Reflections on South Africa and Namibia 29th June – 3rd July 2010.

I just recently returned from a whirlwind eleven days of travelling to South Africa and Namibia. I flew to Johannesburg (Jo’burg), then on to Port Elisabeth (PE) to see England secure their first (and only) win of the 2010 World cup and totally outplay Slovenia. The flight to PE had the potential to turn into a riot because the plane we were meant to fly on developed ‘an engine fault’ and we had to wait for two hours for a replacement plane! Fortunately we had a very laid back Mr Patrick Vieira (Arsenal and French football legend, now at Man City) on board with us to keep us distracted ;-) we made the match we 45 mins to spare!!

Along with a group of family friends (Yussufs and Kennedys) we enjoyed good food, fellowship and spent the night in PE. The next day we had a pleasant 3hr drive to Queenstown, via a very nice bakery (Abdul where’s my cakes??!!). I preached for the Queenstown Church that night a message entitled ‘don’t worry be happy’ from Matt 6. The message seemed to be well received and there was a great turnout for a midweek service (about 80+).

The next morning (4.30am) we drove to East London airport, where I flew to Cape Town (CT) and met up with some old and dear friends that use to be a part of the Croydon Church, Mr & Mrs Kakoma (Beryl & her husband) and Preston Plaatjes. It was very encouraging to see Beryl & Preston after so many years (4 or 5). After good food and fellowship I had to rush off to catch my next flight to Windhoek (vin – took) Namibia, where I preached a revival for Pastor Setson and sister Mary.

I must say I found Namibia to be an amazing county, very pleasant, peaceful and modern. Our church there is a thriving work of God with over 500 in attendance Sun (am) and 300 out every night. I felt a real connection with the Church and felt that the folks were really ministered to by God’s word. Pastor Setson and sister Mary took very good care of me and I look forward to my next trip to that wonderful nation.

I caught a plane back to Jo’burg and spent 3hrs trawling through book stores whilst waiting for my flight, only to realise that I had not adjusted my watch by the 1 hr time difference and ended up missing my flight by 15mins ;-( so after finding my suitcase and finding a place to stay, a very frustrated traveller who was so looking forward to seeing his wife and daughters spent an extra night in SA! Ah well worse thing happen at sea! As I was moaning to brother Abdul, I was reminded of my sermon ‘don’t worry be happy’……… now where are those vuvuzela’s ;-)

God bless.

Me in Cape Town, with Table top mountain in background.

Fathers Day - Book review 'where are you really from?'

Just finished reading an amazing book by Tim Brannigan ‘where are you really from?'. The book is about his life growing up in Belfast during the ‘troubles’ fighting between republicans (IRA) and loyalists.

In his book, Tim Brannigan tells of his difficulties growing up,trying to fit in and always being aware he was different to everyone else. Growing up he was influenced by the IRA Sinn Fein and actually went to prison for a few years for allowing IRA activists to hide weapons in his mother’s car.

What makes this story all the more amazing and the reason why it is called ‘where are you really from’? is because Tim Brannigan is black! which in Belfast 40yrs ago was unheard of!

His mother whilst married met a Ghanaian doctor and had an affair with him in Belfast in the 60’s and as a result fell pregnant and the book speaks about the cover up and how his mum cleverly adopted her own son.

However the last few chapters speak about Tim Brannigan, who now in his 40’s seeks to find out who his dad is. This is fraught with complication’s and he ask’s himself why is he looking for his father? ‘I was shocked that a situation I thought I had under control could get me so angry. Who needs a father anyway? I was a 40 year old man now – what was in it for me? What does it mean to have a Father? A role model? I had my mum for that.

He does some research, finds out he has 5 Ghanaian half brothers and sisters. He makes contact with them and even travels to Ghana to meet his biological father, Dr Micheal Ekue.

What this book (for me) shows is the influence fathers can have wether they are present or absent. Wether we realise it or not fathers provide an immense sense of identity for their children.

As we celebrate Fathers day we are acutely aware that just as Tim Brannigan was looking for his Father, Society is also looking for Fathers, Men, Good men of character, integrity and morality to have impact in their Families lives.

Church host's political hustings.

On Sunday the 18th of April 2010, The Potters House Christian Church Croydon hosted a Hustings with Croydon North local candidates.Now I must admit up until a few weeks ago I had no idea what a 'Hustings' was! One definition says a 'Hustings' is a platform where candidates in an election campaign give speeches. To that end we had candidates from the three main parties Jason Hadden(Conservatives) Gerry Jerome (Liberal Democrats) and Malcolm Wicks (Labour).


We had a good turnout from our congregation with 150+ members of the church present. The candidates answered (eventually) tough questions on DNA records, crime levels and what their vision for Croydon is. The event lasted just over an hour and the candidates had one to one conversations with individual congregation members afterwards.

As a Pastor I believe Christians should get engaged in the political process. Churches are a tremendous force for good and social action in our communities. Often we are the bedrock of communities. Also because of the high concentration of people in Churches (especially afro carribean) churches can (potentially) have a loud voice, and what better way to use that voice that in the General election?

All in all the event was a thought provoking experience, with some people making a decision at the end of who they would vote for.

Recently we know that MP's have taken a 'bashing' over the expenses scandal and a lot of trust has been lost. Its hard to follow leaders if you dont trust them? As a Church we need to pray for all of our leaders, wether political, educational or religous (Rom 13), and as leaders we must lives with integrity and character.

Reflections on Russia March 28th – April 3rd 2010

I recently had the pleasure of travelling to Russia to preach at our conference there. We have 25 churches in Russia and several overseas in Mongolia and Cuba to name a few.

Getting to Russia proved very problematic in the sense that I had to apply for my visa 3 times?! Having visited 20% of the nations of the world and never having had a problem obtaining a visa, I thought this very strange and sensed some demonic opposition to my visit. Added to that problem, BA was on strike and all short haul prices shot up I was reminded of Ephesians 6:12 say’s that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. When on the 3rd attempt I was granted my visited I felt an overwhelming sense of ‘spiritual relief’.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from my trip but as always to expect the unexpected. I was amazed at how different Russia is from the UK, considering it’s only 3hrs 50mins away by plane, it seemed years away in many senses. Russia was very similar to a lot of Eastern European nations I have visited like Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic. It has many contrasts, poverty and wealth intermingled, dilapidated buildings alongside modern construction.

After arriving at Moscow airport I was through immigration and had collected my bags within 30mins (Heathrow take note!). I was met by one of our Russian pastors who took me by Metro (underground trains) to ‘Red Square’, which has been for centuries, the heart, and soul of Russia. There I saw the Kazan Cathedral, GUM and the Lenin Mausoleum. I must say I was greatly impressed with some of the ‘architecture’ in Red square and also in the Metro, though some of its trains were quite dated. We also witnessed the ‘changing of the guard’ nearby. It was only as we re entered the Metro, as thousands of people were squashed trying to exit did we become aware of a suicide bomb attack just a few minutes earlier, wow what a start to my trip!!

We made our way to Vologda and along with Evangelist Steve Bowman had a great week of ministry. I ministered five times (Growth through preaching, 5 qualities of a disciple, The Christian’s Kryptonite, Pigs or People and Going the extra mile). It was good to connect with and fellowship with our Russian friends. I think I was a bit of a novelty as one of only two black people I saw the whole time I was in Russia. I think I had my picture taken about fifty times I found the Russian people to be very friendly and despite their struggles happy (Westerners take note!) and doing their best to survive. Russia I believe is a ‘sleeping giant’ and should it awake spiritually could change the world.

Lets keep the fellowship and its leaders in prayers, and to those who prayed for me ‘Spacebo’ (thank you in Russian).

Clement Okusi.

Book review Bruce Mawhinney ‘Preaching With Freshness’

Book review Bruce Mawhinney ‘Preaching With Freshness’
Recently I have been thinking about the pressure and challenges many of our Pastors face on a weekly basis in preparing and presenting three sermons per week (many of who also work a full time job) to the same congregation, year in and year out. One hundred and fifty sermons of forty minutes each, is it itself a full time job!

Preaching God’s word is certainly one of thee (if not thee) highest callings for a Christian and there is so much that must happen in a sermon. It must be Engaging, Educational, Edifying and full of Exhortations to name but a few alliterative objectives. The problem is many sermons fail to ‘hit the target’ and achieve what God’s word set out to do (Isa 55:11). So to this end it is critical that those of us who involved in this highest of callings give ourselves to this task more than any other (Acts 6:1-7). This is why I recommend ‘Preaching with Freshness’. Whilst it is a book written by an academic, it is not written in an academic way but in the form of a novel. The book has a very engaging story line and contains many ‘nuggets’ of applicable truth.

Once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down and finished the book in less than two weeks, which for me, given my other reading is very good. We often say when recommending books ‘chew the meat and spit out the bones’, well this book has a lot of ‘chewable’ meat. This book requires not just one reading, but to be re read every couple of years. This is a book that has been on my bookshelf for a while and after finally reading it wish I had read it sooner. This book is certainly not the only book you should read on preaching, but certainly one of the books you should read, pray it helps.

Clement Okusi

Preaching in Walthamstow

Just finished a weekend of preaching in the Walthamstow congregation. Went with the whole family and it was good to catch up with some of the 'older' folks as well as meeting lots of new folks. Some of the saints have faithfully attended the Church for over 20 years and truly are pillars and good examples.



There was a tangible touch of the Holy Spirit in the services and several people prayed to receive Jesus (amen). I preached in the AM 'don't worry be happy' (Matt 6:25-34) and in the PM I preached on 'the Love of the father' (Rom 8:15-17). I used a short video clip in each sermon and really felt people were helped during both services.



Then on Monday we had a 'powerful' Men's Discipleship class, where I preached on having 'Holy Ambitions' (Luke 22:24-27). In essence I was challenging the men to not only be ambitious but to be kingdom minded in their ambitions. The Q&A session at the end was very good with lots of interesting questions and comments. It was a good turn out of men (about 150) which is always a blessing to see.



Lets keep Walthamstow in our prayers.