Book Review: God's Economics

GOD MEANS BUSINESS: If you assumed that there is no correlation between wealth creation and God, you may need to think again. Reviewer Dennis D. Muhumuza writes that Hillary Turyagenda’s book shows you how.

Life is tough business and unless we learn God’s way of doing things and toe his line, like good apprentices, we shall continue to maunder about unable to maximise our potential. That sums up the content of Hillary Turyagyenda’s latest book, God’s Economics. The book, set to be launched this evening (yesterday) at Amagara Restaurant, is divided into four chapters: The Art of Receiving, The Joy of Seeking, Heaven is not Silent and Being Rich Toward God. 

The author draws from the Bible and life to argue his case out. He contends that everyone who is rich regardless of being a believer or not has been blessed by God who “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” So there is no such thing as “self-made” millionaires; they are all God-made!

Quoting Matthew 21:22 that whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive, he says we just have to ask God unreservedly, in faith, and all the desires of our hearts shall be granted. That a person who has learned to receive from God cannot remain the same no matter what condition you might be in.

Turyagyenda writes: “What needs to be borne in mind is that the poor person is changed after contact with God. He does not remain in his state. If it meant one was poor in physical terms as a general thing, the result is to become rich because Jesus became poor for us to be rich.”

The author says the reason people don’t enjoy the power of the Word of God is because they “just let it wash over them like water off a duck’s back.” That is, they don’t take time to understand and examine it.

The first point of understanding and enjoying God’s economics, writes Turyagyenda, is to believe: “Once we are saved three things happen to us: we come under the Lord’s protection, provision and supervision.”
He says heavens and the earth vividly declare the abundance and wealth of the God who set it all up, and that the fact that he gave planet earth to man shows how big-hearted and wealthy God is. To corroborate the freewill largess of the Creator, the author quotes Psalm 145: 16, “Thou openest thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.”

Turyagyenda also presents the definitive definitions of true wealth, which has nothing to do with possessions. He particularly criticises the modern-day pastor’s obsession with material possessions: “Preachers ought to be well off financially but I do not think every preacher should try to top what all the wealthy people in town are doing…” The main point of the second chapter is that knowledge is power, and that to access this knowledge, the source of it who is God must be sought with the passion of a treasure hunter, or of a man chasing a woman he loves.

“To seek him means seeking what he is giving out; putting premium on what he puts premium on,” writes Turyagyenda, the point being that seeking the things of God first aligns us to God’s economic system that is not susceptible to theft or inflation, but instead brings greater rewards.

He cites the early church believers who shared everything: money, food and possessions to meet the needs of everybody but led more fulfilled lives, unlike today’s avarice and individualism that have spoiled things.
He argues that money is the starting point in learning about God’s economics; that those who use it to support the needy and advance the business of the Kingdom of God generally have grasped God’s economics. The author reminds those scampering after riches that a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things, which he possesses. He, however, clarifies that God is not necessarily against riches in the same way he is not pleased with poverty, but that if you follow him, you will wind up better off materially and in every other way.

God’s Economics is a content-driven spiritual book, written simply, with a convincing interpretation of the principles of the Bible. It also contains some hard truths that might rub the greedy modern-day man of God in the wrong spot. This is a book about success the God way that you might want on your bookshelf.

--Saturday Monitor, April 6, 2013

The man with a lion's heart

At a time when his faith was banned, Pastor Jotham Mutebi stood his ground and believed that his prayer would save him. Dennis D. Muhumuza writes that his courage has enabled him to touch many lives over the years.
In April 1978, Pastor Jotham Mutebi was leading prayers at Makerere Full Gospel Church when Idi Amin’s soldiers invaded the church and started shooting at the pulpit manically. The preacher knelt down, raised his hands and started praying in tongues. His congregants did the same. The soldier
s suddenly ceased fire and drew nearer to hear the strange language. Just then, the pastor heard the voice of God telling him: “You are not going to die now because there is work that you have not yet done.”


Pr Mutebi and I



The soldiers whipped the believers and drove them to Nakasero State Research Bureau, a place so dreaded because whoever went there rarely returned alive. There, Ps Mutebi was charged with treason for defying the president who had banned Pentecostalism. He either had to deny his God or face death by firing squad.

Pastor Obed Rubaiza, who was among the 200 believers arrested then, describes Pr Mutebi as a man with “a heart of lion” because he refused to denounce God with the jaws of death around his neck. He recalls a vicious soldier threatening to douse them with petrol and set them ablaze to see if God would save them like He had saved Daniel, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace.

But Ps Mutebi kept his trust in God and his faith was rewarded when Mustafa Adris, the then Internal Affairs Minister, who was supposed to sign their death warrant got an accident. That day, Amin demoted him on grounds that he had been plotting to overthrow his government. The death warrant was never signed and the prisoners were released with a warning never to preach the gospel again.

“When the church reopened after the fall of Amin, church leaders in exile and former missionaries were all coming back, wanting to take their former leadership positions in the church and Pr Mutebi who had endured the worst of times stepped in and ably steered the church to safety,” says Ps Rubaiza.

His stellar performance inspired by loyalty to the truth of the gospel got him elevated to the top leadership as General Overseer of Full Gospel Churches of Uganda. He held the title for more than 10 years, earning the revered title of “Bishop.”

Ps Jothan Basil Mutebi was born the eighth of 10 children in 1944 to an Orthodox father, Erika Mukasa, and a Catholic mother, Malita Namusoke. In 1964 he attended a Morris Cerullo crusade at Nakivubo Stadium and saw the blind see and the lame walk. He remembers that although the clouds were pregnant with rain, when the preacher prayed for the clouds to hold back that rain until all the people who were attending the crusade had reached home, it happened. “The preacher also preached from the Old Testament whereas the Orthodox priests, whom I was accustomed to, preached only from the New Testament.

The fact that it did not rain and the miracles that I had witnessed at the crusade all seemed new, and touched my life deeply,” he writes in his autobiography, Life Through the House of Death. “This marked the greatest turning point of my life and an entire new beginning. I pledged my allegiance to Jesus Christ and started to follow Him from that moment to this day.”

After completing his Cambridge examinations (the equivalent of O- level) at Chwa II Memorial School, he attended Bible school and preached a lot over the weekend in Kivulu, Nakawa, Kibuli, Kisenyi and Nakulabye. This is when he met Lovincer, his wife of 43 years and mother of their four children.

He got his first pastoral job in Entebbe, and part-timed as a clerk at the Kampala headquarters church. “There’s no joy in all the earth greater than that of winning a soul for Jesus Christ,” he justifies, regarding all the open meetings he held in Entebbe converting many for Christ. After planting a Full Gospel Church there, he was wooed back to Kampala in 1972 and made Principal of a Bible College and Treasurer of the Full Gospel Churches of Uganda.

He would occasionally interpret for the missionaries preaching the gospel in Kampala. When the missionaries were dismissed by Idi Amin in 1973, Ps Mutebi took on the responsibility of the gospel work as the secretary and one of the directors of the Gospel Mission in Uganda. In addition to all these responsibilities, he became associate pastor at Makerere Full Gospel until 1980.

In 1979, Pr Mutebi went to Glad Tidings Church in Canada for a Diploma in Ministerial Studies. Upon his return, he pastored Masaka Full Gospel Church for eight (years/months) before returning to Makerere Full Gospel Church as senior pastor. In 1989, he was appointed the General Overseer of Full Gospel Churches in Uganda and president of the Gospel Mission to Uganda up to 2011.

It is in recognition of his selfless contribution to Pentecostalism in Uganda that last Sunday (March 3rd), pastors around the country gathered at Makerere Full Gospel to celebrate the man they described as a model of service above self and an exemplary warrior of Christ.

“This special Sunday we have come to thank God for His faithfulness and grace in using Pr Mutebi for a long time; it’s good for the church to honour him, bless him, encourage him and reward him,” said Pr Fred Wantaate of Makerere Full Gospel Church. “Mutebi is still an elder and counsellor and we are praying for him to stay with us and continue to serve the Lord.”

Among other distinguished guests was Gen David Sejusa, who gave Pr Mutebi two cows for taking care of his grandmother and preaching the gospel with her for m

any years, and Princess Muggale, sister to Sir Edward Mutesa II, who too got saved in the 1960s and got baptised by immersion in the Kabaka’s Lake in Mengo along with Pr Mutebi.

So much was said about the transparency and exemplariness of Pr Mutebi as a pastor, leader, mediator, mentor, educator, supervisor, counsellor, husband and father that if all the great things said about him were gold medals, they would have filled the huge church auditorium. His autobiography Life Through the House of Death was launched, and a cake in the design of an open Bible was cut and shared. The sage was given a cheque of 50million shillings as a token of appreciation.

--Sunday Monitor, March 17, 2013

The activist poet who does not stick to the script

BY DENNIS D. MUHUMUZA

When he first came to Uganda in 2005, he advised writers not to constrain themselves by labelling their works. “Do not go out of your way to say this poem is about peace,” he said. “It might not be.”

An intriguing statement considering that a writer is expected to know the subject matter better. But that is Prof Jack Mapanje – ever unpredictably interesting in his sayings as in his writings.


Mapanje shows off some of his books. Photo by Dennis D. Muhumuza

The celebrated Malawian poet, once jailed by President Hastings Kamuzu Banda for his critical writings, was in the country, courtesy of the African Writers’ Trust (AWT), to deliver a keynote address at the Uganda International Writers Conference, held in Entebbe, from March 7-12.

AWT is a London-based organisation, founded in 2009 by Ugandan writer Goretti Kyomuhendo, to link and coordinate African writers in the Diaspora and on the continent to share skills, resources and experiences.

Mapanje, who has lived in exile in UK for 21 years, jumped at the chance to come to Uganda again.

Not just because his daughter is married to a Ugandan, but also because he “owes” his life to Ugandans who he says played a significant role in his release from prison in 1991.

Then, members of Makerere University Travelling Theatre staged a play in which they wore costumes that read: “Release Jack Mapanje.” His release was on the day the play premiered, after spending “three years, seven months, 16 days and 12 hours” in the then dreaded Mikuyu prison.

Prior to his arrest in 1987, he was head of Department of English, University of Malawi, who had caught the literary world’s eye with his poetry collection, Of Chameleons and Gods (1981) which won the 1988 Rotterdam International Poetry Award.

After his release, Mapanje went to UK where he continued to write. He also taught literature of incarceration and creative writing at University of Leeds for three years.

He also edited the acclaimed Gathering Seaweed: African Prison Writing (2002), the same year he won the African Literature Association’s Fonlon-Nichols Award in the US. Meanwhile, University of Stirling, Scotland, awarded him an honorary doctorate for his contribution to poetry and human rights.

He is now a visiting professor at York St John University, North Yorkshire, who is on sabbatical leave working in the Department of English, University of Botswana.
Mapanje’s 2011 memoir, And Crocodiles Are Hungry at Night, proves that his relationship with writing continues to glow and grow.

At the sagely age of 69, he has certainly seen it all; the beauty and the ugliness as a writer in Africa and in the Diaspora. AWT could not have found a better candidate to speak on the theme: “Talking Across Diaspora Across Continents.”
"Honorary lovers and supporters of the word; colleagues and friends in writing, let me start with the conclusion of my address,” he said, catching everyone by surprise that they laughed. He thanked AWT for bringing together writers in the Diaspora because they rarely meet to talk about their writings.

“Gatherings like these help us to know each other and keep Africa writing,” he said. “We should not separate ourselves, we should not be discriminatory, and we should continue working for the good of each other.”

He said the best of writers “represent the conscience and memory of their generation”, arguing that there should be no “prescription of what a writer should write about. Let them just write and write well.”
He said African writers living abroad should drop the label of African writer in the Diaspora but simply consider themselves as in their adopted homes.

On Tuesday, March 12, Mapanje had an interactive session with literature students at Makerere University at which a student, Brenda Kyarisima, recited one of his popular poems, Skipping without Ropes.

The students asked all sorts of questions and professed how much they had been inspired by the poet’s narrative poems. On his part, Mapanje encouraged them to form writing groups and find their own metaphors to represent the new age.

“Don’t be afraid of experimenting,” he advised, adding he was willing and ready to receive and comment on their poems.

Asked if he feels he has achieved his intentions of writing, the poet said, “I feel I’ve not done anything at all. We’ve not even touched some of the issues we ought to touch. That’s why the young generation must come in.”

The AWT-organised dialogue in Kampala brought together writers from Uganda, DR Congo, Liberia, Kenya, Ghana and Malawi; some of whom live abroad.

It is hoped it provided the spark for the participants to strive for the best. The young writers and students who met and interacted with the distinguished Mapanje were particularly motivated to read like never before and pick up their pens to tell their stories as well.

In the words of Goretti Kyomuhendo, “Writers may not have the skill of engineers to build bridges across the Limpopo river but we have pens and words with which we can accomplish much if we come together to learn from one another.”

--Saturday Monitor, March 16, 2013

Looking at the women’s cause

If there is anything Robert Bake Tumuhaise’s latest release does more, it is pushing for the cause of women, writes Dennis D. Muhumuza.

Tears of My Mother is a story of a woman who has long travailed but eventually prevailed. It is the story of a woman in a male-dominated world who despite being scorned and ridiculed for her barrenness clings to faith in God until her 40 years of patience pay off with her delivering a child who, as the subtitle reveals makes history by becoming the first female president of Uganda.

Here I could not help but indulge my curiosity as to what President Museveni might think of a title like this. In painting a character like Nyantahurira who personifies today’s political mafia that run the system, the author is speaking for Ugandans displeased with corruption and all the ills that have contaminated and stagnated the country, for which we would be justified to demand that it is high time the mantle passed on to a female leader. After all Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Joyce Banda are doing well in Liberia and Malawi respectively. And with tested women like Winnie Byanyima, Julia Ssebutinde,Rebecca Kadaga and Beti Kamya we would be spoilt for choice!

Feminists would love this novel not because it bashes men (it has its share of female characacters with unenviable foibles) but because of the way it depicts the steadfastness and pragmatism of women. Through its two central figures Hannah and her daughter Nyamishana, the endurance, resilience and fortitude of a woman is persuasively brought out.

They are portrayed as assertive in an inspirational way, challenging today’s patriarchs to give the girl-child a chance and tap the woman’s potential in the development process. Hannah becomes a pacesetter when she defies the position her prejudiced society has assigned women, choosing to see unlimited possibilities for her daughter, delivered shortly after the death of her husband. When the elders pick a name with negative connotations, Hannah rejects it and names her daughter Nyamishana, which means sunshine.

This sunshine in Nyamishana’s personality is what dispels the darkness that threatens to destroy her. She comes out of prison and makes history by occupying the top office in the land. Nyamishana’s self-belief is nurtured by her mother who gets her to confess every day that she’s destined for greatness.This is confirmed by a prophetess who appears on the day the child is named and proclaims that Nyamishana would “grow into a warrior dreaded by everyone” and liberate the nation. You wonder if this bit was inspired by the Biblical story of angel Gabriel telling Mary she would birth a child (Jesus Christ) who would redeem the world.

Then again, the prophetess could be a symbol of magic realism in which case the gods are responsible for Nyamishana’s success just like Ihuoma in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine has no control over her conjugal life seeing that every man that comes into her life is destroyed by the powerful sea god.

Tears of my Mother, can as well be classified as a historical novel since it begins by taking us back to the last quarter of the 19th century when a real-life famine, Rwaramba, devastated south-western Uganda, turning some of the natives there into cannibals.This famine coincided with the arrival of the Europeans on their civilisation/colonisation mission in Africa. Anyway, the reader gets an inside-out glimpse of what traditional life was like then with its legends, myths and endless rituals.

Published by World of Inspiration, the 138-page novel is simple but captivating. If you are not into sophisticated humour, you will find “Kay the rib-cracker” hilarious. But the touch of experimentalism is what makes the novel uniquely fresh. The author blends fiction-writing techniques with those of non-fiction; switching from unpredictable manoeuvres that characterise most novels, to the motivational style he is known for in his non-fiction works such as Tapping God’s Blessings. 
 
It reminds me of Irish writer James Joyce who distinguished himself with the characters’ inner thoughts and memories are transcribed as they arise. Maybe we can as well coin a name for Bake’s new style.

--First published in Saturday Monitor, Marh 9, 2013

Echoing a melody of honesty and sincerity

Anna Adeke. A young ambitious woman, she has set her eyes on the leadership of Makerere University. Dennis D. Muhumuza writes that the budding leader believes that ego-centrism in leadership is Uganda’s biggest problem and she strives not to fall victim. 

The 2013/14 Makerere University guild presidential race has nine contestants, but it was evident from the rally I attended at Nkrumah Hall on, February 21 that the real contest is between NRM’s Boniface Okot and FDC’s Adeke Anna Ebaju, the only female contestant.

As she awaited her chance to speak, Adeke looked so innocent and vulnerable that for a moment, I doubted her ability to express herself.  But the moment, she took to the stage, she became a different creature altogether. With a dramatic flash of her party’s V-sign, she threw a few punchlines deeply into the microphone while droves of her supporters exploded, singing her name and waving her posters atmospherically.

“Anna Adeke’s heart quivers with a beautiful melody of honesty and sincerity, therefore, I will not only talk the talk but walk the talk,” she said and paused for effect. “ Anna Adeke has gazed at the star of political activism in an endeavour to deliver Makerere from shameless and vicious demons of greed and maladministration…”

The third-year Law student is by all accounts a gorgeous woman but that is quickly overshadowed by the content of her character when you get to meet her. It is her capability and intellect and not her sex appeal that will certainly influence students to vote her as the fourth female guild president of Makerere after Juliana Norah Njuba in 1987, Sarah Kagingo in 1998 and Susan Abbo in 2007.

Her assertiveness and persuasiveness reminiscent of Cecil Ogwal’s in her heydays have been shaped by her political pedigree right from Kireka Grammar Junior School where she was head girl, to Our Lady of Good Counsel Gazaya, where she was the treasurer of the Young Christian Society, and a class prefect at St. Mary’s SS Kitende. Adeke who touts herself as “A Dependable Servant” is presently the legal advisor of FDC Makerere Chapter.

“I’m a woman whose mind is a sanctuary of a clear conscience,”she says, “I have come to bring accountability to the Guild, and to give it meaning and a new face.”

When I ask how she is going to turn around the volatility of Uganda’s oldest and most prestigious university, which has since become notorious for its striking students, she drinks from her bottle of mineral water before answering: “There is a huge communication gap between the students and the University Council. I will bridge that and consult comprehensively so that students will no longer feel that they are not heard.”

She will also get to invoke her gregarious and charming nature, which those who know her attest to. Her roommate in Africa Hall, Miriam Amoro calls her a friendly, considerate and generous woman who keeps her word and is easy to get along with.

“She is capable of moving mountains for whatever she sets her mind to,” says Amoro. This is echoed by Carol Adyero, who studied with her in secondary school. She says: “Adeke is not only a nice girl with humanity, she is also very brilliant, open-minded, hardworking, resilient, and a go-getter who is not afraid to make decisions and take a stand.”


Adeke who hails from Soroti District is determined to stay true to her name, which means “For God” or “godly” in Ateso. The 22-year-old says her deep sense of destiny won’t even allow her to indulge in endless attentions from men. This is why she is looking forward to returning morals back to the Ivory Tower, first by setting an example of what it means to dress decently and by demanding the implementation of the policy against sexual harassment, which was enacted in 2006, but has somehow remains redundant.

How will she balance a demanding course like Law with administrative responsibilities should she win? “Leadership is not necessarily an impediment to one’s academic excellence. It is about service but it’s also about exemplariness. I must excel somehow,” she says, alluding to Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o (now Kenyan Minister for Medical Services and Secretary-General of the Orange Democratic Movement) who in his time at Makerere became guild president and also got a First-Class degree.

After university, Adeke sees herself very active in national politics. She wants to be part of the solution to ego-centricism in leadership which she believes is Uganda’s biggest problem. She hopes to set an example of servant leadership that inspires others to aspire for greater ideals. Is it then the time for a woman to lead Uganda?

“What Uganda needs is good leadership regardless of gender; we need politicians with a deep sense of nobility and virtue,” she avers. “So the question is the moral question in leadership, not the gender question.”
As a lawyer in prospect, Adeke is inspired by “astute lawyer” David Mpaga, and as believer is drawn by “the compelling story of Mother Teresa”.

She will not reveal much about her parents except that her mother is a business woman and her father, an accountant. She relaxes by listening to the music by Diana Ross and reading African literature, particularly the works of Ousmane Sembène, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche and Chinua Achebe.

Her last word: “Dream big. We are in a life full of possibilities.”
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WHAT OTHERS SAY
Julius Mutabazi, Coursemate Makerere University.
She is a politically virtuous lady and a paragon of integrity. The Guild institution has increasingly become bedevilled with deplorable corruption. It’s literally an arena of self-aggrandisement by the Guild Executives. Perhaps Anna Adeke is the great beacon light and the oasis in the desert that will restore credibility by digging the wells of accountability and transparency there. She’s authentic and a genius with a deep sense of destiny.

--First published in Sunday Monitor, March 3 2013

Reflecting on the life of TL Osborn

LEGACY: Renowned evangelist TL Osborn died on February 14 this year. Dennis D. Muhumuza writes that many Ugandans remember him for his powerful crusades held three times in Uganda. He was an inspiration to many Pentecostal pastors.

The late Osborn did so much for Uganda

He heeded Jesus' call to go make disciples of all nations and went everywhere, preaching the gospel. After 77 years of doing it passionately, Dr. T.L Osborn went to be with the Lord on February 14, 2013, but his legacy will continue to speak for itself.

Just here in Uganda, he held miracle crusades in 1961, 1985 and 1991 at which many got saved, delivered and inspired to join ministry. At the February 1985 crusade at Lugogo Cricket Oval, Osborn stunned everyone by removing a gown he had worn for 35 years and putting it on his interpreter, Ps Robert Kayanja, saying go and preach the gospel.

It is said the anointing that came with the gesture is what revolutionised the blessings of the man that today heads Uganda's biggest Pentecostal Church, Miracle Centre Cathedral Rubaga.

"I believe hell would be here on earth if Dr T.L Osborn was not born and anointed," says Ps Kayanja of his spiritual mentor, whose friendship, advice and wisdom he will continue to miss. "But I know he is with Jesus whom he loved and represented so well."

Apostle Alex Mitala of the National Fellowship of Born-Again Pentecostal Churches was also inspired into evangelism first through Osborn gospel tracts and books, particularly Go Where the Sinners Are, and his teachings.

"He gave us free megaphones to use in our gospel street meetings and trained us in many of his evangelistic meetings in Kenya in 1978," he says. "I was privileged to serve on both of his last gospel crusade committees in Uganda and with my eyes saw many great miracles in Uganda and also in Nakuru-Kenya in 1978. Uganda will forever miss T.L."

So powerful were Osborn's missions that many parents named their children after the evangelist. Ps Osborn Muyanja of Good Samaritan Ministries is one such child. He relates a story of a man with twisted legs he saw healed at Osborn’s crusade.

"I got saved too and my life has never remained the same," he says adding that the preaching of Daisy, Osborn's wife was the first to inspire Ugandan women into believing they too can preach. "“Osborn's crusades launched Uganda into another dimension. People shut their shops and went to Lugogo," Muyanja reminisces, "That thirst and hunger for God should return."

 Ps Michael Kyazze of Omega Healing Centre also remembers how Osborn's crusades reignited the fires of revival in Uganda at a time when Pentecostal Churches were struggling to re-emerge from the worship ban slapped on them by Idi Amin in mid 1970's.

"Through Osborn, we upcoming ministers saw that even the evangelists can be men of the Word and very apt teachers. I do not remember Osborn as a loose prosperity preacher, but a man of great integrity and passion," he says. "He also brought the first readable Christian literature for all to read and understand the working of the Holy Spirit which were distributed for free to all people who attended his crusade. We will truly miss him but will sure meet him in glory."

A simple background
Born Tommy Lee Osborn on a potato farm in 1923 in Oklahoma, U.S., among 13 children, he was converted at 13 and got inspired by another powerful preacher, Oral Roberts, who was a family friend.
In 1944, Osborn opened his own church, but feeling its walls would limit him to spread the gospel to all nations as Jesus would have loved, so he went to India as a missionary. He was hungry to see the might of the Lord delivering people but still needed lessons in patience and fervent praying.

In 1947, he attended a crusade organised by the then famous miracle minister William Branham at which the blind received sight, the deaf heard, and the crippled walked; deliverances Osborn had never witnessed, and that inspired him to fast and pray for such power. His prayers were answered with a visitation from Jesus Himself who promised to be with him as He had been with others.

The fiery preacher believed and started holding healing crusades around the world, starting with Jamaica. By 1980s, he had preached in over 70 countries. He also established the Association of Native Evangelism to support local pastors in all ways and plant churches. Meanwhile, audio and visual recordings of Osborn's sermons enjoyed preeminent demand and so did his books and tracts which were translated in 132 languages.

His indefatigability was attributed to a strict diet, exercises and absolute reliance on the Holy Spirit. That he eluded the financial and moral dents that destroy many men of God also testifies to his closeness with his Master, Jesus Christ, and added to the potency of his TBN/LTV sermons.

Osborn died peacefully. His daughter LaDonna Osborn tweeted that there was no pain or sickness: "The Lord simply took away his breath. My father was wrapped in love, his family surrounding him as he stepped through the veil into eternity. He is now in the presence of Jesus, whom he had served faithfully for 77 years."

Here was a man who ran his race, and who many believe will be welcomed at the gate of heaven with the Scriptural words: "Well done good and faithful servant."

What a man wants

CHOICES. In seeking to understand men, the Women of Makerere Full Gospel Church invited the Men’s Ministry to speak to them. Turns out men want much more than what today’s typical woman offers, writes Dennis D. Muhumuza. 

A young woman prayed passionately for “Mr. Right.” God responded accordingly, except that the man was physically not what she had expected. “He’s too small,” she confided in a friend, who foresightedly advised her to take a chance since the guy had all the qualities she wanted apart from his diminutiveness.A year into marriage, the small man filled up to the delight of the woman. Oftentimes men are rejected on account of their prevailing circumstances. Most women seek security but forget that it is not guaranteed by a man’s physical stature or material possessions.

A beautiful couple: men are looking for the friend they married

“The man that seemingly has nothing today could have everything tomorrow,” says Godfrey Mwanje, urging women to have a little more faith. Some women have also failed to appreciate that we approach life differently. Men are soldiers and women are tender like the roses they love to sniff. They should know better than to spend days sulking when the husband does not notice your new hairstyle. Men rarely notice such things unless you are a one Betty Kyakuwa spotting a “mountainous headgear”! The fact is most women are not ready for hard truths. She has these trousers that make her look like a cartoon but expects you to say she looks sexy in them!

“Good communication is the ability to receive hard messages,” says Eric Settuba, a father. Maybe your husband is the conservative type that finds thongs repulsive. Instead of blackmailing him with how other men would kill to see you in a thong, just go to the next shop and get yourself some nice cotton pair of “mothers’ union” if that is what turns him on.

Moreover men need words of affirmation but most women behave like the wife of Job who told him to curse God and die. If your man is starting a business that is impossible, don’t tear him down with negative talk; engage him with wisdom lest he thinks you’re judging his business sense. Submission comes in, and it’s not about you kneeling for us. It is simply about “acknowledging the man as the leader in the home,” as David Kamugisha defined it.

This does not make a man an autocrat who ignores the wife’s constructive input. The problem is the typical modern woman who is educated and probably earning more. She relegates all family activities including serving her husband, to the housemaid. She has developed the “balls” that make her return home at odd hours but expects the man to remain docile about it. She has tranfered the power she exercises at her work place to her home as well. Alas, the man is looking for the friend he married but finds an aggressive woman who thinks life revolves around going up the corporate ladder and making as much money as possible. It’s not bad to be ambitious but retain your modesty, that’s what we are asking.

A laugh will not hurt anyone
Also, we want to feel valued through your words and deeds. When you laugh at our jokes even though they are not funny, when you discover our favourite dishes and have them served frequently, we love it. Some women are overly concerned about trivialities like how a toothpaste tube ought to be squeezed. Then they prattle on when a man is dying to have some peace after a long day. Basically men are naturally introspective while women are “cackling creatures”, to use words of one writer. So a woman who knows when to speak and when to hold her tongue is a woman that understands her man.

Then some women think all we want is to be “sexed up.” No doubt sex has its place but without you keeping clean and in shape, you’ll keep complaining about us not taking you to the peak! Besides, if you slept around a lot before marriage you can’t expect your man to be a sexual wizard that pulls all the tricks of your past lovers. If that’s what you want, teach your man but go about it wisely. As Humphrey says, “Sex is a beautiful gift from God to the married and the highest form of communication.”

So if in a fit of anger you tell off your man about his “small member”, women who think otherwise will snatch him. Consider the words of Pierre la Mure in The Private Life of Mona Lisa: “Men, and husbands in particular, are prone to think themselves as great lovers. The perfect wife must never fail to let him keep his illusions on this point. Tactfully, she should extol his amorous prowesses and he would love her for it.”

--Sunday Monitor, November 18, 2012