WELCOME SPEECH BY ARCHBISHOP MUSA PANTI FILIBUS PHD., OFR., AT THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF CHRIST IN NIGERIA (LCCN) 98TH ANNUAL NATIONAL CONVENTION, 8 - 12 FEBRUARY 2023, AT THE LCCN COVENANT GROUND, DEMSA, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA
The Vice Chairman, Bishop Peter Bartimawus, PhD
Chairman Board of Trustees, Abp.
emeritus Most Rev. Dr. Nemuel A. Babba
Respected members of the Board of
Trustees
Your Lordships, Bishops,
Main speaker and other speakers
Our Royal Fathers Present,
The Administrative Secretary,
Deans, Pastors, and Catechists present
Respected representatives of Partners
in Mission other denominations
Heads and Staff Representatives
of Institutions,
Heads of Departments and units of
the LCCN
Our honored guests,
Our subgroups leaders
Security organizations
Media persons
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
salutation
The Peace of Christ be with you!
I welcome you all to this 98th
Annual National Convention of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria holding at
the LCCN Covenant Ground, Demsa, Adamawa State. I respectfully salute everyone
who has come or is joining us via virtual media platforms in this joyous gathering
that has been taking place for the past 98 years. We give thanks to God who in his mercy
continues to sustain the church in these difficult times. I
pray that God’s choicest blessings be yours during this fellowship.
condolences
I would
like to begin by remembering our fellow workers and members that the Lord has
called home since the 2022 Annual National Convention. We have lost hundreds of
members both due to natural cause and the violent criminal activities in our country.
Permit me to mention particularly our ordained ministers and some few members who
have gone to be with the Lord: Dean Rev. Andrawus Samsu
(7/8/2022); Dean Rev. Samaila Kaigama (27/7/2022); Dean Rev. Ishaku Tadingura
(29/7/2022); Dean Rev. Jonathan Shemiya (21/10/2022); Rev. Chakasiyada Martin
(19/9/2022); Rev. Solomon Mikailu (6/1/2023); and Mama Lydia Robert Woso
(7/10/2022).
May the Holy Spirit comfort us and grant us grace to bear these losses.
Christ our
hope
During our gathering this year, we
shall be reflecting on the theme: Christ our Hope. We do so in exceedingly
difficult and challenging times. Every day we wake up to the news of gruesome
murders of citizens, abduction, torture and even killing of members of our communities.
Many communities can no longer freely go about their businesses to cater for
themselves and their families. We live in a time when people incite religious
and ethnic violence unchecked. Perpetrators of violence are often described as “unknown
gunmen” despite advancements in technology. Many families have been forever destroyed
and hundreds destabilized in ways that only God in his mercy would heal their wounds.
Sometimes like the disciples, we struggle with the question, "Teacher, don't
You care that we are perishing?" (Luke 8:24). Indeed the road has
never been smooth. Yet we must always give thanks to
God that it is precisely during when the road is bumpy that he assures us he never
leaves us nor forsake us even if we hear the enemy claiming triumph (Hebrews
13:5).
Christ Our
Hope. The hope
that Christ gives does not disappoint as clearly admonished in Romans 5:1-5. This
hope that is rooted in Christ inspires a profound sense of peace and joy even in
the most difficult circumstances, because we know that nothing happens without
the knowledge of our loving God. It is this living hope that keeps believers
going regardless the situation they find themselves. Hold tightly to this hope
that does not disappoint and allow the love that God has poured into our hearts
to stir in us the unquenchable thirst for godly living. I hope and pray that we
would allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us by listening to the Word of God
through God’s servants, through songs and praise, prayers, meeting and
fellowship with sisters and brothers from all tribes and cultures and the celebration
of the Holy Communion at the close of the event.
that all of
them may be one
It is not burdensome for me to again
remind you of our unity in Christ Jesus our Lord. We constantly hear of conflicts
and rifts in the churches. Many of these conflicts start as small disagreement over
matters of governance, finances, and power, but escalate into serious rifts
that not only affect individuals, but harmful to entire groups, congregations,
districts, divisions, diocese or even the national church. And church conflicts
are hard to manage especially when there are ethnic, tribal, or regional sentiments.
In the very heart of Jesus is the
concern for the unity among his disciples. Before his suffering and was crucified,
Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of his followers: “I pray that they will all be one,
just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may
they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me” (John 17:21).
Writing to the church in Ephesus,
the Apostle Paul reminds the church; “There is one
body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one
hope when you were called; one
Lord, one faith, one baptism; one
God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians
4:4-6). In this ONE, all
our differences cease. Our oneness is a gift and a task. We are all called to
unity.
Our
unity as church is vital to the success of the mission God has called us to. We
must stand walk together in the midst of the violent storms against the church
and thick clouds hovering over our nation. In unity we stand
as ambassadors of Christ even in these challenging times. Division is a set back to the
church and its witness. I appeal to
you for the sake of Christ, let us retrace our steps. Leaders, ordained ministers,
elders, and members, let us seek to settle for the sake of Christ and not only
for the sake of satisfying ourselves, our grievances.
elections
Last year based on constitutional
provisions and elections schedules of the church, the General Church Council of
May 2022 re-elected Bishop Dr. Peter Bartimawus as Vice Chairman. Likewise, Shall
Holma and Arewa dioceses re-elected Bishop Dimga Jones Kadabiyu and Bishop Elisha
Amos Bukata respectively. Equally, last year was an election year in the
church, from the congregation to the national level. I implore you to continue
to pray for all those with leadership responsibilities at all church levels. We
all know that the leadership style that we are expected to exemplify is servanthood
leadership, that reminds us of sacrificing for the common good of all people.
Servanthood leadership inspires us to embrace and practice the principles of
selfless service for the wellbeing of the people we are leading. Leadership is
not an easy task, but God’s grace is sufficient to take us through.
May I use this medium to express
our sincere gratitude to members that have served their tenures in different
capacities within the church leadership structure. You have served and you have
gained diverse experiences. I encourage you to use the experiences to support
those that have succeeded you, not to wage war against them. Be excited to
assist when you are called to do so by those tasked with leadership
responsibilities at the moment. You are appreciated and celebrated for your
tremendous contributions to the growth of the church and advancement of God’s
mission in our country and beyond. Those now should know that you are members
of the Ekklesia and have taken an oath to obey the leaders and abide by the
rules of the church. May God help you in your work. Amen.
In 17 days we are going to elect leaders
to various offices to steer the affairs of our country. I urge you not to allow
yourselves to be left out. Many of the candidates and their agents will come asking
for your support, and as always, will make electoral promises and commitments. Your
Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) is one opportunity that you have in four years. I
urge you to vote in accordance with the guidelines issued by CAN based on
Character, Competence, Capabilities and Policies.
a call to
more commitment
I appeal to you to be more committed
in your support for the mission and evangelism work of the church. We as LCCN
understand ourselves as a church whose mainstay is mission and evangelism. However,
the zeal we express with the words of our mouths concerning reaching out with
the gospel is not always matched with our financial support. We cannot cater
for over two hundred mission workers and evangelists (Aikakku) spread across different
mission fields in Nigeria and the desire to go into other African countries. We
cannot reach out to people whose lives have been devastated by disasters
without resources.
Aside mission, evangelism and
reaching out to those who are suffering, we also have some projects to support
our work. I am happy that our water project has finally taken off. I am also
sure you are aware that last year we laid the foundation of the proposed Lutheran
University Nigeria. By the grace of God, we want to equip our children for
every good work. The book of Acts 7:22 says,
“Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of
power in words and deeds.” He was equipped to lead the children of Israel out
of bondage. The aim of Lutheran University is to bring faith and learning together,
so that our children have what is needed to impact the world wherever they go. This
is your opportunity to invest in the lives of our children and God will bless
you. As you can see, we have a long way to go in developing this covenant
ground. We need deep hearts and generous pockets to do so. I urge you to
prayerfully consider investing in this call of the Lord.
appreciation
Before I end my address, I wish to
express my appreciation to all our members for your prayers and sacrifices for
the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The church depends on its members
to do all that we need to do. And I appreciate your enormous efforts, great and
small, each according to his or her capacity. I pray that God bless you in all
that you do.
Our special thanks to the council
of bishops for your cooperation and mutual support that makes it possible for
us continue in mission and governance of this church. Thank you to the Board of
Trustees, Executive Council, all our ministers, catechists, lay leaders.
I thank Mission Afrika Denmark,
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Minneapolis Area Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Denmark Viborg Diocese, the German National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation,
the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (VELKD), the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Hungary, the Lutheran World Federation, the All Africa Conference of
Churches, and all our friends, for their support and cooperation. I am grateful
to all LCCN staff without whom nothing would have been achieved. Thank you to many
volunteers especially from congregations around Numan and Demsa for your
enormous contributions in preparing for this convention. A special thanks to my
wife Ruth and family for prayers and encouragement.
Thank you to our main speaker
Bishop Dr. Peter Bartimawus and the other speakers Rev. Dr. Adama I. Reymond Rev.
Zachariah Ayuba, Chief Hon. Felix Tangwame, Dean Rev. Sunday Salatu and Dr. Hyalladi Dulla Mshelia and Dr. Valla Daniel Waziri, for
accepting availing yourselves as resource persons for this year’s convention. I
pray God to give each of you the utterance to convey the message of God to
sisters and brothers gathered here for the convention.
declaration
I wish to end with the prayers of
the apostle Paul in Romans 15:13, saying “May the God of hope fill you with
all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
I declare the 98th Annual
National Convention of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria open in the Name
of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Most Rev.
Musa Panti Filibus, Ph.D., OFR.,
Archbishop, the
Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN)
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