‘God is a Sportsman’. This is not blasphemy. Read this rather long story to understand it. It was the birthday celebration of the General Overseer of the Church, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye. Through a friend of mine, Pastor Olusegun Bankole, a senior pastor and head of the sports department of the church, I was invited to speak to the Youths of the church. Interestingly, I was not a member of the church. He asked me to speak on a subject related to youths and their future in sports. Immediately, I recalled an incident that happened in my office a few weeks before. Rotimi, a committed member of my staff at Worldwide Sports Ltd, Jibowu, had come to work one Monday morning and shockingly resigned from his job, one he loved passionately. His pastor in a Pentecostal church at the University of Lagos had ministered to their congregation that weekend and told them that all those involved in the sports business needed deliverance because Sport was a demonic activity; it took over the minds of people; it led them into the world of occultism; it was fueled by betting syndicates and gambling; and involved use of banned substances and drugs. Sport must be cast out of the church by all means. A few months before that I had left the Deeper Life Bible Church where I worshiped for a few years. The pastors had condemned my work in sports because it was connected to television. At the time, the church did not permit its members to watch TV, or even to read newspapers. Both were taboos, almost.So, here was the Redeemed Church invitation providing me a divine opportunity to provoke a conversation on the subject of Sport and its relationship with the Creator of the Universe. I was very certain that what I offered Pastor Bankole as my preferred topic was coming from far beyond me. It was titled ‘God is a Sportsman’. He came back to me a short while later, and to my pleasant surprise, confirmed that the Church had approved the intriguing subject I chose for my lecture. I prayed and prepared for the day, thinking that the General Overseer would be there. I had read somewhere that he was a former boxer himself and that he promoted sport in the church to the extent that he had a separate department for it. What would be the GO’s take on my presentation? The day came. I went to the new auditorium of the Youth Conference Centre of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Redeemed Camp, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, for the first time in my life. I was under some kind of divine inspiration. I spoke from the heart on this very daring subject. I am not even sure now that I had a written script. If there was one, I cannot find it anywhere now. For some reason, I was disappointed that Pastor Adeboye was not present. However, his wife and majority of the pastors were present in the auditorium that was filled to the brim with inquisitive Christians intrigued by the topic. Throughout the presentation till my very last word, the hall was in dead silence. Everyone wanted to hear everything I had to say on a subject that was a delight for me. I used lucid and true-life experiences to illustrate and properly situate my position on the controversial topic. I was not sure how the congregation took it at first until a thunderous ovation rented the air in a delayed reaction, halting my apprehensions. Everybody was on their feet. Pastor Mrs Adeboye walked up to me on the podium, took me to one side, and thanked me for the choice of the topic, for the enlightenment and for challenging the pastors of the church. Most of them had scurried to their phones/tablets during my presentation in search of answers to some questions I raised and references I made. Even for me, the whole thing was a surreal experience! By the way, in the wake of the interest that the lecture generated amongst the christian community that learned about it, I received another invitation to deliver the same lecture at the First Baptist Church in Surulere, where my mentor, late Dr. Gamaliel Onosode, worshipped and was a revered elder. That too was another great experience! So, at the Redeemed Camp presentation, I did not get to meet with Pastor Adeboye in person. I had an invitation from Fix Nigeria Group, an organisation I have had a relationship with this past year, to be a part of a delegation to visit and decorate Pastor Adeboye for his service to humanity, and to secure his endorsement for a Return-to-Agriculture-in-Nigeria project. I accepted the invitation. Two Tuesday ago, it happened. It was a well-organised visitation. Everything worked smoothly. The headquarters of the RCCG is a well-oiled and a well-run machine. Right on cue, we (about a dozen of us) were ushered into the presence of the General Overseer in his office.A gentle smile danced on his face. With a firm handshake he welcomed each one of us. He then quietly sat back and observed the introductions, the presentations of the award, a special tribute, a citation and gifts. Finally, it was time for his response.He was in every way a ‘Man of God’, humble in his disposition and looks, gentle in his voice, and simple in words that were measured and delivered in a professorial tone. He took us on a short journey through parts of his childhood; as the son of a farmer in the village, and his early exposure to agriculture. He then delved into starvation and its consequences including chapters in European history – the French Revolutions and the Napoleonic Wars. He related everything to why he accepted to embrace this new project aimed at driving the revival of Agriculture in Nigeria. He promised to instruct all his pastors to embrace and promote it within the church. Then it was time to go. The got up from behind his desk to take pictures with us. That presented my opportunity to share a few words with him. I reminded him of some 18, or so, years ago; about the lecture I delivered as part of marking his birthday that year, a lecture with the title: ‘God is a Sportsman’. His eyes lit up. The smile this time was different – broader than before, either in recognition or in fascination. The handshake after was firm and ‘louder’ in acknowledgement. It was indeed a great pleasure to finally meet the revered Pastor E A Adeboye. Dr. Olusegun Odegbami MON, OLY, AFNIIA, FNIS, GS Ambassador.
