Heather Headley and Broadway: A Calling Ground for Believers

What do Broadway and Christianity have in common? Heather Headley. Heather Headley is a Trinidadian pastor’s kid, who, while performing on Broadway and winning Grammy’s, also maintains a steadfast love for Jesus.

Headley just returned from 11 months in London, England where she has been “trying out” The Body Guard on audiences. On Friday, October 18, Headley came to Wheaton College to perform and talk about her experience in the entertainment world. Her message:

“We need Christians in every field. They may not say ‘God, God’, but they are there.”

Headley’s message manifested itself into the question, “Are Christians able to honor God in secular cultures?” Headley would say yes, and, furthermore, she would claim that it is a necessity. After moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana, Headley stumbled upon the entertainment world through what seemed to be an act of God alone. After nearly losing the opportunity to audition for acceptance into Northwestern University, her high school principal had her flown privately to Chicago.

After her acceptance to Northwestern and spending some time there, she was called to Toronto to perform in The Lion King, the musical. Throughout her story, she kept reiterating “[it] was not planned, but [she] [kept] seeing God’s providence…He is providing.”

Although God kept opening doors, she had an itching question, “This can’t be it, right? Can I honor God on Broadway, or doing something without the words ‘God’ or ‘Jesus’ in it?”

Headley has found immense fame and success in her career thus far and continues to praise God through her performances. So how do other Christians participate in this movement without serving as a missionary or becoming a pastor? She claimed, “Some [Christians] are going to have to go out there and know that [they] have a great front of people who are teaching and praying for [them] so that [they] may go out into a different culture and can roar.”

While, yes, some are called into missions or other church-related fields, there must be a group of Christians in secular fields throughout the world. Headley claimed, “[Christians] can change the way people think, and those people can wonder what [they] are about.” Not all Christians need to be proclaiming the gospel on the streets in order to reach people.

It is in the way they act and set an example that can get people thinking. Headley continued, “we [Christians] are the way to getting to some people who would never get to God or go to church.” Without Christians being in politics, journalism, entertainment, and other secular environments, people are losing the chance to come to Jesus. While it is important to be growing within the church, Headley reiterates that it is crucial to bring others into the church through behavior and example.

Some may argue how difficult it is to maintain a grounded faith while being in certain secular areas–look at Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and Katy Perry–but Headley claims, “[Christians] can still maintain who [they] are” by letting all of their works and achievements be an act of worship to God, “even if [they don’t] say ‘God’. ”

Christians do not need to be strictly outspoken and overbearing about their faith to be heard; as the old saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Christians in today’s culture have the opportunity to worship and honor God in all they do; not just work in the church. As it says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” God has the ability to call anyone to any vocation, and as Christians, we are to follow God’s calling making “fishers of men,” while honoring God in all that we do.

Who are we to dictate who may come to Christ through our works?

(Photo courtesy of HeatherHeadley.com)

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.