Sage Voice

  "This is now the third time that I am ready to come to visit you—and I will not make any demands on you. It is you I want, not your money. After all, children should not have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children" (2 Corinthians 12:14 GNT) Introduction The typical African culture maintains an uncommon reverence for the elderly. Reverence for the elderly permeates all institutions in the African society beginning from the family to the state. Even among twins, the elder is accorded more respect than the younger. So, in Africa, it is cultural as it is biblical for senior officers in the church to be accorded much reverence by members of the church. Seniority, undoubtedly, courts so much respect in church and society.  The typical African culture considers it almost an abomination for the younger to attempt to, or actually teach, instruct, command, advise, admonish, correct, or rebuke the elder. This is because, the elder is perceived to b...

Introduction For there to be the desired peace in the body of Christ, Christians have to understand the underlying causes of division and disharmony in the body. Peace is the desired state of the church. Where there are fits of rage, spewing of accusations, devilizing of the saints and exchange of blows, it means that the church is sick and needs healing. Peace is to health as violence is to disease.  Our physiological and cosmological makeup  The root cause of conflict is differences. Our human body as well as our universe naturally display differences that we cannot change or undo without facing problems. The differences we see in our human body and in our universe are not problems in themselves but our interpretation of them. We may interpret differences to mean either good or bad. God engineered our human and cosmological differences. We only have to accept them and make the best out of them.  Groups, organisations and conflict  Groups and organisations are produ...

Introduction Today's Christian is faced with many challenges pertinent among which is the dilemma of choosing to do full-time ministry which is normally interpreted to be sacred but is often unrewarding for the first few years, or choosing to do secular work which is normally interpreted to be ordinary or mundane but is often rewarding.  The distinction between sacred and secular ministry seems to be a human invention rather than a divine revelation, and we shall investigate this in the unfolding paragraphs.  What is Ministry? The term "ministry" refers to work of any kind or service in the tabernacle in particular. In the Old Testament, service in the tabernacle was the reserve of priests chosen from only the tribe of Levi. The Levites were selected by Jehovah to be the tribe of priests, and they were commanded to never engage in secular work. They were made to live on tithes and offerings presented to the house of God by the rest of the Israelites.  Employment and Minis...

Introduction The first usage of church in the New Testament is found in Matthew 16:18, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (NIV) It was used by Jesus. The Greek word translated church in the New Testament is _ekklēsia (pronounced ek-klay-see'-ah)_. A literal translation of _ekklesia_ would be "an assembly" or "called-out ones". How we got the English word "church" is a different story, but that, too, is rooted in Greek.   Origin of the Modern English word "church" Etymologically speaking, the word church means "house of the Lord". The modern English word church is a direct descendant of the Old English word "cirice or circe". The first recorded use of the Old English word is from the thirteenth century, as it could refer to either a body of Christian believers or to the place where they gathered for worship. Going furthe...