Articles

SOME YEARS AGO, I visited a young mother and her new baby. I asked her what she was finding most different with this change in her life.

In my family tradition, a woman's only chance of survival was to find a good husband to look after her. So when I was sent to London to pursue medical nursing, I came off the plane with one goal—to find a husband to look after me! I had three requirements: He had to be well educated, he had to be trustworthy, and he had to adore me.

I looked up and saw complete terror. It took a second before I realized that the face in the mirror was my own.

I was enjoying an evening walk around the neighborhood when I suddenly felt disoriented and weak and noticed that one side of my body was not altogether cooperating. But as a direct counter to the fear that crept in with the symptoms, I heard this message from the book of Isaiah: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Have you ever gone to a masquerade party? Everyone goes as someone he or she is not. The masquerader assumes a different identity and takes great pleasure in confusing people.

In Lagos, Nigeria, where I grew up, many who'd left home to make their way in the United States were welcomed back as heroes. I admit that I used to get caught up in some of that hero worship myself.

Commitment isn't about attendance. I don't even think it's about a person or a human institution or even a set of ideals.

The buzzword these days seems to be sustainable — especially on the West Coast of the United States, where I live. How do we create things—products, systems, organizations—that are sustainable? Church is no exception; the underlying concern is always how to make it last.

what do I want to think of when I think of Church? It's a simple equation, really: Church = joy. Seriousness doesn't speak to me—I guess because in my mind, it relates to fear.

For me, culture is all about deeper meaning — being to look past superficialities and stereotypes to the essence, the real nature of the thing. It seems to me that cultural differences only become a problem if we stick with our perception of others' beliefs or values or cultural practices.