesus said is ripe unto harvest (John 4: 35). The church of God should be in a celebrative mood today as 70 new pastors and ministers join the workforce to bring in the remaining number of God’s children as we prepare for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, I congratulate the graduands as well as the faculty of the College for all the labour that has made this day possible.
I will be speaking to you in the next few minutes on the topic “Working for God’s Approval”. This topic is based on the words of 2 Timothy 2: 15 which says: “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth”, (NLT). This passage of the Bible is generally acknowledged as being of critical relevance to theological education and to pastoral ministry. The Baptist College of Theology Igede-Ekiti uses it as her focal passage as well as the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso. I wish to use this passage tonight to challenge us on the need to focus our hearts and minds on gaining God’s approval as we go out into the service of the Lord. But before settling to that, I like to quickly address two issues. First, I like to call your attention to some of the realities that characterize the present Nigerian society into which you are graduating to minister. Second, I wish to also raise and briefly discuss the question as to the true meaning of graduation.
The Present Situation of the Nigerian Church
The world is only gradually coming out of a global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a pandemic that seriously disrupted and challenged global and national economies, politics, health, education, among other sectors of human existence. Nigeria survived and is surviving this pandemic only by the grace of God. As we were emerging from the pandemic, Nigeria got hit by a man-made pandemic of far worse proportions namely insecurity and the threat of national disintegration. Life has become cheap in our nation. People now live in fear at home, on the road, in the farms, in schools, in the markets, in the day and in the night. I cannot remember any time in my lifetime that people lived in so much fear as they are now.
In addition to the palpable fear under which our people are living is the threat of national disintegration. Nigerians have become so divided today along ethnic and tribal lines that there is uncertainty whether the nation will survive another twelve months. The critical question to ask is “what should be the role of the church in all of these and how should the church go about it?” “How can the church be an agent of hope and unity in the midst of fear and division?” The people to answer these questions are you and I. Are we sure we are ready for the challenge?
In addition to these problems are two other challenges confronting the church namely persecution and nominalism. In the northern part of Nigeria, the church is confronted by persecution of various shapes and in the south by nominalism. By comparison, nominalism is far worse than persecution, a situation where you have large portions of the church who do not know what Christianity is all about, who do not know what they believe and what they should stand for; a large population of undiscipled membership. This is the present situation of the nation and the church into which you are graduating to minister. What kind of ministers are needed to bring transformation in such critical times as ours?
What is the True Meaning of Graduation?
Let me state at the outset that the kind of ministers required to make a difference in today’s Nigerian church situation are ministers who are thoroughly equipped intellectually, ministerially and spiritually. Only pastors who never stop learning, never stop growing and never stop improving themselves will be able to make lasting contributions to building up the body of Christ and helping it to fulfill its mission in spite of the present challenges.
As you are preparing to graduate, I am sure you feel a great relief that you are completing your programmes of study here at the College. You do not have to hurry back to school from weekend travel and ministry anymore, no more assignments to submit, no more papers to write, no more reading logs to complete, no more examinations. You are finally free from your troublesome lecturers who will not allow you to enjoy yourself. But, is this what graduation means? If this is your idea of graduation, I beg to disappoint you. Graduation is not the end of learning, or end of study, or end of education. Rather, it is the end of one phase of education and the beginning of a new phase of education. It will be better for you to see your graduation this week as matriculation into a different form of education, or the beginning of new form of ministerial training. Let me give you a brief example of what I mean.
I told you before about speaking at the 2006 matriculation service of the BCT, Igede-Ekiti. I have fond memories of my participation at that service, for two reasons. First, the matriculation address I presented at that occasion was later published, actually published twice in different forms. It was first published under the title “Spirituality of Academics” and later revised, rewritten and published in The Theological Educator, a journal of the European Evangelical Accrediting Association under the title “The Relationship between Academic work in Theological and Biblical Studies and Spiritual Formation”.
The second reason I always remember that address is because it was the first paper I typed by myself after learning how to type. I had just finished my PhD in June that year and decided to learn typing during that holiday period. At that time, my wife was teaching typing at Smith International Baptist Academy, the secondary school of the Seminary. I told her I wanted to learn typing. She borrowed a type-writer from a friend and gave me the textbook she was using to teach her junior secondary students and I started my tutorials. I will wake up in the morning, observe morning devotions, take my breakfast and go to the typewriter. I worked hard at it because I was determined to achieve that goal. Before the holiday was over, I was able to learn typing and when I got the invitation to speak at the matriculation, I sat down on my computer and wrote my address in one day.
I tell you this story to illustrate to you the point that graduation is not the end of education. Imagine a fresh PhD graduate, studying and learning from a junior secondary textbook. I cannot fully explain to you in this short message how much the typing skill I learnt during those two months has done for me as an academician and a theological educator, and it was not part of my theological education training. This is how to become a minister that will be effective in the Master’s service. You must continue to learn. You must continue to educate yourself, formally and informally. Let me suggest three ways in which you must continue to learn and educate yourself if you want to be a minister who will receive God’s approval.
Areas for Continuous Learning and Education
1. Intellectual Development
One of the goals theological education is intended to achieve is the training of the mind. This is important because the minister needs to be someone who can think deeply about issues and come up with solutions. The minister needs to be someone who can identify problems, investigate them and develop strategies for responding to them. The training Jesus provided for his disciples included the training of the mind. That was why when Peter and John provided a defense of their faith and teaching before the Jewish council, they wondered how they could speak so articulately and confidently not having received any education. The Bible stated the answer to this puzzle with the statement “and they took note that these men have been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13, NIV). On the other hand, Paul wrote to Timothy the words we cited before “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth”, (NLT). Paul charged Timothy to be a good worker, that is, a competent worker, a worker who is so competent at his duty that he has no cause to be ashamed of his work.
Your teachers have worked hard to help you grow intellectually. You must now continue this journey on your own as you graduate. Some students throw away or abandon their books after graduation. Anyone who does this cannot become a competent minister. Make time now to read your books and notes. You should work hard to improve your handling of the word of God, your interpretation of the Bible; your preaching and teaching must continue to improve.
By now you should have identified some of your weak points. This is time to work to improve on those areas. Some of you will need to continue to work on your communication skills, both in English and Yoruba. If there are English words you cannot pronounce properly, spend time now to work on them. You will need it for your next level.
You need to continue to improve your understanding of Christian doctrine and Baptist doctrine. You will be the one to answer people’s questions from now on. You need to continue growing so you do not lead them into the bush. Intellectual development is one area you will need to continue to improve yourself in order to receive God’s approval.
2. Ministerial Development
The pastor that will receive God’s approval is one who carries out the work of the ministry with competence. Administration and leadership are primary functions of the pastor. I must tell you that the training you have received does not give you everything you need to know about administration and leadership. For example, how much do you know now about budgeting and financial management? How much do you know now about charting a vision for your church and ministry? How much do you know about mobilizing human and material resources to achieve your set objectives? You need to work to improve yourself in these areas.
Counselling is a core function of the pastor, whether marital counselling, premarital counselling, career counselling or crisis counselling. I must also burst your bubble again. The training you have received did not teach you everything you need to know to do a thorough job of counselling. You need to continue to work on these areas.
You need to continue to work on improving your skill in worship planning and leadership. Some of our worship services are not properly planned and coordinated. This also you must continue to learn and improve if you want to be a workman who is not ashamed of his work and who will receive the Lord’s approval.
3. Spiritual Development
A minister who will receive God’s approval must be a growing Christian who is daily learning from the Master and living to please him. Mark 3: 13-15 reveals to us the divine strategy in the making of effective ministers of the Gospel. The Bible says Jesus chose the 12 apostles first that they might be with him. Being with Christ must come before working for Christ. The strategy is still the same. The ministry of the church has become powerless and ineffective today because there are so many ministers who have placed working for Christ before being with Christ and learning from Christ. As you prepare to graduate you must realize that an important secret for your success in the ministry is being in tune with the Lord of the ministry, who alone knows what you need to do or what you need to say to produce the results he wants from you. If God does not use you to grow his church, that church will not grow. Except the Lord steps in and anoints you with his power and grace, your best efforts will fall short of what is required to get the job done. Learn to seek the face of God on a daily basis. Learn to read and meditate on your Bible for your own personal benefit, not just when you are preparing a sermon. Learn to fellowship with him and to receive instructions from him. Learn to follow his leading and you will become a minister who has no need to be ashamed and who will receive God’s approval.
Conclusion
As you prepare to graduate this week, I congratulate you all for the work you have done. My prayer is that the Lord who has helped you to start well will also help you to continue in this path of excellence until you become who he wants you to be.
May God bless you all.