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| CAC General Superintendent, Pastor Emmanuel O. Odejobi |
By Boluwatife Oparinde
The General Superintendent of Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, Pastor Emmanuel O. Odejobi has instructed music ministers to avoid pride like plague, telling them to remember Lucifer, who fell because of pride.
Pastor Odejobi, represented by the Camp Manager, Babalola Memorial International Miracle Camp, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, Pastor Samuel Adeoye Adesoji, gave this instruction while giving his Keynote Address on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at the Opening Session of the 5th Annual International Music Conference organized by the Music Directorate, Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas, holding at Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State.
The cleric who commended "the good works of our amiable Music Director, Pastor Tope Dada, his wife and his team of intellectuals who are working tirelessly to harness numerous and diversity of gifts among our youths, leveraging these gifts to the benefit and progress of the Church and solidly putting the Music Department on a sound pedestal ever since taking over the mantle of its leadership;" also noted that, "I can see, seated in the audience, men and women of repute from various callings, who have come to attend this program - captains of industries, legal luminaries, senior civil servants, astute business men/women and professionals-who abandoned their various occupations to come and glorify God here. I commend your humility, commitment and loyalty. We are very proud of you and welcome you all to the program. I stand before you today, as the representative of God, in your midst, to give vent to your passion in God the more, through the ministry of music to which you have been called, so that you will be able to stand the test of time and that God will take all the glory."
Speaking on the conference theme, "Building skillful and godly choristers through grace", the clergyman expressed that, "the overriding emphases or keywords here are Building, Skillful and Godly. The word "building" connotes something that undergoes a process as it takes time and patience to build. But what are we building here? We are not building houses; rather, we are building humans who we want to become "skillful", that is, competent and proficient in what they have been called to do in the house of God while at the same time doing it in a "Godly" way, in a manner that will be acceptable unto God and preach to unbelievers."
"To achieve this requires a lot on the part of the leaders and the led in the choir and simply implies that all hands must be on deck. We must also not lose track of the fact that nothing is given unto man to achieve outside of God's grace. Our knowledge, wisdom or understanding can never take us to our desired level of attainment without the special grace of God upon us. Only by divine enablement can we achieve anything meaningful in the music ministry," he said.
The CAC General Superintendent presented the case studies of David (1 Samuel 16:18), telling the choristers that "God expects our music to convey messages of Salvation (Acts 16:25-31), Deliverance (Acts 16:26), Anointing/Impartation (II Kings 3:15), Victory (II Chronicles 20:21-22) and Happiness (James 5:13b).
According to him, "It is true that our service is to God but it is also to man. As people listen to our music, their souls must be lifted up and they must be relieved of their burdens. In those days when the choir sings the audience wept, having been moved to realize their evil ways, but today the audience responds with clapping and shouting as they hardly carry any incisive messages. We must reverse this trend as it is totally unacceptable and unproductive."
Pastor Odejobi, counselling the music ministers to avoid Pride like a plague, added that, "if we commit our all to this music ministry, great rewards await us as the Bible promised. It says 'Seeth thou a man DILIGENT in his business? He shall stand before KINGS; he shall not stand before MEAN men' (Proverbs 22:29)."
In his conclusion, the cleric implored his audience to "make this training count. The main reason for this training is to make you reign here on earth and to join other saints in singing melodious songs as we reign with Christ in His glory. Finally. I welcome you to this moment of refreshing before the Lord. Enjoy the rest of your stay and have journey mercies back home, in Jesus' name."