Good is not good enough

One of the definition that Oxford dictionary points out for the word “good” goes this way, “Appropriate to a particular purpose; useful, advantageous, or beneficial in effect.”. Cambridge dictionary defines it as “very satisfactory, enjoyable, pleasant, or interesting:”. As human beings we all desire to attain the status ‘good’, at least we desire to be good though we do not completely attain the status of being good. A theologian quotes, ‘Are we generally good or basically bad? If you have to look around your business, workplace, or campus, you'll find ten bad men for every good man.  Sadly, every good man is a bad man as well.’.  It can be so true that all our goodness can be spurious beyond our comprehension. In fact the Bible declares in Isaiah 64:6 “..all our righteousness are as filthy rags…”. Does this mean the creation of human beings is erroneous? Definitely not, The Bible confirms that God certified His creation by saying in Genesis (1:31) “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good indeed”. It is the very nature of sin that is so much in us, that we fail to attain the complete status of being good and fall short from it. Here is an excerpt from the beautiful poem “Two kinds of people” by Ela Wheeler Wilcox (You may browse to read the complete poem), which goes like this,

“There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Two kinds of people no more I say.
Not the good or the bad, for it's well understood,
The good are half bad, the bad are half good.”

What looks good is still found wanting. Generally, most of the people are good when they are not in contact with people and less exposed to tempting opportunities and threats. The moment they have to encounter situations which can be demanding or vulnerable they fail miserably. The only solution to this dilemma is to reach out to God the almighty who is good and upright (Psalms 25:8), who stores His goodness for those who fear Him (Psalms 31:19), and earnestly invites us to taste and see how good He is. (Psalms 34:8).

I intent to draw your attention to the very popular parable of Jesus “the parable of the sower” and highlight the emphasis Jesus made to the aspect of ‘good’. In Mathew 13:8 it is being described this way, “Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown”. Isn’t it strange to be told that the seeds did fall in the good ground but there was a drastic difference in the level it produced. It is said some produced hundred-fold, some sixty-fold and some thirty-fold. How come the good ground differed in its yield?  Most of the time we fail to take the ground into consideration, the fertile level of the good ground can also vary. It depends on how much manure has gone into the particular ground and other factors that has  affected the ground fertility level. Let’s be aware that the good has its gradation depending on how much ingredients the field has received.  Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” talks about it. In fact, Jim says, good is the enemy of great. The above 60% produce depends on the factor where the good scales up to a next level to being great. He says transformation happens when the below-mentioned three factors are in place and they are as follows:

Disciplined people: You and I can increase the fertility level with our commitment and devotion to God and learning His statutes from the Scriptures and following it ardently. The Bible helps us to be organized well. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27 says "I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that the preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.".

Disciplined thoughts: The Bible tells you are defined by how you think Proverbs 23:7 it says “..As he thinks within himself, so he is..” Only God is big enough to fill your mind and heart when you look to Him with disciplined thoughts. Fill your minds with His goodness and be renewed in your mind to prove what the will of God is for your life. (Romans 12:2)

Disciplined actions: When the first two are in place your action follows according to the wishes and desires of God’s heart.

If you notice in the parable, God put the gradation from ascending to descending order, it is said some produced, hundred then sixty and finally to thirty-fold. The first expectation from God is that our yield will be at the highest level and that depends how conducive and fertile our ground is, to that extent it is cultivated to make a huge difference. Your in-depth honest relationship with God can only bring about a greater blessing to you and to others. 

Blessings 

David Raj

SOCIAL NETWORK V/S YOU

A Fact to Ponder:

Smartphones, tablets, or the Internet can be addictive because their use can trigger the release of the brain chemical dopamine to alter mood — which is exactly what drugs and alcohol do. 

I wish to delve a little on this trending area of Social network. I know I am walking on egg shells but I wish to throw some light on its usage and effect on an individual. Social media has attracted masses because we benefit from being connected, being informed and being inspired. As Christians we are well aware that there are potential pitfalls with their usage as well. Though we desire to glorify the Lord and represent Him well, the world of social media can upset those intentions, if we are indiscreet. Smart phones are one compact platform where at a click of a button we get innumerable opportunities to live our life without God and Social network takes the lead.

I wish to give some statistics to give you a perspective and for us to be enlightened on this subject:

• An average Facebook user now has about 338 friends, (A possible place to dwell on superficial relationship)
• An average Indian spends minimum 2.5 hours per day approximately on mobile internet. (Have you wondered that’s the basic tithe in a day (24 hours) you are robbing off.)
• The average daily usage of social media worldwide. As of 2017, daily social media usage of global internet users amounted to 135 minutes per day,
• The average person will spend more than five years of their lives on social media, according to a study by influencer marketing agency Mediakix. (More than five long years of meaninglessness and life without God)

Alarming stats! Wouldn’t you agree with me? An everyday presumably harmless activity is consuming millions of people in the name of networking and subtly disconnecting your communion with God, which was satan’s original ploy. A UK study found that people who spend a lot of time on social media are more likely to display negative personality traits such as narcissism(Self-admiration). The negative effects of social network are initiated not from outside influences but from the depths of an individual’s character.

It gives us the leverage to maintain a superficial relationship with our Virtual friends and this ultimately spills over to our relationship with God without us realizing it. Social network successfully promotes non-commitment and a hypocritical lifestyle. It pushes us to a point where all we want is to impress ourselves, in terms of prominence, personal significance and superiority. Do we blame the advancement of technology that has made the world closer and smaller by reaching out through social network or our failure to manage our emotions effectively? In both cases the effects are not very complimenting.

Augustine and Martin Luther are known for describing the human condition as incurvatus in se (“curved inward on oneself”). Theology recognizes that human hearts are curved inward, inclined to boast, and always looking for opportunities to prove their own self-righteousness. Rather than living a life that is aligned toward God and others, human sinfulness directs our life inward, toward self-justification, self-gratification, and self-aggrandizement. The notion that sin has warped, twisted, maimed and ruined human goodness is as universal in theology as Facebook is in modern life. If you are trying to value yourself more than you should you would fall into the sins of pride, deceit and arrogance. Instead Jesus set an example by humbling himself, taking on human flesh and dying on the cross. We are called to have the same attitude of humility, which may be counter-cultural to social media.

Sean Parker, founding president of Facebook, recently came out with some harsh words regarding the social media platform: “God only knows what it’s doing to our children’s brains.” Parker is not alone in this sentiment. Chamath Palihapitiya, another former Facebook executive, has suggested that social media is destroying how society works, and Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has publicly stated that he does not want his young nephew to use social networks. It would seem that Parker’s ominous words are prophetic God only knows what Facebook is doing to us. Facebook’s technology (for that matter any social network) is designed to accommodate, encourage, and exploit human depravity. The “Like” button on Facebook is not there by chance; the “Like” button was created to satisfy our deep longing to be liked by others, lauded for our accomplishments, and acknowledged for our righteousness.

Beware! Social network can shape you to brag about yourself and display a false you.

Social networking site is not going to help you in your spiritual identity because you are forcibly constructing yourself. You are trying to maintain the impression of yourself when it is absolutely wrong. You need a true estimate of yourself without being prideful and impressing yourself of who you are. You need to get and outside view of your inside situation. God gives the sense of value and dignity. Would you be able to draw a line and ensure the priority doesn't exceed God and you don’t fall into gross sinning?

May God help each one of us especially our children in this strange area.

Blessings

David Raj

References: 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic

https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic

https://helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm

Blessings

David Raj

Church qualifying rate is 28.6%

I am inspired strongly by the spirit of God to pen down on the difficult subject that relates and reiterates on the body of Christ - The Church.   God was gracious to give me an opportunity to be part of an organization that worked in partnership with over 150 Church denominations in India for close to two decades. The Church is the hope for the nation which is striving to bring peace in all facets of life and therefore the Church should exist holistically (areas pertaining to spiritual, physical, emotional and cognitive). Bryant L Meyers in his book 'Walking with the poor' sadly remarks the poor understanding of the Church on Holism "We express our captivity to a modern worldview when we say that holistic ministry means combining evangelism (meeting spiritual need) with relief and development (meeting physical need) as if these were divisible realms and activities. Then we make it worse by insisting that the church or the evangelism part of our organization do the former, while the development agency does the latter. A number of serious and thoughtful Christian groups are organized this way". Influencing the unification of Churches and refining the approaches towards mission and development is challenging because of the Church diversity in pattern, doctrine and many other factors that raises questions for a non-believer and for the non-Christian world. With all honesty in Christ I am only striving to put things upfront what the Lord is putting in my heart without diluting the facts by any means.

 Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary estimated 34,000 denominations in 2,000, rising to an estimated 43,000 in 2012. I believe it would have reached close to 50, 000 by now. It is said, every day hundreds of new denominations keeps emerging.  The sad story is that every Church displays Christ from their own denominational framework distorting the core Message of Biblical Holism [(meeting spiritual need) with relief and development (physical need)]. I want to draw your attention to the seven Churches described in the book of Revelation, only two successfully qualifies out of Seven which works up to 28.6%.  Jesus always had concern on the way the temple of God was managed and the way the priest and leaders were not doing justice to ‘the house of prayer’. He condemned the spiritual leaders by saying “you are making it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13) and later John in the book of Revelation articulates the wretchedness of the seven Churches. One of the senior leader from a political party in India remarked this way "The problem in our country is not the lack of leadership, in fact we have too many leaders". It is so true even when it comes to the Churches today. We have too many leaders yet the Churches are not significantly making any impact, either because the Churches are selective in priorities, concentrating only on themselves or have not understood the gospel correctly.

 Let me give you the success rate of Jesus leadership team. Except Judas, eleven were successful that works up to 91.7%. I am sure you will agree even today with so many Christian leaders on air, on magazine yet unable to create successful impact in the society and in our nation. The statistic scale today is not very different from the seven churches qualifying rate as described in the book of Revelation. 

In the book of Ezekiel God raises several allegations against the leaders, pastors and every individual who claim to be His disciple. It says "You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.". Ezekiel 34:4 CSB. What is our response to this accusation? Do we take God's love for granted? Let's not forget He is also consuming fire.  Churches all over the world are going through serious persecution, in fact God is trying it, to ensure only the Churches with correct understanding of its vision exists.  Take this into cognizance, if as an individual or Church you maintain a superficial relationship by shutting your ears and closing your eyes to the need of the poor and failing to have a proper strategy derived from the vision for your church, then it is very much likely both (individuals & Church) will fall miserably from the divine standard.  The Bible cautions us of the judgement that is going to start from the house of God as said in 1 Peter 4:17 "For the time has come for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God"?   

Philip Yancey, in his book What's So Amazing about Grace? Quotes “Having spent time around "sinners" and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the saints put on airs, judged him, and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end it was the saints, not the sinners, who arrested Jesus.”. To be more precise, the priest and leaders from the synagogue are the ones who got Jesus crucified.  History will definitely repeat, if we operate from a selfish zone by making Church as a business centre as Jesus mentions it in the book of John (2:16) "..stop making My Father's house a place of business", failing which it is very likely we would be crucifying him yet again. Leaders and believers, can we position our Church holistically and be active like the early Church reaching out to the poor and needy? 

Thought provoking article on live and dead Church (author unknown)

Live churches have space problems;

Dead churches have no such worries.

Live churches are always changing things;

Dead churches don’t have to – they remain the same.

Live churches have noisy children and active youth;

Dead churches are fairly quiet and serene.

Live churches have a shortage of staff;

Dead churches usually have a surplus.

Live churches are always overspending their budgets;

Dead churches maintain large bank accounts.

Live churches are keen to develop new leaders;

Dead churches use the same ones over and over again.

Live churches spend much on missions;

Dead churches keep it all at home.

Live Churches have an active leadership team and a structure;

Dead Churches structure confines to the pastor and his family alone.

Live churches are filled with givers;

Dead churches are filled with tippers.

Live churches operate primarily on faith;

Dead churches operate totally on sight.

Live Churches sermons are refreshing and new every week;

Dead Churches repeat the sermons and illustration over and over.

Live churches strain to learn and serve;

Dead churches seek their comfort zones.

Live churches evangelize; 

Dead Churches fossilize!  

Blessings, 

David Raj

Imitate me & Imitate my Church

'What can I learn from your Church? How does it equip to be a vibrant member who exemplify Christ’s love? What does your Church model?  What special trait is visible and spoken of? What mechanism or protocol your Church follows to handle tough situation from within and without?  These are some question that needs to have answers unhesitatingly.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1 says "Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ." Let me ask you, to what extent are you confident enough to tell your kids, spouse, family members, church congregation to just follow you and be sure to make it up to eternity? I personally struggle to answer this question. Paul takes it further by asking the people to be imitators of the Churches in Judea.  "For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea....". 1 Thessalonians 2:14   How influencing you exist as an individual and Church and how you are spoken of and remembered matters a lot. There can be a possibility of false allegations against you and your Church, which you would be definitely in a position to defend. We hear about scandals at all levels. Some of the famous people and Churches who were in limelight are today exposed. I don't mean to judge anyone. I believe it is between that person and God but my point is how are we demonstrating the love of Christ as Individuals and Churches. Most of the time Christians want to be satisfied with themselves and their spirituality, that's a sad state of affairs. God expressed His concern too with such group. It says in Hosea 10:1 ” Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made;..... "

The point I want to emphasize here is that qualifying Churches are not just confined to big numbers (by the way big numbers do not mark the success of a Church). Unfortunately, people are attracted to numbers rather than its values, which they can imitate. Aubrey Sequeira in the journal book "9marks Journal Fall 2015" quotes 'Numbers are the order of the day in every sphere of life, and the drive for impressive numbers has found its way into the church and the church’s mission, both in the West, and—as a result of Western influence—in India. Most mission’s buzzwords are in some way colored by the notion of numerical efficiency: “rapid,” “multiplication,” “strategy,” “growth.” A sinful craze for bigger and better numbers has tainted both indigenous ministries and the work of Western missionaries in India.'. Can we reposition ourselves and our Church so that it enhances, active spiritual fellowship, mission, care for the needy and then be in a position to be imitated and remembered?

I desire to remind us all of the early missionaries, whose sacrifice, dedication and work keeps influencing us though they are long gone. I am fascinated by the early missionaries who were not angels but just ordinary human beings like us but created immense impact as individuals. As Churches we are one of the largest group of volunteers with potential to impact our congregation and community for good. How well the leadership ignites the group/ congregation to be an immense blessing in our Church and in our societies? Here are few missionaries I wish to list;

Amy Carmichael: (1867–1951) was a Protestant Christian missionary in India, who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur (southern India). She served in India for 55 years without furlough and wrote many books about the missionary work there.  Amy Carmichael, helper of India’s underprivileged children. saved many children from prostitution through the establishment of the Dohnavur Fellowship, which still exists today.

William Carey’s contribution as a social reformer in India is unforgettable. He pioneered the movement that led to the abolition of the inhuman practice of Sati. He relentlessly fought against other social evils such as infanticide and caste system.

David Livingstone (1813-1873) was a Scottish physician and possibly the greatest of all African missionaries, explorers, and antislavery advocates.

In 1958, David Wilkerson (1931-2011) felt the call to leave his rural Pennsylvania upbringing and share the hope of the gospel with gang members and drug addicts in New York City. This 1963 bestseller (50 million copies) recounts the story of Nicky Cruz, who turned from gang life to Christ and Christian ministry. Wilkerson is known as founder of Teen Challenge, an addiction recovery program.

Martin Luther King Jr (1929–1968) lived and died to see society transformed. In 1964, he became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize – for his work to end social segregation and discrimination.

I know we all can name more. The amazing fact is that these people who impacted Christianity did not limit themselves to establishing one Church and enjoying the fellowship within the four walls. Church fellowship was inclusive to the vision they had and all three elements that I insist through SHEFA  and call it Holistic Church approach (fellowship of the believers, Biblical mandate & social dimension) radiated through their lives and it is worth imitating them.

Blessings,

Catch me in my righteousness

It is inevitable we go through crisis and mess things up. The magnitude of the crisis and suffering varies from person to person. It moves you from abundance to scarcity most of the time. Everything that seemed so secure slowly disappears. You are confused and grope your way through the darkness unable to articulate. All the blessings that was at your arms reach are now fleeting. You battle in your mind to know if God even exists. You compare yourself to all the bad people enjoying the good things and so called “good” people who live their lives securely with hypocrisy and maliciousness. A sudden desperateness creeps in fearing that your righteousness has let you down. What do you do? cry out like Jeremiah, 'And You have bereaved my soul and cast it off far from peace; I have forgotten what good and happiness are.' Lamentations 3:17 AMPC. It is definitely not a bad idea to make Him know your despair. 

After battling with this myriad of emotions you muster the courage and start praying to God in darkness but you are faced with a deafening silence. Times like this you are tempted to measure your faithfulness to God with your ROI (return of investment) and get even more disappointed because you think your righteousness has not paid you with good returns and your lamenting resembles with that of Jeremiah, "Why has my pain been perpetual and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive stream with water that is unreliable? Jeremiah  15:18 NASB.

 You become a lunatic trying to survive in a bizarre way. The new journey finds you in a road of faltering, stumbling, mountain top experiences sometimes in extreme holiness and the next moment you find yourself in the deepest valley in a total mess. The precious learning is that the faith and the walk in Christ you had when you were living a secure life does not work here. You learn a completely different yet divine set of skills that takes you forward slowly. Then you pray and hope God blesses you before you become bad and mess up once again. In fact, you wish God notices when you live a righteous life and make things right by then. The moment we are less God conscious we mess up. 

In all my rantings above have you noticed that we have to work at being good.  We don't have to work at being bad.  Being bad comes naturally.  No one has ever taught us to do evil.  Why do they have to teach us to be good, if we are already good"?  Who is big enough to rescue our soul from our wretchedness and dichotomy, other than God. Therefore, it is absolutely fine to ask God to take notice of us and help us in our confused condition we are living in and make us strong.

God is trying to shake you up and strengthen you in His righteousness. The few messes cannot derail you. It is said "If you prefer error, truth will remain dormant.  But in the pursuit of truth, error is always a casualty, unless you want to hold both the true and false as true.". Whatever the reason is, the primary purpose is to slowly move you towards a strong learning to live and manage the situation in wantonness, despair, continual rejection, being humbled, confusion and you can go on naming all the desperate conditions you experience. Bishop T. D. Jakes in his book “God's provision for your every need” puts it this way "God brings us into the wilderness to perfect our faith. You cannot have all pleasure without pain, neither can you enjoy only good times without adversity. Your faith is perfected in the furnace of affliction and adversity.”.  It is said in Luke (22:39) "He went out and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him". The following verses says Jesus went to pray when He had to face the trail and humiliation. What is your usual comfort spot when things aren't working your way. Is it the feet of the Lord or meeting a potential earthly source who can help you? Understand this "When God wants to educate a man He does not send to the school of graces but to the school of necessities". God will never let what you have lost so far be the best you have ever had. He is only in the process to make you stronger, harder, and consistent so that He can use you for a greater purpose. What you are going through is temporary. The Bible says "For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 2 Corinthians 4:17 CSB.

Meet God when you aren't sure how long you would be able hold on to your righteousness, He will help you because He counts on you. God does not rely on cowards, hypocrites and people who use God for their survival openly or subtly. He intends taking you through this intense training for His divine purpose. You are marked, don't delay the process of complete submission because suffering and crisis are part of His divine plan. May God help you in your journey close to God.

Blessings,

David Raj
https://www.shefaservices-pune.com

Rwandan Churches in major Crisis- Where does our Churches stand?

But everything is to be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40 CSB 

 Alarming statistics!    -------   At the end of the blog are few questions positioned for pondering.

Churches Closed in 2018 in Rwanda           
-----------------------------------------        

2,164 in Northern Province
2,142 in Western Province
1,415 in Eastern Province
1,269 in Southern Province
714 in Kigali Province

(Source: Rwanda Governance Board)

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There are myriads of pattern in the Bible that teaches us about system, orderliness, preciseness, genuineness, influence with right culture and many more. These only helps and directs towards maintaining a Holistic harmony as individuals, churches and organizations. Even corporates and secular organizations try to adopt biblical principle for better synchronization and to maintain a high standard. Whatever category a church belongs to, it is confined for sure to face the storm sooner or later. We all hear and sometime witness churches undergoing trying times. But yes, it can also be a grave concern if churches are closed for reasons where they are the defaulters. 

Recently authorities have closed more than 7,000 churches across Rwanda, including 714 in the capital city of Kigali, in the span of two months for failing to comply with health, safety, and noise regulations. The President Paul Kagame welcomed the shutdowns but was stunned at the figures: “700 churches in Kigali?”  He said during a government dialogue, "Are these boreholes that give people water? I don’t think we have as many boreholes. Do we even have as many factories? This has been a mess!”  The allegations to a large extent are facts. Churches failed to demonstrate concern for the needy. Churches are not meant to be one more shrine where people come for their own satisfaction and throw some money in the name of offering and after that neither congregation or church leadership connect with each other like the early Church. 

The government had set a standard but it seems Churches in Rwanda failed according to the government authorities to maintain safety measures and health standards.  Churches that were meant to bring serenity, healing, meet the needs of the poor were concentrating too much on themselves. Rwandan authorities maintain the churches were in such poor physical condition that they threatened the lives of churchgoers. We notice in the old testament there are laws in terms of personal and environmental hygiene and sanitation. Deuteronomy 23:14 CSB. says "For Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you.  Churches definitely have to maintain a high standard of it and not fall short of the mandated standard by God. 

The Churches failed to exhibit the essence of its existence, i.e. Gospel of love in action which prompted the government authorities to shut down without hesitation.  Most of the churches were just emphasizing on signs and wonders and did not have any strategy to demonstrate the gospel of love.

Pastor Zabroni Habimana of Natharen Ministries said 131 churches in a Huye district found to be without toilets and he supports the closure. Likewise, pastor Hassan Kibirango of Kigali’s Christian Life Assembly says churches should meet standards. He says it’s not good to start a church that is laughed at, as its mockery sends a bad example to society. There are allegations from all over and mixed responses. You may refer to the source link enclosed in this blog to learn more about the Church situation Rwanda.

 Inferences:

People who are consistently reading my blog would be able to recollect my strong emphasis on Holistic Church approach. I have almost in all my blogs highlighted and brought out the church’s original purpose. Its existence is far beyond good worship, great sermon and return home with a “feel good factor”. Unfortunately, most of the churches existence is limited to Sunday service and also do not have active mission work nor consistent social intervention to meet the needs of the poor and the needy. 

How do we react to all of this? it will not be fair to raise allegations and naming it persecution, when as individuals and as Churches fail to put things in order and demonstrate the gospel. It is time to definitely pray for churches in Rwanda and world over but at the same time ensure that our church is modelling the right culture and depicting the early Church model where it was existing for others and ministering to the needs of the poor and favored by people.

I kindly request to seriously ponder the following questions and challenge yourself? It’s a clarion call for all of us to create a revolution:

1.What are your churches known for or spoken off in your community? What is the church’s critical success factor (CSF)?

2 If a non-believer had to get attracted to your church what is that one thing that will draw that person?  Is it limited to good music, exhilarating worship Period. and then exist like strangers for the rest of the week?

3. If a person in a desperate condition visits your Church, is there a platform he or she can talk to someone (recognize a counseling center if it is a big church)? 

4. What if a person who is unemployed visits your Church? Does the church have a pool of job opportunities on the notice board? (requirements and information from the congregation aggregated and displayed, maybe) 

5. Does your Church have a list of “Situation wanted' displayed? 

6. Is your Church tied up with reputed companies and organizations to allow them hire people from your church?  

7. Does your Church have a brand of its own?

8 Has your church done resource mapping?

9. What are the resources the church usually tries to tap? Is it limited to offering and for Church needs alone? 

10. How does the church structure look like? How does it connect with people beside Sunday's?

11. Does your church have regular newsletter or E-letter where your organization can have access to? 

12.What are the mission opportunities your church has created for the congregation?

14 Does your Church have feedback system or confined to one man leadership?

I pray our Churches will be a model Church and be recognized in our city.

Blessings,

David Raj

Source:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/may/rwanda-church-closures-weeding-church-plants.html?utm_source=ctweekly-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=13237537&utm_content=580150717&utm_campaign=email

Unusual Benediction - Dare to try!

In this blog I wish to quote the psalm of David which I have titled as “Unusual Benediction” and provide some amazing statistics which I promise will be thought provoking. May the Lord bless you as you read through it and emphasize the focus towards the mandate. We all ensure to stay in the church until the benediction is pronounced. Benediction is like complete blessing given to us in a nutshell. It is so soothing and does not put any condition or demand any action from our side, for it to be realized. However the passage that i am bringing to your attention is slightly different. This is how it goes in Psalms 41:1-3 “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, you restore him to health.” This benediction is forthright and guarantees blessing but on one condition. Our primary response to the call is to consider the helpless. It is the key to all the blessings pronounced. We may not be so comfortable with it because it involves commitment and obedience that incurs a cost, effort and intention on our part to reach out. Therefore, most of the time we want to overlook such passage in the Bible.

Let me confess that I have been emphasizing on reaching out to the poor and the needy in almost every blog to bring about the connection. Kindly note, it was not intentional at all. I am led by the Lord strongly to pen down on this particular area where the Bible demands to focus its attention towards the poor and needy. Jesus' ministry had a larger portion to rescuing people from bondage, pain and suffering. Acts 10:38 says “…He went about doing good..”. Rarely He rested, He did not have a comfortable office like what most of us enjoy, the journey was strenuous, He did not have sophisticated residence (all said and done we operate from a much comfortable lifestyle unlike Jesus). At one-point Jesus says in Mathew 8:20 “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head”. Jesus operated from this humble position to save mankind from all the wretchedness.

His ministry was Holistic and left a model for all of us to operate from this premise and not to amputate the social area (ministering to the needy) from the gospel whatsoever. Jesus' call to people who are in brokenness is therefore so poignant in Mathew 11:28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”. I pray this sinks deep in our heart so that each one of us, especially the Church intentionally incorporate programs towards the poor and the needy.              

I want to quote few statistics of Scott Todd partner of the newly launched initiative 'Integrated Philanthropic initiative'. Todd believes poverty can be eradicated based on advances in social- science, technology and so many other factors. He cites several statistics:

• In the US in 1900 the average life expectancy was 49. Today it is 79.
• In India in 1900 the average life expectancy was 24. Today it is 64.
• In China in 1900 the average life expectancy was 32. Today it is 73.
• In Ethiopia in 1900 the average life expectancy was 30. Today it is 56.
• From 2000 to 2008 there was a 78 percent reduction in the number of people who died from measles.
• From 2002 to 2008 the malaria rate was cut in half in 22 countries.
• Worldwide the HIV/AIDS rate was cut by 16 percent.

Todd asks, “Why can’t we keep up with that progress in our generation?” No doubt the advance of Social science, medicines, NGO’s have played a larger part in this progress. It is still possible by Christians and churches worldwide if we seriously integrate and follow the mandate of God in taking care of the poor and needy following the early church model. We can make a great impact in reality. Todd goes a step further, he says to accomplish the goal of eradicating poverty by 2035 it will take $73 billion per year for 10 years. He says that amount should be easy to raise from Christians who earn $2.5 trillion every year. That’s a great piece of information and statistics, wouldn't you agree with me? It boost's our morale and hopes to make it possible. We live in an age where all of us want to amass wealth more than we actually would consume and call it security. In fact the Bible condemns and alleges concerning such people saying how can God's love reside in such people? (1John 3:17). Aroon Purie chief editor of ‘India Today group’ in one of his speeches points out that the top 1% owns 58 % of India’s wealth and it also captures 70% of new wealth created. The situation is not very different in Christendom too. Remember! Our blessings are not only for us alone but also to bless others.  Individuals and church, let us recite the unusual benediction pointed in this blog which promises hoards of blessings while we consider the helpless.

Church Holistic Approach

SHEFA wants to make all its attempt to help the churches establish a valuable consistent intervention towards this divine cause and integrate the Holistic approach professionally. Let us consciously as individuals and Churches establish a holistic framework and be a blessing to the community and to our nation. May God Bless you.

Blessings 

David Raj