Department of Religions, Faculty of Arts,,

Reckless “massacre” of human beings and the unwholesome destruction of goods and properties all in the name of “religion” is not a new feature in Nigeria. Desires or wave on the lake of the minds otherwise known in the sanskrit as the vasanas, ignorance, the modes of material nature, cognitive deficit and unending daily stress have driven almost all Nigerians high and low to the brink of “religious” disaster. The media, gang, unemployment, poverty, drug abuse/alcoholism, denial of basic civic and human rights and pseudo – religiousity have contributed immensely to religious crises in Nigeria. At the stage when religion is practised under the checks and balances of authentic scripture, an exemplary anti-material mentor, and holy men or women, it creates cohesion, which engenders sustainable democracy and national development. This paper viewed the foregoing amongst others and proffers that if we repose unadulterated love on the supreme personality of the Godhead, automatically religious crisis becomes historical remains and sustainable democracy and national development will thrive in our dear nation Nigeria. The paper adopted historical and analytical approaches in its presentation.

Pastoral counselling uniquely merges spiritual guidance with psychological support to address intricate family dynamics. It helps to synergies pastoral care and family counselling, integrating faith and therapy to heal emotions and enrich familial bonds. The church is a spiritual space where people meet for the purpose of worship. However, the church has been seen not only as a place of worship but also a place for spiritual healing which finds expression in prayer, psalmody, fasting and as well the talk-therapy by proffering solutions to family related issues. The paper therefore examines the impact of pastoral counselling in Christ Apostolic Church (C.A.C) Oke-Anu in Ilorin Metropolis. Data were harvested through interviews from pastors and members of the congregation, historical and descriptive methods were adopted as secondary sources. It was discovered that there is huge impacts of pastoral counselling on families in the church and through various pastoral engagements in the light of talk therapy many families have been saved at the verge of divorce and marital failure. It also shows that interactions between pastors and members have helped to identify problems and provide solutions in the church and homes. The paper concluded that talk therapy is a viable tool to reduce the issue of conflict in homes and church as seen in C.A.C Oke-Anu, Ilorin. Therefore, the study recommended that the pastoral counselling should be embraced by all pastors and also pastors should be well-informed and trained about ethics of counselling.

Counselling is a therapeutic measure through the use of communication skills. In the Old Testament, counselling is used as a medium to helping someone in distress, proffer solutions and give necessary insights to solving problems. Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt without an administrative plan of overseeing the large congregation of the Israelites community. The study examined Jethro's counsel to Moses in Exodus 18:17-23 and lessons for Nigerian Pentecostal Church Leaders in. The workloads on Nigerian Indigenous Pentecostal Church Leaders in Ilorin Metropolis are enormous, and as a result pose threat to their health, effective church administration and wellbeing as Church Leaders. The study adopted exegetical, historical and participatory observation methods. It was discovered that Indigenous Pentecostal Church Leaders in Ilorin Metropolis engage in several activities such as the Church weekly services and the Sunday services. They also chair and oversee virtually all units in the Church, and hold important leadership position among other Christian fellowship in their neighbourhoods. Therefore, the study recommended that the Nigerian Indigenous Pentecostal Church leaders in Ilorin Metropolis should engage in division of labour among members for effective church administration and reduction in health hazard.

This paper analyses the moral values in the Christian Missionary Educational System in Nigeria. The waning moral values in Nigerian society are evident in immoral activities like kidnapping, murder, fraud, sexual immorality, forgery, bribery, and corruption. The moral values adopted by the Christian missionaries can go a long way in correcting the wrongs in society and even in the church in particular. Therefore, this paper is interested in examining the moral values in the Christian missionary educational system. The method of research employed in the paper is historical and participatory observation. This is because the paper is a historical research. It thus uses historical analysis which gives us the opportunity to contextualize the beliefs, practices, objects, and symbolic forms in their social context noting their changes and transformations over the years.1) The participatory observation made us portray these moral values in the society in which we belong. All these help in the clarification of the ideas in the study for a better understanding of the issues and arrival at sound conclusions. It was discovered that the early missionaries were with a guide (Bible) during their advent to Nigeria and this made them seek peace and not war during their voyages. It is therefore recommended that every member of society must shun every act of evil such as corruption, injustice, dishonesty, killings, kidnapping, and so on as this would enhance an environment where peace, unity, progress, and orderliness prevail.

The exclusion of women from leadership is not unique to Nigeria. It is also a global practice to alienate women from positions of leadership, especially in religious and political settings. However, there have been exceptions to this rule. Women in biblical times contributed to the freedom of the Israelite nation through active participation in leadership roles, among them, priestesshood, motherhood, and judgment. In African Indigenous Churches today, women also hold offices, functioning as choir leaders, ushers, lady evangelists, co-founders and founders. Contextualizing the biblical Deborah in her social and historical contexts, this paper discovers how women played significant roles in ensuring freedom for the Israelite nation, the church, and, by extension, Nigerian society. Its study finds the life and acts of Deborah offer contemporary Nigerian women a positive, liberating role model.

The idea of peace in a human society contradicts God’s original intention about the peace He bestowed man at the time of creation. Man was created and placed in the Garden of Eden where he enjoyed all things including peace of mind and fellowship with His Maker but these became severed because man sinned against God. Jesus was believed to be God’s incarnate, the ultimate sacrifice for man’s redemption and the model for an ideal godly person whom God had initially created man to be. Peace in the real sense cannot be achieved in a chaotic atmosphere especially where strive, envy, jealousy, hatred and selfishness exist which cannot be found in Jesus Christ. Hence, the aim of this paper is to consider the personality of Jesus Christ as an exemplar of peace and peace building. Therefore, the methods adopted in this study are historical and descriptive. It was discovered that during Jesus’ earthly ministry, He lived a life worthy of great emulation as He stood in the middle of the society of His days carrying out His assignments in the face of haters yet displayed a grandiose attitude of peace and peace-building to His audience. The study recommended that the society should live a Christ life-pattern pursuing peace with all men as richly found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament position about women depicts the origination of the human race and the institutionalization of gender in respect of roles and treatment given in the Jewish-predominated society. One of these significant roles is the salvific intervention of women in saving their families and the nation of Israel as a whole at precarious moments. Despite women’s relegation and alienation in Jewish society, they were still much more relevant to the growth and continuity of such society and their families in particular. This sheer understanding finds expression in the role of Abigail who carelessly threw herself to the approaching angry warriors, David and his men. Therefore this paper sets out to discuss the salvific role of Abigail in saving her family from impending destruction. The study adopted exegetical, historical, and descriptive methods. It was discovered that Abigail was the epitome of the proverbial wife who keeps her home from destruction. The findings also show that men can be insensitive with their actions, hence putting their lives and families in danger. The study recommended that women must wake-up to their responsibility of saving their homes and nation from various intricate challenges undermining its peace and progress.

Nigerian society is experiencing a great wave in the migration of people, which does not only include the younger generation but also the older generation. The populace of Nigerian society is tired of the socio-politico-economic maladies permeating the lives and culture of the people. “Japa” is an emerging jargon that has gradually replaced the term migration in 21st-century Nigerian society. Migration means moving people, goods, and services from one place to another. However, “Japa” is a peculiar term that describes people traveling outside the country for greener pastures. Thus, it suffices to say that people in the biblical era moved from one place to another in search of greener pastures, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Noami, amongst others. Therefore, this paper examined the concept of “Japa” in Naomi’s flight to Moab and its lessons for Nigerian society. The study employed historical and descriptive methods. It was discovered that Noami’s flight to Moab had many economic, psychological, religious, and social effects. The study also derived lessons that can be learned towards the attitude of Japaism among the Nigerian populace today. Hence, the study recommended that the populace of the Nigerian society should, above all considerations, seek God in their act of migration, obey His instructions, and trust in His providence and power to turn a calamitous situation into a favorable one.

The technological advancement in the 21st century has paved the way for national growth and development in Nigerian society. The church is not aloof to the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to foster peace and security locally and globally. The paper examines the role of the church in the use of ICT in the promotion of regional peace and security in Nigeria. The study adopted the historical, descriptive and participatory observation methods. Findings show that ICT has helped to reshape church ideology and practices to further contribute to peace and security in Nigeria. Hence, the study recommends that the church judiciously use ICT to promote regional peace and security in Nigeria.

Keywords: church, Nigeria, regional peace, security, technology

One of the menaces facing African society, with particular reference to Nigerian society, is the issue of insecurity. The state of insecurity in society has called for serious attention from both the leaders and their followers. In the Yoruba pre-colonial era, tribal wars and conflicts pervaded the society where the use of okigbe (cutlass proof), gbekude (withholding death), ayeta (bullet proof) are usually used for security purpose. The belief in the existence of malevolent forces that are capable of truncating man’s destiny encourages Africans to seek spiritual asylum in the African traditional security system. The study examined Psalms 91 from an African Yoruba perspective as a means of ultimate security for insecurity issues in African society. The study adopted historical and African Biblical Hermeneutics methods. It was discovered that Psalms 91 is one of the common Psalms used among the African Indigenous Churches to seek divine security from evil machinations and gain the ultimate peace needed for successful living. Hence, the study recommended using Psalms 91 for security and salvation purposes among the African Yoruba people.

Religion and economic discourses within the Nigerian society is not a new collaboration rather both sectors have been integrated since the early 1900s, especially in the colonial era. However, the integration of religion and economic institutions has a long-lasting tradition in the Max Weber’s theory of the protestant ethics. The Nigerian society is a house for many religious beliefs and practices incorporated into the trio-religious beliefs system (Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religion) with emphasis on role of man to God and his society. There is no doubt that religion controls virtually all important sectors in the society such as socio-political, economic, education and health sectors. The paper examined the role of the 21st century church in the Nigerian economic development. The study adopted historical, descriptive and participatory observation methods. Through the historical method, the study traced the collaboration of the church to the advent of the missionary activities, and further described church’s intervention in eradication of poverty and uplifting the society economic status. The participatory observation entails the authors’ active engagement in church activities such as entrepreneurial teaching, skill acquisition programmes and special donations to alleviate members’ economic hardship. It was discovered that the 21st century church in Nigeria has contributed to the Nigerian economic through humanitarian services, establishment of schools, healthcare, entrepreneurial and skill enhancement and poverty alleviation. Therefore, the study recommended that the church should further engage the government, stakeholders and developmental planners in economic matters to ensure prompt response to economic challenge in the society.

We cannot be held responsible for unsolicited material. A quarterly journal, the quint is housed by the Faculty of Arts, Business and Science at the University of the North. The encouragement and support of this project by the Vice President Academic of the University College of the North is deeply appreciated.

Youth in every organisation are major drive to sustainability and development enjoyed within the
compass of the leadership skill and capacity building on individuals, the church and the community
of residence. Christ Apostolic Church is one of the ancient African Indigenous Churches originated
in 1918 as a prayer band called Precious Stone Society at St. Saviour Anglican Church, Ijebu-Ode
and was formally named in 1941 after the breakout from the British Apostolic Church. In 1930, there
was a power expulsion by the renowned a young Yoruba Evangelist, Joseph Ayo Babalola which
resulted in renowned revival of the Christ Apostolic Church. Hence the thrust of this paper is to
provide a synopsis on the impact of Christ Apostolic Church Youth Fellowship with emphasis on its
roles to members, the church and the community. The study adopted the primary and secondary
sources through the use of interviews, books, journals and internet sources; the study was able to
provide historical and descriptive accounts of the impacts of the Youth to the growth of the church.
It was discovered that Christ Apostolic Church Youth Fellowship Ilorin Metropolis offered a wellthought-out framework where youths are able to display their potentials through seminars, hymns
service, prayers, workshops and picnics which undoubtedly led to church growth and expansion.
The study therefore recommended that the church should continue to provide avenues for youth
explorations in order to ensure the sustainability and expansion policy of the church.