Just a few months after Benny Hinn Lagos Crusade saga fizzled out, should anyone blame Bishop Lanre Obembe for refusing to grant a press interview?

"I've decided not to talk to the press again, I don't want to be misquoted," he said, But he should be able to talk about challenges in preaching the gospel? After much prodding, he decided to talk "Irrespective of the status, you must face challenges, but you must not engage in any distractions,"

What are they? "For the ministry, there are areas of challenges which I call pitfalls which can be turned to success in doing God's work.

”The first is fame. Some people are famous but without impact. Ministry should not be geared towards human popularity, fight anything that makes you unnecessarily politically famous but be famous in the things of the spirit.

"Moreover, there is the female, that is the opposite sex. Whether you like it or not, you are dealing with human beings and the way you handle the opposite sex has a way of helping you stay holy.

“The third is finance.
Money shouldn't be a factor for going into ministry. You may be persuaded for doing things properly but it ends with integrity. "

Still on challenges pastors face, he enumerated that: "There have been several incidents of pastors, who fall to the temptation of women because they are doing things that are inappropriate. It's a serious issue in the church and pastors should take all precautions to guide against the antics of women. They should not conduct night deliverance service with women in obscure places and counselling should be done in a place where they will not compromise their faith."

Ironically, his parents never dreamt to have a son who is a pastor. "It never occurred to me too. In fact, my parents made a vow that I would be a professor of engineering. But God began to visit me with tangible manifestations. It was simply divine election. At the time God called me, it was unpopular to be a pastor. Then, it was likened to the office of the local Catechist, whose future is already determined," Ondo State born Obembe said.

Dressed in a custard coloured shirt which was complemented with a dark waist coat, the interview was punctuated with incessant telephone calls. How and when does he write his numerous books? Like most pastors, his diary is his daily companion. "It's my work book and I take it along with me anywhere I go and when an inspiration flows in, I jot it down. If I have the opportunity of staying alone for some hours, I get inspired and I start to write at any given time."

But with a ministry like his and being involved in many activities, when is the time he gets his privacy? "You should be careful not to be a people's minister instead of God's minister. Take out time to separate yourself from the people, be private and allow inspiration. You need wisdom to discern people who are time wasters and who subtract from you."

That led him to talk about his experience when to the Benny Hinn crusade brouhaha was on. "Though there was an overwhelming crowd coming to the church, what happened then would have crumbled some ministries," he reflected.

"It was then that I discovered that there is no covering for great men. Once you are news-worthy, you become a target. I could not believe some of the articles printed! Men of God must know that they are targets for sensational press. They should walk in wisdom and ask God for covering. They should shun a flamboyant life­style."

Married with kids, Obembe, who is the General Overseer of El­Shaddai Church, Dolphin, Lagos, revealed that he makes out time for his family. "That could be a challenge, but I create time, where we can interact. Recently, we went to Abuja together after which we ended up in Akure. It was a nice time and there was room for communication.

For a pastor, the church could want to own you but you should create time for your family and rest. Since I heard some say that if you don't rest, you will be laid to rest', I've started taking my rest. All that I lose through fasting is recovered by the food supplements I take."

"Moreover, there is the female, that is the opposite sex. Whether you like it or not, you are dealing with human beings and the way you handle the opposite sex has a way of helping you stay holy."

Renowned for the feat of printing the first amplified Bible in Nigeria , Obembe recalled that it was a divine instruction. "It was in 1986, after God told me, I wrote to the publishers abroad and they refused. I called them again and was given permission to print based on many conditions. They sent the plates, the copy­right and we printed here."

Over the years, he said that he had learnt some lessons. "Never let anything occupy God's place in your life. The size of your ministry is not big enough to occupy God in your life. No achievement, no amount offering should occupy God in your life. There is no substitute for God.
Culled.