Build better families to ensure national devt —Revd Ogbolumani

Having taken the decision to join full-time ministry 22 years ago, Chaplain of the Chapel of Christ Our Light, University of Lagos, referred to as the Headquarters of Heaven, Reverend (Dr) Azuka Ogbolumani, speaks with Rita Okonoboh on his experience so far, why he left banking for the pulpit, and how the family unit can ensure a better society. Excerpts:

 

Why did you leave the bank for the pulpit?

I had a divine call. I first received the call during my student days but when it became clearer at the appointed time, I went into full-time ministry. I was ordained at the Chapel of Christ Our Light, University of Lagos. We had the first ordination in 1995 and the second ordination was in 2012.

 

How has the experience been 22 years in the ministry?

It’s been interesting because no day is the same. Each day presents new experiences, different challenges.

 

Since you embraced the ministry, do you sometimes miss banking?

I haven’t ever regretted my being in full-time ministry. There has never been a boring time in the ministry.

 

Family Day, celebrated today at Chapel of Christ Our Light, according to the UNILAG Christian community, is a big event. What’s it about?

We had the first edition in August, almost 20 years ago, and we decided to make it the last Sunday in August. It’s an annual event. It’s supposed to be Fellowship Sunday. It’s a combination of Friendship Sunday and Fellowship Sunday. It’s a programme dedicated to showing the importance we attach to the family, being the foundation of the fabric of the society. After service, we stay back in church to celebrate as a family.

 

Why did you choose the theme for 2017 as The Family Project?

It’s divinely inspired, dedicated to the provision for the Christian family; what it ought to be in the society. So, it is a project that God has given to us to that we must carry out and it is basically evangelism through building better families based on godly principles.

 

There have been concerns about families not being as united as expected, owing to various experiences and realities, ranging from busy schedules of parents, truancy of children, among others. What is your message to the church as you celebrate families today?

We need to understand the purpose of God for the family. When purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. Most people don’t understand the essence of family; they don’t understand the importance of the family or the blessings God has placed in the family, so we run a rat race instead of coming together and I believe it’s the work of the enemy. The unit the enemy fears most is the family. If we agree as a family, there’s nothing the enemy can do about it.

 

What ways can families help to ensure national development?

If the family is strong, the nation will experience positive development; it’s a chain reaction. If the family has good standing with God, the nation will stand with God too. Take the campus here for instance, you can tell the kind of person a family has come from by his/her actions. I deal with a lot of youths and we have those with good and bad characters, and you can tell that it is a manifestation of the family they come from. Can you imagine a father sending his child to school and telling that child to bring money when he/she is coming home? What is the message that father is passing to that child? Take another example: a man had an altercation with a lady, and eventually slapped her. He didn’t know the lady he slapped was a female police officer because she was on mufti. The man was taken to the police station and he denied slapping the lady. However, his son, who was with him, simply said, ‘Daddy, that’s not true. You slapped the woman as you slap Mummy at home.’ Can you see? Whether we like it or not, the family passes on spirits; it’s a spiritual bonding. Children and youths learn from the examples of their elders and parents must endeavour to be good role models.