IS GOD’S GENERAL STILL ON EARTH???

For decades, Nigeria has produced men whose names became almost inseparable from the story of Christianity in the nation. Pastors who preached to thousands. Men who built churches, schools, ministries and institutions. Men whose voices travelled beyond the walls of their churches and reached nations. Names like Pastor E.A. Adeboye, Bishop David Oyedepo, Pastor William Kumuyi, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Daniel Olukoya, Pastor Paul Adefarasin and many others have become part of the history of Nigerian Christianity. But today, I am not asking who has the biggest church. I am not asking who has the largest congregation. I am not asking who owns the biggest auditorium, has the greatest number of followers, appears most frequently on television or commands the loudest applause. I am asking something deeper. IS GOD’S GENERAL STILL ON EARTH? Because being God's general was never supposed to be about popularity. It was about responsibility. It was about standing when everybody else was sitting. It was about speaking truth when truth was uncomfortable. It was about carrying people in prayer when nobody knew their names. It was about building people, not just buildings. It was about raising another generation instead of creating followers who could never stand without their leader. And this is where the question becomes uncomfortable. We have become very good at celebrating great men of God. But have we become equally good at asking what their lives are producing? Because the greatest evidence of a man's ministry is not always the size of the crowd gathered around him. Sometimes, it is the character of the people he leaves behind. A ministry can have thousands of people and still fail to produce thousands of disciples. A church can have magnificent buildings and still have broken families sitting inside them. A preacher can be famous and still leave behind very little spiritual depth. And before anyone misunderstands this, this is not an accusation against every pastor. It is a question for all of us. Because perhaps the real crisis is not that God has stopped raising generals. Perhaps the crisis is that we have started measuring generals by the wrong things. We measure influence by followers. We measure success by buildings. We measure anointing by crowds. We measure relevance by social media. We measure leadership by how many people know your name. But heaven may be measuring something completely different. How many lives became better because you obeyed God? How many people found Christ through your life? How many young people did you raise? How many broken people did you restore? How many people learned to know God for themselves instead of becoming permanently dependent on you? That is why the question, “Is God's general still on earth?” cannot only be directed at the older generation. It must eventually come to us. Because every generation needs people who will carry the responsibility of their time. The fathers cannot preach forever. The mothers cannot lead forever. The pioneers cannot remain on earth forever. One day, the microphone will leave their hands. The pulpit will belong to another generation. The question is: WHO WILL PICK IT UP? Will it be people who want the platform but not the sacrifice? People who want the title but not the discipline? People who want the crowd but not the cross? People who want the fame of ministry without the burden of souls? Or will there be men and women who understand that ministry is not entertainment? That leadership is not celebrity. That anointing is not a fashion statement. That the pulpit is not a place to build personal empires. Perhaps God is still raising His generals. Perhaps some of them are sitting quietly in universities. Some are serving in small churches nobody knows. Some are preaching to ten people. Some are praying in their rooms. Some are serving without recognition. Some are young enough for people to underestimate them. They may not have millions of followers yet. They may not have impressive titles. They may not have giant auditoriums. But they may be carrying something more important: A genuine burden for people. And perhaps that is where we need to look again. Not only at the men standing on the biggest stages. But at the people quietly preparing themselves for the responsibility of tomorrow. Because the greatest question is not whether the old generals are still here. They are. The greater question is whether the next generation is willing to become what the next generation needs. So to the fathers who have gone before us: Thank you for the roads you opened. To those still standing: Keep standing. Keep teaching. Keep raising people. Keep pointing people to Christ rather than yourselves. And to those coming behind: Don't spend your life trying to become the next Adeboye, Oyedepo, Kumuyi, Oyakhilome or any other man. Learn from them. Honor their sacrifices. Study their convictions. But discover what God has called you to carry. Because the next great move of God may not begin with another famous name. It may begin with an unknown person who simply refuses to compromise. So perhaps the question is not: “Is God's general still on earth?” Perhaps the real question is: “If God calls you, will you be willing to stand?” Because one generation eventually becomes another generation's history. And when our time comes to leave the earth, may we not only leave behind buildings, books, titles and photographs. May we leave behind people who know God. ©️ Sammy Góld

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