Yesterday June 29th 2016, was one of the best days of my life, because I got to spend half of the day just hanging out with my dad who is visiting from Nigeria! I work for a world class team and non-profit organization that pairs fatherless young men with mentors. Today when I got home, I couldn’t stop reflecting about how blessed I am to have Dr. Solomon Owolabi as my father. I am so very blessed also because we both share the same occupation and desire to reach the lost and disciple men and women to become disciple-makers. There are over five thousand reasons why I love and honor my dad, but since you probably don’t want to sit here and read them all, I will share only three of them with you now:
- My dad loves Jesus Christ and he loves to tell people about Him. Having just returned from preaching in Iowa, I was honored with the opportunity to witness five young ladies declare their allegiances to Christ in Believers Baptism. This overwhelmed my heart with passion because it reminded me of how my dad would always baptize dozens of people every year while I was growing up. He always baptized during Easter, and wow, was it ever special to see Him lead people to Christ and then baptism!
He forgot a Gospel tract at my hotel room: It reminded me of every day during my childhood and teenage years when my dad would use every opportunity to hand out a Gospel tract and share the gospel with someone. My dad never left home without a packet of gospel tracts (In the picture above, you’ll see such tracts that he would always take with him). And during my childhood, with help from the Holy Spirit, my dad’s planted three churches from scratch and won unchurched people to the Lord: he’s led both Muslims and religious Christians to the Lord Jesus Christ, many of whom are now Pastors in local churches across Africa! He’s also led alcoholics and domestic abusers to Christ, and today, they’re all very active in their local churches.
- My dad, “Baba”, as I call him, loves children - whether they’re his own or not. I have ever been close to him and watched him with other children in my life. He is the most intense man, but he’s tender with children.
While growing up, whenever a child lost a parent, my father would immediately open our home. Whenever a child was being abused or abandoned, my dad, with his amazing wife, would give them a bed. We always had children in our homes that were not related to us. I can’t even count on my hand how many children lived in our house for long periods of time because my dad didn’t know how to turn them away.
My father treated us all as his own children - he did not discriminate at all. He actually refused to love only his own children. He adopted kids up until his late sixties and my world-class mother allowed Him to bring them home. She’s a rock by His side. He loves children and lit up today when he shared an idea of a summer camp in Nigeria to reach kids all over the country with me. WOW!! A 75 year old Baptist Pastor was excited about reaching children in Nigeria!
- My father believes in me more than anybody I know and is determined to never let me give up on myself. School work, especially math, never came easy. I struggled with self-confidence and self-esteem because academics have always been a challenge for me. I found extra-curricular activities more fun that formal education. I thrived in the arts, such as with drama and debates, but basic math and english have always been a struggle for me. But my dad always pushed me to be the best in everything I did. He’d challenge me, sometimes like a military Drill Sergeant, and he always affirmed me when I worked hard, but stirred me like a storm mentoring a sophomoric Sailor. My dad challenged me to go to college, and one of his friends paid for most of my college education because of their depth of friendship. He later encouraged me to attend seminary and would not let me quit, even when I told him that studying theology was of the devil and a waste of time.
- He motivated me to trust God and be faithful to God when I wanted to pursue another career option, due to my fear of failure. Sometimes it really hurt because his methods were very old fashioned and non-empathetic.
- It was the best for me, for it prepared me for youth ministry as a black Nigerian man in Belfair, Washington, an almost all-white community.
- It built perseverance in preparing me for the fruitful-but-hard season when I Pastored a Korean English-speaking church; it built faith and confidence in the sovereignty of God.
- When I moved to Chicago in 2015 with less than $300 in my bank account. God used my dad’s intense parenting style to prepare me for working with inner-city children and families on the South side of Chicago.
I know I said I would share only 3, but I have to mention one more:
- My dad is a man of courage: He was courageous enough to start the First Independent Baptist Church in the late 80’s in Northern Nigeria - a town that was 60% Muslims. His courage to walk door-to-door and evangelize our town ignited in me a passion to share the gospel with over 100 kids every week on the South side of Chicago. God used my dad’s sense of courage, his passion for training leaders, and his love for unchurched children to crush pride in my heart and plant seeds of compassion within me. It wasn’t easy working through some of the hurts, but God has healed us both, and today, we’re close as ever.
Yesterday, when I picked him up from the airport, we talked about how he’s been preaching for over forty years! We shared old memories of growing up in Nigeria, had some Brazilian food for the first time at "Fogo De Cho" with my brother Peter, and both shared war stories about the joys and snares of ministry these past twenty years. He spoke tenderly to me words of wisdom and challenged me to serve Christ faithfully. He also challenged me to get married and give him some grand kids. I assured him that “the women that were attainable were not desirable, and what was desirable, was not yet attainable.”
- We laughed over some Coca Cola and cashew nuts.
- He gave me some solid advice about money and women.
- He also affirmed my walk with God .
- He celebrated my call to ministry and rejoiced in my giftedness to work with children.
- He comforted me, and encouraged me to keep my eyes on Jesus.
- He warned me about falling in love with money, a very easy thing to do.
- He reminded me to pursue God daily.
- He cheered me up concerning my past failures.
- He affirmed the vision that God has given me to work with children around the world.
I left full like the woman at the well, returning to her city after she met met Jesus Christ. I felt like Daniel must have felt when he left the Lion’s den, well-rested after taking a nap on the backs of lions.
The older I get, the more I pray that my dad gets to enjoy His grandchildren soon. It took me thirty years to fully appreciate this giant of faith who has:
- Planted and pastored over a dozen churches in Ghana and Nigeria.
- Trained over fifty Pastors and Christian workers for full time ministry.
- Is currently Pastoring an active and growing church of over 200 people.
- Founded and oversees three schools with almost 1000 kids.
- He still takes the time to be my dad any time he gets even for 4 hours in Chicago.
WOW! I am so blessed! I don’t care what anybody says, I have the best dad in the world.
BABA, I LOVE YOU!
With all the love and respect of a young Owolabi in Chicago,
James Oyedele Owolabi!
