Garrick Braide: The Niger Delta's Fire
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 1 min read
Professor Gary Maxey includes Garrick Braide in his account of revivals in Nigeria. He shows that Nigerians have already seen a revival that began with repentance.
The man
Garrick Sokari Braide lived from about 1882 to 1918. He was born in Obonoma in the Niger Delta and grew up in Bakana. He was baptized in 1910 at age twenty-eight and confirmed in 1912. Professor Maxey describes him as a catechist in the Niger Delta Pastorate of the Anglican Church.
His message
Professor Maxey says that long before Nigerian Pentecostalism, Braide pioneered a faith healing ministry, and that he joined it to strong calls for repentance. He told his hearers to throw away their idols, to stop wearing charms, to confess their sins and to rely on the cleansing blood of Jesus. He was also particularly effective against alcohol use.
The growth
Professor Maxey reports that between 1909 and 1918 baptized Christians in the Niger Delta Pastorate increased thirteen-fold. Followers began to see Braide as a prophet.
Arrest and death
Authorities worried about lost tax revenue from reduced alcohol sales and investigated him. He was arrested in March 1916 on charges that included disturbing the peace, and was released in 1918. He died later that year. His followers founded the Christ Army Church of Nigeria in 1916.
A fair note
Some of Braide's methods are debated by historians, and Professor Maxey presents his steps as history and as a pattern: revival came with clearing away other powers.
For us
Idols, charms and bottles were what Braide's hearers had to give up. Ask what your own list is. It may be less visible, such as a screen, an account, a title or a grudge. Name it and let it go.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey and public biographical sources. Sources: Wikipedia, "Garrick Sokari Braide."
