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"And he dug another well and this time no one struggled with him over it." Genesis 26:22 Pastor Alex, as he is affectionately called, is the last of three siblings. Raised by a God- fearing grandmother and mother, which bears some resemblance to Timothy's experience in the New Testament, the Lord called Pastor Alex under special circumstances. He became born again on April 22, 1981, and was baptized the same day with the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. With many prophetic utterances on his life, there was no doubt that this man would be used by God in raising a generation with a difference. His life since that day in April 1981 has been one of example, inspiration, challenge, achievements, and of course, for every Joseph in the land , attacks. Ably supported by his wife, Naomi, she is quietly known as the prayer support for Pastor Alex. Unassuming in her ways, Naomi has been the counselor, encourager, and friend. With ministry burning in his heart, Pastor Alex attended one of the most recognized Christian colleges in the US, Wheaton College's Billy Graham Graduate School, where he studied Missions, Bible Theology and Intercultural Studies as a Billy Graham Scholar. Pastor Alex holds a B.Sc. (Honors) in Biological Sciences and a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) degree in Plant Genetics both from the University of Ghana. Presently, Pastor Alex is a MBA (Finance) student at the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education at the John Hopkins University and works as a Manager in Airtime Traffic & Sales operations at the Angel Christian Trust in Washington, DC. Pastor Alex's spiritual resume is impeccable. He held various leadership positions from high school through college and made his mark on the shores of West Africa. He has embarked on indigenous and inner city missionary work on two continents. He has helped raised three churches from scratch and revived two more in Africa, Europe and America. On September 28, 2003, Pastor Alex obeyed the voice of God to initiate an international ministry. This was not an easy move but Pastor had to obey anyhow. It is encouraging to note that Pastor Alex has stood the test of time through diligence, vigilance, determination and devotion to his Master's business and call. Like the donkey story, Pastor Alex, by the grace of God, has been able to shake off every dirt and stepped on it unto success. Starting with nothing and from the scratch, International Praise Chapel now has eight nations represented and the Lord continue to add to their number daily. With the motto, 'Building Godly Leaders for Posterity,' Pastor believes that God has something special for this generation. He believes that we are the Joseph generation that must store, prepare, save, and distribute 'food' for the next hungry generation. He is also bent on the developing leadership skills for the congregants and evangelistic strategies to reach people of every nation and walk of life. It's our ardent prayer that the good Lord strengthens Pastor
Alex to continue this good work! Family Minister Naomi has found her area of ministry and is making great strides as the Lord enables. Aside her unflinching support for her husband in overseeing the church, she has used her giftings, especially in the area of discernment, to steer the church in the right direction. She is also bringing structure into the Children and Women ministries. Minister Naomi strongly believes in training up a child in a way he should go, so when he grows up, he will not depart from it. As such, she implements this scripture right in her home and teaches her kids to know God and love the things of God. Already, both Michelle and Shalom are exhibiting Godly traits. Under her leadership, the ladies in IPC are being rallied together and taught to be the Deborahs, Esthers and Dorcases of our time. She believes in Christ, there is neither male nor female, so, no woman should be hindered by her gender to contribute to God's kingdom. Having worked closely with a marriage ministry in Africa, Minister Naomi continues to counsel married women to play their biblical role in their marriages and create loving and peaceful homes for their spouses and children. She also calls them to prayer to stay away the infiltration of the enemy. Having grown up in a stable home, Minister Naomi believes this is achievable, with the Lord on our side.
This is the church I envision 18 "Forget the former things; Introduction In this passage, God is revealing some deep truths to his people. I hope to bless your life as I avail myself to be used by His Spirit, so continue to read along. In fact, I will share with you scriptural truths that prove that our God believes in new things. One of the most difficult things for man do to is to start over again. Starting again illustratively means that you have been engaged in a venture - worked on a project, had a bad relationship, been abused, failed an exam, or put your hands to a kind of 'plough,' and due to unpredicted circumstances you have had to retreat and begin all over again. Forgetting the Past If you take a closer look at some of the most successful characters in the Bible you will notice an interesting trend. Nearly all of them went beyond mediocrity, but not on the first attempt. They all had to start afresh and it was not until they mustered up the courage and faith to start anew that they were able to fully accomplish the will of God for their lives. In our passage of reference, God says that we should FORGET the former things. Likewise, the Apostle Paul says "One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and striving to attain what is ahead of me (Phil. 3:13)." A minister of the gospel once gave this vivid illustration - that when driving, you do not have to turn back to see what is happening behind you. Car manufacturers invented the rearview mirror through which you can view 'the past.' You can comfortably drive while looking ahead, and still have a peep at what is going on behind you. This is precisely how God intended for us to live, forgetting about the past, although there are times when it is okay to reflect back to learn from past mistakes. When God told Abraham to leave his father's house, essentially he was telling him to forget the past. Moreover, when Isaac moved away from the Philistines that was about forgetting the past; and Jacob had to forget the past when he left Laban's house. However, many of us cannot forget the past. We allow our past to dictate our present and future, but that is not spiritual! The Bible says that if you are in Christ, then you are new creature, old things have passed away, behold, everything is become new!!! (2 Cor. 5:17) Anyone who uses your past against you is NOT for you. You have to break free and look ahead as Paul said. Many of the things people say about you may not necessarily be true, but the devil can use it to discourage and weaken you. You know the Bible says that the devil is 'the accuser of the brethren' (Zechariah 3). Legally, 'accusation' is an unsubstantiated query. The law of our land declares that a person is innocent until proven guilty! What exactly does this mean? It means that when a person is accused of committing a crime, they are first considered innocent until sufficient evidence is presented in a court of law that overwhelmingly proves their guilt. But here is the twist of the story: we have the Judge on our side! The fact of the matter is that even if the accusation turns out to be true, the Judge has a way of not holding it against you! By His BLOOD , he blots it out. You are then given a clean slate and a new start. Losing Something The second hard thing about starting anew is 'losing something' or at times, 'losing all.' In the finance world, one would always have to minimize cost and maximize profit. Human beings are characteristically always attempting to minimize the losses. But scripture teaches differently ... Abraham lost his patrilineal inheritance because he moved away from the land of his father. Isaac also lost all the wells his father had dug when he moved away from the land of the Philistines. Similarly, Jacob lost most of the cattle and wages he earned while faithfully serving Laban. You might be thinking, "Pastor, your references are only from the Old Testament." But wait! In the New Testament, time will not allow me to talk about Peter, John, Matthew, Paul, Timothy, etc. But it might interest you to know that those who were called by Jesus had to leave everything behind and follow him! (Matthew 16:24-25). You cannot bring old baggage along with you on a new journey, neither can you place old wine into new wineskin! All these disciples had something to lose by starting all over again. Do you remember Peter asking Jesus the question, "Master, we have left all these to follow you, what will we get in return?" (Matthew 19:26-28). In other words, Peter was essentially asking Jesus, "You know I am starting all over again, what will the end be for me?" No wonder Peter went back to his job as a fisherman between the period of Jesus' death and ascension! Similarly, it is worth mentioning that it even cost God something to start all over again. When Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience and sin, this cost God the very purpose to which He created man for - 'intimate relationship.' More significantly, it cost God 'his only begotten son' to save you and me! Every new start will cost you something. Words of Encouragement Hear these encouraging words: It will definitely cost you to start over again but you have to do it anyway - it is an investment! You may be in a very bad relationship - you have tried everything but your spouse has yet to change. You are convinced you made the wrong choice and at times thoughts of divorce bombard your mind. Child of God, note that our God does not sanction divorce and no true Man of God will! In my life as a servant of God, people have come to me with very difficult and humanly unsolvable problems. However, there was never a time I suggested or implied that they should divorce. In the same spirit as my Father, I abhor divorce. So divorce is not an option, but starting over again is. Marriage counselors will always tell you to do the same old things you did when you first met (that is looking in your rearview mirror) - surprise gifts, love letters, romantic outings, communication, and above all, praying together! Start over again! Begin to see the positive sides!! It will (or might) cost you time and money but you will succeed at winning your spouse back, who is your better half! Additionally, you will experience the kind of peace and love in your home that can only come from a united family. As one of African descent, I know how far the distance is between 'setting foot on developed country soil' and 'success.' Some of us were 'fortunate' (actually, blessed!) to have received additional education right here in the U.S. Therefore it might not have been very difficult to obtain employment within our chosen field of study, which greatly minimizes our struggle in the long run. For most immigrants from the developing world, their aim is to make a better living. Although 'the first world', particularly the U.S., is a land of opportunities, making it demands hard work. I know very intelligent, highly educated immigrants who for lack of additional education here or for other obvious reasons, have settled for less. What do I mean? I know of college graduates who are now working as janitors! I am not condemning any kind of job but I am drawing an analogy of starting over. I know everyone, myself included, has at one time or another settled for something far less than what they deserved, yet it was only for a season. Settling for something far less for a season is not the issue, in fact the Bible says that to every thing there is a season and a purpose for everything under heaven. It only becomes a problem when a person permanently settles for less and refuses to go the extra mile to achieve their goals. I know of a young Mechanical Engineer from Africa who upon arriving to the U.S. and for obvious reasons accepted a very menial job that paid him less than $10/hr. He remained at this job for nearly two years. When he came in contact with me, I began to encourage him and open his eyes to the fact that he needs to 'start over again.' I encouraged him to start filling out applications to companies and call to follow up. I encouraged him to take time off his job to go to the library and research prospective job opportunities. I made him realize that he does not need to remain at the level which he settled at. He had to start over! To the glory of God, after many sacrifices and frustrations, he recently landed a job with a leading telecommunication company and is now earning close to $50,000 a year, with benefits - this is more than the 'double portion' Elisha asked for!!! It will always cost you something when you make the decision to start over, but the rewards and benefits are worth the sacrifice. Challenges In the past few months, millionaire comedian Bill Cosby has been accused of lashing out at the African American community for blame shifting and their refusal to accept personal responsibility for past wrong choices. This has made national headlines and triggered some media debates. But let's all take a step back and consider what he is saying. I listened to his message to an audience at a dinner in Chicago, and his main point was that there is a need for African Americans to start over again. Yes there might have been mistakes in the past, but forget about them and start over! It takes someone with a big heart to bring in order what is out of order! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uttered this very point in his "I Have a Dream" speech over 30 years ago. Dr. King was telling the world that America was on the great and difficult path of starting over again by recognizing that all men were created equal. Likewise, when the Supreme Court ruled that schools should desegregate in Brown vs. the Board of Education, America was starting over again by declaring that equal opportunities should be made available to all its citizens, and the list goes on and on! What is spiritually true is physically true too! Conclusion In my life I have had to 'start over' many times, but it has all been good and rewarding. I will be sharing with you some of my own experiences as we go on and prove to you from scriptures and life experiences that 'a new thing' - as God says - is good. So where are you in life right now? Do you feel the urgency to start over again? Then listen to God's still small voice and act in faith. In my next piece, which will be posted in two weeks, I will tell you about the 'new thing' and how it springs up. Our concentration will be on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and how they found their 'new things.' It is going to be a long journey but stick with me because you will be blessed and your life will forever be transformed. So till November 20, keep reading the Pastor's Corner , and may the good Lord bless you!
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