Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Christian Ministry: Models of Ministry and Training
Christian Ministry: Models of Ministry and Training
Published by
Theological Book Trust
Bangalore
Table of Contents
PREFACE
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
13
ABBREVIATIONS
15
INTRODUCTION
17
CHAPTER ONE
Terms, Definitions and Metaphors of Ministry
21
CHAPTER TWO
Theological, Contextual and Ecclesiological Basis of Ministry
43
CHAPTER THREE
Relating Ministry to Context
55
CHAPTER FOUR
Models of Ministry in the Bible
81
CHAPTER NINE
Models of Theological Education: Case Studies
Priestly Model
275
Liberation Model
Administration Model
Prophetic Model
Reformer Model
Political Action Model
Wisdom Model
Chronicler Model
Missionary Model
Charity Model
Counselling Model
Pastoral Model
CHAPTER FIVE
Priesthood of all Believers
331
BIBLIOGRAPHY
335
INDEX
345
209
CHAPTER SIX
Structures and Partnership for Gods Ministry
235
CHAPTER SEVEN
Developing Leaders for Ministry: Principles of Training
245
CHAPTER EIGHT
Theological Education, Context and Involvement
263
CONCLUSION
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Preface
J.B. Jeyaraj has put in a wealth of academic scholarship and
personal experience into this book Christian Ministry. Ministry is such a diverse involvement, and therefore no one book
can exhaust all the implications. But here is one that can serve
as a useful textbook with an excellent treatment of the subject.
Many books on ministry have been used in institutions in
India, but mostly from the West and therefore offering Western
perspectives. Some of these are not only irrelevant but also outdated. Jeyaraj writes as an Indian and relates ministry to the
Indian context complete with some apt case studies.
When speaking of the Indian context, it is clear that most
treatments of ministry, particularly if coming from a Western
perspective, would lack a contextual grounding. Jeyaraj gives a
whole chapter to help us understand the socio-economic and
religious context of our country. The reader would find this
study very helpful to help make ministry more meaningful in
our diverse situations.
One very useful aspect of this book is its treatment of the
varied forms of ministry. Most times we look at ministry as
either evangelism or social action (including liberation) and some
would bring these two together. This book gives us 14 models of
ministry, and this serves to encourage every member of the
church to consider himself/herself as being engaged in ministry.
Jeyaraj pleads for a much needed and relevant curriculum
for ministry in theological educational institutions. The principles he supplies for theological training are very appropriate. I
fully agree with the writer that we need to look at training people for effective ministry and therefore an appropriate curriculum must be developed to assist in this task.
Case studies are included to show different models of training in Indian context. These case studies are carefully chosen
to present the different ways in which theological training of
ministers and laity is carried on in the Indian context. Commendably, the author stayed in these institutions to study their
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programme and has collected data for writing the case studies.
More case studies on Indian theological education could be included but Jeyaraj has limited the study to 5 patterns. I am
sure students will be encouraged to similarly document their
own case studies.
India today is rapidly changing. Political and religious pressures, changing socio-economic contexts and other forces put
pressure on the church to present a valid response. Those who
prefer to stand on the past will be left to grope in the dark or
perhaps operate in their own limited circles with illusions of
success. Others who dare to change and adapt to the changes
will find ministry to be an exciting engagement. Jeyarajs treatment is a good contribution to those who want to take ministry
in our modern world seriously.
Ken Gnanakan
December 2002
Foreword
All ministry is Gods ministry. Every act of God, even that of
creation, is the ministry of God. Gods ministry of word and
deed breaks the silence and ends all speculation about whether
or not there is a God and of how the deity might be disposed
toward us. In responding to the cry of the people of Israel suffering under bondage in Egypt, Gods ministry revealed the nature
of God as one who cares and acts. Gods ministry is the revelation of God to humans and the basis for all human knowledge of
Gods nature and purpose. All ministry is grounded in Gods
ministry, and all theology is dependent upon Gods continued
ministry as the source of revealed truth. There is no theological
task which has any basis in Gods truth other than the task of
expounding the ministry of God.
In this comprehensive and immensely practical book, Dr.
Jeyaraj, lays a solid theological foundation for Christian Ministry which is biblically grounded, contextually sensitive, and ecumenically relevant. Here we are reminded that the praxis of ministry contextualizes and critically forms our theology even as
Gods ministry precedes and creatively forms the people of God
to carry out this ministry. The divine strategy for ministry is
grounded in Gods gracious intention to reconcile the world
through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This
has been accomplished from Gods side and now seeks completion from the human side, as the people of God have been given
the ministry of reconciliation, . . . that is, in Christ God was
reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses
against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to
us. (2 Corinthians 5:19 NRSV)
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent and anointed by the
Spirit of God to carry out and complete his ministry to God the
Father. On behalf of the world, Jesus offers up to the Father a
ministry of prayer, worship, obedience and service. His ministry
is first of all directed to God and not to the world. The needs of
the world are recognized and brought into this ministry, but do
not set the agenda. As he was sent into the world, Jesus took
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Foreword
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ing, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
who is above all and through all and in all (Eph. 4:4-6). The
mandate for the church is to develop models of Christian ministry which are focused on the context where people live and work
before those trained for ministry are sent into the world. The
Spirit does not create offices, but rather ministries. The gifts of
the Spirit for ministry results in the creation of the office. There
is a sense in which one can say that baptism into Christ is
ordination into the ministry of Christ. As Christ was called and
ordained to his messianic ministry through baptism, so the baptism of every person can be viewed as calling into the ministry of
Christ. The special ordination which sets baptized persons aside
as representative of the ministry of Christ through the church
is still grounded upon baptism into Christs ongoing ministry.
What makes this book of particular value to local congregations as well as to ecclesial leaders and academic teachers is the
discussion of leadership development and theological education
for ministry. Five different models of theological training for ministry currently in use are discussed, each offering insightful and
valuable suggestions for the renewal of ministry through more
effective training for the praxis of ministry in context. The analysis of the social, economic, and political context of the sub continent of India, while restricted to one segment of the global
context for ministry, provides an excellent case study in contextual analysis as a critical component of Christian ministry in
every culture. A theology of Christian ministry is a contextual
theology, because it is a theology of the living God who continues to be present to the world in the context of the historical
reality of the Holy Spirit.
I am pleased to commend this book for its contribution to a
practical theology of ministry as well as a manual for more effective education and preparation for ministry.
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Acknowledgements
Asian Institute of Theology, a unit of ACTS Academy of Higher
Education, Bangalore organized a workshop inviting a few biblical scholars, bishops, pastors and educationists to write the curriculum for their theological education in 1998-1999. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me to write a syllabus for the
course on Christian Ministry and Social Issues and teach the
same in their contact seminar classes. Students who attended
the classes encouraged me to write my lectures in a book form.
The interaction with these men and women who came from different walks of life contributed to shape the content of this book.
The need for the study material combining Christian Ministry
and Social Issues led me to work on this book. The original plan
is to discuss the ministry as the first part and the social issues
as the second part of the book. Only after start writing this book,
I realized, that it would take longer time to write both the parts.
I changed the plan and decided to publish the first part as a
book now and write the second part on social issues later.
I thank Dr. Ken Gnanakan for working out the scholarship
for me to go to the Global Research Institute in Fuller Theological Seminary and spend a year (Fall 2000 to Summer 2001) to
write this book. I appreciate his willingness to write the preface
to this book. I am glad that the Theological Book Trust has come
forward to publish this book.
My sincere thanks to Dr. Walter Hansen, Director of the Global Research Institute and Keith Casey Cobell Jr., Associate
Director for the financial support. Ms Evelyn Dimados help in
proof reading and editing the draft is very much appreciated.
Dr. Ray S. Anderson, Professor of Practical Theology at Fuller
Theological Seminary went through my draft and gave valuable
suggestions. I am grateful to him for his interest in this book
and writing the foreword.
The Tamilnadu Theological Seminary where I taught as
fulltime faculty for the past twenty years has enriched my theological thinking and teaching skills and provided opportunities
for involvement and to gain wider experience. I thank the semi13
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Abbreviations
AAHE
ACTS
AIT
AJTR
AK
AMA
ATA
ATC
CISRS
CLS
CNI
CSI
ECI
ELS
FTS
HIALS
ISPCK
ITC
IVP
LDC
MTSC
NBD
NCB
NCCI
SSC
TBT
TELC
TDNT
TDOT
TNTC
TOTC
TRACI
TTS
WBC
WCL
WEF
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Introduction
Christian ministry is a vast subject. Thousands of books have
been written on this subject. Early Church Fathers, Martin
Luther and Calvin have expressed their views on ministry. Many
theologians, specializing on Practical Theology, follow the writings of Karl Barth. Theologians from Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in various parts of the world are writing articles
on ministry in journals and publishing books. Many doctoral
dissertations written on the ministry add their valuable contribution for further research and writing. A broad analysis of the
books written on ministry could show that these books deal
with one or more aspects of ministry such as the theology of
ministry, qualities of Christian ministers, the history of Christian ministry, contextual problems and issues, planning goals
and strategies, theological education, training and skills, the
role of prayer and fund-raising for ministry. The voluminous
resources available on Christian ministry indicate the complexity of the subject. Publications on this subject will continue to
explain the nature and role of ministry and yet cannot exhaust
the subject. My concern in writing a book on Christian ministry
is to provide a basic study material for those who are interested
in serving God. I do not claim that my book deals with all the
issues and gives solution to the problems. It is only an introduction to Christian ministry with the purpose of enabling readers
to understand the true meaning of ministry, the different models of ministry, theological and contextual issues, patterns of
training and to encourage each member of the church to be
involved in ministry.
The First chapter discusses the definitions of Christian ministry, nuances of the terms used in the Bible to refer to ministry
and the images of servanthood. This chapter emphasizes discipleship as an indispensable aspect of ministry. The definition,
terms and images alone are not enough to explain the depth of
ministry. So Second chapter deals with the foundation of Christian ministry and how theological, contextual and ecclesiological
reasons are inter-connected. This triangular model functions
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Introduction
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Chapter One
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and apostles. They are given validity and find expression in the
New Testament. Jesus and the apostles built the ministries upon
the teachings of the OT. But, they modified them to fulfill the
plan of God and to suit the context of their period. Christians
who regard both OT and NT as their Scripture cannot define
Christian ministry only in terms of what Paul has listed in his
epistles. If we limit our understanding of Christian ministry
only to the ministries found in the Gospels or to the writings of
the apostles, we miss the holistic dimension of the Bible on the
ministry of the people of God. The Bible is our basis upon which
Christian ministry is defined.
Christian ministry is directed towards the congregation as
well as the society outside the Church. It has two foci viz. Christians in the local church and the people in the society. Christians need to be ministered to and they need to minister to the
society. All the work done by Christians need not necessarily be
regarded as Christian ministry. Some theologians have questioned the distinctions made between Christian ministry and
secular ministry. They regard all work as sacred and reject the
distinction between the sacred and the secular. Gordon Smith
points out that every Christian has Gods calling (1999:9-11).
One is the general call to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and follow the teachings of Gods word. Second is a specific
call for a vocation in the world. This could be a ministry in the
local church or in the society. God could call some people to
enter into education, the arts, public office, business, engineering, medicine and the service professions. God desires that humans work. Work is Gods gift as we notice in the Creation account. All work is, therefore sacred. Thus he, argues against
distinction made between the sacred and the secular. We could
agree with his argument if God has called some people for a
specific task in the secular world. Realizing such a specific call,
they work in different aspects of human life in the society. But
this does not happen always with all Christians. In a world of
unemployment, many try to get any job to make a living to survive than starving. People may not be satisfied with their jobs
but they may have no other choice except to continue in the
job. A well educated Christian youth had to be a coolie in a
railway or bus station and live in poverty in the world of unemployment and competition. Some Christian girls had to work as
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accept the fact that there is a problem regarding what all could
be recognized as Christian ministry. We cannot prepare a finalized list from the Bible. We can only select and highlight some
of the ministries mentioned in the Bible. We need to be open
for the Holy Spirit to lead and use the Church in developing
different forms and models of ministry according to the differences in cultural context across the world. Christian ministries
should however, be in conformity with the principles of the Bible. They should be rooted on theological, contextual and ecclesiastical basis.
(Jn. 15:8). The disciple is like a branch attached to the vine for
existence and production. Total dependency on God is expected
of the disciple. Four, the identity of a disciple is one of a servant.
Discipleship is servanthood. Jesus came to this world to serve
and not to be served. He desires that his disciples be servants
and slaves to all (Mk. 10;45). The two words, diakonos and doulos
used by Jesus to express the idea of servanthood will be discussed later in this chapter. The idea of servanthood is also
expressed through other metaphors such as shepherd, workers, followers, priest in the NT. Five, the mark of a disciple is to
bear the cross. The disciple is required to deny himself or herself and take up the cross and follow Jesus (Mk. 8:31-38). Bearing the cross is not in anticipation for a reward but for suffering.
As Jesus was a suffering servant, his disciples are suffering servants. Disciples are required to relinguish all attachment to the
world and totally surrender to Jesus Christ. If Jesus is the
supreme Guru, then the mark of the disciple is to adopt the
lifestyle of the teacher. Six, Christian discipleship demands
genuine love for God and humanity. A disciple is basically a
lover of God. The first commandment in the OT is to love God
with soul, mind, strength (Ex.20:1; Dt. 6:4) and in spirit and in
truth. The rest of the Commandments require that the people of
God love their neighbours. Jesus summarized all the commandments thus, ........ love your God and love your neighbour (Mk.
12:28-31). Loving God should motivate and lead disciples to love
others even their enemies (Mt. 5:44). The vertical and horizontal relationship of the disciple is important. Christian ministry
cannot be done effectively without genuine love for God and
fellow human beings. Seven, Christian discipleship does not
entail passive admiration of Jesus Christ but, has a focus. It
involves a variety of ministries. Discipleship has a goal and function to fulfill in the Church and Society. A disciple cannot avoid
his or her role in the tasks set by God.
In summary, the nature of Christian discipleship, consists of
two important aspects namely, relationship and task. It is a relationship with God, fellow believers and neighbours. It is with a
task of transforming the Church and society. Although all the
members of the Church could be called as disciples of Christ,
many of them are nominal Christians. Only a few of them fulfil
the above qualities of discipleship and contribute to the growth
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These verses explain some important truths about the nature of the Church. The church of Christ is a corporate body
made up of several members. The term body is used in the
secular world to denote a society, organization, community and
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accept this Good News. His healing ministry and miracles manifested the power of the kingdom and gave assurance of peace,
justice and hope. He trained the disciples to perform such healing and liberation from sickness, evil spirit, disabilities and enabled people to enjoy wholesome lives. Jesus commanded them
to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching the followers
to obey all the commandments. Their proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus is to make known the forgiveness of sin, assurance
of redemption and reconciliation with God and invite people to
respond to the Gospel. The inter-action of the Gospel with the
listeners and the response of the people to the message of the
Gospel bring changes in people. It touches their personality,
spirituality, attitude and values. The values of God replace the
values of the world. The thinking and actions of individuals
change in accordance with the will of God. Personal transformation begins at the inter-action. The believer gets a new meaning
of life and is moved to transform the society. Jesus called his
disciples salt to permeate the society and light to clear the
darkness of evil (Mt. 5:13-14). Transforming the society is the
task of the disciples as individuals and as a corporate body of
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apostle is the one who has been given the authority of leadership, to lead the Church soon after the ascension of Christ.
David Bennett writes, it is clear that apostolos is not one of
those terms that is, or should be applied to every follower of
Jesus. Rather, it describes a particular initiating leadership role,
a specific pioneering function, as well as a distinctive divine calling, which go beyond the general mandate for every disciple to
bear witness to Jesus (1993:135). While apostolos is restricted
to the twelve disciples, the term episkopos (overseer) is applied
to leaders within the Church. In secular Greek, episkopos means
an active and responsible care . It is used to describe the function of a deity watching over a country or officials with the responsibility of supervision and administration of communities.
Paul encourages the Philippians to desire this noble service (1
Tim. 3:1) of supervision, ordering, evaluating and setting of direction and describes the qualifications to minister as an overseer (Titus 1:5-7). Another term used frequently is presbyteros
(elder). The role of elders is not new to the Jews because their
society had elders from the period of the ancestors. The twelve
tribes of Israel in Canaan functioned under the leadership of
elders. Elders, as the representatives of families, clans and tribes,
functioned as a team. They were responsible for sorting out the
judicial, political, military and social problems of their communities. The role of elders did not cease with the development
and spread of Christianity. We read in the NT that the local
churches in Jerusalem, Antioch and Asia had a team of elders
to sort out the problems of the members (Acts 11:30; 14:23;
20:17; James 5:14; 1 Pet.5:1-3). Teaching Gods word is an
important ministry in the Church. The word didaskalos (teacher)
refers to those regularly engaged in the systematic teaching of
subjects or technical skills and in the imparting of knowledge.
Its use is restricted in the NT to refer only to those who are
gifted in teaching Gods word and appointed specially for this
task (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor.12:28; Eph.4:11; 1Tim. 2:7; 1 Tim. 1:3-7).
Since teaching wrong doctrines and values could ruin the lives
in audience and the community as a whole, the NT warns not to
become teachers unless called and endowed with the ability
and knowledge to teach. Above all, a teacher must practice what
he or she teaches (James 3:1; Mt. 7:24-27). Prophecy is mentioned as an important service in the writings of Paul (1 Cor.
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14:29-31; 12:28; Eph.4:11). Ancient Israel witnessed the powerful ministry of various prophets over a period of thousand years.
They were eye-openers and functioned as the conscience of
the society. Their ability to critically evaluate a situation, their
courage to speak against injustice and their concern to proclaim salvation oracles contributed to the social, religious and
political growth of the community. The early Church had a
number of prophets as revealed in the book of Acts 11:27-28;
21:10; and 15:32. Their functions included encouraging,
strengthening, comforting and instructing believers (Acts 15:32;
1 Cor.14:3, 31), warning them against false teaching (Acts 11:28;
21:10-11; 1 Cor. 14:24-25) and teaching them to be effective in
Gods service (Eph.4: 11-12). We will discuss this ministry in
detail later in this book. The term poimena (to shepherd) is used
to refer to the leaders and not to all the members in the church.
It expresses the function of taking care of the flock. The metaphor of shepherd will be discussed in detail elsewhere in this
book. However, it is important to mention here that it refers to
the service of feeding, leading, nurturing and protecting (Isa.
41: 10). A shepherd is a servant of God as highlighted by Jesus
(Jn.10) and Peter (1 Pet.2:25; 5:4).
Other words such as oikonomia, leitourgeo, latreuo and
diakonia referring to secular services are used in the NT. For
example, oikonomia which means stewardship with regard to
household administration, is used in 1Cor.9:17, Eph.1:10; 3:2,9
Col.1:25; 1Tim.1:4. Jesus used the word oikonomous (manager
or steward) in his teaching to emphasize the importance of faithfulness and accountability in managing the material possessions of the master (Lk.12:42-44). The manager is a servant and
should not abuse other men and maid servants. His service
should manifest a high standard of responsibility. Paul and Peter used this term in connection with the leaders in the
churches, beseeching them to be faithful to God and people
and to be efficient in the use of the gifts and opportunities given
by God to the growth of the ministry (1 Cor.4:2-4; Titus 1:7; 1
Peter 4:10). Leitourgeo means services undertaken by a citizen
for a community (Rom.13:6; Lk.1:23, Heb.9:21, 10:11, Phil.2:17).
In the Greek society, the service offered by the upper class for
the communities is regarded as public service. Usually such services were voluntary and not paid for. Through their public serv35
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ice, they gained honour and respect. Paul applied this secular
term to refer to the public service of Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25,
30). He claimed his own ministry among the Gentiles as a public service (Rom. 15:16). Latereuo refers to the services done to
God. (Heb.8:5; 9:9; 10:2) and the worship of the Lord by Christians (Matt.4:10, Lk.1:74, Acts 24:14). Paul used this term to
refer to worship as real religious service to God (Rom.12:1; 1:9).
It is used in the eschatological sense in Rev. 7:15 and 22:3.
John, the author of the Book of Revelation, emphasizes that
worship, as a service of Gods people will not end even after the
completion of all earthly ministries. Worship will go through
eternity.
Diakonia, another comprehensive term to mean service,
originally meant to wait on or to serve at a table and thus,
earn a living (Matt.8:15, Lk.10:40). Diakonos, the noun derived
from the word diakonia originally referred to people who served
meals in the Church but, was later used to refer to persons
involved in the ministries of the Church. It could mean work
with or without salary. Diakonia, however, got a new meaning
in the NT as the service of caring for needy people or a charitable service (Acts.6:1, 11:29, 12:25, Rom.12:7, 15:25, 2Cor.8:4,19;
9:1,12). This word is applied to the ministries of teaching the
Word and praying for people (Acts.6:4). The real meaning of the
word diakonia is brought out by Jesus in Mark 10:43-44:
But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become
great among you must be your servant (diakonos), and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave (duolos) of
all.
IMAGES OF SERVANTHOOD
Even though, various terms listed above convey the idea of
servanthood, the image of servanthood needs further explanation with some examples from the Bible. One of the key passages on the servanthood is found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Scholars have identified a few texts in Deutero-Isaiah (42:1-4; 49:1-6;
50:4-11; 52:13-53:12) as Servant Songs. Some of them were
written during the period of exile in Babylon. The People of
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Chapter Two
TRINITARIAN FOUNDATION
The biblical God is the Trinity the Father, Son and the Holy
Spirit. We need to know the way God, the Father acted in the
history of mankind, through His son Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit. Focussing on the actions of only one person in the Trinity cannot provide a holistic foundation for Christian ministry.
Pentecostals emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit more and
explain the ministry from the perspective of the role of the Holy
Spirit. Adventists developed their ministry according to their
emphasis on the work of God, the Father. Some denominations
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When they struggled and suffered to carry on the ministry assigned to them, God also struggled and suffered with them. Moses
found it difficult to liberate the Israelites and leading them
through the wilderness for a period of forty years. He had to
struggle between the people and God but, God was with him
throughout his ministry and helped him to fulfill his mission.
Jeremiah is another example who had difficulties in fulfilling
his prophetic ministry. He was beaten by the priest and left in
custody for trial. He was mis-represented by false prophets and
misunderstood by the people. Jeremiah felt like leaving the ministry but, God enabled him to carry it out. God shared the pains,
misery, feelings of frustration and rejection of those leaders and
he did not let them down. God guided, strengthened, motivated
and empowered them to serve the people. Gods promises such
as I am with you or I will be with you always or I will lead and
guide you given to the selected leaders showed His partnership
with them. These assurances and promises are to enable the
human partner to persist in the mission. When the promises
are addressed to the community of Israel, it means, the partnership of God is with the community to do service. Many people
like such promises and assurances and interpret them to mean
security or protection rather than understanding it as partnership in service. Their understanding is narrow and benefit oriented but, Gods promises of His presence and partnership are
always for service. When Jesus gave the Great Commission to
the disciples, he also told them that his presence will be with
them till the end of the earth. This promise shows how much
God loves to partner with humans beings in ministry
Gods special relationship with the leaders and the community in service is established not only by giving promises and
assurances of his presence, but also by a special call, initiating
a covenant, imparting his spirit and endowing with extraordinary wisdom and power. We notice these elements of Gods partnership in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses,
Judges, Kings, Prophets, Reformers and the twelve disciples.
We need to watch our language when we tell others that God is
using so and so mightily and wonderfully. Of course, God only
uses them by endowing them with his call, wisdom, talents,
gifts and strength but, this kind of language gives the impression that God is using people for his own glory. This conception
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the one side, with the disciples of Christ and, on the other side,
with the society. Otherwise, the effort, energy, strategies and
communication skills of the disciples used in ministry would
become ineffective and would not bring the expected transformation in society.
The apostles realized the truth of what Jesus said about the
Holy Spirit at the Pentecost. They were filled with the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2) which empowered them to face opposition and preach
the Good News of the Kingdom with power. They performed miracles, healing and delivering from evil spirits to show the mighty
power of God. As they preached, the Spirit convicted their audience of their sin. Those who responded to the conviction of the
Holy Spirit were led to realize the forgiveness and reconciliation
brought by Christ. The Holy Spirit united those who responded
positively to Christ and as One body of Christ. The Spirit constantly renews the mind and spirit of believers that they may
continue to become new creations in Christ. The enabling, empowering, uniting and renewing functions of the Holy Spirit are
indispensable to the continuation of the ministry in the Church
and society. Christian ministry cannot go on without the role of
the Holy Spirit.
God acts in human history and also in the creation of the
natural world. God created the earth, other planets, trees and
plants, birds and animals and also constantly takes care of them.
The Creation of this world did not emanate from his body. Neither did he neglect it since it was a separate entity outside of
him. Some religions talk about separate gods for creation, taking care of it and destroying it on the last day of consummation
respectively. The engaging activity of the one who created discontinues and shifted to another god. Some others believe that
gods have nothing to do with this world except to have celestial
activities with other heavenly bodies. Some mythologies speak
of the cessation of Gods creativity after forming the earth and
heavens. Festivals of such religions remember their gods old
activity of creation but, biblical accounts affirm Gods care for
creation. They affirm that God did not alienate himself from his
creation (Ps.104, Jer. 31, Hos.2) God is actively involved in the
continuous process of creation. Jesus called his audience to
look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the valleys and the
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way God takes care of them. (Mt. 6:26-30; 19:28) The New Testament speaks of Gods creation in terms of changing the old
man into a new man in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph.4:2224), renewing the life of the Church ( 1 Cor. 3:6; 12:4-11) and
renewing the human nature (Mt. 5:45). That creation affected
by the fall of humanity will be redeemed by God (Rom. 8:20-23)
is a clear evidence of Gods continuing relationship with creation. Paul Hanson writes, Each mighty act of creation or liberation in the Bible was drawn into a chain of divine acts as preparation for new creative and redemptive activity by Israels God.
Taken together, the great events of exodus, covenant, inheritance of the land, anointment of David, exile, second exodus,
and the life of Christ did not constitute the frozen scenario of a
primordial myth, but were the unique historical events which
set in motion a creative and redemptive process which was characterized by the newness in every age (1978: 62).
the church in Gal. 3:26-28: for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faithThere is no longer Jew or Greek,
there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. The early Church
learnt this lesson and reshaped the nature of the faith community to include Gentiles, poor, women and disabled. The Church
should be a composition of men, women and children, masters
and slaves, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles. The Church is
expected to cross these barriers and show acceptance and tolerance and also to mix as one community and share their resources with other members. The nature of the Church is seen
in the composition of its members as well as in the way it functions as a sharing community. Third, the Church which is part
of the society is to exercise fellowship and share resources among
themselves as well as to be a suffering servant. The Church has
a role to play in the society. It is not to limit its activities within
the four walls of the church building. This community of believers is required to serve the society. Coming together as a fellowship is for worshipping, confessing faith, experiencing solidarity and sharing in the service of the society. The purpose of
being a faith community is to function as an instrument of God
to transform our society. The sociological bond between the
Church and society demands that ministries be related to the
context. Finally, more than the sociological bond between the
Church and society, the bond between Jesus and the Church
as an incarnational community demands ministry in the world.
Ray Anderson draws our attention to this theological dimension
of the nature of the Ecclesia. He writes, Incarnational community means that community in which the life of Jesus continues
to exist through the ontological reality of his indwelling SpiritAs
Jesus exists in a community of relation with the Father characterized by self-emptying, or kenotic presence, in the world. It is
this nature of the church, as we shall see, that determines the
form of its ministry (2001:116). The understanding of the body
of Christ as the incarnational community provides the theological and ecclesiastical foundation of ministry.
CHANGING CONTEXT
The socio-political and economic context of the above historical periods were not the same. They changed dramatically due
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to wars and political domination of powers, the influence of religions, the effects of natural calamities such as famine, drought,
flood and fire, the persecution policies of some kings, the movement of people from one region to another, the contribution of
literary works of some intellectuals and the dealings of the leaders of religion and politics. All these factors which brought
changes to the socio-political, economic, religious and cultural
context of different periods determined the need and the nature of ministry. These factors changed not only the ancient
society but are also changing contemporary society. Large scale
industries, international travel, satellite communication and
modern science and technology are speeding up the changes
for both good and bad. The consequences are evident in different realms of society and has shaped the nature of ministry.
Leaders and other people have attempted to address these problems within their contexts and sought for solutions. They made
their efforts and service relevant to their own historical context.
The interrelation of the context and nature of their ministry will
be noticed in further discussions of the different models in this
book. This does not mean that society sets the agenda for God
to do ministry. God, the Father had already set the agenda of
redeeming fallen humanity and carried out the mission through
Jesus. The initiative for ministry came from God out of his love
and grace for mankind. God worked out his own way of redemption and reconciliation and showed the model through Jesus.
The Church as a community, bears witness to what God has
done and carry out His ministry, realizing the challenges of the
change in contexts. Modern society needs the service of the
churches more now than ever before. People of every continent
face problems of growing fundamentalism, ethnic violence, ecological degradation, accumulation of wealth and power in the
hands of a few rich families, political instability, racial and gender discrimination, terrorism, unemployment, terminal diseases
and psychological trauma. The world, today, needs the relevance
of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. People are looking for meaning in life. The changing context of modern society
demands of Christians to recover the biblical models of ministry, modify and make them more effective to address problems
and shape the future of humanity and the environment.
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Chapter Three
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lence. Fifth, politics, political parties and elections are structured according to the caste system. This evil, which is now deeply
rooted in the life of Indians, has permeated all spheres of the
nation and its churches. How, then, could ministry be related
to society and churches which are affected by the caste system?
Other Tribes in India also face similar difficulties. Tribals are
regarded as a separate category. Within this special category,
there are a number of tribal groups, each with their own dialect,
culture and belief systems. They are deliberately denied their
identity as tribes and are drawn into the fold of Hinduism and
discriminated against as the outcasts. Advocates for the rights
of the tribes to be allowed to keep their religious beliefs, culture
and customs, dialects, identity and natural environment are increasing. They have even suggsted certain geographical territories as separate state for the tribes. The Chipko Movement and
Narmadha Bachao Andolan (NBA) promote support for the tribes.
Christian Tribal Theology developing in the north-eastern states,
central region and the east coast region are trying to address
the problems of tribals in India.
Another social system dominating the Indian society is the
patriarchy. Although the Indian Constitution in principle does
not discriminate against women and ensures equality before
the law, women are discriminated against in their families, work
places and in the churches too. Gerda Lerner, in her book The
Creation of Patriarchy, defines patriarchy as the manifestation
and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in the family and the extension of male dominance over
women in society in general. It implies that men hold power in
all the important institutions of society and that women are
deprived of access to such power (1986:239). The origin and
development of patriarchy in each society demands a separate
study. Social, political and religious factors have contributed to
the development and sustenance of patriarchy in the Indian
society. Gerda Lerner points out that the system of patriarchy
could thrive in society only with the co-operation of women and
writes, This co-operation is secured by a variety of means: gender indoctrination; educational deprivation; the denial to women
of knowledge of their history; the dividing of women, one from
the other, by defining respectability and deviance according
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to womens sexual activities; by restraints and outright coercion; by discrimination in access to economic resources and political power; and by awarding class privileges to conforming
women (1986:217). It is not that women are willingly co-operate with the domination of the patriarchal system. Most of them
have accepted the patriarchal system as a long-standing tradition of the society, which cannot be changed without the cooperation of men. Some women co-operate with patriarchal system out of ignorance, tolerating all the injustice done to them.
For other women it provides paternalistic protection, a sense of
belonging to a male, sustenance for their lives, marriages and
children. Paternalism and male dominance is perpetuated
through the institution of Patriarchy. The minds of Women have
been psychologically conditioned over thousands of years to internalize the idea of their own inferiority and to submit themselves to male dominance without questioning the patriarchal
system.
Although the percentage of women compared to men in terms
of population size in each state differs, statistics show that 49
percent of the total Indian populations are women. They play a
vital role in society. On the one hand, some religious and secular literature and media adore women and speak highly of them
with respect and honour. On the other hand, what persists in
reality is the suppression of women. The consequences of the
patriarchal system on society are so serious that it is impossible
for Christian ministry to ignore this marginalized and oppressed
group of the society. First, women are treated as inferior to men
because of misconceptions on their sex and gender. Many are
not aware of the difference between the two. Sex is a biological
factor. It is the creation of God. Although God created some as
men and others as women, all are created in the image of God.
Sexual differences have biological functions. God has created
the bodies of women in such a way that they could bear children and perpetuate the human race. This is a noble function
and a valuable contribution which women make society. Considering the biological processes of mensuration and menopause,
which they go through, it would be unfair to treat women as
inferior sex. Instead of regarding them as pollutants and inferior, they should be appreciated for their biological role and
must be supported and held in a high esteem for their contri61
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ECCLESIASTICAL CONTEXT
Understanding the origin and development of churches in
India and the contemporary situation of these churches is essential in order to relate the ministry of the Church to society.
Studying the ecclesiastical context includes the following major
areas such as the nature of the Indian Church, theology and
doctrines, governance and leadership, service and contributions.
These details have been discussed by historians and theologians in their writings. I have no intention of repeating such
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now falling prey to the western systems of episcopacy, dressings, organization and worship.
Theologies
It is necessary to understand the different thrusts and trends
of theology in Indian churches in order to do ministry effectively. Sometimes, it becomes essential to be apologetic towards
heresies. Other times, it becomes necessary to make use of certain theologies to do specialized ministry with in the socio-political context. The knowledge of spiritual theology could enhance the pietism of the congregation. For convenience sake,
the different theologies in the churches could be categorized
into three major groups viz. Doctrinal, Socio-Political or Contextual and Indian Christian Theologies. Doctrinal theology is
used very much by the churches belonging to the Adventist,
Salvation Army, Baptist, Pentecostal and Brethren denominations, respectively. They preach and teach doctrines such as
the observation of the sabbath day, immersion baptism, tongues
speaking, washing of feet, supremacy of men over women and
the salvation of soul. Of course, teachings on Christian doctrines are important, but, the doctrines on which emphasis placed
is selective and promote legalistic Christianity. Emphasis on other
doctrines such as creation and environment, the image of God
and justice are ignored. Many of them are ignorant of sociopolitical theologies like Liberation, Human Rights, Dalit, Tribal,
Gender equality, Community and Development. Although these
contextual theologies are accepted by leaders and preached in
mainline churches, they have not penetrated the congregation
enough. Sometimes, these theologies are opposed by Chris69
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tians, but, they are biblical and contextual and needed for the
ministry of the church. Theological exploration and articulation were taken up by the early converts mainly with the view to
indigenizing theology and making it relevant to the context.
Robert de Nobilee could be mentioned as one of such pioneers
among the western missionaries. There are a lot of details about
the efforts of Indian converts from the book, Indian Christian
Theology, written by Robin Boyd. Among the first generation
converts to Christianity were a few noted theologians like
Brahmabandhav Upadhyaya, Sadhu Sunder Singh, Nehemiah
Goreh, Henry Albert Krishna Pillai, Vedanayagam Shastriar of
Tanjore, Pandita Ramabai, Vengal Chakkarai and Narayan Vaman
Tilak. Some of them re-defined the biblical concepts and doctrines, such as would relate to their context. Their articulation
was more similar to Indian Philosophy. Their theologies were
regarded philosophical and based on the Brahminical approach,
which is useful in Inter-faith Dialogue. They have ignored the
criticisms raised against their theologies, concerning the sociopolitical liberation of the people. In an effort to fill the gap, following the Latin American Liberation Theology, some leaders
conceived the theology of liberation and secular humanism.
Focusing on the issue of the Dalits and tribals, scholars such as
Arvind Nirmal, M.E. Prabahar in the south and James Massey,
Nirmal Minz, R.L.Hnuni and others in the north have propounded
Dalit and Tribal theologies. The Feminist theology is also developing fast. The theological explorations in India have been approached from the biblical, philosophical and contextual points
of view. There are so many theologies that it is impossible to
speak of one Indian Christian Theology any longer. Instead,
there are Indian Christian theologies and credit is given to each
of them in order to understand their merits and demerits. Though
there are enough theologies, they lack praxis. Since the ecclesiastical context is enriched with theologies, ministry demands
that they be understood intellectually, of them, their careful
application be made to the particular context and their continuous articulation be made to suit the changing context.
Social Service
Churches are appreciated for their social service. Missionaries who came from the west combined evangelism, church plant70
ing and social service in holistic ministry. They established primary and high schools, colleges and teacher training institutions. The converts and other poor people were trained in Vocational careers such as carpentry, printing technology, automobile mechanism, tailoring and weaving to assist them earn a
living. They could not ignore the plight of women, children and
old people and so established orphanages, old peoples homes
and rehabilitation centres for widows and the deserted. They
started special schools for the blind, deaf and dumb. They pioneered in providing medical service through the establishment
of hospitals. India is experiencing the fruits of these social services. The services of these Christian institutions were liberative
and transforming. Service to society was an important agenda.
The leaders of other religions were challenged by the excellent
social service of the churches and were urged to initiate similar
social services. The Missionaries managed these institutions but
also trained Indians to take over the management of the social
services. Christians employed in these institutions were motivated constantly to keep the service and sacrifice in focus and to
give of their best in order to sustain high standards in the provision of social service.
Over the past few decades, three major problems confronting
the churches in their provision of social services have been identified. One is the problem of funding these services. Institution
like schools, colleges, vocational training centres, hospitals and
social action programmes depend largely on foreign funds. Although some of the schools and colleges receive aid from the
local government for the salaries of the approved teachers, they
depend on funds from overseas churches and missions for the
development of infra-structure. Hospitals try to generate some
income to defray cost of expenditure but it is not enough unless
they increase service charges to their patients. This means, they
have to become like any other commercial institution, not quite
satisfying their desire to provide service to the poor. Some denominations are struggling to maintain educational and medical services in spite of financial problems, heavy property taxes,
labour disputes and court cases. Lack of planning, development
of skills and dedicated management also contribute to the closure of such services in some parts of India. Second, is the problem of rules and restrictions of the state and central govern71
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come out of the four walls to the streets to understand the society. Fifth, many have a negative attitude towards society. They
have become nonchalant to the needs of society and have left it
to its own fate or degradation. They have withdrawn from social
activities yet find contentment worshipping on Sundays. While
it is necessary to be critical towards society, it should not be a
pessimistic attitude. There must be optimism that the society
can be changed so that the hope of ministry is not lost.
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Church History, Missions, Religions and Counselling, their curriculum is mainly inward looking designed to equip the candidates yet limit their ministry to the congregation only. The implication of such curriculum design is that the ministry is supposed to serve the members of the church only. It lacks focus on
the society. Very few seminaries and Bible colleges teach courses
on society, history, economics, politics, science and technology
and train the candidates to relate the ministry beyond the four
walls of their churches.
Another kind of training needed for full-time ministers and
volunteers is on how to develop communities outside the church.
Communities around the local churches are in need of help.
They have problems of poverty, unemployment, alcohol and drug
addiction, debts, misunderstanding within families and neighbours and violence resulting in murder. They need the support
of the local church in the struggle to demand their rights and
justice from local government officials, the police force, politicians and rowdies and thugs employed by the rich businessmen. In order to be conversant with the rules and regulation of
governments, to work out strategies and to implement schemes
to develop the local communities, churches need the expertise
of lawyers, economists, politicians and social scientists. Training programmes need to be designed with the help of these
experts. In order to relate ministry to the context, there is the
need to rely on and to make use of their knowledge and experience in training the churches.
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Chapter Four
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PRIESTLY MODEL
The Priestly model is an ancient one and common to many
cultures. Priests are closely linked to the cultic function as religious professionals and a medium to approach God. They are
held in high respect in many societies. Some of them are fulltime professionals and others are part-time or assume the role
of a priest during festive seasons. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
lived a pastoral life but performed the cultic function of offering
sacrifices and leading their families and servants in the worship
of Yahweh. They performed circumcision. They functioned as
the elders of the family and clan, combining the role of leadership in the social and religious life of their groups. Not much is
known about the priestly function of the Israelites during their
time in bondage. It is only assumed that the elders of the family
could have fulfilled the cultic function in their respective settlement in Egypt. The request by Moses for the release of bonded
Israelites, that they may go and worship Yahweh in the wilderness, could infer that organized worship of the entire community in one place was prohibited by Pharaoh. The organized and
professional priestly model developed in ancient Israel after the
exodus from Egypt. Liberation from bondage, the covenant at
Sinai and worship are closely linked. The liberated community
which entered into the covenant relationship with Yahweh with
an obligation to obey the commandments (Ex.20-23) needed to
be united and rooted in the worship of Yahweh by a group of
selected and specially trained professionals. This establishment
of priesthood continued to perform the cultic function from generation to generation. This priestly institution continued to remind the liberated community and their generations on how
God liberated them, instructed them on Gods commandments
and statues and encouraged the people to lead an ethical life; to
accept and offer sacrifices from the worshippers and to intercede for them. Without the organized cultic function, thousands
of Israelites settling in different parts of Canaan could not be
reminded of their identity as people in covenant with Yahweh,
an obligation to express faith in Yahweh, worship and obey the
commandments and to be used as an instrument in bringing
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priests actually took the sword and fought but their association
and active role in the battle of liberating the tribes of Israel from
the hands of the Philistines or Midianites is certainly a political
involvement. They supported the militancy not simply for territorial expansion and making them a super power but for the
cause of liberation from the oppression of their enemies and
defending their rights to exist and progress. Priests ministering
in the central sanctuaries had a close relationship with the monarchy and played a major role in anointing kings with oil and
installing them at cultic ceremonies. David was anointed by the
elders at the cultic centre in Hebron. Priests at Hebron should
have played a role in performing the cultic function at the anointing of David. (2 Sam.5:3). Abiathar, the priest associated with
the sanctuary in Jerusalem and Davids family went with the
group to anoint and enthrone Adonijah (1 Kings.1:22-27). Zadok
went with Nathan and anointed Solomon (1 Kings. 1:45). In
addition to performing cultic duties, Amaziah, the priest at Bethel
also worked as an agent of the king and vehemently opposed
Amos preaching the prophecy of judgement on the northern
kingdom. In Jerusalem, the priest Pashur with his political
involvement, had beaten and arrested Jeremiah. The priests
involvement in national politics became unavoidable and manifested explicitly at certain times of their history.
The institution of priesthood continued in spite of changes
in history. In Babylon, from 587 to 537 BC, priests continued
their cultic function but without offering sacrifices. They taught
the law, performed rituals like circumcision and encouraged the
people to continue in the faith of Yahweh. They played an important role in the compilation of the Pentateuch, Psalms and
Historical Books. The priests gained their importance once again
after the return and construction of the Second Temple and the
office of the high priest ( Heb: hakkohen haggadol the great
priest) developed. Joshua, the contemporary of Zerubbabel, was
the first one to be called as the high priest (Hag.1:1,12,14; 2:24;
Zech.3:1,8; 6:11). As in the days of Aaron, the high priest entered the most holy place alone once a year on the Day of Atonement and offered the sacrifice for the remission of the sins of
the people. The priestly institution continued in the time of
Jesus. Zechariah, the priest ministering in one of the sanctuaries in a town in Judea, received the message of the birth of
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John the Baptist. While several priests like Zechariah were ministering in different sanctuaries in Judea and Galilee, Annas
and Caiaphas were the chief priests in Jerusalem. They were
actively involved in the cultic affairs of the temple in Jerusalem
and in the trial of Jesus.
Jesus never addressed himself as a priest. Neither did he
perform the cultic role of sacrificing animals either in the temple in Jerusalem or in any of the cultic centres in the country.
The writers of the Gospel also, never described him as fulfilling
the ministry of a priest. But after His death and resurrection,
the author of the epistle to the Hebrews noticed the fulfillment
of the priestly ministry of the OT in Jesus. He compared and
contrasted the priestly model of the OT with the priestly model
of Jesus Christ. The priestly model of the OT was Aaronic and
had a lot of limitations. The high priest is human with his own
sinful nature and failures. Needing an atonement for his sins,
the priest was required to offer sacrifices first for himself. His
priestly office could not provide salvation to others. The Old Covenant, which is tied up with the sacrifices required the priests
and the people to fulfill the law. Any number of animals could
be sacrificed though it could not forgive a mans sin or transform his life. The sacrifices seemed useless and expensive to the
people. Obeying the laws of the covenant was necessary, but
practising only a set of laws made human life legalistic and burdensome. Sometimes, fulfilling all the laws, all the time became
impossible. The law was not faulty but human experience in
implementing all the laws perfectly was faulty. The law, moreover, could not be the complete answer to human need. A new
covenant, holy and blameless, a priest of higher order than Aaron
and an end to animal sacrifices, therefore, became a necessity.
Jesus Christ, as a holy and blameless person, put an end to
animal sacrifices by offering Himself as a pascal lamb, on the
one side and performed the duty of the sacrifice as the high
priest, on the other side (Heb.7-9). The sacrificer became the
sacrifice. Jesus not only reconciled humanity with God but
also represented the powerless, a victim of the sins of others.
The priest who became the lamb has a great significance in
ministry. It is impossible to hold a position and continue to serve
without submitting oneself for the sake of others. The transcendence from being the mediator to a medium and thus, combining
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LIBERATION MODEL
According to the narratives of the OT, the liberation of the
Israelites from the bondage of Egypt precedes the development
of organized worship with ark, tent, fulltime priesthood and different sacrifices. This does not mean that worship of Yahweh
and cultic functions did not go on before the liberation. Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob worshipped Yahweh and performed cultic functions and tribal duties together. Abraham was even involved in
pursuing the enemies as far as Damascus, fighting and freeing
Lot, his family and servants. The warriors of the kings of Sodom,
Gomorrah and Salem (Gen.14) were freed in the battle by
Abraham. The kings of Sodom and Salem were grateful to
Abraham. Although this act of freedom from the hands of the
enemies could be recognized as liberation to a certain extent, it
could also be criticized because of its kinship affinity. What
Abraham did was just a fulfillment of his responsibility as a
kinsman, using militancy. It lacked the involvement of God. On
the other hand, the exodus from Egypt is regarded as a liberation model, not necessarily as the perfect model, but as a historical model. It is a challenge to apply the theology of this model,
found in the narratives of the Book of Exodus, to the local communities suffering oppression and injustice. The Liberation
model of the Exodus has the dimension of community, involvement of God and universal validity.
People are trapped into oppression and bondage without envisaging its dangers and power. By the time they realized the
evils of bondage in their own lives, it had become too late to
come out of it. They became powerless to challenge their oppressors and many, therefore, internalized this situation as their
fate, accepted it and continued to live miserable lives. The severe famine in Canaan forced Jacob and his descendants to
move to Egypt for survival. They never expected that their generations would be oppressed and forced to bonded slavery. Exodus 1: 8-14 narrates the deliberate actions of Pharaoh to enslave the Israelites instead of treating them as free citizens. From
these verses, Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom
and Rameses, for Pharaoh.The Egyptians became ruthless in
imposing tasks on the Israelites and made their lives bitter with
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of Pharaoh for their food and survival. Controlling their economic independence was an important step in making the people poor and dependent on their oppressors. The Israelites,
socially, belong to another race and culture. They followed the
faith of Yahweh, the God of their fathers. Racial and religious
discrimination can be made effective only by forcing other ethnic groups to build the cultic and cultural centres of the ruling
group and denying them their rights to worship their own god
or goddesses. The Egyptians showed the same kind of racial
discrimination towards the Israelites. The above political, economic and social reasons of Pharaoh forced the Israelites to serve
as bonded slaves. Their policy not only did enslave them but
dealt with them cruelly without any human concern.
Unable to bear the oppression and exploitation of the Egyptians, the Israelites raised their cry and groaning to Yahweh.
Ex.2:23-24, The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and
cried out. Out of slavery, their cry for help rose up to God. God
heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and
God took notice of them. This brings out vividly the way they
expressed their pain and misery. This text plays an important
role in the liberation theology. Four words, namely, groaning,
crying out, crying for help and slavery in v.23 reveal their pathetic situation in Egypt. Groaning means to be in constant
pain. Crying out refers to their shedding of tears, in the literal
sense. Crying for help expresses that they lost all hope of
freeing themselves and they looked for someone to liberate them
from the hands of the Egyptians. They were so sure that the
help was not going to come from Pharaoh or a group of the
public. They longed to be freed and their need was desperate.
They expected divine intervention by crying out to God. Their
slavery went up to God expresses that their cry, groaning and
tears of their plight reached God. If their misery could reach
God, then it should have reached Pharaoh and the Egyptians,
but they deliberately ignored their cry. Walter Brueggemann
interprets their cry, groaning and calling for help, not as a retreat to accept the bondage as their fate but as their struggle
against the injustice. These expressions were their protests
against slavery (1982:21-23). The response of God to the cry
and groaning of the suffering people is narrated very well. Verse
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responsibility of the Egyptians to challenge the injustice of Pharaoh and work for the freedom of the Israelites. As long as they
failed to question the oppression, they were also part of the
injustice done to the Israelites. The structural injustice brings
corporate punishment. According to the primogeniture theory,
the first-born were the rulers in some cultures. They decided
the family matters, sorted out problems in the village, sat in the
royal court and inherited the throne. In the case of Egypt, as
some scholars suggest, this could have been the practice. So,
the target of death was not directed on all the males or at random but towards the ruling class who made decisions and oppressive policies. The death of the first-born was a judgement
on the ruling class of the Egyptians. It was a signal that by
ending the ruling class from Pharaohs palace to the families in
villages, God had ended the injustice and oppression of the ruling class in the history of the bonded Israelites. This does not
suggest the killing of the ruling class as some Marxists or militant groups and terrorists have advocated. What happened with
the Israelites is the way God expressed His anger against all
sorts of discrimination and exploitation and took the side of the
poor and oppressed. God wants the justice, freedom, peace and
progress of all peoples to prevail always. Later, in Isaiah 19: 2425 it is evident that God took the side of the Egyptians when
they were oppressed by others and called the Egyptians and
Assyrians as His people. His universal principle is to offer shalom to all the suffering communities. The four salient features
of the liberation of the Israelites as narrated in Exodus are,
namely, that God takes the side of suffering people, initiates
and continues the mission of liberation. He expects suffering
people to co-operate with Him and the liberator He sends; and
He brings the oppressors to justice. These ingredients are important for the theology of liberation.
Another dimension of the liberation model is seen in the
situation of oppression of the Israelites by their neighbours such
as the Philistines, the Edomites and the Midianities when they
settled in the land of Canaan. The Deuteronomistic history of
the book of Joshua and Judges points out the reason for the
defeat of the Israelites and the control of some of their territories by the Philistines or Midianites. Their own failures resulted
in oppression. Bondage to other nations was due to their wor93
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and East European region. Certainly, what Marxism or Communism did against Christians as a political system was wrong.
They advocated suppression and control of people. Human rights
were violated in those countries. But, to criticize Marxism and
Communism is one thing and to describe liberation as Marxism
or Communism is another issue. This kind of criticizm comes
from the rich and ruling class. The Liberation of the poor and
oppressed is a human concern. The Liberation Theology uses
Marxism as an instrument to analyze the society. Leonardo Boff
and Clodovis Boff point out that, Marxism is never treated as a
subject on its own but always from and in relation to the poor
in liberation theology. These Liberation theologians are critical
of Marxism and write, Liberation theology, therefore, maintains
a decidedly critical stance in relation to Marxism. Marx (like any
other Marxist) can be a companion on the way, but he can never
be the guide, because You have only one teacher, the Christ
(Mt.23:10) (1999.28). It is important to note that liberation preceded in the history of Israel thousands of years before Marxism
or Communism developed. Liberation is biblical because God,
who created people, is interested in the liberation of the oppressed. Liberation is not mans idea but it is the will of God
that no one should be oppressed and live in bondage. God has
given us the right of freedom with responsibility. Gods design
for humanity is to enjoy freedom, welfare and dignity. Therefore, God is interested in the affairs of human beings and is
involved in the liberation of oppressed and exploited people.
God initiates and supports the liberation of suffering people.
The second criticism against the liberation model is the issue of relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed.
People fear that the efforts to liberate the oppressed from their
exploiters would create tension, backlash, vengeance and even
divisions in communities. The alienation between the oppressor
and the oppressed becomes permanent. They live in enmity in
villages, industries, offices and institutions. This kind of criticism perpetuates the status quo. Those who fear such consequences want people to live in oppression and tolerate the injustice than to create tensions, enmity and divisions between
the oppressors and the oppressed. Would it be justifiable to
sacrifice liberation and the long term fruits of being liberated
for the sake of avoiding tension and division? In the pursuit for
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liberation, tension, vendetta and divisions are unavoidable because the very idea of liberating the oppressed, who have been
serving their masters for years, hurts their oppressors. They do
not want the oppressed people to question their injustice and
cruel treatment or to demand freedom and justice. Liberation
affects the oppressors economically, politically and socially.
Pharaoh reacted to the efforts for liberation of the Israelites from
bondage. The Philistines, Midianites, Assyrians, Babylonians and
Antiochus Ephiphanus reacted and persecuted the Israelites.
Since the ruling class neither liberated the oppressed Israelites
voluntarily nor restored justice to them, the relationship between Israel and her neighbouring nations was broken and the
Israelites had to live under constant tension and threat. When
the Israelites did the same injustice to the Canaanites in the
land, the relationship between them was not so good. There are
no records of the cry of the Canaanites in the Old Testament
since it was written by the Jews to present their side of history.
But, the reminder do not oppress the people in the midst of
you helps to understand the feelings of the Canaanites. David
tries to do justice to the family of Saul by supporting
Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9). Jesus teaching in Mt. 5-7 paves the
way for reconciliation. Paul noticed this problem of tension, bitterness and enmity between the masters and slaves and advised masters to render justice to servants and build a good
relationship (Eph.6:9; Col. 4:1). It is difficult for liberation and
reconciliation to go together but it is not an impossibility if the
oppressed understand the cry and pain of the poor, repent and
restore the justice due them. Reconciliation can be effective only
when the liberated people forgive their oppressors and accept
them when they demonstrate repentance for their injustices.
Ministry should not end with liberating the people but enabling
both parties to do their part to achieve reconciliation and build
a healthy relationship. What lies beyond liberation? This question is to be considered seriously.
Third, the liberation model is criticized for centering on individual leaders such as Moses, Gideon, Deborah, Saul, David
and Jesus. Since the impression of the liberation ministry is by
an individual, Christians assume that the church as a community need not practice the liberation. Rather, the church could
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standing the Bible and confidence in our neighbours. The concern for liberation is not an issue for Christians alone. Many
Hindus, Muslims and atheists are concerned about liberating
the poor. There are a number of religious and secular movements involved in struggles of justice. Churches can co-operate
with these movements in liberating the people. Some leaders
hesitate to join hands with these movements because they belong to religions of other faith or political parties of different
ideology or they use violence as means to achieve the goal. This
critical awareness about the religious, political and secular movements on the side of the Christians is healthy. But, on the other
hand can we expect the support and solidarity of these movements, political parties and media towards struggles against AntiConversion Bills, restrictions over religious freedom, ban on evangelism or rules against the minority rights? Since Christians
form only 3 percentage of the total population in India and
churches in some places are not that strong enough in terms of
membership and resources, co-operating with the local movements in the liberation struggle is a necessity. Extending Christians co-operation to or involving with the local movements or
inviting them to involve in the action programmes of churches
should be always critical and uncompromising the uniqueness
of our faith. Even though, the common goal is liberation, the
means to achieve the goal is to be agreed upon before extending
our critical co-operation.
ADMINISTRATION MODEL
Administration is a necessity for a community to exist peacefully and make progress economically, politically and socially.
Otherwise, chaos and violence could prevail and the society would
run into problems with law and order and would soon perish.
During the period of the patriarchs, the leaders of the tribe
performed social and religious functions. Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob as the leaders of their tribes sorted out the problems of
the members of the tribe and also that of other tribes or rulers
of the ethnic groups in Canaan. They were the elders and judges
of the highest court of appeal. Although, age was part of their
qualification to act on behalf of their tribe, their status as leaders of the family and servants was given much importance.
Abraham sorted out the problem of Lot, Sarah and Hagar. Sarah
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could not drive Hagar out. She asked Abraham to drive her out
and reserve the right of property and succession to her son Isaac.
When the shepherds of Abraham and Abimelech had confrontation over the water of a well, Abraham negotiated the deal
with Abimelech, made a covenant and solved the dispute at
Beersheba (Gen. 21:22-34). Isaac sorted out the same problem
with shepherds of another king (Gen. 26:17-22). Jacob played
the role of administering his large tribe with wives, maids, children, father-in-law and servants. The administration of the tribal
system was primarily the responsibility of the leaders of the
tribe. Usually the leaders of tribes, communities or cities were
called elders (zequnim). They were recognized representatives
responsible for the administration of justice within their community. After the period of Jacob, the Israelites in bondage, had
elders to sort out the social and religious matters of the community as well as to represent the community to Pharaoh. This is
evident from Moses and Aaron calling the elders of Israel to
assemble (Ex. 3:16; 4:29). But, it is not told clearly, whether
this group of elders functioned as a council or gained any official recognition from Pharaoh. Since Moses was called and sent
with the authority of God, he took over the leadership, communicated the message and mobilized the people through the elders
of Israel, in their move from bondage to liberation.
However, something should have happened during their journey in the wilderness, which made the people to seek the direct
involvement of Moses in sorting out their problems. The role
and authority of the elders in the community could have been
ignored. The power and authority of Moses grew heights. Moses
was doing all sorts of work including the administration of the
community in pilgrimage to the promised land. He could not
have enough time to solve the problems of all the people. Moses
expressed this difficulty twice, according to the narratives of the
Exodus and Numbers. One was before the event at Sinai and
the other was after the covenant making at Sinai (Ex.18,
Num.11:14). So two levels of administrative set-up emerged. One
is the decentralization of the administration of justice to the
grass-root level. According to Jethro, Moses needed to appoint
officials to administer justice (sare wesephetu officers of justice Ex.18:21-24). Knowing this need of the liberated community, which was still young, Moses provided the necessary basic
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lem, under the leadership of James and Peter, played an important role in the administration of the affairs of the converts.
They sorted out social problems through a group of social workers, who took care of the distribution of food to widows (Acts. 6),
the theological problem of requiring circumcision for the Gentiles and worked out the essentials of the faith of the Church.
The elders appointed in the local churches established in different parts of Asia due to the missionary work of Paul, Barnabas,
Timothy and Titus played an administrative role in the affairs of
the congregation. How far these Christians approached the
Sanhedrin, Synagogue or Roman authorities for help in sociopolitical and religious matters requires a separate research. What
we can infer is that the churches had limitations in handling all
the affairs of Christians. With the development of modern missions and the expansion of Christianity in the West and East
and the establishment of schools, colleges and hospitals, local
churches are unable to break away from the administration of
the institutions. The link between the Church and the institutions is so strong in some regions that the ecclesiastical politics
affect the operations of the institutions and vice versa. In a country like India, Christians cannot avoid the help of secular courts
on certain matters due to the rules and requirements of the
government and the local churches concerning matters of marriage, employment in institutions, promotions and burial.
Churches and institutions are losing their credibility as fair administrators of their own affairs and for that of other people due
to the lack of understanding of the theology of administration.
Many of us fail to see how vital good administration is for society. Some corrupt officials make unjust decisions for their own
gains and cause irrepairable damage to the lives of people. The
police and secular Courts often interfere with the administrative system. The ideal model of administration needs not only
training in management but much more committed leaders who
fear God and practise godly values of administration.
The important aspect of administration is not planning for
the future or managing resources but analyzing and judging
present and future situations and taking proper decisions. Administration as stated before is the judging and solving of the
problems of people and the rendering of justice. It implies taking the side of the victim and the righteous. God is the best
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ues and the rules of government come up every now and then.
But, within a secular and pluralistic context, it is essential to
relate with the administration of the government. A separate
study on the relationship between Christian administration and
the government is needed.
This issue raises the next question. Could all the authorities
and powers which exist today have been instituted by God? Is it
imperative, therefore, to obey the authorities always? How is
Pauls view written in Romans 13:1-7 understood to be? Paul
knew the power and atrocities of the Roman government. In
spite of this knowledge, he advised the church in Rome to regard the fact that all authorities come from God and that they
ought obey the authorities. On the one hand, Paul acknowledged the sovereignty of God; that God could raise a nation as
an empire or punish the nation and bring it down. On the other
hand, Paul was concerned about the survival and progress of
the Christians who were a minority and were always the target
of blame for any political or economic problem in the Roman
empire. They underwent persecution and great suffering under
the rulers of the Roman government. Moreover, this instruction
in Romans 13:1-7 is in relation to paying of taxes, fulfilling civic
responsibility and avoiding unnecessary persecution. Refusing
to the pay taxes meant rejecting Roman authority and rule.
But, what was the view of Jesus on paying taxes to Rome? Many
Christians misinterpreted it to mean that Jesus too wanted the
Jews to accept the Roman authority and obey Caesar by paying
the taxes (Mt. 22:15-22). Most of commentators take a similar
position in interpreting the text. They think that Jesus was considering the act of the Zealots to refuse to pay the poll or head
tax as one of civil disobedience. Neither did Jesus support the
Herodians who want the taxes to be paid to Rome so they could
stay in power and enjoy the favour of Caesar. Jesus was not
ironical, anti-Herodian or political but He wanted the Jews to
fulfill their religious duty more than to merely obey Caesar.
This is the emphasis of the commentators (Bruner:1990:781786). However, Jesus meant differently. Since the Roman coins
bore inscriptions such as Caesar, Emperor of Rome, Son of God
and Lord or Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, the
High Priest; which exalted Caesar as God and Lord and contradicted one of the foremost laws in Ten Commandments, it was
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PROPHETIC MODEL
Another important model of ministry in the Bible is the prophetic model. Today, the Church is expected to be the prophetic
voice of God. The second major division in the Hebrew OT is
called the Prophets (Nebiim) and consists the books of Joshua,
Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
and the twelve minor prophets- from Hosea to Malachi. The
narration of the origin and growth of the prophetic movement in
these books are so important for the study of this new model in
ancient Israel. Two major periods in the history of the prophetic
movement, can be identified namely, the earlier period beginning from Moses to the period of Elisha in the 9th century BC
and the later period from the 8th century to 4th century BC. The
watershed for this remarkable division in history is the writing
of the prophecies by the prophets from the 8th century onwards.
While the books of Joshua to 2 Kings written by historians tell
of the life, message and mission of the prophets, the books of
Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others present to us their prophecies in various literary styles and forms.
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Elisha, following the footsteps of Elijah, continued the powerful prophetic ministry of bringing Gods word to the people
and the king. He performed more miracles such as changing
the bitter water into useful water for drinking and irrigation of
the land (2 Kings 2:19-22); filling the ditches in the dry valley
with water to help the army and king (2 Kings 3:14-20); providing oil in jars to the widow to sell in order to clear her debts and
redeem her two sons (4:1-7), raising the only son of Shunamite
up from the dead (4:31-37), feeding hundreds of hungry people
with barley bread (4:42-44), healing the leprosy of Naaman (5:119) and floating the fallen axes in the river (6:1-7). Whether
these miracles were performed in the lives of individuals or the
community, they were liberative and not merely a show of the
power of the prophet to earn fame and money. Proclaiming Gods
word was combined with liberation from hunger, thirst, debts
and becoming slaves, disabilities and deseases and even from
death. After the ministry of Moses, this dimension came again
to the forefront in the ministry of Elijah and Elisha and later in
the ministry of Jesus as he continued the prophetic tradition.
Elishas prophetic ministry was so closely related to his national
interest in protecting the people from enemies. What modern
satellite technology could do was done by Elisha thousands of
years ago, in predicting the movement of the armies of their
enemies (2 Kings 6:11-13) through divine revelation. His political activism continued to the extent of anointing and instructing Jehu to implement the punishment of Yahweh on Ahab and
proclaiming the victory of Israel over Aram (2 Kings 13:14-24).
As we analyze more the ministry of Elijah and Elisha, we are
convinced that they did not merely proclaim prophecies but were
involved in the implementation of the word of God in their religious and political history. No wonder that these two prophets
were called Chariots and horsemen of Israel (2 Kings 2:12;
13:14), a accolade conferred by the public and acknowledged by
historians in Israel, for their unique ministry of combining proclamation and action.
The history of the prophetic movement from the 8th century
BC, however, showed not a separation of proclamation from action but more of specialization in proclaiming Gods justice, writing of the prophecies and challenging the religious and political
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plex, estate and gardens and institutions. Churches have become a symbol of wealth and power. They are misusing their
wealth and power to oppress people within Christendom. Group
and communal politics dominate in the administration of
churches. This does not mean that churches should sell their
properties. However, unless a conscientious effort is taken to
identify with the poor and victims of persecution, churches cannot be called truly prophetic. Fulfilling the prophetic role of the
church implies analyzing the socio-political trend, consequences
in the economic and religious lives of the people, criticizing the
unjust policies, upholding human rights and raising their voice
for the poor and powerless, as the earlier prophets did during
their historical period. The Prophetic model of ministry of the
church demands a move towards suffering for the sake of justice and proper use of power rather than showing its wealth and
authority.
REFORMER MODEL
Reforms are needed at every stage of development in society.
Structuring and re-structuring of religion, politics, the economy
and administration are integral parts of reforms. In analyzing
the various ministries of people during different periods in history, it is easy to notice the unique contribution of Ezra and
Nehemiah in reforming the religious, social and administrative
aspects of their post-exile community. Not that others such as
Moses, Judges and prophets failed to reform their society. They
too tried to transform different aspects of their society in committing themselves to the main mission for which they were
called. But, the post-exilic situation was a critical one since they
could not have their own kings to lead them. They were under
the political rule of Persia. Early governors appointed by the
kings were also Persian till Nehemiah was deputed with authority as governor to administer the territory across the river under
the Persian rule. The Post-exile community was looking for a
leader from their own community to guide and reform their society. They returned to the promised land with mixed feelings
and tried to restore the country. The Temple was not yet reconstructed to unite all of them in worship and festivity. Many
Israelites including some priests, Levites and officers took sons
and daughters in marriage from the Babylonians and brought
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them to the land. As they settled again in the land, they married sons and daughters of other ethnic groups living around
them. The Wall of Jerusalem needed re-construction to give
them security. The Sabbath was ignored. Priests and Levites
were not taken care of properly by the people. There was no
discipline and people were doing whatever they wanted. They
lacked leadership and needed reform. Their society was in danger of collapsing again and falling prey to further foreign rule.
They needed a constructive programme of reform to stabilize
their religious, social and economic life in the land God had
given to them.
Understanding what was going on in the returned community encountered in Judah, Ezra and Nehemiah took certain
bold steps towards achieving solutions. The first step Ezra took
on his arrival was to appoint magistrates and judges from the
people of Israel in every village and towns to sort out the problems and disputes of families (Ezra 7:25). People could not get
justice due to the lack of administrators. Representatives of villages lived permanently in Jerusalem and met together as a
council to take decisions. Secondly, Ezra took up the teaching
of the laws, educating the people, in an attempt to root the
community to the law of God. Reforms require teaching and
conscientization programmes. The more the principles and values of life are taught the easier it is to intensify the reform.
Thirdly, Ezra knew the evil consequences of mixed marriages
especially with the Canaanites. It led the Israelites to forsake
Yahweh and worship Baal, practise abominations, idolatry, adultery and inhuman practices which resulted in the exile. He,
therefore, took a firm step to call those who had entered mixed
marriages, including some of the priests, Levites and officials, to
get separated from such wives. Ezra was not a racist but a reformist, trying to avoid the evils of syncretism in the lives of the
Israelites (Ezra 9-10). Severe opposition to his decision led to a
solution which permitted the retention of the foreign wives on
condition that they would worship Yahweh only and accept the
historical and religious traditions of the Israelites. The book of
Ruth, written at this time of controversy, proved that Moabite
woman like Ruth was accepted and regarded as an ancestor of
David, especially when she declared to Naomi, Your God is my
God and your people are my people. Ezras decision and final
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developing in the past years have caused difficulties in the ministry in the matter of marriages. One is the trend of moving to
another region or country in pursuit of education and in search
of employment or a partner or falling in love with another who
belongs to the Hinduism, Islam, Jainism or Tribal faith. Another trend is the sociological factor of maintaining links with
the caste, tribal communities which maintain their own belief
systems and customs. There have been incidences of some Christian girls and boys from villages, having to marry a Hindu or
Muslim partner within their own community for the sake of
maintaining kith and kin relationship, keeping property within
the family or for the sake of employment. Yet others got married, in spite of opposition from parents or husbands, particularly in the case of Hindu and Islamic women who accepted
Christ secretly and continued as secret Christians till their
entire family got converted. If each of them tried to maintain
their own faith and pursued their own religion, how should the
church deal with this problem? Should the church excommunicate the member who got married to another belonging to a
different religion? Should the church refuse to baptize their
child? Could they allow the Christian partner to continue to
worship and take part in the Holy Communion in the church?
Does the Bible give any guidance on this problem? I know some
churches have taken severe disciplinary action by ex-communicating persons who got married to a Hindu and Muslim and
announced the decision openly in the worship service. They
closed the door on that person and instructed the parents, brothers and sisters not to have any relationship with that inter-religious marriage. This kind of action has ruined the image and
welfare of some families.
It is not known whether Joseph and Moses who married
women of Egypt and Midian respectively, converted their wives
to worship Yahweh. It is also not known whether Bathsheba, a
Hittite women worshipped Yahweh after marrying David? It is
not clear for how long Ruth continued in the religion of Moab
till she declared the acceptance of the people and religion of
Naomi as her own. What did Paul mean by the text in 1 Cor.
7:12-16? Even though he firmly advised not to be yoked with
the unbeliever in marriage, Paul made a concession for those
who got converted to Christianity from Judaism or the mystery
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Christians as long as they are silent and maintain the so- called
neutral position. They are not bothered about prayer to change
them. The oppressors know very well that neutral Christians
are good people and support their authority and policies of injustice.
Fourthly, the opinion that by diverting their energy and resources towards socio-political involvement, churches are
marginalizing and neglecting evangelism is questionable. Many
believe that evangelism is social action and is the best way to
bring changes to society. In his book, Social Action Vs. Evangelism (1977:26-37) William Richardson advocates for this view of
evangelism, as social action and Christianization is humanization. This is a wrong assumption. Evangelism and socio-political actions are two separate categories although there are some
links between them. These two aspects can complement eachother but they are not one and the same. Evangelism, as pointed
out later in this chapter, is a proclamation of the Gospel to the
world, converting individuals to Christianity and bringing them
into the fold of the church. The activity of evangelism begins
with the world and moves towards individuals or groups and
ends with creating a fellowship of faith. The movement is from
the wider circle and then narrows down to a local church. But
socio-political action is not primarily proclamation but based on
the Gospel which is proclaimed. It deals with the social, political
and economic problems of people irrespective of their race, religion and culture. It is not converting them to a faith but offering
the eternal life of justice, peace and welfare based on the Christian faith. It is transforming the society by the transformed people of the Bible. It is a movement from the local church to a
wider world. In this process of upward movement and action,
some individuals who see the power of the Gospel and commitment of Christians in dealing with the politics, policies, authorities and society may respond positively and become Christians
and join the local church. Socio-political action, therefore, could
have an effect of evangelism rather than evangelism becoming a
socio-political action. The argument many raise to support their
assumption is that by evangelizing and converting individuals
and communities, society is transformed. If everyone became a
genuine Christian and obeyed Gods word, then the society will
automatically get transformed. This is a deep-rooted view. Once
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became genuine Christians, it is assumed, they will not perpetrate injustice and oppress people. Evangelizing the people is
first and foremost and that in turn brings changes in society
without any act of violence. This notion is theoretical and
unachievable, because all the people are not going to respond
to the Gospel. Very few, as Jesus and Paul said, shall accept the
Gospel, join the church and continue as real Christians. A vast
majority may not respond to the Gospel. Moreover, it is very well
known that some so-called believers live a double standard.
Many Christians who consider themselves pious and spiritual
still practise caste system, demand dowry, ill-treat domestic servants, keep false accounts in business, pay less wages, deprive
the rights of the poor and give bribes to achieve their goals. This
trend is also seen with some of our leaders who vehemently
oppose injustice and try to champion the cause of the poor.
Some of these Christian leaders who know well the teachings of
justice and righteousness and are involved in social action, also
accumulate wealth in the name of the poor, ill-treat workers in
their action movements, are morally and financially corrupt and
practise the caste system. But, this does not mean that the Christian socio-political action has lost its validity. How could we continue in the belief that once all people become Christians, the
society will reach perfection? Millions of people are suffering,
living in misery and passing away without the hope of any help
or exercising their rights and justice before the message of the
gospel and conversion reaches them. This is why the assumption that evangelism is a social action or vice versa is questionable. Proposing this kind of view is a deliberate attempt to shelve
socio-political action or evangelism once and for all. The trends
in poverty, ecological degradation, unemployment, land alienation, ethnic conflicts and violation of human rights cannot be
changed by evangelism. They require analysis and action to create and implement constructive policies.
WISDOM MODEL
Wisdom is a virtue and is appreciated in every culture. Scientists, magicians, craftsmen, historians, diplomatic advisers are
regarded as wise people. They are well-respected and paid for
their services. The ministry of wise men and women is quite
often left out in many books written on Christian ministry or
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ity and commitment, and not merely those with degrees and
position, are needed to enact wisdom model.
Two contemporary issues in connection with the wisdom
model will be discussed briefly here. One is the dichotomy between the spiritual and the intellectual in Christianity. Various
reasons can be traced for this separation of spirituality from
rationality. The growth of the Bhakti movements as a reaction to
Gnana marga led the Indians to give importance to conservatism than rationalism. This impact was transmitted to Christianity and is evident in many churches today. Another reason
was the negative image presented of the Pharisees and
Sadducees. Many Christians have a negative attitude towards
these intellectual groups in Judaism because they were hindering the ministry of Jesus. It is assumed that Jesus did not
like them. It is true that Jesus questioned their misuse of intellect, which created a negative impression, oppressive policies
and a craving for power. However, Jesus accepted some of the
Pharisees, like Nicodemus and Paul. Jesus is not against intellectualism but against the misuse of intellectualism. He wants
us to use our mind and intellect properly. The Conservative reaction to intellectualism is also due to the propagation of liberal
theology and paying little respect to Christian fundamentals
and bhakti life. This negative image led to the dichotomy between spirituality and rationality and promoted the preaching
of simplistic sermons which emphasized the vertical relationship between the believer and God and preparation for life in
the other world. Christian leaders train their congregations to
have a more inward look than to develop a critical look at trends
in politics and society. A church member reserves the right to
be critical of the issues or not and this is an accepted norm in
many churches. This has resulted in the growth of fundamentalism and neglect of intellectualism in churches and institutions. Pastors are more interested in supporting annual revival
meetings, retreats for youths, and all night prayer meetings than
organizing intellectual fora to discuss socio-political issues, bible studies or seminars on contemporary issues. Yet the Bible,
as explained above, presents people of intellectual ability and
their contribution to the progress of politics, economics, science
and religion.
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CHRONICLER MODEL
The term Chronicler is used with reference to a person who
records events which occur within a day in an institution, either
as a compilation of an annual report or as documentation for
the purposes of writing history later. The Hebrew term sopher
meaning to write or to count appears in the Books of 1 and 2
Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Esther, Psalms and in the Books
of 1 and 2 Chronicles. Scholars understand that it referred to
the Secretary of the royal Chancellery during the monarchical
period; a scribe in the court recording the proceedings of the
events or the victory of the king in a recent battle or a scribe
who copied and interpreted the text of the Holy Scripture. The
interest of this study is to highlight this ministry as mentioned
in the Bible and to give importance to this service of writing and
documentation of events or the word of God. The Chroniclers
who work behind the scenes hardly get any attention. There is
a difference between a prophet writing his prophecies and a
scribe recording events at the instruction of the higher officials,
for a wage. Baruch, a disciple of Jeremiah worked as a scribe,
recording the prophecies of Jeremiah. He sealed and preserved
the recordings. (Jer.36:1-9). In the book of Kings, the recurrence of the expression, Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam,
how he warred and how he reigned are written in the Book of
the Annals of the Kings of Israel is almost like a formula and
the writers of the book of Kings (1 Kings 14:19. Cf. 1 Kings.
14:29; 15:7,23,31; 16:5,14,20,27; 22:39,46; 2 Kings 1:18; 8:23;
10:34; 12:20, etc) use it to conclude the history of each of the
kings. This indicates that the writers of the Book of Kings have
given limited information about the kings and what they have
provided is not exhaustive or complete. If readers are interested
to know more about the kings, they have to read the Annals of
the kings. Writing the history of the kings in Israel and Judah
was not done by members of another country. The scribes from
the community of Israel were employed by the court to write the
Annals. Whether they recorded events and proceedings of the
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country correctly is a matter of dispute. Kings and other officials must have checked on these writings. Ezra demanded the
king Darius to go through such annals to know the edict of
Cyrus and to confirm the privileges given to the Israelites once
again because of the opposition from the Persian Governor stationed in Judah. The Ministry of writing is important because it
provided historical data to future generations. The successes
and failures of the kings and the living conditions of citizens
during a particular era were revealed in such recordings. Second, it helped future kings to note the edicts, decisions and
negotiations of their predecessors so they could follow the trend
accordingly. Third, their documentation became the basis of theological emphasis and guidance to future generations. The
Deuternomist and Chronicler interpreted the events with theological emphasis and provided the theological guidance to their
generations. Without such Annals, they could not have interpreted the events and theologized the history.
Similarly, without writing the word of God and providing written copies of scriptures in various cultic centres in the land,
priests could not have read and preached on Gods word. People
could not have had the opportunity of listening to the reading of
the Scripture. Since Jesus had the written scripture in hand,
He was able to read, explain the scripture and tell the people of
its fulfillment in Him. Jesus confirmed the authority of the
scripture by using it and declaring that it be followed by the
people. Although not much is known about the ministry of Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is a fact that they wrote the Gospels.
They were not called as scribes but they mentioned the activities of scribes in the period of Jesus in their Gospels. From
their writings, much is learnt about the history of Jesus, the
acts of the apostles, the spreading of the Good news and the
emergence of a new community. Writing is also a ministry.
Writing, for the purpose of recording the events, interpreting
history and giving directions to people, needs appreciation. This
ministry is not just for professional historians or archivists. Many
Christians assume that preaching is more important than writing and documentation of the actions of God. This ministry cannot be neglected by the churches.
Christians could raise questions on the role of the Church
regarding the interpretation and recording of the history of a
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ing for the marginalised like widows and orphans and the welfare of all people. The Sermon on the Mount is a very good
example which expresses these values. The two basic tenets of
Gandhian philosophy, ahimsa and sarvodaya, were carved out
of the message Jesus delivered on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Such
was the power of His message which is still attracting many
leaders today. It is worthy to note here that Jesus never preached
an-ism, like Capitalism, Socialism, Marxism or Communism.
Neither did He associate Himself with any one philosophy or
ideology. His message, however, does speak of socialism. Moreover Jesus, never established a political system to implement all
these values. To Him, these values are necessary for all societies
whether they are tribalistic, monarchies, capitalists, communism or democrats or socialists. He is particular about the practise of the values of the kingdom of God in families and society.
His values may be difficult to implement in Capitalistic systems
because the basic principle and mode of operation of capitalism
is profit-making and accumulation of wealth. However, even such
a system needs to be refined constantly to establish the values
of Gods reign. Communism, which was highly regarded as the
ideal system to implement the values of the Kingdom of God,
also has its own limitations and has failed in Eastern European
countries. It denies the existence of God and the freedom of
religion and lacks spirituality. Mere works without faith cannot
be successful. Socialism, Gandhianism, Greenism, etc have their
own limitations. Jesus knows very well that none of the political
systems are perfect. Therefore, He neither preached about the
system of operation nor created a new system He stuck to the
preaching of the principles and trained the disciples to preach
this message of values and prove it in their own lives. Jesus
practised it and wanted all His disciples to practise it. He believed that leaders who took these values seriously would be
compelled to transform their own political, economic and social
systems because the values were based on the attributes of God
and had the power to touch such systems, political parties and
administration. In the process of achieving the values of the
kingdom, they cleaned themselves of the evils of their system.
Therefore, to say, as many Christians wish, Jesus should have
dictated a perfect system to implement the values of the kingdom is not right. He has given the freedom to work it out through
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faith? Limiting the study only to the Gospel and ignoring the
Book of Acts, gives the impression that Jesus intention is the
Kingdom and not the Church. David Bosch has argued that any
movement has to become an institution or it becomes weak in
the long period, withers and disappears (2000:) In this book, I
intend to show from the Bible that new models of ministry
emerged out of the continuing work of the disciples. They may
be classified as the Evangelistic Model, Missionary Model and
Pastoral-Teacher Model, for convenience and each model would
be studied separately.
The key issue in the Son of Man model is its relevance to the
suffering people. This model brings a shift in the understanding of the death of Jesus on the Cross. So far, the death of
Jesus is understood as a sacrificial offering for the forgiveness
of the sins of all who repent. It is true. Scholars have discussed
the meaning and purpose of his death over the years and have
debated theories of propitiation and expiation. Most of the discussions and preachings on the death and forgiveness on the
Cross, focus on the repentance of the offenders and oppressors
rather than on the pain and injustice suffered by the victims.
We fail to see the relevance of the death of the Son of Man for
the victims of injustice. But the perspective of the model of the
Son of Man, emphasized by many liberation movements and
action groups, brings a shift from the focus on the offenders to
the victims. Jesus not only identified himself with suffering humanity but also died as a victim of injustice like any other human being. Thus, Jesus became a representative of all the victims of injustice and forgave all of the victims. With this understanding, His death becomes meaningful to the victims and the
offenders. Otherwise, the offenders could do whatever they
wanted and receive pardon from God without asking for pardon
from or restoring justice to their victims. Every one of us feel
offended when another who has wronged us seeks direct forgiveness from God without apologizing to us. It is our expectation that our offenders apologize to us and ask for pardon or
make up for the losses if possible. When they do not because
they have already received forgiveness from God through repentance, their repentance and the forgiveness they request
from God is questioned. Could they have received forgiveness
directly from God without the death of the Son of Man? How is
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the death of Jesus related to matters of repentance and forgiveness? Should His death only signify a ritual sacrifice offered for
the sins of all the people or make Him a victim of injustice demanding offenders to relate to their victims offering forgiveness
on behalf of the victims? Is Gods offer of forgiveness conditional?
Receiving Gods forgiveness demands faith in the death of Jesus, repentance, asking pardon from the victims and restoring
justice to them however possible. The victims should not take
advantage of the repentance of the offender and refuse forgiveness. Both should work out reconciliation. This is true in the
case of the individual victim or the communities under oppression and injustice. Jesus taught people to seek first the forgiveness of those they offend and to reconcile with them before
brining their offerings to the altar (Mt. 5:23-24). This principle
has not changed but has consolidated by his death. The evangelical Christianity which emphasized these principles and requirements related to repentance and forgiveness should be recovered and reiterated today.
EVANGELISTIC MODEL
The Evangelistic model begins with the preaching of the good
news, which Jesus did by following the prophetic tradition. It is
not a new model. For, many prophets of the OT preached the
good news of salvation. They proclaimed the message of deliverance from political oppression and economic exploitation. Prophets Amos and Hosea, who spoke mainly about the judgment
oracles, proclaimed the message of Gods compassion and the
grace for the people of Israel and forgiveness and acceptance of
Yahweh after their repentance (Amos 9: 13-15; Hosea 1:10-2:1).
Isaiah, during the period of exile, even went one step further in
his message of salvation, calling the community under exile,
light to the nations. The Gospels portray the evangelistic model
of John the Baptist. As a forerunner of the Messiah, he proclaimed the forthcoming salvation to the Israelites, clarified the
questions raised to him and called them to repent and accept
salvation through Jesus (Lk.3:3-9; Jn.1:19-34). However, there
are some new dimensions in the evangelistic ministry of the
disciples of Jesus, in terms of the content of the message proclaimed, the goal, motives, methods and strategies. These aspects need elaboration.
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Although mission includes evangelism as one of its essential elements, I would like to discuss the Evangelistic and Missionary models separately, giving each a special identity. In
fact, these two models overlap but some distinctiveness can be
pointed out. The New Testament attests the evangelistic model
using the word evangelists in Eph. 4:11-13: The gifts he gave
were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors-teachers to equip the saints for the work
of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
The office of the Evangelists stems from the nature of the ministry of proclaiming (evangelizomei) the good news (evangelion).
Evangelism, in a nut shell, means proclamation of the good news
of salvation in Christ, announcing the offer of forgiveness of sins
and inviting people to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Saviour. Giving a separate identity to the Evangelistic
model would entail highlighting the content of the evangel, goal
and motives of evangelism. In contemporary times, evangelism
is projected as a mere proclamation of the Gospel through meetings, radio, television, print media, whether people respond to
it or not. The missionary model includes both proclamation of
the Gospel and church planting, training of local leaders, taking care of their social and economic needs and participating in
structural changes. The slight distinction between these models have risen due to the growth and development in the methods of the task.
There is a lot of confusion and ambiguity about the content
of the good news today. Instead of classifying evangelicals and
ecumenicals, I prefer to point out the two extreme positions of
fundamentalists and liberals. The sharp distinction between
evangelicals and ecumenicals in India cannot be maintained
always. Many evangelicals are ecumenicals. They take active
part in the activities of mainline churches and the ecumenical
movements. Many ecumenicals are evangelicals and hold the
Bible as the true Word of God and believe in evangelism and
conversion to Christianity. Some fundamentalists consider certain doctrines such as immersion baptism or speaking in tongues
as the good news. Some others preach only about Jesus. Others include the Kingdom of God but equate it to heaven, the
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place where souls go and rest after death. Some fundamentalists preach sets of morals and the regulations of their denomination as the Gospel. Many preach the eternal life as futuristic
to avoid the judgement and going to hell. Some liberals limit
preaching only to liberation from political and economic oppression leaving out other elements of the Gospel. Sin is understood only in terms of injustice to others rather than in terms of
morality, accountability and personal holiness. To some other
liberals, the historic Jesus is not important to be proclaimed as
the Lord and Saviour. The historic person and work of Jesus
Christ is reduced to cosmic Christ present in other religions.
People of other faiths, therefore, they claim to receive salvation
in their own religion. What is important, according to them, is
to have a common ideology for inter-faith dialogue and multireligious co-operation and action. Those who tried to indigenize
the content of the Gospel to suit to the local culture, equated
Jesus Christ with Hindu gods and used terminologies like avatar, guru or chit (logos as knowledge) in the Satchitananda.
Jesus preached the good news, which the disciples understood and proclaimed to be the authentic message. The content
could not be altered or adulterated but the forms of proclaiming
it can be selected to suit the cultural context. In the Gospels,
the Kingdom of God is the central feature of Jesus message.
For example, Matthew writes, From that time Jesus began to
proclaim: Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near
(4:17). The central theme of the entire chapter of Matthew13 is
the Kingdom of God and is communicated in parables. It is
important to notice the way Mark links the term evangelion
with the basilia tou theu (kingdom of God) and emphasizes that
the good news is nothing but the Kingdom of God (Mk.1:14)
Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and
saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come
near, repent and believe in the good news. The Kingdom of
God was the main topic in the discussion between Jesus and
Nicodemus according to John (3:3). Luke makes it clear that
Jesus was sent to this world for the purpose of proclaiming the
good news of the Kingdom of God (Lk.4:43). The Jesus mission in this world was to preach and teach about the kingdom of
God to various villages and towns. The reports of Mathew and
Luke are note worthy. Matthew speaks of Jesus sending the
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sizes love as the main reason why God sent His only son Jesus
to this world to save humanity and offer eternal life (3:16). Paul
does not disagree with John but highlights that the righteousness and power of God motivates him to evangelise. The evidence is his famous testimony: For I am not ashamed of the
gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has
faith to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith.. (Rom.1:1617). Paul considered the proclamation as a duty because the
benefit of enjoying the love and power of God cannot be kept to
oneself but must be shared with others. In this respect, it is not
merely a religious service but also a social service to humanity.
This service of evangelism should not be offered with an expectation for reward. Some of our preachers and teachers in Sunday School have distorted the facts about the service aspect of
evangelism by telling people that by winning more souls, the
proclaimer could add diamonds or stars to his or her crown in
heaven. Songs and choruses written with this kind of message
creates a wrong notion about evangelism and the good news in
the minds of the singers. Some preachers even threaten their
audience to bring at least one soul to Christ, other wise they
cannot meet Jesus on His second coming. This compels people
to win converts by inducement, offering some benefits or creating a sense of guilt and failure in their lives. The motive for
proclaiming the good news is to explain the love of God and
prove it in action by transforming society and allowing the audience to respond voluntarily. People should be allowed to search
for the meaning of the Gospel voluntarily so that they can experience the conviction of the Holy Spirit personally and to make
a more faithful commitment. However, let the ministry of making disciple in sincerity, honesty and with faith go on that many
may be benefited and societies enjoy the values of Gods reign
such as justice, peace, equality and welfare. Let the spiritual
and social need of humanity met by the work of Jesus form the
basic motive for evangelism.
The apostles proclaimed and discipled people using distinctive approaches. Whether they used the method of personal or
public evangelism they did not commercialize proclamation. They
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vided due to religious conversion and their cultures and customs are affected. The main interest of the proponents of this
position is secular humanism. The Christian Gospel, they believe, can be an ideological basis for changing socio-political structures. It could provide motivation to Christians to promote secular humanism in society. These views can be countered by several arguments. The NT scholars have argued that the intention
of Jesus was not merely to proclaim and establish the Kingdom
of God on earth but also create a community of faith to witness
the Gospel and carry on the ministry. This faith community of
disciples is the Church. God continued His plan of establishing
the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit and mobilized
these communities to fulfill various ministries, as can be seen
from the Book of Acts and the epistles of the apostles. If the
local communities of faith were not formed, then the proclamation of the Gospel and working for social change would have
ended with the death of Jesus. It is the Church which has kept
this vision alive, allowing the ministry to continue till today.
The validity of evangelism and Church planting has been discussed by missiologists like Donald McGavran in his essay, Essential Evangelism: An Open Letter to Dr. Hoekendijk (The Conciliar-Evangelical Debate: Crucial Document, 1977:56-66). The
proclamation of the Gospel and the social service of the local
churches have challenged people of other faiths and even have
led them to reform their own religions and activities. Several
documents and writings are written to show the influence of the
Gospel on other religions and culture. Raja Ram Mohan Roy
and Gandhi drew challenges from the Christian Gospel and reformed their own religion. The activities of the churches have
contributed to the end of the slave-trade, sati, child labour, racial and gender discrimination in many parts of the world. The
apartheid system in South Africa was vehemently opposed by
the Church. Local churches proclaimed the values of the Gospel and challenged the socio-political structure of South Africa.
Founding of the churches is an integral part of evangelism which
cannot be stopped with mere proclamation. There are some
Christian groups who try to deliberately avoid the proclamation
of the Gospel and leading people to Christ, wherever they offered social service and action. One reason, they gave was that
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in Christianity opposse conversion and joining the church because present day churches do not live up to the expectation of
God. Local churches are not living by the standards of the Gospel. Rather, there is caste and gender discrimination, doctrinal
confusion, dirty politics, corruption and lack of warmth and fellowship to the converts from other religions. According to this
group, God will justify the followers of Christ who did not convert themselves and join the church as righteous if they had
faith in Jesus Christ. God will accept them in his Kingdom. It is
true that churches are not perfect. The Bible never said that the
local churches will be perfect. The Letters of Peter, Paul and
James dealt with the problems in the early church and encouraged them to have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5;
Col. 3:2) and continue in transforming themselves and their
surroundings. How God will judge those who die without hearing the Gospel or those who hesitate to convert themselves but
continue as secret Christians, or those who hate Christ is a
debatable issue. Scholars have written on these issues (Sanders:1992; Kirk,1992). But accepting Jesus Christ as personal
Saviour and joining the local church are the teachings of the
Bible. Early mass conversions among the untouchables and
backward communities to Christianity were for the sociological
reason of caste, racial discrimination, recognition, dignity and
for welfare. Waskom Picketts book Christian Mass Movements in
India, Donald McGavrans books Understanding Church Growth,
Bridges of God, Ethnic Realities and the Churches: Lessons from
India and the study of Graham Houton and Ebi Sunderaraj,
discuss the issues of definition of conversion, reasons and nature of mass conversion in India. The Gospel provided the motivational force to get converted and the church provided security, fellowship and employment to the converted poor and powerless converts. Thus, evangelism contributed positively to the
liberation of the down-trodden people and proved its validity in
the history of human beings.
Conversions cannot be stopped by opposition and rules or
persecutions. Those who want to convert themselves to another
religion will do so at any cost. Everyone has the right and freedom to convert or reconvert to a religion, ideology, political party
or social group of their own choice. This human right and privilege should not be removed or suppressed by the family, com169
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munity, political party or religion. Proclamation, teaching, baptizing and making disciples in the ministry of evangelism are
valid but should be done with love, concern, sympathy and respect for others. Persuasion, according to Paul, is not forcing
anyone to convert but is the inner concern to transform persons
and society (2 Cor. 5:11-21).
MISSIONARY MODEL
The word mission means to send a messenger with a purpose. The term, missio Dei, denotes mission of God. Two reasons for calling the missionary work as Gods mission could be
mentioned. One, God sent His son Jesus to the world with the
purpose of proclaiming the good news, inaugurating the Kingdom of God and offering eternal life and forgiveness, deliverance, freedom and welfare. The other is that Jesus sent the
disciples with the same purpose to continue the work God had
begun in humanity. The sender is always God and the message
is about the person and work of Jesus. Gods authority is delegated to the messenger to carry out the mission. The messenger could be an individual called or commanded by God or a
group of believers united in the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ,
professing their faith. The mission of God is the mission of the
Church also. Gods presence with the messenger is assured. As
an instrument of God, the local church plays a role in acknowledging these aspects, in providing resources for the mission and
in promoting fellowship and service to humanity.
The Book of Acts tells us the missionary work of Peter, Philip,
Paul, Barnabas and other disciples. Philip went to the villages
in Samaria and preached the good news (Acts.8:4-17). Peter was
asked to go to the house of Cornelius and proclaim the good
news to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-48). Acts 13 is considered as
the mark of the beginning of missionary work. The Church in
Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to proclaim the good news to
the Jews and Gentiles living outside Palestine. It was not the
emotional wish of the church in Antioch to have territorial expansion but an initiative of God using the Holy Spirit to call the
church to set apart Paul and Barnabas (13; 2). The purpose of
setting apart was for proclaiming the good news to others. The
church did some preparation. Verse 3 tells us that they spent
enough time in fasting and prayer to confirm the calling of the
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Holy Spirit, receive more details on the kind of task and direction to the region for the task, authority to lay on hands and
their official dispatch as missionaries of the church. The journey of Paul and Barnabas becomes significant because they were
sent by a church with a mission. Placing hands on them was a
symbol of authorizing them and an assurance of their prayer
for them, for the task ahead. They could have raised some money
to pay for their travel.
Scholars regard Pauls ministry as the model for missionary
work. The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas narrated in Acts. 13-15 proved fruitful. Paul, Barnabas and John,
also called Mark, sailed to the island of Cyprus and went to the
synagogue of the Jews in Salamis and proclaimed the good news
(13: 45). No details are given about the message preached or the
result of their ministry in Salamis but Acts narrates the confrontation between Paul and Bar-Jesus, a magician. This Jewish false prophet at Paphos opposed the ministry of Paul and
Barnabas and tried to block Sergius Paulus, the Proconsul from
listening to the message and placing his faith in Jesus, the
Messiah. The magician was so close to the Proconsul that he
made him to believe his teachings and magic. He enjoyed the
recognition of the political authority and did not want Sergius
Paulus to accept the preaching of Paul. The magician was afraid
of losing his benefits, authority and being exposed as a false
prophet. Paul had to bind this magician and prove his teachings
wrong. At the command of Paul, the magician became blind and
the power of magic could not open his eyes. This incident need
not be looked at as a miracle for the sake of drawing the Proconsul to believe Jesus. Paul was not interested in performing miracles to make people believe. It so happened in the course of his
proclamation, either to bind and control the powers of evil or to
bring deliverance to people, could serve as a sign of the effect of
the good news. The political authority, Sergius Paulus believed
the teaching about Jesus (13:12) after seeing the way falsehood
was overcome by the truth. The Gospel of Jesus confronts the
teachings of false prophets. The conversion of Sergius Paulus
was not an aimed goal but an unexpected result. It is not known
whether he was baptised and joined the church in Cyprus or
not. There is no textual evidence of planting a church in Cyprus
on this journey. What is interesting to note is the close link
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between the political authority and the false prophet and the
power of the Gospel breaking this link and leading the political
authority to faith in Jesus. Paul and Barnabas were not interested in gaining the favour of the political authority in promoting their interest. They left him to continue in the new faith and
moved to the region of Pamphyria.
Paul preached in the synagogue on the sabbath day in the
city of Antioch in Pisidia (13:14). Luke, the writer of the Book of
Acts, gives us the content of the message preached at Pisidia.
The content is highlighted here than discussed in detail. His
proclamation included the historical tradition of liberation from
Egypt, giving of the land of Canaan, the settlement period under the leadership of the Judges and the monarchical period of
David. Paul did not narrate the full history but moves on to
point out the fulfillment of the prophecy given to David through
Jesus. The Israelites failure to understand the fulfillment of
prophecy in Jesus, led them to crucify Him on the cross but
God raised Him from the dead and brought salvation to humanity (13:38-39). Paul touched the fulfillment of the OT, pointed
out Jesus was the expected Messiah and made it clear that the
forgiveness of sin and salvation was brought by the death and
resurrection of Jesus. The response of the audience was overwhelming (13:43-44). The opposition from the Jews was also
mounting on Paul and Barnabas forcing them to turn to the
Gentiles (13:47-48). The theological disagreement of some of
the Jews on accepting Jesus as the Messiah and the salvation
in His death and resurrection, according to the preaching of
Paul, was the reason for the opposition which resulted in the
persecution and banishment of Paul and Barnabas from that
city. Opposition to proclamation and persecution go hand-inhand in some places in missionary work. However, the encouragement is that many Gentiles in Antioch accepted the message of Paul gladly, praised the word of the Lord, received the
eternal life and became believers (13:48-49). The Gospel started
spreading through out the region through the ministry of Paul
and later, through the local church planted among the Gentiles
in Antioch. Verse 52, And the disciples were filled with joy and
with the Holy Spirit - affirmed the planting of the church in
Antioch in Pisidia and the experience of the disciples with the
Holy Spirit. Missionary work does not involve only proclaiming
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came inevitable to prove the power of the Gospel and the penetration of the Kingdom of God in the lives of human beings,
throughout their ministry. The miracles they performed was
neither to make the people believe nor to increase the number
of converts for the churches. They represented the liberative
power of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus Christ wanted to
establish among the people that they may enjoy liberation from
oppression and powers of the evil spirits. It was these miracles
which made the audience to believe the Gospel. Third, uniting
the Jews and Gentiles through the proclamation of the Gospel
in a visible assembly was a tremendous achievement, especially
within the context of racial discrimination between ethnic communities, class differences between the rich, poor and slaves,
gender and status discrimination, against of citizenship,
sojourners and refugees. Church planting and growth provided
believers security and protection to practice their new faith. It is
more than a mere assembly of believers. It was a dynamic force
to counter discrimination and bring unity among the people,
enhancing their understanding of culture and custom and mobilizing the members to love others, care and share resources. It
was a koinonia of believers with the purpose of diakonia for the
people. Organized under the leadership of elders, rooted in the
Gospel and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the assemblies carried on the mission of God. Fourth, Paul understood the nature
and the potential of this eschatological community of believers
to further the Kingdom of God and made so much effort in
strengthening the members in their faith, witness and actions.
The letters written by Paul to the various churches he planted,
reveal the ecclesiastical, theological and social problems of these
churches and the pains Paul had taken to clarify and guide the
elders and members. He chose and trained persons like Timothy, Titus and Ephaphradus to visit these churches and
strengthen the converts. Fifth, oppositions and persecution is
unavoidable in the ministry of proclaiming the good news. Usually, there are more opponents to the Gospel than those willingly accept Gospel. The Gospel definitely cuts across some wrong
elements in culture, economy, religion and politics and thus
brings tensions and divisions in society. Unfortunately, such
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vided for many reasons. Tensions and divisions will continue till
our Lord comes again. But, it must not be forgotten that the
Gospel has the power to overcome evil in society, bring unity in
diversity and promote the values of Gods reign. Suffering and
risking of lives cannot be avoided in ministry, particularly in
missionary work in cross cultural contexts. 2 Cor.11:24-33 enumerates the sufferings of Paul for the sake of the Gospel. Roland
Allens book Missionary Methods: Pauls or Ours is a challenge
to examine the salient features of Pauls missionary work. Many
Indian missionaries have had similar experiences of Pauls work
in their missionary work in different parts of the country. They
followed the same features of the early missionary model. Many
new churches have been planted and are growing quantitatively
and qualitatively.
Missionary work integrates various activities particularly the
proclamation of the Gospel, planting and nurturing churches,
developing leaders and fulfilling social responsibility through
charity, relief, development and actions for justice. Some of the
issues connected to evangelism already have been discussed in
the previous pages. Two issues are selected and discussed below. One is the emphasis of the School of Church Growth. Although many missiologists, who associate themselves with the
School of Church Growth in USA, Europe, India and Korea, do
not ignore the activities of liberation and social service, they
emphasize evangelism and church planting as the top priority
of missions. Many useful contributions have come from these
missiologists. A collection of essays written by biblical scholars,
missiologists and social workers and compiled by Ralph Winter
under the title, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A
Reader (1999: 3rd edition), provides insights on missions and
church growth. It is an important resource book for the field of
missiology. Donald McGavran, the father of the Church Growth
school of thought, emphasizes the quantitative and qualitative
growth of churches. According to him, the growth of a local
church, in terms of statistics, is important. He brought about an
awareness of the principles and nature of the growth of the
churches. Out of the three kinds of quantitative growth namely,
Biological, Transfer and Conversional growth, he believes, the
last one is a test for evangelism. As in the days of the apostles,
people should benefit from the Gospel, convert to Christianity
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will expose their injustice and liberate the poor. They are not
really concerned about the poor, their religion or their culture
but about their own interests, afraid of losing the poor who served
them in various ways for a long time without questioning their
authority and exploitation. By their accusation, they put pressure on the action group to leave that place and the poor at
their mercy. The oppressors need to understand and the reason
for helping the poor, whether they accept our theology or not.
There are questions about the intentions and interpretations of
RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Munnani Movements on the work
of Christians. These Hindu fundamentalists will always brand
all our activities as conversion to Christianity. They oppose charitable and liberative work and hate the very presence and progress
of Christians. The Hindutva policy is an evidence to this fact.
Recent atrocities, as reported in the newspapers in 1998-2000,
against Christians in various parts of India was proof of their
hatred towards the poor and religious minorities seeking liberation, equality and welfare. Involvement in the ministry of liberation does not imply denial of evangelism. It is not easy to give a
ready-made answer on how to balance evangelism and social
action. These aspects could be worked out depending on the
situation.
CHARITY MODEL
Another example of social service is charity. Today, the word
charity carries a negative tone since it refers to the people at
the receiving end. One of the demerits of charity is that it makes
people dependent and is not enabling them to stand on their
own feet. It makes them to lose their dignity and respect. As
pointed out earlier, charity fails to address the cause of their
poverty or misery but deals only with the resultant situation or
its consequences. Charity is more of a temporary relief or help
rather than an effort to develop self-esteem and justice. Although
charity has its own limitations, it is helpful to people in dire
need, particularly in times of calamity and tragedy. Charity reveals the positive aspect of the need to share with the needy. It
underlines the Christian concept of giving and stewardship.
Charitable service was not new to the Jews. The OT insists
on giving alms and taking care of widows, orphans, slaves, aliens and the poor (Ex.22:21; Lev.19:33-34; Dt. 26:12). Abraham
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debtor could not make it and the money lent to the poor is lost
forever. This law of lending money without interest implies the
risk of losing the money. Knowing this risk, families lent money
and were prepared to lose it. However, they derive joy from helping the poor financially. These two laws of social concern helped
the poor and committed the families in Israel to be charitable to
individuals or families. The well-to-do families could opt to be
charitable voluntarily or neglect the laws of social concern. In
order to make a compulsory provision of charity to the poor,
orphans and widows, the law of tithing was emphasized
(Dt.26:12). Part of the tithe went to the priests and levites and
the rest went to the poor in their society. This in- built mechanism with their work and worship promoted charity. The Book
of Proverbs instructed families to help their poor in the midst.
The Psalms reflect the cry of the needy and call on the worshipper to be sensitive to people in distress and pain.
Prophets, individually helped many families particularly the
families of widows irrespective of their socio-religious background.
For example, Elijah hepled the widow of Zarephath in the region of Sidon through the miracle of providing flour and oil at
the time of famine, saving the life of the widow and her son (1
Kings. 17:8-16). Later Elisha saved the widow of a prophet in
Israel and her two children, who were almost bonded into slavery, by providing enough oil for sale to clear their debt (2 Kings
4:1-7). These miracles, I believe, were performed for the liberation of marginalized people from the powers of famine and debts.
They were immediate relief measures. Boaz, the owner of the
land instructed his workers to deliberately allow the grains to
fall on the field so that Ruth, the widow, could gather them to
prepare food. By this charitable action, Boaz saved the lives of
Naomi and Ruth, the two widows and protected them from going into slavery or begging or prostitution (Ruth 3-4). David not
only showed charity to Mephibosheth, the disabled son of Saul
(2 Samuel. 9) by providing him with food every day but also
restored his rights and properties (Jeyaraj, AJTR: 1998:138145). These examples show that charity was practised by individuals, families and rulers in ancient Israel. Whether there
was any organized unit or infrastructure or not, responsible for
charitable acts in different places in the land needs separate
research. It is possible, as some scholars believe, that Judaism
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cared for the widows. But, with the constant increase in the
number of converts from Judaism to Christianity the responsibility of taking care of the widows also increased. More and more
widows joined the church and enjoyed the new fellowship. Many
of them were so poor or not cared properly by their families that
the church had to feed them and take care of their needs. The
limited resources at their disposal naturally led the persons-incharge to show favouritism and nepotism in the distribution of
food. Since the persons-in-charge were predominantly Hebrew
or Aramaic- speaking Jews, they showed favouritism to the Hebrew/Aramaic- speaking Jewish widows, neglecting the Greekspeaking Jewish widows. Such discrimination was not good for
true koinonia and diakonia. The complaints on discrimination were taken in good spirit by the leaders of the assembly.
The positive attitude of the leaders towards criticism urged them
to analyze the reasons for the neglect in their service. These
apostles realized the need for an organized group to raise resources and supervise the distribution of food. They understood, it was a time consuming job. They consulted the whole
community of disciples and shared their problems with them,
mentioning their priority for preaching and teaching the word
of God. They worked out a special arrangement to distribute
food to the widows. This unit had seven men for the special
service and was regarded as an official structure with the authority of the apostles and approval of the community. The apostles defined the qualification for this task. These men had to be
of good standing which meant filled with integrity, the Holy Spirit
and wisdom. These were regarded by the apostles as the most
important qualifications for charitable service. The selection was
done by the community. It is worth noting that the apostles did
not select their own candidates or appoint them at their own
will. The decision-making power was given to the community.
Authorization was given by the apostles by the laying on of hands.
Koinonia and Diakonia can be strengthened by listening to
the problems and criticisms of the poor and making corporate
decisions. Such a democratic procedure is healthy for relief and
development.
Christian stewardship as an integral aspect of spirituality
gained more importance with the beginning of the missionary
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tions various causes for giving. The three major reasons for giving identified in his writings are namely, for the support of the
Christian preacher/teacher, the missionary who brings the Gospel and the poor people in the churches. From Gal.6:6, 1 Cor.
9:11-14 and 1 Tim. 5:17-18, it is clear that those who received
preaching and instructions on the word of God had an obligation to share their good resources with their preachers and teachers. The elders who ministered the Word of God had the right to
receive their support from their congregations. Not only the
preachers and teachers, but also the missionaries who brought
the Gospel to a particular city needed the support of the believers. The church at Philippi supported Paul while he was with
them and later sent their support while he went to preach the
Gospel to the nearby cities of Thessalonica and Corinth and
later to Rome when he was imprisoned (Phil.1:5; 4:14-18; 2 Cor.
11: 9). One of the very few churches which was in constant
touch with the missionary Paul was the church at Philippi. Paul
thanked God for the Philippians and called their relationship a
partnership in the Gospel.
The major area of concern in the study is the message of 2
Cor.8 on the third aspect of giving, i.e. to the poor in the congregations. Knowing the need and suffering of the poor in Jerusalem, Paul urged the churches in Macedonia (Thessalonians and
Philippians), Ephesus and Corinth to raise some money and
send it regularly to the church in Jerusalem. Paul suggested a
systematic way of giving in 1 Cor. 16:1-4, encouraging the
Corinthians to set aside a sum of money on the first day of every
week according to their income so that the help will be readily
available. They need not rush to collect the money at the last
minute. The Corinthians followed this suggestion and sent the
collection regularly to the poor in Jerusalem. However, they
started showing slackness and irregularity in setting aside the
money to be sent to Jerusalem. In urging the Corinthians to
keep up this good work, Paul made explicit to them, the ideal in
the churches in Macedonia. As I analyzed 2 Cor. 8 more intensely, I noticed three foundations in Pauls writing on Christian stewardship. I would like to call them the theological,
missiological and sociological bases. Each of them are closely
connected to the other. In highlighting the model of Macedonia
to challenge the Corinthian church, Paul emphasized the
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missiological basis. The Thessalonians and Philippians gave themselves first to the Lord and then to the support of the poor in
Jerusalem. According to Paul, by accepting the Gospel and acknowledging Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they gave their lives
to the Lord. Giving begins by surrendering ones life to the
lordship of Christ and then it flows to help the lives of others.
Surrendering to the Gospel demands practising the kingdom
values of sharing and supporting. Giving life to Christ naturally
leads to giving up possessions and life for others. Both are inter-linked. One without the other is meaningless. The mission
of proclamation of the Gospel leads to the mission of sharing. A
person can very well contribute money and other resources without surrendering his or her life to Jesus. Such an act is basically humanitarian and done out of common concern but it need
not be based on the missiology Paul is talking about. To Paul,
Christian stewardship is not based purely on secular humanism but on missiological, sociological and theological bases. The
Macedonians were not rich. They were living in poverty and facing persecution. Yet, they gave voluntarily beyond their means.
They even pleaded that their gift for the poor people in the congregation of Jerusalem be accepted. Their experience of the
Gospel motivated them to give in spite of their poverty and affliction. Their sincerity and eagerness to give was the criteria for
accepting their charity. Those who are in need and at the receiving end need to see the positive aspect of sincerity and eagerness on the part of the giver in order to accept their help.
Pauls point was that if a poor church could share their money,
then the rich Christians in Corinth could do much more. He
challenged them to excel in giving also apart from their excellence in many other aspects. It is the test of ones love for God
and for others.
Paul states the theological basis for giving in 2 Cor. 8:8-9.
Although the Lord Jesus Christ was rich, He became poor for
our sake and that is the theology of giving. Jesus Christ left
everything to come and die on the Cross that humanity could
enjoy the richness of salvation. In stating this theology of God
becoming poor, Paul mentioned that Lord Jesus Christ became poor. God in entirety, according to these verses, became
poor not holding anything for himself. If God could become
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ness of forgiveness and eternal life had to show the same kind
love for others. Sharing their wealth with those in need proved
their genuine love for God. Paul called it a ministry to the saints
in 2 Cor. 9:1. Although he spoke of help to the poor among the
Christians in Jerusalem, Paul did not rule out the need to help
the needy outside the church.
Paul was not satisfied with the mere act of generosity to the
poor just to console their conscience. His sociological basis stated
in 2 Cor. 8:13-14: but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their
abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a
fair balance was, a tremendous challenge and radicalizing the
giving by using the phrase fair balance. He contrasts the abundance of having with the need of the people and proposes a
fair balance between possession and distribution of wealth. I
do not like to push Pauls idea of fair balance too much to mean
Christian communism or socialism. I think, Paul was aware that
the accumulation of wealth and earnings would go on but he
desired that those who accumulated wealth share with the needy.
In sharing, two things happen. The accumulated possession in
the hands of the rich is reduced and the needy rises to the
stage of having resources. This flow of abundance from the rich
to the poor should continue to create at least a fair balance if
not equal balance. Achieving economic and social equality demands more than charitable giving. Charity can only offset the
situation of accumulation and narrow down the gap between
the rich and poor to a certain extent. For Paul, this sociological
challenge, is linked to the theology of God becoming poor and
the missiological basis of partnership in the Gospel. Christian
charity should work towards fair balance and not stop with a
token or symbolic ritual of alms-giving. The Charity model challenges both the giver and the receiver in the Christian context. As has been mentioned above, sincerity, eagerness and
willingness are expected on the side of the giver. Furthermore,
the giver is expected to give according to his or her ability and
even beyond his or her means realizing the love of God and the
benefits of the Gospel. The receiver need not feel ashamed to
accept the gift or the generosity of the giver because it has theological, missiological and sociological implications. When the
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for help and the lack of funds to meet all the requests. Schools,
colleges, hospitals and even orphanages started charging some
amount from those who seek our help in spite of subsidizing
the cost of operation with the donation of the well-wishers. The
donations are not proportionate to the demand. By becoming
commercial the poor are unable to have access to certain services. Only those who could afford to pay some money could have
access to the service of these institutions. Some institutions
which started as charitable services have now become fully commercial and serve the rich and the middle class. The poor are
excluded gradually. Another problem is the lack of volunteers
to work in these institutions as service to the poor. Many Christians see these institutions as avenues for employment rather
than volunteer service for honorarium or low salary. Some teachers employed in our schools are doing extra tuition outside class
hours and run coaching centres at home for earning more money
rather than sparing their time to coach poor students. The increased cost of living, loans and debts and indifferent attitude
towards the needy is affecting individual and institutional charitable service. Biblical teachings on Christian stewardship and a
deliberate effort to keep the vision and action of Christian charity is needed today. Christian life and ministry cannot ignore
charity and justice.
COUNSELLING MODEL
The ministry of counselling went on in ancient Israel and in
the churches planted by the apostles. However, it is not given
explicit recognition and identity as a separate model like the
priestly, prophetic, evangelistic and pastoral models in the Bible. Counselling was integrated with the ministry of the priests,
prophets, judges, wisemen and pastors. Moses, Joshua,
Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Jesus and the apostles were
involved in counselling the people along with doing other ministries. Counselling as a separate model of ministry and discipline of study gained importance in the modern days. The word
counsel means instruct, guide, advise or build up. Although,
these meanings are not ignored, the term counselling is defined by the secular psychologists and therapists as listening
to the people in pain, comforting the people in suffering, enabling them to understand their problems and helping the peo192
ple to reconcile within themselves. Various techniques and approaches from the science of psychology are used in the process
of counselling. Psychologists speak of different kinds of counselling such as Client-oriented Counselling, Referral Counselling, Educative Counselling, Marriage Counselling, Family enrichment Counselling and Group Care Counselling.
Howard Clinebell, a Christain counsellor discusses each of the
types of counselling in detail in his book Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counselling (1984). The Bible does not speak of
counselling the way the modern psychologists have defined the
professional counselling. But it underlines the principle of listening, helping, comforting and consoling showing empathy and accepting the people in physical and psychological pain.
Physical problems such as sickness, death, poverty, suppression of freedom and rights and persecution for faith in Christ
have created psychological pain. The Bible recognizes the link
between physical and psychological problems. Many psalms
particularly the psalms of lament in the OT reveal the problem
of suffering (6:1-7; 22:1; 37; 73; 82). Peter, Paul and John encouraged the early Christians to tolerate the persecution and
continue in their Christian faith (1 Pet.3:17; 4:12-19; 1Thes.3:4;
2 Thes.1:4; 2Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 1:9; 7:13-14). They did counselling through their teachings. Whether their ministry of teaching could be regarded strictly as counselling or not is debatable.
However, the biblical image of shepherd includes the function
of caring and guiding the flock. Isaiah speaks of the four-fold
function of a shepherd namely, tending, gathering, carrying and
leading using different verbs (Isa. 40:11). To this prophet, Yahweh
is the shepherd of Israel. Using the same metaphor, Jesus called
himself as the good shepherd committed to service of caring the
people (Jn. 10). The status and the role of a shepherd will be
dealt later in the Pastoral model.
Since the function of care which includes not only teaching
and social service but also counselling is linked to the image of
a shepherd in the Bible, scholars combine the two phrases pastoral care and counselling together and speak of Pastoral
Care and Counselling. According to William Hulme, Pastoral
Care is a supportive ministry to people and those close to them
who are experiencing the familiar trials that characterize life in
this world, such as illness, surgery, incapacitation, death and
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bereavement and the Pastoral Counselling is either in one-toone relationships or in groups, is a ministry to persons, couples, and families that assist them in working through pressing
problems in their relationship to themselves, to others, and to
God. Both are dialogical ministries, and both are oriented to the
healing process in pain and suffering (Pastoral Care and Counselling,1981:9). Howard Clinebell goes one step further in defining the aim of pastoral counselling from the point of the growth
of the counsellee. Pastoral Counselling, according to him, aims
at helping persons deal constructively with their immediate problems, make decisions, face responsibilities and makes amends
for self-other hurting behaviour, as well as expressing, experiencing, and eventually resolving growth-blocking feelings, attitudes, and self-perceptions (1984: 35).
The probable examples which are closer to the idea of counselling in the OT are the counsel of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and
Elihu to Job and Deutero-Isaiah to the people of Israel. The
former is an example for an individual being counselled by his
friends and the later is for the community being counselled by
the prophet. The Book of Job is regarded as a wisdom literature.
The common understanding among the scholars about the purpose of wisdom literature is to instruct and guide the individuals, families, rulers and people. The Book of Job is explained
rarely from the perspective of counselling. Job was a
righeousman. He was faithful to God but was severly tested. He
lost his possession, servants and his children (Job. 1:13-22). In
addition to the losses of properties and people, Jobs health was
affected to the extent that his own friends could not recognize
him at sight (2:7-8). Job was in physical suffering and mental
stress. His pain was unbearable. His problem became more severe when he started analyzing the reason for his suffering.
The patient Job in Chapter 1:1-2:9 became an impatient Job
in the rest of the chapters till the arrival of Elihu. Scholars such
as Francis Andersen, David Clines, J.H. Eaton, Gustavo
Gutierrez discuss the problem of suffering and show different
kinds of reading the Book of Job. Yet, the Book of Job is not
fully analysed from the study of counselling. From the perspective of counselling, one can look at Job as a man longing for
people to empathize and identify with him and provide an answer to his theological question on innocent suffering. He was
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6:25-34). Although, the focus of this text is on seeking the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, his assurance of Gods care
for all through the illustration from the nature is a comfort and
edification to the followers.
Christian counsellors of today may use various techniques.
But faith in God and prayer to God play an important role in the
process of counselling. Both the counsellor and counsellee act
upon the faith in God. Faith should be understood as a dynamic force rather than a set of beliefs in the process of counselling. They should believe that God loves people, shows compassion, forgives and gives freedom from guilt, answers prayers
and offers hope of life. One important issue connected with the
ministry of counselling is its limitation. Should the counselling
stop with comforting and consoling? Should the counsellors limit
themselves with enabling the counsellee to identify the problems, reasons and solutions? Cant they take the persons in
suffering along with them and involve in actions to achieve justice and welfare and peace of mind from their problems?
PASTORAL MODEL
This chapter began with the Priestly Model and it will be
concluded with the Pastoral Model which is inclusive of some of
the ministries stated earlier. The biblical image of a pastor is a
shepherd. However, many churches prefer to use the word pastor or priest than the term shepherd. Some of the mainline
denominations founded by the Western missions still prefer to
use the titles such as Presbyter, Vicar, Canon, Rector and
Reverend. Using of various titles and equating these titles to
mean pastoral ministry has created confusion among the people. Shepherding is more than the priestly function of performing rituals in the church. Instead of reducing the shepherd to
be a mere priest in the church, it is important to raise the priest
to be a shepherd, a role which is holistic.
The roots of the Pastoral model go back to the period of the
Israelite. In the ancient Israel, the Hebrew term, roeh (from the
root word raah to tend, pasture flock) was used several times
to refer to the shepherd of sheep and the word boker (from the
root word baker cattle) to refer to the herdsman of cattle. The
Hebrew word roeh is translated as poimen (to tend, pasture) in
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Greek. These two terms in the OT and NT are used in the literal
sense to refer to a shepherd tending flock and also in the metaphorical sense to refer to people involved in other leadership
viz. liberators, kings and rulers as shepherds. There were professional shepherds in ancient Israel, who either stayed with
masters and took care of their sheep or gathered sheep and
cattle from families, led the flock to green pasture for a period
and return them to the owners for a fee. Many families in Israel
were involved in agriculture and also owned cattle and sheep at
home. The stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob speak of them
as shepherds. The descendants of Jacob continued as a shepherding community in Egypt before being forced into the compulsory labour of construction. Although the Israelites occupation shifted more towards agricultural farming after their settlement in Canaan, shepherding of sheep and cattle continued.
The stories of Manasseh, Saul, David and the message of Amos,
Micah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel showed that shepherding continued
as an important occupation in Israel. The metaphorical use of
the word shepherd, therefore, was so deeply rooted in their songs
(e.g. Ps. 23; 80:1) and stories and proverbs. The Israelites developed this imagery from their own experience as a pastoral community from the time of Abraham, used it in their conversation
and literature and later to the ministry in the context of the
church. However, the prevalent and general assumption among
contemporary Christians equates priesthood with shepherding
and calls priests as pastors and vice versa. A close look at certain biblical texts brings to notice the fact that priests were not
called shepherds and that the OT categorically classifies levitical
priesthood as a separate model from the political leadership and
rule as shepherding. The following expounds the different dimensions of shepherding. Liberators, kings, prophets in Israel
were called shepherds. Descriptions of God as the greatest shepherd and Jesus as the Good Shepherd are present in the Bible.
Moses described the congregation of Israel as sheep; he understood himself to be their shepherd and asked God to provide
a shepherd to go out before them and come before them lead
them out and bring them in (Num.27:17) since he was too
old to continue the ministry of shepherding. The entire community of Israel in the wilderness needed a leader to be with them,
to lead them to the promised land, where they could enjoy a
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shepherd in the line of David who will take care of the people
and turn their miseries during the period in exile into enjoyable life when they return to the land. In my opinion, these
prophets used the term shepherd in a particular sense to the
political rulers rather than in an inclusive sense of including
priests and prophets. Whenever these prophets criticized the
priests and false prophets, they referred to them as cohen
(priest) and nabi (prophet) and not as shepherds. My observation of prophetic texts drives me to draw the conclusion that
priests were not regarded as shepherds. In prophetic literature,
shepherding is always understood to be political leadership and
rule. The prophets were aware of the two separate ministries
viz. the cultic-priestly model and the political-pastoral model
in ancient Israel.
The prophets were not known as shepherds but a few shepherds in Israel were called to become prophets. For example,
Elisha of 9th century BC, Amos and Micah of 8th century BC and
Habakkuk of 7th century BC were shepherds by profession and
proclaimed Gods justice in their response to Gods call into
prophetic ministry (1 Kings 19:19 Amos.1:1, 7:14, Habk 3:17).
They expressed their experience in the shepherding profession
in their oracles and preferred to be understood as shepherds
and farmers than as sons of prophets engaged in their family
business of professional prophesying for profit (Amos 7:11-14).
By proclaiming Gods word, along with their shepherding and
farming, these prophets integrated the prophetic ministry and
the shepherding profession.
The OT describes Yahweh, the God of Israel as a Shepherd.
Jer. 31:10-11 and Isa. 40:11 describe Yahweh as the Shepherd,
who liberated the people of Israel from the exile and restored
them to their land. These prophets proclaim the message of
hope that their God will be like a shepherd, who will gather
them in His arms as an expression of forgiveness and acceptance, lead them to the promised land and take care of them.
The salvation oracles proclaimed by Deutero-Isaiah are messages
of counselling to the hopeless people to draw strength and hope.
Gods love and concern for afflicted people is always assured
and He watched over them in exile, on their return to the land
and in the restoration of the land. All the responsibilities of a
shepherd viz. feeding and watering, gathering and protecting,
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Jesus, the good shepherd is the paradigm for pastoral ministry. His ministry included preaching, teaching, healing, proclaiming justice and judgment (Matt. 25:32). He preferred titles
like Son of Man and Good Shepherd which do not express
any position of power. He avoided performing priestly functions
either in the Temple or in the Synagogue, except teaching the
Scripture when He went to these cultic centres. He avoided using priestly titles for himself or using the title shepherd for the
priests of his days. Jesus was aware that the OT priestly model,
which was usually a ministry directed towards God, had fallen
into performing rituals and exercising power and authority. He
wanted to counter this model with a suitable alternative. He
preferred the pastoral model which was people (flock) - oriented
and holistic. This could be the reason why he started calling
himself a good shepherd. Jesus is later described as the high
priest by the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews to mark the
fulfillment of His priestly function. Today, many assume that
priestly role is the shepherds role and vice-versa. Unfortunately,
shepherds role is reduced to the priestly role of mere conducting worship, and prayer meetings and the performance of certain rituals and sacraments. These activities become the main
function of pastors. But shepherding is more than a priestly
function. The shepherds role includes the priestly function and
with other functions intrinsic to pastoral model.
After his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter to feed and take
care of His flock. The call and command to Peter to be the shepherd is more than a priestly role. He had to follow the pastoral
model of Jesus and he had a wider ministry of liberating the
people from their sufferings, leading them to practise the values
of the Gospel of the kingdom and to begin enjoying the good life
now on earth. The person and work of Christ became the foundation of pastoral theology.
The leaders who were taking care of the churches planted by
the apostles were never called priests (hiereus) but elders
(presbyteros), bishops (episcopon - overseeing) and ministers
(diacon), purposely to avoid the traditional notion of the priestly
model and also not to limit the status and role of the elders to
strict mere priesthood. The apostles wanted to make a distinction between the Judaistic priestly role based on the Torah particularly offering sacrifices, and the leadership of the churches
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ture, knowledgeable and well acquainted with their congregation if they wanted to be effective and contributive.
What has been discussed about the different models of ministry in the preceding pages is limited. All the ministries of God
require certain qualities. Gods ministry is one which demands
high level of responsibility. Human beings are not worthy of
doing Gods ministry. Yet God calls some individuals to full-time
ministry and others to voluntary involvement. God has entrusted
this responsibility to the Church and given the promise of enabling the Church to fulfill these various ministries. Suffering
and losses are an integral aspect of ministry. God and society
expect absolute truthfulness on the part of those who are involved in ministry. Prayer is another important aspect in Christian life and ministry. Jesus made special effort to pray alone as
well as pray with His disciples. Peter, John and Paul wrote about
the role of prayer in ministry in their epistles. With the willingness to learn from God, people and nature and the incorporation of the insights gained, the ministry should thrive.
Not much is known about the way in which the apostles and
elders carried on the ministry of counselling. The NT does not
tell which techniques they used. What could be discerned, however, is that some individuals would have approached the apostles and elders to share their spiritual, family and economic
problems. These leaders may have listened, given some guidance and prayed for them. However, the teachings of the apostles through their preaching, conversation and writing focused
on the entire congregation. Their approach was more of counselling and guiding the group. The ministry of counselling has
grown over years and developed many techniques to deal with
individuals, families, groups of employers, employees and the
community of faith. Pastors cannot ignore these new techniques
used in the ministry of counselling and guidance. Contemporary pastoral ministry requires pastors to be well versed in Scrip206
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Chapter Five
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CHURCH OR KINGDOM
Church
Some scholars think that the intention of Jesus was to preach
the Gospel and establish the Kingdom of God but the outcome
was the Church. They think that Jesus never intended to create a new religion or worship outside his own Judaism. He continued within the religion of Judaism, attended the Temple in
Jerusalem and the synagogues, offered prayers, interpreted the
OT scripture, fulfilled the Jewish rites and participated in the
festivals. His intention was to reform the Jewish religion and
society following the tradition of the prophets, preaching the
age-old concept of the Kingdom of God developed by the prophets. If the intention of Jesus was to create a church, then He
would have done it during the three years of his ministry, but
Jesus did not do it because he did not want to separate himself
from Judaism and preferred to continue in Judaism right to
the end of his life. It was the apostles who deviated from the
intention of Jesus and created the Church. Based on this view,
some leaders in India discourage evangelism, conversion and
planting of churches. In addition to the above reason, they
state other socio-economic and cultural reasons.
Biblical scholars have argued that the teachings of Jesus
implied a Church in some form or other without telling clearly
the form of worship to be followed or the organizational struc-
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the power of human beings. The timing of the birth of the Church
is also worth noting. The disciples were dismayed at the death
of Jesus and were the targets of the Jewish religious leaders
and Roman political power. In this milieu of fear and persecution, people hesitated to join the disciples or declare themselves as the followers of Jesus. What happened in history, as
told in Acts 2, was beyond their plan and ability. The birth of
the Church in Jerusalem was the work of the Holy Spirit and
not the effort of human beings. After seeing the working of the
Holy Spirit convicting and converting thousands of people, moving them to join the fellowship and continue in teaching and
breaking of bread, the apostles were awakened. They began to
understand the message and mission of Jesus. They found the
meaning to Jesus reference to them as flock and his declaration , I will build my Church. They began to see the movement growing beyond their expectation and ability. They understood the phenomenal growth of the Church as Gods will
and went on planting churches in other parts of the region.
Some of the Christian leaders who have had problems with
the establishment of the Church suggest that the present form
of the institutionalized Church be dismantled and secularized
by including all those, irrespective of their religion, who believe
in the ideals of Jesus Christ. According to them, baptism is not
necessary. The members needed not confess that Jesus Christ
is the Lord and Saviour but they could have some sort of holy
communion to express their solidarity. They could have a common goal of service to the humanity. Their worship could be
ecumenical by reading the Scriptures of different religions and
incorporating the rituals of such religions in a symbolic way.
These attempts have been made in different periods of history
in different parts of the world. Either these movements could
not continue for long or ended up becoming different sects or
cultic groups which spread heresies. The Church, according to
the NT, is not a club of fans who agree on ideologies. The Church
has a definite nature, composition and mission. The members
of the Church are those who believe Jesus to be the Messiah
and his act of salvation and declare Him as their Lord and
Saviour. The Church is not inclusive of all those secular humanists who belong to different faiths or deny faith in any religion. The Church is a worshipping community, professing the
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faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and witnessing for
such a cause. While the nature of the Church is religious, the
service of this religious community is intended for the rest of
the humanity.
The proliferation of racial and caste discrimination, nepotism, politics, increasing financial and moral corruption among
the leaders of present day churches, has urged some Christians to suggest leaving the church and mingling with the rest
of the society while keeping their faith in Christ and continuing in social service. It is easy to understand the feelings of
such Christians but, where will they go? They could very well
join some social service organizations or Non-Governmental Organization voluntarily or simply remain at home without joining
any group and yet continue in charity and social service. These
people would soon feel the desire for worship and fellowship.
There is something significant in Christian worship, even though
the church has its limitations and short-comings. Although the
Church is expected to grow in quantity and quality, the number
game is not important. Those who would not want to believe in
the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Bible and the Church
could very well leave the Church and find a place suitable to
them. Theological and practical problems have been discussed
in the history of the Church and the Creeds were created to be
remembered and affirmed by the members. The Church can
survive with a few genuine Christians yet, carry out the mission
of God.
Kingdom
Some Christians and preachers confuse Church with the
Kingdom of God and the Kingdom for the Church. One example
is the Sermon on the text in Mt. 6: 33 Seek first the Kingdom
of God and its righteousness and everything shall be added unto
you in the sense of saving souls who would also join the church.
When they preach about building the Church, they imply building the Kingdom. These two words Church and Kingdom are
used interchangeably to equate the Kingdom with the local
church. Furthermore, this confusion has led some preachers to
create their own cultic groups and have demanded that people
to sell all their property and join the cultic groups. Their understanding is that they are now in the Kingdom of God and
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Israelites. This prophet did not say that Cyrus worked for the
Kingdom of God but that he helped the Israelites to return to
their land. Did Cyrus know Yahweh was the one raising him up
to deliver Israel? Did he ever acknowledge that the God of Israel
raised him up in power? Did he not attribute his rise as the
work of his Persian god? What about the bloodshed in his conquest of Babylon? Was that the best way to work for the Kingdom of God or the expansion of his own kingdom? DeuteroIsaiah did not care what Cyrus thought about his rising or how
he would have looked at history. His interpretation of Cyrus as
Yahwehs instrument should be seen in relation to the Israelites loss of faith and hope in Yahweh and the marvel of Marduk,
the powerful god of Babylon . They were in doubt as to whether
Yahweh or Marduk was in control of their history. In despair,
Deutero-Isaiah looks at the rise of Cyrus as Yahwehs action.
Both the rise of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and the rise of
Cyrus to deliver the exiles, according to the prophet, were the
actions of Yahweh. Yahweh is the one who is in control of their
history. This view is communicated by interpreting the rise of
Cyrus as Yahwehs work. The other text in Mk.9:38-40 is a
general remark by Jesus that many may use His name and do
miracles and wonders without acknowledging Him as the Christ.
Yet, they are not against Jesus. They are also interested in social service. Jesus did not say that the other exorcist is an instrument of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was aware of many such
people who were doing miracles in his name and delivering people from the demons. He even pointed out that some of these
people who perform miracles would not enter into the Kingdom
of God (Mt. 7:21-23). The magician asked Paul to grant the gift
of doing miracles without acknowledging Jesus or His message
of the Kingdom of God is another evidence. These miracles need
not necessarily stand in direct relation with the Kingdom of
God even though they bring some good results for the people.
All the above three references are about the work of the individuals. Can the instrument of the Kingdom of God be individuals or a corporate group like the Church? As far as I understand the NT, the instrument of the Kingdom of God is not
identified with an individual whatever may be his contribution
for the good of the people. It is always a group of believers i.e.
the Church.
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Many as individuals or groups could involve in doing something good for the society either in the name of God or on the
basis of ideologies they hold. For example, a group of Hindus or
Muslims or Atheists or Marxists could involve in the struggles of
justice and human rights and bring liberation and welfare for
people. Each religion teaches to do good for humanity. Some
Human Rights groups work on the basis of secular humanism.
RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal which promote Hindutva and the Kingdom of Rama and upholding Vedic rituals, Varnashrama and to
a certain extent Sati are involved in charity and liberation. To
call all these groups in par with the Church as an instrument of
the Kingdom of God needs serious thinking. This does not mean
that the Church only can do good works. Are our local churches
perfect to claim to be the only instrument of the Kingdom of
God? Can they complete the task? Such questions are raised.
It is true, our local churches do have shortcomings and commit
mistakes. But the Gospel of the Kingdom challenges to reform
the local churches. The Holy Spirit is there to help the churches
to transform. To brand all the good works of other groups as
belonging to the religion of demons is also wrong. We can understand their faith in their religion and give due credit for their
contribution. But to expect these groups outside the church to
acknowledge openly that their action is based on the ideals of
Jesus and they are working for the kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus is unfair. Equally wrong for the Christians to say
that these groups whether they acknowledge Jesus Christ or
not are fulfilling the command of Jesus. We cannot interpret or
thrust our own ideas and claims on other groups. In the biblical context, there is a unique relationship between the Church
and the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not a secular
ideology. It is a religious ideology which includes the person
and work of Jesus Christ and committing to his commandments.
Jesus Christ has linked the Kingdom of God with the Church
and the Church with the Kingdom of God. Neither Jesus Christ
nor the apostles speak of other voluntary social service groups
as the Church or the instrument of the Kingdom of God.
CALL OR COMMAND
The doctrine of priesthood of all believers is not properly
understood by many Christians today. They are of the view that
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the ministry is only for those who are called by God. The rest of
them are to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, attend the
worship service regularly, confess the Creed, pay their subscription and support the activities of the Church financially and
take part in the Holy Communion. Some of them hesitate even
to read the Bible lessons or lead the intercession or help in
serving the Holy Communion. They are satisfied with their secular job and in supporting their local church. In many local
churches, the ordained clergy shoulders all the burden of the
ministry. Congregations are only spectators and not willing to
share the burden or be involved in the ministries of the church.
Or else they think that it is the responsibility of their pastorate
committee to do ministry with the pastor. There is an another
side to this problem. Some clergies do not encourage the idea of
service of all the believers in the Church, may be due to lack of
confidence or fear of superceding his image and authority or to
have absolute control over the laity. To enlighten and motivate
the congregation for various activities, means clergies have to do
more work. Such members of the clergy want simply to limit
themselves to conducting worship service on Sundays. They use
the idea of call and ordination to threaten the laity to limit them
to their pews. Because of this attitude and situation, many talented members who like to exercise their gifts in the ministries
left their local churches and started their own para-church organizations.
It is true that God calls some people for ministry. God called
the entire tribe of Levi for the priestly ministry. Moses was called
to liberate the bonded Israelites. Prophets such as Samuel, Elijah,
Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah were called for prophetic ministry. Jesus called the disciples to follow him and continue the ministry.
Paul received the call and committed to build the churches rather
than persecute them. Receiving and realizing the call is important for ministry. One can get Gods call for ministry in three
different ways namely, inner call, churchly call and the congregational call. Individuals commit for fulltime ministry of the
church because they received the secret call or inner call of
God. They could have received such a personal call through inner feelings in their heart or vision or dream. Or else a biblical
text could have spoken to them. Sometimes individuals are called
by the leaders of their church which is known as churchly call
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ORDINATION
Connected with the ministry is the question of ordination,
gifts of the Spirit and the training. Ordination is given much
importance in the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant
mainline denominations in India. To the Roman Catholics, ordination is the apostolic succession of the pastorate and one of
the seven sacraments of the church. Baptists define ordination
as the recognition of a divine call or as being commissioned or
set apart by God for special service. United Methodists too speak
of ordination as the recognition of the call of God and setting
apart by the Church for the specialized ministry of Word, Sacrament and Order. Presbyterians regard the ordination as the
congregational call for the ministry of the Church (Messer,
1989:.69-70). According to the Constitution of the Church of
South India, ordination is an act of God in his Church. To
quote, The Church of South India believes that in all ordinations
and consecrations the true Ordainer and Consecrator is God,
who, in response to the prayers of His Church, and through the
words and acts of its representative, commissions and empowers for the office and work to which they are called the persons
whom it has selected (Constitution II, 7 and 11). Pentecostals
speak of ordination as recognizing the call of God, anointing of
the Holy Spirit and affirming the apostolic authority for the ministry of the Church. How these denominations view the ordination may vary but all of them emphasize the call of God in the
lives of the individuals who dedicated themselves for the ministry. Ordination is granting them some sort of authority and recognition by the whole church to do ministry. Donald Messer
defines the ordination as a communitarian act, bonding persons to the church and convey authority on behalf of the church.
The church authenticates Gods call and authorizes the persons called by God (1989:69).
The important pre-requisites, in my opinion, for ordination
are the personal experience of repentance and accepting Jesus,
the assurance of forgiveness and salvation, call for ministry, witnessing life, continuous feeling for ministry and the real love
and concern for people. The other qualifications and training
depend upon the ordaining denomination and the nature of
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The cassock, colourful vestments or costly suits in our culture add further authority and hinders the ministers to be close
to the congregation. Many Christians do not know the significance of cassock, surplice and stole. Cassock was the usual dress
of people in the Greeco-Roman world. Even now it is the common dress in the Middle East. Salves and servants did not have
more than one or two cassock to wear and so it is used to be old
and dirty due to their labour. When such slaves or servants
come to serve the food at the table of their master, as some
explain, they wear the surplice to hide the dirty cassock and
then remove and hang the surplice in a safe place after serving
the master. They also had a long piece of cloth hanging around
their neck as a stole to wipe away the dirt and clean the plates
and cups before serving food and drink. Whether one agrees
with this explanation or not, we can say that these items symbolize the hard labour and servitude of the slaves and servants
towards their masters. When this imagery of cassock, surplice
and stole was incorporated into the ordination and made as a
uniform of ministers is not clear. It should have happened after
the period of the apostles. But the application of the imagery of
slaves and servants to the ministers of God does appear in the
writings of Paul and Peter. Today, this uniform decorated with
colourful embroideries and silver and gold lining is turned into
a dress of authority, power and respect. We can notice the reactions of some of our Roman Catholic friends towards this wrong
understanding. So they prefer to make their uniform more simple and appropriate to the local culture. This is more evident in
the case of some of their Orders. Instead of cassock, some Roman Catholic priests wear dhoti and shirt. Nuns started wearing saress than their traditional gown in order to relate more
closely to people. The use of costly suits when there are poor
people in the churches in India is nothing less than giving the
image of a western businessman or a CEO of a big company or a
corporation. I am not against the use of uniform or vestments to
give some sort of identification and distinction for the ministers.
My concern is to see that such a dress is not a hindrance for
ministry but go with the local context of the people. Continue to
use the traditional uniform like cassock demands teaching on
the meaning and significance of such a uniform, liturgical colours and vestments and constant realization on the part of the
wearer not to misuse it in ministry.
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mistakes, repent and ask for pardon, then, the ordination need
not be withdrawn. Instead of de-robing, the person could be
forgiven and suspended from doing ministry for a year or two as
a disciplinary action. Such a person can very well take part in
the worship service and Holy Communion. He loses the right of
ministry only for the banned period. That person certainly loses
the reputation among the people but not the forgiving love and
grace of God. On the other hand, if the person continuously
show apostasy and promote heresies, then the church can come
together and take a decision to dismiss such a person once for
all from the fellowship and ministry. Although ordination plays
an important role in commissioning and authorizing pastors,
evangelists, missionaries and other leaders for fulltime or parttime ministry, it is not a requirement for the rest of the believers to involve in the ministries of the church. They can very well
involve in the activities and programmes of their church and
shoulder the burden with their pastors, evangelists and missionaries without ordination.
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First, Paul points out that there are varieties of gifts and
varieties of services. He lists them in terms of the office of the
apostles, prophets and pastor-teacher and further in terms of
functions like healing, assistance, leadership (vv. 27-28) and
various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, discernment
of spirits and utterance of wisdom and knowledge. Except to be
the apostles which is limited to the twelve plus Paul, the rest of
the gifts of the offices and functions are given to the members of
the church. Believers can be prophets, pastor-teacher or healers or leaders of other activities of the church. Second, these
gifts of ministry, according to Paul, are unlimited. God is not
only the bestower of these gifts of ministry but also activates
these ministries to be done by the members of the body of Christ.
Christian ministry of the Church is going on for ages. This is
because God activates the ministries continuously. God has spoken, motivated and led people to commit for ministries. The continuance of the ministries of the church through out the ages is
not the effort of any human being or because of well-established
infra-structure. Some of the well-established organizations, institutions and movements with the ability and training of leaders and enough funds have stumbled and disappeared in many
parts of the world. Although we are expected to show interest
and obedience to the activation of the Spirit and take effort to
carry on the ministry, we need to remember that it is the Spirit
of God which helps us in the ministry. Without the initiative
and support of the Spirit of God, these gifts of ministry cannot
be exercised by us. God is with the ministries of the church,
that is why, the ministries are thriving till today and spreading
all over the world. God did not seclude himself after bestowing
the gift of ministry to the church but committed himself as a
continuing partner with the believers in the ministry. Jesus
has promised and assured his followers his continuing presence till the end of the world. Ministries produce believers and
Believers contribute to ministries. This dynamics is the continuous work of the Holy Spirit. Persecutions may come and go.
People may deny their faith and leave the church. Some churches
and denominations could dwindle and disappear. But the ministry of the Church cannot be stopped or put an end. For, ministries are given as a gift by God and will be continued by the
One who bestowed it to the Church. Its a tremendous truth
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DEVELOPMENT OF STRUCTURES
From the records of the Old and New Testament, some institutions and movements used by God in the history of Israel can
be identified. The people of Israel became an elected and
covenanted community at Sinai (Ex.19-24). Moses, who liberated and guided them through the wilderness, instituted the
priesthood by appointing priests and Levites after receiving instructions from God (Ex. 28-29; Lev. 8-9). The priests and Levites
were to be dispersed among the rest of the twelve tribes upon
entry into the land of Canaan and they were to live with them in
their villages and to build altars for worship and sacrifice. In
addition to conducting worship and offering sacrifices, these
priests were asked to teach the commandments, counsel and
guide the people, settle their disputes and render justice. During the settlement period, the priesthood became a well-established institution throughout the land of Israel. However, this
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main structure had its own limitation. When the people faced
the aggression of the Philistines and Midianities, who plundered
their harvest and subdued the tribes for several years, the priests
were unable to liberate the Israelites from the hands of their
enemies. The ministry of Judges emerged in such a situation.
God called a few individuals, endowed them with power and
used them to liberate the tribes. Such charismatic leaders functioned individually in administering justice and then, with a
group of selected Israelites as a team in liberating the oppressed
tribes. The ministry of the Judges over a period of 200 years
made such a significant impact that their movement became a
para-structure to priesthood. Quite often priests and judges
worked together in cultic preparations before and after the battle and in rendering justice to the people. Their partnership
contributed to the security of the country and to the administration of law and order in the land. On certain occasions, the
priests and judges could not get along together. Yet, the priests
did not consider the judges as rivals to their structure, neither
did they stop their activities. The judges, although, successful
in militarism and efficient in administering the laws of the land,
did not regard the priesthood as irrelevant, neither did they
abolish it, using their military might. They recognized each other
as Gods instruments in fulfilling His will in the lives of Israelites. The institution of priesthood continued before, during and
after the period in exile and the inter-testamental period. However, the para-movement of judges did not continue for long. It
served a purpose in a particular period of history and was replaced by the institution of kingship in Israel.
Priesthood, which played a role in the consecration of kings,
the cultic service before and after the battle against other nations and co-operation with the administration of kings in the
early period of monarchy, came into tension with kings like Solomon, Rehoboam and Jeroboam (1 Kings 2:26-27; 12:6-16; 12:2533). The political institution of kingship started controlling and
corrupting the religious institution of priesthood with its power
and authority. Both, kings and priests, joined together to pervert justice and oppress the poor and powerless, so much so
that the people needed another movement to support them and
speak against the injustices. It became necessary for God to
raise the prophetic movement to proclaim justice. Nathan, Gad,
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training for Gods ministry, as compared to the general education given by mission schools and colleges. Bible Society, Christian Literature Society (CLS), Evangelical Literature Service (ELS),
Indian Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge
(ISPCK), Theological Book Trust (TBT), etc. are providing Bibles
in different languages, theological text books, devotional and
song books for the churches, missions and institutions. (vi)More
Dialogue Forums are emerging due to the initiative of some Christian leaders in various parts of India to bring people of other
faiths to understand each other and to live in peace and harmony. (vii) Other associations such as World Council of Churches
(WCC), National Christian Council of India (NCCI), World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF), Christian Conference of Asia (CCA),
India Missions Association (IMA), Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) which co-ordinate churches and para-church agencies
for sharing of information, discussions and work-out programmes. They help the churches and para-church organizations to do the ministries effectively in our country. It is estimated that there are more than 500 of such protestant parachurch agencies with approximately 6000 Indians working for
them at the local, regional and national level. Their number is
expected to grow some more in the next decade.
THIRD STRUCTURE
God does not limit Himself to the work of these two structures only. He has raised a third structure in different periods
of history to contribute to the goals of His mission. This third
structure used to be secular or religious, belonging to people of
other faiths. The leaders of this structure do not adhere to the
faith of the Israelites or Christians. Jewish leaders such as
priests and prophets acknowledged and co-operated with the
third structure. For example, the 8th century prophets recognized that God raised the Assyrian empire as an instrument to
punish the northern kingdom of Israel (Amos 3:11; 7:17; Hosea
10). Jeremiah acknowledged the Babylonian empire as Gods
instrument to re-structure the corrupt society of Judah by destroying the temple in Jerusalem and leading them to exile
(Jer.1:14; 4:5-8,21,29). Deutero-Isaiah claimed Cyrus, the king
of Persia as Gods servant to bring salvation to the exiled (Isa.
45:1-13). Nehemiah and Ezra co-operated with the Persian rule
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sion-making. Real administration allows leaders of other structures to be involved in the committees of other structures. Involvement of pastors and bishops in the administration and ministries of other para-structure and the involvement of leaders of
organizations in the committees of churches will surely
strengthen co-operation and partnership.
(iv) The power of political and social forces is so great nationally and internationally, it could pervert justice, instigate communal violence, disturb peace and harmony and hinder economic progress and welfare. The oppressive forces do not like
churches, para-church organizations and other similar movements to co-operate in partnership. Critical co-operation with
the Third Structure is a necessity in order to deal with national
and international issues. National and international injustice
are important challenges to the structures in their efforts to
exist in solidarity rather than as divided forces.
(ii) The changing world with the new info-tech challenges for
partnership and mutual co-operation. The need for efficiency
and suitability in the new millennium demand more collaboration among Christians. The secular business world has understood the changes taking place around the globe and is moving
towards joint venture in technology and trade. It is pooling its
resources and expertise to avoid duplication, saving funds and
resources to become more effective. Churches and most organizations are far behind in their theological outlook, working pattern and in achieving expected results. There is the danger of
getting outdated in the new millennium. Partnership is one of
the ways to avoid duplication of work and wastage of resources
and to modernize thoughts and workout strategies.
(iii) The administrative set up created to suit personal convenience needs re-structuring for cordial co-operation. Administration should open up their structures for participatory deci242
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Chapter Seven
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1. Some people think that a call from God is the sole criteria
for doing Gods ministry and that the training is not important.
The Holy Spirit, they believe, could give them the gifts and talents needed for ministry and guide them through critical situations. They assume prayer could give them enough wisdom and
strength for ministry. It is true that the call of God, gifts of the
Spirit and prayer are important. They are needed for ministry
but they alone are not enough. Training is needed to analyze
the situation, plan actions, work out strategies and implement
them.
2. Some have a low respect for Christian ministry and place
high esteem on other professions such as medical, engineering,
business management and international relations. This is another reason for not realizing the importance of training.
3. Evangelistic campaigns, annual festivals, maintenance of
buildings, Christmas celebrations and dinners are regarded more
important than training programmes. So churches and institutions allocate a small amount of the budgets for training and
developing leaders.
4. Some Bishops, Superintendents, Directors and General
Secretaries of churches and para-church organizations are afraid
of updating their clergy, staff and workers. They discourage them
from further studies or from attending workshops and seminars. These leaders want to control those who are employed for
various reasons. Sometimes they are
concerned about the
financial expense of training people and the increase in salaries
to be paid after the training or higher studies.
5. Since well-trained personnel leave the church or organization and start their own ministry, leaders hesitate to spend
funds to develop others working in their institutions. Sometimes,
the well-trained people are reluctant to go to rural areas for
ministry or accept some other responsibility. This kind of experience dissuades the leaders from organizing training programmes.
6. Racial, language and caste discrimination too contributes
to the neglect of training and developing leaders. If the ruling
class in churches or organizations belong to a particular caste
or tribe or race, then others belonging to different castes and
ethnic groups are deliberately left out from training programmes.
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PRAYER
Prayer and meditation are part of Christian life and necessary for ministry. Some leaders who are so busy with the work
neglect prayer. Since prayer is a voluntary action, it is difficult
to give training on it. The initiative is on the side of those who
are involved in ministry, but, the opportunity to come together
to pray for people or particular needs could be provided by
churches and organizations. Prayer topics could be collected
and circulated among members of the body of Christ. Personal
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and corporate prayer strengthens life and ministry. The personal prayer of an individual could include asking God to point
out his or her weakness, asking for wisdom and knowledge,
forgiveness and assurance and strength to bear all the difficulties in ministry. Personal prayer could also be an intercession
for others. Abraham prayed for his personal needs and the
fulfillment of Gods promises. He also prayed for Lot, the people
of Sodom (Gen. 18) and Abimelech, the king of the Philistines
(Gen.20:7). When we pray for others, it becomes a ministry to
them through our prayers. Moses took time to be with God in
prayer and interceded for the Israelites (Ex. 32:9-14). David, as
a king, prayed to God to forgive him for the mistakes he had
committed and pleaded that Israel should not be punished for
his failures. The prophet Habbakuk prayed to God to be merciful towards the nation of Israel and pleaded for justice to be
done (Habk.2). The prayers of Jeremiah show the depth of his
inner struggles and pain and draws strength to continue the
prophetic ministry (Jer.4:19-22; 9-12). He pleaded to God to
forgive Judah and restore the nation. The Book of Daniel shows
him as a man of prayer for the nation. Through prayer, these
ancestors of Israel were able to influence the people around
them and bring great impact in history. Jesus spent time praying to his Father. He withdrew often from the disciples and prayed
for his life, ministry and for the people. His prayer at Gesthemane
revealed his inner struggle in fulfilling the will of God. Quite
often he instructed his disciples to pray for themselves, the nation and to raise more labourers for ministry. The prayer taught
by Jesus which we call as the Lords Prayer has a deeper meaning and much relevance for personal and social life. Water Wink
writes, the phrases of the Lords Prayer are not indicative
but imperative we are ordering God to bring the Kingdom near.
It will not do to implore. We must command. We have been commanded to command. We are required by God to haggle with
God for the sake of the sick, the obsessed, the weak and to
conform our lives to our intercessions (Wink, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a world of Domination,
1992:303). He taught them the meaning of fasting and prayer
(Mt.6:9-18). By the example of the prayers offered by the Pharisee and the Sadducee, He warned his disciples that prayer could
become a ritual and hypocritical (Mt. 6:9-15). He prayed for Is259
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rael on the Cross and asked God to forgive them. The apostles
gave importance to both individual and corporate prayers. Their
miracles are an evidence of such prayers. Pauls letters contained many prayers offered for the believers in the Church. He
began his epistles not only with greetings and blessings but a
few sentences of prayer. A detailed study of prayer found in the
OT and NT is needed in training programmes. The study of the
content and literary styles of prayers, the occasions on which
they were offered, the persons who said the prayer and the result of the prayer could encourage those who are involved in
ministry today. Many Christians pray mainly to change situations, solve their problems or to supply their needs. Quite often
our prayers are self-centered. Prayer changes not only the situation but should also change the person in prayer. The experience of Jacob at Peniel brought changes in his personality (Gen.
32:21-32). Prayer alone cannot change the society has been
pointed out elsewhere in this book. Action is also needed. On
prayer and action, Walter Wink remarks, action is also no
substitute for prayer. For some, action is a cover for unbelief;
they simply do not believe that God is able to act in the world.
Since God cannot change things, we must. For others, who feel
called by God to establish justice, prayer seems a waste of precious time. But long-term struggle requires constant inner renewal, else the wells of love run dry. Social Action without prayer
is soulless; but prayer without action lacks integrity (1992:306).
Our motives, attitudes and values towards prayer should change
whether it is personal or corporate.
LIFE STYLE
The life style of ministers carries more impact in the ministry. Great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teressa
led a simple life. Our model is Jesus. He led a simple life-style.
He shared his power and authority with his disciples. His life
was transparent to his disciples. He did not accumulate wealth
or look for comfort. He avoided popularity and fame. Above all,
Jesus was careful to maintain high standards in ethical life. He
showed the disciples the meaning of humility by washing their
feet. Paul followed the model of Jesus and challenged Christians to lead a simple and ethical life. He wrote to the church in
Phillippi to count everything as a loss for the sake of Christ
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Chapter Eight
Theological Education,
Context and Involvement
This essay is a reflection based on my 20 years of experience
as a Theological teacher in an ecumenical seminary affiliated to
the Senate of Serampore College and involvement with various
evangelical institutions and missionary organizations. It is more
a sharing of my views to initiate discussion in churches and
seminaries. The present scenario of theological education in
India is very much encouraging. The following reasons could
be stated :
(i) We have developed advanced level theological education
that many of our students can complete their doctoral degrees
within India. Scholars to guide researchers, library resources
and scholarship funds have been developed over the years to
provide quality education in our seminars and colleges.
(ii) Indian seminaries are drawing students from neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar,
where theological education is not that much developed either
due to political or ecclesiastical reasons. Indian seminaries have
risen to extend their help to the churches and theological institutions in Asia. India will become an important centre of theological training in Asia in 2000 A.D.
(iii) Indian theological education gives importance to pietism,
ecumenism, evangelization, church planting and liberation.
Indigenization of Christianity was taken seriously soon after Independence and efforts were taken to create an indigenized form
of liturgy and worship, theology in philosophical terms, impart
theological education in regional languages, produce books and
course materials in vernacular, etc. Contextual theologies like
liberation, dalit, tribal, feminist and eco are developing.
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(iv) Churches particularly belonging to Charismatic movements who once questioned the necessity of theological education have now acknowledged its importance and started establishing their own seminaries and institutes either at a large or
small level. However, the mushrooming of theological colleges
in India with overseas funds in the last decade is a serious matter of concern for us. For, some of these seminaries are neither
related to churches nor missions. They are owned by some
families. They call themselves trans-denominational but not
willing to get affiliated to a Senate/Board/Theological Association. They are not bothered to have evaluation and accreditation
by an accrediting agency. Some of the graduates find no future
since their certificates are not recognized by churches and organizations.
(v) Co-operation between the theological institutions of Roman Catholic churches and Protestant churches in terms of exchange of faculty, organizing seminars and producing publications is increasing these days. This can help us to learn from
each other.
(vi) Students who have studied in evangelical seminaries are
accepted for higher studies in ecumenical seminaries. Some of
the students trained in ecumenical seminaries are accepted as
teachers in evangelical seminaries and vice versa. This is a notable change in the Indian theological education. The division
between evangelicals and ecumenicals can be narrowed down
further if Senate of Serampore (SSC) and Asia Theological Association (ATA) work closer on certain programmes and projects.
Although we notice progress in theological education in India, we also hear a lot of complaints from Bishops, Presidents,
Senior Pastors and Laity about the declining commitment of
theologically trained students, lack of vision for people, shallow
understanding of the Scripture and society, misuse of power
and authority, moral lapses and negligence in the stewardship
of money. Should we blame the college that trained such ministers and the system of education given to them? Or should we
blame the structure and treatment of the Church/Organization
that employed them? Leaders of the churches and organizations are partly responsible for not providing proper guidance
and encouragement and shaping their ministers to be effective
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in the ministry. I believe, the system of education and the training of the colleges are also partly responsible in the formation
of Christian ministers. This leads us to raise questions such as
- What kind of Education is more suitable to our context? What
should be the goals and objectives of our theological training?
What should be the centre of our training - Student or Society
or Church?
Another issue raised quite often in the present context is the
theological thrust or focus of the seminaries. Should all the seminaries agree and promote only one theology suited to the policies and doctrinal stand of their management? Theologies are
pluralistic. But what should be the common theological thrust
of the seminaries? Liberation theology which is biblical as well
as contextual should be the main thrust of the seminaries. Seminaries are not just educational institutions but also service agencies in our society. They cannot simply teach subjects and close
their eyes to the evils in our society. Teaching and involvement
should go hand in hand in all our educational institutions including secular schools, colleges and universities. However, many
church leaders question this view and insist that seminaries
should produce only poojarees to conduct worship and rituals.
There is a lack of understanding of the biblical concept of a
shepherd. Seminaries, therefore, are in constant struggle with
their churches to promote the kind of training churches expect
or churches need today.
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dialogue? Should our curriculum include these issues and enable the students to work for peace and harmony or not ? How
do we train our students to appreciate culture, uphold
indigenization and at the same time not to contradict the Gospel or compromise and betray the
Gospel?
Socio-economic dimension of our context is also pluralistic
because Indian society is a class as well as caste oriented . 3-5
% of the population are the richest and control the business
and politics of our nation. More than 50% of the people live
below the poverty line not able to have their daily bread. Out of
40-45 % of the middle class, a large segment are employed in
the private and unorganized sectors, struggling to meet the cost
of living with their poor salary. A small section of the middle
class are salaried people, employed in the Government and trying to go up the ladder by any means. Caste system has divided
our society and created the evils of untouchability, nepotism
and communal violence. Tribals and Dalits demand justice and
equality. Ranvir Sena of the landlords kill the poor Dalits mercilessly. RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal try to impose Brahminical
customs and Sanskritization on others. Caste politics in the
appointments or elections in the churches and dioceses is becoming unavoidable and ruin the unity of the Christians. What
sort of courses and practicals should be offered to make our
theological training more meaningful to our nation ? We need a
paradigm shift from Church focused curriculum to Society
focused curriculum.
Curriculum which includes the list of subjects, detailed course
outline with requirements of reading, assignments and evaluation criteria cannot be formulated theoretically. It should be
related to our context, address to the issues and bring out solutions. Otherwise curriculum written without taking the context
into consideration is useless and irrelevant. Curriculum is not
just to teach knowledge and issue certificates but to impart
knowledge on the context, develop the skill of analysis and identifying the problems, challenge the teacher and students to get
involved in society and achieve some results.
(i) One major problem with many of us is to think of theological training is only to work in the churches. We have a limited
understanding of Gods mission. We are satisfied with produc268
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ban context. Furthermore I was the staff advisor of the Off-Campus Programme of this seminary and involved in training four
batches of students. Madras Theological Seminary and College
is included for their specialized training in evangelism and linking the theological education to planting and caring of the
churches. These three institutions have a goal of training fulltime
clergy to take up challenges of the rural and urban context.
ACTS Institute in Bangalore integrates vocational and theological education and train men and women laity for effective
witness in secular jobs. Their graduates earn their living by working in companies, industries and institutions and involve in ministry. Very few Christian liberal arts and science colleges in India give attention to train their students for effective witness in
the society. Lady Doak College is one among them. Although
Lady Doak College is a liberal arts and science college for women,
it offers Christian Studies Programme for all the Christian girls
and train them to be fully equipped in biblical, theological and
contextual reflections. The five case studies included here may
not narrate all the details of these institutions. Researchers who
are interested in these institutions can visit and get other details needed for them.
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Jesuits to be men who have a great apostolic love for the people
of our land, for their freedom and life, men with deep commitment to satya in all its aspects, men who are sensitive to the
needs of others especially the poor and illiterate and ready to
share their lot, men who draw their inspiration for all these
attitudes from their personal faith experience of Jesus Christ in
whom they are rooted and grounded (Fr. P. Arockiadoss paper,
p.4). This Commission, according to Fr. Arokiadoss, Professor of
Arul Kadal, insisted the following four dimensions to become
the integral part of the Jesuit formation (Quoted from the above
paper, p.4-5):
1. Vernacularization: For effective inculturation, the regional
language of the future mission should become increasingly the
normal medium of communication and instruction in the various stages of formation. The use of English should be maintained as the link language.
2. Regionalization: The early part of formation should be done
in the Regional Centres. During the study of Philosophy and
Theology, the formation could take place partly in the Regional
Centre and partly in the National Centre. Though there cannot
be any true nationalism without regionalism, the dangers of
narrow regionalism should be avoided.
3. Contextualization: The formation should be contextualized
integrating the Indian categories and methodology of reflection
and expression. The pedagogy should be Indian which stresses
more the experiential and personal dimension than the conceptual and impersonal. The formation should further be in the
context of the poor and the marginalized, rather than that of
the elite.
4. Integration or Harmonization: It is true that there are many
dimension of formation: personal, psychological, spiritual, intellectual, social, cultural, apostolic, etc. But all these dimensions should be integrated and harmonized, to enable the emergence of well-integrated human persons.
This Commission emphasized the methodology of experience
and reflection in teaching and learning and a simple life style.
On the basis of these recommendations of the Commission on
Inculturation, the Pilot Project of Tamil Theology (PPTT) was
formed. The Vidyajoti Theological Faculty in New Delhi gave con278
sent to start the Arul Kadal as its RTC. Rt. Rev. Michael Augustine, the Auxiliary Bishop of Madras-Mylapore inaugurated the
Arul Kadal in Aikya Alayam on 10th June 1979.
Naming the RTC in Madras as the Arul Kadal is the first step
in inculturation experiment. The Tamil phrase Arul (Grace) Kadal
(Ocean) means the Ocean of Grace. This name selected by the
students is from Thembavani (Part I, Ch.6, stanza 34) written
by Veerama Munivar (Fr. Joseph Constantine Beschi), the Italian Jesuit missionary who loved the language and culture of
Tamil and addressed God as the Ocean of Grace in his epic.
Describing God as the Ocean of Grace is rooted in the bhakti
tradition of Tamil poets. It is not merely a name taken from
Tamil culture. This phrase is a theological expression to refer to
the integration of theology and praxis. It is God who is the ocean
of grace calls those who do theology to immerse into the ocean
of grace to find the pearl of great price (i.e. the Kingdom of God)
and gain the integral experience of understanding God and involving in society (Fr. Xavier Irudayaraj, Arul Kadal An ongoing Experience in Roots and Blossoms: 1987:89). This seminary
located in the premise of Aikiya alayam in Santhome area of
Madras is closer to the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It is also
symbolic that the ocean nearby Arul Kadal reminds them of
God as the ocean of grace and calling them for doing theology.
Arul Kadal as a Pilot Project of Tamil Theology is meant for developing Tamil Theology to articulate the self-identity of the
Church in Tamil and not just to translate or teach theology in
Tamil.
The entire programme of B.Th. is for four years. The Tamil
students of Vidyajoti College spend their first and second year
in Arul Kadal. During this period, they are sent to live in villages selected for the immersion experience. According to Fr.
Alangaram, the Rector of Arul Kadal, the immersion experience
means to be rooted in a context or in a place with its people,
and to be aware of the movement of the Spirit of God and listen
to him in that context (Christ of the Asian Peoples: Towards an
Asian Contextual Christology:2001:7). The programme of living
and learning in the selected villages during their first and second year of study at Arul Kadal is called Arul Gram. The students spend their third year in the Vidyajoti college to study
and have exposure to the wider national context. In the final
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ARUL GRAM
During the initial years of Arul Kadal, students were sent to
the village parishes on Saturday afternoon and asked to stay on
there till Sunday evening to gain field experience. Very soon
students found the week-end involvement with the villagers was
not enough for contextualizing theology. They suggested to have
a longer experience of immersion into the context of villages.
Students were ready to spend the entire first semester of their
Second Year of B.Th. in Arul Gram. Each batch of students in
Arul Kadal was asked to select a village for one semester involvement. The first phase of this experiment went on from 19841989. The students selected Malligapuram village in the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore for their Arul Gram experience from
June to October 1984 and worked among the Dalit Christians.
The next year batch selected Thiruvellai Vayal, a sub-station of
Kasimedu Parish in the same Archdiocese mainly because of its
multi-religious population and to get more interaction with the
people of other faiths. During their stay in this village, they
were able to participate in the festivals of these religious groups
and observe the casting out of evil spirits by the village shaman.
However, they realized that they are using the people for their
learning and not contributing to the social, economic and political empowerment of the villagers. This evaluation led the next
batch of 1986 to choose Aniladi Olipuram in Pondicherry Diocese to develop an integrated approach to socio-pastoral ministries by involving in the social welfare programmes of the local
parish and the New Education for Liberation (NEL) organized by
the youths as a Non-Governmental Organization to bring awareness among the down-trodden people in that area. Very soon
the students of Arul Kadal learnt to notice the effective contribution of the lay people and recognized the need of co-operation between the priests and laity for social transformation. The
batch of 1987 went on the same line of socio-pastoral approach
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classes in the Cheshire Home for four days and involving with
the Madhary community, Tribals and the Sri Lankan Tamil Repatriates rehabilited in the upper hills for the rest of the three
days. The cold weather affected the health of the students. After
completing one year in Shenbaganur, they wanted to continue
their experience for another year in a village in the plains. They
were placed in Komanagar village in the Kovalam Parish of the
Madras-Mylapore Archdiocese. Meanwhile another batch of students in 1990 went to Moolayar situated in a lower altitude of
the Kodai hills. After spending their first year in the hills, they
retuned to Komangar for their second year experience. Keeping
one batch of students in Moolyar and another batch in
Komangar simultaneously caused problems in sparing faculty
members to these villages. Further more, many voluntary agencies and organizations were working in the Komangar village
which created a problem for the students of Arul Kadal to continue their involvement in Komanagar. For some of these agencies were giving financial aid to the villagers and others were
trying to convert them to Christianity. The villagers could notice
the rivalry between these agencies and denominations working
there. The villagers assumed that the Arul Kadal is receiving
foreign funds for their sake but not distributing to them. So the
students of Arul Kadal were expected to give them financial help.
It was also possible that the villagers were suspicious of the
activities of Arul Kadal and assuming that the students may call
them to convert to Christianity. But conversion was not the purpose of the programme except to train the students in the rural
context. Some youths of the village were instigated now and
then to disturb the tuition centers organized for the Arul Gram
village children. After the intended period of five years stay in
Komanagar (1991-1995), this center was closed down in April
1995. There were no new batches of students for two academic
years ( June,1995- April 1997). Hence no new Arul Gram was
chosen to replace Koman Nagar diaconate. However the Arul
Gram programme shall continue in the following years choosing different villages after consolidating the evaluation.
SUPAM
After completing the third year in Vidyajoti college, the students are ready for deacon ordination. They are sent to parishes
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in friendship, understanding each other and helping one another in sickness, cooking and studies and for prayer, discussions and reflections. In our Indian context, house model provides better opportunities to identify with the local community.
The same may not be suitable in another cultural context where
another model may be better than the house model. A group of
theological students renting a house and living together is a
common phenomenon in the Western countries. Living off-campus and attending the classes in seminaries go on for several
years. But this practice is not organized as a required and guided
programme of the seminaries in the West when compared to
the off-campus programme of TTS. Seminaries in each country
can decide the suitable model of living for their students which
will enrich their theological education and ministerial training
in their context.
Involvement with the people and reflection on their experience consequently can bring changes in curriculum, revising
the content of existing courses and develop new subjects suitable to their region. Seminaries in our country have worked out
different kinds of programmes, namely, Weekend Outreach, Practical Work for 2 or 3 weeks, Intensive exposure for one semester, Summer Vacation training, Arul Gram (living in a village) to
enable their students to gain experience of living with the people, learn from them and serve them. Some staff members responsible for such programmes may accompany the students
and guide them in their involvement and theological discussions.
During the four year theological training at the Tamilnadu
Theological Seminary which is an ecumenical seminary for CSI
and TELC affiliated to the Senate of Serampore, students stay
inside the campus in the first and final year of B.Th or B.D.
studies. Although students have plenty of opportunities to meet
people coming to the campus for various reasons and the local
congregations when students go and assist in the worship services, students miss the opportunity to live with people, see
their life style and take part in their struggles. In order to live
with people for a longer period and interact with them, draw
challenges and shape their theological thinking, students have
to undergo three kinds of programmes integrated with the academic requirement, namely, off-campus programme in the sec286
ond year and Internship Exposure and Rural Theological Institute training in the third year of their studies. In this paper, I
would like to share my reflections out of my experience as the
Dean of the Off-Campus programme for four years (1990-1994)
and try to trace briefly the history of it and highlight its significance for theological education and mission of the churches.
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After evaluating the two year experience of our students living in the slum, a formally structured off-campus programme
was introduced in the year 1975-76 to make it a requirement
for all the Second year B.D and B.Th students. Women and
married students were exempted due to the difficulties in securing suitable accommodation for them and admission in
schools for the children of family students. In addition to the
accommodations in the slums, houses and rooms were rented
in different locations of the city for this purpose. Students from
different dioceses and backgrounds were grouped in small numbers and asked to live in these accommodations and attend the
classes in the campus every day by providing bicycle and special allowance. Special subjects to understand the urban context were offered to these students. Living in off campus led
them to hire utensils, prepare their meals as a team, adjust to
one another, overcome differences in relating to each other and
develop relationship with their neighbours. In the following year
1976-77, some students volunteered to live in the Bethel Farm
(RTI) and attend the classes in the seminary. The enthusiasm of
the students and the impact of living in off campus in their
theological thinking enabled the seminary to continue this programme, bit expensive although, up to 1985. A number of practical difficulties in connection with finding accommodations in
the city, fulfilling their academic requirement of the revised curriculum of the Senate of Serampore and the introduction of one
semester (appx. 5 months) Internship Programme by the seminary in 1977-79 which provided exposure to the third year B.D.
and B.Th students by placing them as different groups in various places of Tamilnadu and outside the state with para-church
ministries and social projects and then sending them to RTI for
the second semester affected the off-campus programme and
brought it to a halt in 1986. However, the lapse of this programme for three years (1986-89) and allowing the students to
live on the campus in their second year of study created a vacuum
in their exposure experience to the problems of urban living.
The need for off-campus living and exposure to urban problems
could be felt in class room and seminar discussions, assignments written by our students, preaching in the chapel and
involvements in our projects. We strongly felt that the off campus programme is unique and has its own contribution in our
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SOCIAL INVOLVEMENTS
The purpose of living in off-campus is to help people and
learn from our social involvements. There is no scheduled programme for their involvements. The need of the hour determined
the nature of their involvement. In the months of October and
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of the insights taken from the assignments written by the students. Their survey and study at the grass-root level brought to
light that there is no systematic teachings in most of these
shrines to educate and unify the understanding of the worshippers. As such the people have their own understanding of the
deities and temples.
Various temples such as Meenakshi, Mariamman, Muniyandi,
Murugan, Kali, Hanuman, Karuppasamy and Vinayagar on the
streets of their localities were studied. The temples of
Mariamman, Vinayagar and Kali deserve our attention.
Mariamman, the goddess is originally a rural deity worshipped
by the village folk, protects the people from chicken pox and
small pox and used to have their temple outside or at the entrance of the villages in those days. Priestly services and ecstatic
utterances are performed by both men and women in villages.
Sacrifices and offerings are offered annually to appease her that
she will continuously protect the village from these diseases.
This goddess worshipped mostly by non-brahmins, is interpreted
and believed, as none but Parvathi, the wife of Siva but took
different avathars and appeared as Mariamman under different
titles such as Muthu (pox) Mariamman, Karumariamman and
Santhanamariamman in various parts of Tamilnadu. This interpretation attests that the rural folk cult is already incorporated
into Saivism. When the villagers migrated to cities, they brought
Mariamman cult with them and established shrines in their
streets to protect them from diseases. Not only Mariamman but
also the Karuppasamy and Muniyandi cults came to Madurai
from villages.
Karumariamman worship began in Gnanaolivoopuram (an
area within Madurai city) when a tailor, a non-brahmin went
and brought a handful of sand from the Mariamman temple in
Thiruverkadu. He functioned as the first priest since he founded
the cult in his area. But he was replaced by a Brahmin priest as
many started worshipping and the income increased. Temple
building was constructed in 1988 and dedicated in 1989 by the
Minister for Hindu Trusts, Tamilnadu Government. Idols of Saivait
deities such as Murugan, his two wives and sons found their
place in the temple building. No animal sacrifice is offered except vegetarian offerings of food, fruits, coconut, milk and flowers. These developments raise the important question of motive
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cities. But soon such cults allow idols of other deities to have a
place in their temples. We notice, therefore, the mixing of the
folk tradition with caste Hindu traditions in the urban context
and the folk worship which went on at the time of founding the
cult in the city decline to individual worship or families gathering only for the annual festival. Several interpretations given by
the people for mixing up the caste Hinduism with rural folk
tradition in the urban situation were noted by our students, viz.
i. in order to draw people adherent to other traditions and
thus bring people of different Hindu traditions to come closer.
ii. In order to help the people to meet different deities in one
temple and get whatever the benefits they want from such deities.
iii. To suppress the rural folk cult which is predominantly
non-brahminical.
iv. To sanscritize the rural cult and incorporate into
brahminical Hinduism and keep their dominance over religion.
Secondly, priesthood of Mariamman, Muniyandi and Kali cult
was initially of non-brahmins but Brahmin priest entered these
temples and replaced the original non-brahmin priests if not
serve as an additional priest. Their salaries range from Rs.100300 plus the free will offerings given to them by the worshippers. In some of these temples, priesthood is hereditary and
perform it as their family or caste tradition to maintain their
social status.
Thirdly, inspite of incorporating various deities in one temple in the urban context and people of different caste worshipping in such temples, the caste difference is still maintained.
No real unity among people of various Hindu traditions is
achieved. Brahmim priests and non-brahmin priests could not
join hands together and serve at the same time except in different timings in temples. Still the exclusivism of Saivism and
Vaishanivism is maintained by many. The important question
raised out of the off-campus experience is whether temples can
solve caste differences, enable people to transcend their own
traditions and bring unity and harmony among Hindus or will
uphold the varnashrama?
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work in tea-shops, building construction work, automobile workshops, selling flowers and making incense sticks. Some of them
turn violent and involve in theft and robbery and face harassment from police.
Using rickshaws, public transport or school bus, children of
middle class parents go to schools managed by the CSI Diocese,
TELC, Roman Catholics and other groups. These schools render
good service to these children at a nominal fee collected at the
beginning of each academic year. These schools are aided financially by the government. However, schools are over crowded
and the teachers have to manage a large number of students in
each class and therefore unable to give sufficient attention to
students and encourage them for creativity or provide extracurricular activities like music, karate, dance, etc. Upper middle
class and the rich who can afford to pay a high fee, send their
children in cars and autos to private English medium Nursery
and Matriculation schools. These schools have obtained recognition from the government. Unlike the other two categories,
they do not get financial grant from the government to pay the
salaries of the staff. Staff members are paid less and have no job
security but have to work hard to show their schools give high
standard of education in the competitive market of private schooling. No doubt that these schools update regularly their extracurricular activities, introduce new programmes and install electronic equipments. Children studying in these schools have a
lot of advantage over the children studying in the schools of
other two categories.
Since schools are class oriented, poor children meet only
the poor children and the rich meet the rich. Interaction and
friendship between the poor children and the rich children in
schools are rare after the development of three tier system due
to the liberal policy of the government for the multiplication of
private schools. Educational institutions are the places where
children of different caste, colour and class can come together,
understand each other and learn from others. Unfortunately
the privatization of education due to lack of funds in the government has paved the way to segregate the people from their childhood.
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Many questions may arise out of this extended essay on Offcampus programme of this seminary. Some of the challenges of
this programme were already highlighted above in this essay.
However, opportunities for evangelism and church planting in
the slums or nearby area of caste Hindus were not taken seriously for some reasons. There is no doubt about the influence
of off-campus programme in the personality development of students, seminary curriculum, teaching methods and evaluation.
As a concluding remark, I would like to affirm that social involvements and short term and long term projects could not be
ignored in theological education. They are integral parts of ministerial training. A viable interaction between class room learning and involvement through projects and programmes must be
worked out by each seminary to make theological education
more meaningful. Class room learning without involvement
through projects and programmes, and projects without class
room reflections in Seminary education cannot be more useful
and regarded a holistic training. Seminaries are not only educational centers but also should become Missions to relate the
training relevantly to the context.
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2. To give the students good theological training, sound spiritual life and good Christian discipline.
3. To motivate and mobilize students to plant churches
through weekend evangelism and lay down strong foundation
for pastoral ministry.
4. To absorb most of the graduates to be pastors in the ECI.
5. To fulfill the vision and goal of ECI since MTSC is a denominational seminary of ECI.
From the above mission statement, it is clear to all those
who work or study in MTSC that they are expected to uphold
the thrust of evangelism and church planting. They do admit
that their active involvement in the field of evangelism and achieving their goal of church planting are more important than academic or theoretical study within the four walls of the class room.
Dr. D. Sunder Singh, the Principal of MTSC and the Bishops
Commissary, believes that the theological training for church
planting is Gods unique plan and writes in his article Missionary training in India for the most part is a failure as far as producing evangelists and church planters are concerned because
there is more theology and less missiology. Almost all the theological colleges are interested in training their students only in
western theology which is scholastic, idealistic and hence dry.
Unless Missiology finds its place in the curriculum, theological
education in India will not enable the seminaries to produce
church planters. Ideally Missiology should be integrated with
the very theology of the Triune God and lists his proposals for
effective church planting through theological training (Theological Education and Church Planting in Mission Mandate:1992:356-362). This seminary has proved in planting more
than 150 churches in Madras city and hundreds of churches in
other parts of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and in some
towns and cities in North India within the short span of 50 years
of its theological education. It is estimated that ECI has more
than 700 churches today all over India planted by the students
of their seminaries. Due to the steady growth of their churches,
ECI has become a powerful denomination in India. The leadership of ECI could raise voice for the rights of Christians, participate in the Minority Rights Committees, negotiate with the government on political, economic and religious issues and chal305
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The advantage is that the pastors and laity of ECI are able to
gather in MTSC for constant updating, refresher programmes,
bible studies, prayer meetings, retreats and guidance. The seminary continues its contribution to the graduates and laity, although they are under the administration of ECI, and encourage them in pastoral ministry. The student body involved in
these meetings gain further insights about the churches and
develop themselves. They learn the pastoral problems and difficulties of the laity through these meetings in addition to what
they learn in the class room.
The fifth step in their outreach activities is to recommend to
ECI to extend social help to the needed families in their congregations or to work out relief measures during emergency like
flood or famine in the villages where they have the week-end
activities and camps. The MTSC is aware of the demand of the
people in villages and slums for social help, relief and rehabilitation. But MTSC does not carry out the social service. It recommends the needs of the people to the Head Quarters of ECI
which works out with CASA, EFICOR and World Vision. However students of MTSC are involved in extending their labour
and help through the local pastor to the community in need.
Such opportunities train students to understand the problems
of society and express their help in the struggles of Christians
as well as people of other faiths.
Religious conversion in the pluralistic context of India is a
burning issue. MTSC and ECI believe in converting those who
respond positively to the Gospel and make them disciples of
Christ. They believe that the conversion of the dalits and oppressed people to Christianity can help them to improve their
socio-economic status. However, they are aware of the disadvantages in discipling the suppressed communities (M. Ezra
Sargunam, Church Growth among the Poor and the Suppressed
in Mission Mandate: 1992:265-269). Although MTSC has been
criticized by some leaders for their stand on church planting,
their theological training of studying and using the principles
and strategies of Church Growth has led them to plant and take
care of more than one thousand churches today. MTSC and ECI
have created churches which can work as a base for bringing
social transformation.
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lected cities in India. The rest of the vast majority of the laity
receives education mainly through preaching in the churches.
This happens usually once a week on Sunday worship service.
Well planned regular Bible studies go on in very few churches
during an evening on a week-day. Lay people who are employed
in secular jobs find it difficult to attend such a Bible study after
their days hard labour. Planned and prepared Christian education programmes for children, Youth and adults are used in
very few churches which could afford to spend money on staff
training and printed materials. As this situation prevails in many
churches in South and North India, the laity do not get sufficient training in theological and ministerial formations. This has
been pointed out in the discussions in churches and seminaries over the years.
Laity formation gets less attention and low budget in comparison to ministerial training in seminaries, bible institutes
and missionary training centres. Overseas churches and mission boards too give priority to ministerial training in India rather
than laity training particularly training young men and women
in colleges. Mushrooming of seminaries, Bible colleges and institutes in the recent years in India is an evidence to that fact.
The main reason stated for this priority and imbalance is that
one clergy when trained will train many lay people. Such an
opinion, we know, is not much realised in the mainline and
independent churches. For many Christians go to the church
three or four times a year during the festival period. These Christians cannot be reached only by preaching and teachings held
in the Church. Village congregations only occasionally hear sermons from theologically trained clergy since one cleric is assigned to many churches. Most of the Sundays, lay leaders such
as local school teachers, youths or evangelists lead the worship
and preach the sermon. City Christians are busy with their jobs,
commuting long distances in buses and trains and attempting
to make time for recreation. Organising these urban Christians
for regular training and teaching in churches is difficult. The
idea that laity, therefore, can be only trained by churches is an
outdated concept. This strategy for the formation of laity does
not work effectively anymore. Churches and Mission Boards
should raise the following questions: Where can we train the
laity more effectively? What is the best period of their life for
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(i) As aided colleges who receive financial grants for staff salaries from the government have to oblige the rules of the government. Any religious education is viewed with suspicion as a
propagation of the religion.
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(ii) Faculty who are trained in their field of arts and sciences
are not trained and qualified in theological education to teach
theological subjects to the students.
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may be taught, not as theological training, but as academic disciplines with an approved syllabus by the University for students, irrespective of their particular religion. But very few students belonging to different religions prefer these courses since
employment opportunities for such graduates are rare. This academic approach to courses lacks recognition by religious authorities and institutions.
(iv) Due to the pluralistic composition of staff and students
and the multi-faith context, Colleges hesitate to offer theological education, emphasizing laity formation.
(v) Some management and staff of colleges feel that laity formation is the responsibility of the local church and hesitate to
add the extra burden of teaching theological courses on teachers, in addition to their field of specialization.
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Voluntary Programmes
Worship Service
Christian staff and students are welcome to attend the morning and evening worship services held in the chapel. Staff members share their thoughts from the Bible. This is an opportunity
for women to lead-and preach which they are not able to do in
the churches. Quoting incidents, experiences and interpreting
the text from feminist perspectives challenges students. Although
a lectionary is not followed for worship, Lady Doak College uses
the liturgies of various church traditions and a list of important
international and national days to be remembered in the worship, preaching and prayers. This makes the community aware
of the global and national issues and to try to relate Christian
faith and commitment to address these problems. Since many
women do not have the opportunity to attend the Confirmation
courses conducted by the churches, Lady Doak College organizes Confirmation classes to these students. They learn the basic beliefs of CSI and get confirmed in a special service at the
chapel by the Bishop of Madurai-Ramnad Diocese.
Bible Studies
Those students who are residing in the hostels on the Campus have the privilege of attending the evening worship service
and to enrich themselves with regular Bible Studies. With the
co-operation of local pastors and professors of the seminary,
students learn to understand the biblical books chapter by chapter.
Seminars
Christian students are requested to attend special seminars
on theological issues organised by SCM and the Christian Study
Centre. Theologians and church leaders are invited to address
the students. Scholars visiting Madurai or on sabbatical arrangement with the college are invited to speak to the students and
staff and, thus, the students are exposed to scholarly discussions.
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Required Programme
Christian Studies
While the above three voluntary programmes contribute to
the formation of laity, attendance is optional. These programmes
have their own limitations. Laity formation needs structured
programmes and to be organised as required. Christian Studies
Programme is required of all Christian students who are doing
graduate studies at Lady Doak College. During their three-year
degree programmes, Christian students irrespective of their denominational tradition, have to learn the Old Testament, New
Testament and Theology at a basic level. These subjects are offered each year with a detailed syllabus provided by the Christian Educational Council. The syllabus of the Old Testament
includes the study of the creation and fall, ancestors of Israel,
bondage and liberation, covenant and law, judges, united and
divided monarchy, leadership, 8th and 9th century B.C.E. prophets, exile, message of Ezekiel and Daniel, post-exilic period,
psalms and worship and the message of the Old Testament.
The New Testament subjects include the birth, ministry and
teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, resurrection of Jesus, birth
and growth of the new community, mission to the gentiles, gifts
of the spirit, pastoral concerns, doctrinal concerns, message to
the seven churches in Revelation and the idea of new heaven
and new earth.
The Christian Theology Course deals with doctrines like the
Trinity, humanity, incarnation, atonement and cross, resurrection, work of the Holy Spirit, eschatology and issues related to a
Christian home, vocation, ecology and environment and the role
and status of men and women in ministry-with a view to
strengthen Christian faith and commitment towards immediate
context.
Classes to teach these courses are conducted once a week
in the evening after the regular working hours. Students who
study these courses and take the exam at the end of each year
go with a basic knowledge of the scripture and theological perspectives. Some of the students have tried to relate their field of
study with theological issues in their thesis or project writing.
Students and their parents have appreciated the effort to deal
316
with the gender issues in the Christian Studies Programme because women are marginalised in their churches. The programme assists the female students when they become mothers and helps to bring up their children in faith. The course also
helps women to understand the problems and ethical issues
connected with their husbands careers.
Challenges
Some of the efforts Lady Doak College had undertaken and
the challenges they face to make the Christian Studies Programme more effective are the following:
i. Staff members drawn from different disciplines are given
short term training by the pastors and professors of the seminaries and institutes in Tamil Nadu. Guest lectures and refresher courses are organized for the staff members.
ii. This college has a good collection of theological books in
English and Tamil in their Christian Studies Centre and main
library. However, to continuously update the library with recent
theological books, acquiring reference works as well as journals
is costly. As a secular college, the priority in the library budget
is for books and journals on arts and sciences. Financial constraints also limit them to organize seminars, set up faculty training programmes or to sent faculty members abroad for shortterm training.
iii. Since students have to spend money to buy text books of
their discipline, they find it difficult to buy theological books.
Providing printed notes or at least xeroxed materials for each
lesson to staff and students has been found to be helpful.
iv. Although laity formation through their Christian Studies
Programme has been a valuable contribution to the families and
churches to which their students belong, this contribution has
not been brought to the knowledge of the churches. The
churches, therefore, do not provide many opportunities for the
students to be involved in their programmes and ministries.
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Management (Cooking, Baking, Juice making, catering, interior decoration) and Screen and Off set Printing. ACTS is planning to add some more technical courses. Many of the above
courses are recognized by the National Open School of the
Central Government. Recognitions are sought as and when other
courses are introduced. Students have to learn the theory part
of the courses and do practicals as well. The question papers
are set by NOS and send to the institutions to conduct the exams. The answer sheets are sent to Delhi for valuation and certification. Students who cannot write in English or Hindi can
write in their own mother tongue and the NOS appoints examiners to value answer sheets written in regional languages. This
shows how much the Government of India (Ministry of Human
Resource Development) is in favour of vocational training and
developing our young men and women. The Central Government should be appreciated for its concern and contribution to
enable men and women to achieve skill with a recognized certificate or diploma and get a job. The teachers of the vocational
courses are qualified in the technical discipline and holding
approved Diplomas and Degrees.
The theological courses offered for the students of vocational
training vary. Some of the important subjects are viz. Theology
of Work, Introduction to the Bible, Major Religions of India,
Gospels, Christian Doctrine, History of Christianity, Psalms,
Prophetical Movement, Homiletics, Life of Christ, Mission and
Evangelism, Christian Growth, Modern Religious and Secular
Movements, Historical Survey of Self-Supporting Ministry, Life
and Work of a Christian Minister, Christian Ethics, Christian
Education, etc. Advanced level subjects are introduced for BA
and MA students in Ministry. These courses are taught for a
semester of twenty weeks by qualified pastors, teachers and visiting professors of seminaries. In addition to these subjects, students are taught the language of English to improve their reading, writing and speaking skill. Some students who come to the
Institute without the ability of speaking or understanding English have remarkably improved their English. This has given
them confidence to seek employment in offices, industries and
clinics in towns and cities. In the early period of the Institute,
students were taught theological courses in the morning and
technical courses in the noon. This has created an impression
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has given them confidence about their skill and hope of getting
an employment after the completion of their education. It is
estimated that 90 percentage of the students who graduate from
the Institute get a job because of their vocational training or
start their own personal business and make a living (For their
alumni situation refer to: ACTS Ministries: Celebrating 20 Years
of Gods goodness:1999 and other News Letters).
Not only technical formation, but also personal formation
takes place during their training. Students develop their personality through learning theological courses, inter-action with
staff, living and working together with fellow students. The physical side of their personality develops by practical training in the
workshop, involvement in the projects in the campus and villages and games in the evening. By integrating theological and
technical courses, students mental perception about their career, life and meaning of being a Christian is constantly shaped.
During my stay at the ACTS Institute and interaction with the
students, I noticed the way they could analyze their past and
present situation and recognize the improvement in their personal development during their study at ACTS.
as evangelists or preachers but as carpenters, electricians, mechanic, health worker, typist, office assistant, gardener and horticulture experts. They boldly speak of their witnessing out of
their conviction and not as their profession for earning salaries.
Their testimonies and genuine spirit in witnessing have brought
many local people into the House Prayer meetings which have
now grown to 55 in number. Those people who are not given
pastoral care or provided with worship service on Sundays by
other Churches are invited to come and worship in 12 different
centers planted by ACTS and are called as Christalaya Congregations. The Christalaya Congreations include the worshiping
congregation of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. It includes Christians who migrated from other states to
the region of ACTS Institute for jobs and looking for worship
and pastoral care as well as people of other faiths and ideologies
who showed interest in the Gospel of Christ. The effective witness and active involvement of the staff and students to organize the interested people into congregations and providing them
the pastoral care are contributing to the steady growth of the
Christalaya Congregations. The strength of their witness is on
training the students to be skilled persons, giving dignity to
labour and making them to earn their own living out of the
technical training. This dimension of witness of this laity has
attracted others to join their fellowship and worship the Lord
Jesus Christ. Many of the members in the congregation are
labourers and some of them are professionals who could appreciate the witness of the students who are getting training for
work and witness. Some of the staff members of ACTS live in the
area of the congregations and are ordained to provide continuous pastoral care as well as teaching in the Institute. This has
facilitated more the ministerial formation of the students for
witness and leading the worship services, prayer meetings and
bible studies on week-ends. Some of their graduates who went
to start their own trade and business in different states in India
have been successful in continuing their secular job as well as
planting congregations nearby and taking care of them without
depending on the congregation for financial support. Work,
Worship and Witness can be integrated is evident from the training of ACTS Institute and the successful ministry of their alumni.
It is also admitted by the Institute that not all of their alumni
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are able to plant churches but they continue to witness wherever they are employed.
The founder Dr. Ken Gnanakan, the Executive Director Dr.
Richard Gnanakan and faculty members of ACTS Institute admit the limitations in their integrated vocational and theological
training and are aware of some of the problems and prospects of
such an integrated training. Let me raise the following few issues related to theology and praxis of work, worship and witness for further discussion and exploration.
1. The frequent question raised is: How to balance the emphasis on work and witness? Some students are so enthusiastic for evangelism and ministry that they regard the vocational
training is ultimately for witness. Other students regard work
and labour as the primary calling but recognize witnessing cannot be ignored in Christian life. Moving between work and witness is a practical problem which is recognized by staff and
students.
2. Very few of their alumni have left their secular jobs and
went for fulltime ministry as pastors or evangelists. Should we
expect all the graduates to continue in skilled jobs for their life
or allow them to go for fulltime ministry is another question. On
the other hand, can a fulltime pastor or evangelist trained in a
traditional seminary return to jobs like teaching or administration in companies and institutions or banking or to start private
business? Will the move from ministry back to secular work be
regarded as denial of his or her call and backsliding? What is
wrong in returning to secular jobs and continue witnessing for
Christ when a pastor or evangelist or theological teacher or missionary could not be effective or feeling miserable for various
reasons in fulltime ministry?
3. Although companies and private business concerns recognize their training and certificate and provide their students
employment, the Dioceses, Churches and Christian Organizations have not come forward to employ and encourage these
young men and women. In my opinion, churches and organizations can give priority to these youths who have the integrated
training than preferring people without skilled and theological
training. What is the attitude of Christian leaders towards the
theology of work and integrated training? How can Christianity
challenge varnashrama and help the Dalits particularly from
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Conclusion
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Conclusion
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INDEX
344
Magistrate 106-108
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Ordination 225-230
Partnership 26-27, 46, 126-128,
190, 235-243
Pastor 140, 197-207, 216-217, 255
Patriarchy 60-61
Political 55-57, 81-82, 114-117,
129-136, 199-201
Power 72-73, 103, 110-112, 119,
132-135, 238, 256
Prayer 92, 130-133, 139, 147, 150,
197, 206, 258-260
Priest 32, 82-87, 104, 200, 209233, 236-238, 254
Prophet 32, 34, 35, 112-122, 185,
194, 220, 242, 253
Satyagraha 131
Scripture 23, 24, 26, 43, 53-54, 7778, 142, 242, 251-252
346