Inspirational stories of a beloved vessel of honour

A review of  Stories of Pastor E.A. Adeboye: The Power of Testimony, written by Bisi Daniels. 350 pages; BusyCreations Nigeria Limited.

THERE’S no way a reader won’t benefit from Stories of Pastor E.A. Adeboye: The Power of Testimony written by renowned journalist and writer, Bisi Daniels.

Released just two weeks ago to mark the 75th birthday of the man fondly called Daddy GO, it is a life-changing page-turner most will find useful.

Those familiar with the unique style of Pastor Adeboye know that sharing testimonies of miracles are a vital component of his ministry. Daddy GO laces his sermons with testimonies to reassure people that that their cases are not hopeless, and that the God that has done it for others, will resolve their own issues too.

“By now, everybody knows me to be a storyteller. Our Daddy in heaven, Jesus, was the best storyteller you can ever find. I have discovered that some people remember the stories more than the sermons,” Pastor Adeboye explains of why he exhorts people when preaching. “I tell you these stories because when you hear the ones in the Bible and hear the ones happening right now, you appreciate them better,” he adds at a different forum.

Stories of miracles indeed enhance faith-building and what Daniels has done is painstakingly compile the testimonies of the Spiritual Leader and Global Missioner of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and present them chronologically, right from his birth to the present (February 2017), to read like an autobiography. Hence, what we have is Pastor Adeboye doing the narration in his measured, calm voice.

In the engrossing 350-page book dedicated to him and his priceless pearl, Pastor Folu Adeboye (Mummy GO), the man of God recalls how he worked hard to escape the privation he was born into and how with God’s grace, he has become comfortable; he relives the amazing story of his transformation from obscurity to becoming a vessel of God revered by millions of people across the world. Pastor Adeboye also affirms how God has blessed his and others labours in His vineyard such that the RCCG has become the world’s fastest growing church, with presence in about 196 countries.

We get to read about Ifewara, Daddy GO’s home town in Osun State, where he was born in 1942, in the first section of the work published by BusyCreations Nigeria Limited. We are apprised of the unusual incident of the rain falling and the sun shining simultaneously on the afternoon he was born and how he came by the nickname Tiger.  He also touches on God’s unseen protection and how his destiny was foretold, plus lessons including hard work, first fruit, opportunity and obedience his parents taught him.

In the first section that also contains chapters including ‘Before the Call’, ‘The Call’, ‘Early Ministry’ and ‘The General Overseer,’ Pastor Adeboye reflects on the abject poverty into which he was born and how he walked barefoot until he was 18. In fact, he collected the prize he won at the prize-giving day at Ilesa Grammar School in borrowed trousers and sandals.  We are also shown the house in which Pastor Adeboye was born and St. Stephens Anglican Primary School he attended and how he married Mummy GO.  Singles will do well to learn from Mummy GO’s readiness to marry him, despite being a struggling young man at the time.

Essentially, Section One chronicles  Pastor Adeboye’s riveting life story – tertiary education, postgraduate work, lecturing at Unilag and Ilorin, meeting Christ, early days in the ministry with his Father-in-the-Lord,  Pastor Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi  and becoming the leader of the RCCG, despite doing his best to reject the appointment.

Today, the Redemption Camp is well known across the globe but it wasn’t always so. According to Pastor Adeboye, “When the almighty God said to me that the current location of the Redemption Camp was where it should be, it was a jungle and headquarters of highway robbers, who were tormenting people on the expressway. We were offered four and half acres of land in this jungle filled with snakes of different species, but God insisted on the site. People said to me then that we were crazy because it was far from Lagos; it was in the midst of a God-forsaken jungle; and there was no electricity or water supply anywhere near. But I allowed the one who knows tomorrow to order my steps.”

Reading the book will reveal the mysterious incidents that happened as Daddy GO and others laboured to build the camp.  Going through the section, one also realises that Daddy GO didn’t just become a much sought after spiritual leader, God spent several years forging him in the furnace until he became a beloved vessel of honour.

In Section Two, Pastor Adeboye relives his experiences while preaching the gospel across the globe and shares stories of miracles that occurred on the trips.  We read of his missionary trips to places including the UK, US, Canada, Japan, Cairo, Zambia, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea amongst others. How the popular 31-year-old Holy Ghost Service started in Nigeria and later in the United Kingdom is properly documented here. The story of how God provided the RCCG headquarters in the US and South Africa and several miracles even in flights are similarly documented.

The next section,  ‘The Enhancers’  focuses on issues including salvation, faith, service, fasting, tithing and sowing that move God for miracles to flow. All these, it should be noted are essential to secure God’s intervention in one’s affairs. The section contains examples of people who exercised their faith to overcome troubles; diligently paid their tithes and sowed and who God blessed immensely in return.

Those curious about why members of the RCCG don’t joke with fasting will discover why in this section. “The moment I quit fasting, you can begin to expect my departure because I have resolved never to relax. As far as I am concerned, the day I cease to be relevant, I go,” he replied when asked if he would stop fasting when he clocked 70. Invariably, the man of God has not stopped fasting even at 75!

In sections four and five, Pastor Adeboye shares more stories of God’s intervention in seemingly hopeless situations whilst also touching on marriage and the fruit of the womb. The last section titled ‘The Spoilers’ and containing topics like Unforgiveness, Temptation, Stealing God’s Glory, The Evil Men Do/Curses and Principalities and Powers exposes the dark sides of the spiritual realm where parents harm their children and couples hurt themselves. It also strongly reinforces why a Christian must heed the creed: “watch and pray.”

Reading the book will be a rewarding exercise as the Vice President; Professor Yemi Osinbajo rightly agrees in the foreword he wrote shortly before he was sworn in:  “This book of some of the testimonies of one of the greatest servants of God in this generation is worth reading and learning from.”

What Daniels, a senior editor who has worked at The Guardian, Thisday and Shell amongst others, has given us in this book he admits, “is the most important and most impactful” of all his over 20 works, is a very well researched book. There is a detailed preface and introduction where he narrates an expedition to Ifewara in search of Pastor Adeboye’s roots and how he encountered the Mount Carmel Prayer Mountain the man of God had been inspired to build since 1985 and which was opened on May 28, 2015.

Daniels also didn’t forget the history of the church, its mission, mode of worship and changes that were recently effected in its structure in Nigeria. On the whole, the book which also has a photo section (though some of the photographs are not appropriately captioned), is an inspirational work worth reading time and again.