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Few
years back I met one of my professors on the road. He
remembered me very well and stopped his vehicle and
cared to say a ‘hi’ to me, getting down from his
vehicle. I gracefully acknowledged his loving gesture
and asked him where he was going. He informed me that he
was coming back from a church and described how
wonderful the meeting there was and so on. I asked him
which church was it. He thought for a while and told me
“…you might not know much about this Church, it is a
PRIVATE church”!
Later,
I was in another city and was talking to a student who
is a very lively character. As we were talking I asked
her what her parents were doing. She told me that her
father was a pastor in another city. She told me about
their ministry and how their whole family is behind the
effort of her father and so on. In response to a
question from me she said “My father first founded a
Church and then got my first sister married to a pastor
and gave that church to her, and then he did same to my
second sister also, now he recently started third
church”. I laughingly said… “I understand now it’s your
turn”!
This
time, I was in yet another city and was talking to a
pastor who was worried very much about the future of his
children just like any other father. He sent his son and
daughter-in-law to Bible College and was eagerly waiting
for their return. I said “Life is tough isn’t it; they
will have to come back and start their ministry”. “Where
are they planning to start their ministry?” I asked. Hey
brother… he said “I have a plan for them! They will
start an English service in my church here…lots of
software guys are around the city and they are from
different states…we will get a lot of offering!” I
should confess that my heart skipped a beat, but I said
a bye quietly and came back.
I was
final year bachelor’s student then. One of my friends I
and were actively involved in all sorts of Christian
ministry. We were also working closely with several
organizations that were doing ministry among the youth.
One day after a program the ‘big boss’ of an
organization came to meet the two of us (My friend is an
excellent orator, singer and musician, I was doing all
the talking, joking and was the MC). He told me… “Boy,
you are smart, you speak in several languages nicely,
and you have a presentable look on the stage… Why don’t
you join our organization? We will MAKE YOU BIG PEOPLE
IN THE CHRISTIAN STAGE”.
I was
attending a Sunday service in a church and they had a
guest speaker whom I shall leave unnamed. He is supposed
to be a ‘big chap’ in his field (We talk like that only
in scientific circles about scientists). He had radio
and TV programs and so on. At the time of the message
the host pastor handed over the pulpit to the speaker…
everyone clapped and welcomed him. The guest speaker
would not get up from his seat! Suddenly another guy
came rushing towards the pulpit, sweating and nervous
and took the stage. He apparently is the one who is
supposed to introduce the ‘big chap’! And so he started
and reciting the CV! I was sitting in a corner and
scratching my head and thinking, if taken by what is
being said his CV is better than the Son of God himself.
It went on for around twenty minutes and then message by
the ‘big chap’ was over in fifteen minutes just like his
radio program! Amen!
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If you
are reading this, you might be wondering what in the
earth am I trying to tell? Five seemingly unrelated
incidences! I am writing this with a heavy heart because
I know exactly how they are related and where it is
pointing to. It is really painful. The ministry that God
had entrusted us to carry on is not a silly joke and
these people have made it to look like one. Someone had
to pour out His Blood to put the foundations of this.
Many had to pay with their lives to hold the torch high
and before passing it on to us. These small (?)
incidents disturbed me and sometimes gave me sleepless
nights!
Think
about the depth of the meaning of ‘Private’ church.
These vocabularies have never been associated with the
Church. When was Church privatized? Even before anyone
would realize this, many congregations are being run
like a family owned private business. I think that in
future we might have churches named like this
“Say…Hallelujah Church public Limited”, CEO Rev. Dr.
XYZ. (There are several so called ‘Christian
universities’ now-a-days with a computer, printer and
lots of colorful gowns ready to give honorary doctorates
to anyone who would pay a fee. The doctorates are door
delivered… ops sorry… church delivered. Needless to say
any one who bought application form from a theological
college is calling himself ‘Reverend’ now-a-days).
Church
bulletin may read something like this “In order to raise
enough funds now we are selling stocks in the BSE
Mumbai. We also have special stock options for adults,
families, oldies, youth and kids. If you are member, you
are eligible to get a new offer….buy one and get one
free. Our stocks are running well and are making more
profits; even if it flops here, you will get them back
as heavenly treasures with compound interest when you
reach there. Now, we are considering foreign direct
investment (FDI) to our church through our mission
secretary. We desperately need FDI in our infrastructure
sector. We need to build schools, university, hospital,
hotel, orphanages, old age homes, gym, studio,
convention centre, anointing oil company and more
importantly bicycles for our missionaries and knitting
needles for their wives”. Don’t be surprised if you
find something like this soon.
So, now
churches are family properties and will be given to
daughters as a gift (dowry…in Indian terms). They can be
split between services as gifts for sons who are
anointed as future CEOs. They sincerely know that it
will not run very well because after all it is their
kids you see... To make it run you need some charismatic
young individuals as assistants…so advertise for people.
You may read in the Classified as follows “Wanted
charming young people to work as ministers in a million
dollar institution. You should have sharp features,
should be charismatic, know how to act, sing, and play
music, shout and dance. You should be fashionable,
trendy and adorable. If you have a good pedigree, it is
an added advantage. Experience in facing a camera and
being photogenic is a plus. Salary is not a problem at
all, stock options available. Walk in for an interview
and audition”.
It
appears to me that we have decorated and honored the
periphery and forgot our core values. Churches need
smart and highly talented people to run the ‘show’
now-a-days. ‘Big Guys’ in the field can make anybody
BIG! We don’t seem to want God anymore but there are
several ‘godfathers’ waiting around to make people BIG.
No one seems to care about anyone who is holy,
prayerful, humble, righteous or meek. These wolves under
the sheep’s skin build an empire brick by brick for
their own family using all the latest managerial
techniques. They are busy building a personality cult
around themselves and making themselves the centre in
all that is done making the most of every opportunity.
What a comedy! Or is it… a tragedy! I hope that by now
all the five incidents above make sense. The motto of
the poor believers in these ‘private churches’ appears
to be like this… we jump and dance, rumble and rattle
and call it a REVIVAL. Every Sunday we sing and shout,
read and listen and put up a show and call it a SERVICE.
On every occasion we rock and roll, clap and scream and
call it WORSHIP! I think we have forgotten what are we
doing, why we are doing and where we are going!
Believers are blinded by these bold barons and are made
to bend and break. Believers wake up! Is this what God
wanted you to do in Church?
After
all, Church has been privatized, with powerful
personalities called pastors passing the baton to their
progeny using pure propaganda to persuade people and
preying on them in the name of praying for them.
Oh Come
on, Jesus is weeping! |
