the christian messenger, nov 2013 edition
DESCRIPTION
November 2013 edition of The Christian Messenger magazine.TRANSCRIPT
BY JIM FLETCHER
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 3
Owned and published by Elsy Robin from 329/4, Poonga Apartments, HIG Flats, II Avenue, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600 040. Printed by L Cyril Sagayaraj at VS Printograph Pvt Ltd., 1, Narasinghapuram Extn.., 1st Lane, Maduvankarai, Guindy, Chennai 600 032. Editor: Elsy Robin
INDIA’S EVANGELICAL NEWS MAGAZINEOnline Portal: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
Vol. 10, No. 7 NOVEMBER, 2013Page 28
The purpose of the news magazine is to report newsworthy religious events and activities within the local community, nationwide and around the world, to increase the awareness and activism of believers regarding the moral issues of today, to provide thought-provoking commentary, and to provide an effective advertising vehicle for Christian ministries and organizations, events and businesses that want to reach the Christian community. - Editor
The Team Managing Editor: Robin Sam Editor & Publisher: Elsy Robin Editorial Advisor: P I Samuel Production & Sales: S Saravanan
TELEPHONE:
044-65145334 / 0-7299063345 / 7299063347
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Annual : Rs.120/- 3 years : Rs.360/-5 years : Rs.500/-Life : Rs.1,000/-
(Continued on page 12)
NY Christian who bears his own cross will know that God expects him not to be self-righteous. The problem with self-A
righteousness is that it puts oneself on a pedestal while looking down upon others. And no one who puts himself on a pedestal can expect his prayers to be heard, because he himself becomes an idol – well, sort of. To explain this, Jesus Christ told His disciples a parable in Luke 18:9-14. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is known to all of us, so I am not expanding on that. The self-righteous Pharisee went home with no visible change within himself while the tax collector who was penitent was pardoned and justified by God. Jesus summed up the parable saying “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The prophet who heard from God on this topic put it best in Isaiah 64:6: “All our righteousness are like filthy rags.”
Like self-righteousness, we need to stay clear of self-sufficiency also. What is self-sufficiency? It is a state of mind where we think we have made it. No Christian's life is complete till he reaches the eternal shores. Our achievements, however significant they maybe, should not make us think that we have attained them by our own efforts.
While talking to the church in Corinth, Paul underlined this point. A true child of God does not need commendation letters from anyone. That was not an arrogant statement for he clarified in 2 Corinthians 3:5: “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” The self-sufficient rich man mentioned in Luke 12:16-21 does not have a name, but God gave him one. He called him a ‘fool.’ In John 15:5 Jesus tells why our sufficiency is from
God. He said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
The Bible teaches us that self-indulgence is also not a right attitude. One of the reasons why Jesus chided the scribes and Pharisees of His time was that they were greedy and self-indulgent (Matthew 23:25). They are the two sides of a diabolical face – and both are detestable.
A soul that is committed to loving and serving its Redeemer will always look for ways to please the Master—not itself. In contrast, a self-indulgent person is a walking dead body as far as God is concerned. Don't think I am making this up, that's what the Bible says. While giving out instructions for the church in 1Timothy 5, Paul had this to say about a self-indulgent woman: “…she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (verses 6).
Eternal life is promised to those “who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and d o n o t o b e y t h e t r u t h , b u t o b e y unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil” warns Paul in Romans 2:7-9.
I want you to look at the build-up of the words: Those who are self-seeking are also likely to be disobedient to the truth and followers of unrighteousness. So, what is the truth? Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
God is not expecting all of us to be theologians. However, He wants us to realize this one truth: That Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Those who have realized and accepted this truth will follow the rite of passage prescribed to believers in Matthew 16:24. “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone
BY JIM FLETCHER
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 3
Owned and published by Elsy Robin from 329/4, Poonga Apartments, HIG Flats, II Avenue, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600 040. Printed by L Cyril Sagayaraj at VS Printograph Pvt Ltd., 1, Narasinghapuram Extn.., 1st Lane, Maduvankarai, Guindy, Chennai 600 032. Editor: Elsy Robin
INDIA’S EVANGELICAL NEWS MAGAZINEOnline Portal: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
Vol. 10, No. 7 NOVEMBER, 2013Page 28
The purpose of the news magazine is to report newsworthy religious events and activities within the local community, nationwide and around the world, to increase the awareness and activism of believers regarding the moral issues of today, to provide thought-provoking commentary, and to provide an effective advertising vehicle for Christian ministries and organizations, events and businesses that want to reach the Christian community. - Editor
The Team Managing Editor: Robin Sam Editor & Publisher: Elsy Robin Editorial Advisor: P I Samuel Production & Sales: S Saravanan
TELEPHONE:
044-65145334 / 0-7299063345 / 7299063347
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Annual : Rs.120/- 3 years : Rs.360/-5 years : Rs.500/-Life : Rs.1,000/-
(Continued on page 12)
NY Christian who bears his own cross will know that God expects him not to be self-righteous. The problem with self-A
righteousness is that it puts oneself on a pedestal while looking down upon others. And no one who puts himself on a pedestal can expect his prayers to be heard, because he himself becomes an idol – well, sort of. To explain this, Jesus Christ told His disciples a parable in Luke 18:9-14. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector is known to all of us, so I am not expanding on that. The self-righteous Pharisee went home with no visible change within himself while the tax collector who was penitent was pardoned and justified by God. Jesus summed up the parable saying “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The prophet who heard from God on this topic put it best in Isaiah 64:6: “All our righteousness are like filthy rags.”
Like self-righteousness, we need to stay clear of self-sufficiency also. What is self-sufficiency? It is a state of mind where we think we have made it. No Christian's life is complete till he reaches the eternal shores. Our achievements, however significant they maybe, should not make us think that we have attained them by our own efforts.
While talking to the church in Corinth, Paul underlined this point. A true child of God does not need commendation letters from anyone. That was not an arrogant statement for he clarified in 2 Corinthians 3:5: “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” The self-sufficient rich man mentioned in Luke 12:16-21 does not have a name, but God gave him one. He called him a ‘fool.’ In John 15:5 Jesus tells why our sufficiency is from
God. He said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
The Bible teaches us that self-indulgence is also not a right attitude. One of the reasons why Jesus chided the scribes and Pharisees of His time was that they were greedy and self-indulgent (Matthew 23:25). They are the two sides of a diabolical face – and both are detestable.
A soul that is committed to loving and serving its Redeemer will always look for ways to please the Master—not itself. In contrast, a self-indulgent person is a walking dead body as far as God is concerned. Don't think I am making this up, that's what the Bible says. While giving out instructions for the church in 1Timothy 5, Paul had this to say about a self-indulgent woman: “…she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives” (verses 6).
Eternal life is promised to those “who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and d o n o t o b e y t h e t r u t h , b u t o b e y unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil” warns Paul in Romans 2:7-9.
I want you to look at the build-up of the words: Those who are self-seeking are also likely to be disobedient to the truth and followers of unrighteousness. So, what is the truth? Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
God is not expecting all of us to be theologians. However, He wants us to realize this one truth: That Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. Those who have realized and accepted this truth will follow the rite of passage prescribed to believers in Matthew 16:24. “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone
Advertisements for the next issue should reach us before the 20th of this month along with the complete payment. Payment can be made by cash or demand draft in favor of ‘Messenger Communications Pvt. Ltd.’ and sent to our address below.
You can also email the advertisement matter as jpg, gif or pdf to us at [email protected] or [email protected]
(Readers are advised to make thorough enquiries before acting on any advertisements. This magazine does not necessarily agree to the claims or representations made by any advertiser.)
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
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Send your feedback to this issue at [email protected] us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/christian.messenger
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100817192426
IN & AROUND Bajrang Dal pressures villagers to leave Christianity
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Advertisements for the next issue should reach us before the 20th of this month along with the complete payment. Payment can be made by cash or demand draft in favor of ‘Messenger Communications Pvt. Ltd.’ and sent to our address below.
You can also email the advertisement matter as jpg, gif or pdf to us at [email protected] or [email protected]
(Readers are advised to make thorough enquiries before acting on any advertisements. This magazine does not necessarily agree to the claims or representations made by any advertiser.)
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Send your feedback to this issue at [email protected] us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/christian.messenger
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100817192426
IN & AROUND Bajrang Dal pressures villagers to leave Christianity
New Ad Tariff Effective Dec 1, 2012
Ph:044-65145334 / 0-7299063345 / 7299063347
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Use this address only for postal correspondence. Please call us before visiting us.
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NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 5
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An eighth defendant, Pulari Rama Rao, a leader of the Naxalite movement, also was sentenced to life in prison.
The eight were among 14 the government suspected of carrying out the August 2008 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others at his hermitage in the rural heart of Orissa. Saraswati was a Hindu monk. A mob of about 50 people surrounded his ashram, and several opened fire.
The killings touched off a wave of violence, much of it directed at Christians, whom many angered Hindus considered responsible.
Police focused their investigation on Maoists, even as leaders in the movement said Christians were among those pressing for Saraswati's death. Saraswati was prominent in the VHP and took a hard line against Christians attempting to convert Hindus.
The violence following Saraswati's murder left nearly 40 people dead, some of them dragged from their homes and burned.
Thousands of Christians fled their villages. Christian homes, churches and an orphanage were burned.
The eight defendants, tired in a district court in the rural town of Phulbani, were convicted September 30 of murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly and rioting. Two also were found guilty of violating weapons laws.
Aside from Rao, the seven others who were convicted are Christian and killed Saraswati because he was converting Christians to Hinduism, prosecution lawyer Bhagaban Mohanty told the Indo-Asian News Service after the verdict.
“The judge convicted them purely on the basis of
CHURCHES in the country are urging an appeal of the lifetime sentences handed down October 3 to seven men convicted for the 2008 murder of a prominent Hindu leader.
“The seven Christians are innocent,” said Reverend Charles Irudayam, executive secretary of the Office for Justice, Peace and Development within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.
“The ruling is manifestly wrong and unjust. We call for the release of the seven innocent, sentenced without evidence,” he said via a statement issued to the Catholic news service Agenzia Fides.
circumstantial evidence and the deposition of witnesses,” the news service quoted Mohanty as saying.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty. Instead, the additional district and sessions judge of Kandhamal, Rajendra Kumar Tosh, ruling from a court in the Orissa capital of Bhubaneswar, handed down life sentences.
A lawyer for the seven told The Times of India that he “will certainly appeal' the convictions and sentences to the Orissa high court.
“There was no evidence against my clients and I would advise them to move Orissa high court,” TOI quoted attorney Bijay Mishra as saying.
Christian advocates said the convictions are consistent with a larger pattern of pressure upon Christians.
“It is really a heart-breaking story for modern India,” Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told Fides.
“Seven people have already lost five precious years of their lives in prison without a fair trial. And thousands of other Christians who survived the most brutal wave of attacks, are still living in fear.”
Six days after the sentences were handed down, the same Phulbani court, citing a lack of evidence, acquitted five defendants accused of burning down a house during the 2008 violence that followed Saraswati's murder.
George told the Catholic news site Asia News that the decision, coming so soon after the conviction of the seven Christian men, serves to illustrate what he said is a tilt of justice against India's Christian minority. World Watch Monitor
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 7
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
6 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
An eighth defendant, Pulari Rama Rao, a leader of the Naxalite movement, also was sentenced to life in prison.
The eight were among 14 the government suspected of carrying out the August 2008 murder of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others at his hermitage in the rural heart of Orissa. Saraswati was a Hindu monk. A mob of about 50 people surrounded his ashram, and several opened fire.
The killings touched off a wave of violence, much of it directed at Christians, whom many angered Hindus considered responsible.
Police focused their investigation on Maoists, even as leaders in the movement said Christians were among those pressing for Saraswati's death. Saraswati was prominent in the VHP and took a hard line against Christians attempting to convert Hindus.
The violence following Saraswati's murder left nearly 40 people dead, some of them dragged from their homes and burned.
Thousands of Christians fled their villages. Christian homes, churches and an orphanage were burned.
The eight defendants, tired in a district court in the rural town of Phulbani, were convicted September 30 of murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly and rioting. Two also were found guilty of violating weapons laws.
Aside from Rao, the seven others who were convicted are Christian and killed Saraswati because he was converting Christians to Hinduism, prosecution lawyer Bhagaban Mohanty told the Indo-Asian News Service after the verdict.
“The judge convicted them purely on the basis of
CHURCHES in the country are urging an appeal of the lifetime sentences handed down October 3 to seven men convicted for the 2008 murder of a prominent Hindu leader.
“The seven Christians are innocent,” said Reverend Charles Irudayam, executive secretary of the Office for Justice, Peace and Development within the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.
“The ruling is manifestly wrong and unjust. We call for the release of the seven innocent, sentenced without evidence,” he said via a statement issued to the Catholic news service Agenzia Fides.
circumstantial evidence and the deposition of witnesses,” the news service quoted Mohanty as saying.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty. Instead, the additional district and sessions judge of Kandhamal, Rajendra Kumar Tosh, ruling from a court in the Orissa capital of Bhubaneswar, handed down life sentences.
A lawyer for the seven told The Times of India that he “will certainly appeal' the convictions and sentences to the Orissa high court.
“There was no evidence against my clients and I would advise them to move Orissa high court,” TOI quoted attorney Bijay Mishra as saying.
Christian advocates said the convictions are consistent with a larger pattern of pressure upon Christians.
“It is really a heart-breaking story for modern India,” Sajan George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told Fides.
“Seven people have already lost five precious years of their lives in prison without a fair trial. And thousands of other Christians who survived the most brutal wave of attacks, are still living in fear.”
Six days after the sentences were handed down, the same Phulbani court, citing a lack of evidence, acquitted five defendants accused of burning down a house during the 2008 violence that followed Saraswati's murder.
George told the Catholic news site Asia News that the decision, coming so soon after the conviction of the seven Christian men, serves to illustrate what he said is a tilt of justice against India's Christian minority. World Watch Monitor
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 7
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
8 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
police to the hospital to see Kashyap's condition. No arrests have been made.
Early this month, members of Bajrang Dal have been parading Hindu idols by the houses of Christian believers. Using loudspeakers, they ordered the Christians to come out of their homes to worship the idol, according to Open Doors.
“They are threatening us that they will drag each one out of our homes, beat us and kill us if we did not come out of our homes ourselves,” the ministry quoted a village resident as saying.
“In this atmosphere of fear and pressure, we do not know whom to turn to for help,” the resident said. “The police are biased and do nothing to protect the Christians.” World Watch Monitor
FOR much of the year, Christians in the central Indian village of Taragaon have been enduring pressure to abandon their religion.
In April, elements of Bajrang Dal demolished the church in Taragaon, a small town in the farming- and forestry-dominated region of southern Chhattisgarh.
Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Bajrang Dal goals include preventing ‘fraudulent or forceful conversion’ of Hindus to any other religion.
Their church destroyed, the Christians of Taragaon moved their worship meetings into the homes of believers. The Bajrang Dal followed them.
On September 22, Mitko Kashyap, 60, was confronted by her nephew for attending a house worship service. He hit her multiple times, she said, as she refused to deny her faith. Ultimately, he struck her on the head with a rock, causing injuries that required hospitalisation.
“Kashyap's daughter-in-law was also attacked by the same man, but she managed to escape,” said a staff member for Open Doors International, a ministry that provides support to Christians who are pressured because of their faith.
Police initially declined to register a complaint against the attacker, calling the incident a family matter, according to Open Doors. They registered the complaint after hospital management summoned
THE Methodist Church in Britain has sent the Diocese of Peshawar in Pakistan £5000 following the suicide bomb attack on a church in September.
The money has been made available by the World Mission Fund to help the victims of the attack on All Saints Church on September 22, killing 81 people and leaving 120 injured.
The bomb attack was one of the worst attacks on Pakistan's minority Christian group.
The Methodist Church’s solidarity
who form less than two per cent of the population. It is important that the Christian community knows that we are remembering them in prayer and that we have made the effort to send money to help those who are injured and those who have lost their family breadwinner. This grant has been made possible by the generosity of the Methodist people who have donated to the World Mission Fund.”
grant will be used to provide victims in the Diocese of Peshawar with physical and psychological support.
Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, said: “Christians and Muslims live in harmony in many communities in Pakistan, but atrocities like the bomb blasts at All Saints Church in Peshawar raise a level of fear among the Christians,
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 9
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
8 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
police to the hospital to see Kashyap's condition. No arrests have been made.
Early this month, members of Bajrang Dal have been parading Hindu idols by the houses of Christian believers. Using loudspeakers, they ordered the Christians to come out of their homes to worship the idol, according to Open Doors.
“They are threatening us that they will drag each one out of our homes, beat us and kill us if we did not come out of our homes ourselves,” the ministry quoted a village resident as saying.
“In this atmosphere of fear and pressure, we do not know whom to turn to for help,” the resident said. “The police are biased and do nothing to protect the Christians.” World Watch Monitor
FOR much of the year, Christians in the central Indian village of Taragaon have been enduring pressure to abandon their religion.
In April, elements of Bajrang Dal demolished the church in Taragaon, a small town in the farming- and forestry-dominated region of southern Chhattisgarh.
Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Bajrang Dal goals include preventing ‘fraudulent or forceful conversion’ of Hindus to any other religion.
Their church destroyed, the Christians of Taragaon moved their worship meetings into the homes of believers. The Bajrang Dal followed them.
On September 22, Mitko Kashyap, 60, was confronted by her nephew for attending a house worship service. He hit her multiple times, she said, as she refused to deny her faith. Ultimately, he struck her on the head with a rock, causing injuries that required hospitalisation.
“Kashyap's daughter-in-law was also attacked by the same man, but she managed to escape,” said a staff member for Open Doors International, a ministry that provides support to Christians who are pressured because of their faith.
Police initially declined to register a complaint against the attacker, calling the incident a family matter, according to Open Doors. They registered the complaint after hospital management summoned
THE Methodist Church in Britain has sent the Diocese of Peshawar in Pakistan £5000 following the suicide bomb attack on a church in September.
The money has been made available by the World Mission Fund to help the victims of the attack on All Saints Church on September 22, killing 81 people and leaving 120 injured.
The bomb attack was one of the worst attacks on Pakistan's minority Christian group.
The Methodist Church’s solidarity
who form less than two per cent of the population. It is important that the Christian community knows that we are remembering them in prayer and that we have made the effort to send money to help those who are injured and those who have lost their family breadwinner. This grant has been made possible by the generosity of the Methodist people who have donated to the World Mission Fund.”
grant will be used to provide victims in the Diocese of Peshawar with physical and psychological support.
Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific, said: “Christians and Muslims live in harmony in many communities in Pakistan, but atrocities like the bomb blasts at All Saints Church in Peshawar raise a level of fear among the Christians,
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 9
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
10 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
EPRIVED of her childhood, well-known Bollywood and Kollywood actress Daisy Irani Shukla was once full of hurt and D
bitterness towards her mother for making her toil in films as a child artiste. She, along with her sister Honey Irani, were household names in India in the fifties and sixties thanks to their roles in Hindi and Tamil films. Some of the Hindi films such as Bandish, Jagte Raho, Bhai Bhai, Naya Daur, Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke, Musafir, Sahara, Quedi No. 9211, Duniya Na Mane, Do Ustad, Dhool Ka Phool, Soorat Aur Seerat and Chandi Ki Diwar in which Daisy Irani acted either alone or along with her sister went on to be blockbusters of those times. When she was only 19, she got married to movie writer K K Shukla. She has three children, Kabir, Varsha and Ritu. She is maternal aunt to Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar (son and daughter of her sister Honey Irani) and Sajid and Farah Khan (son and daughter of another sister Menaka).
After accepting Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, her malice towards her mother changed to love as she realized she was able to forgive her easily. Although she was a chain smoker earlier, she also quit smoking by God's grace. In this interview with The Christian Messenger, she talks about her
experience of salvation and her life as a redeemed and transformed Christian. Excerpts from the interview:
You have followed Zoroastrianism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. After following these religions what has it been like to follow Christianity?
I had never followed Zoroastrianism, Islam and Hinduism. Circumstances brought me into these circles. I was born a Parsi. Then, my mother got converted to Islam. So, I got converted along with her. I was just six years old then. When I grew up, I met my boyfriend who later became my husband. He told me that I would have to become a Hindu after marriage. By that time, I was already ready to leave Islam anyway. Christianity was, however, my choice.
It is said that a friend introduced you to Jesus Christ. Please tell me more about your encounter with Jesus.
I was searching for someone to help me to forsake my smoking habit. I used to smoke 60 cigarettes in a day for six to seven years. I wanted to get rid of the habit as I was pregnant. I was very desperate to do so as I had lost a baby because of that.
At that time God introduced Himself to me. A friend of mine who used to smoke and had given up
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 11
smoking told me how she had kicked the habit. She told me that she had become a Christian. She was a Hindu earlier. At that time, I didn't want to become a Christian as I had been on and off in many religions.
I used to do Novena prayers at Mahim during that time. A Novena prayer goes on for nine Wednesdays. You ask for something and it is believed that it is granted to you. I had completed 18 Novenas. I told my friend that I was acquainted with Mother Mary and Christianity. Then she started talking to me about Jesus Christ.
I had an Islamic background. Muslims are very sternly taught that Christians are bad in a very subtle way. Nobody came to me directly and told me so. We are, however, told things like Christians drink and wear revealing clothes. What they say is true as several Christians and Catholics are like that. Then, when people watch films like Godfather they think that Christians are dons. People have a different concept of Christians when they do not know the true God.
So, I never took Christianity seriously. I was under the impression that following Christianity was just stepping in and out of a church in the same way that Muslims visit a mosque and Hindus drop into a temple.
What made you change your outlook?I had an encounter with God. That really
transformed my outlook towards the faith. I then met Pastor Alan Wilson from New Life Fellowship Church in 1975. He was a founder member of the church. He gave me the Gospel and asked me if I believed that Jesus had died for me. I had never heard something like that before. God had driven me there, and hence I replied in the affirmative.
He asked me if there was anything particular that he needed to pray about. I told him that my basic problem was my smoking habit. He explained that God was there to help me. I went back home and started smoking again. I hastily concluded that the Christians I had just met were all liars.
My father had gifted me an enormous and heavy cupboard. I wanted to shift it. I had just heard in the church that faith can move mountains. I said to myself I will try and move a mountain later, but I needed help in moving the cupboard. I prayed that I could shift the cupboard in Jesus' name. It simply didn't move. I once again thought that false notions were spread by the church and I went to sleep.
Please go on...The pastor had given me an appointment at 10am
to visit his house. I woke up ringing their bell. I had no memories whatsoever as to when I had woken up and had travelled to their home.
Moreover, I had gone to bed thinking that I simply
wouldn't visit their home. My eyes opened from slumber when they opened the door. Initially, I thought I was dreaming. Then I realized that it was true. I was so scared that I didn't even share with the pastor's wife about this. I didn't even know their address properly, so I was baffled about how I managed to reach there.
When I spoke to them I told them about the cupboard, the pastor's wife reinforced that if I believed, it would surely happen. All, I needed to do is trust God. They gave me a Bible with some verses that they had underlined. I went downstairs and didn't even know where I had parked my car. I found my vehicle. From that day I started taking Jesus seriously.
I am not an educated person. I thought Jesus was spelled with a G. I used to write Jesus with a 'G' instead of “J”. I then thought that it would take me time to read the Bible. As I was feeling afraid with the miracle of me travelling to the doorstep of the pastor's house, I said that if Jesus would help me to quit smoking I would give my life to Him.
From that day, my smoking habit went out of my life. Initially, I felt that this couldn't be true. I kept chewing gum and loaded pepper mints in my handbag. They got spoiled after remaining in my purse for three days. I didn't actually need them as I didn't feel like smoking. That was a big miracle for me. I felt like God was there for me when I needed something.
You were a child artiste and had an abusive childhood. Would you like to share more about it?
Nowadays, when I reflect on my childhood days I praise God for being there with me during my hardships. I was a very sharp and smart child although I behaved more mature than my age.
I do not ruminate on the abuse part anymore. I know all that had happened but don't get flashbacks like I once used to get. After accepting the Lord, Jesus took away all that bitterness and ugliness. It took some time to forgive my mother. The most beautiful part of it was that she was the first believer in my family after me. My life has been very nice and
The pastor asked me if there was anything particular that he needed to pray about. I told him that my basic
problem was my smoking habit. He said God would help me. I went back home
and started smoking again. I hastily concluded that the Christians I had just
met were all liars.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
10 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
EPRIVED of her childhood, well-known Bollywood and Kollywood actress Daisy Irani Shukla was once full of hurt and D
bitterness towards her mother for making her toil in films as a child artiste. She, along with her sister Honey Irani, were household names in India in the fifties and sixties thanks to their roles in Hindi and Tamil films. Some of the Hindi films such as Bandish, Jagte Raho, Bhai Bhai, Naya Daur, Hum Panchi Ek Dal Ke, Musafir, Sahara, Quedi No. 9211, Duniya Na Mane, Do Ustad, Dhool Ka Phool, Soorat Aur Seerat and Chandi Ki Diwar in which Daisy Irani acted either alone or along with her sister went on to be blockbusters of those times. When she was only 19, she got married to movie writer K K Shukla. She has three children, Kabir, Varsha and Ritu. She is maternal aunt to Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar (son and daughter of her sister Honey Irani) and Sajid and Farah Khan (son and daughter of another sister Menaka).
After accepting Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, her malice towards her mother changed to love as she realized she was able to forgive her easily. Although she was a chain smoker earlier, she also quit smoking by God's grace. In this interview with The Christian Messenger, she talks about her
experience of salvation and her life as a redeemed and transformed Christian. Excerpts from the interview:
You have followed Zoroastrianism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. After following these religions what has it been like to follow Christianity?
I had never followed Zoroastrianism, Islam and Hinduism. Circumstances brought me into these circles. I was born a Parsi. Then, my mother got converted to Islam. So, I got converted along with her. I was just six years old then. When I grew up, I met my boyfriend who later became my husband. He told me that I would have to become a Hindu after marriage. By that time, I was already ready to leave Islam anyway. Christianity was, however, my choice.
It is said that a friend introduced you to Jesus Christ. Please tell me more about your encounter with Jesus.
I was searching for someone to help me to forsake my smoking habit. I used to smoke 60 cigarettes in a day for six to seven years. I wanted to get rid of the habit as I was pregnant. I was very desperate to do so as I had lost a baby because of that.
At that time God introduced Himself to me. A friend of mine who used to smoke and had given up
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 11
smoking told me how she had kicked the habit. She told me that she had become a Christian. She was a Hindu earlier. At that time, I didn't want to become a Christian as I had been on and off in many religions.
I used to do Novena prayers at Mahim during that time. A Novena prayer goes on for nine Wednesdays. You ask for something and it is believed that it is granted to you. I had completed 18 Novenas. I told my friend that I was acquainted with Mother Mary and Christianity. Then she started talking to me about Jesus Christ.
I had an Islamic background. Muslims are very sternly taught that Christians are bad in a very subtle way. Nobody came to me directly and told me so. We are, however, told things like Christians drink and wear revealing clothes. What they say is true as several Christians and Catholics are like that. Then, when people watch films like Godfather they think that Christians are dons. People have a different concept of Christians when they do not know the true God.
So, I never took Christianity seriously. I was under the impression that following Christianity was just stepping in and out of a church in the same way that Muslims visit a mosque and Hindus drop into a temple.
What made you change your outlook?I had an encounter with God. That really
transformed my outlook towards the faith. I then met Pastor Alan Wilson from New Life Fellowship Church in 1975. He was a founder member of the church. He gave me the Gospel and asked me if I believed that Jesus had died for me. I had never heard something like that before. God had driven me there, and hence I replied in the affirmative.
He asked me if there was anything particular that he needed to pray about. I told him that my basic problem was my smoking habit. He explained that God was there to help me. I went back home and started smoking again. I hastily concluded that the Christians I had just met were all liars.
My father had gifted me an enormous and heavy cupboard. I wanted to shift it. I had just heard in the church that faith can move mountains. I said to myself I will try and move a mountain later, but I needed help in moving the cupboard. I prayed that I could shift the cupboard in Jesus' name. It simply didn't move. I once again thought that false notions were spread by the church and I went to sleep.
Please go on...The pastor had given me an appointment at 10am
to visit his house. I woke up ringing their bell. I had no memories whatsoever as to when I had woken up and had travelled to their home.
Moreover, I had gone to bed thinking that I simply
wouldn't visit their home. My eyes opened from slumber when they opened the door. Initially, I thought I was dreaming. Then I realized that it was true. I was so scared that I didn't even share with the pastor's wife about this. I didn't even know their address properly, so I was baffled about how I managed to reach there.
When I spoke to them I told them about the cupboard, the pastor's wife reinforced that if I believed, it would surely happen. All, I needed to do is trust God. They gave me a Bible with some verses that they had underlined. I went downstairs and didn't even know where I had parked my car. I found my vehicle. From that day I started taking Jesus seriously.
I am not an educated person. I thought Jesus was spelled with a G. I used to write Jesus with a 'G' instead of “J”. I then thought that it would take me time to read the Bible. As I was feeling afraid with the miracle of me travelling to the doorstep of the pastor's house, I said that if Jesus would help me to quit smoking I would give my life to Him.
From that day, my smoking habit went out of my life. Initially, I felt that this couldn't be true. I kept chewing gum and loaded pepper mints in my handbag. They got spoiled after remaining in my purse for three days. I didn't actually need them as I didn't feel like smoking. That was a big miracle for me. I felt like God was there for me when I needed something.
You were a child artiste and had an abusive childhood. Would you like to share more about it?
Nowadays, when I reflect on my childhood days I praise God for being there with me during my hardships. I was a very sharp and smart child although I behaved more mature than my age.
I do not ruminate on the abuse part anymore. I know all that had happened but don't get flashbacks like I once used to get. After accepting the Lord, Jesus took away all that bitterness and ugliness. It took some time to forgive my mother. The most beautiful part of it was that she was the first believer in my family after me. My life has been very nice and
The pastor asked me if there was anything particular that he needed to pray about. I told him that my basic
problem was my smoking habit. He said God would help me. I went back home
and started smoking again. I hastily concluded that the Christians I had just
met were all liars.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
12 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
God has been very gracious to me. What was your late writer husband K K
Shukla’s walk with the Lord like?He was a very nice and kind-hearted man but he
was not a Christian initially. He came to the Lord 15 years after I accepted Jesus. I had been praying for him for 15 years. When he came to the Lord, things changed in him. That was very nice to witness.
I, however, wish that my pastors and elders in the church would have given more time to him. They unfortunately didn't do so. Even I was a leader in the church. One day, I caught hold of everybody. I explained to them that not one of them had come to visit my husband to spend some time with him and talk to him. He had suffered a stroke and wasn't well. He was an intelligent man who would have liked someone to come and converse with him. Pastor Shekhar Kallianpur was, however, there to talk to him.
Are your children Varsha, Kabir and Ritu born-again Christians, too?
They all have been water baptized. However, currently, they are not walking with the Lord. They have very independent spirits. I believe God will bring them to Him again one day.
Varsha is married. I was pregnant with her when I got baptized. She is a teacher. Kabir is a promo
executor in Zee Cinema. Ritu is into production. Have you shared the Gospel with your
nephews and nieces Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar?
I have told Farah and Sajid about Jesus Christ. Farah would come to church with me. I haven't really talked to Farhan and Sajid as yet, as I do not speak about Christ to someone who is uninterested. My sister Honey Irani who is Farhan and Zoya's mother is happy that I have found solace in Christ.
Have you talked to your colleagues and friends about the Gospel?
I do so only when they ask me. They seem to think that they do not want God right now. I feel that I shouldn't speak to people who do not wish to hear me out. I follow the saying that we shouldn't throw our pearls before swine very seriously. I only speak to someone that God asks me to speak to and share the Gospel.
Christianity isn’t properly depicted in Bollywood. What are your comments on that?
That is because those who make films lack knowledge on Christianity. I am often asked that if Jesus died on Good Friday, what is good about it? They don't even have the time to understand or listen to you. Sometimes, I think even the Christian filmmakers don’t know their faith.
would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Following Jesus means denying one’s own self. That's emptying ourselves of our selfish ambitions, egos, secret agendas and saying no to pride, flesh, lust of the eye and the cares of the world.
It is not reciprocating when you feel cheated, slighted, sidelined or humiliated. It is not a one-time affair but a daily exercise.
We are expected to practice it daily and nightly; day in and day out. Until we start reflecting Jesus in our lives so much so that heaven rejoices in calling us home.
I want to leave you with one of the best definitions of what it means to deny one’s self. No one knows who wrote these beautiful lines. Whoever it is, perhaps, he thought remaining anonymous is also a way of denying one’s self.
When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught, and you sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ — that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your
opinions ridiculed and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence — that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it — that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any attitude, any interruption by the will of God — that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown — that is dying to self.
When you see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances — that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart — that is dying to self.
(Continued from page 3)
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 13
TO
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
12 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
God has been very gracious to me. What was your late writer husband K K
Shukla’s walk with the Lord like?He was a very nice and kind-hearted man but he
was not a Christian initially. He came to the Lord 15 years after I accepted Jesus. I had been praying for him for 15 years. When he came to the Lord, things changed in him. That was very nice to witness.
I, however, wish that my pastors and elders in the church would have given more time to him. They unfortunately didn't do so. Even I was a leader in the church. One day, I caught hold of everybody. I explained to them that not one of them had come to visit my husband to spend some time with him and talk to him. He had suffered a stroke and wasn't well. He was an intelligent man who would have liked someone to come and converse with him. Pastor Shekhar Kallianpur was, however, there to talk to him.
Are your children Varsha, Kabir and Ritu born-again Christians, too?
They all have been water baptized. However, currently, they are not walking with the Lord. They have very independent spirits. I believe God will bring them to Him again one day.
Varsha is married. I was pregnant with her when I got baptized. She is a teacher. Kabir is a promo
executor in Zee Cinema. Ritu is into production. Have you shared the Gospel with your
nephews and nieces Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar?
I have told Farah and Sajid about Jesus Christ. Farah would come to church with me. I haven't really talked to Farhan and Sajid as yet, as I do not speak about Christ to someone who is uninterested. My sister Honey Irani who is Farhan and Zoya's mother is happy that I have found solace in Christ.
Have you talked to your colleagues and friends about the Gospel?
I do so only when they ask me. They seem to think that they do not want God right now. I feel that I shouldn't speak to people who do not wish to hear me out. I follow the saying that we shouldn't throw our pearls before swine very seriously. I only speak to someone that God asks me to speak to and share the Gospel.
Christianity isn’t properly depicted in Bollywood. What are your comments on that?
That is because those who make films lack knowledge on Christianity. I am often asked that if Jesus died on Good Friday, what is good about it? They don't even have the time to understand or listen to you. Sometimes, I think even the Christian filmmakers don’t know their faith.
would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Following Jesus means denying one’s own self. That's emptying ourselves of our selfish ambitions, egos, secret agendas and saying no to pride, flesh, lust of the eye and the cares of the world.
It is not reciprocating when you feel cheated, slighted, sidelined or humiliated. It is not a one-time affair but a daily exercise.
We are expected to practice it daily and nightly; day in and day out. Until we start reflecting Jesus in our lives so much so that heaven rejoices in calling us home.
I want to leave you with one of the best definitions of what it means to deny one’s self. No one knows who wrote these beautiful lines. Whoever it is, perhaps, he thought remaining anonymous is also a way of denying one’s self.
When you are forgotten or neglected or purposely set at naught, and you sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ — that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your
opinions ridiculed and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence — that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, or any annoyance, when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it — that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any attitude, any interruption by the will of God — that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown — that is dying to self.
When you see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances — that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart — that is dying to self.
(Continued from page 3)
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 13
TO
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
14 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
For him, the real nothing—and perhaps dying.
What kind of changes does Wood foresee for the AG fellowship that represents 3 million stateside members and almost 65 million globally? Not changes in doctrine or in reliance upon the Holy Spirit. No, the changes Wood has already begun to implement involve, among other things, technology and an increased effort to reach youth. To accomplish these goals, Wood is mentoring a new generation of pastors and leaders who also catch this vision and are primed to help bring it about.
“Dr. Wood has been fearlessly determined to make the changes needed in order for our fellowship to become an ecclesiastical leader in this next century,” says Scott Wilson, pastor of The Oaks Fellowship in Dallas. “Many church historians say that a denomination cannot thrive after 100 years in existence. That’s absolutely true if you don’t change. Dr. Wood’s leadership has given our movement a chance to prove the historians wrong. Time alone doesn’t make an organization obsolete ... stubborn pride and a love for the status quo is what takes you down.”
And so Wood is blazing the trail of change. This includes a massive digital initiative for children and youth, as more and more churches drop their Sunday school offerings and leave a vacuum of support for youth in their wake. And an annual fine arts competition, featuring tens of thousands of young people participating in drama, dance, preaching and music categories, showcases the ongoing interest of youth in the church.
“I tell our churches, ‘If you don’t have a person working with youth, take a step of faith and add one,’” Wood says. “Almost all our districts have annual conventions for youth. One-third of the AG—1.1 million—is under the age of 25. So we have a huge and growing youth population. Getting them involved in church planting and missions is key.”
Along with increased outreach to youth, the denomination is also noting and responding to the needs of other demographics—particularly women called to ministry. Jodi Detrick, a columnist for the Seattle Times who also serves as the national chairperson for Network for Women in Ministry, is one of the important voices headquarters is heeding in this area.
“God’s call to ministry and leadership at all levels is for both genders and all ethnicities who answer that call and prepare themselves accordingly,”
danger point is doing Detrick says. “The number of women looking for ways to grow and use the leadership gifts God gave them is on the upswing. This is reflected in the increased percentage of females enrolled in seminaries and those pursuing ministry credentials, as well as those moving forward into leadership roles in a number of fields and professions that were previously held primarily by men. This past year in my own Assemblies of God fellowship, six out of every 10 newly credentialed ministers have been women.”
In other words, this is a time ripe with opportunity for outreach, support and change in the denomination—and the fearlessness Wood brings to the table is meeting these opportunities head-on.
A uniting focusFor Wood, the building blocks for developing a
healthy—and long-term—church began decades ago, as he expanded his borders beyond local church experience and decided to tackle seminary at what was then the flagship institution within evangelicalism, Fuller Theological Seminary.
“Very few Assemblies of God people went to seminary in those days, for several reasons,” he recalls. “One, we were told, ‘The Lord is coming soon, and you’re going to waste your time in more school.’ I thought, ‘Well, if Jesus could wait to start His ministry at 33, I can wait until I’m 24.’ A second reason was, ‘You’re going to have your Pentecostal faith washed out of you.’ And third, ‘It’s a cemetery.'”
Despite such denominational resistance from well-intentioned people, Wood crossed the path into seminary, and it was a decision that would change the course of his ministry. Wood says he didn’t know when he enrolled that Fuller housed the evangelical luminaries of the day or that he’d be around people like Charles E. Fuller, Carl F.H. Henry or Edward John Carnell. George Eldon Ladd, who wrote the book ‘Jesus and the Kingdom’ and moved evangelicals into a different stance than they had previously held, was one of his professors.
It was in seminary that, as Wood puts it, he saw the kingdom as “so much bigger than [he] thought it was.” A Presbyterian roommate wasn’t the “frigid, ice-cold image” Wood had of Presbyterians—and even had better piety than Wood saw in himself. As an added bonus, Wood emerged from seminary with his Pentecostal faith intact—proof there was life in the “cemetery” after all.
Wood’s unfolding understanding of the diverse population of the kingdom helped him work easily with other denominations once he found himself on
(Continued from page 2)
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NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 15
the other side of his education. Indeed, his eclectic background, which includes a law degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, Calif., and 14 years as the AG’s general secretary, further expanded his view that working with people of different backgrounds, well, works.
“I have great appreciation for believers in other denominations or the nondenominational,” he says. “The kingdom of God is bigger than any one group. We're grateful to be in our part.”
A growth that gainsPerhaps the most astonishing goal Wood has
directed AG leadership to work to achieve is in the area of sheer growth. At a time when many denominations and church structures are losing members—or as some put i t , “market share”—Wood sees things differently for the body he’s called to lead.
“We are vigorously involved in church planting,” he says. “In the last five years, we’ve seen 1,597 new churches open, and our goal is to get to where we can consistently see 500 new churches open a year. We trust that by the year 2020, we’ll be somewhere over 4.1 million people in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide. We are really projecting growth. We’re going to believe God for great growth!”
How does he believe that growth happens? An encounter he had with his family’s former pastor in China in 1988 provides the answer.
Wood had been gone from the country 40 years at the time of his return to China and was anxious to see what had transpired since. “Our old pastor was still there,” he says. “He’d preached the last Sunday we attended in 1949. He was the same age as my dad, 39, at the time.”
But much had happened in the intervening time. Soon after the Wood family left China, the persecution came. At the time, the pastor’s church had about 500 members.
The Communists seized the church property and put the pastor in prison for nine years. Upon release, he was placed on probation for 16 years. Finally, at age 72, he was called in by the authorities and was told that after having reviewed his case, the authorities came to the conclusion the pastor had been dealt with unjustly.
Wood retells the pastor’s story: “He said, ‘They wanted to give me papers of exoneration and apologize to me, but I said that wasn’t enough. I then told them I wanted the property back. I wanted to preach again. I wanted my granddaughter to have a travel visa in order to reach other provinces. And I wanted a pension!’”
The rattled authorities agreed to the man’s requests, and when Wood arrived back in his old
stomping grounds, the aged pastor smiled and had a twinkle in his eye. Wood was secretly chagrined to learn that only 30 people had been in attendance when the pastor resumed preaching a few years before.
“My heart sank,” Wood recalls. When the pastor’s wife brought out the notebook listing the church’s members, Wood watched her unlace the yarn that held the cardboard cover in place.
“I looked at the first page, which listed baptisms, names, addresses,” he says. “There were about 15 or 20 names, and I thought, ‘Well, that’s good.’ Then the same thing on page two. Then page three. Then, page after page!”
The pastor told Wood that the church now had 1,500 baptized believers.
When Wood asked how they had done it, the pastor replied, “Well, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. And we pray a lot!” By the time that pastor passed away at age 97, the church had baptized more than 15,000 new, adult believers.
The tale impacted Wood, and obviously still does today. When he looks into the future ahead for the AG, he sees nothing but a chance for growth upon growth.
Remove the grime of traditionFor the man tasked with bringing Pentecostalism
into the 21st century, the changes taking place in the church add up to only one thing: Jesus. By way of example, Wood remembers visiting the Sistine Chapel more than 30 years ago.
“When I was there in 1982, I saw the famous frescos of the last judgment, the creation, et cetera, and I thought, ‘Why does everyone come to see this?’ So many centuries of candle smoke had laid a grimy film over it,” he says. “But when I returned recently, the image was the same, yet so different. A wonderful restoration project had produced dazzling results, and it was all so clear!”
It was a moment of clarity for the leader, who realized the task of the church is to clean the face of Jesus. “We must remove the grime of tradition, even Pentecostal tradition, liturgical tradition—all the kinds of stuff that gets layered in that prevents Jesus from being seen as He really is,” he says.
“The task of the Spirit-filled church is to get as close as possible to what the early church believed and practiced. If we don’t get there, then we’ve got a grimy Jesus and a grimy church.”
For Dr. George O. Wood, the task is continually worth the effort.
Jim Fletcher is director of Prophecy Matters. He writes for a variety of online sites, including RaptureReady, the Jerusalem Post and Beliefnet.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
14 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
For him, the real nothing—and perhaps dying.
What kind of changes does Wood foresee for the AG fellowship that represents 3 million stateside members and almost 65 million globally? Not changes in doctrine or in reliance upon the Holy Spirit. No, the changes Wood has already begun to implement involve, among other things, technology and an increased effort to reach youth. To accomplish these goals, Wood is mentoring a new generation of pastors and leaders who also catch this vision and are primed to help bring it about.
“Dr. Wood has been fearlessly determined to make the changes needed in order for our fellowship to become an ecclesiastical leader in this next century,” says Scott Wilson, pastor of The Oaks Fellowship in Dallas. “Many church historians say that a denomination cannot thrive after 100 years in existence. That’s absolutely true if you don’t change. Dr. Wood’s leadership has given our movement a chance to prove the historians wrong. Time alone doesn’t make an organization obsolete ... stubborn pride and a love for the status quo is what takes you down.”
And so Wood is blazing the trail of change. This includes a massive digital initiative for children and youth, as more and more churches drop their Sunday school offerings and leave a vacuum of support for youth in their wake. And an annual fine arts competition, featuring tens of thousands of young people participating in drama, dance, preaching and music categories, showcases the ongoing interest of youth in the church.
“I tell our churches, ‘If you don’t have a person working with youth, take a step of faith and add one,’” Wood says. “Almost all our districts have annual conventions for youth. One-third of the AG—1.1 million—is under the age of 25. So we have a huge and growing youth population. Getting them involved in church planting and missions is key.”
Along with increased outreach to youth, the denomination is also noting and responding to the needs of other demographics—particularly women called to ministry. Jodi Detrick, a columnist for the Seattle Times who also serves as the national chairperson for Network for Women in Ministry, is one of the important voices headquarters is heeding in this area.
“God’s call to ministry and leadership at all levels is for both genders and all ethnicities who answer that call and prepare themselves accordingly,”
danger point is doing Detrick says. “The number of women looking for ways to grow and use the leadership gifts God gave them is on the upswing. This is reflected in the increased percentage of females enrolled in seminaries and those pursuing ministry credentials, as well as those moving forward into leadership roles in a number of fields and professions that were previously held primarily by men. This past year in my own Assemblies of God fellowship, six out of every 10 newly credentialed ministers have been women.”
In other words, this is a time ripe with opportunity for outreach, support and change in the denomination—and the fearlessness Wood brings to the table is meeting these opportunities head-on.
A uniting focusFor Wood, the building blocks for developing a
healthy—and long-term—church began decades ago, as he expanded his borders beyond local church experience and decided to tackle seminary at what was then the flagship institution within evangelicalism, Fuller Theological Seminary.
“Very few Assemblies of God people went to seminary in those days, for several reasons,” he recalls. “One, we were told, ‘The Lord is coming soon, and you’re going to waste your time in more school.’ I thought, ‘Well, if Jesus could wait to start His ministry at 33, I can wait until I’m 24.’ A second reason was, ‘You’re going to have your Pentecostal faith washed out of you.’ And third, ‘It’s a cemetery.'”
Despite such denominational resistance from well-intentioned people, Wood crossed the path into seminary, and it was a decision that would change the course of his ministry. Wood says he didn’t know when he enrolled that Fuller housed the evangelical luminaries of the day or that he’d be around people like Charles E. Fuller, Carl F.H. Henry or Edward John Carnell. George Eldon Ladd, who wrote the book ‘Jesus and the Kingdom’ and moved evangelicals into a different stance than they had previously held, was one of his professors.
It was in seminary that, as Wood puts it, he saw the kingdom as “so much bigger than [he] thought it was.” A Presbyterian roommate wasn’t the “frigid, ice-cold image” Wood had of Presbyterians—and even had better piety than Wood saw in himself. As an added bonus, Wood emerged from seminary with his Pentecostal faith intact—proof there was life in the “cemetery” after all.
Wood’s unfolding understanding of the diverse population of the kingdom helped him work easily with other denominations once he found himself on
(Continued from page 2)
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 15
the other side of his education. Indeed, his eclectic background, which includes a law degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, Calif., and 14 years as the AG’s general secretary, further expanded his view that working with people of different backgrounds, well, works.
“I have great appreciation for believers in other denominations or the nondenominational,” he says. “The kingdom of God is bigger than any one group. We're grateful to be in our part.”
A growth that gainsPerhaps the most astonishing goal Wood has
directed AG leadership to work to achieve is in the area of sheer growth. At a time when many denominations and church structures are losing members—or as some put i t , “market share”—Wood sees things differently for the body he’s called to lead.
“We are vigorously involved in church planting,” he says. “In the last five years, we’ve seen 1,597 new churches open, and our goal is to get to where we can consistently see 500 new churches open a year. We trust that by the year 2020, we’ll be somewhere over 4.1 million people in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide. We are really projecting growth. We’re going to believe God for great growth!”
How does he believe that growth happens? An encounter he had with his family’s former pastor in China in 1988 provides the answer.
Wood had been gone from the country 40 years at the time of his return to China and was anxious to see what had transpired since. “Our old pastor was still there,” he says. “He’d preached the last Sunday we attended in 1949. He was the same age as my dad, 39, at the time.”
But much had happened in the intervening time. Soon after the Wood family left China, the persecution came. At the time, the pastor’s church had about 500 members.
The Communists seized the church property and put the pastor in prison for nine years. Upon release, he was placed on probation for 16 years. Finally, at age 72, he was called in by the authorities and was told that after having reviewed his case, the authorities came to the conclusion the pastor had been dealt with unjustly.
Wood retells the pastor’s story: “He said, ‘They wanted to give me papers of exoneration and apologize to me, but I said that wasn’t enough. I then told them I wanted the property back. I wanted to preach again. I wanted my granddaughter to have a travel visa in order to reach other provinces. And I wanted a pension!’”
The rattled authorities agreed to the man’s requests, and when Wood arrived back in his old
stomping grounds, the aged pastor smiled and had a twinkle in his eye. Wood was secretly chagrined to learn that only 30 people had been in attendance when the pastor resumed preaching a few years before.
“My heart sank,” Wood recalls. When the pastor’s wife brought out the notebook listing the church’s members, Wood watched her unlace the yarn that held the cardboard cover in place.
“I looked at the first page, which listed baptisms, names, addresses,” he says. “There were about 15 or 20 names, and I thought, ‘Well, that’s good.’ Then the same thing on page two. Then page three. Then, page after page!”
The pastor told Wood that the church now had 1,500 baptized believers.
When Wood asked how they had done it, the pastor replied, “Well, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. And we pray a lot!” By the time that pastor passed away at age 97, the church had baptized more than 15,000 new, adult believers.
The tale impacted Wood, and obviously still does today. When he looks into the future ahead for the AG, he sees nothing but a chance for growth upon growth.
Remove the grime of traditionFor the man tasked with bringing Pentecostalism
into the 21st century, the changes taking place in the church add up to only one thing: Jesus. By way of example, Wood remembers visiting the Sistine Chapel more than 30 years ago.
“When I was there in 1982, I saw the famous frescos of the last judgment, the creation, et cetera, and I thought, ‘Why does everyone come to see this?’ So many centuries of candle smoke had laid a grimy film over it,” he says. “But when I returned recently, the image was the same, yet so different. A wonderful restoration project had produced dazzling results, and it was all so clear!”
It was a moment of clarity for the leader, who realized the task of the church is to clean the face of Jesus. “We must remove the grime of tradition, even Pentecostal tradition, liturgical tradition—all the kinds of stuff that gets layered in that prevents Jesus from being seen as He really is,” he says.
“The task of the Spirit-filled church is to get as close as possible to what the early church believed and practiced. If we don’t get there, then we’ve got a grimy Jesus and a grimy church.”
For Dr. George O. Wood, the task is continually worth the effort.
Jim Fletcher is director of Prophecy Matters. He writes for a variety of online sites, including RaptureReady, the Jerusalem Post and Beliefnet.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
16 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
FOUR Iranian Christians were reportedly sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking wine for communion, a shocking punishment meted out even as a new United Nations report blasted the Islamic republic for its systematic persecution of non-Muslims.
The four men were sentenced Oct. 6 after being arrested in a house church last December and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the theocracy's strict laws, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. They were among several Christians punished for their faith in a nation where converting from Islam to Christianity can bring the death penalty. According to a new October UN report by Ahmed Shaheed, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, such persecution is common, despite new President Hasan Rouhani's pledge to be a moderate.
“At least 20 Christians were in custody in July 2013,” Shaheed wrote. “In addition, violations of the rights of Christians, particularly those belonging to evangelical Protestant groups, many of whom are converts, who proselytize to and serve Iranian Christians of Muslim background, continue to be reported.”
Iran’s regime has made stopping the spread of Christianity a cornerstone of its crackdown on religious freedom. There are estimated to be as many as 370,000 Christians in Iran, according to the most recent US State Department report. The clerical
rulers see Christianity as a threat to Iran’s majority ultra-orthodox Shiite Islamic religion.
“Despite the recent Iranian charm offensive, Dr. Shaheed's report reminds us of the true nature of the Iranian regime where the abuse of human rights continue,” Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), chairman and founder of the Iran Dissident Awareness Program, told FoxNews.com.
“Political prisoners like blogger Mohammad Reza Pourshajari are being denied adequate medical care, journalists and their families continue to be targets of the regime, Pastor Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati are still languishing in prison and the Baha'i community faces increasing persecution. This is the true nature of the regime we’re dealing with during negotiations in Geneva.”
Alireza Miryousefi,a spokesman for Iran's mission to the UN, did not respond to requests for comment, but Iran’s government blasted Dr. Shaheed’s report as not objective. According to Iran’s state-controlled news outlet Press TV, an Iranian official from the UN mission said Shaheed “has not paid sufficient notice to Iran’s legal system and Islamic culture and considers whatever he sees in the West as an international standard for the entire world.”
Shaheed is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading authorities on human rights. He served as the minister of foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 17
RECENTLY we had David Watson, Ci ty Team’s vice-president and international trainer, who shared with Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary how God is moving among the most unreached parts of the world, and most of that without foreign leadership. A major change is taking place in tactics and strategies of laborers serving in the cutting edge of the gospel advance in restricted and resistant areas.
Here’s the seven-fold strategy shift in ministry priorities as described in ‘Miraculous Movements’ by Jerry Trousdale:
1. Make intercessory prayer the highest priority
Prayer has become so perfunctory and superficial that one wonders if God is listening; however, our prayer attitudes shout how little we really depend on Him. With unlimited finances and technology we ask for little beyond God’s blessing on our plans. Amazing things happen when serious and specific intercessory prayer is depended upon as the only recourse for dramatic changes in lives, dangerous situations, or impossible needs. Few churches pray for devoted disciples to be raised up among specific unevangelized people groups or tribes. Do we believe Jesus meant it when He declared Matt 24:14?
2. Make disciples who make disciples Jesus told us to make disciples (Matt 28:19), not
just converts, which requires much more time and close relationships. A quick prayer and a dip in the water is hardly what Jesus had in mind. It took the omnipotent Jesus several years to make a handful of disciples, yet at best we attempt discipleship by a few scattered instructional meetings, not a relationship, and then leave the ‘student’ on his own. Most believers become apathetic or worse with this system, yet we blame everything but our shallow commitment to the new believer. Jesus challenged and contributed to the disciple’s lives everyday. They later practiced the same method.
3. Invest time in the right person to disciple As in business the 80/20 Pareto principle is close
to reality. Contemporary education thinks everyone
can become great leaders by taking a course. Attracting people to the gospel gains superficial fans that quickly fade when a commitment to sacrifice time, resources or one’s life is required. Jesus taught to find the right person that God has prepared in advance (Matt 10; Luke 10), then devote yourself to just him, not going to the masses.
4. Don’t tell disciples what to believe and doLet people discover for themselves truths and
commands to take seriously. Obedience to easy to understand commands is more essential than any in-depth instruction in the “deeper” things of God.
5. Never settle for revealing just one dimension of Jesus’ life
Christian compassion ministries tend to minimize evangelism and church planting to maintain their presence in restricted countries. The balance of compassion and clear evangelism is rare. Jesus never separated the two focuses.
6. Never substitute knowledge about God for an obedience-based relationship with God
The church institutions typically are good at giving information about the Bible but little focused on obedience to specific commands in Scriptures. This is the reason why lifestyles of believers are little different from unbelievers. Jesus always spoke of pleasing God by obedience, not by ‘correct’ knowledge.
7. Understand that Jesus does impossible things through the most ordinary people
Though we claim to value the “priesthood of all believers,” we require advanced degrees and training for virtually any ministry. Jesus picked ordinary people without credentials, and after intensive investment in their lives expected them to launch a global ministry, risking everything to fulfill Jesus’ mandate. “Disciple-making is a mandate for every Christian and, when it is done well, it often facilitates the planting of a church… a “simple church,” regularly meeting to discover God’s will together and obeying it.”
Jesus told us to make disciples, not just converts, which requires much
more time and close relationships. A quick prayer and a dip in the water is
hardly what Jesus had in mind.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
16 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
FOUR Iranian Christians were reportedly sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking wine for communion, a shocking punishment meted out even as a new United Nations report blasted the Islamic republic for its systematic persecution of non-Muslims.
The four men were sentenced Oct. 6 after being arrested in a house church last December and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the theocracy's strict laws, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. They were among several Christians punished for their faith in a nation where converting from Islam to Christianity can bring the death penalty. According to a new October UN report by Ahmed Shaheed, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, such persecution is common, despite new President Hasan Rouhani's pledge to be a moderate.
“At least 20 Christians were in custody in July 2013,” Shaheed wrote. “In addition, violations of the rights of Christians, particularly those belonging to evangelical Protestant groups, many of whom are converts, who proselytize to and serve Iranian Christians of Muslim background, continue to be reported.”
Iran’s regime has made stopping the spread of Christianity a cornerstone of its crackdown on religious freedom. There are estimated to be as many as 370,000 Christians in Iran, according to the most recent US State Department report. The clerical
rulers see Christianity as a threat to Iran’s majority ultra-orthodox Shiite Islamic religion.
“Despite the recent Iranian charm offensive, Dr. Shaheed's report reminds us of the true nature of the Iranian regime where the abuse of human rights continue,” Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), chairman and founder of the Iran Dissident Awareness Program, told FoxNews.com.
“Political prisoners like blogger Mohammad Reza Pourshajari are being denied adequate medical care, journalists and their families continue to be targets of the regime, Pastor Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati are still languishing in prison and the Baha'i community faces increasing persecution. This is the true nature of the regime we’re dealing with during negotiations in Geneva.”
Alireza Miryousefi,a spokesman for Iran's mission to the UN, did not respond to requests for comment, but Iran’s government blasted Dr. Shaheed’s report as not objective. According to Iran’s state-controlled news outlet Press TV, an Iranian official from the UN mission said Shaheed “has not paid sufficient notice to Iran’s legal system and Islamic culture and considers whatever he sees in the West as an international standard for the entire world.”
Shaheed is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading authorities on human rights. He served as the minister of foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 17
RECENTLY we had David Watson, Ci ty Team’s vice-president and international trainer, who shared with Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary how God is moving among the most unreached parts of the world, and most of that without foreign leadership. A major change is taking place in tactics and strategies of laborers serving in the cutting edge of the gospel advance in restricted and resistant areas.
Here’s the seven-fold strategy shift in ministry priorities as described in ‘Miraculous Movements’ by Jerry Trousdale:
1. Make intercessory prayer the highest priority
Prayer has become so perfunctory and superficial that one wonders if God is listening; however, our prayer attitudes shout how little we really depend on Him. With unlimited finances and technology we ask for little beyond God’s blessing on our plans. Amazing things happen when serious and specific intercessory prayer is depended upon as the only recourse for dramatic changes in lives, dangerous situations, or impossible needs. Few churches pray for devoted disciples to be raised up among specific unevangelized people groups or tribes. Do we believe Jesus meant it when He declared Matt 24:14?
2. Make disciples who make disciples Jesus told us to make disciples (Matt 28:19), not
just converts, which requires much more time and close relationships. A quick prayer and a dip in the water is hardly what Jesus had in mind. It took the omnipotent Jesus several years to make a handful of disciples, yet at best we attempt discipleship by a few scattered instructional meetings, not a relationship, and then leave the ‘student’ on his own. Most believers become apathetic or worse with this system, yet we blame everything but our shallow commitment to the new believer. Jesus challenged and contributed to the disciple’s lives everyday. They later practiced the same method.
3. Invest time in the right person to disciple As in business the 80/20 Pareto principle is close
to reality. Contemporary education thinks everyone
can become great leaders by taking a course. Attracting people to the gospel gains superficial fans that quickly fade when a commitment to sacrifice time, resources or one’s life is required. Jesus taught to find the right person that God has prepared in advance (Matt 10; Luke 10), then devote yourself to just him, not going to the masses.
4. Don’t tell disciples what to believe and doLet people discover for themselves truths and
commands to take seriously. Obedience to easy to understand commands is more essential than any in-depth instruction in the “deeper” things of God.
5. Never settle for revealing just one dimension of Jesus’ life
Christian compassion ministries tend to minimize evangelism and church planting to maintain their presence in restricted countries. The balance of compassion and clear evangelism is rare. Jesus never separated the two focuses.
6. Never substitute knowledge about God for an obedience-based relationship with God
The church institutions typically are good at giving information about the Bible but little focused on obedience to specific commands in Scriptures. This is the reason why lifestyles of believers are little different from unbelievers. Jesus always spoke of pleasing God by obedience, not by ‘correct’ knowledge.
7. Understand that Jesus does impossible things through the most ordinary people
Though we claim to value the “priesthood of all believers,” we require advanced degrees and training for virtually any ministry. Jesus picked ordinary people without credentials, and after intensive investment in their lives expected them to launch a global ministry, risking everything to fulfill Jesus’ mandate. “Disciple-making is a mandate for every Christian and, when it is done well, it often facilitates the planting of a church… a “simple church,” regularly meeting to discover God’s will together and obeying it.”
Jesus told us to make disciples, not just converts, which requires much
more time and close relationships. A quick prayer and a dip in the water is
hardly what Jesus had in mind.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
18 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
THE title of this article is quite a sobering question but reasonably relevant because of historical Israeli personalities, actions, past and present behavioral patterns, and current international conditions.
Most of the gentile world acknowledges there was a holocaust. Maybe a few are familiar that Israel is an ‘island’ in a region of aggressive (and many times anti-Semitic), non-democratic nations that only tolerate the Jewish State’s presence. Many might even admit that Israel needs protection from terror groups and rogue nations.
But, that’s where Israel’s support ends because the international community as a whole is allegedly full of empty words and guarantees. You see, the international community’s historical actions and behavior are well documented too. For example, they did nothing to punish or hold accountable leadership in relation to Russian and Chinese citizen abuse, Iranian population violence or Syrian civil war and chemical weapon use. How many Syrians are dead now? Reports put the deaths at over one hundred and twenty thousand and the civil war has raged for over two years. This is incredible, but mainly a disgusting reality of the lack of international coordination and achievement. And, we're discussing actual people’s lives, over one hundred and twenty thousand. I repeat the number because it reflects the international community’s disgrace on inaction and ineffectiveness.
So, let’s examine Israel’s perception on the sole guarantee of protection offered by the United States. I used the word sole because Israel has purportedly assumed for years the EU will be completely unreliable. Anyway, the US Embassy in Libya was unprotected and till this day has not been avenged. Egypt is still trying to figure out where USA stands on their fluid government dilemma (as is Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other Muslim nations). Iraq is deteriorating; the Afghanistan fiasco needs no comment, and I’ve already discussed the Syrian atrocities. Oh yes, and if you believe a recent news report, the USA prohibited the French government from attacking the murderous Assad regime.
I’ll add another equation; American and European gentiles have little personal experience being persecuted because of their religion. However, Israelis still have holocaust survivors to recall the
horrors of being gruesomely experimented on medically, beaten, shot, hung and gassed in mass.
Furthermore, Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli Prime Minister, had grandparents who experienced assaults, he lost a brother to terror, in addition to being wounded himself in an anti-terror operation. Believe me, Netanyahu understands the seriousness of war, but most importantly the dreadfulness of what happens if nothing is done to prevent another holocaust. Netanyahu will do what is necessary to protect Israel and its people despite America's pressure and threats. He has the leadership, the fortitude, the mentality, and the experience to do what he believes is essential to ensure Israel’s survival in lieu of threats of annihilation from Iran. Anyone who thinks, writes, believes or suggests otherwise is deluded. Netanyahu has been in war and terror special operations and therefore not intimidated by American threats of boycotts and defunding.
Plus, he has Israeli and (a very important detail) Jewish character, which means he will protect the Jewish State of Israel first and foremost. He feels it is his duty to protect Israel like the prime ministers before him; he doesn’t want to risk being the PM who failed to protect Israel from onslaught threats, and has made his intentions publicly clear to protect Israel. Netanyahu does not have a behavioral or historical pattern to assume that he would behave any differently than his predecessors who ordered preempt strikes in 1967 and assaults in Uganda.
Nevertheless, I have one concern. Because of the supposed extreme American pressure on him not to attack Iran, there might be a chance Israel could act impulsively instead of acting on their timeline. Pressure from friends, even with the best intentions, can cause devastating effects and a ripple effect. Pressure influences confidence, focus and timeliness, and in war this can have disastrous consequences. If Israel does not perform precisely the fallout will be monumental and it will happen fast, probably within minutes, hours at the least. People in Israel will not have time to react (including foreigners and foreign militaries), and the rain of rockets and missiles could be overwhelming.
Israel has decades of practice acting in secret with both friends and enemies closely monitoring their actions. If they wish to preempt strike without the US knowledge, Israel will accomplish their goal.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 19
A Kassam rocket had just landed across the street, but it couldn't wipe the smile off David Lhundgim's face as he entered his apartment in this embattled town near the Gaza border.
Born in the rural provinces of northeast India, Lhundgim has lived in Sderot since he moved to Israel in 2007, and by at least one measure he seemed to be well-adjusted: Lhundgim didn't flinch when he heard bombs explode outside.
For him, immigration to Israel was the fulfillment of a biblical promise; explosions were but a minor nuisance.
“After 2,000 years in exile we would have lost our community,” Lhundgim said. “All of our lives were about how to move to Israel and keep the commandments.”
It's not hard to understand why Lhundgim sees his life story as one of biblical prophecy fulfilled. Until age 24, he lived in a remote corner of northeast India in a community that believes itself to be descended from the ancient Israelite tribe of Menashe. Ritual similarities to Judaism — such as an animal sacrifice around Passover time — strengthened those beliefs.
Today, Lhundgim is among some 2,000 Bnei Menashe that live in Israel; another 5,000 are in the pipeline waiting to immigrate. This week, the Israeli government gave approval for 899 more Bnei Menashe to come.
The community has been permitted to move en masse despite practicing rituals in India with only glancing similarity to Judaism and claims of ancient
Jewish ancestry that some politicians and experts find dubious.
“This is a bluff,” said Avraham Poraz, a former Israeli interior minister who temporarily halted Bnei Menashe immigration a decade ago. “They don't have any connection to Judaism.”
The Bnei Menashe are hardly the first group to make claims of ancient Jewish ancestry in a bid to gain Israeli citizenship. The Falash Mura, Ethiopians who claimed to be descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity more than a century ago, were brought to Israel starting in the early 2000s.
But unlike the Falash Mura, whose immigration,
The Bnei Menashe community from the north-east of India, whose rituals have only a glancing similarity to Judaism, has been permitted to make aliya en masse.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
18 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
THE title of this article is quite a sobering question but reasonably relevant because of historical Israeli personalities, actions, past and present behavioral patterns, and current international conditions.
Most of the gentile world acknowledges there was a holocaust. Maybe a few are familiar that Israel is an ‘island’ in a region of aggressive (and many times anti-Semitic), non-democratic nations that only tolerate the Jewish State’s presence. Many might even admit that Israel needs protection from terror groups and rogue nations.
But, that’s where Israel’s support ends because the international community as a whole is allegedly full of empty words and guarantees. You see, the international community’s historical actions and behavior are well documented too. For example, they did nothing to punish or hold accountable leadership in relation to Russian and Chinese citizen abuse, Iranian population violence or Syrian civil war and chemical weapon use. How many Syrians are dead now? Reports put the deaths at over one hundred and twenty thousand and the civil war has raged for over two years. This is incredible, but mainly a disgusting reality of the lack of international coordination and achievement. And, we're discussing actual people’s lives, over one hundred and twenty thousand. I repeat the number because it reflects the international community’s disgrace on inaction and ineffectiveness.
So, let’s examine Israel’s perception on the sole guarantee of protection offered by the United States. I used the word sole because Israel has purportedly assumed for years the EU will be completely unreliable. Anyway, the US Embassy in Libya was unprotected and till this day has not been avenged. Egypt is still trying to figure out where USA stands on their fluid government dilemma (as is Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other Muslim nations). Iraq is deteriorating; the Afghanistan fiasco needs no comment, and I’ve already discussed the Syrian atrocities. Oh yes, and if you believe a recent news report, the USA prohibited the French government from attacking the murderous Assad regime.
I’ll add another equation; American and European gentiles have little personal experience being persecuted because of their religion. However, Israelis still have holocaust survivors to recall the
horrors of being gruesomely experimented on medically, beaten, shot, hung and gassed in mass.
Furthermore, Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli Prime Minister, had grandparents who experienced assaults, he lost a brother to terror, in addition to being wounded himself in an anti-terror operation. Believe me, Netanyahu understands the seriousness of war, but most importantly the dreadfulness of what happens if nothing is done to prevent another holocaust. Netanyahu will do what is necessary to protect Israel and its people despite America's pressure and threats. He has the leadership, the fortitude, the mentality, and the experience to do what he believes is essential to ensure Israel’s survival in lieu of threats of annihilation from Iran. Anyone who thinks, writes, believes or suggests otherwise is deluded. Netanyahu has been in war and terror special operations and therefore not intimidated by American threats of boycotts and defunding.
Plus, he has Israeli and (a very important detail) Jewish character, which means he will protect the Jewish State of Israel first and foremost. He feels it is his duty to protect Israel like the prime ministers before him; he doesn’t want to risk being the PM who failed to protect Israel from onslaught threats, and has made his intentions publicly clear to protect Israel. Netanyahu does not have a behavioral or historical pattern to assume that he would behave any differently than his predecessors who ordered preempt strikes in 1967 and assaults in Uganda.
Nevertheless, I have one concern. Because of the supposed extreme American pressure on him not to attack Iran, there might be a chance Israel could act impulsively instead of acting on their timeline. Pressure from friends, even with the best intentions, can cause devastating effects and a ripple effect. Pressure influences confidence, focus and timeliness, and in war this can have disastrous consequences. If Israel does not perform precisely the fallout will be monumental and it will happen fast, probably within minutes, hours at the least. People in Israel will not have time to react (including foreigners and foreign militaries), and the rain of rockets and missiles could be overwhelming.
Israel has decades of practice acting in secret with both friends and enemies closely monitoring their actions. If they wish to preempt strike without the US knowledge, Israel will accomplish their goal.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 19
A Kassam rocket had just landed across the street, but it couldn't wipe the smile off David Lhundgim's face as he entered his apartment in this embattled town near the Gaza border.
Born in the rural provinces of northeast India, Lhundgim has lived in Sderot since he moved to Israel in 2007, and by at least one measure he seemed to be well-adjusted: Lhundgim didn't flinch when he heard bombs explode outside.
For him, immigration to Israel was the fulfillment of a biblical promise; explosions were but a minor nuisance.
“After 2,000 years in exile we would have lost our community,” Lhundgim said. “All of our lives were about how to move to Israel and keep the commandments.”
It's not hard to understand why Lhundgim sees his life story as one of biblical prophecy fulfilled. Until age 24, he lived in a remote corner of northeast India in a community that believes itself to be descended from the ancient Israelite tribe of Menashe. Ritual similarities to Judaism — such as an animal sacrifice around Passover time — strengthened those beliefs.
Today, Lhundgim is among some 2,000 Bnei Menashe that live in Israel; another 5,000 are in the pipeline waiting to immigrate. This week, the Israeli government gave approval for 899 more Bnei Menashe to come.
The community has been permitted to move en masse despite practicing rituals in India with only glancing similarity to Judaism and claims of ancient
Jewish ancestry that some politicians and experts find dubious.
“This is a bluff,” said Avraham Poraz, a former Israeli interior minister who temporarily halted Bnei Menashe immigration a decade ago. “They don't have any connection to Judaism.”
The Bnei Menashe are hardly the first group to make claims of ancient Jewish ancestry in a bid to gain Israeli citizenship. The Falash Mura, Ethiopians who claimed to be descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity more than a century ago, were brought to Israel starting in the early 2000s.
But unlike the Falash Mura, whose immigration,
The Bnei Menashe community from the north-east of India, whose rituals have only a glancing similarity to Judaism, has been permitted to make aliya en masse.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
20 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
absorption and conversion to Judaism was largely organized and funded by the government and the Jewish Agency, the Bnei Menashe's immigration has been wholly organized and financed by a private organization — Shavei Israel, a nonprofit that aims to bring groups with Jewish ancestry to Israel and reconnect them to Judaism.
Shavei founder Michael Freund, a conservative columnist and former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is almost singlehandedly responsible for bringing the Bnei Menashe to Israel. His organization has provided them with a Jewish education in India, converted them in accordance with Orthodox standards and brought them to Israel, where they were settled initially in West Bank settlements — all on Shavei's dollar.
Founded in 2004, Shavei now works with groups of claimed Jewish descent in Europe, South America and China. Permanent Shavei emissaries are stationed in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, Italy and India — spots with particularly large populations of potential recruits.
With an annual budget of approximately $1 million, the organization funds Jewish education and programming for what it calls “our lost brethren,” brings them on tours to Israel and, in some cases, manages their immigration.
“Many of them are looking for ways to reconnect, and it behooves us to reach out to them and facilitate that process,” said Freund. “It is a strategic opportunity, and it is one that is not being exploited to the fullest.”
Nowhere has Shavei's focus been more intense than with the Bnei Menashe.
Freund began working with the group in 1997 while an aide to Netanyahu. He reached a deal with the government to allow 100 Bnei Menashe to immigrate every year under the auspices of Amishav, another organization working with the Bnei Menashe. When Netanyahu was voted out in 1999, Freund joined Amishav and soon began running its operations.
Freund sent teams of Jewish educators to Bnei Menashe communities in the Indian provinces of Manipur and Mizoram to teach Orthodox Jewish law and a right-wing narrative of Israeli history. Lhundgim said he was told that the West Bank, along with the entire land of Israel, belongs to the Jews.
Amishav settled the initial groups of Bnei Menashe immigrants in Israeli settlements in Gaza. When Freund joined the organization, he housed hundreds of Bnei Menashe in Kiryat Arba, the Israeli settlement adjacent to Hebron in the West Bank.
Yirmiyahu Lhundgim, 62, David's cousin, who immigrated to Kiryat Arba in 1999, says Amishav
didn't teach him to differentiate among the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.
“They said it was the land of Israel, so we would live anywhere,” he said. “We didn't know anything about it.”
In 2002, author and translator Hillel Halkin wrote a book about the group called “Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel.” He concluded that though the group may have had distant Jewish ancestry, none of their recent forebears were Jews.
“What is specious is the myth that these people in northeast India for generations lived Jewish lives,” Halkin told JTA. “They were animists. They were not monotheists and did not practice anything remotely resembling Judaism.”
At a 2003 Knesset hearing, Labor Knesset member Ophir Pines-Paz accused Amishav of “turning these people into sacrifices of Israeli right-wing policies.” Later that year, Poraz suspended the Bnei Menashe's immigration.
In 2005, then Sephardic chief rabbi Shlomo Amar endorsed the Bnei Menashe's claim to Jewish ancestry. Immigration resumed the following year, but the newcomers were settled in northern Israel rather than the West Bank.
“We wanted to make it clear that there was no hidden political agenda,” said Freund.
Freund claims that Shavei is apolitical, but some of its activities suggest it has a right-wing agenda. A 2012 trip of Poles of Jewish descent organized by Shavei visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a mostly Arab city in the West Bank, and spent Shabbat in Mitzpeh Yericho, a settlement deep in the West Bank.
Freund says such tours are meant to show participants the land of Israel and Jewish historical sites.
Settling early Bnei Menashe arrivals in Kiryat Arba was a practical rather than ideological decision; Freund wanted them in a religious environment, and Kiryat Arba was willing to accept them even though they had not yet formally converted.
If Freund's objective is to make faithful Jews out of the Bnei Menashe, he may well be succeeding. David Lhundgim is a practicing Orthodox Jew who studies daily in a yeshiva. He has heard the doubts cast on the Bnei Menashe, but like the rockets that occasionally fall around him, they do not shake his faith.
“The whole goal was to come to Israel,” he said. “Every Jew needs to know that the essence is to return. A person who thinks that exile is OK has a mental disorder.” Times of Israel
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 21
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
20 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
absorption and conversion to Judaism was largely organized and funded by the government and the Jewish Agency, the Bnei Menashe's immigration has been wholly organized and financed by a private organization — Shavei Israel, a nonprofit that aims to bring groups with Jewish ancestry to Israel and reconnect them to Judaism.
Shavei founder Michael Freund, a conservative columnist and former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is almost singlehandedly responsible for bringing the Bnei Menashe to Israel. His organization has provided them with a Jewish education in India, converted them in accordance with Orthodox standards and brought them to Israel, where they were settled initially in West Bank settlements — all on Shavei's dollar.
Founded in 2004, Shavei now works with groups of claimed Jewish descent in Europe, South America and China. Permanent Shavei emissaries are stationed in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, Italy and India — spots with particularly large populations of potential recruits.
With an annual budget of approximately $1 million, the organization funds Jewish education and programming for what it calls “our lost brethren,” brings them on tours to Israel and, in some cases, manages their immigration.
“Many of them are looking for ways to reconnect, and it behooves us to reach out to them and facilitate that process,” said Freund. “It is a strategic opportunity, and it is one that is not being exploited to the fullest.”
Nowhere has Shavei's focus been more intense than with the Bnei Menashe.
Freund began working with the group in 1997 while an aide to Netanyahu. He reached a deal with the government to allow 100 Bnei Menashe to immigrate every year under the auspices of Amishav, another organization working with the Bnei Menashe. When Netanyahu was voted out in 1999, Freund joined Amishav and soon began running its operations.
Freund sent teams of Jewish educators to Bnei Menashe communities in the Indian provinces of Manipur and Mizoram to teach Orthodox Jewish law and a right-wing narrative of Israeli history. Lhundgim said he was told that the West Bank, along with the entire land of Israel, belongs to the Jews.
Amishav settled the initial groups of Bnei Menashe immigrants in Israeli settlements in Gaza. When Freund joined the organization, he housed hundreds of Bnei Menashe in Kiryat Arba, the Israeli settlement adjacent to Hebron in the West Bank.
Yirmiyahu Lhundgim, 62, David's cousin, who immigrated to Kiryat Arba in 1999, says Amishav
didn't teach him to differentiate among the West Bank, Gaza and Israel.
“They said it was the land of Israel, so we would live anywhere,” he said. “We didn't know anything about it.”
In 2002, author and translator Hillel Halkin wrote a book about the group called “Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel.” He concluded that though the group may have had distant Jewish ancestry, none of their recent forebears were Jews.
“What is specious is the myth that these people in northeast India for generations lived Jewish lives,” Halkin told JTA. “They were animists. They were not monotheists and did not practice anything remotely resembling Judaism.”
At a 2003 Knesset hearing, Labor Knesset member Ophir Pines-Paz accused Amishav of “turning these people into sacrifices of Israeli right-wing policies.” Later that year, Poraz suspended the Bnei Menashe's immigration.
In 2005, then Sephardic chief rabbi Shlomo Amar endorsed the Bnei Menashe's claim to Jewish ancestry. Immigration resumed the following year, but the newcomers were settled in northern Israel rather than the West Bank.
“We wanted to make it clear that there was no hidden political agenda,” said Freund.
Freund claims that Shavei is apolitical, but some of its activities suggest it has a right-wing agenda. A 2012 trip of Poles of Jewish descent organized by Shavei visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, a mostly Arab city in the West Bank, and spent Shabbat in Mitzpeh Yericho, a settlement deep in the West Bank.
Freund says such tours are meant to show participants the land of Israel and Jewish historical sites.
Settling early Bnei Menashe arrivals in Kiryat Arba was a practical rather than ideological decision; Freund wanted them in a religious environment, and Kiryat Arba was willing to accept them even though they had not yet formally converted.
If Freund's objective is to make faithful Jews out of the Bnei Menashe, he may well be succeeding. David Lhundgim is a practicing Orthodox Jew who studies daily in a yeshiva. He has heard the doubts cast on the Bnei Menashe, but like the rockets that occasionally fall around him, they do not shake his faith.
“The whole goal was to come to Israel,” he said. “Every Jew needs to know that the essence is to return. A person who thinks that exile is OK has a mental disorder.” Times of Israel
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 21
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
22 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
At the Sunday school…
Good morning, children. Today I am going to tell you about a rich tax collector named
Zacchaeus.
Most people did not like him as he cheated
and robbed their money.
So children, just as
Zacchaeus changed so can you, when you
decide to follow Him.
Aunty, I also want Jesus to come and stay in my house.
How can I call Him?
One day, Jesus came to their town.
As Zacchaeus was short and the crowds were huge,
he couldn’t see.
So, he ran ahead, climbed a tree and got a better view.
Jesus came near the tree, looked up
and said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down.
I want to stay in your house.’
He quickly came down, took Jesus
home and had a heart-to-heart
talk with Him.
His heart was changed and he said,
‘I will give half my wealth to the poor and I will give back four times to those
I have cheated.
Jesus was happy and
so was .Zacchaeus
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 23
To send story ideas that can be developed into cartoons, email: [email protected] If your cartoons or story ideas are selected, you will get a prize too! So, hurry!
It is great, Dona! But, Jesus is already there in
your house. He is everywhere, even here.
Outside the classroom.
Though you don’t see Him, He is there next
to you always. But Dona, there is a place, where
you can invite Him.
Oh Aunty, please let me know,
Tell me, please.
The Bible says in Ephesians 3:19, ‘...Christ may dwell in your heart by faith.’
Really, aunty? But, I can’t see Him.
Dona, it is your heart. Invite Him
now. Let Him come & stay.
Yes, I will definitely.
If you invite, He will come, stay in your heart and
change you. Dona, can you say a small prayer and
invite Him?
Kids, can you also pray with Dona and invite Jesus to come and
stay in your heart?
Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart.
Come in, change me and be my King. I want to be your child.
Stay with me forever. Amen.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
22 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
At the Sunday school…
Good morning, children. Today I am going to tell you about a rich tax collector named
Zacchaeus.
Most people did not like him as he cheated
and robbed their money.
So children, just as
Zacchaeus changed so can you, when you
decide to follow Him.
Aunty, I also want Jesus to come and stay in my house.
How can I call Him?
One day, Jesus came to their town.
As Zacchaeus was short and the crowds were huge,
he couldn’t see.
So, he ran ahead, climbed a tree and got a better view.
Jesus came near the tree, looked up
and said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down.
I want to stay in your house.’
He quickly came down, took Jesus
home and had a heart-to-heart
talk with Him.
His heart was changed and he said,
‘I will give half my wealth to the poor and I will give back four times to those
I have cheated.
Jesus was happy and
so was .Zacchaeus
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 23
To send story ideas that can be developed into cartoons, email: [email protected] If your cartoons or story ideas are selected, you will get a prize too! So, hurry!
It is great, Dona! But, Jesus is already there in
your house. He is everywhere, even here.
Outside the classroom.
Though you don’t see Him, He is there next
to you always. But Dona, there is a place, where
you can invite Him.
Oh Aunty, please let me know,
Tell me, please.
The Bible says in Ephesians 3:19, ‘...Christ may dwell in your heart by faith.’
Really, aunty? But, I can’t see Him.
Dona, it is your heart. Invite Him
now. Let Him come & stay.
Yes, I will definitely.
If you invite, He will come, stay in your heart and
change you. Dona, can you say a small prayer and
invite Him?
Kids, can you also pray with Dona and invite Jesus to come and
stay in your heart?
Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart.
Come in, change me and be my King. I want to be your child.
Stay with me forever. Amen.
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
24 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
T’S true. It’s time to put Christ back into Christmas. It is for each of us to introspect and discover the place that we give for Christ as we I
look forward to celebrating Christmas this year. Let me kick off by asking you to make a list or at least recollect about how you celebrated Christmas last year and where Christ was in it.
Try to identify the place you gave for Christ in all your celebrations. Usually we decorate Christmas trees, hang wreaths, send cards, bake cakes, shop for new clothes, give gifts but where is Christ in all of these? These are Christmas rituals which you follow every year so very religiously. But, where is Christ in all of these?
Christmas has become yet another holiday for many people, even for Christians. For some Christians, Christmas is boring, just doing the same old things year after year. For some Christians, it is fun unlimited. Where do you fit in? Which group do you feel that you belong to?
What do I mean by saying ‘Put Christ back into Christmas’? It means Jesus Christ should be at the heart of every Christmas celebration and He should be the reason for the season. I am listing down the A to Z of Christmas by which you can put Christ back into Christmas. So, here we go.
A – Be AWARE and conscious of the fact that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
B – Think of the chimes of the Christmas BELLS
Unto you is born this day a Savior A baby boy was found there in a manger The blessed truth of Christmas let us hear Let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year Christmas is the Birthday of our King The greatest gift of all He came to bring He’s the Prince of Peace Let’s show Him that we care Let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year On this day three wise men saw a star They followed it with gifts and traveled far And praised the baby Jesus lying there So let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year Let within your heart His praises ringAnd celebrate the day our Savior came May peace on earth at Christmas time appearLet’s put Christ back into Christmas this year
Let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year.
Tammy Wynette
that send out the message of good news. Let your life be like a bell.
C – Never miss going to CHURCH on Christmas because it is a joy to be at His house when you celebrate His birth.
D – Take time to DECORATE and beautify your house, not just to make it have the festive look but also to make it special as it is a special day.
E – ENCOURAGE the meek and lowly, as Jesus was born meek and lowly.
F – Thank God for your FAMILY and have lots of FUN TIME as a family.
G – GREET your neighbors and find a way to share the GOOD NEWS.
H – The birth of Jesus brings HOPE to all and He is our greatest hope till eternity.
I – INVITE your friends from other faith to your home to be a part of this special day.
J – Let JESUS alone be the reason for the season.K – Always remember that though Jesus was born
in a manger, it is the birthday of the KING OF KINGS.
L - It was God’s LOVE that made Him send His only Son to be born on the earth.
M - To wish your friends send Christmas MESSAGES taken from Christmas passages from the Bible.
N – Learn to sing a NEW carol or do something NEW this year.
0 – Make Christmas an OCCASION to be remembered by meeting some of your friends.
P – PLAN and PREPARE well ahead of your Christmas celebrations
Q – Never forget to have a QUIET TIME, at least for a few minutes on your busy Christmas day.
S – SHARING is the most important aspect of Christmas. Jesus did the same too when he was here..
T – Take time to THANK God on this day for all that He has been for you during the past year.
U – Christmas is the time to get UNITED with your family and friends,
V – VISIT your grandparents or some elderly person whom you know who needs special care.
W – Christmas is a great opportunity to be a WITNESS for the Lord. Don’t miss it!
X – Make this year’s Christmas XTRA special .Y – Always remember that it was even for YOU
that Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.Z – ZOOM and go for a drive if possible with
your family. Appreciate all that God has done for you.
So let us make this Christmas special!
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 25
RECENT polls show Christian teenagers are turning away from the church – and some believe unfulfilling youth groups and parents’ over-dependence on them may have something to do with it.
According to a survey sponsored by the US-based National Center for Family-Integrated Churches (NCFIC), 55% of American Christians are concerned that modern youth ministry is shallow and too entertainment focused. Over a third (37%) even agreed that youth group programmes are not actually biblical.
The study asked the views of 290,000 Christians over the course of five weeks and made the following findings:
1. Are church ‘youth group’ programmes a biblical way to reach young people?
37% said “No”. 36% said “Yes”. 26% said “It’s complicated.”2. Does modern youth ministry concern you? 14% said “Yes, we are losing our kids and it's clearly not
working to train mature believers.” 9% said “Yes, it’s too shallow and entertainment focused." 55% said “Yes, because of both A and B.” 22% said “No. It’s not perfect, but it’s striving to relevantly
communicate the Gospel.”
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
24 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
T’S true. It’s time to put Christ back into Christmas. It is for each of us to introspect and discover the place that we give for Christ as we I
look forward to celebrating Christmas this year. Let me kick off by asking you to make a list or at least recollect about how you celebrated Christmas last year and where Christ was in it.
Try to identify the place you gave for Christ in all your celebrations. Usually we decorate Christmas trees, hang wreaths, send cards, bake cakes, shop for new clothes, give gifts but where is Christ in all of these? These are Christmas rituals which you follow every year so very religiously. But, where is Christ in all of these?
Christmas has become yet another holiday for many people, even for Christians. For some Christians, Christmas is boring, just doing the same old things year after year. For some Christians, it is fun unlimited. Where do you fit in? Which group do you feel that you belong to?
What do I mean by saying ‘Put Christ back into Christmas’? It means Jesus Christ should be at the heart of every Christmas celebration and He should be the reason for the season. I am listing down the A to Z of Christmas by which you can put Christ back into Christmas. So, here we go.
A – Be AWARE and conscious of the fact that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
B – Think of the chimes of the Christmas BELLS
Unto you is born this day a Savior A baby boy was found there in a manger The blessed truth of Christmas let us hear Let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year Christmas is the Birthday of our King The greatest gift of all He came to bring He’s the Prince of Peace Let’s show Him that we care Let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year On this day three wise men saw a star They followed it with gifts and traveled far And praised the baby Jesus lying there So let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year Let within your heart His praises ringAnd celebrate the day our Savior came May peace on earth at Christmas time appearLet’s put Christ back into Christmas this year
Let’s put Christ back into Christmas this year.
Tammy Wynette
that send out the message of good news. Let your life be like a bell.
C – Never miss going to CHURCH on Christmas because it is a joy to be at His house when you celebrate His birth.
D – Take time to DECORATE and beautify your house, not just to make it have the festive look but also to make it special as it is a special day.
E – ENCOURAGE the meek and lowly, as Jesus was born meek and lowly.
F – Thank God for your FAMILY and have lots of FUN TIME as a family.
G – GREET your neighbors and find a way to share the GOOD NEWS.
H – The birth of Jesus brings HOPE to all and He is our greatest hope till eternity.
I – INVITE your friends from other faith to your home to be a part of this special day.
J – Let JESUS alone be the reason for the season.K – Always remember that though Jesus was born
in a manger, it is the birthday of the KING OF KINGS.
L - It was God’s LOVE that made Him send His only Son to be born on the earth.
M - To wish your friends send Christmas MESSAGES taken from Christmas passages from the Bible.
N – Learn to sing a NEW carol or do something NEW this year.
0 – Make Christmas an OCCASION to be remembered by meeting some of your friends.
P – PLAN and PREPARE well ahead of your Christmas celebrations
Q – Never forget to have a QUIET TIME, at least for a few minutes on your busy Christmas day.
S – SHARING is the most important aspect of Christmas. Jesus did the same too when he was here..
T – Take time to THANK God on this day for all that He has been for you during the past year.
U – Christmas is the time to get UNITED with your family and friends,
V – VISIT your grandparents or some elderly person whom you know who needs special care.
W – Christmas is a great opportunity to be a WITNESS for the Lord. Don’t miss it!
X – Make this year’s Christmas XTRA special .Y – Always remember that it was even for YOU
that Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.Z – ZOOM and go for a drive if possible with
your family. Appreciate all that God has done for you.
So let us make this Christmas special!
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 25
RECENT polls show Christian teenagers are turning away from the church – and some believe unfulfilling youth groups and parents’ over-dependence on them may have something to do with it.
According to a survey sponsored by the US-based National Center for Family-Integrated Churches (NCFIC), 55% of American Christians are concerned that modern youth ministry is shallow and too entertainment focused. Over a third (37%) even agreed that youth group programmes are not actually biblical.
The study asked the views of 290,000 Christians over the course of five weeks and made the following findings:
1. Are church ‘youth group’ programmes a biblical way to reach young people?
37% said “No”. 36% said “Yes”. 26% said “It’s complicated.”2. Does modern youth ministry concern you? 14% said “Yes, we are losing our kids and it's clearly not
working to train mature believers.” 9% said “Yes, it’s too shallow and entertainment focused." 55% said “Yes, because of both A and B.” 22% said “No. It’s not perfect, but it’s striving to relevantly
communicate the Gospel.”
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
26 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
EALING evangelist Benny Hinn is back with a passion. After restoring his marriage, Hinn is once again traveling the H
world—this time with his wife, Suzanne—and holding crusades where miracles are manifesting. Jennifer LeClaire caught up with Hinn to get the latest report from the field.
I hear God is restoring your ministry.The ministry is coming back. The anointing is still
in operation. People are seeing that. Number two, they are coming because of the deep
hurt, deep pain, deep need. Sickness is still there. And thirdly, I think they come because they say, “OK, the Lord has done something for him. We're happy for him and Suzanne.” They want to support this, and they show up. So, it's been very exciting. I don't know what the future holds, but we're all excited about it, and I'm happy to see the Lord do it. This is real. Sue and I have never been happier.
You’ve been ministering in packed-out auditoriums around the world these days. What's going on there?
Well, since my remarriage I have seen an upsurge. The crowds have come back in most places, especially in the Far East. I was in Manado, Indonesia, in July. We had 200,000 people show up for the crusade. I have not seen crowds like that in three years. It was stunning. We were only expecting
80,000. They told my team it was the largest crowd they have had—ever—in that part of Indonesia. I was in Madrid last week; the stadium was jammed. People were just ecstatic.
There just seems to be a lot of excitement out there about my reunion to Suzanne. It's just a very, very exciting time in our lives. Sue and I are doing incredibly, marvelously glorious. Really, I've not had such contentment in my life. It’s like this is our time of peace and recovery. I think sometimes when somebody is healed, it heals everything else around them.
Tell us about the miracles in London.I was in London at Westminster and rented the
Westminster Hall across from Parliament. It was jammed out. It was magnificent. While I was in London, three miracles stood out which were just so amazing. One girl was flown in from Pakistan with three holes in her heart and crippled. God healed her. Two friends in their ’60s who were born deaf were both healed. And it just stunned the crowd. It actually stunned me more than anyone else, I think. My son is now working with me. During the divorce, I saw him become so angry and bitter. And there he was last week, standing, crying and worshiping God on the platform as he saw the miracles and was helping his daddy. It’s a precious thing to see your family healed also when God heals you. Courtesy: Charisma
Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: [email protected]
26 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w NOVEMBER 2013
EALING evangelist Benny Hinn is back with a passion. After restoring his marriage, Hinn is once again traveling the H
world—this time with his wife, Suzanne—and holding crusades where miracles are manifesting. Jennifer LeClaire caught up with Hinn to get the latest report from the field.
I hear God is restoring your ministry.The ministry is coming back. The anointing is still
in operation. People are seeing that. Number two, they are coming because of the deep
hurt, deep pain, deep need. Sickness is still there. And thirdly, I think they come because they say, “OK, the Lord has done something for him. We're happy for him and Suzanne.” They want to support this, and they show up. So, it's been very exciting. I don't know what the future holds, but we're all excited about it, and I'm happy to see the Lord do it. This is real. Sue and I have never been happier.
You’ve been ministering in packed-out auditoriums around the world these days. What's going on there?
Well, since my remarriage I have seen an upsurge. The crowds have come back in most places, especially in the Far East. I was in Manado, Indonesia, in July. We had 200,000 people show up for the crusade. I have not seen crowds like that in three years. It was stunning. We were only expecting
80,000. They told my team it was the largest crowd they have had—ever—in that part of Indonesia. I was in Madrid last week; the stadium was jammed. People were just ecstatic.
There just seems to be a lot of excitement out there about my reunion to Suzanne. It's just a very, very exciting time in our lives. Sue and I are doing incredibly, marvelously glorious. Really, I've not had such contentment in my life. It’s like this is our time of peace and recovery. I think sometimes when somebody is healed, it heals everything else around them.
Tell us about the miracles in London.I was in London at Westminster and rented the
Westminster Hall across from Parliament. It was jammed out. It was magnificent. While I was in London, three miracles stood out which were just so amazing. One girl was flown in from Pakistan with three holes in her heart and crippled. God healed her. Two friends in their ’60s who were born deaf were both healed. And it just stunned the crowd. It actually stunned me more than anyone else, I think. My son is now working with me. During the divorce, I saw him become so angry and bitter. And there he was last week, standing, crying and worshiping God on the platform as he saw the miracles and was helping his daddy. It’s a precious thing to see your family healed also when God heals you. Courtesy: Charisma
