Enoch Adeboye

Enoch Adejare Adeboye is a Nigerian pastor and the General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG)

Pastor Adeboye had his B.Sc. in Mathematics at University of Nigeria Nsukka and subsequently got his PhD in applied mathematics from the University of Lagos, and worked as a lecturer in mathematics at the universities of Lagos and Ilorin; After joining the RCCG in 1973 he began working to translate the sermons of its then Pastor and founder, Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi, from Yoruba into English.

In 1981 Adeboye was appointed General Overseer of the church, taking over from Papa Akindayomi, who had died the previous year. For three years he filled the role part-time, still lecturing at Ilorin, until giving up his university position to preach full-time.

The church, which was not well known before Adeboye took charge, now claims branches in over a hundred countries, including more than 14,000 in Nigeria. Adeboye has stated that his aim is to put a church within five minutes of every person on Earth. He is the national president of RCF (an interdenominational fellowship in all the campuses in Nigeria)which is under the umbrella of Christ the Redeemer's Ministry (CRM)where he serves as founder and president. In 2008, Newsweek magazine named Adeboye one of the fifty most powerful people in the world. He is married to Foluke Adeboye, also a pastor, with whom he has children. he also has National and International awards and was named among the centenary awardees of his country in 2014.

Pastor

A pastor (UK: /ˈpɑːstə/; US: /ˈpæstər/) is usually an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, the term may be abbreviated to "Pr" (singular) or "Ps" (plural). A pastor also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation.

History

The word "pastor" derives from the Latin noun pastor which means "shepherd" and relates to the Latin verb pascere - "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat". The term "pastor" also relates to the role of elder within the New Testament, but is not synonymous with the biblical understanding of minister. Many Protestant churches call their ministers "pastors".

Present-day usage of the word is rooted in the Biblical image of shepherding. The Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) uses the Hebrew word רעה (roʿeh). It occurs 173 times and relates to the feeding of sheep, as in Genesis 29:7, or to the spiritual feeding of human beings, as in Jeremiah 3:15, "Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding" (NASB).

Holy Spirit (Christianity)

For the large majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person (hypostasis) of the Trinity: the Triune God manifested as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each person itself being God.

The New Testament includes over 90 references to the Holy Spirit. All three Synoptic Gospels proclaim blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as the unforgivable sin. The Holy Spirit plays a key role in the Pauline epistles. In the Johannine writings, three separate terms, "Holy Spirit", "Spirit of Truth", and "Paraclete" are used.

The New Testament details a close relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus during his earthly life and ministry. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke and the Nicene Creed state that Jesus was "conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary". The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove during his baptism, and in his Farewell Discourse after the Last Supper Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to his disciples after his departure.

Sermon

A sermon is an oration, lecture, or talk by a member of a religious institution or clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include exposition, exhortation and practical application.

In Christianity, a sermon (also known as a homily within some churches) is usually delivered in a place of worship from an elevated architectural feature, variously known as a pulpit, a lectern, or an ambo. The word "sermon" comes from a Middle English word which was derived from Old French, which in turn came from the Latin word sermō meaning "discourse".

The word can mean "conversation", which could mean that early sermons were delivered in the form of question and answer, and that only later did it come to mean a monologue. However, the Bible contains many speeches without interlocution, which some take to be sermons: Moses in Deuteronomy 1-33 ; Jesus' sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 (though the gospel writers do not specifically call it a sermon; the popular descriptor for Christ's speech there came much later); Peter after Pentecost in Acts 2:14-40 (though this speech was delivered to nonbelievers and as such is not quite parallel to the popular definition of a sermon).

Redeemed Christian Church of God

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Holiness denomination founded in Nigeria. Founded in 1952 by Rev Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi

History

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was founded in 1952 by Rev. Josiah Olufemi Akindayomi (1909–1980) after he had been involved in several other churches. Through the leading of the Holy Spirit Pa. Akindayomi chose Enoch Adeboye, a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Lagos, who joined the church in 1973. Adeboye initially became one of the interpreters translating Akindayomi's sermons from Yoruba to English. He was ordained a pastor of the church in 1975, and his appointment as leader of the church was formalized by the posthumous reading of Akindayomi's sealed pronouncement.

Andrew Rice, writing in The New York Times, calls the RCCG "one of [Africa's] most vigorously expansionary religious movements, a homegrown Pentecostal denomination that is crusading to become a global faith". The church's leaders preach that in the future "In every household there will be at least one member of Redeemed Christian Church of God in the whole world."