Bible Teacher. Pastor.Educator.

A Walking Catalog of Grace. June 2019 Ministry Update

       My life is a walking catalog of testimonies of how God molds, protects, prunes, primes, promotes, preserves, pivots, picks at, prepares, and uses an imperfect weak vessel for His glory. My mentor Paul reminded me last month as I was preaching through Phillipians that this is what life's all about: “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain!” The biggest lesson learned in 25 years of preaching the Gospel, it’s that ministry is most enjoyable when we the people of God obey His prompting through the Holy Spirit and let Him deal with the consequences of our obedience to His leadership.

          A month ago, I decided to pursue my passion as a “traveling preacher” with a greater level of intensity and commitment by walking away from two amazing opportunities, so that I may continue serving the body of Christ in Chicago and around the world. It has not been easy, I am not homeless, and God has been taking good care of me.

        Preaching in Alaska was awesome and serving my church family in Belfair this past month was electrifying.It all came at a cost. Yes!  It was incredibly difficult to forfeit two out of three monthly incomes so that I may travel and preach, and turn down full-time job offers to pursue my passion, which is traveling, preaching, and teaching teenagers on the southside of Chicago to follow Jesus Christ every day. It was emotionally hard and uncomfortable to say “No” to some good and godly people in my life to pursue my passion for global itinerant ministry.

God has been faithful!

 So, family, by the end of this week, I would have preached 8 times in two different states, in three different, unique venues, to over 500 people between June 28 and July 8, 2019. It is beyond exciting to be used by God to travel and preach while still serving students on the southside of Chicago through Youth for Christ USA! As I continue this journey, here are five more things that I have learned:

1. God is my main source of financial supplies, and therefore I should trust Him with all my fears.

2. Contentment is the key to enjoying God, enjoying other people, and enjoying life.

3. God will take care of your business if you will take care of His business.

4. God’s people are generous when they see you serving Him.

5. Honesty, humility, and hugs will get you a long way in ministry.

Hey Church, pray for me! I love you! Your prayers for self discipline and discernment  to continue to grow in my life are appreciated.

James Owolabi

Pastor James Owolabi
1507 East 53rd Street Suite 846
Chicago IL 60615
United States

#travelingpreacher

Cherish Your Heritage! Reflections on going back to Home to Nigeria.#1 of 5

After returning back to my home in Nigeria I was immersed in a culture that was all to familiar and simultaneously foreign. 20 years is a long time to be gone from a place that used to be all I knew. I hope that the new knowledge I will be sharing impacts your life and enhances you as a person.

One of the first things I noticed after returning to Nigeria was how westernized everything has become. The native people of Africa are now wearing more western styled clothing in place of the traditional African patterns, they are also speaking english regularly and have even adapted to using American figures of speech. Even though the electricity was inconsistent, the weather is different and of course the infrastructure of roads has still not come up to North American standards, the country was heavily laced with westernized values.

Having spent more time as an adult in America than my upbringing in Africa, I’m so grateful to understand my native language and it felt amazing to communicate in my native tongue. It honestly disappointed me to see the increased pursuit of western culture was causing Nigerians to start to losing their roots. It was striking to meet kids who are Nigerian citizens with two Nigerian parents that only know English!

 

As people who are African, Korean, or any ethnicity -- we need to remember that our ethnic heritage is special. We should never be afraid, ashamed or embarrassed about our roots. Every culture has it’s pitfall and highlights, Yoruba culture for example is very petty on its respect for authority and how we communicate between age groups. It can be especially cringe worthy pertaining how we depict roles in marriage; relationships between husband and wife in Nigeria can consistently be found as abusive or insensitive to the needs of women. Contrasting hashly to white American culture that can be easily misunderstood as making men feel passive or encouraging passivity in the household. Every culture has its extreme nature and patterns. The most important thing to remember is that your culture, whatever it may be,  is a gift from God. Our languages, skin tones, origins, and identity determinants are all gifts from God. We should never worship our culture, but we should treasure it and cherish it.

 

What does it mean to cherish our culture?

A healthy way of cherishing our culture is simply respecting it, remaining grateful, sharing parts of it with others, and passing on the stories of our ancestry. Our ancestors and the components that make our respective countries unique deserve celebration. The Lord has made the body of Christ in a beautiful gradient of skin tones, hair textures, and languages for divine reasons. Generations to come should still have pieces of the past running through their veins.

 

What does it mean to treasure our culture?

A healthy way of treasuring our culture is teaching our children their native language, maintaining our traditional clothing styles, and keeping certain customs alive. Even though technology is advancing and global communication is improving we should not start to simulate to one plain world. Keep your culture alive and cherish it in a way that would honor the people who came before you.

• Remember to always worship God for your heritage and the heritages of others
• Find other cultures that have a better style in terms of communication, common practices, or quality of life we should embrace the knowledge, but not adapt to a level in which we are not recognizable.
• Respect other cultures .No culture is perfect and no culture should be worshipped, but they are all valuable to the Kingdom of God.

 

Each heritage is equal and loved in the Lord’s eyes, so keep that spirit of inclusivity in your heart.

Respectfully,

Pastor James Owolabi