Archive for the 'Purpose' Category

Nov 24 2009

Church Relevance 2

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Amos 5:21-14 (The Message Translation)
“I can’t stand your religious meetings.
I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice–oceans of it.
I want fairness–rivers of it.
That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”
How else can we ensure oceans of justice and rivers of fainess without accurate representation in the executive, judiciary and legislative arms of government? How can we take responsibility for doing what God wants when we have strategically placed it out of our reach?
What was God really upset with here, and what was he saying the priorities should be? I think it’s clear, don’t you think so? I think it’s so clear we might need to have to hire someone to decieve us. God is not interested in religious meetings, conferences or conventions. He doesn’t want anything to do with religious projects or pretentious slogans. He’s had enough of fund-raising schemes, public relations and image making stunts. He’s not interested in celebrity ego-music, he wants people to sing to him not about themselves or to themselves. More importantly he wants an abundance of justice and fairness – virtues we may never be able to model without playing an active role in the polity of the nation.
Don’t get me wrong, the Church in Nigeria has tried. We have supported and built a few orphanages, we have created Jobs for many people in the Church industry, we have converted unproductive warehouses into development and production centres, we have kept a lot of young minds busy, rather than idle-ing away their sunday mornings and midweek evennings. Some of the more noble ones among us have even gone further to venture in education, health, communities and all. We have tried, or haven’t we? What worries me however is not what we have done, but what we have done compared to what we could have done! What we have done compared to what we can do! And what we have left undone! All that we do and have done pales into near insignificance when compared to what a serving governor can achieve in a few months of his/her administration. We need credible people to lead us, and what it means is that you and I must be interested, and the church cannot be silent participants anymore. We can give billions to support certain courses, but if the head is sick our investments on any part of the body will soon rot.
Oh, I understand and do know history, I know how in the past the church of God became nothing else but a political gathering, and I know that the fear of that error is enough to completely take one’s hands off it. However, the same way the church has learnt that money itself is not a bad thing, but the lust after it without recourse to ethics is what is wrong, in the same way, we must assure ourselves that if all we do is fold our fingers in the time of voting, we’ll continue to be ruled by wickedness. If we cease to be light, then our lack of expression gives permission to darkness. This is not a clarion call for community development, this is a call for taking political leadership. “Nigerian politics is dirty”, is so common a phrase, my question is how will it ever get clean if those who ought to be making change happen run away from it? The church in Nigeria has gotten more enlightened in the last 20yrs about it’s members taking their rightful place in the economy, today however we must with the same zeal and fire enlighten and empower ourselves to advance into leadership. It is shameful to have 5 star churches and worldclass catedrals in an underdeveloped country. We need to move to action, or we’ll lose our place. Or isn’t the government meant to rest on the shoulders of the body of christ?

Amos 5:21-14 (The Message Translation)

“I can’t stand your religious meetings.

I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions.

I want nothing to do with your religion projects,

your pretentious slogans and goals.

I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,

your public relations and image making.

I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.

When was the last time you sang to me?

Do you know what I want?

I want justice–oceans of it.

I want fairness–rivers of it.

That’s what I want. That’s all I want.”

How else can we ensure oceans of justice and rivers of fairness without accurate representation in the executive, judiciary and legislative arms of government? How can we take responsibility for doing what God wants when we have strategically placed it out of our reach?

What was God really upset with here, and what was he saying the priorities should be? I think it’s clear, don’t you think so? I think it’s so clear we might need to have to hire someone to deceive us. God is not interested in religious meetings, conferences or conventions. He doesn’t want anything to do with religious projects or pretentious slogans. He’s had enough of fund-raising schemes, public relations and image making stunts. He’s not interested in celebrity ego-music, he wants people to sing to him not about themselves or to themselves. More importantly he wants an abundance of justice and fairness – virtues we may never be able to model without playing an active role in the polity of the nation. Continue Reading »

17 responses so far

Nov 12 2009

Bankers, Ticketing Agents and Sewing Machines

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Advert : Be a Part of This Fantastic Opportunity

It’s been a while I have been brooding on this topic, and I do not mean to personally attack anybody or any profession. What you are about to read may upset you, it may also set you free and motivate you. I have learnt however that life is made up of what we choose. Many students often attend the same class and get different grades, it’s not because the teacher  taught them different things, it’s because of the choices they made. Usually, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

These three, Bankers, Ticketing Agents and Sewing Machines have one stricking similarity. I know because I have been around many bankers and have a good number as friends,  I have also worked with an airline and even drawn up job descriptions for ticketing agents. I also grew up watching my mum use a sewing machine. Their point of similarity is a sobering reality. A reality that every one of you reading this mail must make it a point of duty to break away from. It must be your prayer point, a strong desire, infact a burning passion never to share this trait with any of these icons. Continue Reading »

40 responses so far

Sep 12 2009

How to Make Decisions

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We are where we are today, because of decisions that we made. Life is a journey, it’s a long road with many junctions, it’s a giant maze. The junction you and I chose to follow determine our destination, and determine our experience. Take it from me, decision making the most important activity we’ll ever engage in. Everything else stems from our decisions. He who leads, excels or succeeds does so based on decisions. The only measurable output of your thinking is your decision. Once again  however, our curriculum does not arm us at any level with how to make decisions.

“Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” – Peter Drucker (Management Guru)

This reminds me of the story of an economic adviser to a great king. This king always relied on his adviser to help him with his economically oriented decisions, but typical of all economists, the adviser will offer him a detailed analysis of why to do things in a certain way on one hand, and reasons why he can do it the other way on the other hand. The king would need to make a decision, and at the end of the day will hear two possibilities, one version on one hand, and the other on the other hand. This got the king really frustrated, and anxious to end his persistent confusion. The king thought long and hard, and finally came up with a decision that is indeed the mother of all decisions. The decision that will help him simplify his decision making process. After he did that, his life became simple, and he became successful. Continue Reading »

19 responses so far

Feb 20 2009

The Greatest Game

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I’m sure this will create different answers in different minds. Is there a game that can be classified as the greatest? Is it football, hockey, golf, cricket or basket ball? Or is it one of those not too popular games that has been discovered to have the capacity to excite and fascinate us the most? Which is the greatest game on earth, and what are the parameters that make it so? Do we measure by the thrills? The population of the world actively engaged in the game or it’s process? The degree by which our lives are affected by them or do we use statistics from opinion polls?

Whatever it is that we chose to use however, certain facts are undeniable. Football is a game that has the capacity to literally arrest a great percentage of the world in front of their television sets. More people in the world play golf and football more than any game. The thrill and the followership of basketball in America and increasingly globally is on the increase. The fanatic support of teams, of stars and of championships is tending towards idolatory. The games have become a rallying point of our social lives, we spend days watching, spend hours talking, minutes updating the scores and seconds rejoicing. These games are great, but none of them qualifies as the greatest game in the world. Continue Reading »

43 responses so far

Feb 06 2009

God or No God?!

Published by Adeolu Akinyemi under Insights, Life, Purpose, psalms

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As much as I try to make my writing simple enough to be digested, it seems I’ll still need to try some more. I’ll start tomorrow though, today’s topic is hot, and I won’t want to dilute it with simple words. I discovered that writing the way I write generates a lot of questions in people’s minds, and that’s fine, the pathway to knowledge and wealth is to ask.  Everything you need in this life, is a question away. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. So if you need clarity on anything I write, please ask questions. I am online most of the time, and really willing to answer.

Someone once told me that my blog made him to start reconsidering his philosophy about the existence of God. He was a very cerebral guy, and had thought his way into believing that God didn’t exist and the spiritual was just an extension of the mind, e.t.c. Somehow without my saying anything directly, he had gotten some questions thrown at him that his philosophy could not explain and moved him into the path of working out a relationship with God. In my little journey on the Internet, I have found out, that he is not alone – many young people have had no experience of God, and are on a journey of questioning, testing and experimenting, and trying to find out for themselves if the world banged into existence or if there is a God somewhere. Is there proof that God exists? Do they need their research? Can it bring results? Is there any research that has been done that they can read and leverage on? Continue Reading »

32 responses so far

Dec 31 2008

Essential Development Goals

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Development is one of the segments of my yearly goals. I usually try to have something that covers every part of my being- spirit, soul and body. In case you don’t I suggest you plan to have that this year. Make sure that your goals touch every area of your life and focus on specific areas, I’ll recommend that ordinarily spiritual goals ought to be priority. When we seek first God’s kingdom, all other things are added. Today for example I am just completing my 365 days fast, that’s a spiritual goal that I set and the purpose was to keep me in tune with God’s direction for my life and keep me involved and active. I might not be able to justify the reasons to you, but the fruits of a consecrated life are evident – now and in time.

Today however my primary focus will not be on your spiritual goals. By all means set them. Have a commitment to fellowship with God, to have daily devotion, to be kinder, more impactful to others, to add more value, to be a blessing. These are by far the most important things in my life. The ultimate test of faith is not “what does my faith do for me?”, but what does it make me do for others?” Your spirual goals set the pace, but it’s your developmental goals, which are partly spiritual but largely soulish are the things that get you equipped to deliver your spiritual goals more effectively and efficiently. As you advance into the year ahead, here are a few things you must strive to achieve, and do not forget!

Continue Reading »

35 responses so far

Dec 17 2008

The Why of Wealth

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There are days (a lot of days these days) when I lie down and ask myself what is really the most important thing in life. What really is worth one’s energies? Is it pleasure? Money? Impact? Wisdom? “ki la n le gan gan?” I have analysed it from a philosophical point of view, I have read the views of Aristotle – who rationalized from the need for pleasure, the desire for glory and the search for knowledge. Aristotle came to a point where according to him, the most important thing in life is the contemplative life. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle analyzes the quest of all life falls on the planes of a search for pleasurable, political or contemplative. He analyzes that all life is lived for some higher purpose, he analyzes that we all pursue happiness, and the talk goes on asking about what truly brings happiness. I would never do justice to his book in one paragraph, if you are interested, you can get more thoughts on this here, trust me though, it’s not going to be an easy read for the average mind.

I have also studied the bible extensively about the answer to the same question-”What truely is the purpose of life?” What are we here to do, and what will bring the highest fulfillment. I read the thoughts of the experiential and experimental biblical philosopher in Bible – The King in Ecclestiastes. After living a life where he pursues all that man can pursue to gain happiness – women, wisdom, fame, projects, e.t.c. He came to a final conclusion that the whole purpose of man is to fear God and obey his commandments. In my own thoughts, I have come to find out as well, that the highest priority a man can pursue meaningfully on this earth is to serve God’s purpose and desire. This purpose differs from individual to individual, but in the final analysis, life is measured against a standard, and that standard is the original intention in the mind of God for that individual. Continue Reading »

31 responses so far

Jul 25 2008

Head or Heart?

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Many times, we dilly dally between these two positions. We wonder if it was better to follow our head’s or to follow our hearts. We believe that to follow the head is logical, and to follow the heart emotional. Atimes we simply rationalize, that men follow their heads and ladies follow their hearts.

We all get to take decisions in our lives, researchers say that daily we make as many as 350 decisions. We decided on a variety of things, ranging from when to wake up to what to where, what to eat, how to eat, what to wear, when to wear e.t.c. We all make loads of decision everyday. It has even been said, that not making a decision requires a decision in itself.

Another interesting reality is that decisions are crucial. One little decision can make a huge difference in a persons life. Can you try and imagine for example that you did not go to the university you went to? If you had taken that decision differently, you will not be right where you are now, you will have different friends, might be in a different profession, your life would be different, clearly different. If we make the decision a smaller decision, let’s say on the day that accident happened you had not worn your seat belt, or lets say that you decided to meet with someone 5 mins longer than you planned to, and missed on that appointment that has contributed so much into who you are… reality is little changes in the initial conditions lead to extreme changes in end results, it’s called the butterfly effect.

If decisions happen so often, and the implications of them are so severe, should we not have clear principles on how to make the best decisions? Would it not be good if we master the art of taking decisions? Would it not be a worthwhile investment to get it right at getting it right? Here are a few things you can do to always make the best decisions. I also hope that from looking at these thoughts, you will right some wrong decisions you made already. Continue Reading »

17 responses so far

Jun 25 2007

Recap-Follow Your Passion

Published by Adeolu Akinyemi under Events, Passion, Purpose, Recap

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“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The past few weeks have been really hectic for me, I have been able to continue writing at a huge price – I have to! It’s also been exciting though, I have been doing the things that I love, and loving the things that I do. I believe if we all dare to pursue our unique purpose, our actions, mere as they might seem, have the capacity to liberate others. In this post, I’ll try and detail the key things that have grabbed my attention and time in the last few weeks.

Team Building – MTN Team.

On the 15th and 16th of June, we (Generis Solutions) had a Team Building session at Lekki Peninsular Resort with one of the most interesting Teams I have had the joy of facilitating Team Effectiveness with. In those two days we all (facilitators and participants) had a fantastic time. Continue Reading »

12 responses so far

May 02 2007

He Saved Me!

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Yesterday, I decided to go the office in spite of mixed feelings not to. I had told a few people I would be there, and I felt the need to go, just because of them, and because I didn’t have their numbers and could not call them back not to come. On getting to the office, one thing led to the other, until minutes after 8pm, when I finally decided that work never ends, and decided to go home.

I was going home alone, the first time in a really long time. The journey home was not a long one, so I decided to take things a bit easy, and not move so fast. I took a bend at coca cola bus stop into Agidingbi and had a straight road till I get to Big threats, I hadn’t gone far on this road, when I saw my hand moving into action before my brain could comprehend what was about to happen. From retrospect, what had happened was another car had swerved into my lane, and I was set up for a head to head. I turned to the left without thinking about it, heard a big bang, the lights shut out for about 30seconds, I couldn’t hear a thing, felt as if my ears were off. I looked around, looked back for signs of the other car. I touched my face and felt blood flowing freely to my shirt. I was hurt, but alive. Continue Reading »

47 responses so far

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