Annual lectures are a medium to address the questions the churches within the region of the college are asking. It is a medium where we take the role of being the think-tank for the church. This year, we realized that the church was in dire need to be redirected. And since it is often said that one step back leads to two steps front, we tagged this year’s lectures “Restoring the ancient order of things.”
This theme addressed issues about the ancient order of things. The cutting raiser was the thematic analysis aptly titled, The Trajectory of the New Testament Church: Apostolic Doctrine–Apostasy–Reformation–Restoration. Other keynote addresses included: restoring the ancient order of soul-winning, restoring the ancient order of women’s place in the church, Bible miracles in comparison with contemporary practices, restoring the ancient order of singing in the light of contemporary practices, and restoring the ancient order of church organization. The men’s conferences addressed issues ranging from restoring the ancient order of man’s place as a father and a husband in the home, restoring the ancient order of desire for leadership among Christian men, to restoring moral purity among Christian men. The women’s conference addressed issues like, restoring the ancient order of the woman’s place as a mother and wife in the home, restoring moral purity among Christian women, and restoring the ancient order of biblical literacy among Christian women. The youth conference addressed topics which included, restoring an honest means of livelihood among Christian youths, dealing with addictions—social media, drugs, etc., and restoring the ancient order of dating and courtship among Christian youths. The chapel session included discourses on restoring the ancient order of praying, restoring the ancient order of discipleship, and restoring the ancient order of faithfulness. The children were not left out as teachers were delegated to them who took them on the following topics, restoring the ancient order of spiritual formation among children in the church, and restoring the ancient order of discipline among children in the home.
The lectureship was well attended as we recorded a good turn-out. Most participants left the program spiritually rejuvenated with determination to insist on doing God’s things God’s way. We are grateful for the individual members, congregations, and groups who sponsored the program in cash and kind and pray for God’s blessings on them. The highlight of the program was the souls who were added to the kingdom. We recorded a total of three baptisms at the end of the program. We pray God’s grace upon them through his Spirit in them to run the heavenly race to the end.
-Dr. Biodun Owolabi
