Babu
Ok. . so there is this guy from India who came accross the ex c of C board. he is a little Indian guy who has converted to the church of Christ and is a missionary/minister over there. After reading my profile and link to my website, he IM'd me. We have started to talk online about once a week. He is just the sweetest most gentle guy.
He usually is just chit chatting. . .we talk about how the family is, what is going on here or there. . .I made sure that none of his loved ones were involved in the train bombings over there. . .he has sent me some pics of himself and his family, and of congregational activities.
Every now and then, he makes a prayer request, or makes the statement that he hopes and prays that one day I will return to the c of C. He is never pushy or shaming about it, just really polite and honest about his feelings. I take no offense at it.
It just strikes me, though. . .especially after our conversation this morning, that i never recieved that sort of communication from any minister, elder, deacon, anything like that from any of the congregations that I was a member of. Having been at FHU, I had a sgnificant number of these "mentors", some of which I have even reached out to at times since my parting. It just seems kind of sad that this little Indian guy, on the other side of the world, whom I have never met, is more concerned and motivated for the "well being of my soul", and willing to make a genuine effort to consistently reach out than those who had the responsibility of being my "shepherds".
Don't get me wrong, I am not longing for people to call or write and beg me to come back, but it is really indicitive to me of the nature of alot of the churches in the Bible belt. Just really complacent, and not willing to REALLY make an effort to reach out to what they beleive are "lost souls". This Little dude in India, my friend Babu, is very clearly fulll of sincerity and grace, and while I doubt that we will ever agree from a doctrinal or religious standpoint, his respectfulness and concern is the picture of what Christiantiy SHOULD be.
He usually is just chit chatting. . .we talk about how the family is, what is going on here or there. . .I made sure that none of his loved ones were involved in the train bombings over there. . .he has sent me some pics of himself and his family, and of congregational activities.
Every now and then, he makes a prayer request, or makes the statement that he hopes and prays that one day I will return to the c of C. He is never pushy or shaming about it, just really polite and honest about his feelings. I take no offense at it.
It just strikes me, though. . .especially after our conversation this morning, that i never recieved that sort of communication from any minister, elder, deacon, anything like that from any of the congregations that I was a member of. Having been at FHU, I had a sgnificant number of these "mentors", some of which I have even reached out to at times since my parting. It just seems kind of sad that this little Indian guy, on the other side of the world, whom I have never met, is more concerned and motivated for the "well being of my soul", and willing to make a genuine effort to consistently reach out than those who had the responsibility of being my "shepherds".
Don't get me wrong, I am not longing for people to call or write and beg me to come back, but it is really indicitive to me of the nature of alot of the churches in the Bible belt. Just really complacent, and not willing to REALLY make an effort to reach out to what they beleive are "lost souls". This Little dude in India, my friend Babu, is very clearly fulll of sincerity and grace, and while I doubt that we will ever agree from a doctrinal or religious standpoint, his respectfulness and concern is the picture of what Christiantiy SHOULD be.
posted by Thomas J. at 7/21/2006 09:45:00 AM
4 Comments:
Thomas, if I might play devil's (cofc) advocate for a moment:
'You have chosen to turn your back on God. We have only a limited amount of resources and energy, and there are so many out there that are lost. We must go to them. You have already made your decision, we can't change that, and we need to be using our time and energy effectively.'
Leo
Well, you know what they say, "A day without rationalization is like a day without sunshine."
It is so nice to know that I would not be worth thier time and energy. . LOL
Thomas,
Every soul is worth all the time and energy. Jesus proved that over and over but the time he desired to mourn John's death and tried to withdraw so he could be alone only to have the crowds follow him states it the loudest. You will recall he healed them and feed them before sending them away so he could be alone to talk with God about (I assume) John's death. Jesus always has time for us and we feeble humans try our best.
When were you at Freed? I was there 86 - 88 myself but practically grew up on campus.
Mel
Wow mel, I was in Henderson from 87 until 99. . .we definitely breathed the same air, and knew the same people.
thanks so much for your kind words. . .feel free to drop a line via email if you want to. . .I would love to know if we know each other!
Thanks for dropping by!
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