TB JOSHUA AT 47

Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua (more

popularly known as T.B. Joshua) is arguably
the most contentious religious leader in the
nation today. There's no fence-sitting; it's
either you love him or you hate him with a
passion - and there's no shortage of
numbers on either side. Born on
Wednesday, June 12, 1963, in the sleepy
village of Arigidi in present-day Ondo State,
T.B. Joshua (TBJ) once led the Scripture
Union (SU) at St. Stephen's Anglican Primary
School in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, where
the gifts of healing and prophecy began to
manifest themselves at a very early age.

After dropping out of secondary school in his

first year, the young TBJ eked a living
washing dusty feet on the streets of Lagos,
prior to landing the job of evacuating
chicken waste in a poultry farm. Married to
the delectable Evelyn, TBJ founded the
Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in 1987. His ministry broadcasts
Christian televangelism both through a Christian television outfit called
Emmanuel TV and the Internet via The Streaming Faith portal.

Is TBJ a saint or sinner? Not a few people are ready to swear that he's an agent
of the Devil, if not the Antichrist himself. His critics aver that he employs a
demonic healing technique they dub "remote control." TBJ usually stands
several feet away from the person in the healing line. Whenever he scoots his
hand or finger in a particular direction, the person seems irresistibly drawn to
that same direction. Sometimes, he can send the person into a spin simply by
circling his hand, until he or she spirals out of control, crumpling into a dazed
heap on the floor.

But as unorthodox as this may appear, I don't see anything significantly

different between it and, say, Jesus spitting into wed mud and pasting it on a
blind man's eye for his sight to be restored, or sick people scrambling to fall
under Apostle Peter's shadow, or handkerchiefs distributed to the sick after
touching Apostle Paul's body, or present-day ministers waving their hands or
shooting breeze through pouted lips in fixed directions to make people fall
'under the anointing.' My take on the matter is that critics are wrong in placing
more emphasis on the methods than the source; the message is more
important than the messenger.

The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) seems to have weighed in on one

side of the divide by insisting that TBJ must furnish it with details of his
conversion experience, the preparatory Bible schools he attended, and the
identity of his pastor/mentor, prior to being accorded official recognition - and
TBJ has absolutely refused to comply. I can understand the desire by PFN to
curb the rising incidence of impostors fleecing and misleading worshippers. But
in the final analysis it is God's approval, and not man's, that matters. If PFN's
conditionalities were the litmus test for ministry work, great men of God like
Moses and Apostle Paul would've been disqualified outright!

Before misconceptions crystallize and insinuations and speculations run riot, let
me hasten to state that I am not a member of SCOAN. I've neither met TBJ in
person nor participated in any of SCOAN's activities. I must confess that my
initial alienation had a lot to do with the obnoxious tales about him swirling in
Christian circles. When I read the bit about Nicodemus faulting the Jews seeking
to kill Jesus for unfairly rushing to judgment, I concluded that it was wrong to
judge any man on hearsay, just as it is inappropriate to judge a book simply by
its cover.

When the Jews accused Jesus of being a blasphemer, for 'desecrating' the
Sabbath and claiming equality with God, He countered by outlining four
witnesses authenticating his ministry: John the Baptist, the miracles He was
performing, the Father who sent Him, and the Scriptures. Amazingly, there are
very close parallels between the testimony of TBJ and that of Jesus. One
Prophet Akin Adewole reportedly prophesied in 1995 that "a young man from
Nigeria would be highly anointed, such that all the nations of the world would
embrace the mighty God through him." He later affirmed that he was speaking
about TBJ. During ministrations by TBJ both at home and abroad, the blind
regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead
are raised. The importance of 'signs and wonder' in ministry work is
underscored not only by the fact that Jesus said that "By their fruits you shall
know them," but also by His appeal to disbelieving Jews to take the works
(miracles) He was performing as a necessary and sufficient condition for
confirming his calling (John 10:38).

For every one person that questions the genuineness of the man at the
Synagogue there are ten or more - including the likes of Goodwill Zwelithini
kaBhekuzulu, king of the Zulu tribe in South Africa, whose daughter was healed
of epilepsy, ex-Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, Ghanaian President John
Evans Attah Mills, Botswana Justice and Security minister and South African
Rugby star Jaco van der Westhuyzer - holding true to their convictions that TBJ
is a saint whose prayers are always answered by God.

While we need to checkmate false prophets by testing the spirits, we know that
no one can pray in the name of Jesus or acknowledge Him as having come in
the flesh unless the Spirit of God resides in such a person. The few times I've
watched TBJ preach on Emmanuel TV he's done exactly that, so what else can
be said? Yes, not all who say "Lord! Lord!!" will enter heaven, but it's for God to
decide on Judgment Day. None of us is called into a ministry of criticism. This is
why there's a great need for closing of ranks among Christian ministers; an
overwhelming sectarian tendency currently exists in the Church, contrary to
God's plan.
Some have said that TBJ is like the proverbial prophet - widely acclaimed
abroad and demeaned within. His ongoing Haiti earthquake relief operations
are doing more to positively polish Nigeria's image than the government can
ever hope to achieve with its extravagantly expensive re-branding projects.
This nation is yet to fully come to grips with exploiting the huge nation-building
potentials of her heroes in all walks of life.

Here's wishing T.B. Joshua - great man of God, a meek and humble man in the
mold of Moses, a philanthropist per excellence, an author and media guru -
happy birthday wishes as he turns 47 in a couple of days. As his years increase,
so shall his strength, and the anointing of God upon his life. May he continue to
discountenance distractions from professional critics while remaining focused
on the vision God has given him.

SOURCE: All Africa - http://allafrica.com/stories/201006090681.html