wants Christians to set up a body that would be charged with the responsibility of registering seminary schools and accrediting courses in order not only to check low standard, but to meet international standard.
As the provost of one of the most respected theological seminaries in the country, he speaks on the challenges of moulding lives, shortcomings in pastors, Christians going into politics and others.
Calling and challenges
I am currently provost of L.L.F.E Theological Seminary, Ikorodu, sponsored by Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria . I have been a minister of the gospel for the past 25 years.
It has been challenging being the provost. It's a great privilege to serve at this level but it has been a challenging one. The challenge to take the seminary to greater height, the challenge to prepare men and women fully for the ministry, the challenge of running this place and realising the objective for which the seminary was established. So, it has been a great challenge, but thank God for his mercies.
I have been in this institution for the past 11 years. First, as a lecturer, thereafter, I was appointed as Head of Department of Biblical Studies. Later, I became the Dean of Academics, from this position I was appointed the provost in 2005.
I've been in the church after my conversion serving at a local church until 1980 when I heard God impressing it on my heart to go to Bible College . At that time, he gave me a scripture and the scripture was so clear. So, after many years of pastoring, I was eventually transferred to this place and that is in agreement with the passage of scripture that defined my ministry as one called to impart spiritual knowledge into men who will in turn go out to minister to others.
Accreditation of Bible colleges
Speaking on the seeming proliferation of Christian training institutions, which tends to negatively affect performance of some pastors, the soft spoken trainer of pastors does not think there are enough Bible colleges: "I believe we don't have enough yet to train people in view of the challenges for the demands of ministry.
The only problem I have is that many of these so-called Bible colleges are of low quality. It is unacceptable in a situation where people offer B.A, M.A, PhD within two years. Some come out of seminary with so-called doctorate degree within two years. If the quality is maintained, the international standard required of a seminary, as we do it here, there will be no problem in terms of the number."
While throwing his weight behind having a body to accredit Bible colleges and their courses, the provost does not envisage that it should be government that would do that. "I want to believe that there should be a Christian body that should set up this, monitor these schools and register them.
But before they register, the body must ensure the curriculum is okay, the number of credit hours and the year they spend to get the certificate and ensure that the lecturers are qualified. You find out that all these lecturers who are teaching students for B.A, M.A, Ph.D. are not qualified themselves because they obtained their own certificate from mushroom schools.
We have an accreditation body responsible for accreditation of theology education in Africa , that could also come handy, every school should get accredited by that body or any other body set up by Christians.
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Role of the church in times like this
The church should be praying for the nation for transformation of individual lives, the lives of politicians and social institutions. The church should be preaching, the church should be prophetic in its outlook to tell the nation this is the mind of God for this particular occasion outlining the consequences of such.
The church should also get involved in politics, of course, the individual Christian should get involved in politics with the understanding that when they get there, they should reflect the light of God. But we have had instances where Christians get into politics and they are not better than others who are there. So, they should see themselves as ambassadors of Christ who have to transform whatever place they find themselves.
Major shortcoming in pastors in training
The desire to be there overnight. They should pay their own dues. Nobody, while in training, would be like somebody who has been there for years or who has paid his dues. So, there is need for them to be patient, so that in future as they have served, they would also get into a position where they will be the head.
They should be patient and wait for their own time and God's own time. Then the desire to acquire– a situation where out there a man's success is measured by the number of congregation, the kind of building the church has put up. They should rather discover what God asks them to do and work in line with God's own programme for their ministry.
