How church can rebuild marriages —Oduwole

Albert Oluwafemi Oduwole, the founder of the Triumphant Assembly, Parezim Cathedral, Ibadan, Oyo State, speaks on rising on divorce rate, OLAIDE SOKOYA brings excerpts of the interview.

CAUSES of divorces

The main reason is because there is lack of understanding. The Bible says: …in what you are getting, get understanding. When one possesses a home appliance, one must pay keen attention to its manual in order to make use of it without any hiccups. Unfortunately, when we a get spouse, we don’t have a clear understanding of how we can make use of them. There is no institution where marriage is being taught. I was taught Animal Husbandry in the higher institution, but all the knowledge gained is not working in humans. Many of us are privileged to have been raised in Godly homes. Now that marriage is not taught anywhere, the only place you can learn it is in the church and unfortunately, most churches don’t follow suit. This has become a problem which the church must address.

Please forgive me, I know I will join you as punishment for my sin – Murderer pleads with victim he strangulated to death

What the church needs

Every church must rise up to assist couples to build Godly homes. They must learn how to teach men to be good husbands and women to be good wives. In my 25 years experience as a pastor, I have come across young men and women that sincerely wished to be good husbands and wives, but it seemed difficult because they have never witnessed or have an idea of what a good home looks like. You cannot become what you have never witnessed before. It is time the church rose to the occasion to rebuild homes, because without homes, there can’t be a church.

My experience in marriage

It has been beautiful. Marriage is a journey, where you come across bumps and potholes on the way, but the experience has been interesting. We have faced so many challenges: we thank God for the grace to overcome every bit of challenges. Like every other couple, my wife and I have different backgrounds, but what makes it easier is that we have same vision. Anybody that is not going in your direction is a distraction. But the journey has been easy as a result of the fact that we both have same direction and we have, overtime learnt how to handle our challenges by talking to one another and talking to God.

How I met my wife

We were friends in our teenage years. The first time I noticed her was in a fellowship. She attended to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, while I studied at the University of Ibadan. After she finished at Ife, she came back to the University of Ibadan. Sometime, I went to Ife to organis a meeting and I saw her again and we got talking and the rest is history. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I believe in love with insight. I can say I admired her the first day we crossed our path; I cherished her firmness and strictness. The second time I had the chance to talk to her was when an issue was brought to her and the way she talked about it was amazing. I was thinking, “what is wrong with this ‘babe’? later on, I loved what I was seeing and got to know her better.

Secrets of our union

The first thing that has kept us together till today is God; in trinity, fold is not easily broken. Secondly, our vision; when you have two different visions, it will turn to division. The fact that we have same vision makes it very easy for us to move faster, smoothly and towards the same destination. The third thing is good company. My friends are her friends and her friends are mine. We are also privileged to have wonderful in-laws; our in-laws are not out-laws. All these have made our 21 years in marriage easy and awesome.

Focus of MARRYmatic concept

Many people believe that a good marriage cannot be predicted. It is called ‘Night market’ by my. It meaning you are buying something without confirming the authenticity. But, for me, it is predictable. MARRYmatic is the almighty formula to marry right and keeping marriage strong. It is centered on how to achieve a successful marriage. The programme will feature notable clerics and renowned marriage councilors, including, Reverend Mrs Funke Adejumo and Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo. We are hopeful that the programme, which will hold on May 1, 2019, at the church auditorium, will liberate many homes and broken restore marriage.

Advice to Christians

It is important we pray for the peace and growth of our country and always shoe love one another.