As Western culture becomes more and more secular, are we increasingly ‘living in exile’ as Christians? If so, how can we better understand our identity, our home, and one another?
We welcome Damilola Makinde to the Being Human podcast. Her background spans law, public policy, preaching, and worship leading. Damilola is originally from London but having grown up within a Nigerian diaspora in Ireland, her experience of tri-cultural heritage has contributed to the powerful and prophetic voice she holds today.
In this episode, she draws on her own story of ‘living in exile’ but finding home in the presence of God. Join us as we discuss how our culture impacts our understanding of who God is and our relationship with Him, the challenge of discipleship in more secular environments, and Damilola’s hope to see revival and renewal in our day.
Damilola is a member of the Being Human team, you can find more about her at beinghumanlens.com
Part one (00:00)
03:40 – Growing up in a Nigerian diaspora; being deeply formed and shaped by a country, yet not living in it.
06:50 – Finding similarities between Damilola’s tri-cultural heritage and the experience of Christians in the West. What does ‘living in exile’ look like?
11:00 – Home is the ability to recognise the presence of God wherever you are. So, although living in exile can be painful, we can find hope in its promise of home.
Part two (16:38)
16:45 – Understanding secularism as a climate that diminishes our view of God.
18:45 – Before we can understand who we are, we need to understand God as ‘other’ and holy. But what do we do when we find ourselves in environments that over- or under-emphasise the otherness of God?
24:55 – The challenge of discipleship within a secular context is to be responsive to the culture around us but remain reflective of the gospel.
Part three (28:50)
28:56 – Revival is when people respond to Jesus on His own terms – are we seeing signs of this today and if so, how should we respond?
33:30 – The cultural stories of today are bringing us to our knees, and yet this is exactly where we need to be to see revival and receive a fresh revelation of who God is.
38:01 – Damilola’s hope and prayer for anyone listening today – that as we are transformed, we too become agents of God’s transformation for the world.