I'm actually the fourth generation in my family to have no practical use for the church, or God, or religion. My children continue this trend.
It is my growing conviction that the Baptist churches in America are behind the age in missionary spirit. They now and then make a spasmodic effort to throw off a nightmare debt of some years' accumulation, and then sink back into unconscious repose.
A church is an incubator, a nursery, a grade school. You start where people are and move them to where they need to be.
I have been a performer for as long as I can remember. I performed in Sunday school and church plays.
I was raised in a very religious household - it wasn't dogma, but we were raised Christian; we went to church every Sunday, Bible study, Bible camp every summer.
One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organizations do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always.
As any Christian would understand, I feel church is sacred. For me, it is the place I worship, where I learn about God and feel closest to Him each week.
Although my family is originally from Jamaica, I grew up in a diverse community in south London. As my parents were immigrants they made every effort to integrate and we used to go to a wonderful church where we befriended families from all over the world.
We were poor. My mother got our clothes out of the free box at the church, you know? So much of when you're a kid is about relating about what you watch on TV. And who's got these cooler shoes, and 'Let's trade lunches.' And I was just like, 'I don't have a television. I have a rock and a piece of tofu.'
So many people grew up in the church, and you can have an awesome upbringing, but I made a personal conviction; I made a personal decision when I was very young. I enjoy going to church without my parents. On Sunday mornings, I want to go. Bible studies on Wednesdays... I have a relationship - not just through my parents.
