India’s most valuable resource! January 19, 2007
Posted by Chris Gnanakan in missions.add a comment
What is our country’s greatest natural resource? Is it the wood in our forests, mineral oil under the soil or gold within our mines? As valuable as these may be, they fall far behind the worth and percentage of young people in India, which is the largest in the world! Youth may be seen as a period of great potential as well as enormous problems; intense creativity yet possessing much instability. The good news is that the shortcomings of youthfulness can be transformed into usefulness for our nation’s good and God’s glory.
At our 60th Independence Day celebrations, President Abdul Kalam challenged the nation’s youth to set and to strive toward 7 noble life goals. This 7-point oath he offered to youth are visionary commitments that I believe can be vitalized by Christian values and genuine care for our young people, and are worth reflecting on (more…)
Mentoring= Building God’s Kingdom January 8, 2007
Posted by Chris Gnanakan in pastoral.add a comment
Have you been stopped from doing something you really longed to and knew you were able to? How did you feel and react? David found himself in such a situation. He wanted to build God’s house but God didn’t allow him. Denied his heart’s desire, David could have done two things: rebel against God and build it anyway, or sulk at being rejected and be upset with God. But God had a better plan for David and he does for Christian leaders today – mentoring!
David proved to be “a man after God’s own heart”. He made a difference in his time and left a legacy of a divine principle for generations to come. He chose to mentor the person God had chosen for this task- Solomon, his successor. Thus David still speaks and shows us “a more excellent way”. No one is a success without a successor! The challenge for organisational leaders is to seriously ask: “Is God going to use me to do something or is God using me to impact someone else to do something bigger and better that me?”
Mentoring is a mark of true spiritual maturity. It entails watching God develop others through you and rejoicing that they are being greatly used by God. This requires nothing else that a heart that is totally committed to God and seeks nothing less than his kingdom. Think of the cost involved in mentoring. It means, as the leader, you spend your energies pouring your life and resources into others, whom God uses in a greater measure and then you applaud them as they pass you by. This isn’t easy, is it? Yet mentoring is investing in order to receive dividends that are literally “out of this world”. David must have realised that he was not going to live forever to do everything he wanted, so he mentored Solomon. But how exactly did he do this? (more…)
Cathedrals to Call-Centres January 2, 2007
Posted by Chris Gnanakan in missions.add a comment
During our Spiritual Life & Mission Conference at SAIACS, we are coming together to examine a spectrum of ministry spheres, celebrate distinctives, shared experiences and discuss challenges that we as the Church in India are facing. A central question is: what should be our priorities as disciples of Jesus and as God’s people ‘called-out’ for the sake of Christ’s kingdom.
Trends in the Indian Church’s growth reveals a variety of patterns in which Christian faith communities are developing, with differences yet each having its own value. However, there is an ardent desire and sincere efforts are being made to move from mere institutional forms to be a relevant mission-shaped church in a multicultural, pluralistic and a global context. With a shift from maintenance to missions, traditional, hierarchical structures are confronted by new, lay people movements characterised by spontaneous worship forms.
In short, the church is not just purpose-driven but also Presence-shaped in its witness. To complicate maters, the urban church seems to be going hi-tech often at the cost of becoming low-touch. In our consumerist society, cultural sensitivity is yielding to pragmatic, globalised ways of simply being Christians in the marketplace. Such reorganisation calls us to radically rethink the relevance of our present modes of worship and the effectiveness of our outreach.
What would you say is the shape of the church-in-mission today? Is bigger, better? Will intimacy with God lead naturally to our involvement in His world? What about Christians in politics? Have we taken seriously the need to partner and network in our outreach? Will all our innovations give greater efficiency, impact and scope? Will the future Church make us an attractive counter-culture, so much so our fellow Indians will want to become followers of Christ?
