the write stuff
Have you ever thought about the meaning of the word Father? You’ve probably never needed to, because it seems so obvious… so self-evident. I used to think so too, until recently. I was going through a “dark-night-of-the-soul” period where I found it difficult to pray. For some reason, it just stopped making sense speaking to … Continue reading My Father
Sometimes I wonder if the Bible we have is less divine than it’s often hyped up to be. Like many of you, I grew up on the Bible. My family wasn’t particularly religious, but we weren’t that irreligious either. As far as I can tell, my dad never stepped into a church, yet it seems he … Continue reading Reading the Bible for the First Time… Again
It started after the first recent major terror attack on Paris. The Charlie Hebdo attack. My social media timelines were riddled with slogans and memes of “Je Suis Charlie”. The phrase was a hashtag, it was a slogan, it was a prayer. “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) quickly became a way to identify with … Continue reading Why I am Not Praying for Haiti
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held … Continue reading One Solitary Life
The book of Esther is famous for being the only book of the Bible that does not mention God. Where is God in Esther? Is He just working "behind the scenes", inferred and "providential", rather than explicit? And is the God of Esther the God of the gospel that we believe in as Christians? I … Continue reading Where is God in Esther?
My church got a new senior pastor last Sunday. Actually, he’s been around for quite a while (at least five years) as the Associate Pastor. But Ken Mbugua officially became the Senior Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church on October 18th, 2015. His first message will remain etched in my mind for a long time. Not … Continue reading Church 101: A Senior Pastor’s First Message to the Church
Do you love your job? Are you doing what you love? Are you pursuing your passion? If you have answered "yes" to all the three questions, then good for you. You are one of the lucky ones. The harsh reality of life is that we don't always get what we want, and we don't always … Continue reading Do You Love Your Job?
Christians in the US did not lose the culture war when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage – because Christians have never won any culture war. In fact, I dare say Christians are not even expected to, let alone commanded to, win culture wars. Let me explain. For centuries, the “church” has enjoyed the … Continue reading Why I (Sort of) Support the SCOTUS Ruling on Gay Marriage
I was going through my 2007 journal the other day and I came across an interesting entry. On January 3, 2007, I found myself grappling with the possibility that I may not be cut out to be an Engineer. I was in the second semester of my second year in college studying Civil Engineering, with … Continue reading What Do You Want To Do In Life?
I have always wanted to write a book about being wrong. Not about the “idea” of being wrong, but a biographical account of the many times I have "done" wrong. Because there are so many times I have found myself doing things that are morally deplorable. Things I am embarrassed to admit, and I guess … Continue reading I Don’t Sin, I Make Mistakes
I work on every other weekend, and last Sunday was one of those working days. But I found myself with nothing much to do and after writing a few stories, I stepped out of the office for a walk. I ended up at Mamlaka Hill Chapel (MHC), on Mamlaka Road, just a few minutes from … Continue reading A Timely and Timeless Warning by Pastor Musyimi
I am currently reading one of those books that people read in secret. You know, those books that would make us look bad and weak and inadequate if people saw them on our shelves? The title of the book does little to help my ego: How to Win Friends and Influence People. You are probably already drawing inferences about … Continue reading In Defense of Self Esteem and Other Self-Help Needs
Over the weekend Kenyans on Twitter went to town with their sarcastic prowess after a clip of Pat Robertson saying one can catch AIDS from towels in Kenya went viral. Mr Robertson was responding to a viewer's question on last Thursday's episode of The 700 Club. The anonymous viewer was worried about the Ebola epidemic and wanted to … Continue reading Pat Robertson – A Warning
Did you know there is a healing service in the Bible? Actually, it is a healing and deliverance service and it is even Pentecostal. You have probably read the passage dozens of times but have never thought about it as an example of a healing service. The possibility that the first idea of a "healing" ministry or … Continue reading A Biblical Example of a “Healing Service”
"These street kids are everywhere these days, it is like an infestation." Those were the words that left my lips last Saturday at our weekly community group meeting. A few gasps followed the sentence, and then nervous laughter. Someone volunteered an explanation: "we have a doctor in the room, and the word 'infestation' carries a lot of … Continue reading How To Deal With Those Pesky Beggar Kids in Nairobi
"What matters is that you are sincere" sounds like good advise, and it is, as we shall see in a moment. But it can also be the worst advise to give anyone. God does, indeed, want us to be sincere about what we do. A common dictionary definition of sincere is "free from pretense or … Continue reading When Being Honest and Sincere is a Bad Thing
Why do so many people (myself included) like to bash prosperity preachers? As a friend recently asked me after I posted a critique on a sermon by Creflo Dollar: "Cornell, what do you have against the man?" Before I respond to that question, three corrections:We (whoever we are) actually don't "like" to bash prosperity preachers. (at … Continue reading What Is So Wrong With Positive Thinking?
It happens all the time. You hear a given phrase over and over and you get used to it and you never notice anything odd or weird about it. And then one day it hits you. You may have even used the phrase in conversation, until this day when someone says it and you were a bit … Continue reading Don’t Be An Upcoming Gospel Artiste
Does God have a favorite type of music? Many people are convinced God is into hymns. Others argue that God loves rock music, but leans more towards soft rock, you know, the Casting Crowns type of music. God is definitely into Hillsong. Surely, He must love the Gospel RnBs. We know He can't love Hip … Continue reading Lyrical Review: Kanjii Mbugua’s Rauka [Album]
Renowned American preacher, Dr Creflo Dollar, recently concluded his three day speaking engagement in Nairobi. He had been invited to the country by Deliverance Church Kenya, under Bishop Mark Kariuki. Dollar spoke on various topics, the most publicized being "Love, Sex and Relationships". Now, many things have been said about Dollar's visit. A brief scan through … Continue reading A Glimpse of How Creflo Dollar Twisted the Bible in Nairobi
Alien Citizen 