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 GRADUATION SPEECH BY DR. JAMES J. MAGERIA ON SATURDAY THE 13TH JUNE, 2009 AT 10.00 A.M. AT THE NAIROBI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY (NIST), NAIROBITURNING IMPOSSIBILITIES TO POSSIBILITIES
• The Chairman of the Governing Council, My dear friend and Colleague in the Ministry,
Mr. James Mwangi Wainaina,
• Members of the Governing Council,
• Members of the Senate,
• Distinguished Church and Organization leaders,
• Your Excellencies, the Ambassadors, High Commissioners and members of the Diplomatic Corps,
• The Vice Chancellor and dear Transformational Servant Leader Dr. Emmanuel Bellon,
• Faculty and Staff of the Nairobi International School of Theology
(soon to become the INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP UNIVERSITY),
• Dear Graduands and Students,
• Distinguished Guests, LADIES & GENTLEMEN.
I greet you in the name of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the son of the Living God.
Praise the Lord for God is good all the time and all the time God is good.
Thanks be to the Almighty God who has brought us safely to this important occasion on this historic graduation day.
Thanks be to God for having brought the graduands to a successful conclusion of their trainous courses after which they have attained their hard earned degrees and diplomas. Yet, this day also marks the commencement of another section of their journey through life, but this time, better equipped with knowledge, as transformational servant leaders TO TURN THE IMPOSSIBILITIES TO POSSIBILITIES.
Today is a great day, not only for the graduands but for all of us as well. Today is the very first day of the rest of our lives. Let us all recommit ourselves to the Ministry of transforming Africa and the World for Jesus. Today, let us resolve to become true, efficient and effective Kingdom Builders in Jesus name.
This is the day that we must hope in the Lord who has brought us this far and renew our strength. We will then sour on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint as we walk in step with the spirit of God.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, my wife Beatrice and I are most grateful to the Chair, the Governing Council, the NIST Community and the Vice Chancellor for inviting us to participate to this great occasion.
Today is one of the happiest days of my life. It reminds me of the night, over 30 years ago, when at the Hilton Hotel, the late Dr. Bill Bright shared the vision of NIST with some selected executives from both private and public sector. It was at a dinner during one of the Executives Ministry’s seminars at which great servants of God like Dr. Henry Brandt taught. Shortly after that in 1979, a small committee was formed to work on establishment of the school in Nairobi. Brother Don Myers, the late Archbishop Manases Kuria, Brother Fred Ojiambo and a few others formed the committee. I had the privilege of serving on the committee as its Chairman until NIST was incorporated in the year 1980. I then left the team of Mr. Fred Ojiambo as the Chair, Archbishop Manases Kuria as Vice Chair, Don Myers, Jacob Mwangi, David Horsey, Howard Ostendorff – Secretary, Mrs. Phoebe Kigira, Rev. Methusela Bugimbi, Amos Wako and Robert Singleton to continue with the work as I concentrated on serving on the then Daystar College Board of Directors.
We started NIST with a handful of students in one building only. Now, see where we are. Praise the Lord for this far He has helped us – EBENEZER!!
In 1980 when the Nairobi International School of Theology (formally, known as International Christian Graduate University) was incorporated, many African Nations had broken away from colonial rule and had become independent nations. Earlier, in the 50’s and 60’s the struggle for freedom in Africa had generated very high hopes and expectations in both Africans and non-Africans alike, for instance, Sir Harold McMillan who was the Prime Minister of Great Britain in his famous “WIND of CHANGE” speech said,
“The wind of change is sweeping across the face of Africa which no one can stop”.
PETER HOWARD who was the World Programme Director of Initiatives of change said and I quote:
“Africa is going to be the mother of tomorrow’s world. The world is waiting with an eager heart and hungry mind to listen to the voice of NEW AFRICA. It must be a voice so revolutionary that, CHINA, RUSSIA, AMERICA and EUROPE, black men, brown men, yellow men, white men say with one accord,
“THAT IS THE WAY GOD’S EARTH IS MEANT TO BE.”
RAJMOHAN GANDHI, the grand son of Mahatma Ghandi said and I quote:
“In the flow of history, Africa’s turn has come………..Africa’s potential wealth is stunning. Not only in the gold, diamonds, oil or hidden minerals, but also in more than 200 million people of this Continent.”
Unquote.
The optimism was short lived. By the late 70s, Africa was characterized by coups and counter-coups, civil wars resulting not only great numbers of refugees fleeing their own countries, but also thousands of internally displaced persons. Corruption, poverty and diseases were on the increase.
Some of the major causes of these disappointing results of the so called freedom were poor leadership and inadequate education. However, introduction of more educated African Leadership did not result to the expected improvement in the management of most African nations. It became quite obvious that education without God cannot bring the true freedom and development Africa needed. Hence the Vision of NIST to become a World-class University for advancing biblical values, academic excellence and transformational leadership. This Vision is to be realized by educating and training Christ-like visionary leaders to spearhead holistic transformation in Africa and the world; for if the Son shall set us free, we shall be free indeed. If Jesus Christ the Son of the living God, Jehova; Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life; the only true way of life, sets us free, we shall be free indeed. We shall receive spiritual freedom that only Christ can give.
Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, dear graduands, know this, if nothing else:-
Political freedom or any other so-called freedom, without spiritual freedom is a license for institutionalized crime and sin. For example, apartheid, communism, religious fanatism and capitalism that breeds selfishness and greed resulting to dangerous institutionalized corruption.
As we work on the realization of the Vision and Mission, there are challenges facing the entire NIST community. The school is struggling with shortage of human resources, recruitment of more students and funds for development and equipment. On the other hand students are struggling with school fees, some not knowing where to go after completing their courses while others are not sure how they will apply their newly acquired knowledge as they serve under leaders who may not appreciate the new ways of doing things even when they are better than the old ways. The Continent we are determined to transform is also facing the challenges of economy, diseases, poverty, famine and ethnicity among others.
All these challenges are impossible to overcome, one would say. Yes they are indeed impossible with men. But with God all things are possible.
How sad that we have such short memories. When advertisers befall us, we immediately, forget the great happy times and development we have enjoyed for a long time. We then lose the energy and strength to fight the adversities in order to return to the good or even better times.
Have we forgotten there was the stone age and the time we wore only leaves or skins at best? Have we forgotten the times in history that there were no roads? The time it took us six weeks to travel from Mombasa to London by sea? We can now take late supper in Nairobi and early breakfast in London. Have we forgotten there was the slave trade and the slavery, colonialism, communism, apartheid and the times when almost every disease killed our people? Have we forgotten, that in 1980, NIST was not what it is today?
Our God in His loving kindness has taken us through all that. He has always been with us according to His promises. Yesterday, today and forever, Jesus is the same. What He has done in the past He can do it again and again and again to infinity.
With God, all things are possible, but He uses people. He uses us and His creation to accomplish great things. In Exodus Chapter 3, He told Moses at the burning bush that was not consumed, that He had heard the cries of His people the Israelites because of the suffering they were going through in Egypt. By the same breath, He told Moses to therefore go and tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go. God however promised Moses that he would be with him.
Jesus Christ, just before His accession told the Apostles that all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth. He then told them to therefore go and make disciples of all nations and that He would be with them always, until the end of the age. We always need God with us because without Him, we can do nothing. But we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
The battle is the Lord’s. It is not ours. But we are the soldiers to fight courageously in the army of the Lord because He is always with us and we know that with Him nothing is impossible. We shall be more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.
We must be careful to always follow God’s timing. He is never too early or too late. His timing is perfect. We must be sensitive to the Spirit of God and to His leading. Since we live by the Spirit as spirit-filled believers, let us always keep in step with the Holy Spirit of God. Remember, to God one day is like a thousand years and vice versa.
Talking of steps, there are some five (5) steps I would suggest we take in this journey of life:-
Step 1:-
Let us be fully controlled by the Holy Spirit. That way we receive power to work for God as Christ’s witnesses.
Step 2:-
Using the power of the Holy Spirit, let us work obediently as Christ’s witnesses in our immediate neighborhood. In our homes, churches, communities, cities and so on. Our Jerusalem.
Step 3:-
Let us be witnesses in Kenya or our respective countries. Our Judea.
Step 4:-
Let us extend our work to Africa. Our Samaria. Claim Africa for Jesus as Brother Tokunboh Adeyemo did. Claim Africa to become the Continent of the 21st Century, following Jesus. That is my Vision for Africa.
Step 5:-
Claim the ends of the earth for Jesus. For God so loved the world, not just our country and our Continent Africa or America or Asia or Australia or Europe, that He gave His one and only son Jesus, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
None of these five steps can be taken by us in our own wisdom, strength and power because we have none. But since with God all things are possible and since God is in us and us in Him, we can do all the seemingly impossible things we have talked about today through Him who gives us strength.
We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live but Christ lives in us. He that is in us is greater than the one in the world. In Him we are more than conquerors.
Let us therefore courageously take the challenge of the Great Commission. Let us be encouraged and become great Kingdom builders as the people will not say, “Here is the Kingdom or there it is, for the Kingdom of God is within us.” Let us courageously venture into all leadership areas and transform them by having God’s will done in us first in our families, our communities, our countries, in Africa and on earth as it is in heaven.
We shall most certainly do it by the amazing and saving grace that saved a wretch like me and you.
We shall prayerfully then, turn the impossibilities to possibilities, by transferring the control of our plans and activities from ourselves to God with whom all things are possible.
As transformational leaders, we need to continually offer the following prayer of Godly servant leaders:-
Lord!! Work through us
To plan with wisdom
To guide with vision
To lead with humility
To listen with understanding
To work with excellence
To succeed in a way that honors you – AMEN
Praise and Thanks to God as we give all the glory to Jesus.
THANK YOU and GOD BLESS !!
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