Christian Thought Family

On Martin Ssempa and Monogamy

Recent remarks before the Ugandan Parliament by Martin Ssempa, pastor of (the now-closed) Makerere Community Church, caused much commotion, concern, and conversation within Uganda’s Christian community. The occasion was the current discussion and debate on the Marriage Bill. Ssempa, while appearing before parliament, pleaded for polygamy to be lawfully placed as an alternative to monogamy as a form of Christian marriage. But what is Ssempa’s reasoning, and does it reflect biblical teaching?

… On Martin Ssempa and Monogamy
Spiritual Growth

You May Touch the (Miss) Anointed

You have heard it often. I mean the statement “Touch not the Lord’s anointed,” which stands ready and steady to silence the biblical call for necessary discernment. Many followers will rebuff calls to examine the teaching or lifestyle of their modern ‘apostles,’ ‘prophets,’ or pastors by warning one not to touch the anointed. Such an examination, they say, would be opposition to God and a secure judgment for oneself. But who are the Lord’s anointed in the Bible? Could we have miss-anointed our leaders by misapplying the title ‘anointed one’?

… You May Touch the (Miss) Anointed
Salvation Sin Spiritual Growth

Our Meaningful Sorrow

Dark clouds hang over our souls like vultures vying for flesh in this broken world. The Adamic curse brought toil and torture, darkness, and death with it. Some souls see this more, others less. But let not sickness and sadness send you to dispair. Let them bring you to the cross of Christ. There, on the cross, died the life of humanity, and there, in the dark, hung the light of the world. Christ knows your sorrow more than you can imagine, yet he redefines and repurposes it too.

… Our Meaningful Sorrow
Christian Thought Jesus Christ Salvation

Be Merry, But Belong

Holydays tend to mask our emptiness and longing to be filled. The red wine you drank away at dusk wanes with dawn as morning sobers you up. Pork steaks satisfy no heart, and night-long banter wearies your head to bed. The long-awaited celebration time vanishes as vapor in cold winter—as though it never was. You sure are merry, but do you belong? You are lost, and who can find you?

… Be Merry, But Belong
Christian Thought Worldview

Witchcraft: Choose Faith Over Fear

In 2016, the former Ugandan Parliament House Speaker Rebecca Kadaga raised eyebrows and caused controversy for her re-election thanksgiving to the ancestors in a shrine. Before her, the then Vice President, Professor Gilbert Bukenya, had done the same. Indeed, in Africa, many politically powerful people believe in the power of witchcraft. But what is witchcraft, why does it persist in Africa, and how do we biblically respond to it?

… Witchcraft: Choose Faith Over Fear
Christian Thought Worldview Worship

Pablo on Keeping Clean in a Dirty Comedy World

Comedy is what most of us appreciate—especially when it is clean. But finding clean comedy can sometimes seem like the proverbial needle in a haystack. We wonder, why do many comedians like it dirty? And how do others manage to keep humor above the belt? I posed these questions to Kenneth Kimuli, a.k.a Pablo, a famed Ugandan stand-up comedian. In this article, Pablo narrates how he manages to keep his comedy clean in a dirty comedy world.  

… Pablo on Keeping Clean in a Dirty Comedy World