This blog will be a bit quiet today, as I am hoping to scribble down some words of wisdom for tonight's service which we are sharing at Gurukul Lutheran Theological Seminary. We will be meeting with a group of students at 3.30pm. I have asked if we could discuss the following questions:
What is "the truth" about India? The line that is being given to the Western nations is of a country growing in prosperity, one of the top nations globally. Our Prime Minister has been in Delhi this week with other UK business people to "court" the Indian economy. Our perception in the west is of a country that is fast-becoming a key world-player. Having been here for nearly three weeks now, that is not what we are picking-up at ground level. We have experienced power cuts worthy of any third-world nation, and the poor still seem pretty visible. So, what is the true India?
What are the main challenges facing Christians in today's India?
What about the Dalits? Is this still as big a human rights issue as it was in the 20th Century?
In our recent Week of Prayer for Christian Unity material was prepared by South Indian Christians, expressing concern still for the plight of Dalits. What should we be reporting back to the UK in this regard?
How is the Church in India perceived by those outside of it? What would Gurukul see as "best practice" in extending the Kingdom of God and it's mission in India today?
How would Gurukul prepare those training for ordination in today's UK, where mainstream Christianity is fighting for survival, and only the more-fundamental seem to be surviving and growing at the moment?
More later on this after it has happened, and a report on our whistle-stop tour of Chennai yesterday.
Back to sermon preparation............
No comments:
Post a Comment