Nanoreflections

It is the holiday season again, and with it (never depending on which side of the coin of life you are), comes a whole bunch of possibilities.

Yeah, of course, most of us will say that it is time to relax, party and have a good time. We are right. We should all have a good time in a season like this. It is appropriate as long us our engaging in bliss is neither harmful to ourselves, God nor to those around us. It is acceptable.

But for me, unlike any other Christmas season I've spent, I have decided to take time this season and "nanoreflect"; meaning, piling up pieces of endless thoughts on how life was this year, and how I'll need to be "armed" for 2014.

And that does not mean that I'm not going out or "spoiling myself". Nah. It actually means that as I plunder bliss, my mind will not be left idle and wanting. I'll be thinking of all the places my life can possibly be, all the places I've already been to in 2013 (and years behind it too) and all the places I would want those around me to be in the coming year.

I've chosen to grow up just a little bit more: 2014 is going to take me further into the world of a saved young adult, and I'll need to place everything (and everyone) in my life right where they belong.

Mostly, I've realized that I've been childish as far as relationships are concerned (both with God and with mankind), so part of my reflections are hovering around how to deal with THAT boy in me that won't just grow up. (Yes, every man has THAT boy in him that needs to have boundaries and a legitimate MoU to operate by; unless we all want to hate the ACTUAL man that he really is).

One resolution I already made concerning this is: I'm not going to be in a relationship (read, engage in anything serious or even slightly serious with any female species) with the aim of making them my fianceè and/or wife-to-be. I am going to cool down (just as I have done for a while) and focus on myself.
Literally, I'm handing over all my "relationship keys" to God. They'll be safe in His hands... :-)

Another thing I'm pondering about (or asking myself) is, as a leader, what have I done that has changed where I am? Have I been influential enough as a leader? Have I, in the slightest sense of the word, changed a life or helped change a life?
I am thinking that if I've not done so, then my leadership in the year 2013 has been fruitless, and I'll therefore need to go back to the drawing board and ask God to help me do something about it. Yes, I'll need to do that.

Leadership may not be easy (but it's actually never that hard - it all depends on how you do it and the source of your motivation and strength), and in the course of leading, there are lessons you learn that have a relevance that is unmatched.
People have helped me understand [other] people. That's leadership. Issues have helped me deal with [other] issues. That's leadership too. I have learned to attack situations, pull some, leave some alone, ignore many, delegate duties... That is leadership.

With leadership comes an understanding that you always have to believe in people and in the vision and goals you create as a team. Everyone becomes a friend - even your enemies constitute to the mutual success of your team and prescribed goals...

Then along that chain of thoughts, I am realizing that most of us who are conscious about the "to's and fro's of life" are going to be preoccupied with some or most of the following thoughts (even as the partying and gathering continues). We are going to think of;

1. The many times this year that we have given out our heart(s) and effort(s) only to be betrayed and downtrodden by the other party(ies). We are going to imagine the hopelessness we felt during that time, but now that we are stronger by the strength of God, we will hold our heads up high and probably sing Never Would Have Made It (Marvin Sapp) or Imela (Thank You) by Nathaniel Bassey.

2. The regrets that fill our hearts for making all the wrong decisions this year. Wrong decisions are always a thorn in the flesh - a reminder of your once-stupid-self... And maybe we now are going to blame a few people (and/or even God) for these decisions - our own wrong decisions. SMH. How we're going to deal with such thoughts will determine whether 2014 will begin on some sort of quagmire or on solid ground. Yeah.

3. The many expectations that were fulfilled in the course of this year or several more that never even tried to germinate. Probably we never started that project we had promised ourselves to begin this year. What about our service to God? Perhaps, we had promised to serve Him more earnestly this year, but, yes, but, the year has just "disappeared" and we're still not that much of "faithful servants". What of our businesses that failed to pick up? Or the unfulfilled promise(s) to our spouses/fiance/fianceé? What of the other promise(s) we made to our mom(s)/dad(s) last December? They're still waiting for us to fulfill it/them...
All these are going to either cloud our excitement for 2014 or altogether wipe it away.

4. "Maybe a start-over in relationships?" we may be found thinking. Or going to the gym to trim that fat that has accumulated over time due to increased consumption of junk food? What about our friendships? Who needs to be cut away, and who else should now be fully "adopted" to ease our match into the next season of our lives? What of going back to school to improve our skills and enhance our relevance at our places of work and in our careers? Push it to next year, maybe?

And the more I think of all we are likely to be "nanoreflecting" about this season, the more I want to lean on this chair and just say, "Lord, because life is such a mystery to me and that only You are already wherever I am headed to, please lemme just play the background (of course as inspired by Lecrae in "Background") as You lead my way... I don't want to pretend to be wiser than You are in all matters of my petty life... You are allknowing, I am retarded in my knowledge of things... Have Your way..." Then I'll sit down and keep going - His way...

More and more, I think that this is a season of pulling out detentes towards all our "enemies" (probably created in the course of this year) in some sort of "getting our plates clean", and practicing forgiveness.
Guys, we need to start 2014 on a clean page. No baggage. No debts (mostly debts of love). No hypocrisy. No pretence. No grudges. No double standards. No unfulfilled promises. No false promises either.
All we need for this season is gratefulness for our past; and about this coming year (2014), all we need is just me/you, Jesus and that new year.
Yes, just that.
(Methinks.)

Bonface Morris. 

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Mere Objectivity

I must first swear that this blog post was overwhelmingly inspired by a book that I am reading, then after swearing, which is objectively different things in different contexts and to different people, I want to try and make you see and believe in things in a certain way (and I'm not saying that I'm the author of such a determined way, but that I just hope that you see them that way.)
Well...
People quarrel. People do quarrel and disagree all the time. I quarrel. I disagree. A lot. Sometimes for the "right" reasons, but mostly for the "wrong" ones (take the quotes to mean that the words carry their own differences in weight in matters of ethics).
Most of us quarrel (or argue) so that to [just] prove a point, not that [that] point is the right one, but just because the [point] being proven is our point.
But truth is that we cannot universally have the same opinion about everything. We should not. At least in certain instances. This is because (I think) the moment we mutually agree about ALL things, is the very moment we disagree in one way or another with another peoples' agreement elsewhere. I think that we always agree to culture a certain degree of disagreement.

We should quarrel (methinks) because we have the right to objectivity - especially the kind of objectivity that peripherys our "rights" and "beliefs." But this is not a [good] reason to why we should incline ourselves towards thinking that we ARE to win ALL arguments all the time. It is not.
Consider this example »
Two men are arguing over whether a given dog should be fed at noon or in the evening. Of course the argument is not about whether the dog should be fed or not - because they both, to a good extend, agree that this dog should be fed - but about whether one's time of feeding, with regard to another's (or to the dog), is the most appropriate, and probably most effective (although such a probability only creeps in later).
Thus such an argument (the one between these two men feeding that dog) is likely to remain unproductive as far as what time of feeding the dog is the most appropriate; but may be useful because it tendons itself somewhere between two views that are mutually beneficial to a hungry dog... but none of the two should want to win because, after all, the dog is being fed.
And so in a related way, when it comes to religious and philosophical contexts, consider the following arguments and possibilities with regard to fulfilling a certain angst in the human population about understanding and worshipping God, but which unlike in the case of the dog, remain hanging on a fence - neither satisfying the origin nor the course »

1. The atheist freely argues that there is no God. He defends it. In fact he arbitrarily feeds on his defense (so to say) and thinks that this is the best way humanity should figure out life (and God). He thinks that he is feeding the dog well, but is he? Well, he is not.
2. The pantheist says that all roads that are belief systems on this earth lead to one unspecified "God" or deity. He too claims to be feeding the same dog, right? But with useless food.

3. The scientologist and other numerous (and actually useless) New Age religions (and belief systems) elevate man above God. They think that man has soared above the galaxies of belief in one deity and have therefore made him the king of deities. Their dog is overfed, isn't it? Yes, but with trash.

4. The gnostic thinks that it is impossible for there to have existed, amongst mortal beings, a touchable and visible God. Yes, and objectively so, he denies the preference for belief in a once-fully-mortal-and-fully-immortal-God. Mmmhuh? I don't think I want to say much about their dog, these ones, because he's gonna end up crippled.

5. The idealist, realist, naturalist, existentialist and secular humanist
are all drunk with belief that the singular plurality of supernatural influence on this earth does not exist, and parallel themselves against God in a rather "queer" manner. Their dog is in trouble because it eats the same food all day long - deficient and facing malnutrition.

6. The traditional man is the clueless but most concerning type. As far as Africa is concerned, because he either is mostly (and falsely) obeying a deity he calls "God" or he is obeying some misconstrued rules within his culture that battle to put him somewhere near a certain [known] God, he makes tough cuisines for his dog, but I guess it is still craving for more - it is never fully satisfied.

7. The Muslim and most Eastern cultures and beliefs run on slippery ground while trying to feed this dog - one path which I prefer not to tread upon today - which has influenced a great percentage of the "Theo-seeking" group of mankind. His dog is the sleepy and sickly one.

The Christian, being the one on the most extreme end - his own end - somehow being puppeted, and somehow puppeting belief (whatever that means), believes in a God who basically gives a book (the Bible) with instructions pointing towards a Savior for all mankind; a Savior who loudly and unreservedly SAYS or rather, PROCLAIMS for all to hear, that He and only He is the way to the only true God, the truth and the life.
The Judeo-Christian view seems to win for me - and I objectively, and also willingly, follow in its footsteps. And not entirely in the Judeo-Christian worldview (that is if it is a worldview at all), but in the Christian belief system, where our dog is well fed, healthy, happy and hopeful...

With the escalating views on religion and pseudo-beliefs, free-thinking has become a modern way of expression, and each one of us wants to have an opinion to put across. What we believe in has become what we live for. We have become so overopinionated that we (most of the time) don't even understand and/or know what we serially defend.

If all the above belief systems argue and quarrel about being objectively right, I might as well call it madness - maybe because quarrels clutter and breed it (madness).

But within such an argument over beliefs, how do we tell who is right and who is wrong? And where do we base our judgement of right and/or wrong? What is the determining factor? Christ? Christianity? The Bible? Not all of us agree.
If all that matters is that the dog should be fed, are we really on the right path? Should we objectively say that this dog (read, desire to serve a purpose and a given deity) will be okay no matter WHO feeds it, HOW it is fed and WHY it is fed? Should we say that we are all objectively right?

Well, philosophy teaches one law that is important to note: truth cannot exist relatively. It is either absolute or it is not truth. So no matter how "objectively right" we may seem to be in our arguments, only one of us is right. And if we have to apply the laws of logic in such a case, we find that there is no excluded middle in both cases - of feeding a hungry dog and in needing to be subject to a given deity. And no matter how objective we may want our beliefs to be perceived, they all can't be true at the same time. That will be contradictory. We are either feeding the dog with BAD FOOD or we are feeding it with HEALTHY FOOD. Period. No middle ground. It is either one of us is feeding the dog right and the rest are just a useless lot or nothing else.

Our belief systems point us in a certain direction and we defend what we believe because we have come to believe that it is true, regardless of whether we are right or not. Yeah, we have the freedom for argument and quarrel through debate, reason and the so-called dialectics, but truth cannot be changed by mere objectivity. It cannot be changed by "how we, on our own, view the world around us" but rather, by understanding and accepting it as it really is.

Truth is a substance of infallibility, and whether our "philosophies" accept it or not, we should consider once again understanding why Christ Jesus said, "I am the way, THE TRUTH and the life..." (John 14:6), and maybe jump over from "mere objectivity" to "What He said is the TRUTH."

Bonface Morris.

This Is What I Miss

I miss the many days in the past

When I would trip and hobble in the alleys of life
Without being scared of black cats and stray dogs

When laughter was still laughter and the blemish of lips had not been birthed

When oysters still lived on the land and we all played with seashells

And would jump about in oblivion and unlimited bliss

And walking on the beach that was life was such a clueless task

For the moon strolled clumsily in the night, and the sun called in the day beautifully

And I would wake up and care less about the next day…

I miss the days of being young, young and a child

When candy still cost a penny, and I wore Reeboks, yes, my tiny Reeboks

I miss my favourite shorts – I still remember them – all green and sundry

Shorts that I wore and imagined that I was in the marine

And we would play hide-and-seek with “guns” and get tired and run home for lunch

I miss wearing my favourite T-shirt – I still remember it – stripped and all

And my mom yelling at me for wearing these three in a row

And hiding them, and me getting them, and me wearing them again, until they tore…

I miss wonder, and mystery, and rolls of thunder in the rainy season

I miss thinking that the clouds in the coming storm were an indication of the  end of the world

I miss staring at those clouds, scared, but being held by hand by my dad

And him telling me, “Come on, it is just the rains, senior…”

I miss that nickname too (Senior)

I miss walking to church with my siblings, hand in hand

While at the back of my mind knowing that I am all worriless and safe

I miss the stories we told, the nicknames we gave people, the sunny days and the rainy ones

I miss our family stories that no one could understand but only us

I miss having pride in the fact that we had nicknames for all our family friends…

I miss missing my mom and we waiting into the depths of the night,

Waiting with my siblings for her to come back home – with stuff from the other country

I miss crying out to her, telling her I missed her

I miss the feeling of hearing her voice, and the tenderness, and the shoots of peace

I miss so many things…

I miss the jokes we made about everything

I miss the strolls of my teenage days – with my sisters

Damn, I miss those memories, and the taste of a laughing family

I miss those days when they would tell me nothing of their kids and husbands as they do today

When all we could do is cook, eat, listen to music and call it a day

I miss their old selves when they were still who they were

I miss their innocence and lack of busyness

I miss our little fights, and the lovehatric moments, and laughter

O, how I miss those days!

I miss the days of lilies, lilies in their frailty

And smiles that were not forced, and sincerity and that was not charmed

The days when fires brought warmth and not froth nor pain

And colors were defined in the lives of men because such lives were not practiced,

And life-skies that were neither gloomy nor disturbed,

I miss the tranquil life and the way time hovered around us so beautifully

And how everybody cared, and how everyone felt cared for…

But I never wish that they would come back

I never wish that the tiniest of those sweet moments would resurrect

I only wish that I would create more, that God would create more for us

And teach us to number our days

And to enjoy the now, and the then He gives us -

To enjoy it so much that we’ll write about it when we are old enough to write about such things…

I do love the memories, but my present is not buried in them

And now all I miss is a people who know that today is more of a gift than yesterday

And that we can only make a better tomorrow today…

Yes, for now, this is what I miss.

Bonface Morris.

"Boom!"

"She is too preoccupied with nonsense! She says that she is busy? Busy my foot! She even doesn't seem interested in solving anything, but keeps on giving excuses as to why we can't talk about this right now. I needed this to be solved kinda yesterday, but she is just so... Muh! It is like no one was wronged in the first place. I think she cares less about how I feel or the condition of this relationship..." fumed *Arm.

"What? Did he just say that? I don't like his approach on conflict resolution. He is too hasty. Can't I just have some "me time" to think about issues before tackling them? He is already drawing conclusions about me and how I feel about us without even getting my side of the story. Is that how he REALLY feels about me? Why is he treating me this way? What has become of him? Why is he so different from the man I met a few years ago?" ranted *Betty.

Boom! came the hulls. I was caught on the edge there, in the middle of crossfire (or bombfire?). I stared. I stared for a very long time. I stared into my own self before saying anything, that is, if I had to be saying anything at all. I mean, what was I to say? Huh? I am not that bombproof, or am I?
Listening to both sides of a story, and to ramp in some kind of stammered colloquium, a relationship story, gives you some kind of plastic chance of getting around it. However, no matter how volatile my evens were becoming after staring into myself, I think that it is always better that way (to listen to two "unsyncing" halves of a story) than dealing with "half the information." A half of anything, I have been told several times and in different contexts, is never enough...

What *Arm and *Betty have is typical of a modern love relationship... One with its own unique twists and turns, rights and wrongs, and strings and bows... One full of people throwing grenades and shooting from all sides... Throwing and shooting things you would never imagine they would... Just a typical love relationship... Just one normal, modern relationship.

But first, let me help you understand these two (Arm and Betty);

Arm is in his late twenties. A saved young man that loves the Lord, but one who just can't take any "douchy stuff" from anyone - not even from his lovely girlfriend.
You got me right, he is one guy who doesn't bow to weakness. That's his tale and his fate, and he is proud of it. After knowing him for a while, I should say that he is a gentleman in his own right. He met her (Betty) some few years ago and the two have a story I can't go into today. What is important is that they DID meet, and they now DO have a story - a biiiiig story.

*Betty on the other hand is one lady who leaves a mark wherever she goes. She has this countenance, well,
she carries this countenance that you don't find in every lady around. She rubs it on you when you meet her. You get it, right? When a LADY rubs her countenance on you? A great lady-like countenance? Yeah, that one.
I can say she undoubtedly fits in a group of ladies I call "proverbial", as in, worthy to be written and talked about... I only know very few ladies who belong there...
Betty just hit 24 the other month, and she is unashamedly saved and as charming as ever. Well, don't ask me how I know her age, because it is none of your business... It'll be like asking a hen why it lays eggs - it has no clue why...

Anyway, I've known her for a while, and not just knowing, as in "know", but I've known her long enough to tell Arm a thing or two about her: that she too doesn't feed on nonsense. She loves the Lord yeah, but she doesn't tolerate crap. So if Arm is to get glued to her, he really needs to know her game and how she plays it: it is either she owns the game or she doesn't play it at all. It's that simple.

Now that I was caught in their crossfire (or bombfire to suit this case), I had to know that I was dealing with a very delicate issue of reconciling two people I have been, and I am still very proud of. People I believe in. People I behold as changers of this generation as far as Christianity, love, relationships and marriage are concerned. People who are my role models and my friends too...
It came to me at that moment that the toughest part of friendship is trying to advice your mentor. O, there is nothing as tough as that! Guiding your teacher is like instructing God. I mean, where do you start? Where are you supposed to begin? How do you tell someone who's taught you about right and wrong that, "Man this is right, and er, that is wrong?" Tough. Really tough.
But here I was caught in telling them stuff like this;

1. Seriously guys, I was not expecting this from you. How did it come to all this? You tearing yourselves apart? Really? Is that all you can do?
2. So now I am supposed to teach you how to love one another? Me? Teaching you guys? Hah! This is a joke. Just get over it meeeeen!
3. You are my role models, guys! My role models when it comes to things to do with salvation, living upright and relationships. As in, what will I tell other guys about sticking to each other through thick and thin in relationships? Huh? Who will I point them to? Come on!

And so forth and so on...
But after shockwaving through my mind and all the pieces of "sound wisdom" I have acquired over time, I decided to do otherwise. I came to understand something: no one, yes, no one in a relationship anywhere on this earth is ever able to fully agree with their partner kinda 100 out of a 100 times they mingle. We are all going to disagree somewhere. We are all going to fail and betray our own values, the very ones we advocate for everyday. And after that has happened, things are gonna fall apart, so that we may learn the best way to pick up the pieces: to learn how to pick them up beforehand. Yes, it's gonna be "boom, here goes the blast!" at some point, but, but we need to work it around. Those friends closest to us should motivate us into bringing the pieces together...
They can do it in various ways, including understanding that;

1. Everyone is vulnerable to a fall (or a failure) no matter how strongly founded their lives are (both in Christianity and in other things in life.) Being dismissive of their failures without offering help is stupid. We need to help. We need to help because this is our Christian call. From whatever angle the "boom!" may come, we still need to help.
2. Everybody needs mentoring at some point, no matter how many people have been admonished by their instruction. Everyone is a child at some point and they at that moment, just need to be treated as kids for them to coil around and "get" the applicability of the truths they have been teaching to people for ages. The "strong" need guidance and direction too!
3. Everyone needs prayer, and as Hillsong sings, "Everyone needs compassion...", everyone, and mostly, these "strong and wise people" we see (including myself, your leader and your Pastor), need our direction in the very things they already know. They need our support. They are not know-it-alls. It is we who think that it is always alright with them, but you know what? We are mostly wrong. They need us so much at some point.
4. The tiniest of things are the ones that break the greatest of relationships. Nothing should be left pending as far as disagreement is concerned. I betcha, nothing. So, a friend should tell a friend, and tell a friend to tell a friend that nothing, yes, nothing should be left hanging as far as unity in relationships is concerned. If one is grieved, both should be concerned. If one is glad, both should be elevated.

So what did I tell Arm and Betty? My two friends? I told them all there is to be told that makes sense as far as their relationship was concerned... I told them... Oh well, let's talk about this some other day...

*The names used in this blog (*Arm and *Betty) do not belong to any specific or known person(s), but if they do, let's bless that animal called coincidence. :-)

Side note: This is an excerpt from my Christian fiction book you'll know about soon... and "soon", my dearest friends, can be ages... :-)

Bonface Morris.

Integrity 101

There are a few things I have learned as an upcoming writer (or whatever title you may want to give me or have already given me) that I always think are important to note before making you want to read a post like this one;

1. I may not always write what I want but wherever my pen leads me, I obediently follow - FYI, this is the crunch of all kinds of writing.
2. There is no universally acceptable truth, but if I have to say anything [at all], it must be truth; and in such a case, this truth I write, this absolute truth, is still truth whether it is acceptable or not.
3. You are not subject to my opinion of "things" nor to my piece of "unkempt advice" but to the truth thereof, if there be, of God.

Now, because I want to go straight to the point, there are are a few things I've noted of late, things about integrity, things interesting enough to summarize in the next few lines.
These lines represent my views on how to build personal integrity.
First things first though: www.thefreedictionary.com defines integrity as "a steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code" or "the state of being unimpaired; soundness" or "the quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness."
Well, because I know that this virtue (integrity) applies to everyone worthy his/her salt, it is of considerable importance to consider the following;

1. Learning to obey authority (any authority in place) even when you think yourself better than that authority leaves you on the better side even at moments when you are inclined to criticize such authority. Integrity uses wisdom while delivering a critique, not strife.
2. Consistency is greater than passion. You can never be passionate enough without being consistent. Learn to be consistent and everyone will paint you as passionate.
3. Integrity has never been the measure of what we have but who we are to God and to men. Integrity does not belong to an individual but to the masses.
4. Words and actions add up to something. They add up to who WE KNOW you are. They accompany your integrity wherever you go.
5. It is humiliating and humbling to do the least of tasks and love the most lowly people, but that is where the mark of greatness belongs.
6. You can't please everyone. You should not impress everybody. All great people have that as an anthem they sing all day long.
7. There is no perfect leadership under the sky. You earn integrity by appreciating who your leaders are and praying for them, but not by ridiculing them - no matter how bad or weird they may be.
8. Stop making gods out of people. Flesh and blood is not worthy the salt of your utmost reverence. Integrity learns to avoid the path of the praises of men. It knows of its honey and its hyssop.
9. The way we value and serve the people around us determines their level of respect and service towards us, and if we'll impart something into their lives or not. Integrity is the measure of our relationships, their relevance and their quality.
10. You are not the ultimate, God is. Stop wanting people to accept all you say and do because that is the place of God. Integrity is accepting that people all over the world see things differently (like I'm going to do after you've read this), getting used to it and moving on.
11. Your identity, if it has anything good hidden in it, has nothing to do with your level of education, where you work, how much you earn, your wealth or your family background. It has everything to do with where you belong in the hearts of men and in the face of God.
12. You attract people more with your smile and your heart. Such beauty is imperishable.
13. Comparing yourself to everyone else around you only leaves you miserable and ungrateful. Integrity is built on contentment and hopefulness, but not on conceit and envy.
14. Listen more. Understand a little more. Be the child as far as instruction is concerned.
15. The most honored person is that one who has learned obedience and adherence to a law, and even better, to an enduring/undying law.
16. Do what you gotta do; if it is right, the better.
17. Spiritual integrity has no share in knowing too much Scripture but in being the doer. Greater is the man who has known one law and follows it than the other who knows ten that are only served through his mouth and mind.
18. Abstinence from sex and setting standards before marriage may not be fashionable nor sell well with 90% of the modern world, but it accounts for above 50% of our integrity as young people.
19. Being sorry for your bad actions, being faithful and honest and speaking the truth may not sell well today but they make you someone we can trust.
20. Integrity learns that nothing is made perfect without the power of many mistakes.
21. Integrity discusses issues and addresses complaints. It does not pretend that everything is okay when it is not.

There you have it.

I hope that you are, just like I am, working on achieving your best, and will never give up until you are there...

Bonface Morris.

Do Not Come Alone!

More often than not, a question pops in my mind: "Do I really do the things I do in the manner that they should be done when it comes to worship and leading worship?" "Do I follow the right steps and the prompting of the Holy Spirit in order to have the right impact on the audience I am serving?” “Am I too apt or too exotic?”

I do ask myself such questions because, first, most of the time, I am concerned about how I lead worship; and second, it is because this is what happens to every worship leader or singer out there (or anyone interacting with the public from time to time). We always feel insufficient on how we deliver whatever we are assigned to deliver.
Last Sunday, I was privileged to visit a certain church in a remote area some few kilometres from where I stay, and good enough, with it came the opportunity to finish writing this blog post that I had started writing a few months back but still needed “enough inspiration”.
Just the day before Sunday, I had been talking to a friend of mine about something I call “the music style of a church or a congregation.” I was telling him that it is not possible for all church congregations to have the same music style. (Music style in this case being the way a worship team within a congregation sings, the type(s) of songs they sing (whether English or vernacular or Swahili or local contemporary or hymnals or African or songs with an Afro fusion), the musical instruments they use in worship, their number of singers, song arrangement, the way they involve the congregation in worship or dancing etc).
This came about after realizing that my church (after being here for a while) has a certain music style ardently followed by the members, and although I know that most of us are in limbo of its reign upon us, it is a reality we can’t evade. The truth is that only certain songs sang in a certain manner blend well with us. (This is not to mean that we can’t sing “other types of songs” or “other types of songs in another kind of way”, but that singing them would complicate the whole issue that I am addressing in this post.)
It therefore means that any kind of creativity being introduced in my church will still have to flirt with the baseline that is its music style. Only then will any new songs being introduced be “acceptable” by at least 90% of its members. This “music style” depicts what songs and how songs are sang in our church, and also if these songs can still be needed (be on demand) or liked whenever we come to worship in singing.

Now, back to talking about my visit to that small church…
There are a few things I learned in the worship sessions from that small congregation;

a)      The originality with which they sing their songs

b)     The coherence and unison in their “music style” – how well the members pick up a song right after the first line is sang

c)      The passion both in the worship leader and the congregation while engaging in worship

I learned that they are these “tiny” things in life that possess the greatest lessons we can ever learn. You don’t need “big congregations” or “thunderous voices” or “award-winning Gospel artists” (although they are all good in serving one purpose or another) in order to learn a lesson or two about worship. No, you just need your sensitivity to the voice of God.
Of course this church did music in a way that my church never does. In fact, I didn’t even understand or blend well with some of their songs and dancing, but you know what? they made me like it – they moved me within them until I was able to be like them - so I sang and danced along to what I didn’t even understand! And did it really matter that I did not understand what they were singing or their dancing styles? Or that their music style was “out of place”? I don’t think so. The worship leaders were achieving their goal: taking the congregation to their Father and their Maker – that is all that mattered! They didn’t go before the throne of God alone! No, they didn’t…
With the few lessons I learnt above, I realize that  role of a worship leader – whether they belong to the biggest or the smallest congregation in this world – is to lead people to God. The worship leader should achieve, at least in one moment of worship, the task of taking people to God. He/she should never go to God alone. After all has been said and done, God will still be sitting on His throne waiting to see the worship leader bring His people home - that is a worship leader’s responsibility.
There are a few things that may warp this great commission though;

a)    Lack of good communication or linkage between the worship leader and the congregation -  I am always of the opinion that if the worship leader realizes that the people in the congregation need him/her to be social with them and freed-up, interaction with these church members during or before worship, or yet still outside the confines of the church should be made more of a priority than a option. A cat can’t lead dogs to war nor can a horse race with donkeys. The results will be utter prejudice. If the worship leader is stuck “into his/her own world” from which they don’t want to get out of, how do you expect it to be a simple task, that one of holding people’s hands and leading them to their Father? If he/she can’t meet them where they are, taking them to where he/she wants them to go will be the hardest thing to do on this earth. He/she needs first to move with them at their pace, understanding them and tolerating them, and then pull them up to the unknown. They should start from the known to the unknown. Connecting with people before connecting them with God is the greatest thing a worship leader can ever do in the way of achieving the goal of not going to God alone, and it is the most basic thing every worship leader should ever understand.

b)    The viral desire to become like every other famous/modern church you know – most campus students (and mostly those who come from the countryside) will confess that the type of fellowship (or cherch, as many will put it) they have at campus overrides what they experience when they go back home during the holidays. This is also true with most people living in towns and cities when they go back home to these “small churches”. In such circumstances, or to the worship leader who happens to experience “another level of worship” in other churches, wisdom should be practised when wanting to change a few things in these “remote congregations” when they go back to them. Yes, it is not easy to change a church’s music style overnight and it may not even be possible, but it is important to be keen on the following things:

-      God’s timing - everything needs the intervention of God. Everything. Never override God’s intentions for your worship team by replacing them with your own selfish desires. Pray before commencing to effect any desired change in activities. Seek Him first. Let this always take centre stage, so that even if it fails (and it doesn’t have to), you will still be confident that it was of God, and that He had your back.

-      A church’s teachability - does your church take long to learn new stuff? What about the members of your worship team? Are they able to sing songs in the music style you are introducing? This will determine “how much change they can receive and tolerate” before it blows into your face.

-      Taking risks - Yes, it may not be possible for these people to adopt a new way of doing things, but you also need to learn to take risks. Introduce these new things in bits, ensuring that neither the worship team nor the congregation is overwhelmed by what you are bringing in. Remember that maintaining the status quo won’t lift you to a new level of worship, so always dare to do things differently even if it may not be mutually accepted by all.

My parting shot: always, as a worship leader, as you consider what I’ve said above, never ever go to God alone… because even right now, somewhere within me, I can still hear Him whispering to us, "The next time you come, boy/girl, don't come alone!"


Bonface Morris.

The New Me

I need a brand new me
Yes, I need him because I am tired of this normal me
I am tired of the "usual" and "common" me
I need a new me, a brand new me
I need him so much that I dare write about him;
A me that is different, and wiser, and more intuitive, and abnormal,
A me that husks from berries, and fetches pints and pints of salt
Yes, this me, this one, I will write about

I need this me, this brand new me so bad
I need him so much that I'll climb all the mountains there are to reach him
And I will walk all the journeys there are, and all there is...
I need him to come and swallow up this other me...
And before he is done, I want him to teach me some few things, to teach me to become this kind of me:
A me that does not cuss, nor lie, nor quarrel
A me that does not judge people according to their flaws, nor discriminate, nor pamper prejudice
A me that seranades and passionately totters compassion
A me that is polite, and humble and true, but a lil rugged
Yes, before he is done, I wanna be like him...

Then after he has taught me, and directed me and my obedience has been tested,
After I have withered in his strokes and I am dead,
Then I shall not be anymore,
And I shall have pardoned my shameful paddling, and seamlessly grasped a few, no, all of his mannerisms...
Then as a toddler I will barge from these old soils, stretching my arm, seeking guidance
Murmuring a new tongue and eating a new language...
And clutching at pots and spoons, bread and corn meals and bones that will be food of my new aboard
And I shall be confounded by my growth...

Then patience will not be a lake, nor will hungering and thirsting for Him who created me be a river,
After I am done learning from this new me, the throne of Him who made me will be my dwelling place,
And talking to Him will be my eternal pleasure...
O that this me will come!
That I may hide no more the fires flaming within my soul!!
O that I may eat of no earthy cuisines and drink of no blemish!

But he is not far away from me, this one, no, he is not
This brand new me is right here with me
If only I can lean deeper within,
If only I can stop running and chasing him around,
I can bring him to life
Yes, I can bring him to life from right where I am...

And so as I seek to get to that me, I am wanting to ask you,
"Have you found your 'you'?
Do you want to?"
Have you met with Jesus?
Have you known that there can never be a "you" that is better than what He forges, what He makes?
This is what He once said to Israel (Jeremiah 18:6 [NKJV]): "'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?' says the LORD. 'Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel...!'"
And Jeremiah had been sent to see how He so dearly wants to make us over, to make brand new "us"
And I've found out that if I want to meet the brand new me I so much desire to meet,
I'll need to meet with Him (Jesus) first, and meet Him often
And I think the same of you too...
Go meet with Him (Jesus)
Allow Him to make out of you a brand new you
I'll be doing the same - giving out myself to the new me...
Then after He has made us over, come on and let's change the world together... by Him.

Bonface Morris.

Just for Laughs: My Exclusive #MwanaumeNi & #MwanamkeNi Lines

Guys, I digressed. The blog post I had started writing two days ago just disappeared. Yeah, it DID disappear. How? Oh well, I don't know... I'm having memory lapses of late, some kind of schizophrenic ish ish... hah! Blame me already. Anyway, I'll take your cussing as a compliment...

And by the way, just because I love writing, it doesn't mean that I have to go to bed at 4.00am just to meet my self-imposed date-lines, ama? Naaaah. I don't think so. And remember that I'm just a Kenyan. I'm part of this breed that has perfected the act of apologizing and moving on. So, let me do just that: I'm sorry if you checked in expecting a new post but found nothing. Am I now forgiven?

Let's move on...

Now, because I feel yippeeish today, Imma do this blog post "just for laughs." Yes, you gat me right: just for laughs.
It is good to laugh sometimes, mostly when you are alone and for no good reason. It may sound stupid, but it is always self-relieving. Try it sometime: the more you laugh at nothing at all, is the more you'll laugh at yourself for being so stupid that you laugh at "nothing at all..."
And it will go on and on: "Did I just laugh at nothing?", you'll look around and ask yourself, then after looking around one more time and realizing that no-one is watching or listening in, you'll give yourself another blaaaaast of laughter until your stomach will hurt or until you knock down your cup of coffee... that's when you'll stop and smile, and say something like, "Oh my God! This is oooooooooooowesome!"
Yeah, that's how relieving laughter can be...

Laughter is the only world where the one living in it understands and enjoys it better than those who are not - Bonface Morris

So, below is my own list of #MwanaumeNi and #MwanamkeNi lines that may (because they don't really have to) put a smile on your face;
Wacha tuanze na #MwanaumeNi (juu yenyewe wanaume tuko na mashida, haha);

1. #MwanaumeNi kusema, "Hata jana nililala njaa" fiancée wake akiulizia dough ndo huyo fiancée amuhurumie na kumuuliza "Babez, can I lend you 1k? Will that do for now?" Kisha msee ana.nod kichwa kwa huruma na kuchukua hiyo ngiri moja, kuikunja srowry na kukaa mbele mbele... :-)
2. #MwanaumeNi kuweka photo ya ndai kali Facebook (kama ile yangu ya fb, lol) kama cover photo ndo wasee wadhanie uko na vision, kumbe hata hujui kuendesha bike. :O
3. #MwanaumeNi kushinda ume.wave mkono kwa hewa kama flag huku uki.smile yako yote ndo dem akikuuliza unasema, "Babez, I'm painting your world with love!"
4. #MwanaumeNi kutumia tu light ya TV akifika home ndo landlord asijue ako home aanze kumdai dough ya rent.
5. #MwanaumeNi kukaa chini katikati ya barabara ndo ashikwe na kanjo aende akae kwa cell the whole day kama strategy ya kuhepa kwenda job - kuna msee angemtafuta huko job amdai dough.
6. #MwanaumeNi kukunywa maji ile ya 20bob for lunch ati kuenjoy wasee ako on diet "as advised by his personal doctor."
7. #MwanaumeNi kulialia ovyo ovyo mbele ya dem ndo akiulizwa anasema, "Nalilia watenda dhambi" kisha kusema, "I am one of those emotional men..." kumbe ni njaro ya ku.avoid kuulizwaulizwa tumaswali.
8. #MwanaumeNi kuambia fiancée, "Yoh, ile siku nitaosa, utajionea tu msupa, tutaishia, er, unadhani which is the coolest place around...?" juu anajitetea vile ni.mstingy.
9. #MwanaumeNi kuweka gazeti kwa choo (ndio tissue paper yako) lakini akiulizwa anaenjoy mtu na kusema, "Aaaaah, tissue yangu iliisha jana, sijapata time ya kubuy ingine, er, hiyo gazeti huwa tu ni ya kusoma time niko hiyo 'throne room'"... haha
10. #MwanaumeNi kuwahi dem flower moja ya kutoka kwa garden on Valentines Day (juu amesota mbaya!) ndo akiulizwa na dem anasema, "Huh! Napenda vitu natural bana. Artificial things are sooo old school yoh!"
11. #MwanaumeNi kununua kabambe, story za tablets achia wagonjwa.
12. #MwanaumeNi kutopeleka mrembo anywhere, story za kupelekwa "out" achia ng'ombe na goats.
13. #MwanaumeNi ku.sip soda kama uji, story za kukunywa na straw achia wasee wa #Tujuane.
14. #MwanaumeNi ni kukosa jina, just ulizia Nameless atakushow vile kunaendaga.

Na some za #MwanamkeNi ndo hizi hapa;

1. #MwanamkeNi kuvaa slippers akiishia mtaani ndo maboys wasimkatie juu ya ya ushamba
2. #MwanamkeNi kusema "aki woishee nimeshiba, sijisikii kula, but si utanipa tu dough...?" kila akipelekwa date ndo akusanye hiyo ngiri moja per every two weeks
3. #MwanamkeNi kuweka ile weave ya kamfuko juu ya kichwa ili imwokolee ma.time ya kuhustle - acting kama place ya kuweka vitu kama eraser na for easy access ya kuweka change ya vitu ka bob bob hivi.
4. #MwanamkeNi kukaa tu ndee ili akiulizwa anajitetea na Scripture: "Mimi ni helper! Hata Bible inasema!" Seriously?
5. #MwanamkeNi (wale wamemarika na wako na watoi) kushinda ameshika mtoi ndo asifanye anything kwa hao... akiulizwa anadaisha ati "mtoto anasumbua, anataka tu kushikwa", while ukweli ni kimtoto chenyewe kimeshalala kitaaaaambo!
6. #MwanamkeNi kukuwa scandal-less,  story za mascandal achia Olivia Pope.
7. #MwanamkeNi kukula fries, tena bila soda au juo, story za "I don't do fries" achia akina Edah na Mirfat.

Hah! One thing I request of you though: don't ask me about the above, priss... :-)


Bonface Morris.