TITLE: THE CHALLENGES IN INDIAN CHURCHES TODAY
Introduction:
Indian churches are in the third level of growth ever since the
evangelical church arrived in India. Even though the first missionary to India
St. Thomas arrived India two thousand years back, yet the churches started
facing the real impact of the gospel in the 16th century after the
reformation. The three stages I can classify they are,
1.
The period
of Missionaries
2.
Intermediate,
Indigenous period
3.
Totally
Indigenous (self sustain) church.
The churches today are in the stage of self sustainment with its
own flavor and color. The four pillars of indigenous churches are
Self propagation: The evangelistic works to be
done through the witness of one’s community. It is not someone propagate the
gospel today. The missionaries faced failure in sometimes just because they
were counted as aliens. Today the church should propagate itself to its
community. More people are added to the church by looking at their relatives
and neighbors.
Self support: The needs of the ministries to
be met indigenously. It is not expecting the foreign nations for the help to
build the churches in India. The finance to extend the mission works to be
raised in India; we have lot in nation but very less in giving it out. In the
foreign churches, giving for other nation’s ministries is a part of the
ministry. A pastor from US whom I met weeks ago shared that his church gives
for the foreign mission $30,000 per year. Indian churches must also be self
supportive to its own evangelistic works.
Self governing: Indigenous churches in India to
be administered by its own. Church administration to be made for each and every
church to prove its freedom and representation of the complete body of Christ
in the local church.
Self reference: It shows that the churches in
India should have its own flavor and color. The method followed in the US
cannot be followed in India; neither the African method of dancing would work
out in India. We have our own style of conducting worship which can never become
wrong. Our music, culture, language … all are different with the others,
therefore there is no international pattern of worship in self reference.
Self Theologizing: Gospel is translatable to all
cultures and languages. Self theologizing is not creating a new theology but
applying the theological norms / truths in all cultures.
The growth of the church in this level is
based on the following elements, fail to do them will lead into declination,
through the leaders of the church. Four different things or challenges are
before the Indian churches which are lacking today (Eph 3:10; Philemon 1-2;
23-24), they are.
1. Discipleship: The key in
great commission (Matt 28:19-20)
Discipleship is the key in the
teaching of Jesus Christ. The method of evangelizing is given more important
through crusades, conferences and open-air meetings. Most of them are stopped
with the first level and doing it for long times. The believers must be turned
into disciples, the one who imitate the Lord in and through their lives. The
word discipleship is replaced for evangelism in Matt 28:19, “Make disciples
of all nations.” It is the most forgotten commandment in the great
commission. The Lord needs disciples than mere believers; discipleship is more
valid than making believers. It is most difficult thing to imitate Christ in
our lives.
The Indian churches must give more importance to “making
disciples” of the converted believers. The leaders must make them as
Christ-like disciples, imitating the master Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor.
11:1).
2. Leadership: Making disciples as
leaders
Jesus made his disciples as
apostles after his ascension. They were lay people, probably uneducated and low
in profession. Jesus chose them to be the future leaders of the church which He
left in their response. Later they were the pillars of the early church
(Gal.2:9). Today most of the churches have the believers in their level, not
taking them either to disciple or to leadership.
It is the contemporary fear of the church leaders that if a
believer is gifted to do the ministry they are afraid of their position as a
leader. In today’s context many believers try to split the congregation into
many pieces, or trying to steal the believers from their mother church. Jesus
made the disciple a leader. Today our churches are in great lack of producing
good leaders.
3. Partnership: Making Leaders
“Fellow Workers”
Philemon 1-2; 23-24. Paul repeatedly in
his epistles used the term “fellow” to show the partnership of others in his
ministry. Fellow Servant (Col. 1:7); Fellow Prisoner (4:10); Fellow Soldier
(Phi 2:25) Fellow Helper (2 Cor. 8:23), Fellow Citizens (Eph 2:19); Fellow
Laborers (Phi 4:3), Fellow Workers (Col 4:11)…etc. God’s ministry doesn’t
belong to an individual. It is one of the most difficult thing in today’s
ministries, counting our disciples as partners in the ministry. Many pastors
and leaders claim that they were the senior ones in the ministry that they
raised more disciple pastors in the ministry. Most of the times the
believers are encouraged to give to the church as partners in the ministry, are
they given parts in the conducting of the services?
One of the member of a broken church responded to me that they are
not given any opportunity to take part in the services. We are not treated as
partners of the church activities, we are only asked to take partnership in the
offerings. It is true that the disciple/leaders should be counted as the
partners in the ministry. It is not shameful to make the believers as partners
in our ministries.
4. Worship: Living sacrifice (Rom
12:1-2)
Worship in our modern times understood as
signing, clapping, jumping, crawling, noisy music and dancing. Worship today is
controlled by time (___to___) and methodologies. It is mostly to a place of
emotional expression. There are lots of modern worship leaders and worship
centers. In recent days I notice some of the church names are turned into “worship
centers, tabernacle of praise …etc” some churches announced 24 hours of praise
and worship.
What is lacking today is the real meaning of worship. Of course
all the above mentioned elements are the parts of worship, but it is not the
only means to worship. That is why we see accusations in the churches today,
emotion is needed in the worship but not the emotion alone is the worship. I
Cor. 14:15, apostle Paul claims, “Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in
the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the
spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.” The concept of the people
in India today is sacred and secular lives. They differentiate sacred life in
the Sundays and secular in the other six days. As a Christian, there are no
sacred and secular lives. Everyday our lives should be sacred, the real meaning
of worship is presenting ourselves (body and self) as living sacrifice (always)
Rom.12:1-2. It has no limitation of days but every day and every hour.
Worship is entire service (not only praise and worship), in a
broader meaning worship is our lifestyle every day. Our walk with the Lord each
and every hour, it should not be limited to hour and days. May the Lord grant
all our actions to prosper the Indian church in the days to come, Let God
revive the leaders of Indian church to have a new motivation and challenge to
overcome the challenges set forth before us.
Amen. ( This sermon was preached By Rev. Samuel D Stephens on 8th
April 2013)
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