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CHRISTIAN MINISTRY 

Models of Ministry and Training 

Jesudason Baskar Jeyaraj 

Published by 

Theological Book Trust 

Bangalore

CHRISTIAN MINISTRY - Models of Ministry and Training 

© Theological Book Trust 2002 

ISBN : 81-7475-040-1 

First published 2002 by Theological Book Trust 

Reprinted 2006 

All Rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any 

form, except for the purposes of brief review in periodicals, without 

prior permission of Theological Book Trust, P.O. Box 9529, 

Bangalore 560095, India. 

Printed at : The J & P Print & Allied Industries, Bangalore 

Table of Contents 

PREFACE 7 

FOREWORD 9 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 13 

ABBREVIATIONS 15 

INTRODUCTION 17 

CHAPTER ONE 

Terms, Definitions and Metaphors of Ministry 21 

CHAPTER TWO 

Theological, Contextual and Ecclesiological Basis of Ministry 43 

CHAPTER THREE 

Relating Ministry to Context 55

CHAPTER FOUR 

Models of Ministry in the Bible 81 

Priestly Model 

Liberation Model 

Administration Model 

Prophetic Model 

Reformer Model 

Political Action Model 

Wisdom Model 

Chronicler Model 

Son of Man Model 

Evangelistic Model 

Missionary Model 

Charity Model 

Counselling Model 

Pastoral Model 

CHAPTER FIVE 

Priesthood of all Believers 209 

CHAPTER SIX 

Structures and Partnership for God’s Ministry 235 

CHAPTER SEVEN 

Developing Leaders for Ministry: Principles of Training 245 

CHAPTER EIGHT 

Theological Education, Context and Involvement 263 

CHAPTER NINE 

Models of Theological Education: Case Studies 275 

Living and Learning in Villages: Inculturation Experiment 

(Arul Kadal Seminary, Chennai) 

Off-Campus Programme for Urban Exposure 

(Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, Madurai) 

Ministerial Training for Church Planting 

(Madras Theological Seminary and College, Chennai) 

Laity Formation in Secular Colleges: Equipping Women 

(Lady Doak College, Madurai) 

Vocational and Theological Integrated Training 

(ACTS Institute, Bangalore) 

CONCLUSION 331 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 335 

INDEX 345 

4 5

Christian Ministry 

Preface 

J.B. Jeyaraj has put in a wealth of academic scholarship and 

personal experience into this book “Christian Ministry”. Ministry 

is such a diverse involvement, and therefore no one book 

can exhaust all the implications. But here is one that can serve 

as a useful textbook with an excellent treatment of the subject. 

Many books on ministry have been used in institutions in 

India, but mostly from the West and therefore offering Western 

perspectives. Some of these are not only irrelevant but also outdated. 

Jeyaraj writes as an Indian and relates ministry to the 

Indian context complete with some apt case studies. 

When speaking of the Indian context, it is clear that most 

treatments of ministry, particularly if coming from a Western 

perspective, would lack a contextual grounding. Jeyaraj gives a 

whole chapter to help us understand the socio-economic and 

religious context of our country. The reader would find this 

study very helpful to help make ministry more meaningful in 

our diverse situations. 

One very useful aspect of this book is its treatment of the 

varied forms of ministry. Most times we look at ministry as 

either evangelism or social action (including liberation) and some 

would bring these two together. This book gives us 14 models of 

ministry, and this serves to encourage every member of the 

church to consider himself/herself as being engaged in ministry. 

Jeyaraj pleads for a much needed and relevant curriculum 

for ministry in theological educational institutions. The principles 

he supplies for theological training are very appropriate. I 

fully agree with the writer that we need to look at training people 

for effective ministry and therefore an appropriate curriculum 

must be developed to assist in this task. 

Case studies are included to show different models of training 

in Indian context. These case studies are carefully chosen 

to present the different ways in which theological training of 

ministers and laity is carried on in the Indian context. Commendably, 

the author stayed in these institutions to study their 

6 7


programme and has collected data for writing the case studies. 

More case studies on Indian theological education could be included 

but Jeyaraj has limited the study to 5 patterns. I am 

sure students will be encouraged to similarly document their 

own case studies. 

India today is rapidly changing. Political and religious pressures, 

changing socio-economic contexts and other forces put 

pressure on the church to present a valid response. Those who 

prefer to stand on the past will be left to grope in the dark or 

perhaps operate in their own limited circles with illusions of 

success. Others who dare to change and adapt to the changes 

will find ministry to be an exciting engagement. Jeyaraj’s treatment 

is a good contribution to those who want to take ministry 

in our modern world seriously. 

Ken Gnanakan 

December 2002 

Foreword 

All ministry is God’s ministry. Every act of God, even that of 

creation, is the ministry of God. God’s ministry of word and 

deed breaks the silence and ends all speculation about whether 

or not there is a God and of how the deity might be disposed 

toward us. In responding to the cry of the people of Israel suffering 

under bondage in Egypt, God’s ministry revealed the nature 

of God as one who cares and acts. God’s ministry is the revelation 

of God to humans and the basis for all human knowledge of 

God’s nature and purpose. All ministry is grounded in God’s 

ministry, and all theology is dependent upon God’s continued 

ministry as the source of revealed truth. There is no theological 

task which has any basis in God’s truth other than the task of 

expounding the ministry of God. 

In this comprehensive and immensely practical book, Dr. 

Jeyaraj, lays a solid theological foundation for Christian Ministry 

which is biblically grounded, contextually sensitive, and ecumenically 

relevant. Here we are reminded that the praxis of ministry 

contextualizes and critically forms our theology even as 

God’s ministry precedes and creatively forms the people of God 

to carry out this ministry. The divine strategy for ministry is 

grounded in God’s gracious intention to reconcile the world 

through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This 

has been accomplished from God’s side and now seeks completion 

from the human side, as the people of God have been given 

the ministry of reconciliation, “. . . that is, in Christ God was 

reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses 

against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to 

us.” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NRSV) 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent and anointed by the 

Spirit of God to carry out and complete his ministry to God the 

Father. On behalf of the world, Jesus offers up to the Father a 

ministry of prayer, worship, obedience and service. His ministry 

is first of all directed to God and not to the world. The needs of 

the world are recognized and brought into this ministry, but do 

not set the agenda. As he was sent into the world, Jesus took 

8 9


up both sides of the ministry of the Father. Jesus brings to the 

world the good news of the gospel of love for the world. At the 

same time, Jesus came forward from the side of the estranged 

and broken world to reconcile humanity to God. 

The Spirit empowers the people of God to continue the ministry 

of God to the world on behalf of Jesus. Jesus served the 

Father who sent him into the world. The ministry of Jesus to 

the Father on behalf of the world is the inner logic of all ministry. 

Every aspect of the ministry of Jesus is grounded in the 

inner relation of mutual love and care between the Father and 

the Son. Christian ministry is thus the continuation of the threefold 

ministry of God through the church as the contemporary 

manifestation and sign of the Kingdom of God. 

The overall strategy of the church is conformity to Christ’s 

coming to the world for the sake of its reconciliation with God. 

This strategy must never be abandoned, else the world would 

be left to its own hopeless and fatal plunge into the abyss. A 

tactic, is a particular maneuver within the overall strategy. While 

the church may and must take up and sometimes abandon differing 

tactics by which to carry out this ministry, it must never 

abandon the basic divine strategy. 

The incarnation of God in Jesus Christ was a divine strategy 

by which humanity under sentence of death and with its back 

turned toward God, could be seized at its most tragic point and 

brought back within arms length of the face of God. The strategy 

was to bring humanity under judgment for the sake of its 

liberation from the curse of death and to be renewed in the 

image of glory and grace with which it had originally been endowed. 

This strategy was no mere tactic, to be abandoned when 

the cost became too high and the risk too great. Paul saw clearly 

the irrevocable commitment involved in the divine strategy when 

he said of Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not 

regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied 

himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human 

likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself 

and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a 

cross” (Phil. 2:6-8, NRSV). No theology of Christian ministry does 

justice to the biblical witness to Jesus Christ without being solidly 

grounded in this strategy. Once this is the fundamental 

Foreword 

theology by which the church defines its existence in the world, 

it is then a matter of tactics as to how best to carry through the 

mandate—to be in the world as Christ is in the world. 

The church is not formed by its own efforts, nor is it conformed 

to the world (Rom. 12). Rather, the church is conformed 

to Christ, who “though he was in the form of God, did not regard 

equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied 

himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness” 

(Phil. 2:6. MRSV). The church is the result of God’s mission 

to the world. But, at the same time, the church is the agent 

of this mission as it proclaims and expounds this gospel and 

penetrates into the world in partnership with God’s mission to 

the world. The church, as the missionary people of God, connects 

gospel to mission and mission to gospel. 

If the church should become powerlessness and irrelevant to 

the world, it is not because it lacks tactical encounter with the 

world, but that too often its strategy is one of survival rather 

than sacrifice, of success rather than service, of reputation rather 

than of responsibility. The temptation for the church has always 

been to identify its own existence and institutional life 

with the kingdom of God. When that occurs, the existence of 

the church tends to take priority over the mission of the kingdom 

of God. The church tends to develop its theology by looking 

backwards to its historical foundation. The prevailing theology 

of the church can easily become “historical theology” with its 

dogmatic theology strongly rooted in the past. The result is that 

the church often lacks a vibrant theology of ministry which moves 

it toward the future. The church does not drive the Kingdom 

into the world through its own institutional and pragmatic strategies. 

Rather, it is drawn into the world as it follows the mission 

of the Spirit. The church is constantly being re-created through 

the mission of the Spirit. At the same time, it has historical and 

ecclesial continuity and universality through its participation in 

the person and mission of Christ Jesus through the Spirit. 

The order of the church’s ministry is the way in which the 

church carries out the ministry of Christ. This allows for a variety 

of different forms and orders of ministry grounded in the 

single ministry of Christ. As Paul said, “There is one body and 

one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your call- 

10 11


ing, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, 

who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:4-6). The 

mandate for the church is to develop models of Christian ministry 

which are focused on the context where people live and work 

before those trained for ministry are sent into the world. The 

Spirit does not create offices, but rather ministries. The gifts of 

the Spirit for ministry results in the creation of the office. There 

is a sense in which one can say that baptism into Christ is 

ordination into the ministry of Christ. As Christ was called and 

ordained to his messianic ministry through baptism, so the baptism 

of every person can be viewed as calling into the ministry of 

Christ. The special ordination which sets baptized persons aside 

as representative of the ministry of Christ through the church 

is still grounded upon baptism into Christ’s ongoing ministry. 

What makes this book of particular value to local congregations 

as well as to ecclesial leaders and academic teachers is the 

discussion of leadership development and theological education 

for ministry. Five different models of theological training for ministry 

currently in use are discussed, each offering insightful and 

valuable suggestions for the renewal of ministry through more 

effective training for the praxis of ministry in context. The analysis 

of the social, economic, and political context of the sub continent 

of India, while restricted to one segment of the global 

context for ministry, provides an excellent case study in contextual 

analysis as a critical component of Christian ministry in 

every culture. A theology of Christian ministry is a contextual 

theology, because it is a theology of the living God who continues 

to be present to the world in the context of the historical 

reality of the Holy Spirit. 

I am pleased to commend this book for its contribution to a 

practical theology of ministry as well as a manual for more effective 

education and preparation for ministry. 

Dr. Ray S. Anderson, Ph. D. 

Professor of Theology and Ministry 

Fuller Theological Seminary 

Pasadena, CA 91182 USA 

Acknowledgements 

Asian Institute of Theology, a unit of ACTS Academy of Higher 

Education, Bangalore organized a workshop inviting a few biblical 

scholars, bishops, pastors and educationists to write the curriculum 

for their theological education in 1998-1999. I am grateful 

for the opportunity given to me to write a syllabus for the 

course on Christian Ministry and Social Issues and teach the 

same in their contact seminar classes. Students who attended 

the classes encouraged me to write my lectures in a book form. 

The interaction with these men and women who came from different 

walks of life contributed to shape the content of this book. 

The need for the study material combining Christian Ministry 

and Social Issues led me to work on this book. The original plan 

is to discuss the ministry as the first part and the social issues 

as the second part of the book. Only after start writing this book, 

I realized, that it would take longer time to write both the parts. 

I changed the plan and decided to publish the first part as a 

book now and write the second part on social issues later. 

I thank Dr. Ken Gnanakan for working out the scholarship 

for me to go to the Global Research Institute in Fuller Theological 

Seminary and spend a year (Fall 2000 to Summer 2001) to 

write this book. I appreciate his willingness to write the preface 

to this book. I am glad that the Theological Book Trust has come 

forward to publish this book. 

My sincere thanks to Dr. Walter Hansen, Director of the Global 

Research Institute and Keith Casey Cobell Jr., Associate 

Director for the financial support. Ms Evelyn Dimado’s help in 

proof reading and editing the draft is very much appreciated. 

Dr. Ray S. Anderson, Professor of Practical Theology at Fuller 

Theological Seminary went through my draft and gave valuable 

suggestions. I am grateful to him for his interest in this book 

and writing the foreword. 

The Tamilnadu Theological Seminary where I taught as 

fulltime faculty for the past twenty years has enriched my theological 

thinking and teaching skills and provided opportunities 

for involvement and to gain wider experience. I thank the semi- 

12 13


nary for granting me leave for one year to do this Post-doctoral 

research and writing. 

I express my thanks and appreciation to the five institutions 

listed in the Case Studies. Their materials are valuable information 

on the new patterns of education in relating Christian faith 

to the context. Continuous encouragement and prayer support 

from my wife, daughter and son enabled me to complete this 

book. I dedicate this book to my parents who taught me to love 

God and people. I believe, this book can be used as a valuable 

resource material in theological seminaries, workshops, seminars 

and Bible Studies in churches. 

I am thankful to the Editors of TBT for printing the second 

edition. I am hearing good response for the readers of the first 

edition. My appreciation goes to Dr. Ken Gnanakan and his 

team of staff in TBT in publishing and marketing this book at an 

affordable price for Indian Christian leaders, students in theological 

colleges and lay people. 

Abbreviations 

AAHE - ACTS Academy of Higher Education 

ACTS - Agriculture, Crafts, Trades and Studies 

AIT - Asian Institute of Theology 

AJTR - Arasaradi Journal of Theological Reflection 

AK - Arul Kadal 

AMA - Asia Missions Advance 

ATA - Asia Theological Association 

ATC - Asian Trading Corporation 

CISRS - Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society 

CLS - Christian Literature Society 

CNI - Church of North India 

CSI - Church of South India 

ECI - Evangelical Church of India 

ELS - Evangelical Literature Service 

FTS - Fuller Theological Seminary 

HIALS - Haggai Institute of Advanced Leadership Skills 

ISPCK - Indian Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge 

ITC - International Theological Commentary 

IVP - Inter-Varsity Press 

LDC - Lady Doak College 

MTSC - Madras Theological Seminary and College 

NBD - New Bible Dictionary 

NCB - New Century Bible 

NCCI - National Christian Council of India 

SSC - Senate of Serampore College 

TBT - Theological Book Trust 

TELC - Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church 

TDNT - Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 

TDOT - Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 

TNTC - Tyndale New Testament Commentary 

TOTC - Tyndale Old Testament Commentary 

TRACI - Theological Research And Communication Institute 

TTS - Tamilnadu Theological Seminary 

WBC - Word Bible Commentary 

WCL - William Carey Library 

WEF - World Evangelical Fellowship 

14 15


Introduction 

Christian ministry is a vast subject. Thousands of books have 

been written on this subject. Early Church Fathers, Martin 

Luther and Calvin have expressed their views on ministry. Many 

theologians, specializing on Practical Theology, follow the writings 

of Karl Barth. Theologians from Roman Catholic and Protestant 

churches in various parts of the world are writing articles 

on ministry in journals and publishing books. Many doctoral 

dissertations written on the ministry add their valuable contribution 

for further research and writing. A broad analysis of the 

books written on ministry could show that these books deal 

with one or more aspects of ministry such as the theology of 

ministry, qualities of Christian ministers, the history of Christian 

ministry, contextual problems and issues, planning goals 

and strategies, theological education, training and skills, the 

role of prayer and fund-raising for ministry. The voluminous 

resources available on Christian ministry indicate the complexity 

of the subject. Publications on this subject will continue to 

explain the nature and role of ministry and yet cannot exhaust 

the subject. My concern in writing a book on Christian ministry 

is to provide a basic study material for those who are interested 

in serving God. I do not claim that my book deals with all the 

issues and gives solution to the problems. It is only an introduction 

to Christian ministry with the purpose of enabling readers 

to understand the true meaning of ministry, the different models 

of ministry, theological and contextual issues, patterns of 

training and to encourage each member of the church to be 

involved in ministry. 

The First chapter discusses the definitions of Christian ministry, 

nuances of the terms used in the Bible to refer to ministry 

and the images of servanthood. This chapter emphasizes discipleship 

as an indispensable aspect of ministry. The definition, 

terms and images alone are not enough to explain the depth of 

ministry. So Second chapter deals with the foundation of Christian 

ministry and how theological, contextual and ecclesiological 

reasons are inter-connected. This triangular model functions 

16 17


as the basis of ministry. The relation of ministry to the context 

is discussed in the Third chapter. Although this chapter is devoted 

to explaining the socio-political, religious and economic 

contexts of India, readers in the Indian sub-continent could find 

similar situations in their own countries. This chapter is included 

mainly to emphasize the importance of analyzing and 

understanding the society, re-reading scriptural texts and making 

ministry relevant to the context. The more we relate ministry 

to the context, the more we realize its challenges. Such efforts 

and challenges help us to develop new theological insights, 

new goals, strategies, indigenized approaches and to achieve 

greater results. The Fourth chapter is on models of ministry. 

Metaphors of ministry explain the relation and task of ministry, 

but Models explain the kinds or patterns of ministry. Although 

there are many models, only fourteen models are identified here 

as key models. Their significance is highlighted. The theological 

and contextual issues related to the models are mentioned without 

discussing them in detail. Readers could take note of the 

issues raised and could read reference literature mentioned for 

further exploration. 

Christian Ministry is imperative to all the members of the 

body of Christ. It is an obligation for Christians. This fact is 

explained in theological terms of ‘Priesthood of all believers’ in 

the Fifth chapter. This doctrine counters the notion that ministry 

is only for certain persons. The theology of the priesthood of 

all believers emphasizes corporate responsibility and accountability 

as well as challenges the accumulation of power and authority 

in ministry in the hands of a few individuals. The Sixth 

chapter, which is on the structure of and partnership in ministry 

and which was published as an essay earlier on is included 

in this book to emphasize the need for partnership and co-operation 

between churches and para-church organizations. We 

must understand historical developments in ministry and recognize 

the need for sodalities and modalities. This chapter pleads 

for a closer tie between churches and organizations to enhance 

ministry. 

Training is important for ministry. Chapter Seven deals with 

the principles of training and developing leaders for ministry. 

Chapter Eight discusses the importance of theological educa- 

Introduction 

tion and involvement. Instead of explaining how to do ministry, 

I felt, it is better to provide case studies of training and equip 

believers for ministry. Five case studies are included in the 

Nineth chapter because they bear witness to different patterns 

in theological education and efforts in relating to the context. 

Out of these five, three examples are on training clergy to work 

within rural and urban contexts. The other two case studies are 

on equipping the laity to witness and bring changes to their 

immediate environment like family, schools, colleges and work 

places. I have selected these five case studies because I know 

these institutions and I have involved in their training programmes. 

Case studies are not to glorify the institutions but to 

appreciate their concern in equipping people and their courage 

in experimenting with innovative approaches in doing ministry. 

These institutions have their own limitations and have faced 

difficulties yet they pursued their goals. Due recognition must 

be given to these institutions for developing new patterns of 

training for leaders of churches and society. Writing a conclusion 

on Christian ministry is difficult. However, it must be reiterated 

that the important dimension in ministry is the minister. 

Servanthood is not merely a relationship, task and skill. It 

is also result -and -life oriented. The faith, motive, vision, holiness, 

credibility and suffering of believers matter much in the 

service of God and people. The Conclusion re-emphasizes the 

need for renewal in understanding the concept of the Church, 

Ministry and Training if Christian ministry is to continue as an 

effective service to God and Creation. This book is a small contribution 

towards an understanding and exploration of the subject 

of Christian ministry. 

18 19


Chapter One 

Terms, Definitions and 

Metaphors of Ministry 

Ministry is pluralistic. Any reader of the Bible could notice 

the different kinds of ministry done by different people in different 

periods of history. Scholars have classified the different 

periods of biblical history as the Primeval period of creation 

(Gen.1-11), the period of the Ancestors of Israel (Gen.12-50), 

the Exodus and Wandering Period (Ex, Lev.Num. Dt.), the Settlement 

period in Canaan (Josh. Jud.), the Monarchical period 

(1,2 Samuel, 1,2 Kings and some prophetic books), the Exilic 

period (Isa.40-55, Ezek.), the Return and Restoration in the Postexilic 

period (Isa.56-66, Hag. Zach, Mal.), the Maccabees Period 

and the Hasmonean Rule (Inter-Testamental Period literature), 

the Romans, the Herods and the time of Jesus (Gospels), the 

Apostolic period and the expansion of the churches in West 

Asia (Acts, Epistles) and the period of severe persecution and 

survival (Revelation). The history of Christianity from the time 

of the Apostles till this modern day is divided into major periods 

such as the period of the Early Fathers, the Medieval, the Reformation, 

the Enlightenment and Ecumenism and has seen great 

developments in the ministries of the Church. 

‘Ministry’ is a comprehensive word meaning ‘service’ and generally 

referring to all sorts of service. This word is used quite 

often in secular professions, particularly to refer to different departments 

of government such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, 

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry 

of Employment and Human Resources, the Ministry of Finance, 

the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, etc. Some leaders 

who are elected to represent their constituency, either in the 

local Assembly of the State or in the Parliament also join the 

cabinet and are called ‘Ministers’ of a certain portfolio. Next to 

20 21


the political context, the word ‘ministry’ is widely used in the 

ecclesiastical context e.g. the Pastoral Ministry, Youth Ministry, 

Children’s Ministry, Literature Ministry, Evangelistic ministry, 

etc. Missionary work, Social Service and Charitable activities of 

churches are also different kinds of ministry but, the word ‘ministry’ 

is applied to these activities with hesitance for some reasons. 

Today, the danger of losing the original meaning of ministry 

as a service, both in the ecclesiastical and political realm, 

is obvious. Politicians elected to serve the public are bossy and 

bureaucratic. They exploit the electorate and are rarely seen to 

be serving them after they get elected. Some Christian ministers 

have also forgotten the original meaning of the word ‘ministry’ 

as service and are behaving like the executives of industries 

and companies, as landlords or as owners of a large estate. It is 

better to remember the basic meaning of the word ‘ministry’ as 

service and to notice the meaning of different terms and metaphors 

used in the Old Testament and New Testament to refer to 

ministry. 

The study of God’s activity through the ministry of Jesus and 

the Church in theological institutions is called ‘Practical Theology’. 

This phrase conveys the idea that theology and praxis 

should go together. Otherwise, theology becomes theoretical. 

Practice without theology cannot be regarded as Christian. Theology 

and practice are inter-related. On the relation between 

Theory and Practice, Ray Anderson writes, ‘At the center of the 

discussion of the nature of practical theology is the issue of 

relation of theory and praxis. If theory preceeds and determines 

practice, then practice tends to be concerned primarily 

with methods, techniques and strategies for ministry, lacking 

theological substance. If practice takes priority over theory, ministry 

tends to be based on pragmatic results rather than prophetic 

revelation’ (2001:23-34). The integration of theology and 

praxis gives ministry a Christian identity. Titles such as Pastoral 

Theology, Pastoralia, Mission and Evangelism, Care and 

Counselling limit the comprehensive meaning of Christian ministry 

to a specific ministry. I prefer to use the comprehensive 

title ‘Christian Ministry’ rather than Pastoralia or Pastoral Theology 

or Mission. 

CHRISTIAN MINISTRY: DEFINITION AND UNIQUENESS 

Definition 

Terms, Definitions and Metaphors of Ministry 

Christian ministry can be defined as the ministry done by 

the church believing, worshipping and following the message 

and the model of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the Triune 

God. Christian Ministry includes various ministries of the 

Church as explained by the Scripture. Many consider texts 

such as Eph.4:11-13 and 1 Cor.12:28-31 as appropriate to define 

Christian Ministry. 

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some 

prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to 

equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up 

the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the 

faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to 

the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:11-13) 

And God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second 

prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts 

of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various 

kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are 

all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of 

healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But 

strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more 

excellent way (1 Cor. 12: 28-31) 

It is true that these texts give us a framework to understand 

the various ministries of the Church. By the time Paul wrote 

these texts, the early Church, under the authority of the apostles 

had come to recognize these ministries as the essential to 

the Church. However, neither Paul nor other apostles have closed 

the list of ministries or finalized it. Paul asked his converts and 

the elders of the churches in Jerusalem, Antioch and Asia to do 

charity, express hospitality, collect money for the poor, heal the 

sick and pray for the suffering. Although the priestly ministry 

mentioned in the Old Testament is fulfilled by Jesus Christ and 

replaced by pastor-teacher ministry in the New Testament, many 

other ministries narrated in the Old Testament are neither questioned 

nor invalidated in the New Testament. Ministries such as 

the liberation, prophecy, counselling and guidance based on 

the wisdom approach, recording and interpreting history as done 

by the chronicler and political activism found in the Old Testament 

are not regarded as obselete or rejected by Jesus Christ 

22 23


and apostles. They are given validity and find expression in the 

New Testament. Jesus and the apostles built the ministries upon 

the teachings of the OT. But, they modified them to fulfill the 

plan of God and to suit the context of their period. Christians 

who regard both OT and NT as their Scripture cannot define 

Christian ministry only in terms of what Paul has listed in his 

epistles. If we limit our understanding of Christian ministry 

only to the ministries found in the Gospels or to the writings of 

the apostles, we miss the holistic dimension of the Bible on the 

ministry of the people of God. The Bible is our basis upon which 

Christian ministry is defined. 

Christian ministry is directed towards the congregation as 

well as the society outside the Church. It has two foci viz. Christians 

in the local church and the people in the society. Christians 

need to be ministered to and they need to minister to the 

society. All the work done by Christians need not necessarily be 

regarded as Christian ministry. Some theologians have questioned 

the distinctions made between Christian ministry and 

secular ministry. They regard all work as sacred and reject the 

distinction between the sacred and the secular. Gordon Smith 

points out that every Christian has God’s calling (1999:9-11). 

One is the general call to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour 

and follow the teachings of God’s word. Second is a specific 

call for a vocation in the world. This could be a ministry in the 

local church or in the society. God could call some people to 

enter into education, the arts, public office, business, engineering, 

medicine and the service professions. God desires that humans 

work. Work is God’s gift as we notice in the Creation account. 

All work is, therefore sacred. Thus he, argues against 

distinction made between the sacred and the secular. We could 

agree with his argument if God has called some people for a 

specific task in the secular world. Realizing such a specific call, 

they work in different aspects of human life in the society. But 

this does not happen always with all Christians. In a world of 

unemployment, many try to get any job to make a living to survive 

than starving. People may not be satisfied with their jobs 

but they may have no other choice except to continue in the 

job. A well educated Christian youth had to be a coolie in a 

railway or bus station and live in poverty in the world of unemployment 

and competition. Some Christian girls had to work as 


domestic servants, enduring all ill treatment because they could 

not get education. Orphans and widows are picking up rags and 

garbage in spite of having skills and talents. These people do 

not regard their jobs as the vocation of God’s call. They look at it 

as their fate. It is their struggle for existence in a corrupt world. 

They do not consider it as God’s will for them. How could we 

speak of their jobs as sacred even though all good works are 

from God? If we regard all work as sacred, then, we approve 

some to work as bonded slaves and others as executives. We 

justify injustices and poverty and uphold the caste system in 

employment structures. We need to be careful when we recognize 

all the occupations as sacred. The occupation which exists 

today in the world need not necessarily be sacred because some 

of them such as smuggling, atomic research and producing bombs 

and nuclear arsenals and running sex business and gambling 

bars are oppressive and inhuman. Even good jobs are not given 

to those who are called to such vocations because of racial and 

caste discrimination, bribery and envy. 

A distinction between sacred and secular jobs exists definitely 

in pluralistic context like India. Some Christians work in 

institutions, offices and businesses owned by the Hindus, Muslims, 

Jains and Buddists. Neither of these owners recognize the 

work of Christian employees as a Christian ministry. Nor do 

these Christians who work in such establishments tell their 

bosses and colleagues that they are doing Christian ministry 

through their jobs. Sometimes they are fired because of their 

faith, for sharing their testimony and for not participating in 

weekly poojas and rituals offered to gods and goddesses. Christians 

in secular jobs have proved their honesty, integrity and 

efficiency out of their faith in Jesus Christ and commitment to 

the teachings of the Bible, for which they are appreciated in 

some places. Their work in the secular world could only be regarded 

as ‘Christian Witness or Presence’ rather than ‘Christian 

Ministry’. This does not mean that a Christian employed in 

a secular job is denied the privileges of being involved in ministries 

like preaching, evangelizing or the teaching of biblical truths 

or some social service in the local church and neighborhood. 

Christians employed in secular jobs have a dual role to play. 

They could be involved in the ministries of the local church as 

well as witness and glorify God through their jobs. We need to 

24 25


accept the fact that there is a problem regarding what all could 

be recognized as Christian ministry. We cannot prepare a finalized 

list from the Bible. We can only select and highlight some 

of the ministries mentioned in the Bible. We need to be open 

for the Holy Spirit to lead and use the Church in developing 

different forms and models of ministry according to the differences 

in cultural context across the world. Christian ministries 

should however, be in conformity with the principles of the Bible. 

They should be rooted on theological, contextual and ecclesiastical 

basis. 

Partners in Christian Ministry 

Who can do Christian ministry? A disciple of Christ is eligible 

and expected to do Christian ministry. He or she, as a disciple, 

stands and functions in relation to the body of Christ. Discipleship 

is defined differently in other religions, political parties 

and ideological groups. The Biblical image of discipleship is 

known from the teachings and model of Jesus. Following Jesus, 

the apostles showed remarkable discipleship and called others 

to follow their example. A few characteristics of Christian discipleship 

can be pointed out. First, a disciple is a believer of the 

God of the Bible. He or she believes the Father, Son and the 

Holy Spirit. A disciple believes in the personality, attributes 

and the works of this Triune God and not just the rituals and 

traditions of his/her church. Jesus is the true revelation of God. 

His death and resurrection are the true salvational acts for fallen 

humanity. The personal experience of forgiveness, assurance of 

reconciliation with God and receipt of eternal life offered by Jesus, 

enables the disciple to enjoy a more intimate relationship 

with God. Discipleship does not stop with believing but continues 

in following Jesus Christ, the true model. A sustained relationship 

with God is an important aspect in the life of the disciple. 

Second, the status of the disciple is that of a student. Christian 

discipleship is a life-long learning process of the teachings 

of Jesus under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Learning is not 

simply acquiring theoretical knowledge but includes practising 

the teaching at any cost. Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, 

you are truly my disciples’ (Jn.8:31). Third, a disciple depends 

on God in order to bear fruit. The parable of the vine and 

its branches in the teaching of Jesus makes this aspect vivid 


(Jn. 15:8). The disciple is like a branch attached to the vine for 

existence and production. Total dependency on God is expected 

of the disciple. Four, the identity of a disciple is one of a servant. 

Discipleship is servanthood. Jesus came to this world to serve 

and not to be served. He desires that his disciples be servants 

and slaves to all (Mk. 10;45). The two words, diakonos and doulos 

used by Jesus to express the idea of servanthood will be discussed 

later in this chapter. The idea of servanthood is also 

expressed through other metaphors such as shepherd, workers, 

followers, priest in the NT. Five, the mark of a disciple is to 

bear the cross. The disciple is required to deny himself or herself 

and take up the cross and follow Jesus (Mk. 8:31-38). Bearing 

the cross is not in anticipation for a reward but for suffering. 

As Jesus was a suffering servant, his disciples are suffering servants. 

Disciples are required to relinguish all attachment to the 

world and totally surrender to Jesus Christ. If Jesus is the 

supreme Guru, then the mark of the disciple is to adopt the 

lifestyle of the teacher. Six, Christian discipleship demands 

genuine love for God and humanity. A disciple is basically a 

lover of God. The first commandment in the OT is to love God 

with soul, mind, strength (Ex.20:1; Dt. 6:4) and in spirit and in 

truth. The rest of the Commandments require that the people of 

God love their neighbours. Jesus summarized all the commandments 

thus, ‘........ love your God and love your neighbour’ (Mk. 

12:28-31). Loving God should motivate and lead disciples to love 

others even their enemies (Mt. 5:44). The vertical and horizontal 

relationship of the disciple is important. Christian ministry 

cannot be done effectively without genuine love for God and 

fellow human beings. Seven, Christian discipleship does not 

entail passive admiration of Jesus Christ but, has a focus. It 

involves a variety of ministries. Discipleship has a goal and function 

to fulfill in the Church and Society. A disciple cannot avoid 

his or her role in the tasks set by God. 

In summary, the nature of Christian discipleship, consists of 

two important aspects namely, relationship and task. It is a relationship 

with God, fellow believers and neighbours. It is with a 

task of transforming the Church and society. Although all the 

members of the Church could be called as disciples of Christ, 

many of them are nominal Christians. Only a few of them fulfil 

the above qualities of discipleship and contribute to the growth 

26 27


of the life and ministry of the Church. Christian ministry is 

done exclusively by those who observe the salient features of 

discipleship, mentioned above. However, it does not exclude the 

co-operation and participation of people of other faiths. We need 

the help of people of other faiths and ideologies in our endeavour. 

But their help and co-operation could be accepted without 

compromising our faith and uniqueness of ministry. The true 

partners in Christian ministry are God and disciples. They are 

united on the cross of Christ. 

Uniqueness of Christian Ministry 

Christian ministry is unique for various reasons. In a pluralistic 

context, it is difficult to speak of Christian ministry as superior 

to ministry done and services offered by people of other 

faiths and secular movements. Whether it is superior, inferior 

or equal to other ministries is not the question. In what respect 

could Christian ministry be referred to as unique. It is unique 

in terms of the nature of the corporate body which does the 

ministry, its close link with worship, the theological basis of 

God’s revelation, actions and goal of transformation. 

Ministry by One Body 

The Christian ministry belongs to God. God has called the 

Church to ministry and has endowed the Church with authority, 

gifts and a promise to be with this Body always till the end 

of the earth. The relationship between God and his disciples 

as partners in growth and service makes Christian ministry 

unique. It is brought out by the metaphor of Body of Christ in 

the NT (Rom. 12:4-6; 1 Cor. 12:4-14, 27-31; Eph. 5:25-33). The 

image of the Body of Christ is described vividly in 1 Cor. 12. It 

emphasizes the unity and diversity in the nature and function 

of the Church. 

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members 

of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in 

the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves 

or free- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body 

does not consist of one member but of many. (1 Cor. 12:12-14) 

These verses explain some important truths about the nature 

of the Church. The church of Christ is a corporate body 

made up of several members. The term “body” is used in the 

secular world to denote a society, organization, community and 


institution, but, what makes a difference in the usage of this 

metaphor in the NT, is its reference to the ‘body of Christ’. First, 

it is the human body of Jesus crucified and raised. This human 

body represents fallen humanity to God. It also represents all 

the victims of injustice. Through the death on the cross, it brings 

forgiveness and reconciliation. The resurrection of the body of 

Jesus brings hope to humanity. The event of the death and 

resurrection of the body brings together all those who respond 

positively as a redeemed community. The spirit of Jesus baptizes 

and unites them as one body. Second, the body of Christ 

transcends geographical boundaries, race, caste, colour and 

class. The members of this body could be anyone ‘ in Christ’. He 

or she may be a Jew or Gentile; a slave or free citizen; black or 

white, upper or lower caste, rich or poor (v. 13). The body has 

diversity and at the same time unity in Christ. Third, the factor 

that makes all of them into one body is the baptism of the one 

Spirit (v.13). The work of the Spirit unites all the members into 

this body of Christ, one corporate universal Church. As such, 

Christian ministry is universal and is carried out by local members 

of the body of Christ. Fourth, the parts of the body are 

endowed with spiritual gifts and capacities for the ministry of 

the Church. It is a sort of authorization and recognition of the 

members. They exercise the gifts and capacities for the welfare 

of both the body and the people outside of the Church. Fifth., 

the parts of the body are inter-dependent. There is no rivalry 

among the parts of the body such as to regard one part of the 

body as supreme or more significant than the other. Each part 

is needed to make the body function properly (vv.14-20). Cordial 

relationship and co-ordination make the function of the 

body more effective. If one part of the body suffers, the rest of 

the body is affected. The parts of the body suffer together, rejoice 

together and progress together (v.26). Sixth, while the parts 

of the body are inter-connected, all the parts of the body are 

linked to the head of the body. The headship of the body is 

Christ. Paul emphasizes this idea in Eph. 4:15-16 which speaks 

of Christ as the head and source of growth and in 5:29 as the 

authority of the Church. He develops this idea of headship of 

Christ further in Colosians 1:18 and 2:10, describing Christ as 

the head over every power and authority and creation. Seventh, 

the headship of Christ over the body demands obedience and 

28 29


accountability. David Bennett, drawing insights from various 

scholars such as Paul Minear, Wayne Meeks, Colin Brown and 

other commentators, has discussed the image of the body of 

Christ in his book, Metaphors of Ministry. He summarizes the 

link between the headship and accountability thus, ‘The image 

of the body with Christ as the head thus stresses the total authority 

of Christ in the community of disciples, and the total 

dependence of the disciples on Christ for life and growth. The 

headship of Christ also puts human leadership in right perspective, 

for no human being is ever called ‘head’ of the Church; 

Christ is the authority to whom all human authority is responsible’ 

(1993:168). 

Ministry is linked to worship 

The body of Christ is not merely a social organization but it 

is a community of faith and worship. Members of the body of 

Christ are united in worship. The Worship of God takes a central 

place. It is indispensable in the life of this community. The 

People of Israel as a kingdom of priests (Ex.19:5-6) are worshippers 

of God. The disciples of Jesus worshipped Him before receiving 

the Great Commission (Mt. 28:17-20). After the Pentecost, 

they acknowledged Jesus as the Lord and Saviour and 

continued in worship. Worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ is not 

only acknowledging what God has done for humanity but also 

acknowledging what God has asked the body of Christ to do for 

humanity. Worship helps them to realize the teachings of God, 

renew the vision of God and receive the guidance of the Holy 

Spirit. It provides the opportunity to share the needs of ministry. 

Worship context enables members to listen to the Word of 

God, repent, reconcile with other members of the body and reestablish 

relationships within the body of Christ. Christian ministry 

cannot be done in isolation. It is done in relation with 

others. Broken relationships within the body of Christ could 

hinder the witness and ministry of the body. Worship provides 

the forum for call, ordination and sending of ministers. In worship, 

members pray together for power to do ministry and express 

their solidarity with their leaders. Worshipping continuously 

keeps the Church in existence and ministry. Where the 

worship stops, the members scatter and the ministry of that 

particular church stops. The early Church in Jerusalem, Antioch 

and in different cities in Asia continued to worship whether 

they were able to achieve much in the ministry or not. Unlike 

other ministries and services of some organizations and offices, 

Christian ministry is closely linked to worship for its spirituality, 

human resource, guidance, power and achievements. Christian 

ministry cannot be separated from the worship of the 

Church. However, the people of other faiths who receive the 

benefits of Christian ministry may or may not join the body of 

Christ. Those who do not wish to join the body of Christ should 

not be compelled to worship the Lord Jesus Christ but could be 

persuaded, as Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:11, to join the discipleship, 

worship and work for the Kingdom of God. 

Ministry is based on faith 

The uniqueness of Christian ministry is based on its faith. 

In Christian ministry, ‘faith’ is defined most often as trusting 

God for our needs like financial support or power to do miracles 

and wonders. Trusting God for needs and power is important, 

but, ‘faith’ is much more than such experience. Faith could be 

defined as a set of beliefs. One of the important beliefs is that 

the ministry belongs to God. God did the ministry first for humanity 

and set the model. As such, it is divine and theological. 

The theological basis of ministry will be explained in the next 

chapter. Those who want to be involved in Christian ministry 

should have faith in God and accept the theological basis of 

ministry. 

Ministry has goals 


There are a number of ministries in the world with the goal 

of making large sums of money, accumulating wealth and properties 

and spreading political empire or extending political, ideological 

and commercial influence and control. However, the goal 

of Christian ministry is people-oriented. It is a service to humanity 

and the rest of creation. The uniqueness of ministry lies 

in what it offers to people and society. It touches the lives of 

individuals and society. Transforming people and society is the 

task of Christian ministry. Those two aspects are expressed in 

the message and ministry of Jesus. The central message of Jesus 

is the kingdom of God. He called his disciples to go and 

preach the Kingdom of God and invite people to repent and 

30 31


accept this Good News. His healing ministry and miracles manifested 

the power of the kingdom and gave assurance of peace, 

justice and hope. He trained the disciples to perform such healing 

and liberation from sickness, evil spirit, disabilities and enabled 

people to enjoy wholesome lives. Jesus commanded them 

to go and ‘make disciples’, baptizing and teaching the followers 

to obey all the commandments. Their proclamation of the Gospel 

of Jesus is to make known the forgiveness of sin, assurance 

of redemption and reconciliation with God and invite people to 

respond to the Gospel. The inter-action of the Gospel with the 

listeners and the response of the people to the message of the 

Gospel bring changes in people. It touches their personality, 

spirituality, attitude and values. The values of God replace the 

values of the world. The thinking and actions of individuals 

change in accordance with the will of God. Personal transformation 

begins at the inter-action. The believer gets a new meaning 

of life and is moved to transform the society. Jesus called his 

disciples ‘salt’ to permeate the society and ‘light’ to clear the 

darkness of evil (Mt. 5:13-14). Transforming the society is the 

task of the disciples as individuals and as a corporate body of 

Christ. 

TERMS FOR MINISTRIES IN THE BIBLE 

In the OT, those who offered the cultic services of Yahweh by 

conducting worship, offering sacrifices and performing other rituals 

connected to worship were called ‘Cohen’ meaning ‘Priest’. 

Those who received and proclaimed the Word of God were called 

‘Nabi’ derived from the verb nabi – to prophesy. God raised 

Judges in Israel to govern and judge the twelve tribes settled in 

Canaan. They were called sophetim meaning ‘to judge’ or ‘to 

govern’ or ’to execute judgement’. Slightly with an overtone of 

authority and power is the word malak which means ‘to rule’. 

Kings were called melekim. They were the rulers of the people, 

but, they were also called servants of the people. Jeremiah 

listed priests, prophets, kings and the Levites, who were experts 

in teaching the Torah, as the key leaders of Israel and 

used a common word, ‘shepherd’, to refer to them all (Jer. 2:8- 

16). Some scholars consider the word ‘shepherd’, used in Jeremiah 

and Ezekiel, as referring only to political leaders like kings 

and royal court officials and not religious leaders. In my opin- 


ion, Jeremiah regarded all of them as shepherds, leaders in 

their own capacity and he held the entire leadership of Israel 

responsible for their failure. All of them whether they were in 

religious or secular services were shepherds with a high responsibility 

for true service to their community. The common and 

widely used Hebrew word is abad. This is a comprehensive 

term meaning ‘service’ whether secular or religious. Jacob, in 

pasturing of the flocks of Laban for seven years, was regarded as 

abad (Gen.29: 27). Working in the field or a farm of another 

person is also abad (Lev. 25:39). The Israelites who lived in the 

northern region, breaking stones to build the temple in Jerusalem 

were also doing abad. In the religious life of the Israelites, 

it is used to refer to worship and other cultic services of the 

priests and people. Serving Yahweh and not other gods is emphasized 

and demanded again and again in the OT (Ex. 3:12, 

16; 5:3,8; 8:4, 21, 22, 23-25; 20:5, Dt.5:9). The main motif running 

through the book of Deuteronomy is serving Yahweh only. 

Serving Yahweh does not stop with worshipping or offering sacrifices 

and celebrating festivals. The vertical relationship with 

God should be expressed horizontally with other human beings. 

Obeying the commandments and practising the values of 

God are closely linked together in worship of the Israelite. This 

means, people who worship Yahweh should fulfill the commandments. 

Serving God, therefore, means serving the people. The 

religious dimension of serving God was integrated with the sociopolitical 

and economic context of the people. Religion and society 

could not be separated in the lives of the Israelites. 

The New Testament also emphasizes the importance of ministry 

as a service. A number of Greek terms such as apostolos, 

prophetes, evangelistes, episkopon, didaskalos, poimena are used 

to refer to a specific task of the Church. The term, apostolos 

means ‘sent by another’ for a task. It is used, in a restricted 

sense in the NT, to refer to the twelve apostles (Acts 1:2’26; 6:2; 

8:1; Rom.1:1; 11:13) and not to all the followers of Jesus Christ. 

To be qualified as an apostle, the person should have been called 

and appointed at the command of God (Rom 1:1; 1 Cor.1:1; 

1.Tim.2:7; 2 Tim.1:11). The person should have seen the risen 

Lord (1 Cor.9:1; 15:7-9; Acts 1:21-22). He should perform signs, 

wonders and manifest the power of the Spirit (2 Cor.12:12). An 

apostle is one who willingly suffers for Christ (2 Cor.11). An 

32 33


apostle is the one who has been given the authority of leadership, 

to lead the Church soon after the ascension of Christ. 

David Bennett writes, ‘… it is clear that apostolos is not one of 

those terms that is, or should be applied to every follower of 

Jesus. Rather, it describes a particular initiating leadership role, 

a specific pioneering function, as well as a distinctive divine calling, 

which go beyond the general mandate for every disciple to 

bear witness to Jesus’ (1993:135). While apostolos is restricted 

to the twelve disciples, the term episkopos (overseer) is applied 

to leaders within the Church. In secular Greek, episkopos means 

‘an active and responsible care ‘. It is used to describe the function 

of a deity watching over a country or officials with the responsibility 

of supervision and administration of communities. 

Paul encourages the Philippians to desire this noble service (1 

Tim. 3:1) of supervision, ordering, evaluating and setting of direction 

and describes the qualifications to minister as an overseer 

(Titus 1:5-7). Another term used frequently is presbyteros 

(elder). The role of elders is not new to the Jews because their 

society had elders from the period of the ancestors. The twelve 

tribes of Israel in Canaan functioned under the leadership of 

elders. Elders, as the representatives of families, clans and tribes, 

functioned as a team. They were responsible for sorting out the 

judicial, political, military and social problems of their communities. 

The role of elders did not cease with the development 

and spread of Christianity. We read in the NT that the local 

churches in Jerusalem, Antioch and Asia had a team of elders 

to sort out the problems of the members (Acts 11:30; 14:23; 

20:17; James 5:14; 1 Pet.5:1-3). Teaching God’s word is an 

important ministry in the Church. The word didaskalos (teacher) 

refers to those regularly engaged in the systematic teaching of 

subjects or technical skills and in the imparting of knowledge. 

Its use is restricted in the NT to refer only to those who are 

gifted in teaching God’s word and appointed specially for this 

task (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor.12:28; Eph.4:11; 1Tim. 2:7; 1 Tim. 1:3-7). 

Since teaching wrong doctrines and values could ruin the lives 

in audience and the community as a whole, the NT warns not to 

become teachers unless called and endowed with the ability 

and knowledge to teach. Above all, a teacher must practice what 

he or she teaches (James 3:1; Mt. 7:24-27). Prophecy is mentioned 

as an important service in the writings of Paul (1 Cor. 


14:29-31; 12:28; Eph.4:11). Ancient Israel witnessed the powerful 

ministry of various prophets over a period of thousand years. 

They were ‘eye-openers’ and functioned as the conscience of 

the society. Their ability to critically evaluate a situation, their 

courage to speak against injustice and their concern to proclaim 

salvation oracles contributed to the social, religious and 

political growth of the community. The early Church had a 

number of prophets as revealed in the book of Acts 11:27-28; 

21:10; and 15:32. Their functions included encouraging, 

strengthening, comforting and instructing believers (Acts 15:32; 

1 Cor.14:3, 31), warning them against false teaching (Acts 11:28; 

21:10-11; 1 Cor. 14:24-25) and teaching them to be effective in 

God’s service (Eph.4: 11-12). We will discuss this ministry in 

detail later in this book. The term poimena (to shepherd) is used 

to refer to the leaders and not to all the members in the church. 

It expresses the function of taking care of the flock. The metaphor 

of shepherd will be discussed in detail elsewhere in this 

book. However, it is important to mention here that it refers to 

the service of feeding, leading, nurturing and protecting (Isa. 

41: 10). A shepherd is a servant of God as highlighted by Jesus 

(Jn.10) and Peter (1 Pet.2:25; 5:4). 

Other words such as oikonomia, leitourgeo, latreuo and 

diakonia referring to secular services are used in the NT. For 

example, oikonomia which means ‘stewardship’ with regard to 

household administration, is used in 1Cor.9:17, Eph.1:10; 3:2,9 

Col.1:25; 1Tim.1:4. Jesus used the word oikonomous (manager 

or steward) in his teaching to emphasize the importance of faithfulness 

and accountability in managing the material possessions 

of the master (Lk.12:42-44). The manager is a servant and 

should not abuse other men and maid servants. His service 

should manifest a high standard of responsibility. Paul and Peter 

used this term in connection with the leaders in the 

churches, beseeching them to be faithful to God and people 

and to be efficient in the use of the gifts and opportunities given 

by God to the growth of the ministry (1 Cor.4:2-4; Titus 1:7; 1 

Peter 4:10). Leitourgeo means ‘services undertaken by a citizen 

for a community’ (Rom.13:6; Lk.1:23, Heb.9:21, 10:11, Phil.2:17). 

In the Greek society, the service offered by the upper class for 

the communities is regarded as public service. Usually such services 

were voluntary and not paid for. Through their public serv- 

34 35


ice, they gained honour and respect. Paul applied this secular 

term to refer to the public service of Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25, 

30). He claimed his own ministry among the Gentiles as a public 

service (Rom. 15:16). Latereuo refers to the ‘services done to 

God’. (Heb.8:5; 9:9; 10:2) and the worship of the Lord by Christians 

(Matt.4:10, Lk.1:74, Acts 24:14). Paul used this term to 

refer to worship as real religious service to God (Rom.12:1; 1:9). 

It is used in the eschatological sense in Rev. 7:15 and 22:3. 

John, the author of the Book of Revelation, emphasizes that 

worship, as a service of God’s people will not end even after the 

completion of all earthly ministries. Worship will go through 

eternity. 

Diakonia, another comprehensive term to mean ‘service’, 

originally meant ‘to wait on’ or ‘to serve at a table’ and thus, 

earn a living (Matt.8:15, Lk.10:40). Diakonos, the noun derived 

from the word diakonia originally referred to people who served 

meals in the Church but, was later used to refer to persons 

involved in the ministries of the Church. It could mean work 

with or without salary. Diakonia, however, got a new meaning 

in the NT as the service of caring for needy people or a charitable 

service (Acts.6:1, 11:29, 12:25, Rom.12:7, 15:25, 2Cor.8:4,19; 

9:1,12). This word is applied to the ministries of teaching the 

Word and praying for people (Acts.6:4). The real meaning of the 

word diakonia is brought out by Jesus in Mark 10:43-44: 

But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become 

great among you must be your servant (diakonos), and whoever 

wishes to be first among you must be slave (duolos) of 

all. 

Diakonos is the opposite to ruler or lord. James and John 

assumed that Jesus will sit on the throne of David and rule the 

Israelites in Palestine. They came and asked Jesus to grant a 

position to sit next to Him at the right and left side of the throne, 

respectively. They were looking for the status, power and glory. 

This caused ill-feelings among the rest of the disciples. Jesus 

knew that James and John had misunderstood His messianic 

mission to suffer and die. Jesus told the disciples not to seek 

status or become rulers and lords but become ‘servants’ to one 

another and a ‘slave to all’. Being a ‘servant’ does not only apply 

to religious service but to day-to-day life. It implies serving another 

person, not with the intention of earning money or a re- 


ward but as a voluntary submission to help others. When this 

term, diakonia is applied to ministries in the Church, it means 

‘a function of useful service’ to the people and not a status in 

the Church. Jesus used this word diakonia often to emphasize 

the attitude of humility in contrast with the attitudes of pride, 

honour and fame sought by some of his disciples (Mk.9:35; 

Mt.20:26) and the Pharisees (Mt.23:11-12). It has not been limited 

to the service of conducting worship and performing rituals. 

It means the service to the community of believers in the 

Church as well as service of this community of believers to the 

people outside the Church; service based on the message and 

ministry of Jesus; service for the people without expecting any 

reward but risking one’s own life. It is a voluntary self-denial, 

self-sacrifice and submission to serve a person or a group of 

people. Jesus further describes another dimension of service, 

which is to become a slave (duolos) to another person by serving 

relentlessly without expecting any reward. Like a slave who loses 

his identity, freedom and status to the service of his master, 

Jesus wanted His disciples to serve others. The emphasis of this 

term duolos is more on the task and faithful allegiance of the 

slave to the authority of the master. Peter calls the community 

of believers slaves of God (1 Pet.2:16). The Book of Revelation 

addresses believers as slaves (1:1; 2:20; 6:11; 7:4; 19:2; 22:3, 6). 

Paul addressed himself as a servant and slave of God in serving 

the people and asked Timothy to appoint persons with the attitude 

and willingness to be servants and slaves as ministers in 

the local churches (1Tim. 1:12; 3:8,12; 4:6; 2 Tim. 4:5). The 

qualities of humility, self denial, obedience to the authority of 

God and suffering for the sake of others are brought out by 

combining these two terms. Complementing each other, these 

terms emphasize the real meaning of servanthood. 

IMAGES OF SERVANTHOOD 

Even though, various terms listed above convey the idea of 

servanthood, the image of servanthood needs further explanation 

with some examples from the Bible. One of the key passages 

on the servanthood is found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Scholars 

have identified a few texts in Deutero-Isaiah (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 

50:4-11; 52:13-53:12) as Servant Songs. Some of them were 

written during the period of exile in Babylon. The People of 

36 37


Israel had lost their land to the attacks of the Babylonians. 

Priests, prophets, men and women with their children were deported 

to Babylon and kept under captivity for more than 50 

years (597-537 BC). They raised doubts about the power of 

Yahweh and lost their hope of return. They evaluated their history. 

They questioned the way they had been reduced to servants 

of the Babylonians from the citizenship in their promised 

land. One of the purposes of the Servant Songs is to remind the 

Israelites that they have failed in their servanthood. They served 

other gods and goddesses and committed all sorts of injustice. 

They broke the covenant and commandments in spite of several 

messages from the prophets. Deutero-Isaiah proclaimed the 

message of Yahweh’s salvation for them. He predicted their return 

to their land. He gave them the hope that they will be used 

as a ‘light to the nations’. He assured them that they will serve 

Yahweh once again in the promised land. The purpose of the 

Servant Songs could have been for singing and in reminding 

the exilic community and their generations returning to the 

land to be true servants of Yahweh. 

First, a model of true servanthood of an individual is portrayed 

in the song in Isa. 52-53. Scholars have expressed various 

opinions regarding the date of the compilation of the song 

and the identity of the servant mentioned in this song. It could 

have been written during the last part of the exilic period or 

after the Israelites started returning to the land in different 

batches and restoring the temple. Some assume that it refers to 

the prophet as the suffering servant. Others consider the identity 

of the servant as the people of Israel suffering for the sake of 

Yahweh. Many readers of this song relate the servanthood to 

the ministry, trial and death of Jesus. Although the identity of 

the servant still remains a mystery, this song expresses the nature 

and role of servanthood. Analysing this song, the commentator 

John Watts identifies two servants namely Darius the 

Persian King, who rose after Cyrus (52:13) and Zerubbabel who 

returned to Jerusalem and started the rebuilding of the Temple 

(WBC: Vol.25:1987:222-229). Drawing evidences from the accounts 

of Ezra 3-6, Haggai and Zachariah 1-8, John Watts points 

out that Zerubbabel was the suffering servant. He was misunderstood 

and executed by the Governor Tattanai for rebuilding 

the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuilding the temple was regarded 


by the governor as uniting the people of Israel and preparing 

them for rebellion and war. But Zerubbabel started the rebuilding 

with the permission of Cyrus. His service to reform and restore 

the devasted community of Israel was even misunderstood 

by many in Jerusalem. They did not express enough solidarity 

with Zerubbabel (53:3). Only after the execution of Zerubbabel 

and the resistance of the Governor and neighbouring nations 

against their restoration, did the people of Israel understand 

the value of the servanthood of Zerubbabel and start to sing this 

song. The prophet brings out the sufferings of Zerubbabel and 

make him an example of a Suffering Servant. A servant who 

works for people could easily be misunderstood as a political 

rebel and be despised (53:3). Without proper enquiry and fact 

finding the servant suffered death at the hand of the governor. 

The body was mutilated such that many could not recognize 

him (52:14). Although the servant had not been violent or committed 

injustice, he was regarded as a criminal. Honour was 

denied for the service he had offered the society. His body was 

buried with other criminals (53:9). His suffering and death were 

for the sake of the people. This is expressed in 53:4-6. The singers 

realized that the servant had borne their iniquities. He was 

wounded for their transgression of not supporting his service. 

He faced the punishment of execution because they were silent 

on his arrest. A servant of God working for the people may not 

feel the pain of his work much. The achievements override the 

sufferings, but, it will be so painful for any servant when the 

community for which he works brand all his sufferings as punishment 

from God (53:4,6). The Israelites realized this callousness 

and gave due credit to his vicarious suffering and death. 

Another aspect of servanthood could be pointed out from the 

side of Darius, who was unaware of the execution of Zerubbabel. 

Darius could not undo the injustice done to Zerubbabel, but, 

he made the effort to vindicate the action of Zerubbabel by confirming 

the permission granted by Cyrus and extending support 

to complete the construction of the temple. Instead of maintaining 

the status quo with the governor and justifying the execution, 

Darius removed the stigma of criminal offence placed 

on Zerubbabel and restored the rights of the inheritance of the 

Israelites (53:12). Darius certified Zerubbabel’s death as an injustice 

and praised him for dying on behalf of people. Other- 

38 39


wise, the governor could have massacred many Israelites who 

joined in rebuilding the temple. The entire population of Jerusalem 

could have been regarded as rebels and could have become 

victims of violence and bloodshed. A servant achieves recognition 

when he is considered as the real representative of the 

people and is targeted for persecution. In this respect, Zerubbabel 

was a true servant of the people. His vicarious death prevented 

the death of many. Realizing the injustice that has been done 

and restoring justice are important qualities of servanthood 

Darius should be appreciated for such qualities. But, the focus 

of the song is on the Suffering Servant. It justifies the vicarious 

death of the servant as if it has happened with the permission of 

Yahweh (53:10-11). A servant faces death when the administration 

and people fail to support his work and question the injustice 

directed against him. Yahweh expects the community to 

help the servant and to stand in solidarity with his actions. When 

people fail, Yahweh permits some of His servants to suffer extremely 

and die for injustice in order to save the lives of others 

and make them righteous. They could enjoy the fruit of the 

labour of the suffering servant. 

Second, the suffering and death of Jesus reflects the features 

of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52-53. Many, therefore, 

assume that the song is a direct reference to Jesus Christ. The 

prophecy foretold several years ago got fulfilled in the ministry 

and death of Jesus. A typological similarity could be found between 

the Suffering Servant in Isaiah and Jesus in the Gospels. 

Like Zerubbabel, Jesus was a servant chosen by God and sent 

to this world with a specific task. He came to this world to serve. 

He reiterated this truth saying, ‘For, the Son of Man came not 

to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many’ 

(Mk.10:45). He was a model of a true servant, for Jesus served 

the people by healing, feeding and liberating them. He showed 

them how to obey the authority of God and fulfil His will in 

ministry. He never expected any recognition or reward for his 

service. He even washed the feet of his disciples, teaching them 

humility. Through his non-violent approach to his betrayers and 

the soldiers who came to arrest him, Jesus showed how to relinquish 

power and be submissive. Through his death on the cross, 

Jesus saved the life of mankind from eternal punishment and 


made them righteous. His death on behalf of the people was 

vicarious and expresses his true servanthood. 

Third, following the model of servanthood of Jesus, the apostles 

learnt to prove themselves as true servants of God. Their 

sufferings in the ministry is evidence. Paul enumerates his trials 

and sufferings in 2 Cor.11. He faced physical hardship, 

betrayal from the people, trials in front of authorities, strain in 

travel, anxiety for the welfare and progress of the churches 

planted and later, imprisonment in Rome. That is why he could 

call himself as a servant of Jesus Christ (Rom.1:1; Phil.1:1) He 

never regretted to be a servant of God. He could express a sense 

of accomplishment and satisfaction (Phil.3:12-16; 4:1, 10; 2 

Tim.4:7-8. ). Since Peter suffered obeying God and serving people, 

he encouraged Christians to face persecution and suffer for 

the sake of justice (1 Pet. 3:8-12; 4:12-19). John’s imprisonment 

for preaching Jesus Christ and teaching the Word of God 

is an evidence for his servanthood (Rev. 1:1-2). 

Four, the people of God were spoken of as suffering servant 

in the OT (Isa.40:1-2; 49:1-6; Dan. 7:1-14). Believers, as a 

corporate body of Christ, are servants of God and are called to 

suffer for the sake of others. The Book of Revelation highlights 

the sufferings of Christians. They were persecuted in different 

periods of history for their beliefs, identity and witness by Roman 

Emperors such as, Nero, Vespacian, Titus and Domician. 

The corporate worship and ministries of the body of Christ were 

misunderstood in many parts of the world. Their church buildings, 

homes and businesses were destroyed because they were 

servants of Jesus Christ. Their remarkable servanthood will be 

recognized and vindicated when they come from different regions 

of the world and stand in front of the Lamb of God (Rev. 

7:9-11). The body of Christ has the hope of continuing 

servanthood by worshipping God, even after the second coming 

of Christ. Others lose this privilege of serving God eternally. 

40 41


Chapter Two 

Theological, Contextual and 

Ecclesiological Basis of Ministry 

Any service or action ought to have a reason, ideological basis 

or a philosophy. The justification for Christian ministry is 

found in its theological, ecclesiastical and contextual reasons. 

Instead of combining these three aspects as one Scriptural basis, 

I have listed them separately. One reason is to give each 

aspect a separate identity and emphasize its importance in Christian 

ministry. Another is to uphold the fact that the actions of 

God and the birth of the Church have preceeded the writing of 

the Bible. Both the OT and NT testify to what has happened in 

the history of mankind. The books of the OT and NT narrate the 

events after they had happened. God and his actions are more 

important than the recordings. However, the members of the 

body of Christ come to know God’s revelation and actions through 

the written Scripture. The Scripture holds validity for the life 

and ministry of Christians because it is the inspired and infallible 

Word of God. Reflecting on what has been written as the 

normative and infallible truth of God’s revelation, Christians 

could draw the theological basis and competence for ministry. 

TRINITARIAN FOUNDATION 

The biblical God is the Trinity – the Father, Son and the Holy 

Spirit. We need to know the way God, the Father acted in the 

history of mankind, through His son Jesus Christ and the Holy 

Spirit. Focussing on the actions of only one person in the Trinity 

cannot provide a holistic foundation for Christian ministry. 

Pentecostals emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit more and 

explain the ministry from the perspective of the role of the Holy 

Spirit. Adventists developed their ministry according to their 

emphasis on the work of God, the Father. Some denominations 

42 43


emphasize the ministry of Jesus and work out their ministerial 

programmes accordingly. Consciously or unconsciously, denominations 

emphasize the ministry of one of the persons of Trinity 

more and fail to give equal importance to the ministry of all the 

three persons in the Trinity. Studying the person and work of 

the three persons in One gives a Trinitarian foundation for Christian 

ministry. Our purpose here is not to explain the doctrine of 

Trinity. Theologians have written so much on the doctrine of the 

Trinity. My aim is to discuss the way in which the Father, Son 

and the Holy Spirit function and set the foundation for the ministry 

of the Church. 

God serves humanity by acting in their history. God decided 

how the history of the Israelites should be directed in accordance 

with His will and purpose for the whole of humanity. Even 

though the Israelites failed God several times in carrying out 

his purpose for the salvation of humanity, God over-ruled and 

led the salvation history. God’s action in history is acknowledged 

by the Israelites in their worship and writings. Their confessional 

statements written in the OT are their experience of 

how God has acted in their lives. God planned to carry out the 

history of salvation through Abraham by choosing and giving 

him the promises of posterity and the land (Gen. 12:1-3). He 

made a covenant with Abraham assuring the fulfillment of the 

promises. The accounts of Genesis narrate the way God acted in 

the history through Abraham’s life and later through Isaac, Jacob 

and Joseph. The situation of bondage in Egypt for 400 years 

was a long history in the lives of the people of Israel. They lost 

all hope of deliverance from this bondage. It looked almost certain 

that the plan of God to redeem the people was impracticable. 

God seemed not to have been active for four hundred years 

and the salvation history seemed to have come to an end but, 

God neither forgot to act in history nor failed to fulfil his plan 

for humanity. God changed the history of bondage by liberating 

them from oppression and leading them to the land of freedom 

and self-governance. One of the principles of the God of creation 

is that human beings should not be slaves to one another 

or to nations. Whenever the Israelites were attacked and exploited 

by neighbouring nations, God liberated them from the 

hands of their oppressors. This is seen as God’s dynamic involvement 

in their history. Psalm 105 begins with a call to give 

Theological, Contextual and Ecclesiological Basis of Ministry 

thanks to Yahweh who makes known his actions among the 

people. The Psalmist writes about God’s actions in the history of 

Israel beginning from Abraham (105:7-11) to the sojourning 

period in Egypt as slaves, the liberation through Moses, the 

journey through the wilderness and the settlement in the land 

of Canaan. The history narrated in Gen. 12 to the end of Deuteronomy 

is acknowledged and repeated in their singing of this 

Psalm. Whenever the different generations sing this psalm, which 

bring out the Pentateuch in 45 verses. They realized the dynamic 

involvement of God in their history. Other psalms which 

express similar acknowledgement of God’s action of liberation 

are Ps.106 and 136. 

God’s action has been proved not only in liberating them 

from Egypt but also from the exile in Babylon. God’s activity 

never ended with their first exodus but continued throughout 

to the Cross of Calvary. God raised Persian kings like Cyrus and 

Artaxerexes outside the community of Israel to save the Israelites. 

Psalm 137 expresses their situation during the captivity in 

the exilic period in Babylon. God’s action in redeeming the 

Israelites from exile and enabling them to go on second exodus 

from Babylon was taken up by the prophets. The second Isaiah 

of the exilic period encouraged the Israelites in captivity not to 

lose their faith in Yahweh but to be hopeful of being liberated 

again from Babylon and returning to their land (Isa. 40:1-5; 

43:14-21). God used Cyrus, the Persian king as his anointed to 

liberate the Israelites. To fulfill the plan of salvation history, 

God could use a person of other faith like Cyrus or Ahasuerus. 

These Persian kings did not necessarily acknowledge the work 

of Yahweh in raising them up as powerful kings to defeat the 

Babylonian empire or in using them to play a major role in 

God’s plan for humanity. But, the Israelites acknowledged the 

fact that their God had no discrimination against race, colour or 

religion, when in choosing a person to accomplish his plan (Isa. 

45:1, 13-17; Esther 8:3-17). The OT gives the impression that 

God was interested in liberating and helping the people of Israel 

only and that was why he was actively involved in their 

history of salvation. However, God’s involvement in the history 

of Israel was also purposed to redeem the whole world. 

The Study of God’s action in history shows that God is a 

partner with leaders and people in accomplishing the mission. 

44 45


When they struggled and suffered to carry on the ministry assigned 

to them, God also struggled and suffered with them. Moses 

found it difficult to liberate the Israelites and leading them 

through the wilderness for a period of forty years. He had to 

struggle between the people and God but, God was with him 

throughout his ministry and helped him to fulfill his mission. 

Jeremiah is another example who had difficulties in fulfilling 

his prophetic ministry. He was beaten by the priest and left in 

custody for trial. He was mis-represented by false prophets and 

misunderstood by the people. Jeremiah felt like leaving the ministry 

but, God enabled him to carry it out. God shared the pains, 

misery, feelings of frustration and rejection of those leaders and 

he did not let them down. God guided, strengthened, motivated 

and empowered them to serve the people. God’s promises such 

as ‘I am with you’ or ‘I will be with you always’ or ‘I will lead and 

guide you’ given to the selected leaders showed His partnership 

with them. These assurances and promises are to enable the 

human partner to persist in the mission. When the promises 

are addressed to the community of Israel, it means, the partnership 

of God is with the community to do service. Many people 

like such promises and assurances and interpret them to mean 

security or protection rather than understanding it as partnership 

in service. Their understanding is narrow and benefit oriented 

but, God’s promises of His presence and partnership are 

always for service. When Jesus gave the Great Commission to 

the disciples, he also told them that his presence will be with 

them till the end of the earth. This promise shows how much 

God loves to partner with humans beings in ministry 

God’s special relationship with the leaders and the community 

in service is established not only by giving promises and 

assurances of his presence, but also by a special call, initiating 

a covenant, imparting his spirit and endowing with extraordinary 

wisdom and power. We notice these elements of God’s partnership 

in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, 

Judges, Kings, Prophets, Reformers and the twelve disciples. 

We need to watch our language when we tell others that ‘God is 

using so and so mightily and wonderfully’. Of course, God only 

uses them by endowing them with his call, wisdom, talents, 

gifts and strength but, this kind of language gives the impression 

that God is using people for his own glory. This conception 


is held by congregations and has created negative results. One 

such result is that people lose interest in serving others. They 

think that God works only through some people, whom he calls 

and endows with gifts and strength to carry out the ministry. 

Service is therefore, their responsibility and not that of all of us. 

It has left an impression that those who are not called are to 

mind their business, earn their living and lead a happy life as 

far as possible. We need to use a proper language to change this 

opinion prevalent among Christians by presenting God as an 

enabler and a servant of mankind. His interest is not to benefit 

himself but to benefit the society through these leaders. By 

calling, enabling and serving with these leaders, God proves 

himself a true servant of humanity. 

God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son 

Jesus to serve fallen humanity. The incarnated God, in the human 

form of Jesus who died on the cross, is for all people irrespective 

of their race, colour, culture and geographical locations. 

This is revealed in the words of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels 

(Mk.1:15; 10:45; Lk.4:43; 19:10; Jn.12:44-50). Jesus disciples 

clearly related the OT passages to Him and pointed out 

boldly the fulfillment of such passages in the event of the cross 

(Acts 2:1-36; 8:32-33; 17:1-4). Peter firmly believed the 

fulfillment and preached the good news of salvation through 

Jesus (Acts 4:10-12). Paul tried to convince the Jews to see the 

fulfillment of the OT in Jesus. Narrating their ancient history 

and quoting the texts from the OT, Paul argued with the Jews to 

accept the actions of God through Jesus in his letter to the 

Romans (chs.9-11). The redemptive work of God through Jesus 

Christ is very much emphasized in other writings too (2 Cor. 

5:17-21; Eph.1:7; Col.1:13-28; 1. Tim.2:4-6). Paul brings out 

the significance of the incarnation through his message of kenosis 

(emptying) in his letter to the Philippians (2:6-11) and instructs 

the Church to follow the kenotic model of Jesus as the basis for 

their life and work (2:4, 13-14). 

The writings of the apostles emphasize the doctrine of the 

incarnation as an important foundation for ministry. The incarnation 

of Jesus as the Son of God relates God to humanity and 

vice versa. On the one hand, he was sent into the world on 

behalf of the Father to redeem and reconcile fallen humanity 

with God. As the Son of God, Jesus obeyed the Father and ful- 

46 47


filled the ministry. On the other hand, he identified himself 

with humanity, as the Son of man ministered to the people by 

preaching the Good News, taught, prayed, fed the hungry, healed 

the sick and liberated people from the power of evil spirits. He 

stood as their representative to God and died on their behalf. 

The ministry, on behalf of the Father and of men, was fulfilled 

in the incarnation of Jesus. The incarnation theology emphasizes 

the vertical and horizontal relationship. In a world where 

humanity is divided and turned against itself, disorder prevails. 

Relationships between people are broken. People long for justice, 

reconciliation and peace. The Incarnation of Jesus reconciled 

man and created a new order in the world. This new order 

is peace, justice and welfare, as Paul points out in Eph.2:14-16. 

If so, then, the incarnation of God becomes the theological basis 

for the ministry of liberation, social justice and reconciliation of 

humanity. The ministry of the incarnated Jesus continues after 

his resurrection, through the gift of the Spirit. The work of the 

Holy Spirit after the Pentecost is the continuation of the ministry 

of Christ on the earth through the body of Christ. The incarnation 

makes the ministry Christo-centric. In the incarnational 

ministry of Jesus, we could realize the powerful theological foundation 

for Christian ministry. 

The third person in Trinity is the Holy Spirit, known as the 

paraclete in the NT. The gift of the Holy Spirit is for the Church 

to continue the ministry started by the Father through Jesus 

Christ. From the Gospel of John Chapters 14-16, we come to 

know the nature and role of the Holy Spirit. Jesus asked his 

Father to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples (14:16). 

Jesus wanted his presence to continue with the disciples after 

he had ascended to his Father (16:7). The Holy Spirit symbolizes 

God’s continuing presence with the believers of Christ 

(14:26). This Spirit of truth coming in the name of Jesus bears 

witness to Him (15:26) and will teach and remind the disciples 

all that Jesus has taught them (14:20). The work of the Holy 

Spirit is not limited to the disciples alone. It continues in the 

world, convincing people of their sin, righteousness and judgement 

(16:8), whether the world is willing to understand and 

accept the work of the Holy Spirit or not. Enabling the disciples 

and convicting the world of its evil are two sides of the work of 

the Holy Spirit. The sphere of the work of the Holy Spirit, is on 


the one side, with the disciples of Christ and, on the other side, 

with the society. Otherwise, the effort, energy, strategies and 

communication skills of the disciples used in ministry would 

become ineffective and would not bring the expected transformation 

in society. 

The apostles realized the truth of what Jesus said about the 

Holy Spirit at the Pentecost. They were filled with the Holy Spirit 

(Acts 2) which empowered them to face opposition and preach 

the Good News of the Kingdom with power. They performed miracles, 

healing and delivering from evil spirits to show the mighty 

power of God. As they preached, the Spirit convicted their audience 

of their sin. Those who responded to the conviction of the 

Holy Spirit were led to realize the forgiveness and reconciliation 

brought by Christ. The Holy Spirit united those who responded 

positively to Christ and as One body of Christ. The Spirit constantly 

renews the mind and spirit of believers that they may 

continue to become new creations in Christ. The enabling, empowering, 

uniting and renewing functions of the Holy Spirit are 

indispensable to the continuation of the ministry in the Church 

and society. Christian ministry cannot go on without the role of 

the Holy Spirit. 

God acts in human history and also in the creation of the 

natural world. God created the earth, other planets, trees and 

plants, birds and animals and also constantly takes care of them. 

The Creation of this world did not emanate from his body. Neither 

did he neglect it since it was a separate entity outside of 

him. Some religions talk about separate gods for creation, taking 

care of it and destroying it on the last day of consummation 

respectively. The engaging activity of the one who created discontinues 

and shifted to another god. Some others believe that 

gods have nothing to do with this world except to have celestial 

activities with other heavenly bodies. Some mythologies speak 

of the cessation of God’s creativity after forming the earth and 

heavens. Festivals of such religions remember their god’s old 

activity of creation but, biblical accounts affirm God‘s care for 

creation. They affirm that God did not alienate himself from his 

creation (Ps.104, Jer. 31, Hos.2) God is actively involved in the 

continuous process of creation. Jesus called his audience to 

look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the valleys and the 

48 49


way God takes care of them. (Mt. 6:26-30; 19:28) The New Testament 

speaks of God’s creation in terms of changing the old 

man into a new man in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph.4:22- 

24), renewing the life of the Church ( 1 Cor. 3:6; 12:4-11) and 

renewing the human nature (Mt. 5:45). That creation affected 

by the fall of humanity will be redeemed by God (Rom. 8:20-23) 

is a clear evidence of God’s continuing relationship with creation. 

Paul Hanson writes, “Each mighty act of creation or liberation 

in the Bible was drawn into a chain of divine acts as preparation 

for new creative and redemptive activity by Israel’s God. 

Taken together, the great events of exodus, covenant, inheritance 

of the land, anointment of David, exile, second exodus, 

and the life of Christ did not constitute the ‘frozen’ scenario of a 

primordial myth, but were the unique historical events which 

set in motion a creative and redemptive process which was characterized 

by the newness in every age” (1978: 62). 

CHURCH: INCARNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN SOCIETY 

Sociologically, the Church is part of the society. First, the 

members come from the society. They live in the social context, 

face problems and try to cope with the changing world. Famine, 

drought, earthquake, pollution, disease and accidents affect 

Christians as well. Members of the churches cannot escape the 

problems of life. They too are under financial difficulties and 

undergo psychological trauma. We draw strength from our spirituality 

and face these problems. We cannot run away from the 

society and lead a secluded life. Christians who tried to seclude 

themselves from the society and live as a puritan community 

ended up as a cult group and ruined themselves. God has placed 

churches within the society. Second, the Church is a fellowship 

of people who believe in Jesus Christ. The nature of the fellowship 

as the body of Christ has been explained already in the 

first chapter. These people have their own limitations. They are 

not perfect. The fellowship of believers gather to worship and 

profess their faith. Worship and confession create solidarity 

among the members and remind them that they are part of this 

society but not of the world. They are drawn out of the world. 

This fellowship is placed in the world. The nature of this fellowship 

is to transcend the racial, gender, caste and class barriers 

which divide and oppress people. Paul brings out the nature of 


the church in Gal. 3:26-28: “for in Christ Jesus you are all children 

of God through faith…There is no longer Jew or Greek, 

there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; 

for all of you are one in Christ Jesus”. The early Church 

learnt this lesson and reshaped the nature of the faith community 

to include Gentiles, poor, women and disabled. The Church 

should be a composition of men, women and children, masters 

and slaves, rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles. The Church is 

expected to cross these barriers and show acceptance and tolerance 

and also to mix as one community and share their resources 

with other members. The nature of the Church is seen 

in the composition of its members as well as in the way it functions 

as a sharing community. Third, the Church which is part 

of the society is to exercise fellowship and share resources among 

themselves as well as to be a suffering servant. The Church has 

a role to play in the society. It is not to limit its activities within 

the four walls of the church building. This community of believers 

is required to serve the society. Coming together as a fellowship 

is for worshipping, confessing faith, experiencing solidarity 

and sharing in the service of the society. The purpose of 

being a faith community is to function as an instrument of God 

to transform our society. The sociological bond between the 

Church and society demands that ministries be related to the 

context. Finally, more than the sociological bond between the 

Church and society, the bond between Jesus and the Church 

as an incarnational community demands ministry in the world. 

Ray Anderson draws our attention to this theological dimension 

of the nature of the Ecclesia. He writes, ‘Incarnational community 

means that community in which the life of Jesus continues 

to exist through the ontological reality of his indwelling Spirit…As 

Jesus exists in a community of relation with the Father characterized 

by self-emptying, or kenotic presence, in the world. It is 

this nature of the church, as we shall see, that determines the 

form of its ministry’ (2001:116). The understanding of the body 

of Christ as the incarnational community provides the theological 

and ecclesiastical foundation of ministry. 

CHANGING CONTEXT 

The socio-political and economic context of the above historical 

periods were not the same. They changed dramatically due 

50 51


to wars and political domination of powers, the influence of religions, 

the effects of natural calamities such as famine, drought, 

flood and fire, the persecution policies of some kings, the movement 

of people from one region to another, the contribution of 

literary works of some intellectuals and the dealings of the leaders 

of religion and politics. All these factors which brought 

changes to the socio-political, economic, religious and cultural 

context of different periods determined the need and the nature 

of ministry. These factors changed not only the ancient 

society but are also changing contemporary society. Large scale 

industries, international travel, satellite communication and 

modern science and technology are speeding up the changes 

for both good and bad. The consequences are evident in different 

realms of society and has shaped the nature of ministry. 

Leaders and other people have attempted to address these problems 

within their contexts and sought for solutions. They made 

their efforts and service relevant to their own historical context. 

The interrelation of the context and nature of their ministry will 

be noticed in further discussions of the different models in this 

book. This does not mean that society sets the agenda for God 

to do ministry. God, the Father had already set the agenda of 

redeeming fallen humanity and carried out the mission through 

Jesus. The initiative for ministry came from God out of his love 

and grace for mankind. God worked out his own way of redemption 

and reconciliation and showed the model through Jesus. 

The Church as a community, bears witness to what God has 

done and carry out His ministry, realizing the challenges of the 

change in contexts. Modern society needs the service of the 

churches more now than ever before. People of every continent 

face problems of growing fundamentalism, ethnic violence, ecological 

degradation, accumulation of wealth and power in the 

hands of a few rich families, political instability, racial and gender 

discrimination, terrorism, unemployment, terminal diseases 

and psychological trauma. The world, today, needs the relevance 

of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. People are looking 

for meaning in life. The changing context of modern society 

demands of Christians to recover the biblical models of ministry, 

modify and make them more effective to address problems 

and shape the future of humanity and the environment. 


SCRIPTURE DEMANDS FAITH AND ACTION 

The Bible speaks of faith and action as necessities for Christian 

life. To do ministry, faith in the work of God through Jesus 

is imperative. Faith is defined and explained in several places 

in the NT. Jesus told his disciples and the following crowd to 

have faith in him, that he has been sent by God to fulfill the 

mission. Peter and Paul preached the crucified Jesus and asked 

the people to repent and believe Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. 

Forgiveness of sin and justification as righteous are not by human 

works. Since Jesus has died on the cross for the forgiveness 

of humanity and God is willing to declare all those who 

believe the person and work of Jesus, as righteous, our faith is 

important. However, faith in Jesus is not enough. Our faith in 

God is not static but dynamic. The writer of the epistle to the 

Hebrews describes how the faith of the people was dynamic in 

action (Heb.11). The Faith of the converts mobilized the early 

Church to be involved in various activities of the society, as could 

be seen in the narration of the Acts of the Apostles and the 

Pauline epistles. The Gospels too emphasize that our faith should 

be related to the society. The community of faith is the salt of 

the earth and light to the world (Mt.5:13-15). The salt has to 

penetrate to create a chemical reaction. The light should not be 

covered if its radiant rays were light the society. Jesus penetrated 

his society by going to the poor people, eating with the 

sinners, healing the disabled and deserted and accepting the 

discriminated women and children. He crossed cultural, religious, 

economic and social barriers. He trained his disciples to 

cross these borders and be closely related to the society. The 

teachings of Jesus demand of us, not to be worldly but to be 

people of the Kingdom of God and work for the spreading of the 

kingdom values. Paul taught Christians not to be conformed to 

this world but to be transformed to discern the will of God and 

what is good and acceptable (Rom. 12:1-2). Knowing the perfect 

will of God is mainly to lead a witnessing and contributive life in 

the world. James made it clear in his definition of true religion 

by writing, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the 

Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, 

and to keep oneself unstained by the world’ (James 1:27). Religion 

should address the problems of the world but at the same 

time should never become corrupted by evils of the world. In his 

52 53


letter to the Christians in the Dispersion, James taught that 

Christian faith without works is dead (2:14-17). If their faith 

fails to relate to the context and exhibit its usefulness to people, 

then such a faith is barren. It has no great significance without 

actions in the context. Such pietism is meaningless. John speaks 

of believing and loving God, which means relating the faith to 

the world and conquering the evil powers of the world. To him, 

Christian faith is powerful to overcome evil, contribute goodness 

to people and transform society (1 Jn. 5:1-5). The scriptural 

demand of faith and action could be realized and renewed 

constantly if only the Church as a hermeneutical community reflected 

on the teachings, interpreted and submitted to the authority 

of the Bible. 

Chapter Three 

Relating Ministry to Context 

Ministry is always done within a certain context, but how 

effectively the ministry of the church is related to the context is 

the question challenging each generation. Every country has 

two kinds of context. One is the socio-political, economic and 

cultural context. The other is the ecclesiastical context. 

SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT 

India is the second largest country in terms of population. 

Next to China, India’s population had crossed over one billion 

by the year 2000. Four major regions are the north, northeast, 

central and the south. Historical studies show that the original 

natives of India were tribals and dravidians. Due to the infiltration 

of the Aryans from Persia to the western and northern part 

of India, the western and northern regions are now dominated 

by the people of Aryan race and culture. Eastern India, beyond 

West Bengal was infiltrated by the Mangolians of China. The 

present inhabitants the north-eastern states are a mixed race 

of the Mangolians. Central India, stretching from Maharashtra 

to West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh to the borders of Andhra 

Pradesh and Karnataka features, different tribes, each with their 

own dialect but the tribal groups of the central region are dominated 

by other people. The four southern states, namely, 

Taminadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka are Dravidian 

states with their own Dravidian languages and culture. The history 

of India also points out that there has been regular attempts 

of attacks from the rulers of the north to subdue the 

central and southern regions. The rulers of the southern regions 

had to fight against the Aryan domination. India witnessed 

several internal and foreign battles over the years 

(Thapar:1966:Vol.1; Spear:1968:Vol.2). It is important to keep 

in mind that India was under foreign domination and exploita- 

54 55


tion for many years. A new India was born at independence 

from the rule of the British Empire in 1947. The 50 year postindependent 

period has been a significant period in terms of 

political democracy, scientific and economic progress, interactions 

between religions and culture, transport and mobility of 

people and education. The political, social, economic and religious 

context of post-independent India is highly pluralistic. 

This shall be the focus in the following pages. 

Political Context: Stability, instability and degeneration 

India has adapted the democratic system of government both 

in the centre and in the states by electing representatives 

through public voting. There is a multi-party system. Gandhi 

was in favour of democracy and the “panchayat” system of government 

but opposed the party-oriented political system due to 

the inbedded evils in such systems. He discussed the evils of 

party-oriented political systems in Britain in his two books, Hindu 

Swaraj and Trusteeship. Gandhi pleaded the new independent 

India to avoid the evils of the party political system and adapt 

the “panchayat” system and trusteeship to give more power to 

the people, develop local skills and team leadership and hold 

the community to be accountable. He suggested the dissolution 

of the National Congress movement of independence once the 

goal had been achieved, instead of making it a political party 

vested with power to rule the country. His ideals had limitations 

and could not materialize. The National Congress, which became 

the main national political party, won the election with 

the highest percentage of votes and formed the government in 

the Centre as well as in the states. Being a one-party rule, both 

at the Centre and state, the relationship between the central 

and state governments was smooth. Another advantage was the 

political stability it provided in the Centre and within states. 

Political stability and cordial relationship between the Centre 

and States are so important for a country like India. However, 

the regionalism and communalism developed in the 1960’s due 

to various factors affected political stability and the Centre-State 

relationship. Many states fell into the hands of regional parties 

in the 1970’s. The Congress Party was divided into factions. A 

new trend has developed in the last two decades. Elections have 

been won and a united government has been formed through 


an alliance and understanding to share power and positions 

among the co-operating parties. This trend developed as a result 

of dissatisfaction among opposition parties, caste and communal 

factors and the growth of religious fundamentalism. However, 

the main reason for the alignment was to present front 

which would win the election and rule the state or the Centre. 

Today, the ugliness of this trend of political alliance and bargaining 

power, the destabilization and dissolution of government 

until the opposition got what they wanted is so obvious. 

The late 1990’s and the new millennium witnessed a degeneration 

in the structure, leading to political corruption, communalism, 

favouritism and nepotism, misuse of power and authority, 

political vendetta, neglect of economic progress and fleecing of 

the nation. Under this trend, Christians came to a crossroad, 

not knowing what to do, whom to vote for or how to educate the 

congregation on politics. Some of Christian leaders either try to 

please the ruling government for benefits or ignore politics and 

fail to take a stand. It is only when churches are burnt, institutions 

are affected, activities and funds are curbed by the ruling 

government that they think about politics and organize protest 

march of some sort. A few leaders who try to relate the Bible to 

politics and arrange critical discussions on contemporary political 

trends or who issue memoranda and solicit the signature of 

Christians are often misunderstood. Has the Christian ministry 

any relevance to political context of a nation? Could three percent 

of Christians effect a major political change? 

Social Context: Caste, Class, Tribe and Patriarchy 

The nature and structure of society is not only pluralistic but 

also complex. The composition of people, in terms of race, colour 

and language is varied. Beneath this composition lies the 

important factor of caste and tribe. While ethnic groupings and 

tribes are found in many countries, identifying people according 

to caste is unique to the Indian society. It is not known to 

what extent the caste system has spread over the country, but 

this social system is in practice for ages. Society is affected by 

the evil of segragation through the caste system. The origin of 

the caste system, varnashrama, is linked to the religion of Hinduism 

since their religious scripture and codes of conduct speak 

of it (Klostermier:1989:317). Many Hindus believe that the ori- 

56 57


gin of the caste structure is associated with the act of creation 

and that people are born in to and die within a particular caste. 

There is no other way to detach oneself from the caste identity 

assigned at birth than to practice caste system as demanded by 

the religion. 

The four original castes called ‘varna’ are the Brahmins who 

are believed to be created out of the mouth of god, the Ksatriyas, 

from his chest, the Vaisyas, from his belly and the Sudras, from 

his feet. The theory behind ‘varna’, the hierarchical structure is 

that people were differentiated on the basis of the colour of the 

skin i.e. fairer, moderately fair or dark-skinned people. The 

Brahmins, who have fairer skin colour due to their descent from 

the Aryan race are regarded as the highest in the heirarchical 

structure of the varna, while the Sudras, with dark-coloured 

skin, are at the bottom of the structure. On the basis of colour 

differences people were regarded as superior or inferior. In this 

respect, varnashrama is racial. Since mixing of race and colour 

could invalidate this theory, another theory of dominance was 

introduced and practised to maintain the varnashrama on the 

basis of the division of occupation. The fair-coloured Brahmins, 

who came out of the mouth of the Divine one, were to be the 

priests who conducted worship and rituals, pronounced the sacred 

slogans and advised the society. The Ksatriyas, from the 

chest, were to be the warriors, defenders, rulers and administrators. 

The Vaisyas were the merchants and farmers to contribute 

to the economy of the society. The Sudras, the large 

mass at the bottom of the hierarchy of the “varna”were the labourers, 

servants and menials. Apart from these people, a vast 

majority of the people in the society were left out to be included 

in these four “varnas”. They were not at all considered as human 

beings to be included in any of these four classifications. 

They were treated as outcasts and untouchables because of their 

colour and association with the menial work which was considered 

more inferior to the work of the Sudras. They were 

untouchables because they were polluted by their work. This 

fifth category of people outside the varnashrama were later called 

‘Harijans’ by Gandhi to refer to them as children of God. Rejecting 

this term ‘harijan’ for the untouchables on religious and 

social grounds, Dr. Ambedkar called them ‘Dalits’ The term ‘dalit’ 

stems from a semitic root ‘dal’ which means underprivileged, 


oppressed and marginalized. The secular Dalit Literature and 

Christian Dalit Theology discuss these issues in detail. 

How these four divisions and later, the fifth division were 

further sub-divided into numerous main and sub-caste groups 

is another complex subject. For example, two major sub-divisions, 

the “Iyer” and the “Iyangar” among Brahmins in Tamilnadu 

feature prominently. “Iyangar” are regarded as superior than 

“Iyer” and every effort is made to keep marriage alliances within 

this sub-division. Main caste groups like Vellalas, Thevar, Nadar, 

Vanniyar, and Gounder are further divided into three or more 

sub-castes. So many sub-caste groups were developed within 

Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. The British adminstration classified 

some castes as Scheduled Castes. Even the fifth group 

called the Dalits is divided into sub-castes and a hierarchical 

structure is maintained among them when it comes to the issue 

of marriage and benefits. On what basis the caste groups were 

further classified as belonging to Forward Community (FC), Most 

Backward Community (MBC), Backward Community (BC) and 

Scheduled Caste (SC) is another subject for research and discussion. 

What immediately draws attention is the following consequences 

of the caste system which challenge the nature and 

ministry of the Church. First, the theories of “varnashrama” are 

discriminating, divide the society and promote hierarchical structures. 

Second, the caste system promotes economic and social 

inequalities since it speaks of occupation based on “varna”. This 

caste system binds the people to a particular occupation and for 

example a Sudra or a Dalit could not be accepted to be the 

priest of a temple or to perform the duty of a ruler, administrator 

or a business man, to run a shop or hotel. Thus, this system 

perpetuates economic inequality and social discrimination. Third, 

the local legal system like “panchayat” or village administration 

discusses the justice and rights of low caste people, not on their 

value as human beings, the virtues of the victims or on the basis 

of human rights and equality but on the basis of the varna and 

caste to which the victims belong. The administrators or the 

offenders belonging to the upper caste often deny justice and 

equal rights to the sudras and dalits. Justice based on varna 

and sub-caste classifications is a great violation of one’s right. 

Fourth, the caste system divides people by virtue of their colour 

and occupation and sub-units breeds ethnic conflicts and vio- 

58 59


lence. Fifth, politics, political parties and elections are structured 

according to the caste system. This evil, which is now deeply 

rooted in the life of Indians, has permeated all spheres of the 

nation and its churches. How, then, could ministry be related 

to society and churches which are affected by the caste system? 

Other Tribes in India also face similar difficulties. Tribals are 

regarded as a separate category. Within this special category, 

there are a number of tribal groups, each with their own dialect, 

culture and belief systems. They are deliberately denied their 

identity as tribes and are drawn into the fold of Hinduism and 

discriminated against as the outcasts. Advocates for the rights 

of the tribes to be allowed to keep their religious beliefs, culture 

and customs, dialects, identity and natural environment are increasing. 

They have even suggsted certain geographical territories 

as separate state for the tribes. The Chipko Movement and 

Narmadha Bachao Andolan (NBA) promote support for the tribes. 

Christian Tribal Theology developing in the north-eastern states, 

central region and the east coast region are trying to address 

the problems of tribals in India. 

Another social system dominating the Indian society is the 

patriarchy. Although the Indian Constitution in principle does 

not discriminate against women and ensures equality before 

the law, women are discriminated against in their families, work 

places and in the churches too. Gerda Lerner, in her book The 

Creation of Patriarchy, defines patriarchy as “the manifestation 

and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children 

in the family and the extension of male dominance over 

women in society in general. It implies that men hold power in 

all the important institutions of society and that women are 

deprived of access to such power” (1986:239). The origin and 

development of patriarchy in each society demands a separate 

study. Social, political and religious factors have contributed to 

the development and sustenance of patriarchy in the Indian 

society. Gerda Lerner points out that the system of patriarchy 

could thrive in society only with the co-operation of women and 

writes, “This co-operation is secured by a variety of means: gender 

indoctrination; educational deprivation; the denial to women 

of knowledge of their history; the dividing of women, one from 

the other, by defining ‘respectability’ and ‘deviance’ according 


to women’s sexual activities; by restraints and outright coercion; 

by discrimination in access to economic resources and political 

power; and by awarding class privileges to conforming 

women’ (1986:217). It is not that women are willingly co-operate 

with the domination of the patriarchal system. Most of them 

have accepted the patriarchal system as a long-standing tradition 

of the society, which cannot be changed without the cooperation 

of men. Some women co-operate with patriarchal system 

out of ignorance, tolerating all the injustice done to them. 

For other women it provides paternalistic protection, a sense of 

belonging to a male, sustenance for their lives, marriages and 

children. Paternalism and male dominance is perpetuated 

through the institution of Patriarchy. The minds of Women have 

been psychologically conditioned over thousands of years to internalize 

the idea of their own inferiority and to submit themselves 

to male dominance without questioning the patriarchal 

system. 

Although the percentage of women compared to men in terms 

of population size in each state differs, statistics show that 49 

percent of the total Indian populations are women. They play a 

vital role in society. On the one hand, some religious and secular 

literature and media adore women and speak highly of them 

with respect and honour. On the other hand, what persists in 

reality is the suppression of women. The consequences of the 

patriarchal system on society are so serious that it is impossible 

for Christian ministry to ignore this marginalized and oppressed 

group of the society. First, women are treated as inferior to men 

because of misconceptions on their sex and gender. Many are 

not aware of the difference between the two. Sex is a biological 

factor. It is the creation of God. Although God created some as 

men and others as women, all are created in the image of God. 

Sexual differences have biological functions. God has created 

the bodies of women in such a way that they could bear children 

and perpetuate the human race. This is a noble function 

and a valuable contribution which women make society. Considering 

the biological processes of mensuration and menopause, 

which they go through, it would be unfair to treat women as 

inferior sex. Instead of regarding them as pollutants and inferior, 

they should be appreciated for their biological role and 

must be supported and held in a high esteem for their contri- 

60 61


bution. There is nothing wrong with being a female, but gender 

discrimination has been created by men. It is not biological but 

sociological. To refer to the masculine gender as superior and 

the female gender as inferior and to attribute status and roles 

accordingly has been a conception of men. The gender discrimination 

is a social concept; it is wrong and must be challenged. 

(N. Jeyaraj, Women and Society : 2001: 1-10) 

Second, women are treated as sex objects and subjected to 

domestic violence oppression like rape, sexual harassment prostitution, 

drug trafficking. This is sexual exploitation by men for 

their own pleasure and profits. Quite often women who are subjected 

to one kind of oppression or the other, are not compensated. 

They are exposed to situations, which pose a threat to 

their lives. Christian preachers condemn such victims as sinners 

but fail to condemn the social structure and system, which 

forced them through the plight of exploitation. Jesus, in forgiving 

the woman accused of adultery, made an effort to address 

the problem during His period (Jn.8:1-11). His response to those 

who accused her was a way of condemning the social structure 

of His day. Forgiving and accepting her was the best way to 

restore her to humanity. Jesus gave a new definition to adultery; 

He condemned it but He did not fail to relate His ministry 

to the correction of this social evil. 

Third, women are traded as commodities in marriage through 

the payment of the dowry to the groom’s family. The dowry system 

is part of the patriarchal system. Demanding dowry has 

become a tradition in society although it is banned legally. It is 

very well known that without paying a large sum of money, arranging 

for the marriage of daughters is difficult. It is a big burden 

which has led many families to borrow money with high 

interest rates and to fall prey to a vicious cycle of debt. In addition 

to the paying of dowry at the time of marriage, women are 

expected to bring some wealth from their parents to meet the 

needs of their husband’s family or face torture, separation, divorce 

or murder. 

Fourth, since the female sex is regarded inferior and women 

have had to face discrimination and undergo difficulties in families, 

the female child is not wanted or cherished much. This has 

increased the occurrence of female feticide and infanticide. Since 


girls are regarded as financial burden, many families are not 

interested in educating them beyond elementary level. The Female 

literacy rate is only 39.28 percent, according to the 1991 

census. Very few girls go to high schools and colleges, or pursue 

higher education or professional courses. Girls are not encouraged 

to pursue higher education because they are looked up on 

as future housewives, whose main role is to bear children, cook 

and take care of family. 

An analysis of the social structure of India reveals the position 

of people in society. Industrialists, bankers, large estate 

owners and some politicians are at the top of the social hierarchy 

because of their wealth and power. It is estimated that the 

richest on the hierarchy constitute only 5 to 8 percent of the 

population and this group controls the political parties, governments, 

natural resources, trade and labour force. Those who 

are employed in the service of the central and state government, 

industries and banks and educational institutions form 

the middle class and constitute 30 to 35 percent of the population. 

The landless peasants, agricultural laborers, coolies and 

daily wage workers in unorganized sectors are at the bottom of 

the hierarchy and living in poverty. They represent the vast 

majority, i.e.60 percent of the population. Although this statistics 

is a rough estimate, many Indians (approx.55%) live below 

the poverty line, struggling to meet their basic needs of food, 

shelter and clothing. 

This kind of hierarchical structure is noticeable not only in 

terms of economic power but in terms of caste and gender. The 

high caste groups are found at the top of the social hierarchy 

where as people belonging to low caste and tribals are at the 

bottom of the structure. From the point of view of gender, men 

are at the top whereas women and children are at the bottom of 

the social order. It is still worst in the case of the Dalits and 

tribal women and children. The pyramid type of social structure 

reveals the lack of sharing of resources, power and authority 

with the vast majority of the poor. This structure perpetuates 

poverty and widens the gap between the rich and the poor. Should 

the poor continue to be poor and the rich continue to be rich? 

How are these people ministered to? What is the role of the 

church in changing the structure of the society? 

62 63


Economic Context: Resources, Poverty and Policies 

India’s natural resources of land, water, forests and minerals 

are enormous compared to some other countries. Yet the people 

in India are poor. Poverty has persisted for many years. One 

of the main reasons for this has been the accumulation of wealth 

in the hands of a few rich people. Although 60 % of the population 

live in villages and are involved in agriculture, the land in 

the villages are owned by a few rich people. The land tenure 

system which has prevailed for centuries helps the rich to accumulate 

more land. Continuous upraising of the landless peasants 

and struggles of their movements in protecting agricultural 

land from being turned into industries or real estates, highways 

and their protest for proper wages, welfare and re-distribution 

of land are suppressed jointly by the landlords, politicians 

and government officials. Large-scale industries are owned 

by a few richest families. Mass production of large and smallscale 

industries not only threatens the traditional skills and 

employment of many people but also destroys the environment. 

Although Industrial Acts and Labour Laws deal with employment 

conditions, rules and wages, profit-sharing, inviting the 

labourers to be share-holders of the industries and providing 

welfare, medical and other benefits are not much emphasized 

or implemented. Trade Unions are controlled either by the industrialists 

or political parties. Most of the leaders of the Trade 

Unions are corrupt and play in the hands of the executives of 

the industries and politicians. Many Unions are not able to function 

effectively on behalf of the working mass. In the unorganized 

sector, the condition of the workers are the worst. They are 

not given appointment orders. Wages are not properly fixed. 

Benefits and compensations are ignored. Women and children 

are preferred as cheap labour to work in unhealthy and dangerous 

conditions. Both organized and unorganized sectors which 

employ women and children include the Match and Fire Works, 

Carpet, Garments, Automobile and Scooter Workshops, Construction 

Contractors and Dye industries. Men and women who 

are self-employed such as vendors of fruits, vegetables, flowers, 

plastic and aluminium goods face threats from money lenders 

and the police for transacting business on the streets. In spite 

of their hardwork at the mercy of the weather and at the ex- 

pense of the welfare of their children, these street vendors live 

in a vicious cycle of debt, family and health problems. 

Religious Context: Superstitions, Fundamentalism, Conflicts 

The religious context of India is pluralistic. The Major religions 

in India are Hinduism (approx. 82% of the population), 

Islam (11%), Christianity (3%), Sikism (2%), Buddism (0.7%) and 

Jainism (0.5%). In addition to these religions, the other tribes 

in India are basically animists (3%) who worship nature and 

spirits. Some of these religions are superstitious and practise 

human sacrifice occasionally, depend on astrology, numerology 

and palmistry, worship of sex organs and faith in fatalism. These 

beliefs and practices hinder the progress of the people. They 

are oppressive. They continually dehumanize the followers. 

The presence and practice of many faiths in the land shows 

the positive aspect of the freedom of religion and worship. The 

teachings of religions contribute to the spiritual and moral life 

of the followers. However, the history of religions in India tells of 

conflicts between different faiths, hatred turned into religious 

violence, burning of worship places, destruction of villages and 

persecution in different regions. Conversions and re-conversions 

are given priority. Very little effort has been made towards understanding 

the different faiths in recent years. Instead, each 

individual defends their own religion at any cost and that has 

become the top priority among the people. Peace and religious 

harmony are at the highest threat today. Growing religious fundamentalism 

like ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Islamic Jihad’, ‘Kalistan’ and 

‘Bodo Land’ fuel violence against people of other faiths. These 

fundamentalist groups are trying to religionize politics and so 

doing then endanger the secularism and democracy of India. 

ECCLESIASTICAL CONTEXT 


Understanding the origin and development of churches in 

India and the contemporary situation of these churches is essential 

in order to relate the ministry of the Church to society. 

Studying the ecclesiastical context includes the following major 

areas such as the nature of the Indian Church, theology and 

doctrines, governance and leadership, service and contributions. 

These details have been discussed by historians and theologians 

in their writings. I have no intention of repeating such 

64 65


details except to point out certain aspects worth remembering 

when relating the ministry to the people inside and outside the 

Church. 

Denominations and Cultural Alienation 

One of the traditions dates the arrival of Christianity in India 

as early as to 52 AD. It is believed that St. Thomas, a disciple 

and an apostle of Jesus brought the good news to South India 

in 52 AD, planted churches in Kerala and died as a martyr in 

Madras. The migration of Christian refugees from Syria and 

Mesopotamia in the fourth century AD brought the Syrian and 

Chaldean tradition of Christianity to Kerala. The Franciscan and 

Dominican missionaries established Roman Catholic churches 

from the 13 th century AD onwards. Protestant Christianity and 

the planting of churches of Lutheran tradition began with the 

arrival of Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Henry Plutschau in 

Tranquebar in 1706. Following them was Christian Schwartz, 

the Anglican missionary of SPCK, who worked in Tamilnadu 

and contributed to the growth of Anglican churches. William 

Carey’s missionary work in West Bengal from 1793 through the 

Baptist Mission, the founding of churches and the Serampore 

College and the translation of the Bible is another landmark in 

the history of Christianity in India. In addition to the work of 

these major missions belonging to the Roman Catholic and Protestant 

traditions, several other missions such as the Methodist, 

Baptist, Mennonite, Christain Missionary Alliance, Presbyterian 

and the Nazerene too founded denominational churches in the 

North-eastern region, Central and West regions of India. From 

the beginning of 20 th century, Pentecostal missions gained momentum 

and established several churches in South India. The 

charismatic churches are growing and spreading to many villages, 

towns and cities. World Christianity: South Asia, edited by 

Roger Hedlund lists several major denominations, sub-divisions 

and churches within these denominations in India 

(MARC:1980:45-53). Since 1980, many new denominations and 

autonomous churches have emerged. Two major situations which 

emerged out of denominationalism are as follows. 

First, Christianity in India is divided under several denominations 

as in other countries mainly because of the arrival of 

different missions from the West. Divisions on the basis of de- 


nominations are unavoidable. To rectify this weakness, western 

missionaries with the help of Indian leadership, made the effort 

to unify the churches and denominations. The formation of CSI 

and CNI is a historical achievement. Other denominations like 

the Lutherans, Methodists and Baptists opted for federal union 

and formed their own Council or Federation or Association. Many 

independent churches have formed a Federation of Evangelical 

Churches of India (FECI). These attempts and achievements reveal 

the awareness of divisions among Christians and the interest 

to unite for fellowship. Yet, denominationalism is promoted 

by doctrines and administrative systems. Quite often, congregations 

pride themselves in their denominations, traditions, rituals 

and doctrines. They do not readily establish relationships 

with Christians of other denominations. Sometimes this has led 

some Christians to criticize and condemn other denominations 

than their own, openly. Some pastors refuse to help members 

of other denominations. These divisions among Christians and 

the plurality of worship patterns and doctrines puzzles and confuses 

the non-Christian community about the ideals of Christianity. 

Some of them become critical and negative towards 

churches. Doctrines, denominationalism and administrative 

policies have caused segregation among Christians and has hindered 

unity and co-operation among the denominations thus, 

weakening the structures of Christianity. 

Second, westernized Christianity has created cultural alienation. 

Worship in the churches of mainline denominations is set 

in traditions of the West. The order of worship services, songs, 

vestments, pulpit and furniture and musical instruments like 

organs, pipe organs, piano and guitars and the architecture of 

the buildings of churches are replication of westernized structures 

of Christianity. Indigenization of worship in mainline 

churches did not go far enough even after 50 years of Independence. 

However, house fellowships and independent charismatic 

churches have shown signs of developing simple Christianity 

adapting free order of worship, singing more Indian lyrics and 

bajans than western hymns, using local musical instruments 

like the harmonium, flute and tabella. They use native, cultural 

clothes than the western cassock or other vestments. This trend 

must be encouraged. It is, however, sad to notice that some of 

the churches, which began with this kind of indigenization are 

66 67


now falling prey to the western systems of episcopacy, dressings, 

organization and worship. 

Caste, Class and Social Alienation 

Three percent of Christians are divided into denominations 

and also castes. The mass conversion of low caste people to 

Christianity has been due to caste discrimination in the society, 

so, Christians are pre-dominantly Dalits and Tribals. They 

are from poor class. A very small percentage of converts are from 

the middle and upper caste. Churches in some towns and cities 

have congregations of mixed composition but, in reality, 

members maintain their caste identity and arrange marriages 

within their own caste. Although they worship in church and 

take part in the Holy Communion, they are divided socially according 

to the hierarchy of caste system. Instead of coming together 

as one church, some caste groups have created churches 

for their caste. They worship and function as caste churches. 

This trend is more common in South India. Whether churches 

are of mixed congregation of different caste or congregation of a 

particular caste, they are discriminative in rendering welfare 

benefits, employment opportunities and in the sharing of power 

and resources. Instead of creating real fellowship and unity among 

the congregation, the caste system is creating tension and divisions 

in the local church. Today, the caste system plays a major 

role in the election procedures of churches and dioceses. Very 

few Christians have crossed the racial and caste border. They 

condemn the caste system and long for unity and justice. They 

encourage their sons and daughters to have inter-caste or inter-cultural 

marriages. Such Christians are exceptional. 

While social alienation within the local church persists, conversion 

to Christianity has alienated converts from their relatives 

and culture. Converts were persecuted by their own relatives 

and driven out of homes and villages for accepting Jesus 

Christ as their God and Christianity as their religion. They sought 

asylum with the missionaries. The missionaries had no other 

choice but to accommodate them in the compound of their residences 

and provide, employment for them in the churches, 

schools and hospitals as well. This was in addition to nurturing 

them in Christian culture. The net result has been that converts 

to Christianity have lost their social relationship with the 

rest of their communities and have been alienated permanently 

on the one side. On the other side, they are living as caste groups 

within the church alienating themselves from the others and 

failing to become one unified Christian group. They are neither 

able to relate themselves with their own communities outside 

the church nor with the rest of the Christians within the church. 

Failing to understand the existence of the caste and the economic 

class system among Christians, the government of India 

has denied certain privileges and benefits eligible to them, as 

well as to the economically poor while such benefits are given to 

similar caste groups in Hinduism. The Christians in India, therefore, 

find themselves socially alienated, economically deprived 

and politically discriminated. 

Theologies 


It is necessary to understand the different thrusts and trends 

of theology in Indian churches in order to do ministry effectively. 

Sometimes, it becomes essential to be apologetic towards 

heresies. Other times, it becomes necessary to make use of certain 

theologies to do specialized ministry with in the socio-political 

context. The knowledge of spiritual theology could enhance 

the pietism of the congregation. For convenience sake, 

the different theologies in the churches could be categorized 

into three major groups viz. Doctrinal, Socio-Political or Contextual 

and Indian Christian Theologies. Doctrinal theology is 

used very much by the churches belonging to the Adventist, 

Salvation Army, Baptist, Pentecostal and Brethren denominations, 

respectively. They preach and teach doctrines such as 

the observation of the sabbath day, immersion baptism, tongues 

speaking, washing of feet, supremacy of men over women and 

the salvation of soul. Of course, teachings on Christian doctrines 

are important, but, the doctrines on which emphasis placed 

is selective and promote legalistic Christianity. Emphasis on other 

doctrines such as creation and environment, the image of God 

and justice are ignored. Many of them are ignorant of sociopolitical 

theologies like Liberation, Human Rights, Dalit, Tribal, 

Gender equality, Community and Development. Although these 

contextual theologies are accepted by leaders and preached in 

mainline churches, they have not penetrated the congregation 

enough. Sometimes, these theologies are opposed by Chris- 

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tians, but, they are biblical and contextual and needed for the 

ministry of the church. Theological exploration and articulation 

were taken up by the early converts mainly with the view to 

indigenizing theology and making it relevant to the context. 

Robert de Nobilee could be mentioned as one of such pioneers 

among the western missionaries. There are a lot of details about 

the efforts of Indian converts from the book, Indian Christian 

Theology, written by Robin Boyd. Among the first generation 

converts to Christianity were a few noted theologians like 

Brahmabandhav Upadhyaya, Sadhu Sunder Singh, Nehemiah 

Goreh, Henry Albert Krishna Pillai, Vedanayagam Shastriar of 

Tanjore, Pandita Ramabai, Vengal Chakkarai and Narayan Vaman 

Tilak. Some of them re-defined the biblical concepts and doctrines, 

such as would relate to their context. Their articulation 

was more similar to Indian Philosophy. Their theologies were 

regarded philosophical and based on the Brahminical approach, 

which is useful in Inter-faith Dialogue. They have ignored the 

criticisms raised against their theologies, concerning the sociopolitical 

liberation of the people. In an effort to fill the gap, following 

the Latin American Liberation Theology, some leaders 

conceived the theology of liberation and secular humanism. 

Focusing on the issue of the Dalits and tribals, scholars such as 

Arvind Nirmal, M.E. Prabahar in the south and James Massey, 

Nirmal Minz, R.L.Hnuni and others in the north have propounded 

Dalit and Tribal theologies. The Feminist theology is also developing 

fast. The theological explorations in India have been approached 

from the biblical, philosophical and contextual points 

of view. There are so many theologies that it is impossible to 

speak of one Indian Christian Theology any longer. Instead, 

there are Indian Christian theologies and credit is given to each 

of them in order to understand their merits and demerits. Though 

there are enough theologies, they lack praxis. Since the ecclesiastical 

context is enriched with theologies, ministry demands 

that they be understood intellectually, of them, their careful 

application be made to the particular context and their continuous 

articulation be made to suit the changing context. 

Social Service 

Churches are appreciated for their social service. Missionaries 

who came from the west combined evangelism, church plant- 


ing and social service in holistic ministry. They established primary 

and high schools, colleges and teacher training institutions. 

The converts and other poor people were trained in Vocational 

careers such as carpentry, printing technology, automobile 

mechanism, tailoring and weaving to assist them earn a 

living. They could not ignore the plight of women, children and 

old people and so established orphanages, old people’s homes 

and rehabilitation centres for widows and the deserted. They 

started special schools for the blind, deaf and dumb. They pioneered 

in providing medical service through the establishment 

of hospitals. India is experiencing the fruits of these social services. 

The services of these Christian institutions were liberative 

and transforming. Service to society was an important agenda. 

The leaders of other religions were challenged by the excellent 

social service of the churches and were urged to initiate similar 

social services. The Missionaries managed these institutions but 

also trained Indians to take over the management of the social 

services. Christians employed in these institutions were motivated 

constantly to keep the service and sacrifice in focus and to 

give of their best in order to sustain high standards in the provision 

of social service. 

Over the past few decades, three major problems confronting 

the churches in their provision of social services have been identified. 

One is the problem of funding these services. Institution 

like schools, colleges, vocational training centres, hospitals and 

social action programmes depend largely on foreign funds. Although 

some of the schools and colleges receive aid from the 

local government for the salaries of the approved teachers, they 

depend on funds from overseas churches and missions for the 

development of infra-structure. Hospitals try to generate some 

income to defray cost of expenditure but it is not enough unless 

they increase service charges to their patients. This means, they 

have to become like any other commercial institution, not quite 

satisfying their desire to provide service to the poor. Some denominations 

are struggling to maintain educational and medical 

services in spite of financial problems, heavy property taxes, 

labour disputes and court cases. Lack of planning, development 

of skills and dedicated management also contribute to the closure 

of such services in some parts of India. Second, is the problem 

of rules and restrictions of the state and central govern- 

70 71


ment. Government has laid down several rules and conditions 

under which institutions could receive foreign funds and aid. 

On the one hand, these rules regulate the management of the 

institutions, provide some security to those employed and demand 

accountability for the money received and spent. On the 

other hand, they create delays in the receipt of funds, affect 

employment policies or taking disciplinary action, encourage 

Labour Unions to interfere and restrict evangelistic activities and 

the teaching of the biblical truths in schools and witnessing in 

hospitals. Third is the issue of the relationship between these 

services and the church. Bishops and pastors are appointed as 

the chairpersons, correspondents, superintendents or managers 

of schools, colleges, printing presses, technical institutions 

and hospitals in some denominations. Although the church and 

the institution should have some relationship, handing over the 

management and administration of these services to the clergy 

adds extra burden to ecclesiastical responsibilities. Their time 

and energy is not given fully to the pastoral ministry. Some of 

them do not have vision, neither do they understand the social 

service nor the ability to manage and willingness to apply the 

rules of the government. They incorporate church politics into 

the administration of these institutions and cause damage to 

social services. Recapturing the vision, reasserting the biblical 

basis and developing committed and well-trained leadership is 

needed at present. 

Power and Authority 

Church is not only a community of believers but also an institution 

with infra-structure, positions of power and authority 

and human and financial resources. Some of the denominations 

have properties of land such as paddy fields, coconut farms, 

gardens, plantation estates; shopping complexes, multi-story 

buildings rented out for banks and offices, housing complex 

and institutes. If managed properly, they generate good income 

for the churches. Some churches own and manage a number of 

schools, colleges and hospitals. It is easy to notice at present, 

the struggle for power to become bishops, chairpersons, secretaries, 

treasurers of the dioceses or members of committees. 

Obtaining positions to be the head or managers of the institutions 

was mainly to provide employment to their own family 


members and relatives and promote them to positions of power 

and this is the politics going on in many churches and institutions. 

In order to attain the positions of power, people are prepared 

to give money as donation or bribes and to spend large 

sums in campaigns for elections. Caste groupings play a major 

role in elections and appointments. Able and deserving members 

who cannot offered to give donations, gifts and bribes or 

spend money in elections or identify and organize a group for 

themselves are marginalized. It is difficult for them to get employment 

or positions in churches and institutions. 

Another area of power and authority is seen in the victimization 

of those who ask for justice or point out weaknesses in the 

administration or who provide constructive criticism with good 

intention. Victimization goes to the extent of transferring such 

people to remote places, removing them from positions and replacing 

them with their own relatives, creating unwanted control 

to make such persons unable to function effectively or threatening 

them with disciplinary action and punishments. The misuse 

of such power and authority is becoming a fast growing 

trend in churches, institutions and para-church organizations. 

This has caused divisions in some churches and institutions, 

resulted in court cases, de-motivated workers and enhanced 

caste feelings and communalism. How, then, could ministry be 

done and social service provided when power and authority is 

misused to threaten the rights and justice of people in the 

churches, institutions and society? Biblical understanding of 

the power and authority is needed today. The leaders of 

churches, institutions, organizations and movements could use 

power, authority and resources properly to establish justice, 

welfare and progress. Christians have the power of the Gospel, 

the Holy Spirit and other resources to transform nations if they 

are directed properly. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR RELATING TO CONTEXT 

It is important to know the wider social, political, economic 

and religious context of a country as well as the ecclesiastical 

context within this wider context as it is also equally important 

to be well-equipped to relate the ministry to the context. Following 

is a list of some requirements for relating the church to the 

wider context of a nation. 

72 73


Understanding the society 

How possible is it to understand society? First of all, Christians 

should have the conviction that ministry is not limited to 

the four walls of the church building and that the congregation 

must be helped spiritually and socially. The Church is expected 

to relate ministries to the society. The contextual and theological 

reasons for ministry were discussed at the beginning pages 

of this book. Having such a theological conviction helps to understand 

the society. Second, in order to understand society, 

people ought to be accepted for who or what they are and not 

condemned. Cursing the poor as sinners, lazy and useless; the 

different religions of the land, leaders and the government does 

not help us to understand our society. A Critical examination of 

people, ideologies, policies, philosophies and rituals is needed. 

Criticism should be commensurate with compassion and sympathy. 

Otherwise, we make ourselves spiritual heroes and hypocrites 

like the Pharisees and Sadducees. Third, understanding 

society requires a lot of search for information and this includes 

reading newspapers, case studies, watching TV programmes and 

attending discussion. The Media usually present the news with 

some bias and interpretation so, it is important to read newspapers 

and magazines with different perspectives and ideologies. 

Many Christians read only one type of newspaper or magazine 

and tend to believe the presentation as fact. Reading the presentation 

of a Marxist or Socialist is considered wrong but, these 

newspapers give their critical evaluation of events and policies, 

helping to elaborate on the other side of the story. There is 

nothing wrong with reading such papers and knowing the difference 

of opinions on issues. Feeding the mind with critical 

information is necessary to understand society. Fourth, visiting 

the villages, slums, orphanages, mentally retarded homes, 

prison, old people’s asylums, juvenile correction centres and 

areas affected by natural calamities or ethnic violence gives firsthand 

experience with society directly. What the newspapers and 

journals or even TV cannot do is to touch emotions and minds, 

while visiting places and staying with people can. It helps to 

understand the context more realistically and personally. In 

addition to praying for these people, Christians should be the 

first to visit these places. Churches can organize teams of members 

to visit and be involved with the people. Church should 

come out of the four walls to the streets to understand the society. 

Fifth, many have a negative attitude towards society. They 

have become nonchalant to the needs of society and have left it 

to its own fate or degradation. They have withdrawn from social 

activities yet find contentment worshipping on Sundays. While 

it is necessary to be critical towards society, it should not be a 

pessimistic attitude. There must be optimism that the society 

can be changed so that the hope of ministry is not lost. 

Analyzing the Society 


Information through the media alone is not enough. A critical 

analysis of the structures of society should be of major concern 

because society is not merely made up of individuals but 

also of structures and institutions. Human beings create the 

social, economic and political structure. These structures, in 

turn, affect the people and shape the society. In the process of 

interaction, human beings are the object and subject of the 

society. A Study of the social sciences could help in using methodological 

approaches in analyzing society. Reading books written 

on social analysis is important but not everyone may have 

the opportunity to study social sciences or afford to buy books 

on social methods. Two general exercises, however, could be 

suggested in analyzing society. One is the method of raising 

some basic questions, for example, what are the various forces 

at work in society? How does society function? Which are the 

social, political and economic institutions? Who holds the power 

in these institutions? Which are the oppressive policies? How 

are these policies implemented? What are the reasons for people 

becoming poor or rich? Who benefits and by how much? 

What should be the role of religions? What are the responsibilities 

of institutions like families, schools and colleges and banks? 

How does international trade, commerce and globalization affect 

our society? Another exercise is to listen to the personal 

experiences of the people in the local communities. Listening 

to the poor and victims of violence is not intended to criticize 

them but to learn from them. Under-estimating their potential 

or the way they interpret events or their situation obstructs 

wholistic understanding. Allowing them to freely express the 

reasons for their plight or failure, their understanding of who 

God is, religion and society, facilitates our inquiry. 

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Raising such critical questions and listening to the opinion 

of the people in the local communities is not enough. It is necessary 

to have a goal or ideology about how society should be 

shaped. People who believe in capitalism would certainly keep 

profit and accumulation of wealth as their goal. Such people 

may not bother about the poor, poverty, the exploitation of natural 

resources or ecological crisis. They promote privatization of resources, 

business and institutions and cuts on income taxes so 

that they could own more businesses. The justification for profit 

and tax cut is that the rich will invest in industries and create 

more jobs for the people and propel the nation towards industrialization. 

With the power of their business and finance, they 

control politics, the economy and cajole the government to make 

plans and policies in their favour. Industrialists, bankers and 

the business community would continue as the rich and powerful 

ruling class. On the other hand, those who oppose capitalism 

to the extreme, prefer to have a Marxist-based society. The 

means of production such as land, labour and capital is to be 

under the control of the state rather than accumulating in the 

hands of a few rich people. Controlling the means of production 

means controlling rich people becoming owners of the resources. 

Controlling the means of production will also help in 

distributing the benefits of production widely among the people. 

The working class could benefit the more under the system 

of Marxism. Socio-economic structures could be shaped to benefit 

the mass than the few rich people in the society. Adherents 

of Marxism believe that socialism will prevail. To implement Marxism, 

Russia, China, Cuba and East Germany preferred the political 

system of Communism. The Marxist ideology is not without 

its own demerits. According to followers of Gandhi neither 

capitalism nor Marxism is good. They suggest the ‘sarvodaya’ 

and the means to achieve ‘sarvodaya’ is to have Panchayat 

system, Community Development Programmes and Trusteeship 

form of government. It is closer to the ideology of democratic 

socialism. The means to achieve the ideals of Gandhian is nonviolence. 

The emphasis is on giving less priority to technologies 

of mass production and more importance to the development of 

traditional skills, conservation of natural resources, natural 

medicine, agriculture and rural life. The goal of Christians 

should be to evaluate these ideologies and see how the values of 

the Kingdom of God could be promoted for the improvement of 

society. 

Re-reading the Bible 


Knowledge of context and evaluative approaches help us to 

identify issues and problems. But, Christians ought to find out 

what the Bible says about these issues. It is only then that congregations 

would realize the importance of relating ministry to 

the context. Applying Scripture to the context challenges 

churches to be effective in ministry. In order to search for the 

biblical basis and apply the truths of Scripture, it is essential to 

enhance the knowledge of Scripture. This provides awareness 

among the members and raises both financial and human resources. 

Preaching in Sunday services could impart knowledge 

from the Bible. But, more than preaching, Christians need solid 

teaching. Some churches have ignored the ministry of teaching 

and have limited themselves to worship services, weekly prayer 

meetings and annual evangelistic meetings. Some others who 

take teaching serious focus only on the doctrines of their denominations. 

Teachings on socio-political issues like poverty, 

wealth, family planning, abortion, the environment, sexuality, 

gender issues, wages and welfare of labourers, ownership of land 

and properties, justice, capital punishment, human rights, etc., 

are not at all taken seriously. Little effort is made to address 

the problems of society in relation to the teachings of the Bible. 

Over the years, biblical texts have been read and interpreted 

in a particular way, either in consolation or in support of views 

and ways of life or in condemnation of others. Quite often, reading 

is simplistic and selective. The texts have not been critically 

examined or read from a social, economic and political perspective. 

For example, the creation account in Gen. 1-3 is read in 

appreciation of the power of God and the application of such a 

text to preach and teach that the Lord of Creation can solve all 

our problems is practicable. It could also be used to prove the 

superiority of man over woman. However, these accounts speak 

of the image of God, population, gender and sexuality, sabbath 

rest, labour, family, taking care of the earth, vegetarianism, liberation 

and setting order to a chaotic situation. These issues 

are over-looked when reading the narrative of Creation. Jesus 

challenged the way the Pharisees and Sadducees read and in- 

76 77


terpreted the Scripture. These groups made the sabbath rest, 

which is beneficial to humanity, a legalistic burden. Jesus had 

to tell them that sabbath was made for human beings and not 

humans for the sabbath. He challenged their legalism of outward 

cleansing and emphasized inward purity in thought and 

deed. Jesus re-interpreted and gave a new meaning to prayer, 

fasting, adultery, divorce, judging others, forgiveness and vengeance 

(Mt.5-7). He invited His audience to grasp a new understanding 

on spiritual and social issues based on his vision and 

understanding of God. Re-reading of the writings of Paul on the 

community, the body of Christ, love, suffering and the resurrection 

provides us some answers to our social and political problems. 

With this, leaders could organize bible studies, workshops 

and seminars on a particular issue and teach the congregation 

what the Bible says and its application to teachings in 

life and ministry. Teaching and action should be liberative and 

should promote the welfare and justice of the people. 

Developing the Training 

Relating ministry to context could be done effectively if the 

ministers and volunteers were given theological education and 

training and skill in management. Mainline denominations require 

proper theological degrees to be ministers. However, a 

number of smaller denominations and independent churches 

hesitate to emphasize theological education because they do 

not see its necessity and importance. Some of them have negative 

opinion that theological education robs the faith, dynamism 

and commitment of the candidates. They believe firmly that the 

call of God is enough for ministry and participation. It’s true 

that prolonged theological education has its own merits and 

demerits. However, to have negative attitude towards theological 

education and to ignore training is dangerous. All the secular 

professions in today’s modern context require education, 

proper training and constant up-dating on skill and management. 

Education and training provide solid foundation in their 

field of specialization and enables them cope with the changing 

trends. To do ministry in the church as full-time pastors, missionaries, 

evangelists, youth workers or teachers of Christian 

Education, theological education is a necessity. Although seminaries 

and bible colleges teach courses on the Bible, Theology, 


Church History, Missions, Religions and Counselling, their curriculum 

is mainly ‘inward looking’ designed to equip the candidates 

yet limit their ministry to the congregation only. The implication 

of such curriculum design is that the ministry is supposed 

to serve the members of the church only. It lacks focus on 

the society. Very few seminaries and Bible colleges teach courses 

on society, history, economics, politics, science and technology 

and train the candidates to relate the ministry beyond the four 

walls of their churches. 

Another kind of training needed for full-time ministers and 

volunteers is on how to develop communities outside the church. 

Communities around the local churches are in need of help. 

They have problems of poverty, unemployment, alcohol and drug 

addiction, debts, misunderstanding within families and neighbours 

and violence resulting in murder. They need the support 

of the local church in the struggle to demand their rights and 

justice from local government officials, the police force, politicians 

and rowdies and thugs employed by the rich businessmen. 

In order to be conversant with the rules and regulation of 

governments, to work out strategies and to implement schemes 

to develop the local communities, churches need the expertise 

of lawyers, economists, politicians and social scientists. Training 

programmes need to be designed with the help of these 

experts. In order to relate ministry to the context, there is the 

need to rely on and to make use of their knowledge and experience 

in training the churches. 

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Chapter Four 

Models of Ministry in the Bible 

The contextual and theological reasons for ministry demand 

a closer look into the different models of ministry. The word 

model is often used in the general sense of an example, symbol 

and image. We find various definitions for the term model. It 

has a loaded technical nuance in some disciplines of study such 

as social sciences, psychology and engineering. Ideas, symbols, 

relationships, structures and functions can be communicated 

efficiently through the means of models. Harold Ellens describes 

a model as ‘a descriptive and symbolic rendering of the essential 

characteristics of an idea, process or structure’ (1974:9). 

Models describe what is happening or has happened in an institution 

or a community and are representations of reality. 

Therefore, models are not perfect and permanent but they 

emerge in a particular context to achieve a goal. They could 

become ineffective, static or obsolete over a long period of time 

or could be useful to society. Models can be modified and energized 

to suit to changing contexts. Models of the real world give 

instructions on the merits and demerits of ideas, achievements 

and failures of persons, institutions and structures. Models of 

the ideal world, however, are a challenge to new levels of effectiveness. 

I prefer to use the term model to describe what has 

been going on in the society of Israel, with particular reference 

to the ministry. Models make a great impact on the lives of people. 

Christians have their own favourite model of ministry. The 

most popular are the pastoral and evangelistic models of ministry. 

Some Christians do not regard the ministries narrated in 

the Old Testament as important or valid for today. A few others 

assume that the ministries in the Old Testament are replaced 

in the New Testament. Studying the different models of ministry, 

their development over the years and their contribution to 

the church and society, is rewarding. This chapter will focus on 

80 81


selected models of ministry in the Bible and highlight a few 

contemporary issues connected with each model. 

PRIESTLY MODEL 

The Priestly model is an ancient one and common to many 

cultures. Priests are closely linked to the cultic function as religious 

professionals and a medium to approach God. They are 

held in high respect in many societies. Some of them are fulltime 

professionals and others are part-time or assume the role 

of a priest during festive seasons. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob 

lived a pastoral life but performed the cultic function of offering 

sacrifices and leading their families and servants in the worship 

of Yahweh. They performed circumcision. They functioned as 

the elders of the family and clan, combining the role of leadership 

in the social and religious life of their groups. Not much is 

known about the priestly function of the Israelites during their 

time in bondage. It is only assumed that the elders of the family 

could have fulfilled the cultic function in their respective settlement 

in Egypt. The request by Moses for the release of bonded 

Israelites, that they may go and worship Yahweh in the wilderness, 

could infer that organized worship of the entire community 

in one place was prohibited by Pharaoh. The organized and 

professional priestly model developed in ancient Israel after the 

exodus from Egypt. Liberation from bondage, the covenant at 

Sinai and worship are closely linked. The liberated community 

which entered into the covenant relationship with Yahweh with 

an obligation to obey the commandments (Ex.20-23) needed to 

be united and rooted in the worship of Yahweh by a group of 

selected and specially trained professionals. This establishment 

of priesthood continued to perform the cultic function from generation 

to generation. This priestly institution continued to remind 

the liberated community and their generations on how 

God liberated them, instructed them on God’s commandments 

and statues and encouraged the people to lead an ethical life; to 

accept and offer sacrifices from the worshippers and to intercede 

for them. Without the organized cultic function, thousands 

of Israelites settling in different parts of Canaan could not be 

reminded of their identity as people in covenant with Yahweh, 

an obligation to express faith in Yahweh, worship and obey the 

commandments and to be used as an instrument in bringing 


the salvation of God to the rest of humanity. God selected the 

tribe of Levi for full-time priestly work (Ex.28-29; Lev.8-9). The 

separation and consecration of Aaron and his sons indicated 

their full-time service to Yahweh as holy servants. They were 

not admitted to a school in the wilderness to be trained by a 

group of scholars. The families in the tribe of Levi received their 

training by assisting, living and moving with the pilgrim people 

at the instruction of Moses. Training and service went on simultaneously. 

When the Levite families were scattered among the other 

tribes after entering the land of Canaan, they continued their 

priestly ministry for the communities living in the villages. By 

this time the priestly function had started to become an institution 

and the sons of Levite families were trained by their fathers. 

Some of the descendants of Levite families did very good 

ministry. Others, like the sons of Eli, did not prove good. It is 

not my purpose to go into the minute details of the development 

of the priestly model in the different periods of history. 

The main concern is to show the different roles this institution 

has played in Israel. The first and foremost, the priestly ministry 

fulfilled the cultic duties of accepting the animals and sacrificing 

them. The priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial animal 

around the burnt offering or poured it out at the foot of the 

altar (Lev. 1-3). He was responsible for the fire which burnt the 

offering on the altar, removal of the ashes and keeping the altar 

ready for offerings any time. In performing the ritual of first 

fruits, the priest listened to confessions of faith, placed the basket 

of the produce as an offering before the altar and blessed 

the worshipper (Dt. 26:1-10). Some Levites were not involved 

directly in performing the rituals but assisted the priest in preparing 

the animal, other physical arrangements and in guarding 

the cultic centres. Second, dispensing the oracles of God 

was done by the priests. This is slightly different from the prophetic 

ministry of proclaiming God’s oracles of judgement on 

people or a nation. The ministry of the priests was to declare the 

will or plan of God mainly in the matters of individuals or families, 

in relation to the cultic context, using the technique of 

casting the lots by Urim and Thummim (Num.27:21). The Levite 

priest hired by Micah inquired of Yahweh and told the oracle to 

the five Danite men who approached him (Jug.18:5). Ahimelech, 

82 83


the priest at Nob, pronounced the decision of Yahweh when 

David inquired of him the will of God in his life. (1Sam. 22:10). 

As the priestly ministry underwent some changes in the later 

period and as the ministry of the seers and prophets became 

more popular , Urim and Thummim started losing its importance. 

Third, teaching the Word of God was another important 

responsibility of the priests. Deut. 31:9 infers that Moses entrusted 

the law to the priests so they could teach the people. No 

details of their methods of teaching the law was given. Most 

probably, the priests recited the blessings, recited the Commandments 

from memory, read sections of the law and explained 

it to the individual who brought the offerings or to the community 

which came to worship Yahweh. In the later period, some 

cultic centres could have had a copy of the law to read regularly 

in the worship. Among the purposes for teaching the law to the 

people were to instruct them in godly values, to direct the society 

to be rooted in the law and to encourage them to practise it. 

Another purpose of teaching, as Ezekiel and Haggai pointed 

out, was to show the difference between the holy and the unclean 

foods, habits, and practices (Ezek. 22:16; 44:23, 

Hag.2:11f) which could affect not only their cultic life but also 

their everyday life. To carry out this function, the priests were 

required to have a good knowledge of the law and a firm commitment 

to it. In their own personal lives, they were expected to 

be role models. Ignoring the law or failure to teach the law to 

the people was considered as great sin on the part of the priests. 

Prophets held such priests accountable for the failure of the 

society. Hosea castigates both the priests and prophets for rejecting 

the knowledge and teaching of God (Hos. 4:4-8). Micah 

severely reprimanded the kings, priests and prophets for passing 

the judgement, teaching the law and proclaiming the oracles 

at the expense of the people (Mic.3:11). This implied that 

they were not fulfilling their duties to the people through service 

but were making their profession more commercial. Jeremiah 

criticized the priests who taught the law but did not know 

Yahweh in their personal life (2:8). Four, the priests played a 

role in politics. They prepared the warriors by offering prayer 

and bearing the ark of the covenant and led the battle during 

the period of the Judges. But this particular role in the battle of 

the Israelites has a political overtone. It is not clear whether the 


priests actually took the sword and fought but their association 

and active role in the battle of liberating the tribes of Israel from 

the hands of the Philistines or Midianites is certainly a political 

involvement. They supported the militancy not simply for territorial 

expansion and making them a super power but for the 

cause of liberation from the oppression of their enemies and 

defending their rights to exist and progress. Priests ministering 

in the central sanctuaries had a close relationship with the monarchy 

and played a major role in anointing kings with oil and 

installing them at cultic ceremonies. David was anointed by the 

elders at the cultic centre in Hebron. Priests at Hebron should 

have played a role in performing the cultic function at the anointing 

of David. (2 Sam.5:3). Abiathar, the priest associated with 

the sanctuary in Jerusalem and David’s family went with the 

group to anoint and enthrone Adonijah (1 Kings.1:22-27). Zadok 

went with Nathan and anointed Solomon (1 Kings. 1:45). In 

addition to performing cultic duties, Amaziah, the priest at Bethel 

also worked as an agent of the king and vehemently opposed 

Amos preaching the prophecy of judgement on the northern 

kingdom. In Jerusalem, the priest Pashur with his political 

involvement, had beaten and arrested Jeremiah. The priests’ 

involvement in national politics became unavoidable and manifested 

explicitly at certain times of their history. 

The institution of priesthood continued in spite of changes 

in history. In Babylon, from 587 to 537 BC, priests continued 

their cultic function but without offering sacrifices. They taught 

the law, performed rituals like circumcision and encouraged the 

people to continue in the faith of Yahweh. They played an important 

role in the compilation of the Pentateuch, Psalms and 

Historical Books. The priests gained their importance once again 

after the return and construction of the Second Temple and the 

office of the ‘high priest’ ( Heb: hakkohen haggadol – the great 

priest) developed. Joshua, the contemporary of Zerubbabel, was 

the first one to be called as the high priest (Hag.1:1,12,14; 2:24; 

Zech.3:1,8; 6:11). As in the days of Aaron, the high priest entered 

the most holy place alone once a year on the Day of Atonement 

and offered the sacrifice for the remission of the sins of 

the people. The priestly institution continued in the time of 

Jesus. Zechariah, the priest ministering in one of the sanctuaries 

in a town in Judea, received the message of the birth of 

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John the Baptist. While several priests like Zechariah were ministering 

in different sanctuaries in Judea and Galilee, Annas 

and Caiaphas were the chief priests in Jerusalem. They were 

actively involved in the cultic affairs of the temple in Jerusalem 

and in the trial of Jesus. 

Jesus never addressed himself as a priest. Neither did he 

perform the cultic role of sacrificing animals either in the temple 

in Jerusalem or in any of the cultic centres in the country. 

The writers of the Gospel also, never described him as fulfilling 

the ministry of a priest. But after His death and resurrection, 

the author of the epistle to the Hebrews noticed the fulfillment 

of the priestly ministry of the OT in Jesus. He compared and 

contrasted the priestly model of the OT with the priestly model 

of Jesus Christ. The priestly model of the OT was Aaronic and 

had a lot of limitations. The high priest is human with his own 

sinful nature and failures. Needing an atonement for his sins, 

the priest was required to offer sacrifices first for himself. His 

priestly office could not provide salvation to others. The Old Covenant, 

which is tied up with the sacrifices required the priests 

and the people to fulfill the law. Any number of animals could 

be sacrificed though it could not forgive a man’s sin or transform 

his life. The sacrifices seemed useless and expensive to the 

people. Obeying the laws of the covenant was necessary, but 

practising only a set of laws made human life legalistic and burdensome. 

Sometimes, fulfilling all the laws, all the time became 

impossible. The law was not faulty but human experience in 

implementing all the laws perfectly was faulty. The law, moreover, 

could not be the complete answer to human need. A new 

covenant, holy and blameless, a priest of higher order than Aaron 

and an end to animal sacrifices, therefore, became a necessity. 

Jesus Christ, as a holy and blameless person, put an end to 

animal sacrifices by offering Himself as a pascal lamb, on the 

one side and performed the duty of the sacrifice as the high 

priest, on the other side (Heb.7-9). The “sacrificer” became the 

sacrifice. Jesus not only reconciled humanity with God but 

also represented the powerless, a victim of the sins of others. 

The priest who became the lamb has a great significance in 

ministry. It is impossible to hold a position and continue to serve 

without submitting oneself for the sake of others. The transcendence 

from being the mediator to a medium and thus, combining 


priestly functions, made Jesus great. His death on the Cross 

created a new covenant with humanity, offering forgiveness and 

eternal life. Fulfilling the priestly office through his death and 

resurrection, Jesus Christ brought an end to the old priestly 

model. While Judaism continued the ‘old priestly model’, the 

early Church continued the ‘new pastoral model’, which will be 

discussed later. 

Unfortunately, present day churches have given importance 

to the old priestly model than to the new pastoral model. The 

old priestly model dominates the thinking of the congregation. 

Most of them are not aware that they are continuing the old 

priestly model in the name of the new pastoral model. Although 

the animal sacrifice no longer takes place, the altar is given 

importance as the centre of the church. Altars in some churches 

are decorated with colourful fabrics and mini serial lights. Sacraments 

and rituals are given the central place than the Word of 

God. The colourful vestment worn by the clergy in Roman Catholic, 

Orthodox. Lutheran and Anglican churches add to the impression 

of pursuing the priestly model than presenting the 

bishop and clergy as shepherds. Confession of sin and proclamation 

of absolution promotes the idea of propitiation or expiation 

than drawing the congregation to identify themselves with 

the suffering poor who are victims of both individual and corporate 

injustice. People receive the consolation of being forgiven 

but not the motivation to heal the wounds of the victims. They 

can repeat the injustice and get the pardon and consolation 

ignoring the need of restoring the justice to the victims. Church 

liturgy needs to play down the old priestly model and bring out 

more the pastoral model. To achieve this paradigm shift, Christians 

should take the indigenization of the church seriously 

particularly the architecture of the building, liturgy, songs, symbolism, 

dress of the ministers and choir, sacraments and infrastructure, 

programmes and activities. Otherwise, churches would 

fall prey to the old priestly model of institutionalism and lose 

the dynamism of the pastoral model. Continuous attempts to 

transform the priestly model into pastoral model should go on 

in Christendom. 

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LIBERATION MODEL 

According to the narratives of the OT, the liberation of the 

Israelites from the bondage of Egypt precedes the development 

of organized worship with ark, tent, fulltime priesthood and different 

sacrifices. This does not mean that worship of Yahweh 

and cultic functions did not go on before the liberation. Abraham, 

Isaac and Jacob worshipped Yahweh and performed cultic functions 

and tribal duties together. Abraham was even involved in 

pursuing the enemies as far as Damascus, fighting and freeing 

Lot, his family and servants. The warriors of the kings of Sodom, 

Gomorrah and Salem (Gen.14) were freed in the battle by 

Abraham. The kings of Sodom and Salem were grateful to 

Abraham. Although this act of freedom from the hands of the 

enemies could be recognized as liberation to a certain extent, it 

could also be criticized because of its kinship affinity. What 

Abraham did was just a fulfillment of his responsibility as a 

kinsman, using militancy. It lacked the involvement of God. On 

the other hand, the exodus from Egypt is regarded as a liberation 

model, not necessarily as ‘the perfect’ model, but as a historical 

model. It is a challenge to apply the theology of this model, 

found in the narratives of the Book of Exodus, to the local communities 

suffering oppression and injustice. The Liberation 

model of the Exodus has the dimension of community, involvement 

of God and universal validity. 

People are trapped into oppression and bondage without envisaging 

its dangers and power. By the time they realized the 

evils of bondage in their own lives, it had become too late to 

come out of it. They became powerless to challenge their oppressors 

and many, therefore, internalized this situation as their 

fate, accepted it and continued to live miserable lives. The severe 

famine in Canaan forced Jacob and his descendants to 

move to Egypt for survival. They never expected that their generations 

would be oppressed and forced to bonded slavery. Exodus 

1: 8-14 narrates the deliberate actions of Pharaoh to enslave 

the Israelites instead of treating them as free citizens. From 

these verses, “Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress 

them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom 

and Rameses, for Pharaoh….The Egyptians became ruthless in 

imposing tasks on the Israelites and made their lives bitter with 

hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field la- 


bour”, the cruelty of the oppressive policies and actions of the 

Egyptians and the sufferings of the Israelites are noticeable. In 

addition to these cruelties, the Egyptians wanted to kill the male 

children born to the Israelites (Ex.1:15-22) to avoid the future 

uprising of their men against them. If they had a totally female 

population, the labour force could be easily controlled. The Egyptians, 

moreover, deliberately denied the rights of the Israelites 

to come together and worship their God. Moses insisted that 

the Israelites had their religious freedom to worship their God 

as a community. Pharaoh knew the power of getting united in 

worship and the consequences of the people coming together in 

solidarity against his oppressive policies and actions. The oppressors 

did not like the poor to get together, to organize themselves 

on the basis of faith or ideology and to fight for their 

justice. 

The various reasons for oppressing them were clearly political, 

economic and social (Ex.1:8-9). The Egyptian authorities 

were afraid that the Israelites could capture political power by 

joining with their enemies, to overthrow Pharaoh’s dynasty and 

that they could rule the country. They were suspicious of the 

loyalty of the Israelites because they saw them as immigrants 

who were growing in population. Israelites were spoken of as a 

threat to their security. The majority of native rulers always raised 

this political reason to oppress the immigrants. But this was an 

unwarranted fear on the side of the Egyptians. Joseph’s story 

clearly showed that he never promoted his own brothers to have 

some positions in the kingdom, neither did he pave the way for 

his own sons to be in power. Joseph gave freedom to his father 

and brothers to survive the famine and a permission to sojourn 

in the land of Egypt as long as they wanted. The Egyptians also 

controlled the economic progress of the Israelites. Having stayed 

in the regions of the river Nile, the Israelites benefited from the 

water of the river and progressed well in their farming of cattle 

and sheep than the other Egyptians in rural areas. Pharaoh 

and his court officials could have assessed the increasing economic 

prosperity of the Israelites and taken a step to make them 

economically poor by forcing them to be scattered in the land 

and engaging them in the construction of buildings in different 

cities of the land. This eventually would have led them to neglect 

their farming profession and to depend on the government 

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of Pharaoh for their food and survival. Controlling their economic 

independence was an important step in making the people 

poor and dependent on their oppressors. The Israelites, 

socially, belong to another race and culture. They followed the 

faith of Yahweh, the God of their fathers. Racial and religious 

discrimination can be made effective only by forcing other ethnic 

groups to build the cultic and cultural centres of the ruling 

group and denying them their rights to worship their own god 

or goddesses. The Egyptians showed the same kind of racial 

discrimination towards the Israelites. The above political, economic 

and social reasons of Pharaoh forced the Israelites to serve 

as bonded slaves. Their policy not only did enslave them but 

dealt with them cruelly without any human concern. 

Unable to bear the oppression and exploitation of the Egyptians, 

the Israelites raised their cry and groaning to Yahweh. 

Ex.2:23-24, “… The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and 

cried out. Out of slavery, their cry for help rose up to God. God 

heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with 

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and 

God took notice of them”. This brings out vividly the way they 

expressed their pain and misery. This text plays an important 

role in the liberation theology. Four words, namely, groaning, 

crying out, crying for help and slavery in v.23 reveal their pathetic 

situation in Egypt. “Groaning” means to be in constant 

pain. “Crying out” refers to their shedding of tears, in the literal 

sense. “Crying for help” expresses that they lost all hope of 

freeing themselves and they looked for someone to liberate them 

from the hands of the Egyptians. They were so sure that the 

help was not going to come from Pharaoh or a group of the 

public. They longed to be freed and their need was desperate. 

They expected divine intervention by crying out to God. ‘Their 

slavery went up to God’ expresses that their cry, groaning and 

tears of their plight reached God. If their misery could reach 

God, then it should have reached Pharaoh and the Egyptians, 

but they deliberately ignored their cry. Walter Brueggemann 

interprets their cry, groaning and calling for help, not as a retreat 

to accept the bondage as their fate but as their struggle 

against the injustice. These expressions were their protests 

against slavery (1982:21-23). The response of God to the cry 

and groaning of the suffering people is narrated very well. Verse 


24 tells us that God ‘heard their groaning’, ‘remembered his 

covenant’, ‘looked on the Israelites’ and ‘was concerned about 

them’. This does not mean that God took pleasure in the suffering 

of the people or acted slowly. The God of creation was listening 

to the cry and groaning of the suffering Israel. He expected 

that the oppressors would listen to the cry of the people and 

make necessary changes to establish their justice. When the 

oppressors were not willing to restore the rights of the people, 

God intervened and took necessary action. He selected the leaders 

to work on His behalf and gave them vision for people. The 

call of God to Moses came in the vision of the burning bush. 

This vision was not just to attract Moses or to make him to wonder 

about the burning bush. It was a vision of the real situation 

of the Israelites in Egypt. It was a vision of the history of the 

suffering people. Scholars interpret the burning bush as a metaphorical 

expression of the suffering of the Israelites in Egyptian 

bondage. They were burning in the fire of injustice, oppression 

and exploitation and yet, not totally annihilated. The bush burnt 

but was not destroyed into ashes. It would have been better to 

be burnt to death rather than to burn and not die. That would 

have been the worst situation in the lives of human beings. 

Moses understood the meaning of the vision of the burning bush 

and the mission of God to go and liberate the people in bondage. 

He knew that it was a hard and most difficult job and so 

gave excuses. By obeying God’s call, Moses committed himself 

to the mission of liberation and identified with the suffering 

community by living and suffering with them and leading them 

out of Egypt to the promised land. The Letter to the Hebrews 

11: 23-28 appreciates this aspect in the life of Moses. Today 

leaders do not want to identify themselves with the suffering 

community and to join in their struggles yet, they want them to 

be liberated. In the struggle for liberation, God wants committed 

leaders who understand the significance of the ‘burning 

bush’ and would risk their lives for the sake of others. Only 

such people can know the real meaning of the name of the God 

of the Fathers as ‘Yahweh’. The tetragrammatan of YHWH – a ‘to 

be’ verb in Hebrew could simply mean ‘I am that I am’. But, it 

has a very deep meaning for those who are suffering and those 

involved in liberating them. ‘The eternal existence of God’, as 

the verb means, gives them hope that God the creator is not 

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dead. He existed in the past, is existing at present and will exist 

in the future. He is a living God and He listens to the cry of 

people, sees the plight of people and understands what is to be 

a slave. The ‘to be’ verb also means the power of God. ‘To be’ 

means ‘to be active and powerful’. Yahweh is so powerful that 

liberation is possible. Such theological understanding of God 

cannot be theoretical but it is experiential. 

The vision of the burning bush, the call of God and the divine 

revelation of the name of God, strengthened Moses to challenge 

Pharaoh and his injustice to the Israelites. Instead of 

repenting, restoring their rights and releasing them from slavery, 

Pharaoh hardened his heart. Our experience in the liberation 

struggle also tells the same. The more oppressors are challenged, 

more they become hardhearted and oppress the poor 

severely. This is a phenomenon noticeable in the liberation 

struggle of people. By punishing them severely, the oppressors 

forced them not to listen or co-operate with the liberators. They 

used this strategy to terrorize the poor and fizzle out their struggles. 

Pharaoh did the same. He increased the burdens of the 

Israelites (Ex. 5:1-21). The legitimate right of the labourers to 

have the raw materials to produce bricks was denied. Moses saw 

the dangers threatening to make the struggle a failure and he 

prayed for the people as well as for the struggle to succeed ( 5: 

22-23). Intercession for people is important to achieve the liberation. 

Miracles do not happen without suffering and prayer. 

Many Christians understand the plagues simply as miracles to 

show God’s power to Pharaoh through Moses so Pharaoh would 

believe Moses and release the Israelites out of fear. Oppressors 

are not afraid of God or such wonders unless they affect them 

personally. These plagues were natural calamities which affected 

the economy of Pharaoh. Ordinary people who were not in the 

ruling class should have felt the impact of these calamities and 

could even have secretly expressed their ill feelings about Pharaoh. 

Economic sanctions usually affect the political side of the 

rule. But Pharaoh did not worry about these economic and political 

consequences. More severe action was needed to make 

Pharaoh, the symbol of absolute power, to surrender. The death 

of the first born in Egyptian families has raised several ethnical 

questions. Why was the first born of an ordinary Egyptian killed 

because of the oppressive rule of Pharaoh? Well, it was the 


responsibility of the Egyptians to challenge the injustice of Pharaoh 

and work for the freedom of the Israelites. As long as they 

failed to question the oppression, they were also part of the 

injustice done to the Israelites. The structural injustice brings 

corporate punishment. According to the primogeniture theory, 

the first-born were the rulers in some cultures. They decided 

the family matters, sorted out problems in the village, sat in the 

royal court and inherited the throne. In the case of Egypt, as 

some scholars suggest, this could have been the practice. So, 

the target of death was not directed on all the males or at random 

but towards the ruling class who made decisions and oppressive 

policies. The death of the first-born was a judgement 

on the ruling class of the Egyptians. It was a signal that by 

ending the ruling class from Pharaoh’s palace to the families in 

villages, God had ended the injustice and oppression of the ruling 

class in the history of the bonded Israelites. This does not 

suggest the killing of the ruling class as some Marxists or militant 

groups and terrorists have advocated. What happened with 

the Israelites is the way God expressed His anger against all 

sorts of discrimination and exploitation and took the side of the 

poor and oppressed. God wants the justice, freedom, peace and 

progress of all peoples to prevail always. Later, in Isaiah 19: 24- 

25 it is evident that God took the side of the Egyptians when 

they were oppressed by others and called the Egyptians and 

Assyrians as His people. His universal principle is to offer ‘shalom’ 

to all the suffering communities. The four salient features 

of the liberation of the Israelites as narrated in Exodus are, 

namely, that God takes the side of suffering people, initiates 

and continues the mission of liberation. He expects suffering 

people to co-operate with Him and the liberator He sends; and 

He brings the oppressors to justice. These ingredients are important 

for the theology of liberation. 

Another dimension of the liberation model is seen in the 

situation of oppression of the Israelites by their neighbours such 

as the Philistines, the Edomites and the Midianities when they 

settled in the land of Canaan. The Deuteronomistic history of 

the book of Joshua and Judges points out the reason for the 

defeat of the Israelites and the control of some of their territories 

by the Philistines or Midianites. Their own failures resulted 

in oppression. Bondage to other nations was due to their wor- 

92 93


ship of Baal (Judges. 8:33; 10:6-8). Many Christians who read 

the book of Judges generally over emphasize the sin of worshipping 

Baal and the practice of idolatry of the liberated Israel. 

They miss an important insight given by this book which is, the 

liberated people themselves could easily become oppressors. 

They could oppress members within or outside of their own community. 

Baal, a nature deity represented the plants and trees. 

Joining with his female counterpart, Astaroth, in sexual relationship, 

they were supposed to bring out the fertility of the 

land by yielding grains, fruits and vegetables. The prosperity of 

the land, in terms of cultivation, the Canaanites believed, depended 

on worshipping these deities, offering sacrifices, celebrating 

their festivals regularly and indulging in sexual relationships 

with the prostitutes in the cultic centres. The fertility 

cult was usually symbolized by idol worship, particularly worshipping 

the male and female sexual organs and approval of 

adultery. The God of Israel, who is the creator, condemned such 

worship of nature and practice of the fertility cult. First of all, 

the Israelites are a covenanted community committed to worship 

of the Creator and not the creation. It was demanded of 

them to value the lives of human beings and not to degrade it by 

promoting human sacrifices, walking on fire or giving their 

daughters up for cult prostitution. These are activities which 

dehumanize the society. God could not tolerate or allow such 

dehumanization to go on in Israel. Secondly, the effect of the 

fertility cult led the worshippers to attain more and more prosperity 

in terms of food, children and accumulation of wealth, 

slaves, animals and other properties. The drive for prosperity 

led them to use all sorts of oppressive measures to justify exploitation, 

ignore the rights of others and curtail the sharing of 

resources with others. Israelites who learnt to worship Baal fell 

prey to the evils of the fertility cult and ignored the values of 

human life set by God. The fertility cult of the Canaanites was 

not simply idolatry or adultery but more of dehumanization and 

creating the class society. The Israelites were handed over to 

their enemies, as the book of Judges narrates, to be reminded 

of these failures to undergo the experience of being oppressed 

and to provide them the opportunity to realize the miserable life 

of being bonded. In the bondage of Egypt, the Israelites had to 

cry out for liberation but in the bondage at the settlement pe- 


riod, they had to repent of their sins. The Liberated community 

could not take the liberation for granted. They had to enjoy the 

liberation with greater responsibility towards others and were 

obliged to work for the liberation of others. This principle of the 

liberation tradition is brought out in statues such as “ You shall 

not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the 

land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you 

do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their 

cry, my wrath will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and 

your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.” 

(Ex. 22:21-24; 23:9). Israelites were reminded again and again 

of their exodus from bonded slavery, painful life and the liberation. 

Joshua reiterated this message to the Israelites at the 

time of renewing the covenant across the river Jordan (Josh. 

24:14-21). They were warned not to practise the fertility cult or 

oppress others (Jug. 6:7-10). The Judges raised by Yahweh were 

charismatic leaders who liberated the Israelites by defeating the 

enemies in battle. Their role as liberators was important but 

more important was their role in leading the tribes. Administration 

and self-governance of the tribes would be discussed as 

a separate model. 

In spite of repeated warning, the generations of the Israelites 

went after Baal and practised injustice. The monarchical period 

in the history of Israel revealed increased worship of Baal and 

the rendering of untold injustice to the people by the ruling 

class. Teaching and practising the Commandments and statutes 

were ignored. Continuing in the covenantal relationship 

was not taken seriously. Kings and priests who are supposed to 

guide the people joined the group of oppressors and exploiters. 

The rich became richer and the poor became poorer. Righteous 

people were not able to get their justice. Widows, orphans, elderly 

and peasants suffered and struggled to survive. God had to 

intervene when the leaders of the society became corrupt and 

wicked. The northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians 

in 722 BC and the southern kingdom was destroyed by the 

Babylonians in 587 BC. The Israelites were taken captive to live 

in Babylon. Losing their land, living in exile, serving the 

Babylonians and confronted by the religions and culture of a 

foreign land, led them to realize their failures and to repent. 

After 50 years of exile, God raised Cyrus, the Persian king to 

94 95


defeat Babylon and allow the Israelites to return to the land of 

Israel. This kind of war, defeat and political change may relate 

more to history and seen insignificant in present day. It is easy 

to criticize the release of the Israelites as the political diplomacy 

or a kind gesture of Cyrus to keep his kingdom in law and order. 

But the Israelites described their return as a second exodus 

and regarded it as another liberation which would have 

been impossible for them to attain. They lost all their hopes of 

returning and continuing as a covenant community, worshipping 

God in the land He had given to them. Second Isaiah calls 

the return a liberation and second exodus (Isa.40:3-5; 51:9-11) 

in describing Cyrus as the anointed servant of Yahweh chosen 

to fulfil this task of liberating the Israelites from their exile. The 

prophet regarded his raising and defeating the Babylonians as 

his liberative task on behalf of the Israelites, in comparison with 

the earlier exodus tradition (Isa.45:1-7, 13). Another dimension 

in the liberation model is of a man of another faith fighting 

with the Babylonians and working out policies and edicts for 

the liberation of Israelites. The God of Israel can use anyone in 

liberating His people. Since the Israelites in exile had none like 

Moses or the Judges from their own community to challenge 

the power of the Babylonians, God had to use an external force 

like Cyrus. This raises questions: Can we, today, claim and interpret 

like the Israelites, that our God has raised leaders of 

other faith to work for the liberation of people? Can we see the 

work of the Holy Spirit outside the church? These questions 

raised by many Christians will be discussed later. The ministry 

of Jesus in healing the sick and liberating the people from the 

possession of evil spirits and disabilities also belongs to the liberation 

model but is mainly directed towards the individuals. 

His death on the cross and his resurrection was to liberate humanity. 

The liberation ministry of Jesus will be discussed later 

as the model of the Son of Man. 

It is not enough to present the liberation model without addressing 

some of the contemporary criticizms against the model 

and its theology. First, many Christians criticize the liberation 

model is an idea of Marxism. To support liberation is to support 

Marxism and help the spread of Communism which banned the 

freedom of religion, persecuted Christians and closed down some 

churches and forced others to go underground in USSR, China 


and East European region. Certainly, what Marxism or Communism 

did against Christians as a political system was wrong. 

They advocated suppression and control of people. Human rights 

were violated in those countries. But, to criticize Marxism and 

Communism is one thing and to describe liberation as Marxism 

or Communism is another issue. This kind of criticizm comes 

from the rich and ruling class. The Liberation of the poor and 

oppressed is a human concern. The Liberation Theology uses 

Marxism as an instrument to analyze the society. Leonardo Boff 

and Clodovis Boff point out that, “Marxism is never treated as a 

subject on its own but always from and in relation to the poor” 

in liberation theology. These Liberation theologians are critical 

of Marxism and write, “Liberation theology, therefore, maintains 

a decidedly critical stance in relation to Marxism. Marx (like any 

other Marxist) can be a companion on the way, but he can never 

be the guide, because ‘You have only one teacher, the Christ’ 

(Mt.23:10)” (1999.28). It is important to note that liberation preceded 

in the history of Israel thousands of years before Marxism 

or Communism developed. Liberation is biblical because God, 

who created people, is interested in the liberation of the oppressed. 

Liberation is not man’s idea but it is the will of God 

that no one should be oppressed and live in bondage. God has 

given us the right of freedom with responsibility. God’s design 

for humanity is to enjoy freedom, welfare and dignity. Therefore, 

God is interested in the affairs of human beings and is 

involved in the liberation of oppressed and exploited people. 

God initiates and supports the liberation of suffering people. 

The second criticism against the liberation model is the issue 

of relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed. 

People fear that the efforts to liberate the oppressed from their 

exploiters would create tension, backlash, vengeance and even 

divisions in communities. The alienation between the oppressor 

and the oppressed becomes permanent. They live in enmity in 

villages, industries, offices and institutions. This kind of criticism 

perpetuates the status quo. Those who fear such consequences 

want people to live in oppression and tolerate the injustice 

than to create tensions, enmity and divisions between 

the oppressors and the oppressed. Would it be justifiable to 

sacrifice liberation and the long term fruits of being liberated 

for the sake of avoiding tension and division? In the pursuit for 

96 97


liberation, tension, vendetta and divisions are unavoidable because 

the very idea of liberating the oppressed, who have been 

serving their masters for years, hurts their oppressors. They do 

not want the oppressed people to question their injustice and 

cruel treatment or to demand freedom and justice. Liberation 

affects the oppressors economically, politically and socially. 

Pharaoh reacted to the efforts for liberation of the Israelites from 

bondage. The Philistines, Midianites, Assyrians, Babylonians and 

Antiochus Ephiphanus reacted and persecuted the Israelites. 

Since the ruling class neither liberated the oppressed Israelites 

voluntarily nor restored justice to them, the relationship between 

Israel and her neighbouring nations was broken and the 

Israelites had to live under constant tension and threat. When 

the Israelites did the same injustice to the Canaanites in the 

land, the relationship between them was not so good. There are 

no records of the cry of the Canaanites in the Old Testament 

since it was written by the Jews to present their side of history. 

But, the reminder ‘do not oppress the people in the midst of 

you’ helps to understand the feelings of the Canaanites. David 

tries to do justice to the family of Saul by supporting 

Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9). Jesus’ teaching in Mt. 5-7 paves the 

way for reconciliation. Paul noticed this problem of tension, bitterness 

and enmity between the masters and slaves and advised 

masters to render justice to servants and build a good 

relationship (Eph.6:9; Col. 4:1). It is difficult for liberation and 

reconciliation to go together but it is not an impossibility if the 

oppressed understand the cry and pain of the poor, repent and 

restore the justice due them. Reconciliation can be effective only 

when the liberated people forgive their oppressors and accept 

them when they demonstrate repentance for their injustices. 

Ministry should not end with liberating the people but enabling 

both parties to do their part to achieve reconciliation and build 

a healthy relationship. What lies beyond liberation? This question 

is to be considered seriously. 

Third, the liberation model is criticized for centering on individual 

leaders such as Moses, Gideon, Deborah, Saul, David 

and Jesus. Since the impression of the liberation ministry is by 

an individual, Christians assume that the church as a community 

need not practice the liberation. Rather, the church could 

leave it to individuals who are interested in working for the de- 


velopment of community. Is liberation model individualistic? 

Does it ignore the essence of corporate responsibility? No. It is 

true that a few individuals are mentioned as being involved in 

liberation in the Bible. But these individuals were called and 

commissioned as the representative of the suffering community. 

They did not stand alone. Their task was for the people 

and with the people. The ministry of Moses was with the community 

of the bonded Israelites. He identified himself with this 

community. He represented them. He struggled with the support 

of the suffering people. The leader and the people were in 

solidarity in their struggle for liberation. The Judges played the 

same role. Jesus identified Himself with the humanity. He represented 

suffering humanity to God and liberated them from 

the bondage of sin, hunger, disabilities and the power of evil 

spirits. The liberation model is handed over to the community of 

faith who enjoyed the redemption of God. It is a mission of the 

corporate body of Christ. Within this body of Christ, an individual 

takes up leadership and mobilizes the community of faith 

to the act of liberation, drawing the support of the victims of 

oppression and exploitation. Liberation is a joint struggle of the 

church and the oppressed in need of liberation against injustice 

and for working out equality, dignity and welfare. 

Four, some Christians are optimistic of the ministry of liberation. 

Yet some Christians are pessimistic of achieving liberation. 

One of the reasons, they state, is the minority of the Christian 

population. Can a small percentage of Christians achieve 

liberation? Are we not supposed to evangelize and increase the 

Christian population first? Can’t evangelism change oppressors 

and bring liberation automatically? It is true that the proclamation 

of the Gospel can change the oppressors. They need the 

Gospel of repentance. But, 90% of evangelism is directed towards 

the oppressed and not towards the oppressors. Of course, 

the oppressed are more receptive towards the Gospel. It will be 

a serious mistake to postpone the ministry of liberation till we 

increase the Christian population to a high percentage. Millions 

of poor longing for liberation would die in misery and without 

hope by the time the spread of Christianity in the country. 

Would it be wise to engage in encounter and invite trouble to 

lives and churches? The fear of Christianity being in the minority 

is realistic. But, it shows the lack of faith in God, under- 

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standing the Bible and confidence in our neighbours. The concern 

for liberation is not an issue for Christians alone. Many 

Hindus, Muslims and atheists are concerned about liberating 

the poor. There are a number of religious and secular movements 

involved in struggles of justice. Churches can co-operate 

with these movements in liberating the people. Some leaders 

hesitate to join hands with these movements because they belong 

to religions of other faith or political parties of different 

ideology or they use violence as means to achieve the goal. This 

critical awareness about the religious, political and secular movements 

on the side of the Christians is healthy. But, on the other 

hand can we expect the support and solidarity of these movements, 

political parties and media towards struggles against Anti- 

Conversion Bills, restrictions over religious freedom, ban on evangelism 

or rules against the minority rights? Since Christians 

form only 3 percentage of the total population in India and 

churches in some places are not that strong enough in terms of 

membership and resources, co-operating with the local movements 

in the liberation struggle is a necessity. Extending Christians’ 

co-operation to or involving with the local movements or 

inviting them to involve in the action programmes of churches 

should be always critical and uncompromising the uniqueness 

of our faith. Even though, the common goal is liberation, the 

means to achieve the goal is to be agreed upon before extending 

our ‘critical co-operation’. 

ADMINISTRATION MODEL 

Administration is a necessity for a community to exist peacefully 

and make progress economically, politically and socially. 

Otherwise, chaos and violence could prevail and the society would 

run into problems with law and order and would soon perish. 

During the period of the patriarchs, the leaders of the tribe 

performed social and religious functions. Abraham, Isaac and 

Jacob as the leaders of their tribes sorted out the problems of 

the members of the tribe and also that of other tribes or rulers 

of the ethnic groups in Canaan. They were the elders and judges 

of the highest court of appeal. Although, age was part of their 

qualification to act on behalf of their tribe, their status as leaders 

of the family and servants was given much importance. 

Abraham sorted out the problem of Lot, Sarah and Hagar. Sarah 


could not drive Hagar out. She asked Abraham to drive her out 

and reserve the right of property and succession to her son Isaac. 

When the shepherds of Abraham and Abimelech had confrontation 

over the water of a well, Abraham negotiated the deal 

with Abimelech, made a covenant and solved the dispute at 

Beersheba (Gen. 21:22-34). Isaac sorted out the same problem 

with shepherds of another king (Gen. 26:17-22). Jacob played 

the role of administering his large tribe with wives, maids, children, 

father-in-law and servants. The administration of the tribal 

system was primarily the responsibility of the leaders of the 

tribe. Usually the leaders of tribes, communities or cities were 

called ‘elders’ (zequnim). They were recognized representatives 

responsible for the administration of justice within their community. 

After the period of Jacob, the Israelites in bondage, had 

elders to sort out the social and religious matters of the community 

as well as to represent the community to Pharaoh. This is 

evident from Moses and Aaron calling the ‘elders of Israel’ to 

assemble (Ex. 3:16; 4:29). But, it is not told clearly, whether 

this group of elders functioned as a council or gained any official 

recognition from Pharaoh. Since Moses was called and sent 

with the authority of God, he took over the leadership, communicated 

the message and mobilized the people through the elders 

of Israel, in their move from bondage to liberation. 

However, something should have happened during their journey 

in the wilderness, which made the people to seek the direct 

involvement of Moses in sorting out their problems. The role 

and authority of the elders in the community could have been 

ignored. The power and authority of Moses grew heights. Moses 

was doing all sorts of work including the administration of the 

community in pilgrimage to the promised land. He could not 

have enough time to solve the problems of all the people. Moses 

expressed this difficulty twice, according to the narratives of the 

Exodus and Numbers. One was before the event at Sinai and 

the other was after the covenant making at Sinai (Ex.18, 

Num.11:14). So two levels of administrative set-up emerged. One 

is the decentralization of the administration of justice to the 

grass-root level. According to Jethro, Moses needed to appoint 

officials to administer justice (sare wesephetu – officers of justice 

Ex.18:21-24). Knowing this need of the liberated community, 

which was still young, Moses provided the necessary basic 

100 101


administrative structure by appointing judges, which helped 

them in their life in Canaan. Thus, the model of administration 

of justice emerged in the wilderness. There are no details of the 

problems of the Israelite families in wilderness. But, it is obvious 

that there were lots of problems within the families and 

between the families such as quarrels between brothers, rape, 

theft of properties and animals, neglecting the elderly, maltreatment 

of parents, adultery, marital relationship, divorce, borrowing 

and debts, worshipping idols, distribution of food, murder, 

false witness, etc. The Ten Commandments received later by 

Moses at Sinai reflect these problems of the Israelites and provided 

a norm to the community in transition. Before receiving 

these commandments and appointing judges, Moses had inquired 

the cases of the people and sought the mind of God before 

pronouncing judgement (Ex.18:15-16). As the leader of the 

community, people expected him to tell the divine revelation in 

the judgement of their problems. There was no written code of 

conduct on which Moses could rely to judge the cases. He had 

to spend so much time to listen to both the parties, verify the 

witnesses and solve their problems. Moses, therefore, accepted 

the suggestion of Jethro to develop an organized system of administering 

justice by selecting ‘able men’ and appointing them 

as ‘officers’ over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens (Ex.18:21). 

The qualifications for being officers of administering justice were 

well defined by Jethro. These officers had to have qualities of 

ability, fear of God and trustworthiness. They had to hate dishonest 

gains such as bribery, favouritism towards kith and kin 

and cheap popularity. They were required not to pervert justice 

and ruin the lives of the righteous. Moses’ responsibility was 

not only that of selecting and appointing such officers but to 

teach and train these officers and the people in the statutes of 

Yahweh and instruct them in the way they ought to lead their 

lives (Ex.18:19-20). Selecting, appointing with authority, teaching 

and training and rendering justice became the necessary 

components of the administration system in Israel. The term ‘to 

judge’ has a deep meaning. It is not simply punishing the wrong. 

It means “to settle the dispute, bring reconciliation and enable 

the community to live in peace”. The well-being of a community 

depends on guarding the rights of its members. The appointed 

leaders in this model were not called ‘judges’ (shophet), although 


their function was to judge, but as ‘officers’ (sare). Since these 

officers were assigned to small groups of people in tens, fifties, 

hundreds and thousands, they were easily approachable and 

available to speed up justice. It is possible to understand the 

tens, hundreds and thousands as a hierarchical structure for 

further appeal. With matters of unsolvable dispute at the bottom, 

intermediary or higher level, they could seek the help of 

Moses and divine decision by inquiring of Yahweh. It was not 

easy for Moses to share his power with others. But, he delegated 

his authority to these officers and developed this new model of 

administration in Israel. 

Another level was the appointment of seventy men as officials 

to be with Moses in administration (Num.11:16-17). This 

arrangement became a necessity because of the complaints of 

the people about their misfortunes and the need of food. These 

officials were called ‘elders’ for the purpose of leading the people. 

This suggestion of appointing seventy men was from God 

because Moses was still holding power. The entire administrative 

system was centered around him, in spite of the appointment 

of several judges as per the suggestion of Jethro. I think 

the old system of corporate leadership by the elders of the community 

which was over-shadowed by the prominence of Moses 

for some years, has been recognized and revived again. God 

wants team leadership and corporate administration. These seventy 

men were selected from the elders who had some previous 

experience and reputation among the people. Joining with 

Moses at the tent of meeting meant God had granted approval 

and recognition. It was more like an induction service. God took 

the power and authority enjoyed by Moses and shared it among 

these elders. Moses and these elders became the Council of 

Administration. A corporate body at a higher level was instituted 

to lead the people of Israel. They made the decisions on 

behalf of the people with God’s guidance. It is not known how 

the judges appointed by Moses, on the advice of Jethro, related 

themselves to this Council of Administration. They could have 

continued their functions at the grass root level. Only those 

disputes which they could not solve came to the Council of Administration. 

This council was responsible for sorting out, not 

only the legal disputes of the members but also, the social, po- 

102 103


litical and economic problems of the people of Israel, providing 

holistic leadership and leading them to the promised land. 

Even though, the Council of Administration instituted at the 

time of their journey could have suffered a set back after the 

death of Moses, the essence of corporate leadership and decentralized 

administration of justice persisted after entering Canaan. 

Elders of Israel formed as a legal assembly in their villages and 

carried out the administration of justice in the Settlement period. 

This legal assembly met at the gate of the city or in a common 

place in villages to perform their duties. This was something 

similar to the Village Panchayat in many Indian villages. 

The OT does not throw much light on the structure of this legal 

assembly or their methods of administering justice except to 

mention the phrase ‘justice in the gate’ in several books. This 

indicates that the administration model transpired in the period 

of settlement, through the monarchical and post-exile periods. 

Ludwig Kohler believes that all men who had land and 

property in the village as well as the priests had the right to be 

the members of the legal assembly who were responsible for 

administering justice. However, the wicked were not allowed to 

be part of the legal assembly (1956:149-175). On the basis of 

Ps.121:8, which speaks of the peasants going out of the city, to 

their fields in the morning, Kohler suggests the legal assembly 

met in the morning (cf. Zeph.3:5). From the story of Ruth, it 

can be inferred that the assembly met together to perform their 

duties (Ruth 4:2) while the parties involved stood in front of 

them. The law of Moses was the basis for their judgement. Whenever 

they were not able to get clear guidance from the law, they 

depended on earlier decisions as precedents and rules and traditions 

within the local context. The proceedings of the legal 

assembly were oral and not recorded. But, the decisions were 

known to the local community through the members of the assembly, 

who took part in settling the dispute. It is not known 

whether this legal assembly charged any fee for their work or 

not. But, they levied penalty charges and compensations to pay 

the victims (Ex. 21-23, Amos 2:9-16). This gave the impression 

that the administration of justice was the corporate responsibility 

of the community and was to be done without expecting any 

reward for service. This feature of decision making by the entire 

community or through their representatives in the assembly is 


so significant and challenges autocratic way of making decisions 

in our communities and institutions. 

While this kind of legal assembly persisted in the villages in 

Israel, another practice of administration was performed by the 

individual judges like Deborah, Gideon, Samson and Samuel, 

who emerged in the Settlement Period. This phenomenon did 

not replace the local legal administrative system of elders but 

helped to sort out their problems particularly the disputes between 

the tribes. These charismatic judges traveled to different 

places and operated on the tribal level and national level. They 

devoted their time, largely to settle the problems of the tribes in 

addition to fighting enemies and liberating the Israelite tribes 

from their oppressors. What the local legal assembly could not 

achieve at the tribal or national level was compensated for by 

the role of the individual judges. But, the administrative model 

of the individual judges had its own limitations and did not last 

long. Neither could it invalidate the authority of the local legal 

assembly which consisted the elders of the community. 

The legal assembly of elders in the villages continued in the 

monarchical period too. One of the main responsibilities of the 

kings in Israel was to administer justice to both the natives and 

sojourners living in the land of their jurisdiction. Not that kings 

were fighting with their enemies all the time but, they had an 

excuse to neglect the administration of justice. Kings and rulers 

were part of the administration model. ‘To rule’ (malak) means 

to “administer justice by settling disputes, restoring justice, reconciling 

the parties and maintaining peace in the society”. Kings 

in Israel were expected to give priority to this function. Their 

prudent judgment in cases was note-worthy. For example, in 

order to avoid further chaos in the royal family and to save the 

life of Absalom, a woman sent by Joab came to David and presented 

the case (2 Sam. 14:1-24). After long listening and deliberations, 

David pronounced the judgment. The punishment on 

Absalom was averted. Also, the Kings functioned as a higher 

court of appeal when disputes were not settled satisfactorily at 

the local legal assemblies. This was evident from the way 

Absalom, as unauthorized judge, started administering justice 

to the people who came from different cities to the royal court 

seeking justice from David (2 Sam. 15:1-6). Another evidence 

was the approach of the two prostitutes who sought the verdict 

104 105


of Solomon concerning the living and the dead child (1 

Kings.3:16-28). 

On certain occasions, the kings authorized some persons like 

priests, prophets or army commanders to inquire the disputes 

and settle the problem. The royal court and its appointed officers 

should have taken part in the administration of justice. Sometimes, 

the kings intimidated these officers to pronounce verdict 

in favour of them, as was the case of Naboth and the vineyard (1 

Kings. 21). Rehoboam joined with the officers and failed to 

listen to the request of the northern Israelites and this caused 

the united kingdom to be divided. Whether the kings accepted 

bribes and perverted justice is not clear but, they failed quite 

often in ensuring that the legal assemblies in the villages and 

the officers in the royal court performed their duties fairly. They 

not only ignored to check what went on in the country but also 

joined with the corrupt officers, the business community and 

people of influence in the society to pervert justice. Prophets 

such as Elijah, Amos, Micah, Isaiah and Jeremiah criticized such 

kings for not establishing the justice of the poor and the righteous. 

The administration model which included the local legal 

assemblies, kings and royal court came under severe criticism 

in the monarchical period and yet, continued without a better 

alternative. 

The situation of administration of justice during the period 

of exile was also not known. The Israelites may have sorted out 

their problems with the help of the priests and the elders in 

their midst. For certain problems, they might have approached 

the legal system of the Babylonians, since some of the Israelites 

married the sons and daughters of the Babylonians and also 

related to them in their work and business. But, during the 

post-exile period, Ezra appointed officers from the people of Israel 

to administer justice in every town (Ezra 7:25; 10:14). These 

officers who were called ‘magistrates’ (shophetim) and ‘judges’ 

(dayanin) administered justice to the people in the region of 

Transjordan, with the approval of the King Artaxerxes. These 

officers could settle the disputes on the basis of the law of Moses 

and the traditions developed over the years within Israel. 

They did not need to judge the people of Israel on the basis of 

the law of Persia. The administration of the people of Israel by 


these special officers in Palestine during the post-exile period 

persisted on the basis of their religious code and customs. However, 

the administration of elders at the local level, in villages 

and towns continued. These elders opposed the suggestion of 

sending away the Babylonian wives and solved the problem of 

separation in families (Ezra 10:12-14). It showed that the special 

arrangement of appointing magistrates and judges to apply 

the laws to social life could be challenged by the corporate power 

of the people. The general assembly of people deputed their 

elders representing their views and making decisions on their 

behalf. The book of Ezra gives an impression that a hierarchical 

structure of administration had been developed in the post-exile 

period. Ezra and the appointed judges and magistrates were 

at the top of the hierarchy of administration, the elders representing 

the villages and towns were in the middle and the general 

assembly of people were at the bottom. What is important 

to notice here, was the power of the people. The top and intermediary 

levels in the administrative structure had to go to the 

people for their consent. Decisions could not be imposed without 

the participation of the community. Later in the post-exile 

period, the High Priest became the supreme judge in the place 

of the king and the people could appeal to him to settle their 

disputes (2 Chro. 19:8). 

From the writers of the Gospel, it is known that there were 

Gentile judges in Palestine and the Israelites were reluctant to 

take their quarrels to these Gentile judges. The parable of the 

unjust judge in Luke 18 portrays the arrogant nature and uncaring 

dealing of the judge with the widow who had pleaded for 

justice for a long time. Jesus warned the Jews to settle the 

disputes among themselves as far as possible instead of going to 

the judges. It could be infered from the narratives of the NT 

that two different institutions of administration existed for the 

Jews. Jews who were following Judaism regarded the Temple 

and the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem as the valid institution of administration. 

Outside Jerusalem, the synagogues played the 

administrative role for the Jews. The basis for the administration 

of justice in these institutions was the law of Moses and the 

traditions developed and accepted by the Jewish authorities. 

But, with the birth of the Church and the addition of disciples 

from Jewish and Gentile communities, the Church in Jerusa- 

106 107


lem, under the leadership of James and Peter, played an important 

role in the administration of the affairs of the converts. 

They sorted out social problems through a group of social workers, 

who took care of the distribution of food to widows (Acts. 6), 

the theological problem of requiring circumcision for the Gentiles 

and worked out the essentials of the faith of the Church. 

The elders appointed in the local churches established in different 

parts of Asia due to the missionary work of Paul, Barnabas, 

Timothy and Titus played an administrative role in the affairs of 

the congregation. How far these Christians approached the 

Sanhedrin, Synagogue or Roman authorities for help in sociopolitical 

and religious matters requires a separate research. What 

we can infer is that the churches had limitations in handling all 

the affairs of Christians. With the development of modern missions 

and the expansion of Christianity in the West and East 

and the establishment of schools, colleges and hospitals, local 

churches are unable to break away from the administration of 

the institutions. The link between the Church and the institutions 

is so strong in some regions that the ecclesiastical politics 

affect the operations of the institutions and vice versa. In a country 

like India, Christians cannot avoid the help of secular courts 

on certain matters due to the rules and requirements of the 

government and the local churches concerning matters of marriage, 

employment in institutions, promotions and burial. 

Churches and institutions are losing their credibility as fair administrators 

of their own affairs and for that of other people due 

to the lack of understanding of the theology of administration. 

Many of us fail to see how vital good administration is for society. 

Some corrupt officials make unjust decisions for their own 

gains and cause irrepairable damage to the lives of people. The 

police and secular Courts often interfere with the administrative 

system. The ideal model of administration needs not only 

training in management but much more committed leaders who 

fear God and practise godly values of administration. 

The important aspect of administration is not planning for 

the future or managing resources but analyzing and judging 

present and future situations and taking proper decisions. Administration 

as stated before is the judging and solving of the 

problems of people and the rendering of justice. It implies taking 

the side of the victim and the righteous. God is the best 


example of an ideal administrator. He is not described as the 

‘administrator’ in the modern terms, but as Judge by essence of 

administration. This is illustrated by the stories of Jacob (Gen. 

31:53), Samuel (1 Sam.2:10) and the prophets (Jer.11:20; Ezek. 

7:3; 36:19). The prophetic proclamation of oracles reveal God’s 

characteristics as an administrator. As a Judge, He pronounces 

judgment or proclaimed salvation to people through the prophets. 

The prophetic drama of the court scene with the messenger 

formula ‘Thus says Yahweh’ is an extension of the righteous 

administration of God. The Psalmist expressed this theology of 

administration by proclaiming ‘Yahweh reigns’ (malak Yahweh 

– Ps. 93, 96). Although this phrase points out the sovereignty of 

God’s rule over the world, the Psalms never failed to explain the 

theme of righteous administration. God as the supreme Judge 

and the righteous administrator is illustrated in several places 

in the Bible. His character challenged the leaders of communities 

and the rulers of kingdoms, to practise efficient administration 

(Num. 35:24; Ps. 146; Prov. 29:14). The Bible presents God 

as the everlasting Judge of the past, present and future. It is 

noticeable that God acts through humans and renders justice. 

God and humans are partners in the ministry of administration. 

God prefers team leadership, democratic approach, the 

participation of the community and corporate decision-making. 

God has entrusted the privilege and power of the administration 

to humans and expects honesty and accountability in their 

dealings. God as the supreme, righteous and everlasting Judge 

is the theological basis for our administration model. 

Connected with the model of administration are three important 

issues. One is the question of the basis of administration. 

It is observed that the system of administration in the history 

of Israel was based on the character of God. The God of 

creation wants justice and welfare to prevail in all dealings. God 

expects to render justice to humans and nature. Kingdom values, 

taught and promoted by Jesus, form the basis of Christian 

administration. The administration of churches and institutions, 

however, has to relate to the rules and regulations of the government. 

It would be wrong to refuse to obey and follow the 

laws of the government. Neither would it be rational to insist 

that the rules and regulations in nations should be based on 

Christian values. Tensions and conflicts between Christian val- 

108 109


ues and the rules of government come up every now and then. 

But, within a secular and pluralistic context, it is essential to 

relate with the administration of the government. A separate 

study on the relationship between Christian administration and 

the government is needed. 

This issue raises the next question. Could all the authorities 

and powers which exist today have been instituted by God? Is it 

imperative, therefore, to obey the authorities always? How is 

Paul’s view written in Romans 13:1-7 understood to be? Paul 

knew the power and atrocities of the Roman government. In 

spite of this knowledge, he advised the church in Rome to regard 

the fact that all authorities come from God and that they 

ought obey the authorities. On the one hand, Paul acknowledged 

the sovereignty of God; that God could raise a nation as 

an empire or punish the nation and bring it down. On the other 

hand, Paul was concerned about the survival and progress of 

the Christians who were a minority and were always the target 

of blame for any political or economic problem in the Roman 

empire. They underwent persecution and great suffering under 

the rulers of the Roman government. Moreover, this instruction 

in Romans 13:1-7 is in relation to paying of taxes, fulfilling civic 

responsibility and avoiding unnecessary persecution. Refusing 

to the pay taxes meant rejecting Roman authority and rule. 

But, what was the view of Jesus on paying taxes to Rome? Many 

Christians misinterpreted it to mean that Jesus too wanted the 

Jews to accept the Roman authority and obey Caesar by paying 

the taxes (Mt. 22:15-22). Most of commentators take a similar 

position in interpreting the text. They think that Jesus was considering 

the act of the Zealots to refuse to pay the poll or head 

tax as one of civil disobedience. Neither did Jesus support the 

Herodians who want the taxes to be paid to Rome so they could 

stay in power and enjoy the favour of Caesar. Jesus was not 

ironical, anti-Herodian or political but He wanted the Jews to 

fulfill their religious duty more than to merely obey Caesar. 

This is the emphasis of the commentators (Bruner:1990:781- 

786). However, Jesus meant differently. Since the Roman coins 

bore inscriptions such as ‘Caesar, Emperor of Rome, Son of God 

and Lord’ or ‘Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, the 

High Priest’; which exalted Caesar as God and Lord and contradicted 

one of the foremost laws in Ten Commandments, it was 


possible for Jesus to ask the Pharisees to return the Roman 

coins to Caesar. Although the Pharisees used a different coin 

for religious purposes, they accepted the Roman coins for civic 

purposes. This meant the Pharisees compromised with the Roman 

rule and were unwilling to question the oppression and 

injustice of Caesar. Jesus challenged the Pharisees, who held 

fast to the Law of Moses, not to compromise with the Roman 

government for their own survival and gain. It was not only a 

compromise in political life but also in their religious beliefs, 

which held their God to be the only true God and Lord. Jesus 

pointed out their double standards in using Roman coins as 

their acceptance of Roman rule and in using a different coin for 

religious purposes, which symbolized contradiction. Jews were 

asked to reject the evil power of Rome by returning all the Roman 

coins to Caesar for keeping the nation under bondage, 

persecution and violating the rights of people. As long as they 

paid the taxes, they accepted the Roman authority. The real 

meaning of the text is that the Jews need not pay the tax but 

were to show their protest through civil disobedience. While 

Paul made a concession in writing such an advice to the Christians 

in Rome, he challenged them through another instruction 

in Eph. 6: 10-17 to struggle against principalities, powers 

and authorities. He did not accept the view that the evil powers 

and authorities came from God. He wanted the church to question 

such evil powers, struggle to overcome them and transform 

the society. 

Based on this issue, the third question in administration is 

about unconditional obedience to powers and authorities in the 

family, work places and society. It is a fact that some corrupt 

people play politics, use the power of money and men and the 

influence of caste and communal identity to get into positions 

in churches and institutions. Once they come to power, they 

commit all sorts of atrocities and injustice. They try to change 

rules and regulations to favour themselves. They bring their own 

people to participate in committees and occupy positions of 

power. They swindle money, ill-treat women, take vengeance on 

their opponents and the powerless and victimize and punish 

those who question their way of leadership and administration. 

This kind of unjust administration is neither instituted nor ordained 

by God. Such leaders try to use Romans 13:1-7 against 

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the people to coerce them to obey. Christians need to discern 

that which is in line with the principles of God and to co-operate 

with such administration. There are a number of evidences 

in the Bible for questioning the policies and administration. 

Leah and Rachel questioned the way Laban treated Jacob. The 

Hebrew nurses who received the command of Pharaoh to kill 

the male child at the birth did not obey that order. The five 

daughters of Zelophehad questioned the policy of inheritance 

of the family land and challenged the administration of Moses 

to change the law in favour of the rights of women (Num. 27; 

36). Prophets such as Elijah, Amos and Jeremiah did not obey 

unjust rulers in Israel. Jesus did not accept the wrong interpretation 

and inhuman policies of the Jewish religion and Roman 

authorities. Paul, Barnabas and other disciples questioned unjust 

rule and faced persecutions. It is the responsibility of 

Chistians to question and find out whether such authorities 

and powers are from God or instituted by evil forces to oppress 

and exploit people. Christians ought to challenge the unjust 

policies and powers to bring changes in the administration. 

PROPHETIC MODEL 

Another important model of ministry in the Bible is the prophetic 

model. Today, the Church is expected to be the prophetic 

voice of God. The second major division in the Hebrew OT is 

called ‘the Prophets’ (Nebiim) and consists the books of Joshua, 

Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel 

and the twelve minor prophets- from Hosea to Malachi. The 

narration of the origin and growth of the prophetic movement in 

these books are so important for the study of this new model in 

ancient Israel. Two major periods in the history of the prophetic 

movement, can be identified namely, the earlier period beginning 

from Moses to the period of Elisha in the 9 th century BC 

and the later period from the 8 th century to 4 th century BC. The 

watershed for this remarkable division in history is the writing 

of the prophecies by the prophets from the 8 th century onwards. 

While the books of Joshua to 2 Kings written by historians tell 

of the life, message and mission of the prophets, the books of 

Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others present to us their prophecies 

in various literary styles and forms. 


Moses is also included in the list of prophets and described 

as the greatest prophet in Israel because he knew God face to 

face, performed miracles and showed the mighty power of God 

to the Egyptians and the Israelites (Dt.34:10-11). Moses has 

already been related to the model of liberation since his call 

focused on the mission of liberating the people in bondage and 

fulfilling the task of leading them to the land of Canaan. But, 

his role as the messenger of God in receiving and proclaiming 

His word to the people cannot be ignored. He stood as a mediator 

between God and the Israelites. He represented the problems 

and needs of the Israelites to Yahweh. His contribution to 

the ministry of prophecy is significant. First of all, Moses proclaimed 

to the people of Israel the will of God to liberate them 

from bondage. They came to know that their God had seen their 

affliction and would respond to their cry and groaning. It is evident 

that the prophetic ministry of Moses was to reveal the will 

and plan of God to a particular community in a particular period 

of their history. Secondly, his prophetic ministry was not 

only to proclaim the will of God, by passing on information to 

the people but also, providing God’s word as the basis for their 

life. Receiving the Ten Commandments and mobilizing the Israelites 

to accept the commandments as the basic instruction for 

their lives by making a covenant with Yahweh was really prophetic. 

Consolidating the liberated community on this shortest 

Constitution as a norm for their faith and existence was a tremendous 

achievement in the ministry of proclaiming God’s word. 

Thirdly, whenever people who were provided with God’s word, 

failed to practise it, the prophets prayed to God on their behalf. 

Moses pleaded Yahweh to pardon the Israelites who were not 

sincere in their covenantal relationship. Prophetic ministry is 

one of intercession for people. Receiving and proclaiming God’s 

word, educating and consolidating the people on the principles 

of God and pleading on their failure became integral elements 

of his prophetic ministry which made him a great prophet. 

Although known popularly as a Judge, Samuel was a Seer 

and performed the prophetic ministry of receiving God’s word 

and proclaiming it to the people. In telling God’s word, Samuel 

related to the community as well as to individuals like Saul. 

Moses and Samuel uniquely combined the ministry of cultic 

functions, liberation, administration and prophesying. It is not 

112 113


known whether Deborah actually performed cultic functions like 

offering sacrifices or not, but she did administer the Israelites 

by communicating God’s word to them. The message, that God 

was going to deliver the Israelites from the hands of King Jabin 

and his army commander Sisera, came to her to be communicated 

to Barak. Her prophetic ministry was not limited to revealing 

the will of God in the lives of the individuals who came to 

her but it related to the tribes of the Israelites. The deliberate 

mention of the prophetic ministry of Deborah, although not 

elaborate, shows that women were not discriminated against in 

the sight of God, in receiving the word, communicating it, settling 

disputes and contributing to the deliverance of people. That 

God’s ministry is inclusive of women, is a reminder to share this 

ministry with women. 

It is obvious that the prophetic ministry rose to a new height 

in the 10 th and 9 th century BC with Nathan, Gad, Elijah and 

Elisha. With the emergence of monarchy in Israel, prophets became 

the political activists and they had to confront the ruling 

kings, communicate God’s word to challenge them, plan and 

set direction in national politics. Saul and Samuel could not get 

along well. But, David gave an official status to the prophetic 

ministry and invited Nathan and Gad to be the members of his 

court in communicating God’s word and helping in administration. 

Though Nathan enjoyed status and recognition, he did not 

fail to proclaim God’s message to David, when David had an 

adulterous relationship with Bethsheba and killed her husband 

Uriah (2 Sam. 12). Gad the prophet proclaimed the prophecy 

for taking the census of the soldiers as failure on the part of 

David to trust Yahweh (2 Sam. 24:11-18). Nathan’s prophecy to 

David in 2 Samuel 7:11-16 is so significant to the extent it laid 

the messianic expectation as an inevitable theology in the history 

of Israel. A new political Davidic tradition was created by 

Nathan for good or bad in Israel. But, it defined the close relationship 

between God and King, the accountability of the king 

in adminstering the people and provided political stability to 

continue the monarchy in the line of David. Nathan’s intensive 

involvement in politics could be seen in his effort in promoting 

Solomon’s succession to the throne. He noticed the struggle for 

power going on in the different camps of Absalom and later with 

Adonijah and he analysed the consequences and opted for a 


better solution if not the perfect one. He discussed it with David 

and showed a preference for Solomon to be enthroned (1 Kings. 

1:22-27). 

As the situation got worse, the prophets took up further challenges 

in their ministry. Elijah and Elisha, 9 th century prophets 

in the divided kingdom of the north, were powerful in communicating 

God’s word to people, confronting the kings, to the extent 

of being branded as ‘trouble makers in Israel’ which led to 

their banishment. Yet, they performed miracles, including the 

raising of the dead. The ministry of performing miracles, the 

added dimension to the prophetic model, became a necessity in 

their given context to prove Yahweh as the only true God and 

not Baal. It served as the symbolic pointer to the ministry of 

Jesus. Their historical setting was marked by political atrocities, 

religious syncretism and corruption in society. King Ahab 

and his Phoenician wife Jezebel showed no fear for Yahweh or 

respect for the law of Moses. The religion and worship of Baal 

were officially promoted as an important and acceptable cult. 

The priests and the prophets of Yahweh were persecuted but 

the priests of Baal were given financial support. People worshipped 

Yahweh as well as Baal simultaneously and the consequences 

of the fertility cult were seen in their society. The rich 

became richer and powerful. The growth of large estates 

(latifundium) resulted in the oppression of peasants. In this hostile 

atmosphere, Elijah had to proclaim God’s word and prove 

Yahweh as the true and powerful God and not Baal. He proved 

it on Mount Carmel and challenged the king, the false prophets 

of Baal and the Israelites to turn to Yahweh (1 Kings. 18). Elijah 

received a clear message from Yahweh to anoint Hazael as king 

over Syria and Jehu as king over Israel (1 Kings 19:15-18). He 

fulfilled the role of making the king for Israel and Syria. This 

happened before the death of Ahab. It signalled the end of his 

rule. Rejecting the unjust ruler and anointing another king while 

the present king still ruled the country was a remarkable but 

risky political act on the part of Elijah. Unable to tolerate the 

injustices of Ahab, particularly in killing Naboth and taking the 

inheritance of the vineyard, Elijah not only condemned the atrocities 

of the monarchy, but also pronounced the death penalty on 

the king (1 Kings 21:17-18). Elijah’s prophetic ministry touched 

religion, politics and society. 

114 115


Elisha, following the footsteps of Elijah, continued the powerful 

prophetic ministry of bringing God’s word to the people 

and the king. He performed more miracles such as changing 

the bitter water into useful water for drinking and irrigation of 

the land (2 Kings 2:19-22); filling the ditches in the dry valley 

with water to help the army and king (2 Kings 3:14-20); providing 

oil in jars to the widow to sell in order to clear her debts and 

redeem her two sons (4:1-7), raising the only son of Shunamite 

up from the dead (4:31-37), feeding hundreds of hungry people 

with barley bread (4:42-44), healing the leprosy of Naaman (5:1- 

19) and floating the fallen axes in the river (6:1-7). Whether 

these miracles were performed in the lives of individuals or the 

community, they were liberative and not merely a show of the 

power of the prophet to earn fame and money. Proclaiming God’s 

word was combined with liberation from hunger, thirst, debts 

and becoming slaves, disabilities and deseases and even from 

death. After the ministry of Moses, this dimension came again 

to the forefront in the ministry of Elijah and Elisha and later in 

the ministry of Jesus as he continued the prophetic tradition. 

Elisha’s prophetic ministry was so closely related to his national 

interest in protecting the people from enemies. What modern 

satellite technology could do was done by Elisha thousands of 

years ago, in predicting the movement of the armies of their 

enemies (2 Kings 6:11-13) through divine revelation. His political 

activism continued to the extent of anointing and instructing 

Jehu to implement the punishment of Yahweh on Ahab and 

proclaiming the victory of Israel over Aram (2 Kings 13:14-24). 

As we analyze more the ministry of Elijah and Elisha, we are 

convinced that they did not merely proclaim prophecies but were 

involved in the implementation of the word of God in their religious 

and political history. No wonder that these two prophets 

were called ‘Chariots and horsemen of Israel’ (2 Kings 2:12; 

13:14), a accolade conferred by the public and acknowledged by 

historians in Israel, for their unique ministry of combining proclamation 

and action. 

The history of the prophetic movement from the 8 th century 

BC, however, showed not a separation of proclamation from action 

but more of specialization in proclaiming God’s justice, writing 

of the prophecies and challenging the religious and political 

authorities to establish justice and peace. The northern king- 


dom experienced political instability due to coup and capturing 

the throne by the commanders of the army. The narratives of 

the book of Kings in the OT bring out the uncertainties in the 

political realm. Though the southern kingdom of Judah practised 

the tradition of enthroning the descendants of David, most 

of the kings who came to the throne did not prove their ability of 

administration. Kings misused their position and power. Business 

people exploited the labourers. The Rich accumulated 

wealth, particularly they increased in their possession of land 

and built expensive houses. Religious syncretism and false pietism 

took deep root among the people. The officials at the city 

gate perverted justice and ruined the lives of many families. 

More and more organized injustice started penetrating the societies 

of these kingdoms. People exhibited helplessness to questioning 

such atrocities and exploitations. God had to raise charismatic 

prophets such as Amos and Hosea to minister in the 

north and Isaiah, Micah and Jeremiah to prophesy in the southern 

kingdom. There is no intent to go into the details of their 

family background and life except to highlight some of their 

prophecies of judgement proclaimed to the people and authorities. 

The oracle of Amos recorded in 2:6-8 is blunt in pointing 

out the manner in which the justice of the righteous and the 

needy was sold for silver and ‘a pair of sandals’. Removing one’s 

sandal is not of a great significance, in terms of money but giving 

it to others, as portrayed in the story of Ruth, meant a custom 

and symbolic act of transferring power and authority to 

another person at the city gate. By taking bribes, they took the 

justice belonging to the poor and transferred it to the rich, who 

were the offenders. Amos referred to it as “selling the justice for 

silver and a pair of sandals”. ‘Trampling the head of the poor 

into the dust and pushing the afflicted out of the way’, refers to 

the economic exploitation and marginalization of the people to 

make them yet poorer in their society. Peasants, labourers, widows 

and orphans fell into the category of the poorest. These 

people could not think of rising out of their poverty. Micah expressed 

the pain and misery they suffered and condemned the 

actions of the exploiters, describing it as tearing the skin of the 

poor, chopping their bones and flesh and drinking soup made 

out of the lives of the people (Micah 3:1-4). Isaiah presented the 

attitude of the wicked that they call ‘good as evil and evil as 

116 117


good’ (Isa. 5:20) and condemned their rapid acquisation of wealth 

especially land and houses. (Isa. 5:8). The prophets, including 

Jeremiah, analyzed the society and were certain that the oppressors 

like kings, officials, military commanders, business 

people, false prophets and priests worked together in perverting 

justice and ignoring the plight of the people. They held the oppressors 

responsible. They challenged the corruption in the political, 

religious and socio-economic aspects of the kingdoms and 

called the nations to repent and seek Yahweh. Mere worship 

and performance of rituals were not enough. They were meaningless 

and unacceptable to God if the leaders failed to practise 

the laws of Yahweh and establish justice, welfare and peace. 

The rich and powerful could not bribe the true prophets to support 

them. Proclaiming God’s justice subjected the prophets to 

opposition and persecution, forcing them to quit from continuing 

the prophetic ministry. From their sufferings in prophetic 

ministry, it is evident that the prophets had genuine concern 

for the people, wishing they neither had to suffer attacks from 

their enemies, nor taken captives to other nations. They wished 

for the delay in the coming of the ‘day of Yahweh’ so that the 

entire nation could repent to avoid destruction. Amos, Micah, 

Isaiah and Jeremiah pleaded God not to punish their people 

but to be merciful to them. They envisaged God’s salvation after 

punishment. The pain of knowing the suffering of the poor, on 

the one hand and the impending judgment, on the other hand, 

affected the physical, emotional and spiritual life of the Prophets, 

proving the genuineness of their prophetic ministry. 

The Prophetic ministry did not simply criticize the injustices 

in the society and proclaim God’s judgment on the nation. It 

did more by way of strengthening the faith of the people of God 

in times of despondency, especially during the period in exile. 

Second Isaiah of chs.40-55 proclaimed the prophecies of salvation 

and return to the promised land. He cautioned them not to 

think of Marduk, the Babylonian god, as powerful but to keep 

faith in Yahweh. His encouragement to the community in exile 

helped them to continue in the faith of Yahweh. Ezekiel’s visions 

of dry bones, communicated to the people, gave them hope 

and revived the community in exile. Their prophecies of salvation 

provided the analysis for the history of the past and present 

and also provided them with the guidelines to return to the 


land and live according to the values of Yahweh. Joining with 

the prophets in exile, Third Isaiah (chs. 56-66) of post-exilic 

period proclaimed the message of salvation and new creation. 

The motif of new creation energized by the Second Isaiah (48:6- 

8) and the Third Isaiah (65:17-25) added a new dimension to 

the prophetic ministry. It showed that the prophets supported 

new creation and were involved in the transformation of the 

society. This did not refer to the modernization of the society 

but to the renewing faith in Yahweh and the re-building of the 

post-exile society to one of justice, peace and progress where 

the rich and powerful would share their wealth and authority 

with the poor and powerless. The situation would even reverse, 

to the extent of wolves becoming sheep, if the rich relinguished 

power voluntarily and live with the poor without violence and 

harm to the latter (Isa.11:1-9). Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi 

followed this motif and were involved with the people in re-structuring 

the pattern of worship, rituals, offerings, tithes, administration 

of justice and sharing of resources (Ezra 5:1-2; 6:13-14). 

By transforming the society, creating the new society became 

part of the ministry of the prophets. 

There is not much detail about the prophetic ministry of the 

post-exile period except for the ministry of Daniel, during the 

period of persecution by the Antiocheus Epiphaneus IV. With 

the rise of apocalyptism, the prophetic ministry declined. At the 

time of the rule of Greeks and Romans, many Jews longed to 

see the resurrgence of prophets like Moses, Elijah and Elisha 

and regarded Jesus as a prophet re-living in the similar tradition 

of the early prophets (Mt. 11:9-14; 17:1-7; Lk. 4:16-18; Jn. 

4:19-20). The preaching and miracles of Jesus showed the power 

of the prophetic ministry. He repeated the old messages of the 

prophets and applied them to His own context and even reinterpreted 

them. He criticized the injustices of the religious 

and political authorities and the administrators especially tax 

collectors. He proclaimed the message of salvation. He accepted 

people calling Him a prophet, although wanted them to regard 

Him more than a prophet. He fulfilled the prophetic ministry 

foretold of Him in the OT (Lk. 4:16) but did not stop there. He 

asked the disciples to continue the prophetic ministry in the 

world. The NT church took up the prophetic ministry and proclaimed 

God’s justice throughout Asia. The prophetic role of 

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the church is to be the critique of the society as well as the 

creator of the new society by transforming it to manifest the 

values of the Kingdom of God. 

The Prophetic ministry is a powerful model. Three contemporary 

issues connected with this model of ministry is discussed 

below. The First one is the prevalent idea about the prophetic 

ministry in churches. Many pastors and lay people think of 

prophecies rather than prophetic ministry. Today, many Christians 

understand the function of speaking in tongues or declaring 

the blessing of God by reciting a biblical verse in the worship 

service, as the prophetic ministry of the church. These gifts 

of the Spirit are needed and given to the church. It can help a 

few individuals in the worship service. The dominant notion is 

the fulfillment of prophecies in history. Christians look for proof 

text and try to see which prophecies have been fulfilled in history 

and which ones are yet to be fulfilled. The prophecies about 

the fall of the northern and southern kingdom of Israel are 

quoted as the evidence for the fulfillment of God’s word spoken 

through the prophets. The popular prophecies are the predictions 

about the birth and death of Jesus. The OT quotations 

used by the writers of the Gospel are read during the Christmas 

service (Mt. 1:22-23), Palm Sunday (Mt. 21:4-5, 12-13), Good 

Friday (Mt. 27:45-46) and Easter (Lk. 24:24-25, 44-48) to prove 

the truthfulness and validity of the prophecies in the Bible. However, 

preachings and teaching on the issue of prophecies and 

fulfillment fail to give importance to the role of the prophets and 

to see the way Jesus fulfilled the prophetic ministry in His life. 

Jesus was not only a proclaimer of justice and a performer of 

miracles but also a victim of injustice. As a victim, Jesus represented 

the sufferings of the people. His life and death represent 

the re-enactment of the daily sufferings of people and His 

resurrection is the hope of the victims. From this perspective of 

Jesus as a prophetic persona as well as a victim, it could be said 

that the prophetic model is to be a minister and a victim to 

identify with and represent the suffering people. 

The Second issue is the question of the credibility of the 

church in playing its prophetic role. Churches in different places 

are losing their testimony because many bishops, superintendents, 

pastors and treasurers are corrupt. They fail to produce 

proper and honest accounts for auditing and for their own Dioc- 


esan or Church Councils as well as for the government. There 

are incidences of money swindling, taking a large sums as commission, 

compulsion to pay donations and bribes in the matters 

of appointments in institutions and selling of properties and 

using the money for elections in the church. A few leaders and 

members of the congregations are caught up matters of morality, 

murder and theft. Caste and communal favouritism and 

nepotism in selecting candidates for ministries, appointing teachers, 

nurses, doctors and other staff in institutions clearly portrayed 

elements of perversion of justice. Victimization and punishment 

for those who seek justice and rights has ruined many 

families. Many members of the Diocese know very well that 

churches have to set their own house right before raising a voice 

against injustice in the society. This has hindered the prophetic 

role of the church. Should we wait till churches set themselves 

right? This will not happen. Churches are not going to be perfect 

as long as problems of corruption and injustice thrive among 

them. To neglect its prophetic responsibility till the church attains 

perfection is not a correct decision. The prophetic function 

operates on two fronts. One is the corrupt authorities within 

the church and the other is the society. Churches and institutions, 

on the one side, should be criticized and challenged by 

people who believe in its prophetic role. They could be involved 

in transforming structures and policies. On the other hand, leaders 

and members should criticize the political and economic 

policies and social injustice in the society. Operating on those 

two fronts can mutually challenge and change the church and 

society. 

The third issue is the question of identifying and undergoing 

the suffering. Can the church fulfill the prophetic role of identifying 

with and re-enacting the suffering of victims when it becomes 

wealthy and powerful? The important dimension in the 

prophetic ministry is the messianic role of Jesus and the 

Church. Jesus identified Himself with the victims of injustice in 

His own death. He was powerless and He suffered. The messianic 

prophecy of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 applied to Jesus is still applicable 

to all those who suffer. It can be applied to the church as a 

corporate body, to bear the Cross, suffer and identify with such 

victims. But today, many mainline denominations and independent 

churches are wealthy in land and properties, shopping com- 

120 121


plex, estate and gardens and institutions. Churches have become 

a symbol of wealth and power. They are misusing their 

wealth and power to oppress people within Christendom. Group 

and communal politics dominate in the administration of 

churches. This does not mean that churches should sell their 

properties. However, unless a conscientious effort is taken to 

identify with the poor and victims of persecution, churches cannot 

be called truly prophetic. Fulfilling the prophetic role of the 

church implies analyzing the socio-political trend, consequences 

in the economic and religious lives of the people, criticizing the 

unjust policies, upholding human rights and raising their voice 

for the poor and powerless, as the earlier prophets did during 

their historical period. The Prophetic model of ministry of the 

church demands a move towards suffering for the sake of justice 

and proper use of power rather than showing its wealth and 

authority. 

REFORMER MODEL 

Reforms are needed at every stage of development in society. 

Structuring and re-structuring of religion, politics, the economy 

and administration are integral parts of reforms. In analyzing 

the various ministries of people during different periods in history, 

it is easy to notice the unique contribution of Ezra and 

Nehemiah in reforming the religious, social and administrative 

aspects of their post-exile community. Not that others such as 

Moses, Judges and prophets failed to reform their society. They 

too tried to transform different aspects of their society in committing 

themselves to the main mission for which they were 

called. But, the post-exilic situation was a critical one since they 

could not have their own kings to lead them. They were under 

the political rule of Persia. Early governors appointed by the 

kings were also Persian till Nehemiah was deputed with authority 

as governor to administer the territory across the river under 

the Persian rule. The Post-exile community was looking for a 

leader from their own community to guide and reform their society. 

They returned to the promised land with mixed feelings 

and tried to restore the country. The Temple was not yet reconstructed 

to unite all of them in worship and festivity. Many 

Israelites including some priests, Levites and officers took sons 

and daughters in marriage from the Babylonians and brought 


them to the land. As they settled again in the land, they married 

sons and daughters of other ethnic groups living around 

them. The Wall of Jerusalem needed re-construction to give 

them security. The Sabbath was ignored. Priests and Levites 

were not taken care of properly by the people. There was no 

discipline and people were doing whatever they wanted. They 

lacked leadership and needed reform. Their society was in danger 

of collapsing again and falling prey to further foreign rule. 

They needed a constructive programme of reform to stabilize 

their religious, social and economic life in the land God had 

given to them. 

Understanding what was going on in the returned community 

encountered in Judah, Ezra and Nehemiah took certain 

bold steps towards achieving solutions. The first step Ezra took 

on his arrival was to appoint magistrates and judges from the 

people of Israel in every village and towns to sort out the problems 

and disputes of families (Ezra 7:25). People could not get 

justice due to the lack of administrators. Representatives of villages 

lived permanently in Jerusalem and met together as a 

council to take decisions. Secondly, Ezra took up the teaching 

of the laws, educating the people, in an attempt to root the 

community to the law of God. Reforms require teaching and 

conscientization programmes. The more the principles and values 

of life are taught the easier it is to intensify the reform. 

Thirdly, Ezra knew the evil consequences of mixed marriages 

especially with the Canaanites. It led the Israelites to forsake 

Yahweh and worship Baal, practise abominations, idolatry, adultery 

and inhuman practices which resulted in the exile. He, 

therefore, took a firm step to call those who had entered mixed 

marriages, including some of the priests, Levites and officials, to 

get separated from such wives. Ezra was not a racist but a reformist, 

trying to avoid the evils of syncretism in the lives of the 

Israelites (Ezra 9-10). Severe opposition to his decision led to a 

solution which permitted the retention of the foreign wives on 

condition that they would worship Yahweh only and accept the 

historical and religious traditions of the Israelites. The book of 

Ruth, written at this time of controversy, proved that Moabite 

woman like Ruth was accepted and regarded as an ancestor of 

David, especially when she declared to Naomi, ‘Your God is my 

God and your people are my people’. Ezra’s decision and final 

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solution to the issue of mixed marriages with condition to put 

away the foreign wives or to convert themselves to Yahwehism 

was clearly a reform touching family, faith and worship led the 

people through a confession by narrating their history of liberation 

from Egypt, possessing the land and their losing of it in 

exile. 

Nehemiah intensified the reform by constructing the wall of 

Jerusalem (Neh. 6:1-15) and initiating a covenant renewal which 

stipulated that the Israelites thereafter will never marry the sons 

and daughters of the Canaanites (Neh. 9-10). He called for a 

national confession of sins and repentance. Nehemiah dismissed 

the priest Eliashib who appointed Tobiah, the corrupt leader 

and anti-reformist over the chambers of the house of Yahweh. 

These two persons jointly enjoyed the offerings and sacrifices 

brought by the people, neglecting the other priests and Levites. 

Since priests and Levites were unable to get their food, they 

started leaving the cultic profession and going to work in the 

field to earn their bread (Neh. 13:1-12). This resulted in neglect 

in the worship of Yahweh and the reading of the word of God to 

the people. Nehemiah rectified this situation by taking action 

on officials, rationing the supply of food to the priests and Levites 

and fire wood for sacrifices and encouraging the people to bring 

in their offerings to the temple and cultic centers. He appointed 

treasurers to be the custodians of these resources. Analyzing 

the situation and re-organizing the system and community resulted 

in major changes in the society. The sociological importance 

of the sabbath rest to the people and animals, as in the 

law of Moses, was enforced by Nehemiah. No one in Israel was 

allowed to tread wine presses, harvest fruits, load and unload 

vegetables or take them inside the city of Jerusalem on the 

sabbath day (Neh.13:15-22). Allowing work to go on during the 

sabbath meant ignoring the need for rest. It was a violation to 

the rights of the labourers. Another area of reform is the effort 

to restore the land and fields of the people who returned from 

exile and abolition of slavery (Neh. 5:1-12). Nehemiah prohibited 

the practice of lending money for interest on mortgage and 

accumulating the land of the poor. His land reform addressed 

to the economic problem of the post - exile community. 

The religious and sociological reforms initiated by Ezra and 

Nehemiah, with the support of the priests and prophets, helped 


the post-exile community to be rooted again in the laws of 

Yahweh. The rationale for the reform needs to be mentioned 

here. First of all, both Ezra and Nehemiah based their reform 

on the analysis of their history. They emphasized the tradition 

of liberation and the Exile. The bondage under Midianites, 

Philistines and Babylon was possible because of the corruption 

in religious and social life. It is important to learn lessons from 

events in history so that measures are taken to prevent the recurrence 

of social and religious degeneration. Secondly, the covenant 

made at Sinai was intended to establish a permanent 

relationship. God, as a partner of the covenant, expected the 

Israelites to fulfill His laws in their lives. Although the people 

broke the covenant, God wanted to fulfill His commitment to 

His people by liberating, leading and blessing them. Reformation 

based on covenantal relationship can be sustained by continual 

renewal of the covenant. Thirdly, the reform was an act of 

gratitude to the grace and mercy of Yahweh, who raised up Cyrus, 

Artaxeres and Darius to help the Israelites to return to Jerusalem 

and construct the temple and the wall. The Israelites could 

not take the salvation of God for granted and continue in their 

old life style. They were expected to acknowledge it and manifest 

it in their lives. Fourthly, reforms can be based on ideologies. 

However, the Israelite society was based on the worship of 

Yahweh. Any reform, therefore, in Israel is to be based on the 

worship. Knowing this fact, Ezra and Nehemiah based their reform 

of society on the proper worship of Yahweh. Reformation 

in religion and society requires such insights into history, critical 

examination of the existing situation of the country and, the 

integration of various aspects of life and firm actions. 

Although the reformer model emanated from a particular historical 

period in Israel, the problem of mixed marriages, ex-communication 

and divorce still confronts the ministry. Jesus and 

the apostles spoke about this issue and gave some direction to 

the churches. Therefore, the issue of marriage in contemporary 

times needs a brief discussion. There are three main types of 

marriages namely, Intra-religious marriage, Inter-religious marriage 

and Inter-Caste/Tribal marriage. Whatever be the case, 

the main trend in our cultural context is to arrange the marriage. 

Very few marriages are contracted on the basis of genuine 

love and so are able to cross the barriers of caste and reli- 

124 125


gion. First, intra-religious marriage means marrying a person 

belonging to another Christian denomination, e.g. marriage between 

a Roman Catholic and a Seventh- Day Adventist or 

Bretheren or Baptist or Presbyterian or Methodist or Anglican 

or Pentecostal. Since the bride and groom are Christian, there 

is no theological problem in solemnizing their marriage in the 

church and enter in the register of the government. However, 

some denominations insist that both parties should belong to 

the same denomination or one party should transfer their membership 

to belong to the other denomination. Some clergy refuse 

either due to doctrinal reasons or the policy of their denomination 

to solemnize if the bride or groom belongs to another denomination. 

These reasons have created problems and difficulties 

in the arranging of marriages. Parents feel pressured to 

look for partners for their sons/daughters within their own denomination 

or to compel their children to accept the doctrines 

of other denominations to work out the marriage. Sometimes 

the prospective couples are required to go through rites of immersion 

baptism, catechism classes and confirmation again. 

Theological and ecclesiastical reforms are needed in this area of 

inter-Christian marriage. The Bible never says that both the 

groom and the bride should belong to the same church or denomination. 

The policy of getting a clearance letter from the 

churches to which they belong to announce the banns, the verification 

of membership and background and the payment of the 

prescribed fee to solemnize the marriage are necessary. Such 

procedures are helpful and guards against some fraud in marriages. 

However, it is wrong to refuse marriage between couples 

belonging to different or least recognized denominations. It is 

true that it is impossible to recognize all the Christian denominations 

including Christian cultic groups like the Mormons, 

Jehovah Witnesses, Jesus Only, etc. The beliefs and practices 

of denominations should be carefully evaluated before banning 

links with them. However, churches need to extend a warm welcome 

and show a more ecumenical spirit and understanding for 

intra-Christian marriages. 

Secondly, very few Christians marry persons belonging to 

another religion. Inter-religious marriages are not common since 

the ‘arranged marriage’ system is usually preferred. Parents look 

for Christian partners for their children. However, two trends 


developing in the past years have caused difficulties in the ministry 

in the matter of marriages. One is the trend of moving to 

another region or country in pursuit of education and in search 

of employment or a partner or falling in love with another who 

belongs to the Hinduism, Islam, Jainism or Tribal faith. Another 

trend is the sociological factor of maintaining links with 

the caste, tribal communities which maintain their own belief 

systems and customs. There have been incidences of some Christian 

girls and boys from villages, having to marry a Hindu or 

Muslim partner within their own community for the sake of 

maintaining kith and kin relationship, keeping property within 

the family or for the sake of employment. Yet others got married, 

in spite of opposition from parents or husbands, particularly 

in the case of Hindu and Islamic women who accepted 

Christ secretly and continued as ‘secret Christians’ till their 

entire family got converted. If each of them tried to maintain 

their own faith and pursued their own religion, how should the 

church deal with this problem? Should the church excommunicate 

the member who got married to another belonging to a 

different religion? Should the church refuse to baptize their 

child? Could they allow the Christian partner to continue to 

worship and take part in the Holy Communion in the church? 

Does the Bible give any guidance on this problem? I know some 

churches have taken severe disciplinary action by ex-communicating 

persons who got married to a Hindu and Muslim and 

announced the decision openly in the worship service. They 

closed the door on that person and instructed the parents, brothers 

and sisters not to have any relationship with that inter-religious 

marriage. This kind of action has ruined the image and 

welfare of some families. 

It is not known whether Joseph and Moses who married 

women of Egypt and Midian respectively, converted their wives 

to worship Yahweh. It is also not known whether Bathsheba, a 

Hittite women worshipped Yahweh after marrying David? It is 

not clear for how long Ruth continued in the religion of Moab 

till she declared the acceptance of the people and religion of 

Naomi as her own. What did Paul mean by the text in 1 Cor. 

7:12-16? Even though he firmly advised not to be yoked with 

the unbeliever in marriage, Paul made a concession for those 

who got converted to Christianity from Judaism or the mystery 

126 127


religions of the Greek and Romans after the marriage. He did 

not advise the partner who got converted and joined the church 

to divorce or separate himself or herself from their spouse and 

children if they were still non-Christians. Separation or divorce 

endangers the family life. Paul envisaged the possibility for the 

other unbelieving partner to know the Gospel and commit to 

Christ. The implication of the text is that the Church of which 

the believing partner is a member should not take any disciplinary 

action if he or she continues to live with the other unbelieving 

partner and is responsibly leading the family life. 

The Bible insists, in general, that both partners should belong 

to the same faith and cherish the values of God. It presents 

cases and consequences of inter-religious marriages in the history 

of Israel as a warning to the community of the Christian 

faith. Faith can be compromised and syncretism could creep in 

the lives of the couple and affect the family and community. 

Practical difficulties like participating in the festivals and religious 

ceremonies of the other partner, deciding the religion of 

their children and their marriages and burial procedures could 

bring conflict between the couple and their children. The best 

advice is to belong to the same religion. However, the churches 

ought to change their attitude towards people who have opted 

for inter-religious marriage, particularly in the case of ‘secret 

Christians’ and those in sociological bond with their caste, village 

and community. Instead of taking action on them and closing 

the door on them, they could express humane concern, religious 

tolerance and concession to these persons by allowing 

them to attend worship, services and taking part in Holy Communion 

and encouraging them to continue in the faith of Christianity. 

Third, the issue of inter-caste and inter-tribal marriages needs 

attention. Our social context is pluralistic in terms of race, caste 

and tribe, language, culture and customs. This is dealt with in 

detail in a later chapter. Christians have accepted the caste system 

and are practising it rigorously in the arrangement of marriages 

within their own “caste”. This practice promotes the continuance 

and consolidation of “caste” system in the church. It 

breeds segragation and affects the unity and fellowship of Christians. 

“Caste” marriages among Christians raises theological and 

sociological questions. Does the Bible insist on marrying within 

the same “caste”? Although the society perpetuates the caste 

system, churches need to challenge this evil. The theological 

justification is that everyone is created in the image of God. In 

the sight of God, there is no caste or colour or gender discrimination. 

God wants more integration of ethnic groups and 

strengthening of Christian fellowship. Jesus was not a pure Jew. 

He came from a family of ancestors who got married to people of 

other race and religion. Paul taught the churches not to practise 

racial or caste discrimination and to regard everyone as equal 

and valuable in Christ. The sociological problem of the caste 

system is challenged by the theological understanding of creation 

and the nature of the Christian faith and fellowship. 

Churches should proclaim the necessity of inter-caste marriage 

as theologically valid and educate the youth to break this oppressive 

and divisive barrier to create a new society of believers. 

POLITICAL ACTION MODEL 


Political action, in brief, means dealing with political authority 

and changing policies, rules and regulations to protect the 

rights of the people and provide justice, welfare and peace. This 

happened in the history of Israel, at a particular point in time, 

to avert the genocide of the Jews in the kingdom of Persia. 

Esther, under the guidance of Mordecai, took political action 

against king Ahasuerus and the royal court. She was not the 

first one in their history to confront the king and the court. The 

political actions of Moses, Elijah, Elisha and other 8 th century 

prophets have already been pointed out. They did it as part of 

the prophetic ministry to which they were called. But, Esther 

was not a prophet, neither was she assigned with a duty nor 

given the authority to perform those duties. She rose up to the 

occasion and risked her life saying, ‘if I perish, I perish’ (Esther 

4:16). Many of us fail to value her action and consider it as an 

easy one because she was married to the king and enjoyed the 

status of Queen. But her words, ‘if I perish, I perish’ revealed 

her difficulty in approaching the king with a totally different 

request and yet anticipating that her request would be accepted. 

As Queen, she would have been expected to support the policies 

of the king and not to contradict or confront the government. 

Any action she took for the sake of Jews could be interpreted 

by Haman and his group as a communal one and a po- 

128 129


litical treason instigated by Mordecai and other Jews. Esther 

and the Jews could have been misunderstood as planning to 

usurp power in Persia. Yet, Esther did confront the King and 

the court by defying the rules of meeting the king and finally, 

she achieved her purpose and saved the lives of thousands of 

Jews. It looked as though everything went on smoothly but it is 

impossible to ignore the opposition of the hard core officials in 

the palace and of Haman. The basis for her action was humanitarian 

and she did not allow unjust policies to be implemented 

to deprive the minority Jews of their rights to exist in that country. 

It was a life-saving mission which brought the oppressor to 

account for his misdeeds. The channel for her political action 

was a combination of spiritual, strategies and the involvement 

of the victims. First, Mordecai and Esther had elaborate discussions 

on the prevailing political situation in Persia and the development 

of the trend towards oppressing the Jews. She could 

not appeal her case before the King and his court simply on the 

emotional basis of saving her own life or the lives of her community. 

Esther collected all the data and facts with which to argue 

and convince the king. Political action demands such prior 

preparation. Second, the affected party should be made aware 

of forthcoming rules and policies and its consequences for their 

existence and progress. The gathering of all the Jews was to 

conscientize them (Esther 4:16-17). Thirdly, Esther understood 

the need for spiritual strength and prayer support for political 

action. She required the community of Jews to fast and pray for 

three days. She too fasted and prayed for three days. Fasting 

and prayer played an important role in Jewish spirituality. By 

it, they analyzed their history, realized God’s covenant and actions, 

repented of their mistakes and requested for pardon to 

re-energize themselves and continue as the true and sincere 

community of Yahweh, diligently following His commandments 

(cf. Isa. 58:6-9). The three days of fasting and prayer may have 

made Esther and the people to reflect on the above aspects and 

gain strength and hope to challenge the injustice. Fourth, their 

spirituality and openness to discussion led Esther to achieve 

the goal without violence, quarrelling and bloodshed on both 

sides. Political actions need not necessarily be always violent or 

militant. Non-violence has been a feature of many political actions 

in the history of many nations. 


However, there are evidences in the history of Jews using 

violence to overthrow the unjust political rule and persecutions. 

The chief priest Mathatias and his sons Judah, Jonathan and 

Simon known as Macabees were compelled to revolt against 

Antiochus Epiphanus IV who persecuted the Jews in Palestine. 

He defiled their Temple in Jerusalem by sacrificing pigs on the 

altars and compelled the Jews to worship the emperor and follow 

Greek philosophies and practices of the mystery religion in 

170-160 BC. The political action of revolt and battle against this 

ruler was initiated by the Hasmonean family of Mathatias in 

collaboration with the local people. Many Jews died in the battle. 

They risked their lives to attain freedom from Antiochus and 

form their own Jewish State. Many of the political actions of the 

Jews took place in different parts of Palestine during the rule of 

the Greeks and Romans. They were crushed with force and bloodshed. 

Although they are not documented in the Bible, it is documented 

in the writings of the Inter-testament period, Josephus 

and Philo. 

Political actions continued in the days of Jesus and the early 

church. Jesus not only challenged the unjust rule of the Romans 

by instructing Pharisees to refuse to pay the poll taxes 

(Mt. 22:15-22) but also confronted the pomp and pagentry of 

the Romans with an alternative action of entering into Jerusalem 

on a colt and with the singing of Hosanna (meaning ‘save 

us’) by the people. The Triumphal entry, as it was called by NT 

scholars, is taken for granted by churches and celebrated as 

‘Palm Sunday’ to mark the completion of the Lent season and 

preparation for Good Friday and Easter. The real meaning of 

the event of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem has 

been reduced to a mere ritual of going around the church building, 

bearing palm branches and singing hymns and lyrics. What 

Jesus did was a satyagraha against all the injustices of the 

Romans to the Jews. It was a protest march initiated and organized 

to send a signal of warning to the rulers of the nation. He 

proved that the powerless people did not have weapons like the 

Roman soldiers. They had palm branches which could not kill 

anyone but could encourage them to look toward the hope of 

liberation, just as the spring shoots of the palm symbolizes new 

life. They did not have horses and chariots like the Romans had 

to flaunt their royalty and power and intimidate them. But, they 

130 131


had harmless creatures like donkeys, the common means of 

transport for the poor. The Donkey did not represent power as 

the destructive weapon of war. A Red carpet welcome was as a 

symbol of status and pomp given to world rulers. But, the powerless 

people welcomed the political action of Jesus by spreading 

their clothes as a sign of joining the protest with their leader. 

It was their expression of solidarity with the struggles for freedom 

and justice. Political leaders noticed the resurgence of a 

new leader, Jesus and the solidarity of the people with him. 

They understood its impact as threatening their power and authority 

and the Romans were sure to consider the event as a 

political revolt against their rule. They planned to suppress this 

political movement. Jesus’s action of protesting and taking the 

people along with Him, resulted in His arrest, trial and crucifixion. 

The basis of Jesus political action was His call to be Messiah 

and to establish the kingdom of God with its principles and 

values on this earth. This could not be achieved simply by preaching, 

teaching and performing miracles among the Jews. On the 

other side, it needed more tough action to challenge and change 

the unjust rule of the Romans. His march and the shout of the 

people declared the end of wordly values and began a new chapter 

in human history. The method Jesus adapted was practical. First, 

He prepared the people through His preaching and teaching. 

He educated them and also corrected their wrong views and 

interpretations. This is a necessity for any political action. But, 

some of the religious leaders like priests, Pharisees and 

Sadducees were unwilling to see this point and opposed the 

methods Jesus has adapted. Second, Jesus planned carefully 

the alternative strategy. He deliberately chose to enter into Jerusalem 

riding on a donkey amidst the shouts of hosanna, which 

was a more positive slogan than provocative ones against the 

authorities. He allowed the people to bear the palm branches 

than banners or swords or bombs. Third, Jesus did not go alone 

or with a selected few of His disciples, as happened on the Transfiguration 

day. He planned it in such a way that people could 

join Him. The timing of the event was after resurrecting Lazarus. 

Involving the poor and powerless in His protest march was an 

important strategy. It gave meaning to the struggle, which was 

intended for the people, by the people. Fourth, Jesus did not 


instigate His disciples or people to resort to violence to achieve 

the goal of political, religious, socio-economic changes in Israel. 

He condemned the use of weapons (Mt. 5:38-42; 26:51-54) either 

to protect or take revenge. Non-violence was His major characteristic 

in transforming individuals and society. 

In the history of the early church, there is not much to read 

on the actual political actions of the apostles except for their 

message against principalities and powers. Paul wrote to instruct 

the Church not to conform to this world (Rom.8:1-2) but to struggle 

against its injustices. He compared the spiritual and social 

warfare to a real war situation, using the metaphorical language 

in Eph. 6:10-17. Peter did not approve the persecution against 

the Christians and encouraged them to condemn the injustice 

but at the same time to stand firm in their faith and prove to be 

faithful to God. Such balanced teaching on political action sustained 

the Christian community in the later period when they 

faced severe oppression and persecution of emperors such as 

Nero and Titus. But the Jews, under the leadership of Bar 

Cochba in 130-135 A.D., revolted against the Romans to gain 

political freedom and again established their Jewish state, which 

resulted in bloodshed. Both Jews and Christians faced difficulties 

and left in misery due to the violence. The Political Action 

model raises challenges for the contemporary Church. However, 

some opinions of Christians hinder their involvement in sociopolitical 

action, which could bring changes in the realm of politics 

and society. 

Four of the opinions are addressed below. First of all, is the 

prevalent view of accepting all authorities and powers as instituted 

by God and obeying these authorities. Christians pay too 

much importance to texts such as Mt. 22:15-22, Rom. 13:1-7 

and 1 Pet. 2:13-14,18-21, as examples of true spirituality and 

fail to understand these texts from the perspective of the nature 

and mission of God. Since the views of Jesus and Paul on obeying 

political authorities has been discussed in the earlier sections, 

it is unnecessary to repeat the details here. Second, is 

the belief that minority Christians cannot be involved in political 

action. I pointed out this issue of minority feeling and suggested 

the seeking of the co-operation of other political parties, 

NGOs and social action movements. Co-operation with these 

132 133


agencies could be critical, issue based and time-bound in order 

to achieve the goal in a non-violent manner. 

Third, is the issue of taking neutral positions. Many Christians 

think that they should neither oppose authorities nor join 

hands with political parties and social action movements. Rather, 

they should be neutral and lead a witnessing life. The assumption 

behind this view is due to two reasons. On the one hand, 

Christians believe that socio-political actions are the responsibilities 

of politicians, economists, scientists, ecologists, trade 

unions and NGOs. Churches should not take sides with these 

people and organizations because politicians are corrupt and 

Unions and NGOs are influenced by Marxism and Communism. 

To extend support to these people therefore means jeopardizing 

the image of the Church and inviting trouble from the ruling 

government or authorities. In fact, there is no such position as 

neutral. Either we oppose or support the injustice. Here is an 

illustration. A strong man beats a poor and innocent person on 

the road. This weak person is unable to retaliate. Instead, he 

tolerates the cruel beating and cries for help. This person could 

be a villager or woman or a child. You are witnessing to this 

incident. You know that the oppressor is wicked and cruel. The 

victim is bleeding and helpless. If you maintained a neutral position, 

then, you would be allowing the strong brute to continue 

with his injustice and atrocities. By being silent and inactive, 

you are supporting this injustice to go on. The moment you 

take the side of the poor victim, you are in action and would 

question the cruelty and injustice. Therefore, there are no choices 

but either to take the side of the poor and oppressed and to 

challenge the injustice or silently and inactively support the 

unjust authority to continue the evil. To be neutral is to be a 

coward. It is a betrayal of truth and humanity. On the other 

hand, Christians believe that prayer can change politics and 

society and establish justice and progress. No one is underestimating 

the power of prayer. It is true that prayer can change 

people. But, what we notice in reality is the escalation of injustice, 

violence, poverty, accumulation of wealth and power, in 

spite of so many years of praying. Faith and Prayer are needed 

as the basis for Christian life and witness but it should be accompanied 

by work and action. They are the fuel for the act of 

transforming the society. The oppressive forces are happy with 


Christians as long as they are silent and maintain the so- called 

neutral position. They are not bothered about prayer to change 

them. The oppressors know very well that neutral Christians 

are good people and support their authority and policies of injustice. 

Fourthly, the opinion that by diverting their energy and resources 

towards socio-political involvement, churches are 

marginalizing and neglecting evangelism is questionable. Many 

believe that evangelism is social action and is the best way to 

bring changes to society. In his book, Social Action Vs. Evangelism 

(1977:26-37) William Richardson advocates for this view of 

evangelism, as “social action and Christianization is humanization”. 

This is a wrong assumption. Evangelism and socio-political 

actions are two separate categories although there are some 

links between them. These two aspects can complement eachother 

but they are not one and the same. Evangelism, as pointed 

out later in this chapter, is a proclamation of the Gospel to the 

world, converting individuals to Christianity and bringing them 

into the fold of the church. The activity of evangelism begins 

with the world and moves towards individuals or groups and 

ends with creating a fellowship of faith. The movement is from 

the wider circle and then narrows down to a local church. But 

socio-political action is not primarily proclamation but based on 

the Gospel which is proclaimed. It deals with the social, political 

and economic problems of people irrespective of their race, religion 

and culture. It is not converting them to a faith but offering 

the eternal life of justice, peace and welfare based on the Christian 

faith. It is transforming the society by the transformed people 

of the Bible. It is a movement from the local church to a 

wider world. In this process of upward movement and action, 

some individuals who see the power of the Gospel and commitment 

of Christians in dealing with the politics, policies, authorities 

and society may respond positively and become Christians 

and join the local church. Socio-political action, therefore, could 

have an effect of evangelism rather than evangelism becoming a 

socio-political action. The argument many raise to support their 

assumption is that by evangelizing and converting individuals 

and communities, society is transformed. If everyone became a 

genuine Christian and obeyed God’s word, then the society will 

automatically get transformed. This is a deep-rooted view. Once 

134 135


became genuine Christians, it is assumed, they will not perpetrate 

injustice and oppress people. Evangelizing the people is 

first and foremost and that in turn brings changes in society 

without any act of violence. This notion is theoretical and 

unachievable, because all the people are not going to respond 

to the Gospel. Very few, as Jesus and Paul said, shall accept the 

Gospel, join the church and continue as real Christians. A vast 

majority may not respond to the Gospel. Moreover, it is very well 

known that some ‘so-called believers’ live a double standard. 

Many Christians who consider themselves pious and spiritual 

still practise caste system, demand dowry, ill-treat domestic servants, 

keep false accounts in business, pay less wages, deprive 

the rights of the poor and give bribes to achieve their goals. This 

trend is also seen with some of our leaders who vehemently 

oppose injustice and try to champion the cause of the poor. 

Some of these Christian leaders who know well the teachings of 

justice and righteousness and are involved in social action, also 

accumulate wealth in the name of the poor, ill-treat workers in 

their action movements, are morally and financially corrupt and 

practise the caste system. But, this does not mean that the Christian 

socio-political action has lost its validity. How could we continue 

in the belief that once all people become Christians, the 

society will reach perfection? Millions of people are suffering, 

living in misery and passing away without the hope of any help 

or exercising their rights and justice before the message of the 

gospel and conversion reaches them. This is why the assumption 

that evangelism is a social action or vice versa is questionable. 

Proposing this kind of view is a deliberate attempt to shelve 

socio-political action or evangelism once and for all. The trends 

in poverty, ecological degradation, unemployment, land alienation, 

ethnic conflicts and violation of human rights cannot be 

changed by evangelism. They require analysis and action to create 

and implement constructive policies. 

WISDOM MODEL 

Wisdom is a virtue and is appreciated in every culture. Scientists, 

magicians, craftsmen, historians, diplomatic advisers are 

regarded as wise people. They are well-respected and paid for 

their services. The ministry of wise men and women is quite 

often left out in many books written on Christian ministry or 


mission. Christians also tend to ignore the Biblical literature on 

wisdom. Preachers too neglect to bring out the roles of wise 

men and women. Most of them prefer to quote the proverbs or 

verses from the Book of Job in their sermons and recommend 

such texts to their congregations. Neglect of the study of the 

role and contribution of wise people in Israel has deprived many 

of insight into leadership and management today. Calling this 

service wise men’s model could invite criticism from feminist 

groups, so I prefer to call it the ‘wisdom model’ which refers to 

the ministry of both wise men and women. The focus is limited 

to those wise people who served in or associated themselves 

with the royal court and contributed to the development of literature 

on wisdom in Israel. The earliest known wise man in the 

history of Israel was Joseph, who had the talent and knowledge 

of interpreting dreams. The Egyptian court had different kinds 

of wise men ranging from magicians to the counselors to Pharaoh. 

But the wisdom of Joseph excelled all these wise people in 

the land. He was promoted to the office of Prime Minister-second-in-commend 

to the King and was entrusted with the responsibility 

of managing the affairs of the kingdom. His prudence 

in saving enough grain in store houses in order to survive 

the prolonged famine, brought fame to him (Gen.41:33-44). 

Daniel, is another person who showed his wisdom in interpreting 

the dreams of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. What 

the wise men of the court of this Babylonian king could not do, 

Daniel did and saved his own life and that of his three companions 

(Dan.4-5). His intelligence and honesty elevated him to the 

top most office in the period of Darius (Dan.6:1-3). Both Joseph 

and Daniel were elevated in positions in a land of different religion 

and culture and yet they kept their faith. The Spirit of God 

was with them, helping to interpret the dreams and giving valuable 

advice to the king. They were not professional wise men 

but under the prevailing situation and opportunities, they used 

their special intelligence to serve the land in which they lived. 

Kings in Israel also had wise men in their court. David and 

Solomon had their own officials with special knowledge and talent 

to advise them. These wise men may have given advice on 

framing political and economic policies and negotiating alliance 

with neighbouring countries on security and trade. Ahithophel, 

a counselor in the period of David was known for his notoriety 

136 137


(2 Sam. 15:31-37; 16:20-17:23). Absalom took counsel with 

Ahithophel and Hushai (2 Sam. 17:14). These two wise men 

misled Absalom. Wrong advice from bad counselors created problems 

for king David, the royal court and the people in the land. 

Rehoboam was not given proper guidance by the counsel of men 

at the court. It resulted in the division of the kingdom. Jeremiah 

categorically lists the wise men who were not performing 

their duties properly and criticized them for failing in leading 

the king and the nation (Jer. 8:8-9). But, in 2 Sam. 20:16-22, 

there is a different story of a wise woman of Abel, who saved her 

city from destruction. She understood the situation and did not 

hesitate to approach and appeal to Joab to spare her city. Such 

was the wisdom and courage of this woman to avoid the battle 

against the city of Abel and bloodshed. It could be assumed that 

the Israelite wise men who served in the court of the Persian 

king Cyrus played a role in advising the king to make the edict 

and permit the Jews to return to their land from the Babylonian 

captivity. 

Another contribution of wise men and women of Israel was 

in creating literature which could instruct the people to walk in 

the ways of God. The creation, writing and compilation of proverbs 

to instruct the king, officials and people was taken up by 

the wise men and women. These proverbs give meaning to wisdom 

as being the fear of God and teach how to lead an ethical 

life. Wisdom is not looked at as an educational degree but as an 

intelligent understanding of life. Questions on the suffering of 

the innocent, the relationship between sin and suffering and 

the role of God in human problems are dealt with in the book of 

Job. The book of Ecclesiastes discusses the issue of enjoyment, 

pleasure and vanity of life. These writings look philosophical 

because they were presented by wise men but they are helpful 

in discussing the problems of life. The wisdom model of ministry 

gave intellectual as well as practical guidance, based on the 

values of Yahweh to rulers and people of Israel. Such a ministry 

is necessary in society today. Churches are not deprived of intelligent 

people. However, they do not reason together to apply 

their wisdom to matters of the church or society. Churches also 

do not feel the need for such a group and are satisfied with 

political figures on their committees. People of knowledge, abil- 


ity and commitment, and not merely those with degrees and 

position, are needed to enact wisdom model. 

Two contemporary issues in connection with the wisdom 

model will be discussed briefly here. One is the dichotomy between 

the spiritual and the intellectual in Christianity. Various 

reasons can be traced for this separation of spirituality from 

rationality. The growth of the Bhakti movements as a reaction to 

“Gnana marga” led the Indians to give importance to conservatism 

than rationalism. This impact was transmitted to Christianity 

and is evident in many churches today. Another reason 

was the negative image presented of the Pharisees and 

Sadducees. Many Christians have a negative attitude towards 

these intellectual groups in Judaism because they were hindering 

the ministry of Jesus. It is assumed that Jesus did not 

like them. It is true that Jesus questioned their misuse of intellect, 

which created a negative impression, oppressive policies 

and a craving for power. However, Jesus accepted some of the 

Pharisees, like Nicodemus and Paul. Jesus is not against intellectualism 

but against the misuse of intellectualism. He wants 

us to use our mind and intellect properly. The Conservative reaction 

to intellectualism is also due to the propagation of liberal 

theology and paying little respect to Christian fundamentals 

and bhakti life. This negative image led to the dichotomy between 

spirituality and rationality and promoted the preaching 

of simplistic sermons which emphasized the vertical relationship 

between the believer and God and preparation for life in 

the other world. Christian leaders train their congregations to 

have a more inward look than to develop a critical look at trends 

in politics and society. A church member reserves the right to 

be critical of the issues or not and this is an accepted norm in 

many churches. This has resulted in the growth of fundamentalism 

and neglect of intellectualism in churches and institutions. 

Pastors are more interested in supporting annual revival 

meetings, retreats for youths, and all night prayer meetings than 

organizing intellectual fora to discuss socio-political issues, bible 

studies or seminars on contemporary issues. Yet the Bible, 

as explained above, presents people of intellectual ability and 

their contribution to the progress of politics, economics, science 

and religion. 

138 139


Another role of the Wisdom model in contemporary times is 

its contribution to the development of proverbs, metaphors, parables 

and ethical slogans. In traditional societies, sages generated 

proverbs, parables and metaphors out of their critical evaluation 

of society and communicated their ideas and taught leaders 

like kings, court officials, priests and the people. For example, 

within ancient Israel, two kinds of proverbs were developed 

out of the prevailing situation. When the Israelites settled down 

in Canaan and inherited the land, they were required to labour 

on the land to produce food. Having land, yet being idle and 

lazy is an indication of imminent poverty. In order to create 

awareness, the sages in ancient Israel generated proverbs such 

as ‘A slack hand causes poverty but the hand of the diligent 

makes rich’ (Prov. 10:4), ‘The appetite of the lazy craves and gets 

nothing..’ (13:4), ‘The lazy will put to forced labour’ (12:24) (15:19 

and 20:4). They condemned poverty emanating from laziness. 

However, the context changed during the monarchical period 

particularly in the 9 th and 8 th century BC. The rich started oppressing 

the poor and depriving them of their land and property. 

In spite of their diligent and hard work, many were still 

poor. Poverty was perpetuated. The sages were forced to generate 

another set of proverbs to counter the wrong accumulation 

of wealth by the rich and to raise criticism against injustice. 

Examples of such Proverbs include ‘The rich and the poor have 

this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all’ (22:2) and 

‘The rich rules over the poor and the borrower is the slave of the 

lender’ (22:7). Wise men challenged the society and gave directions 

to leaders and people. The Indian society has hundreds of 

proverbs and parables. Some of them are oppressive in content 

and subtly promote the status quo. Others are liberative. Several 

proverbs are enlightening and encourage the hearers to 

lead an ethical life. Unfortunately, the good proverbs are not 

used in preaching and teaching in the church. They are regarded 

as unacceptable because these proverbs come from secular 

or religious poets and sages. The churches are not generating 

their own proverbs, parables and sayings to address the 

changing situation. Christian scholars in the field of literature, 

history and sociology hesitate to apply their intellectualism to 

the ministry of the churches and to develop proverbs of biblical 

content to enlighten, instruct and mobilize people and build 

the nations. The effect of Wisdom model of ministry in churches 

and society can be felt only when these hurdles are crossed. 

Deliberate effort is needed to give due recognition to the Wisdom 

model of ministry. 

CHRONICLER MODEL 


The term Chronicler is used with reference to a person who 

records events which occur within a day in an institution, either 

as a compilation of an annual report or as documentation for 

the purposes of writing history later. The Hebrew term sopher 

meaning ‘to write’ or ‘to count’ appears in the Books of 1 and 2 

Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Esther, Psalms and in the Books 

of 1 and 2 Chronicles. Scholars understand that it referred to 

the Secretary of the royal Chancellery during the monarchical 

period; a scribe in the court recording the proceedings of the 

events or the victory of the king in a recent battle or a scribe 

who copied and interpreted the text of the Holy Scripture. The 

interest of this study is to highlight this ministry as mentioned 

in the Bible and to give importance to this service of writing and 

documentation of events or the word of God. The Chroniclers 

who work behind the scenes hardly get any attention. There is 

a difference between a prophet writing his prophecies and a 

scribe recording events at the instruction of the higher officials, 

for a wage. Baruch, a disciple of Jeremiah worked as a scribe, 

recording the prophecies of Jeremiah. He sealed and preserved 

the recordings. (Jer.36:1-9). In the book of Kings, the recurrence 

of the expression, ‘Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, 

how he warred and how he reigned are written in the Book of 

the Annals of the Kings of Israel’ is almost like a formula and 

the writers of the book of Kings (1 Kings 14:19. Cf. 1 Kings. 

14:29; 15:7,23,31; 16:5,14,20,27; 22:39,46; 2 Kings 1:18; 8:23; 

10:34; 12:20, etc) use it to conclude the history of each of the 

kings. This indicates that the writers of the Book of Kings have 

given limited information about the kings and what they have 

provided is not exhaustive or complete. If readers are interested 

to know more about the kings, they have to read the Annals of 

the kings. Writing the history of the kings in Israel and Judah 

was not done by members of another country. The scribes from 

the community of Israel were employed by the court to write the 

Annals. Whether they recorded events and proceedings of the 

140 141


country correctly is a matter of dispute. Kings and other officials 

must have checked on these writings. Ezra demanded the 

king Darius to go through such annals to know the edict of 

Cyrus and to confirm the privileges given to the Israelites once 

again because of the opposition from the Persian Governor stationed 

in Judah. The Ministry of writing is important because it 

provided historical data to future generations. The successes 

and failures of the kings and the living conditions of citizens 

during a particular era were revealed in such recordings. Second, 

it helped future kings to note the edicts, decisions and 

negotiations of their predecessors so they could follow the trend 

accordingly. Third, their documentation became the basis of theological 

emphasis and guidance to future generations. The 

Deuternomist and Chronicler interpreted the events with theological 

emphasis and provided the theological guidance to their 

generations. Without such Annals, they could not have interpreted 

the events and theologized the history. 

Similarly, without writing the word of God and providing written 

copies of scriptures in various cultic centres in the land, 

priests could not have read and preached on God’s word. People 

could not have had the opportunity of listening to the reading of 

the Scripture. Since Jesus had the written scripture in hand, 

He was able to read, explain the scripture and tell the people of 

its fulfillment in Him. Jesus confirmed the authority of the 

scripture by using it and declaring that it be followed by the 

people. Although not much is known about the ministry of Matthew, 

Mark and Luke, it is a fact that they wrote the Gospels. 

They were not called as scribes but they mentioned the activities 

of scribes in the period of Jesus in their Gospels. From 

their writings, much is learnt about the history of Jesus, the 

acts of the apostles, the spreading of the Good news and the 

emergence of a new community. Writing is also a ministry. 

Writing, for the purpose of recording the events, interpreting 

history and giving directions to people, needs appreciation. This 

ministry is not just for professional historians or archivists. Many 

Christians assume that preaching is more important than writing 

and documentation of the actions of God. This ministry cannot 

be neglected by the churches. 

Christians could raise questions on the role of the Church 

regarding the interpretation and recording of the history of a 


nation and of Christianity. Many may agree that churches have 

the responsibility to record the history of Christianity and leave 

the job of recording the socio-political history of nations in the 

hands of historians in the Universities, Colleges and journalists. 

In their attempt to separate secular history from the history 

of Christianity, Christians get confused by the two. For example, 

many Christians are unable to examine the British colonial 

history critically. They mix up the British political rule, which 

was oppressive, with the period of Western missionaries. The 

assumption that has been developed is that the British rule was 

good for Christianity. But, there is evidence that the British 

rule controlled the activities of the missionaries. It refrained the 

missionaries from taking part in the Indian struggle for freedom. 

Christian scholars need to specialize in the analysis and 

presentation of history on at least three different levels. One is 

the critical analysis of the socio-political history of the nation. 

Another is documenting the growth, development and contribution 

of Christianity and finally, to bring inter-action between 

secular history and the history of Christianity, giving appropriate 

interpretation to the inter-action to give proper direction to 

the Church and society. These three levels are further clarified 

below. 

First, all secular historians, journalists and scholars who have 

interpreted events and written history have so far been known 

to belong to the rich and upper class. Moreover they belong to 

the upper hierarchy of caste. Their perspective of historical events 

is shaped by the background of their caste and class. Their interpretations, 

therefore, reflect their outlook. They have failed 

to look at history from the lowest social stratum. The perspective 

of the poor, marginalized sector and victims of caste and 

class system is not projected. The feelings of the Tribals, the 

Dalits, women and minority groups and the way they look at 

history and interpret it is neglected in the writing of history. 

Since the government, academic institutions, newspapers, journals 

and publishing companies are usually dominated by the 

upper caste and class, it is the responsibility of the Church to 

take the side of the poor and powerless and to present the reality 

of their pain and misery and opinions on politics and economics 

to the world. This is necessary to counter the wrong and 

one-sided presentation of the upper class people and to chal- 

142 143


lenge such writers to change their outlook and contribute to 

giving proper direction to society. Churches have so far subscribed 

to the presentation of history by the upper class as fact 

and have failed to create an alternative presentation. How the 

churches can carry out this ministry is a practical question that 

ought to be discussed and planned out by the dioceses or national 

association of churches. They could constitute a body of 

chroniclers and request scholars to write the secular history 

from the perspective of the poor. The values of the kingdom of 

God and justice to the poor and oppressed should be the criteria 

or basis for interpreting and presenting history. 

Secondly, the documentation of the development and progress 

of Christianity needs attention. Most local churches, dioceses 

and organizations do not maintain proper record of events and 

programmes. They do not make use of statistics to measure the 

growth, achievements and failures of their churches. Whenever 

they celebrate silver or golden jubilees or centenaries, the souvenir 

publications contain more advertisements than presentation 

of history. The stones laid on newly constructed buildings 

show the names of the authorities, donors and members of the 

committee than a brief note about the development of the infrastructure 

or history of the institution. The priority is on popularity 

than presenting the details of history. Significant contributions 

of some pastors, theologians, missionaries, evangelists, 

women, lay activists to Christianity and society are not documented 

in history. Specialized training should be given to pastors, 

missionaries and lay leaders to enable them to analyze, 

document programmes and events, to write articles and essays 

and get them published periodically in magazines and journals 

to educate Christians. 

Thirdly, it is important to be conversant with secular history. 

Some of our pastors and evangelists familiarize themselves with 

the events of the day, spiritualize what is happening in society 

and try to preach simplistic sermons. Quite often they make 

theological blunders. For example, the cyclone which destroyed 

the coastal area of Orissa (India) in the year 1999-2000 was 

interpreted as God’s punishment on the state for killing the 

Australian missionary Graham Steins and his two sons. The 

powerful earthquake which destroyed some regions of Gujarat 


(India) killing more than 20, 000 people was interpreted as a 

warning to the ruling government for not taking action against 

the burning of churches in Gujarat. Natural calamities like 

drought and famine are interpreted as God’s punishment for 

the sins of human beings. Accidents of fire, in the air, on the 

sea and roads and the deaths of innocent people are interpreted 

to be God’s will. Persistent poverty is regarded as a result of the 

laziness and sin of the poor. Which is the best way to interpret 

such events which occur in nations? The Christian view need 

not rule out the critical analysis of economic and social policies 

or the scientific study of ecological disaster or human error in 

accidents. Applying the principle of retribution always, as the 

answer for what goes wrong in society shows deficiency in understanding 

the occurrence of events. The theory of retribution 

followed by the historians in Deutronomy and Chronicles and 

some prophets could be a guiding principle. But, the essence of 

such a criteria lies in the fact that all human actions – political, 

economic, social – bring their own consequences to the society 

and not just the personal sin of individuals. Structural injustice 

and corporate accountability are emphasized by the prophets 

and historians of ancient Israel in their interpretation of history. 

Due recognition should be given to scientific interpretation 

of history instead of always defining it from a theological 

perspective. However, the Christian view of history cannot overlook 

interpretations of the actions of God within the socio-political 

context. Trying to integrate or strike a balance between scientific 

and theological interpretation of history is not easy but it 

is not impossible. 

In relating to secular history, Christian historians need to 

analyze and project the contribution of Christians in transforming 

society. Such writings are emerging in recent years. Similarly 

there is a need to evaluate the impact of socio-political 

history and changes in the Constitution of India and introduction 

of new policies and orders of the government on the life 

and ministry of the churches. A critical analysis of these changes 

in contemporary times is needed by Christian historians and 

theologians to challenge, prepare and shape Christianity to make 

it meaningful to Christians as well as to the people in our 

country. 

144 145


SON OF MAN MODEL 

The ministry of Jesus is highly regarded as the ideal model 

and many read the Gospels again and again to learn more about 

His message and ministry. Jesus is considered as the connecting 

link between the ministries of the OT and the ministries of 

the early church. David Bosch points out an important dimension 

of the inclusiveness of Jesus’s mission and writes, “It embraces 

both the poor and the rich, both the oppressed and the 

oppressor, both the sinners and the devout. His mission is one 

of dissolving alienation and breaking down walls of hostility, of 

crossing boundaries between individuals and groups” (2000:28). 

Some like His preaching and teaching ministry and others like 

His healing ministry. His ministry was as prophetic, evangelistic, 

pastoral, characterized by miracles, messianic, liberative, 

priestly, political, etc., each emphasizing a particular aspect of 

His work. His ministry involved much activity that it could be 

referred to as a whole. One particular ministry, as mentioned 

above, cannot represent all of His activities. Neither can only 

one of the different titles used for Him -Prophet, Son of God, 

Son of Man, Messiah, Son of David, Jesus, Immanuel, King of 

the Jews - represent His entire person and work. I prefer to call 

His ministry, the ‘Son of Man model’ rather than the Messianic 

model or Son of God model. The term ‘messianic’ sounds more 

Jewish and tends to limit to the Jewish context. It demands 

prior knowledge of the development of the concept of Messiah 

in the OT and in the Inter-Testament period. Most congregations 

do not understand this theological concept. They either 

limit their understanding of Messiah to the Saviour of souls or 

to the forthcoming Judge. They do not derive much enthusiasm 

for ministry from this difficult Jewish concept. The title ‘Son of 

God’ is preferred by Christians since the idea of incarnation is 

linked to the celebration of Christmas and reveals the status of 

Jesus as truly divine. It also contrasts with the avatar of many 

gods and goddesses born out of sexual relationships or of mythical 

creation without historicity. However, the emphasis on Son 

of God leaves an impression that Jesus could have involved in 

all these ministries because He is divine and has supernatural 

power. It is impossible for anyone to be involved in all these 

ministries. Such notions affect personal involvement, to a certain 

extent, in challenging injustice and taking up political ac- 


tion. It has an implication on suffering too. Many Christians say 

that Jesus could suffer in His ministry because he is the Son of 

God and has some mystical power through His secret relationship 

with the Father and angels. We cannot suffer like Him in 

ministry because we are human. We acknowledge Jesus is the 

Son of God and the true Messiah. But to clarify the above concept 

of people, there is the need to supplement and insist the 

other side of Jesus as the ‘Son of Man’, the title He Himself 

preferred and frequently used (Mt.8:20; 9:6; 17:22, Mk.2;10; 

9:31; 14:62; Lk.9:22; 22:69; Jn.3:14) (George Peters:1972:43- 

44). This title ‘Son of Man’ is used in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It 

referred to the prophet emphasizing his human nature, identity 

and servanthood. (Ezek. 2:1; 3:1; 21:28). Another similar 

reference in Dan.7:13-14, which reads in Hebrew, ‘one like a 

human being’ or ‘one in human likeness’ has caused difficulties 

in interpretation (Goldingay:1989:167-169). Some think that 

it neither means the real human being nor represents humanity. 

Others stress its meaning to be frailty of humanity, the afflicted 

but faithful elements in Israel. Robert Anderson emphasizes 

that Dan.7:13 should be read in the light of v.27 to understand 

that the description in v.13 is a personification of the 

people or the saints of the Most High (1984:85-88). The title 

‘Son of Man’, first, presents Jesus as truly human, born of the 

virgin Mary with bones and flesh and underlines His identity as 

a human being, the same as the rest of humanity. Secondly, 

His sufferings were real and He felt pain just as any ordinary 

person would feel pain. He knew what hunger and thirst were. 

He knew how painful it was to be misunderstood and misrepresented. 

His temptations were real even to the extent of asking 

God to take away the Cross from Him if it be His will. He felt the 

pain of the trial and crucifixion. Thirdly, this title expressed His 

helplessness like any ordinary human being. He drew strength 

from God. His prayer, faith and commitment were enough to 

empower in performing miracles and defeating the powers of 

evil on the Cross. Fourthly, this title has a universal application 

because it refers to suffering humanity everywhere in the world. 

The salvation he brought as truly human on the Cross is for the 

entire humanity. Finally, it takes physical, spiritual, social, economic, 

cultural and political areas seriously because the Son of 

Man is part of these structures and He has addressed the evils 

of these structures and worked to transform them. 

146 147


On the basis of the motto the ‘Son of Man came not to be 

served but to serve’ Jesus served the people of His time through 

preaching, teaching, training the disciples, caring and healing 

and challenging injustice. Various kinds of doctrines were 

preached and taught which confused people. The main purpose 

of Jesus’ preaching ministry was to proclaim the good news of 

His coming into the world, to inaugurate the Kingdom of God 

and to call people to repentance and acceptance of the Kingdom 

(Matt.4:17; 6:33 Mk.1:15). Two features of Jesus’ preaching on 

the Kingdom of God are important and require elaboration here. 

First of all, people thought of God’s reign as a future event which 

will be characterized by the birth of a king in the family of David. 

Both the Jewish leaders and their people were expecting the 

Messiah but did not realize that the Messiah had come in the 

person of Jesus. They were expecting that a monarchy will be 

established again and the expected Messiah will be born into 

the royal family. As they held on to this belief, they were not 

able to see Jesus as the Messiah and the OT fulfilled in Him. 

But, Jesus through His preaching, tried to let the people understand 

that the Kingdom of God has come in His person and 

that it is already present ‘in their very midst’ (Lk. 17:21). What 

had been inaugurated now will continue till its final fulfillment 

in the future when Jesus returns to judge the world. Thus, the 

kingdom is representative of the present and the future. Jesus 

tried to explain this idea through His preaching using various 

literary forms such as parables, metaphors, rhetoric, thesis and 

anti-thesis as in Matt. 5:1-11; 13:1-53. Some understood His 

message and others misunderstood Him particularly the Priests, 

Pharisees and Sadducees. The Roman authorities too misunderstood 

Him when He talked about the kingdom. It sounded 

like political rivalry to them, intended to overthrow their rule 

and domination. 

The second salient feature of His message is the value of 

God’s reign. The Kingdom of God is not based on any Greek or 

Roman ideology. The values are based on the nature and the 

attributes of God who created the world. Jesus talked quite often 

about His Father in heaven and His close relationship with 

Him reveals His consciousness of the nature of God and the 

principles God expects to prevail in society. The principles are 

justice, sharing, love, peace, protecting the rights of people, car- 


ing for the marginalised like widows and orphans and the welfare 

of all people. The Sermon on the Mount is a very good 

example which expresses these values. The two basic tenets of 

Gandhian philosophy, ahimsa and sarvodaya, were carved out 

of the message Jesus delivered on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Such 

was the power of His message which is still attracting many 

leaders today. It is worthy to note here that Jesus never preached 

an‘-ism’, like Capitalism, Socialism, Marxism or Communism. 

Neither did He associate Himself with any one philosophy or 

ideology. His message, however, does speak of socialism. Moreover 

Jesus, never established a political system to implement all 

these values. To Him, these values are necessary for all societies 

whether they are tribalistic, monarchies, capitalists, communism 

or democrats or socialists. He is particular about the practise 

of the values of the kingdom of God in families and society. 

His values may be difficult to implement in Capitalistic systems 

because the basic principle and mode of operation of capitalism 

is profit-making and accumulation of wealth. However, even such 

a system needs to be refined constantly to establish the values 

of God’s reign. Communism, which was highly regarded as the 

ideal system to implement the values of the Kingdom of God, 

also has its own limitations and has failed in Eastern European 

countries. It denies the existence of God and the freedom of 

religion and lacks spirituality. Mere works without faith cannot 

be successful. Socialism, Gandhianism, Greenism, etc have their 

own limitations. Jesus knows very well that none of the political 

systems are perfect. Therefore, He neither preached about the 

system of operation nor created a new system He stuck to the 

preaching of the principles and trained the disciples to preach 

this message of values and prove it in their own lives. Jesus 

practised it and wanted all His disciples to practise it. He believed 

that leaders who took these values seriously would be 

compelled to transform their own political, economic and social 

systems because the values were based on the attributes of God 

and had the power to touch such systems, political parties and 

administration. In the process of achieving the values of the 

kingdom, they cleaned themselves of the evils of their system. 

Therefore, to say, as many Christians wish, Jesus should have 

dictated a perfect system to implement the values of the kingdom 

is not right. He has given the freedom to work it out through 

148 149


a system which will strengthen God’s reign in the best possible 

way on this earth. To accept it and practise it through the best 

possible system is the responsibility of humanity. 

Preaching and teaching went hand-in-hand. Jesus taught 

the people how to understand the Law. For example, he told 

them the sabbath is created for man, not man created for the 

sabbath. He corrected their views on prayer and fasting, forgiveness, 

reconciliation, judging others, wages, adultery, death penalty 

for prostitution, marriage and divorce through his teaching. 

The Priests, Pharisees and Sadducees made the law a burden 

for people; Jesus made them beneficial to the people and enhanced 

humanitarianism and not legalism. This does not mean 

that Jesus neglected or ignored the Law. Certainly, He questioned 

some elements of the Law, re-interpreted and re-emphasized 

them. The Law, to Him, was not an authority unless it 

stood in relation with the Kingdom of God, which was His primary 

mission. 

Preaching and teaching of Jesus were shown practically in 

His caring and healing ministry. He knew that the good news of 

the Kingdom should be meaningful to people in their day today 

life. Jesus declared this purpose when He began His ministry 

by reading the text of Isaiah 61:1-11 in the synagogue at 

Nazareth. This event is narrated in Lk.4:16-29. This text,Lk 

4:18-19, known as the “Nazareth Manifesto”, indicates that Jesus 

was anointed and sent for the ministry of proclaiming the 

good news to the poor, and offering liberation to the oppressed, 

freedom to the captives, sight to the blind and implementing 

the acceptable year of the Lord. New Testament commentators 

point out that the phrase, ‘to evangelize the poor’ in v.18 could 

be understood as an ‘encompassing designation of Jesus’ whole 

ministry’, which is then expanded on the rest of the verses 

(Nolland:1989:196). The ‘year acceptable to Lord’ refers to the 

Jubilee, which was the year of release of land, labour and writing 

off debts. Usually the dawn of Jubilee was proclaimed by 

the priests. When Jesus proclaimed it, signaled that the Kingdom 

of God has come through His mission. Some people fail to 

get the metaphorical meaning of the ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ mentioned 

in the OT as referring to the poor and oppressed and 

miss the point of the liberation of the oppressed. Jesus found 

Galilee a suitable place to launch His mission because the peo- 


ple were down-trodden, neglected, poor and looking forward to 

the fulfillment of the prophecy of the OT. Jesus made it clear to 

them that the prophecy is fulfilled in Him and that a new era 

had began in their history. The compassion He showed in feeding 

the thousands of people, as reported in all the four Gospels, 

is an evidence to it. People who were blind, deaf, lame, paralytic, 

affected by leprosy or having other physical deformities 

were regarded as sinners and were scorned. Such people were 

pushed out of home to beg on the streets and lived outside the 

city. They were not allowed to enter places of worship. These 

outcasts, poor and powerless people in society were looking for 

healing which would liberate them from their disabilities and 

empower them once again to be equal with others. Jesus not 

only healed those who approached Him but also took initiative 

to heal the disabled. The two blind men who followed Jesus and 

expressed their faith in Him received their sight (Matt.9:27-31). 

Jesus healed the other two blind men who cried for help near 

Jericho (Matt. 20:29-34), the man with leprosy (Matt.8:2-4; Mk. 

1:40-42; Lk.5:12-13), the ten lepers (Lk.17:11-19), the servant 

of the Roman centurion (Matt. 8:5-13; Lk.7:1-10), the woman 

with the hemorrhage (Matt. 9: 20-22; Mk.5:25-29; Lk.8:43-45), 

the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Matt. 15:21-28, Lk. 7:24- 

30), the deaf man with speech impediment (Lk. 7:31-37) and 

the man with the withered hand (Matt. 12:10-13), etc. 

Matthew narrated an incident of a paralytic man being let 

down through the roof to Jesus for healing (9:2-8). The crowd, 

both inside and outside the house, was watching the healing of 

the paralytic person. Jesus answered the critiques saying, “… 

the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...: (9:6). 

Healing, according to Jesus, is not simply removing the physical 

deformities but also bringing wholeness to the person. He 

never said that the paralysis of that person was due to his sins. 

He made this point clear again and again to those who tried to 

link sickness and disabilities to the sins of the person or the 

sins of his parents. Though the two are separate, yet sin can 

cause physical sickness and deformities. But, Jesus’ concern 

was for human beings to receive physical and spiritual healing. 

His reason for saying that the Son of Man has authority to forgive 

sins is to show people that with His coming, humanity could 

receive forgiveness. His ministry makes people, whether they 

150 151


are able-bodied or disabled, to enjoy the forgiveness of God. 

The Son of Man’s willingness to forgive sins motivates us also to 

forgive others and not to condemn them as sinners even if they 

deserved to suffer. John narrated another incident. Jesus could 

have avoided going to the pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. 

But, he made the effort to visit the pool, where the invalid 

like blind, lame and paralytic were waiting for healing. There 

He healed a man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years 

(Jn. 5:1-18). He did not tell him anything about forgiveness of 

sin as He told the other paralytic man brought on the pallet. 

Yet, His healing of the man who had been paralyzed for thirtyeight 

years included healing from sins. The new life he received 

from Jesus was not only physical but also spiritual and he was 

obliged not ruin it by his own actions in the future. 

Driving out evil spirits from possessed people occupied an 

important place in Jesus’ ministry. Matt. 8:28-34, Mk.5:1-15 

and Lk 8:27-35 report the healing of the two demoniacs. Matt. 

9:32-33, 12:22 and 17:14-18 give further evidence of healing of 

demon-possessed people and overcoming the power of evil. The 

liberative ministry of Jesus did not stop with the healing of the 

invalid or the demon possessed people but went to the extent of 

overcoming death by resurrecting the son of the widow of Nain 

(Lk. 7: 11-17) and Lazarus (Jn.11). The political action of Jesus 

against injustice and exploitation has already been discussed. 

Dying on the Cross could be considered a political action since 

Jesus died as a victim of political injustice. It stands as a culmination 

of his ministry to offer forgiveness from sins, reconciliation 

with God as defined by Paul (Rom. 5:10), liberation from 

the powers of evil and the welfare of humanity in the present 

and future were the highlights of His ministry. Through His 

ministry, Jesus addressed the problems of people, liberated 

them from the power of evil in the form of pain, sickness, death, 

demon-possession, personal sin and immorality, the humiliation 

of being an outcast and He empowered such poor and powerless 

people and restored their dignity and life. His message 

and ministry were an integral part of His life. 

Jesus gave importance, as mentioned earlier, to the training 

of the disciples rather than creating a system to promote these 

values. The Son of Man model uses human resources and not 


angels or celestial forces to achieve its goal. Special attention 

was given in training the “sons of the soil” as part of His ministry. 

David Bosch points out six major differences between the 

training of the disciples by Jesus and the Jewish Rabbis, in 

their attempt to make the training a medium to promote the 

message (2000:36-39). Good messages become a failure in promotion 

and implementation due to unsuitable training programmes. 

Unlike Judaism, which has a tradition of the disciple 

choosing the Rabbi and attaching himself to that teacher, Jesus 

chose His disciples. The choice is not by the disciples but by 

Jesus. Secondly, the purpose of choosing a Rabbi was to study 

the Law and to improve upon knowledge and interpret the Law 

which is regarded the authority. But, in Jesus’ discipleship training 

the disciples were asked to renounce everything not for the 

sake of the Law but for the sake of Jesus alone (Matt. 10:38). 

Jesus took the place of the Law. The commitment is to the person 

and work of Jesus and not to a code of laws. The legalism of 

the Law is replaced by the person of Jesus. Thirdly, studying 

the law could make the disciple a Rabbi and could bring fame 

and earnings. But, following Jesus was not a promising career 

except to risk one’s own life for the sake of the Kingdom. 

Fourthly, in Judaism, the disciple was a ‘student’ but under the 

training of Jesus, the disciple was a ‘servant’ and was expected 

to serve the people. Fifthly, a disciple of a Rabbi was not sent 

out to preach, perform miracles and heal people with the authority. 

Under the training of Jesus, preaching, healing and 

action were an integral part of discipleship. Finally, in Judaism, 

the disciple belonged to the school of the Rabbi and the relationship 

could come to an end after the study of the Law. But, 

being a disciple of Jesus meant belonging to the community of 

believers, witnessing for Jesus and looking forward to His return 

in glory. The relationship between Jesus and the disciples 

needed to continue. It is not known whether Jesus intended 

for His disciples to plant churches or not. Scholars argue that 

Jesus wanted the Kingdom of God to be established among the 

people but the disciples planted churches and created the religion 

of Christianity. This is a debatable issue. How can one control 

the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting people to repent, become 

witnesses for and disciple of Jesus, celebrate the new covenant 

of Eucharist and continue in the teaching of the new 

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faith? Limiting the study only to the Gospel and ignoring the 

Book of Acts, gives the impression that Jesus’ intention is the 

Kingdom and not the Church. David Bosch has argued that any 

movement has to become an institution or it becomes weak in 

the long period, withers and disappears (2000:) In this book, I 

intend to show from the Bible that new models of ministry 

emerged out of the continuing work of the disciples. They may 

be classified as the Evangelistic Model, Missionary Model and 

Pastoral-Teacher Model, for convenience and each model would 

be studied separately. 

The key issue in the Son of Man model is its relevance to the 

suffering people. This model brings a shift in the understanding 

of the death of Jesus on the Cross. So far, the death of 

Jesus is understood as a sacrificial offering for the forgiveness 

of the sins of all who repent. It is true. Scholars have discussed 

the meaning and purpose of his death over the years and have 

debated theories of propitiation and expiation. Most of the discussions 

and preachings on the death and forgiveness on the 

Cross, focus on the repentance of the offenders and oppressors 

rather than on the pain and injustice suffered by the victims. 

We fail to see the relevance of the death of the Son of Man for 

the victims of injustice. But the perspective of the model of the 

Son of Man, emphasized by many liberation movements and 

action groups, brings a shift from the focus on the offenders to 

the victims. Jesus not only identified himself with suffering humanity 

but also died as a victim of injustice like any other human 

being. Thus, Jesus became a representative of all the victims 

of injustice and forgave all of the victims. With this understanding, 

His death becomes meaningful to the victims and the 

offenders. Otherwise, the offenders could do whatever they 

wanted and receive pardon from God without asking for pardon 

from or restoring justice to their victims. Every one of us feel 

offended when another who has wronged us seeks direct forgiveness 

from God without apologizing to us. It is our expectation 

that our offenders apologize to us and ask for pardon or 

make up for the losses if possible. When they do not because 

they have already received forgiveness from God through repentance, 

their repentance and the forgiveness they request 

from God is questioned. Could they have received forgiveness 

directly from God without the death of the Son of Man? How is 

the death of Jesus related to matters of repentance and forgiveness? 

Should His death only signify a ritual sacrifice offered for 

the sins of all the people or make Him a victim of injustice demanding 

offenders to relate to their victims offering forgiveness 

on behalf of the victims? Is God’s offer of forgiveness conditional? 

Receiving God’s forgiveness demands faith in the death of Jesus, 

repentance, asking pardon from the victims and restoring 

justice to them however possible. The victims should not take 

advantage of the repentance of the offender and refuse forgiveness. 

Both should work out reconciliation. This is true in the 

case of the individual victim or the communities under oppression 

and injustice. Jesus taught people to seek first the forgiveness 

of those they offend and to reconcile with them before 

brining their offerings to the altar (Mt. 5:23-24). This principle 

has not changed but has consolidated by his death. The evangelical 

Christianity which emphasized these principles and requirements 

related to repentance and forgiveness should be recovered 

and reiterated today. 

EVANGELISTIC MODEL 


The Evangelistic model begins with the preaching of the good 

news, which Jesus did by following the prophetic tradition. It is 

not a new model. For, many prophets of the OT preached the 

good news of salvation. They proclaimed the message of deliverance 

from political oppression and economic exploitation. Prophets 

Amos and Hosea, who spoke mainly about the judgment 

oracles, proclaimed the message of God’s compassion and the 

grace for the people of Israel and forgiveness and acceptance of 

Yahweh after their repentance (Amos 9: 13-15; Hosea 1:10-2:1). 

Isaiah, during the period of exile, even went one step further in 

his message of salvation, calling the community under exile, 

‘light to the nations’. The Gospels portray the evangelistic model 

of John the Baptist. As a forerunner of the Messiah, he proclaimed 

the forthcoming salvation to the Israelites, clarified the 

questions raised to him and called them to repent and accept 

salvation through Jesus (Lk.3:3-9; Jn.1:19-34). However, there 

are some new dimensions in the evangelistic ministry of the 

disciples of Jesus, in terms of the content of the message proclaimed, 

the goal, motives, methods and strategies. These aspects 

need elaboration. 

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Although ‘mission’ includes evangelism as one of its essential 

elements, I would like to discuss the Evangelistic and Missionary 

models separately, giving each a special identity. In 

fact, these two models overlap but some distinctiveness can be 

pointed out. The New Testament attests the evangelistic model 

using the word “evangelists’ in Eph. 4:11-13: ‘The gifts he gave 

were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, 

some pastors-teachers to equip the saints for the work 

of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us 

come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of 

God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.’ 

The office of the Evangelists stems from the nature of the ministry 

of proclaiming (evangelizomei) the good news (evangelion). 

Evangelism, in a nut shell, means proclamation of the good news 

of salvation in Christ, announcing the offer of forgiveness of sins 

and inviting people to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their 

Lord and Saviour. Giving a separate identity to the Evangelistic 

model would entail highlighting the content of the evangel, goal 

and motives of evangelism. In contemporary times, evangelism 

is projected as a mere proclamation of the Gospel through meetings, 

radio, television, print media, whether people respond to 

it or not. The missionary model includes both proclamation of 

the Gospel and church planting, training of local leaders, taking 

care of their social and economic needs and participating in 

structural changes. The slight distinction between these models 

have risen due to the growth and development in the methods 

of the task. 

There is a lot of confusion and ambiguity about the content 

of the good news today. Instead of classifying ‘evangelicals’ and 

‘ecumenicals’, I prefer to point out the two extreme positions of 

‘fundamentalists’ and ‘liberals’. The sharp distinction between 

evangelicals and ecumenicals in India cannot be maintained 

always. Many evangelicals are ecumenicals. They take active 

part in the activities of mainline churches and the ecumenical 

movements. Many ecumenicals are evangelicals and hold the 

Bible as the true Word of God and believe in evangelism and 

conversion to Christianity. Some fundamentalists consider certain 

doctrines such as immersion baptism or speaking in tongues 

as the good news. Some others preach only about Jesus. Others 

include the Kingdom of God but equate it to heaven, the 


place where souls go and rest after death. Some fundamentalists 

preach sets of morals and the regulations of their denomination 

as the Gospel. Many preach the eternal life as futuristic 

to avoid the judgement and going to hell. Some liberals limit 

preaching only to liberation from political and economic oppression 

leaving out other elements of the Gospel. Sin is understood 

only in terms of injustice to others rather than in terms of 

morality, accountability and personal holiness. To some other 

liberals, the historic Jesus is not important to be proclaimed as 

the Lord and Saviour. The historic person and work of Jesus 

Christ is reduced to cosmic Christ present in other religions. 

People of other faiths, therefore, they claim to receive salvation 

in their own religion. What is important, according to them, is 

to have a common ideology for inter-faith dialogue and multireligious 

co-operation and action. Those who tried to indigenize 

the content of the Gospel to suit to the local culture, equated 

Jesus Christ with Hindu gods and used terminologies like ‘avatar’, 

‘guru’ or ‘chit’ (logos as knowledge) in the Satchitananda. 

Jesus preached the good news, which the disciples understood 

and proclaimed to be the authentic message. The content 

could not be altered or adulterated but the forms of proclaiming 

it can be selected to suit the cultural context. In the Gospels, 

the ‘Kingdom of God’ is the central feature of Jesus’ message. 

For example, Matthew writes, “From that time Jesus began to 

proclaim: Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near” 

(4:17). The central theme of the entire chapter of Matthew13 is 

the Kingdom of God and is communicated in parables. It is 

important to notice the way Mark links the term evangelion 

with the basilia tou theu (kingdom of God) and emphasizes that 

the good news is nothing but the Kingdom of God (Mk.1:14) “… 

Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God and 

saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come 

near, repent and believe in the good news”. The Kingdom of 

God was the main topic in the discussion between Jesus and 

Nicodemus according to John (3:3). Luke makes it clear that 

Jesus was sent to this world for the purpose of proclaiming the 

‘good news of the Kingdom of God’ (Lk.4:43). The Jesus’ mission 

in this world was to preach and teach about the kingdom of 

God to various villages and towns. The reports of Mathew and 

Luke are note worthy. Matthew speaks of Jesus sending the 

156 157


twelve disciples with the following instructions: ‘… As you go, 

proclaim the good news, the Kingdom of heaven has come near. 

Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons’ 

(10:5-8). Luke narrates the event of sending the seventy 

with the instruction: “.. whenever you enter a town… cure the 

sick who are there and say to them The Kingdom of God has 

come near to you… ‘(10:8-9). According to Jesus, the good news 

is the Kingdom of God. The writers of the Gospels make this 

point clear by defining the term evangelion as the ‘Kingdom of 

God”. It is therefore, important to understand the meaning of 

the Kingdom of God and to preach it as the Gospel message. 

The Kingdom of God is a concept, an experience and an expectation. 

It is true in the present as well as future. It’s roots can be 

traced to the OT. The idea of the kingdom of God is developed 

from the monarchical period. The kings of Israel were expected 

to be servants of Yahweh and to rule the people in justice, peace 

and security. They were expected to be the guardians and promoters 

of faith in Yahweh in the land. They were not to misuse 

their position, power and authority. Their policies and administration 

had to reflect the values of Yahweh. In brief, people were 

supposed to enjoy their governments as if God ruled them. Their 

kingdom had to be a model of God’s reign. For this reason, they 

spoke of Yahweh as their king and ruler (Ps.93; 96). However, 

the people noticed and experienced injustice and exploitation 

under the rule of several of their kings. It did not feel like God 

ruled them. Many kings failed God and the people and left the 

kingdom in misery and ruins. People started expecting a good 

king to come up from the family of David. This expectation grew 

more during and after the period of exile, as they longed for 

deliverance from foreign rule, the establishment of justice and 

welfare and progress. Their expectation was for God’s reign on 

earth through the descendants of David. Jesus preached the 

values of the kingdom of God and not a political system as pointed 

out earlier. These values include love, forgiveness, sharing, justice, 

equality, welfare, deliverance from sickness and the possession 

of evil spirits, freedom from political, social and economic 

oppression and exploitation. Jesus’ command to preach 

the good news of the Kingdom of God included healing and 

deliverance from such problems and difficulties. Matthew and 

Luke did not forget to point out this close association of the 


message and its manifestation in the actual lives of the people 

(Mt. 10:5-8; Lk.10:8,9). 

After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples proclaimed the 

kingdom of God as their good news with Jesus as the subject of 

their preaching. It is impossible to separate Jesus from the 

Kingdom of God. They knew that Jesus had inaugurated the 

kingdom by His coming to earth and had established it through 

His ministry of proclamation, healing and deliverance, death 

and resurrection. The prophecy of the OT and the messianic 

expectation of the people was fulfilled in Jesus. The Kingdom 

without Jesus is a mere secular ideology. They did not preach 

just the kingdom as an ideology but also the person of Jesus, 

his message and ministry and the way the kingdom will be completed 

at His second coming. This integrated message is noticed 

in Acts 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4: 14-20. 

Paul tried to convince his audience to see the link between the 

kingdom of God and Jesus and persuaded them to accept and 

enjoy the good news. With the focus on Jesus as the Lord and 

Saviour and the Kingdom He had inaugurated, they explained 

the meaning of the good news to the people. Michael Green 

discusses the way Mark, Luke and Paul emphasized the distinctive 

aspect of the good news and points out the important 

elements of the good news such as the redemptive death of Jesus, 

the universal application of the message, the need for repentance, 

faith and self sacrificial discipleship, the forgiveness 

of sins and the promise of eternal life here in the present and as 

hope for the future (1995:56-92). 

Questions are raised about the goal of evangelism. When 

Jesus asked His disciples to proclaim the good news and heal 

the people, He told them the goal of evangelism and gave them 

the authority and assurance of His presence with them. Matthew 

records the goal of proclamation: ‘All authority in heaven 

and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make 

disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father 

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to 

obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember I 

am with you always to the end of the age’ (28:18-20). Some 

scholars do not regard the concluding text of Matthew and Mark 

as original but a later addition. Other scholars have argued its 

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authenticity. As long as it is part of the Scripture and Jesus has 

already trained the disciples on proclamation, it becomes impossible 

to ignore the text or regard it as irrelevant. These texts 

speak of the Great Commission and are central to the evangelistic 

and missionary models of ministry. George Peters writes, 

‘The Great Commission is more than just one commission among 

many commands of Christ. It is lifted out because of its singularity 

as a command of the risen Lord and of its restatement in 

one form or another by the four evangelists, each presenting it 

from his own point of view and with his own unique emphasis’ 

(1972:176). On the basis of the study of the Greek syntax of 

this text, it is argued that the central emphasis is ‘to make disciples’ 

by going and proclaiming the good news, baptizing and 

teaching those who respond to the message and accept Jesus 

as their Lord and Saviour. This Great Commission has theological 

aspect because it is about the redemptive work of God through 

Jesus for humanity. God took the initiative and fulfilled the 

task of redemption. The work of Jesus is the continuation of the 

OT. The Great Commission is sociological because it is related 

to the life of human beings. The redemption does not stop with 

the forgiveness of sins but goes beyond the spiritual need of 

people. It is about the values of the Kingdom of God. People get 

liberation from all sorts of oppression and exploitation. It addresses 

the power and authority of evil. The message in proclamation 

is about deliverance from such evil and enjoying the 

good life. It is meaningful to individuals as well as to the corporate 

life of the society. But, its significance has been limited to 

the saving of individual souls, ignoring its relevance to the socioeconomic, 

political and cultural life of communities. 

This creates an urge to trace the motives for evangelism. 

Michael Green discusses three motives namely, a sense of gratitude, 

a sense of responsibility and a sense of concern (1995). 

David Bosch accepts these three motives and discusses the reverse 

order, giving priority to the sense of concern (2000:133- 

139). The Great Commission has a close link with the Great 

Commandment of loving God and loving people. The more love 

there is for God and people, the more commitment there is to 

the Great Commission. The main reason for proclaiming the 

good news is to know and experience the love of God which 

compels to share God’s love among one another. John empha- 


sizes love as the main reason why God sent His only son Jesus 

to this world to save humanity and offer eternal life (3:16). Paul 

does not disagree with John but highlights that the righteousness 

and power of God motivates him to evangelise. The evidence 

is his famous testimony: ‘For I am not ashamed of the 

gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has 

faith to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness 

of God is revealed through faith for faith.. ‘ (Rom.1:16- 

17). Paul considered the proclamation as a duty because the 

benefit of enjoying the love and power of God cannot be kept to 

oneself but must be shared with others. In this respect, it is not 

merely a religious service but also a social service to humanity. 

This service of evangelism should not be offered with an expectation 

for reward. Some of our preachers and teachers in Sunday 

School have distorted the facts about the service aspect of 

evangelism by telling people that by winning more souls, the 

proclaimer could add diamonds or stars to his or her crown in 

heaven. Songs and choruses written with this kind of message 

creates a wrong notion about evangelism and the good news in 

the minds of the singers. Some preachers even threaten their 

audience to bring at least one soul to Christ, other wise they 

cannot meet Jesus on His second coming. This compels people 

to win converts by inducement, offering some benefits or creating 

a sense of guilt and failure in their lives. The motive for 

proclaiming the good news is to explain the love of God and 

prove it in action by transforming society and allowing the audience 

to respond voluntarily. People should be allowed to search 

for the meaning of the Gospel voluntarily so that they can experience 

the conviction of the Holy Spirit personally and to make 

a more faithful commitment. However, let the ministry of making 

disciple in sincerity, honesty and with faith go on that many 

may be benefited and societies enjoy the values of God’s reign 

such as justice, peace, equality and welfare. Let the spiritual 

and social need of humanity met by the work of Jesus form the 

basic motive for evangelism. 

The apostles proclaimed and discipled people using distinctive 

approaches. Whether they used the method of personal or 

public evangelism they did not commercialize proclamation. They 

never publicized miracles as their first gospel as some evangelists 

do calling their meetings ‘ Healing Crusades’, ‘Miracle Min- 

160 161


istry’ or ‘Gospel Festival’. There was not so much of pomp and 

show in the evangelistic model of the apostles. Though Paul 

asked for financial support for the disciples in Jerusalem, fundraising 

was not the agenda of his evangelism. Today, Mass evangelism 

through crusades place emphasis on celebration with 

colourful posters and cutout images of the evangelists, very much 

like a political party convention. It is important to be aware of 

the disadvantages of using terms like ‘Festival’, ‘Crusade’ or ‘Convention’ 

within the Indian context. The word ‘crusade’ has a 

negative connotation due to its connection with the attacks 

launched by Christians against the Jews in the Medieval period, 

in their attempt to claim Jerusalem. There is a vast difference 

between a cultural, religious or political celebrations, which 

are usually called festivals, and proclaiming the Gospel. The 

word ‘festival’ dilutes the seriousness of the ministry of evangelism. 

It becomes a mere Christian celebration rather than a sincere 

proclamation. I am not against mass evangelism but I am 

concerned about the commercialization of evangelism and how 

some of its methods provoke negative rather than positive response. 

But, the apostles proclaimed the Gospel with clarity, 

conviction and uncompromising faith, leading a life of simplicity 

and sacrifice. Paul expresse this distinctiveness of the ministry 

of evangelism in 1 Thes. 1:4-6: ‘For we know, brothers and sisters 

… because our message of the gospel came to you not in 

word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full 

conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to 

be among you for your sake. And you become imitators of us 

and of the Lord…’ The expression of their message, filled with 

the power of the Holy Spirit and their life style, drew thousands 

to Christ. The result was the addition of new believers to the 

assembly of the apostles, continuing in their teaching and fellowship 

in Jerusalem (Acts. 2:41-42; 4:4) and in the different 

places where Paul preached. 

The most debated ministry over the years is evangelism. Many 

questions are raised about evangelism. Three issues are selected 

for our discussion. First is the issue of equating mission to evangelism 

and vice versa. Although many Christian leaders agree 

that social service is important and are involved in the activities 

of changing society for the better, they regard mission as evangelism. 

Mission, in their opinion, is the proclamation of the Gos- 


pel and conversion to Christianity. Since the terms evangelists, 

evangelion and evangelizomei appear in the NT rather than the 

word mission, they emphaize evangelism only as the mission 

and give priority to the text of the Great Commission in Mt. 

28:19-20. The basic concern is the salvation of individual souls. 

According to them the Gospel, is about the justification and 

regeneration of individuals and securing their souls for heaven 

after death rather than the spreading the Kingdom of God. Accepting 

Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour means not only 

escaping from the forthcoming condemnation but also enjoying 

materialistic blessing at present. They are not much concerned 

about the redemption of the society. Moreover, they argue that 

society will get worse and all efforts to change it will be a waste. 

So, it is better to save souls for heaven and get the satisfaction 

of redeeming a few from eternal condemnation and leading them 

to a blessed life here on this earth. By transforming, at least, a 

few individuals to be ‘born-again Christians’, they could contribute 

to building a responsible society. There is some truth in 

this kind of understanding but it has narrowed down evangelism 

to persons only. This interpretation of evangelism has been 

challenged by other evangelicals. Since the content of the Gospel 

is the kingdom of God and Jesus and the realm of the rule 

of God is the society, evangelism is more than just saving souls. 

Both individuals and social structures are objects of evangelism. 

Individuals are not isolated but form part and parcel of 

socio-economic structures. Sin, therefore, is personal and social. 

The Lausanne Conference held in 1974 declared clearly 

the wider meaning of mission. Evangelism and social responsibility 

as part of the mission is projected in the Lausanne Covenant. 

Second, we notice two extreme views on the question of the 

necessity and validity of evangelism. On the one side, some 

Christian scholars have raised their voice against evangelism for 

various reasons. They were of the view that Jesus wanted only 

the preaching of the Kingdom of God and not the winning of 

souls to join the Church. Another view was that evangelism promoted 

the religion of Christianity rather than transformation of 

the structures. They pointed out the tension created by evangelism 

within the pluralistic context of many countries. Moreover, 

when some people become Christians, their community is di- 

162 163


vided due to religious conversion and their cultures and customs 

are affected. The main interest of the proponents of this 

position is secular humanism. The Christian Gospel, they believe, 

can be an ideological basis for changing socio-political structures. 

It could provide motivation to Christians to promote secular 

humanism in society. These views can be countered by several 

arguments. The NT scholars have argued that the intention 

of Jesus was not merely to proclaim and establish the Kingdom 

of God on earth but also create a community of faith to witness 

the Gospel and carry on the ministry. This faith community of 

disciples is the Church. God continued His plan of establishing 

the Church through the work of the Holy Spirit and mobilized 

these communities to fulfill various ministries, as can be seen 

from the Book of Acts and the epistles of the apostles. If the 

local communities of faith were not formed, then the proclamation 

of the Gospel and working for social change would have 

ended with the death of Jesus. It is the Church which has kept 

this vision alive, allowing the ministry to continue till today. 

The validity of evangelism and Church planting has been discussed 

by missiologists like Donald McGavran in his essay, Essential 

Evangelism: An Open Letter to Dr. Hoekendijk (The Conciliar-Evangelical 

Debate: Crucial Document, 1977:56-66). The 

proclamation of the Gospel and the social service of the local 

churches have challenged people of other faiths and even have 

led them to reform their own religions and activities. Several 

documents and writings are written to show the influence of the 

Gospel on other religions and culture. Raja Ram Mohan Roy 

and Gandhi drew challenges from the Christian Gospel and reformed 

their own religion. The activities of the churches have 

contributed to the end of the slave-trade, sati, child labour, racial 

and gender discrimination in many parts of the world. The 

apartheid system in South Africa was vehemently opposed by 

the Church. Local churches proclaimed the values of the Gospel 

and challenged the socio-political structure of South Africa. 

Founding of the churches is an integral part of evangelism which 

cannot be stopped with mere proclamation. There are some 

Christian groups who try to deliberately avoid the proclamation 

of the Gospel and leading people to Christ, wherever they offered 

social service and action. One reason, they gave was that 

proclamation hindered social service and action. The Local peo- 


ple showed indifference or suspicion and were apprehensive of 

being converted to Christianity. In some villages, they declined 

to accept the service. Another reason was the belief in establishing 

the Kingdom of God and not the Church. Consequently, 

the Christian social group created an alternative structure called 

‘People’s Associations’ or ‘Organizations’, with members belonging 

to various religions and political parties, instead of planting 

churches. They achieved success, to a certain extent, in orienting 

these People’s Associations on the ideology of secular humanism 

to show that social changes could be carried on by these 

associations in the place of the churches. Funds from Christian 

groups were given to these associations in addition to the donations 

collected from the members of the associations. A detailed 

study evaluating this approach is necessary. However, it has 

been noticed that some of these People’s Associations have become 

either exploitative, divided or influenced by the political 

parties and controlled indirectly by the very oppressors against 

whom the struggles were launched. This challenges their credibility 

and effectiveness. Most of them have withered due to spiritual 

bankruptcy or have been modified to continue as communal 

organizations. This does not mean that church planting is 

the only answer. In some villages, Churches have become exploitative, 

divided and have gradually disappeared. But, it is 

known that a church constantly strengthened by preaching and 

teaching can at least keep the message of the Gospel alive and 

work for the values of the Kingdom of God. The divided church 

can be reunited in the Gospel, revived and mobilized by the 

work of the Holy Spirit. This is why revivals are necessary. Christians 

should study the history of revivals and their contribution 

to the growth of the Church and transformation of the society. 

There is always a valid reason for, proclaiming the Gospel, planting 

churches in society and changing structures. The other criticism 

that evangelism creates tension and division, can be addressed 

thus: the world is already divided by various races, castes, 

colour and religions and is facing political, economic and social 

tensions. Already, religious and political conversions are going 

on. People join the groups and cults they like. Dr. Ambedkar 

led more than 50,000 Dalits to be converted to Buddhism, liberating 

them from the evils of the caste system and socio-economic 

oppression promoted by Hinduism. Conversion and mo- 

164 165


bility from one religion, ideology or culture to another cannot 

be stopped. An encounter with culture is unavoidable. Modern 

technology, globalization and the mass media affect each culture. 

The early missionaries too made mistakes by imposing 

western culture on people in the mission field but they also 

contributed to social change. The values of the Gospel can either 

challenge some cultural elements like the caste system, 

sati, dowry, patriarchy and human sacrifices in fertility cults or 

endorse and uphold good elements which do not contradict the 

Gospel. The Gospel does not destroy culture but it transforms 

it. Evangelism need not create tension and division. The proclamation 

of the Gospel is to help people to cross these barriers, 

unite themselves in Christ and express their solidarity through 

joining the community of faith to challenge the unwanted tensions 

and divisions. 

On the one side, many Christians have argued for the necessity 

of evangelism stating various theological and sociological 

reasons. They have affirmed its valid role in the history of human 

beings. The biblical understanding of the concept of sin 

and salvation gives theological basis for evangelism. The understanding 

of the concept of sin and salvation varies from religion 

to religion. The predominant view of Hinduism is that the soul 

is incorruptible and indestructible; that the body is evil and 

destructible. Sin affects the body and salvation is by human 

effort. For an atheist, God has nothing to do with humans. The 

concept of sin is social which demands proper ethical living and 

actions to rectify it. Secular humanists may be religious and 

may use the philosophies of their religion as a motivating factor 

for salvation. Sin is understood in terms of socio-political evils 

and salvation is changing that social structure through struggle. 

Christians, however, understand the concept of sin and salvation 

in terms of vertical and horizontal relationships. Humanity 

has fallen due to the misuse of freewill and disobedience to 

God and needs salvation from God. God saved humanity through 

the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sin is not merely 

telling lies or committing adultery. It includes social injustice, 

exploitation and oppression. Through salvation, God forgives 

humanity, reconciling them to Himself and restoring the broken 

fellowship between Himself and the rest of the creation. 

That God has redeemed the creation is the good news. It be- 


comes imperative, therefore, to proclaim this good news and be 

involved in changing social structures. In his book, Good News 

and Good Works, Ron Sider has brought out the theological and 

sociological reasons for evangelism, explaining the concept of 

sin and salvation, the relationship between evangelism and social 

responsibility and affirming the validity for evangelism 

(1999:26-45). 

Third, is the issue of conversion which is a vast subject. Volumes 

are written on this topic. This issue cannot be discussed 

in detail here except to highlight the oppositions to conversion. 

Many Christians who believe in evangelism expect those who 

respond positively to the Gospel to be baptized and included in 

a local church. Conversion to Christianity is an integral aspect 

of evangelism. But, opposition to religious conversion comes from 

different groups in society. On the one hand, Hindu fundamentalists, 

atheists and Marxists oppose evangelism and conversion 

to Christianity. This kind of opposition from some religious 

groups and political parties is unavoidable. They saw evangelism 

as a threat to the supremacy of their religion, culture and 

political power. Conversion to Christianity and joining a church 

are viewed as a threat because the poor are liberated from their 

socio-economic and political oppression and gain equal recognition 

and welfare. Conversion to Christianity threatens the vested 

interest of the caste Hindus, landlords, business people and 

politicians. It is necessary to engage in dialogue with those who 

oppose evangelism and to explain to them, the reason for this 

ministry and to convert those who are willingly accept Jesus is 

needed. But, the major concern is the opposition from some 

Christian leaders who lead many mainline churches to abandon 

evangelism. The consequences are obvious. Village congregations 

of these denominations dwindle and disappear due to 

lack of evangelism and pastoral care. Some of the converts have 

reverted to Hinduism and Islam. Many members in villages and 

towns have moved to other independent churches due to the 

evangelistic and pastoral care programmes of these independent 

churches. It is possible to identify several sub-groups among 

the Christians who oppose religious conversion. Although they 

believe in evangelism, some Christians oppose the conversion of 

people of other faiths to Christianity. The proclamation of the 

Gospel, according to the view of this Christian sub-group, is 

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mainly to teach the values of the Kingdom of God, making them 

better Hindus or Muslims and mobilize the people of other faiths 

to co-operate with the church without converting them to Christianity. 

Their conversion should not be to a religion but to the 

ideology of the Kingdom of God. This group is similar to those 

who advocate the formation of People’s Associations in the place 

of planting churches. The weakness of this group is their separation 

of the Kingdom of God and its values from the full Gospel. 

They are failing in fulfilling all the aspects of the Great 

Commission. The other group of Christians regard the proclamation 

of the Gospel and converting people to Christianity as 

an expression of Christian arrogance and lack of understanding 

of other religions. It is a good caution because some Christian 

fundamentalists preach against other religions without tolerance 

and respect for the people of other faiths. Christians need 

humility in doing the ministry. If converting to Christianity is 

spoken of as arrogance then proclaiming the values of the Kingdom 

of God could also be criticized as if other religions do not 

have such values in their religion. This group has ignored the 

uniqueness of Christ and the Gospel and its relevance to individuals 

and society. Proclaiming the uniqueness of Christ and 

the Gospel with an understanding that other religions too have 

some truths and values, and inviting hearers to make their own 

choice voluntarily is not arrogance but concern for humanity 

and commitment to changing the society. Another group of Christians 

who believe in evangelism but oppose conversion to Christianity 

state another reason. If people are converted, they have 

to undergo difficulties and face persecution from families and 

communities in villages. This sub-group feel that the pain and 

problems of conversion out number the benefit of becoming 

Christians due to social relationship to caste and tribe, restrictions 

of the government and lack of support in the churches. 

They have a sympathetic attitude towards converts. But, both 

the Bible and history show that the followers of Jesus Christ 

faced persecution and losses and yet, they were sincere in their 

faith and commitment. Persecutions, alienation and losses are 

part of conversion whether it is political or religious. The benefits 

of conversion cannot be measured merely socially and materially. 

Restrictions and discrimination of the government on 

Christian converts should be challenged. Another sub-group 


in Christianity opposse conversion and joining the church because 

present day churches do not live up to the expectation of 

God. Local churches are not living by the standards of the Gospel. 

Rather, there is caste and gender discrimination, doctrinal 

confusion, dirty politics, corruption and lack of warmth and fellowship 

to the converts from other religions. According to this 

group, God will justify the followers of Christ who did not convert 

themselves and join the church as righteous if they had 

faith in Jesus Christ. God will accept them in his Kingdom. It is 

true that churches are not perfect. The Bible never said that the 

local churches will be perfect. The Letters of Peter, Paul and 

James dealt with the problems in the early church and encouraged 

them to have the ‘mind of Christ’ (1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5; 

Col. 3:2) and continue in transforming themselves and their 

surroundings. How God will judge those who die without hearing 

the Gospel or those who hesitate to convert themselves but 

continue as ‘secret Christians’, or those who hate Christ is a 

debatable issue. Scholars have written on these issues (Sanders:1992; 

Kirk,1992). But accepting Jesus Christ as personal 

Saviour and joining the local church are the teachings of the 

Bible. Early mass conversions among the untouchables and 

backward communities to Christianity were for the sociological 

reason of caste, racial discrimination, recognition, dignity and 

for welfare. Waskom Pickett’s book Christian Mass Movements in 

India, Donald McGavran’s books Understanding Church Growth, 

Bridges of God, Ethnic Realities and the Churches: Lessons from 

India and the study of Graham Houton and Ebi Sunderaraj, 

discuss the issues of definition of conversion, reasons and nature 

of mass conversion in India. The Gospel provided the motivational 

force to get converted and the church provided security, 

fellowship and employment to the converted poor and powerless 

converts. Thus, evangelism contributed positively to the 

liberation of the down-trodden people and proved its validity in 

the history of human beings. 

Conversions cannot be stopped by opposition and rules or 

persecutions. Those who want to convert themselves to another 

religion will do so at any cost. Everyone has the right and freedom 

to convert or reconvert to a religion, ideology, political party 

or social group of their own choice. This human right and privilege 

should not be removed or suppressed by the family, com- 

168 169


munity, political party or religion. Proclamation, teaching, baptizing 

and making disciples in the ministry of evangelism are 

valid but should be done with love, concern, sympathy and respect 

for others. Persuasion, according to Paul, is not forcing 

anyone to convert but is the inner concern to transform persons 

and society (2 Cor. 5:11-21). 

MISSIONARY MODEL 

The word ‘mission’ means ‘to send a messenger with a purpose’. 

The term, missio Dei, denotes “mission of God”. Two reasons 

for calling the missionary work as God’s mission could be 

mentioned. One, God sent His son Jesus to the world with the 

purpose of proclaiming the good news, inaugurating the Kingdom 

of God and offering eternal life and forgiveness, deliverance, 

freedom and welfare. The other is that Jesus sent the 

disciples with the same purpose to continue the work God had 

begun in humanity. The sender is always God and the message 

is about the person and work of Jesus. God’s authority is delegated 

to the messenger to carry out the mission. The messenger 

could be an individual called or commanded by God or a 

group of believers united in the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, 

professing their faith. The mission of God is the mission of the 

Church also. God’s presence with the messenger is assured. As 

an instrument of God, the local church plays a role in acknowledging 

these aspects, in providing resources for the mission and 

in promoting fellowship and service to humanity. 

The Book of Acts tells us the missionary work of Peter, Philip, 

Paul, Barnabas and other disciples. Philip went to the villages 

in Samaria and preached the good news (Acts.8:4-17). Peter was 

asked to go to the house of Cornelius and proclaim the good 

news to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-48). Acts 13 is considered as 

the mark of the beginning of missionary work. The Church in 

Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to proclaim the good news to 

the Jews and Gentiles living outside Palestine. It was not the 

emotional wish of the church in Antioch to have territorial expansion 

but an initiative of God using the Holy Spirit to call the 

church to ‘set apart’ Paul and Barnabas (13; 2). The purpose of 

setting apart was for proclaiming the good news to others. The 

church did some preparation. Verse 3 tells us that they spent 

enough time in fasting and prayer to confirm the calling of the 


Holy Spirit, receive more details on the kind of task and direction 

to the region for the task, authority to lay on hands and 

their official dispatch as missionaries of the church. The journey 

of Paul and Barnabas becomes significant because they were 

sent by a church with a mission. Placing hands on them was a 

symbol of authorizing them and an assurance of their prayer 

for them, for the task ahead. They could have raised some money 

to pay for their travel. 

Scholars regard Paul’s ministry as the model for missionary 

work. The first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas narrated 

in Acts. 13-15 proved fruitful. Paul, Barnabas and John, 

also called Mark, sailed to the island of Cyprus and went to the 

synagogue of the Jews in Salamis and proclaimed the good news 

(13: 45). No details are given about the message preached or the 

result of their ministry in Salamis but Acts narrates the confrontation 

between Paul and Bar-Jesus, a magician. This Jewish 

false prophet at Paphos opposed the ministry of Paul and 

Barnabas and tried to block Sergius Paulus, the Proconsul from 

listening to the message and placing his faith in Jesus, the 

Messiah. The magician was so close to the Proconsul that he 

made him to believe his teachings and magic. He enjoyed the 

recognition of the political authority and did not want Sergius 

Paulus to accept the preaching of Paul. The magician was afraid 

of losing his benefits, authority and being exposed as a false 

prophet. Paul had to bind this magician and prove his teachings 

wrong. At the command of Paul, the magician became blind and 

the power of magic could not open his eyes. This incident need 

not be looked at as a miracle for the sake of drawing the Proconsul 

to believe Jesus. Paul was not interested in performing miracles 

to make people believe. It so happened in the course of his 

proclamation, either to bind and control the powers of evil or to 

bring deliverance to people, could serve as a sign of the effect of 

the good news. The political authority, Sergius Paulus believed 

the teaching about Jesus (13:12) after seeing the way falsehood 

was overcome by the truth. The Gospel of Jesus confronts the 

teachings of false prophets. The conversion of Sergius Paulus 

was not an aimed goal but an unexpected result. It is not known 

whether he was baptised and joined the church in Cyprus or 

not. There is no textual evidence of planting a church in Cyprus 

on this journey. What is interesting to note is the close link 

170 171


between the political authority and the false prophet and the 

power of the Gospel breaking this link and leading the political 

authority to faith in Jesus. Paul and Barnabas were not interested 

in gaining the favour of the political authority in promoting 

their interest. They left him to continue in the new faith and 

moved to the region of Pamphyria. 

Paul preached in the synagogue on the sabbath day in the 

city of Antioch in Pisidia (13:14). Luke, the writer of the Book of 

Acts, gives us the content of the message preached at Pisidia. 

The content is highlighted here than discussed in detail. His 

proclamation included the historical tradition of liberation from 

Egypt, giving of the land of Canaan, the settlement period under 

the leadership of the Judges and the monarchical period of 

David. Paul did not narrate the full history but moves on to 

point out the fulfillment of the prophecy given to David through 

Jesus. The Israelites’ failure to understand the fulfillment of 

prophecy in Jesus, led them to crucify Him on the cross but 

God raised Him from the dead and brought salvation to humanity 

(13:38-39). Paul touched the fulfillment of the OT, pointed 

out Jesus was the expected Messiah and made it clear that the 

forgiveness of sin and salvation was brought by the death and 

resurrection of Jesus. The response of the audience was overwhelming 

(13:43-44). The opposition from the Jews was also 

mounting on Paul and Barnabas forcing them to turn to the 

Gentiles (13:47-48). The theological disagreement of some of 

the Jews on accepting Jesus as the Messiah and the salvation 

in His death and resurrection, according to the preaching of 

Paul, was the reason for the opposition which resulted in the 

persecution and banishment of Paul and Barnabas from that 

city. Opposition to proclamation and persecution go hand-inhand 

in some places in missionary work. However, the encouragement 

is that many Gentiles in Antioch accepted the message 

of Paul gladly, praised the word of the Lord, received the 

eternal life and became believers (13:48-49). The Gospel started 

spreading through out the region through the ministry of Paul 

and later, through the local church planted among the Gentiles 

in Antioch. Verse 52, ‘And the disciples were filled with joy and 

with the Holy Spirit - affirmed the planting of the church in 

Antioch in Pisidia and the experience of the disciples with the 

Holy Spirit. Missionary work does not involve only proclaiming 


the gospel and planting churches but also enabling disciples to 

be filled with the joy of salvation and to rely on the Holy Spirit to 

enlighten, lead and strengthen them in faith and witness. 

The proclamation of the good news by Paul and Barnabas to 

Jews and Greeks in Iconium led many of them to believe in 

Jesus Christ. Another phenomenon in the missionary work of 

Paul and Barnabas here was that the Jews who opposed them 

instigated the Gentiles to drive Paul and Barnabas out of that 

city. However, these missionaries did not yield to the pressure 

of the opposition, they remained in the city, spoke boldly and 

performed signs and wonders (14:2-4). The phenomenon is that 

the people of the city were divided. Some of them sided with the 

apostles and some with the opposing Jews. This division was 

caused by deliberate instigation. Otherwise, people who had 

voluntarily accepted the new faith would continue in their new 

faith and others would continue in their old faith. Accepting 

new faith or philosophy in the Greek-Roman world was not new. 

It went on for generations with the development of new philosophies, 

mystery religions and cultic practices. While the instigation 

caused division among the residents, the proclaimed Gospel 

united the Jews, Greeks and some Gentiles in their new 

faith in Jesus. Since Paul and Barnabas stayed for a long time 

in Iconium, it could be inferred that they united the converts in 

worship and teaching. This young church grew in the midst of 

opposition. 

Moving to the Lycaonia region, Paul and Barnabas proclaimed 

the good news in Lystra and Derbe. The help they offered the 

crippled man in Lystra led the Gentiles to think of Paul and 

Barnabas as gods and they attempted to offer sacrifice to them. 

Paul and Barnabas told these Gentiles to turn away from superstitions 

and worthless rituals of sacrifices to gods and goddess, 

to the living God who is the Creator, who gave rains and food 

(14:15-17). They did not take the glory to themselves or accept 

the honour of the Gentiles. Proclamation manifested with the 

power of deliverance should present God not only as a Saviour 

but also as a Creator and should encourage people to worship 

the true Creator rather than the creation. The Gospel challenged 

and transformed some of the religions and cultural practices 

of the hearers. Acts 14:20-21 tells that many became disciples 

in Lystra and Derbe. 

172 173


On their return to Jerusalem via Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 

they met the assembly of the disciples in these cities. Unlike 

the ‘hit and run’ evangelists of modern day, Paul and Barnabas 

spent time with the new believers. Acts 14:22-23 speaks of four 

important elements in their follow-up missionary work viz. they 

strengthened the disciples, encouraged them to continue in faith 

and face persecution in order to be part of the Kingdom of God 

and its values; they appointed elders from among them in each 

assembly, took care of them in prayer and fasting and finally 

entrusted them to the Lord. Missionary work goes beyond proclamation 

and winning disciples to strengthening and organizing 

them into a dynamic community of faith, worship and involvement. 

Choosing elders and training them did not diminish 

the responsibility of Paul and Barnabas but they continued to 

provide care and develop local leadership, to lead the disciples 

in worship, helping them understand their new faith and share 

this new faith with others in word and deed. 

By reporting what had happened in their ministry to the 

apostles in Jerusalem and to their sending church in Antioch, 

Paul and Barnabas created two important dimensions in missions. 

One was linking the planted churches of the Jews and 

Gentiles with the sending church. Thus, a relationship between 

these churches, beyond race and geographical distance, developed 

through the missionary work. Another was to make the 

sending churches more responsible towards the new disciples 

in other cities yet, not imposing too much of their authority and 

doctrine of circumcision but learning and drawing challenges 

from the new converts as they tried to understand the Scripture 

and work of the Holy Spirit. 

While the first journey of Paul and Barnabas has developed a 

model of missionary work crossing geographical boundaries and 

culture, the second journey strengthened this model. Paul and 

Silas left with the prayer and blessing of the believers in Antioch. 

They went through Syria and Cilicia and strengthened the 

churches (15:40-41). The main purpose of the second journey 

was to visit the already planted churches in Derbe and Lystra 

and strengthen the believers, in addition to proclaiming the good 

news in new places such as Philipi (16:15), Thessalonica, Beroea, 

Athens (17:1-22), Corinth (18:7-8) and Ephesus (18:19-20). 

Strengthening the churches could mean helping the believers 


to understand the OT, the message and ministry of Jesus Christ, 

clarifying the doubts and questions raised by the believers, sorting 

out their problems or disputes and training elders to lead 

the churches. It implied a long stay with these churches and 

being closely involved with the leaders and congregations. The 

proclamation of the good news compels the proclaimer to be 

involved with the people who responded to the good news. The 

washing of hands after proclamation and running away from 

the spiritual and socio-political problems of the converts cannot 

be responsible missionary work. 

Paul had to proclaim the good news in a place of prayer, by 

the river in Philippi, a leading city in Macedonia. It is not known 

whether it was a synagogue building or an open-air meeting 

place, where women could freely participate. Lydia and her 

family accepted the message preached by Paul and received baptism 

(16:13-17). I assume, Paul could have baptized them in 

the river. Paul was not hesitant to stay with that family which 

invited him. It was not easy for Paul to go and live with a family. 

It is necessary to note Paul’s humility, his willingness to adjust 

and his interest in relating with the converts. This is another 

challenge to modern day ministers, who try to withdraw from 

the fellowship offered by converts. Preaching of the Gospel brings 

deliverance from the possession of evil spirits, as seen in the 

case of the slave girl in Philippi (16:16-18). The people who were 

making money out of this slave-girl opposed Paul and accused 

him and Silas of disturbing the city by advocating practices contradictory 

to the Roman custom. Instead of being happy for the 

slave girl’s deliverance from evil spirits, the exploiters of the girl 

failed to notice the meaning and power of the Gospel in transforming 

human lives. Paul and Silas had to go to prison for 

preaching and healing the slave girl from the powers of evil. 

Their imprisonment in Philippi brought the jailer to faith and 

his entire family to baptism (16:30-34). 

Acts 17:1-9 narrates that for three Sabbaths Paul argued in 

the synagogue at Thessalonica explaining from Scripture and 

proving that the Messiah has to suffer, die and rise again. The 

proclamation cannot ignore argument, correcting wrong notions 

and convincing people to see Jesus as the Lord and Saviour. 

Through discussion some of the Jews were convinced and led to 

this new faith. Opposition from other Jews drove Paul out to 

174 175


Beroea where Jews were more receptive (17:10-12) and they 

became believers. Paul had to adopt the methods of preaching 

and arguing again in Athens with the Gentiles and point out 

that the ‘unknown God’ is revealed in Jesus Christ (17:22). Although 

many Athenians were sceptical of his preaching and of 

the message of resurrection after death, some of them believed 

(v.34). 

The proclamation of the good news continued in Corinth, as 

noticed in Acts 18:1-18. Paul’s method was to approach the Jews 

in the cities and speak to them about Jesus, the Messiah and 

salvation through His work. Aquila and his wife Priscilla accepted 

the message of Paul and became believers. Few more Jews such 

as Titius Justus, Crispus and his family as well as many 

‘Corinthians’ (v.8) which could refer to the native gentiles became 

believers and got baptized. Paul stayed in Corinth for a 

long period and strengthened the believers before returning to 

Jerusalem. It is not known for how long he stayed in Jerusalem 

and then in Antioch. He left again, for the third time, to proclaim 

the Gospel in Ephesus, Galatia and Phrygia. Acts 19:11- 

27 reports that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul in 

Ephesus that many became believers in Jesus, which resulted 

in the decline of the sale of idols of the gods and goddess through 

out that region. In the midst of the opposition and persecution, 

Paul continued the proclamation of the gospel planting of 

churches in Ephesus and Galatia and strengthening of the new 

converts. Even when he was arrested and sent to Rome for trial, 

Paul proclaimed the good news of Jesus and the Kingdom of 

God to those who came to his house (Acts 28:16-30). 

It is necessary to analyse the salient features in the missionary 

work of Paul and his team. First, the proclamation of the 

good news was the centre of their missionary work. Their journeys 

to various Roman provinces in Asia was not for tourism or 

trade. Uncompromisingly they declared Jesus Christ as the 

Messiah and Saviour of the world. Using various methods of 

communication like preaching, teaching, arguing, explaining, 

convincing and persuading, they presented the Gospel to both 

Jews and Gentiles. A detailed analysis of the content of their 

preaching could reveal various theological elements. Second, 

healing the sick and disabled and delivering people from the 

powers of evil spirits was part of their missionary work. It be- 


came inevitable to prove the power of the Gospel and the penetration 

of the Kingdom of God in the lives of human beings, 

throughout their ministry. The miracles they performed was 

neither to make the people believe nor to increase the number 

of converts for the churches. They represented the liberative 

power of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus Christ wanted to 

establish among the people that they may enjoy liberation from 

oppression and powers of the evil spirits. It was these miracles 

which made the audience to believe the Gospel. Third, uniting 

the Jews and Gentiles through the proclamation of the Gospel 

in a visible assembly was a tremendous achievement, especially 

within the context of racial discrimination between ethnic communities, 

class differences between the rich, poor and slaves, 

gender and status discrimination, against of citizenship, 

sojourners and refugees. Church planting and growth provided 

believers security and protection to practice their new faith. It is 

more than a mere assembly of believers. It was a dynamic force 

to counter discrimination and bring unity among the people, 

enhancing their understanding of culture and custom and mobilizing 

the members to love others, care and share resources. It 

was a koinonia of believers with the purpose of diakonia for the 

people. Organized under the leadership of elders, rooted in the 

Gospel and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the assemblies carried 

on the mission of God. Fourth, Paul understood the nature 

and the potential of this eschatological community of believers 

to further the Kingdom of God and made so much effort in 

strengthening the members in their faith, witness and actions. 

The letters written by Paul to the various churches he planted, 

reveal the ecclesiastical, theological and social problems of these 

churches and the pains Paul had taken to clarify and guide the 

elders and members. He chose and trained persons like Timothy, 

Titus and Ephaphradus to visit these churches and 

strengthen the converts. Fifth, oppositions and persecution is 

unavoidable in the ministry of proclaiming the good news. Usually, 

there are more opponents to the Gospel than those willingly 

accept Gospel. The Gospel definitely cuts across some wrong 

elements in culture, economy, religion and politics and thus 

brings tensions and divisions in society. Unfortunately, such 

tensions and divisions are unavoidable, as it is with other ideologies, 

philosophies and policies. Society would always be di- 

176 177


vided for many reasons. Tensions and divisions will continue till 

our Lord comes again. But, it must not be forgotten that the 

Gospel has the power to overcome evil in society, bring unity in 

diversity and promote the values of God’s reign. Suffering and 

risking of lives cannot be avoided in ministry, particularly in 

missionary work in cross cultural contexts. 2 Cor.11:24-33 enumerates 

the sufferings of Paul for the sake of the Gospel. Roland 

Allen’s book Missionary Methods: Paul’s or Ours is a challenge 

to examine the salient features of Paul’s missionary work. Many 

Indian missionaries have had similar experiences of Paul’s work 

in their missionary work in different parts of the country. They 

followed the same features of the early missionary model. Many 

new churches have been planted and are growing quantitatively 

and qualitatively. 

Missionary work integrates various activities particularly the 

proclamation of the Gospel, planting and nurturing churches, 

developing leaders and fulfilling social responsibility through 

charity, relief, development and actions for justice. Some of the 

issues connected to evangelism already have been discussed in 

the previous pages. Two issues are selected and discussed below. 

One is the emphasis of the School of Church Growth. Although 

many missiologists, who associate themselves with the 

School of Church Growth in USA, Europe, India and Korea, do 

not ignore the activities of liberation and social service, they 

emphasize evangelism and church planting as the top priority 

of missions. Many useful contributions have come from these 

missiologists. A collection of essays written by biblical scholars, 

missiologists and social workers and compiled by Ralph Winter 

under the title, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A 

Reader (1999: 3 rd edition), provides insights on missions and 

church growth. It is an important resource book for the field of 

missiology. Donald McGavran, the father of the Church Growth 

school of thought, emphasizes the quantitative and qualitative 

growth of churches. According to him, the growth of a local 

church, in terms of statistics, is important. He brought about an 

awareness of the principles and nature of the growth of the 

churches. Out of the three kinds of quantitative growth namely, 

Biological, Transfer and Conversional growth, he believes, the 

last one is a test for evangelism. As in the days of the apostles, 

people should benefit from the Gospel, convert to Christianity 


and add up to the churches. McGavran calls the phenomena of 

mass conversion of an ethnic group ‘People’s Movement’ and 

analysizes the dynamics of their conversion in his book, Understanding 

the Church Growth (1999:51-53; 221-249). He found 

out that an ethnic group like a tribe or caste, comes to conversion 

in mass if they were not required to cross their caste or 

tribal identity and mix with people of other caste in a church 

but are allowed to continue in their identity, culture, language 

and customs. He calls it a ‘homogenous unit principle’. His critics 

have raised questions about the number game as the criteria 

for the growth of the churches and the homogenous unit principle, 

which can contradict the biblical nature of the church. The 

proclamation of the Gospel need not necessarily result in church 

planting. The proclamation of the Gospel has its own strengths 

because it is about the forgiveness of sins and the values of the 

Kingdom of God. Whether people accept the Gospel and join 

the church or not, it should go on to make the people aware of 

what God has done for and expects from humanity. It is a message 

for both the oppressor and the oppressed, calling each to 

repentance because all have sinned (Rom.3:21-26). Furthermore, 

oppressors should repent of their injustice and restore 

justice to their victims and the oppressed also should repent of 

their resentment. However, responding positively and joining 

the church is an expression of the solidarity of the converts and 

a force for the mission of God. There is no point in having thousands 

of people in the church without quality spiritual life and 

the urge for social justice. The criticism on McGavran’s views 

are valid but he did not deny the fact that quality side of the 

church should also be kept in mind. Quantitative and Qualitative 

aspects are inter-dependent. Both of them are necessary 

for the life of the churches. 

The homogenous unit method may be good and acceptable 

in the case of the conversion of a tribe or an ethnic group of 

similar language and culture. However, it would be erroneous 

to say it is necessary to encourage the growth of caste churches. 

Such a principle in connection with caste churches may be helpful 

for numerical growth and in maintaining social identity, culture 

and custom but, it is against biblical teachings (Gal. 3:27- 

29). Churches of Greeco-Roman context were real challenges 

for class, racial and caste discrimination and paved the way for 

178 179


accepting people of different class, race and colour and treating 

them equally. The Caste system is socio-religious discrimination 

oriented and is perpetuated by the Hinduism. I have explained 

the evils of the Varna system, in the context of India. It 

is sufficient to point out at this stage that the Gospel cuts through 

this discrimination and unites the people. To go on planting 

churches or supporting the existing caste churches, which perpetuate 

the caste system among the Christian community in 

India is against biblical principle. For the sake of numerical 

growth, it is impossible to compromise biblical teaching with 

particular reference to the caste system or maintain caste 

churches. Churches based on the caste system are different 

from churches based on tribal or other ethnic aspects. McGavran 

points out that caste churches already exist in the Indian society. 

They are ethnic realities in India. He explains the phenomena 

of ethnic churches in his book, Ethnic Realities and the 

Church: Lessons from India (1979). While he is against the evils 

of the caste system, he is sympathetic towards the formation of 

these churches in India. He is optimistic that these caste 

churches could grow if the homogenous unit principle was encouraged. 

It was unnecessary for low caste people to be seated 

separately or to be served the Holy Communion in a different 

cup or to be dominated by the upper caste on committees. Ironically, 

his sympathetic and optimistic attitude seems to support 

caste discrimination rather than contend for equality within the 

church and society. Church growth based on the principle of a 

caste system is a debatable issue. Should Dalits be converted to 

Christianity? Should they be encouraged to have a church of 

their own? What is the response of other Christians in encouraging 

the Dalits to maintain their identity, culture, custom and 

administration? What is the opinion of the Dalits on theology of 

the Church? It would be necessary to conduct detailed research 

on the validity of the homogenous unit principle, with regard to 

caste churches, from biblical, theological and sociological perspectives 

in the light of emerging Dalit and Tribal theologies. 

The next important issue in the missionary model is social 

action. Quite often, missionary work ends at charity, relief and 

development of schools, hospitals and orphanages. Missionary 

activities hardly include revolts against injustice or changes in 

social structures. There is a difference between social service 


and social action. Social service in general, means charity, relief 

and development. They deal with the consequences of poverty, 

earth-quakes, floods or drought and violence against an individual 

or a community. To help the people affected by the above 

reasons, churches extend financial help and food and clothing 

supplies and build houses to accommodate the victims. Social 

service deals with the situation of illiteracy and the need for 

medical facilities through the establishment of schools and hospitals. 

Such charity makes the recipients dependent on the donor. 

They fail to deal with the causes of the problems which 

create poverty, environmental degradation, natural calamities 

and conflict. The more the victims depend on charity, the more 

they lose their dignity and status. However, developing educational 

and medical institutions empowers them and makes them 

independent. Developmental work need not necessarily deal 

with the root causes of injustice, therefore, Social Action is 

needed. Social Action has a particular connotation. It is a struggle 

to deal with the causes of poverty, calamity and violence and 

to establish justice and welfare. Social action- aims at changing 

socio-political and economic structures for the transformation 

of society. It identifies and attempts to deal with oppressive forces. 

Social action is an expression of the solidarity of the victims 

with their supporters in upholding their rights and progress. 

Christian social action, as explained elsewhere, is based on the 

teachings of the Bible. God is loving and just and he commands 

us to love our neighbours (Lev. 19:18; Mt. 5:43; 22:38; Rom. 

13:8-10). I have highlighted some of these aspects in the model 

of liberation and political action. Lack of social analysis and theological 

perspectives, a neutral attitude, inferiority complex, withdrawal 

tendencies, ministerial specialization and priority of evangelism 

over social action are some of the impediments of social 

action of the churches. However, it is known that the earlier 

missionaries practiced social action and it is still practiced in 

mission fields and some churches around the world. It is almost 

unavoidable. While I was travelling in a train a few years ago, I 

happened to meet three missionaries of one of the leading missionary 

organizations working in several places in northern India. 

I raised the issue of social action and asked them to share 

their experience. They told me about the seed-bank in their 

mission station. After noticing the pathetic situation of the tribals 

180 181


who borrowed money from money-lenders and were forced to 

sell their agricultural produce at the prices fixed by these money 

lenders, these Indian missionaries who were preaching the Gospel 

and planting the churches had no choice but to take social 

action. They helped the tribals to bring their produce to the 

church and market it for a higher price. They supported the 

poor natives and contended with the hostility of the moneylenders. 

They also encouraged the natives to save grains for the 

next cultivation season by creating a seed-bank in the church 

and this broke their dependence on the money-lenders to purchase 

seed for the next sowing season. This liberative action led 

the money-lenders to burn the church and seed bank, threatening 

the missionaries to leave that region. They threatened 

the tribals not to have any contact with the local church and 

these missionaries. However, the missionaries and the tribals 

have decided to continue the struggle. Christian social action 

exists at a micro-level in many mission fields but unfortunately 

the incidents are not documented and analyzed by the missionary 

organizations and churches. 

Tensions and practical difficulties involved in the holistic mission 

to transform the lives of people are enormous and unpredictable. 

This has created fear in some pastors, evangelists and 

missionaries, making them reluctant to participate in social action. 

Problems and difficulties in holistic ministry vary from 

place to place and from group to group. Yet, one pressure which 

can be felt by those who believe in evangelism and social action 

is the accusation of converting people to Christianity. This accusation 

could come from the people for whom we work or the rich 

man and his oppressive forces or some Christian leaders. Once 

the people for whom the struggle is launched know about our 

commitment to evangelism, they may or may not refuse our 

help. Even if they rejected Christ, they must not be left to continue 

in their suffering. Without any precondition, genuine love 

must be shown towards them. They may understand the basis 

of our action and God’s concern for them as they listen to us 

and see our work for them. Once the church or missionary team 

wins the confidence of the poor, the oppressors will try to hinder 

liberative action by raising their cry against our presence as 

conversion effort or brand us as Marxists. These oppressors know 

very well that social action initiated or supported by Christians 

will expose their injustice and liberate the poor. They are not 

really concerned about the poor, their religion or their culture 

but about their own interests, afraid of losing the poor who served 

them in various ways for a long time without questioning their 

authority and exploitation. By their accusation, they put pressure 

on the action group to leave that place and the poor at 

their mercy. The oppressors need to understand and the reason 

for helping the poor, whether they accept our theology or not. 

There are questions about the intentions and interpretations of 

RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Munnani Movements on the work 

of Christians. These Hindu fundamentalists will always brand 

all our activities as conversion to Christianity. They oppose charitable 

and liberative work and hate the very presence and progress 

of Christians. The Hindutva policy is an evidence to this fact. 

Recent atrocities, as reported in the newspapers in 1998-2000, 

against Christians in various parts of India was proof of their 

hatred towards the poor and religious minorities seeking liberation, 

equality and welfare. Involvement in the ministry of liberation 

does not imply denial of evangelism. It is not easy to give a 

ready-made answer on how to balance evangelism and social 

action. These aspects could be worked out depending on the 

situation. 

CHARITY MODEL 


Another example of social service is charity. Today, the word 

‘charity’ carries a negative tone since it refers to the people at 

the receiving end. One of the demerits of charity is that it makes 

people dependent and is not enabling them to stand on their 

own feet. It makes them to lose their dignity and respect. As 

pointed out earlier, charity fails to address the cause of their 

poverty or misery but deals only with the resultant situation or 

its consequences. Charity is more of a temporary relief or help 

rather than an effort to develop self-esteem and justice. Although 

charity has its own limitations, it is helpful to people in dire 

need, particularly in times of calamity and tragedy. Charity reveals 

the positive aspect of the need to share with the needy. It 

underlines the Christian concept of giving and stewardship. 

Charitable service was not new to the Jews. The OT insists 

on giving alms and taking care of widows, orphans, slaves, aliens 

and the poor (Ex.22:21; Lev.19:33-34; Dt. 26:12). Abraham 

182 183


and Lot expressed charity by extending hospitality to those who 

came to sojourn in the midst of them (Gen. 18:1-4; 19:1-3). 

Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel came forward to help the 

servant of Abraham by giving him water to drink (Gen. 24:15- 

21). Reuel, the priest of Midian, helped the fugitive Moses 

(Ex.2:20-22). Special laws were created after the covenant at 

Sinai to strengthen charity towards needy members within and 

outside their community. These laws were further modified during 

the Settlement period to meet the growing needs of the 

poor. The basis for charity in ancient Israel was the command to 

love their neighbours. Charity laws in Exodus, Leviticus and 

Dueteronomy emphasize proper relationship between human 

beings. One of the important laws was the sabbatical year of 

land (Ex.23:10-11). The land holders in Israel were asked to let 

their land lie fallow on the seventh year. The purpose was to 

enable the poor people in the land, particularly those without 

land, have access to grains, fruits and vegetables grown on the 

land during the fallow year. They could gather their food from 

such land and did not need to starve to death. The sabbatical 

year was not uniformly observed by all in one region. Each family 

calculated the sabbatical year for their own land and let the 

land lie fallow on the seventh year. Some scholars suggest that 

families could have aportioned their land into seven sections 

and allowed each section to lie fallow for a year, as they rotated 

and cultivated the rest of the six sections to meet their food 

supply. Whatever was the method of observing the fallowing year, 

the poor people were able to find some land left for their sake in 

one or another region and they moved to such places where 

they gathered their food and survived. The law of the sabbatical 

year to the land had sociological implications and served as charity 

to the needy (J.B. Jeyaraj, Land Ownership in the Pentateuch: 

Ph.D. Thesis :1989) Ex. 22: 25-27 insisted that the Israelites 

lend money to the poor without levying interest. This 

discouraged them from becoming creditors or demanding security 

pledges. Even if they take their cloak on pledge, the only 

property left out for the poor, it should be returned before the 

Sun goes down to help the poor to cover and protect himself or 

herself from the cold. Lending money to the needy was not regarded 

as giving of alms. The borrower had to try sincerely to 

return the money to the lender but most of the time, the poor 


debtor could not make it and the money lent to the poor is lost 

forever. This law of lending money without interest implies the 

risk of losing the money. Knowing this risk, families lent money 

and were prepared to lose it. However, they derive joy from helping 

the poor financially. These two laws of social concern helped 

the poor and committed the families in Israel to be charitable to 

individuals or families. The well-to-do families could opt to be 

charitable voluntarily or neglect the laws of social concern. In 

order to make a compulsory provision of charity to the poor, 

orphans and widows, the law of tithing was emphasized 

(Dt.26:12). Part of the tithe went to the priests and levites and 

the rest went to the poor in their society. This in- built mechanism 

with their work and worship promoted charity. The Book 

of Proverbs instructed families to help their poor in the midst. 

The Psalms reflect the cry of the needy and call on the worshipper 

to be sensitive to people in distress and pain. 

Prophets, individually helped many families particularly the 

families of widows irrespective of their socio-religious background. 

For example, Elijah hepled the widow of Zarephath in the region 

of Sidon through the miracle of providing flour and oil at 

the time of famine, saving the life of the widow and her son (1 

Kings. 17:8-16). Later Elisha saved the widow of a prophet in 

Israel and her two children, who were almost bonded into slavery, 

by providing enough oil for sale to clear their debt (2 Kings 

4:1-7). These miracles, I believe, were performed for the liberation 

of marginalized people from the powers of famine and debts. 

They were immediate relief measures. Boaz, the owner of the 

land instructed his workers to deliberately allow the grains to 

fall on the field so that Ruth, the widow, could gather them to 

prepare food. By this charitable action, Boaz saved the lives of 

Naomi and Ruth, the two widows and protected them from going 

into slavery or begging or prostitution (Ruth 3-4). David not 

only showed charity to Mephibosheth, the disabled son of Saul 

(2 Samuel. 9) by providing him with food every day but also 

restored his rights and properties (Jeyaraj, AJTR: 1998:138- 

145). These examples show that charity was practised by individuals, 

families and rulers in ancient Israel. Whether there 

was any organized unit or infrastructure or not, responsible for 

charitable acts in different places in the land needs separate 

research. It is possible, as some scholars believe, that Judaism 

184 185


in the post-exilic period had a system of distribution of food to 

the poor. Religious communities like Essenes had their social 

service team in important cities, particularly in Jerusalem, and 

provided shelter and clothes to travellers (E.P. Sanders:1992:230- 

234; J .Jeremias:1969:126-134). 

There is some evidence of alms giving to the poor by the 

Pharisees and Essenes in the New Testament and Rabbinical 

writings. Jesus’s sermon on the Mount warns the hypocrites 

against publicizing their giving of alms in the synagogues and 

on the streets to gain praise from others and taught that alms 

be given in secret without expecting any reward (Mt 6:1-4). This 

showed that Jesus accepted the practise of alms giving. He asked 

the rich young man who desired to have eternal life to sell all 

his wealth and give the money to the poor (Mk.10:17-22). Jesus’ 

concept of doing charity was not out of plenty but in losing 

everything for charity. This is a radical principle of charity. According 

to Jesus, there are no limitations in sharing resources 

with needy people. This teaching was unacceptable to the rich 

and hypocrites of his day. Jesus underlined this principle of 

charity when Zacchaeus confessed to returning his accumulated 

wealth in four or five fold to the poor. Jesus knew that 

Zacchaeus would lose all his wealth if he returned it in multiples 

and acknowledged that action as real repentance, charity 

and justice and the evidence of true salvation of Zacchaeus’ life 

(Lk.19: 1-10). Disabled persons deserted by their families and 

marginalized by their religion and society sat on the way to 

Jerusalem or in front of the Temple to beg for alms from pilgrims 

to Jerusalem (Mt.20:30; Acts3:2). As a mark of their piety, 

the Jewish worshippers would normally give alms to these beggars. 

Peter’s act of healing the lame man at the entrance of the 

Temple reveals the fact that the poor need liberation and a rightful 

place in the society more than they needed charity. Some 

Christians tried to sell all their property and put the money in a 

common fund as was done in an “ashram” community. The story 

of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) points out that such an experiment 

did not work out well and did not last for long. 

The next chapter of Acts 6 depicts an emerging structure for 

charity in an organized manner in the early church. It began 

with the distribution of food to the widows in the churches. 

From the report of Luke, it is understood that the early “koinonia” 


cared for the widows. But, with the constant increase in the 

number of converts from Judaism to Christianity the responsibility 

of taking care of the widows also increased. More and more 

widows joined the church and enjoyed the new fellowship. Many 

of them were so poor or not cared properly by their families that 

the church had to feed them and take care of their needs. The 

limited resources at their disposal naturally led the persons-incharge 

to show favouritism and nepotism in the distribution of 

food. Since the persons-in-charge were predominantly Hebrew 

or Aramaic- speaking Jews, they showed favouritism to the Hebrew/Aramaic- 

speaking Jewish widows, neglecting the Greekspeaking 

Jewish widows. Such discrimination was not good for 

true “koinonia” and “diakonia”. The complaints on discrimination 

were taken in good spirit by the leaders of the assembly. 

The positive attitude of the leaders towards criticism urged them 

to analyze the reasons for the neglect in their service. These 

apostles realized the need for an organized group to raise resources 

and supervise the distribution of food. They understood, 

it was a time consuming job. They consulted the whole 

community of disciples and shared their problems with them, 

mentioning their priority for preaching and teaching the word 

of God. They worked out a special arrangement to distribute 

food to the widows. This unit had seven men for the special 

service and was regarded as an official structure with the authority 

of the apostles and approval of the community. The apostles 

defined the qualification for this task. These men had to be 

of good standing which meant filled with integrity, the Holy Spirit 

and wisdom. These were regarded by the apostles as the most 

important qualifications for charitable service. The selection was 

done by the community. It is worth noting that the apostles did 

not select their own candidates or appoint them at their own 

will. The decision-making power was given to the community. 

Authorization was given by the apostles by the laying on of hands. 

“Koinonia” and “Diakonia” can be strengthened by listening to 

the problems and criticisms of the poor and making corporate 

decisions. Such a democratic procedure is healthy for relief and 

development. 

Christian stewardship as an integral aspect of spirituality 

gained more importance with the beginning of the missionary 

journeys of Paul and Baranabas. In the letters of Paul, he men- 

186 187


tions various causes for giving. The three major reasons for giving 

identified in his writings are namely, for the support of the 

Christian preacher/teacher, the missionary who brings the Gospel 

and the poor people in the churches. From Gal.6:6, 1 Cor. 

9:11-14 and 1 Tim. 5:17-18, it is clear that those who received 

preaching and instructions on the word of God had an obligation 

to share their good resources with their preachers and teachers. 

The elders who ministered the Word of God had the right to 

receive their support from their congregations. Not only the 

preachers and teachers, but also the missionaries who brought 

the Gospel to a particular city needed the support of the believers. 

The church at Philippi supported Paul while he was with 

them and later sent their support while he went to preach the 

Gospel to the nearby cities of Thessalonica and Corinth and 

later to Rome when he was imprisoned (Phil.1:5; 4:14-18; 2 Cor. 

11: 9). One of the very few churches which was in constant 

touch with the missionary Paul was the church at Philippi. Paul 

thanked God for the Philippians and called their relationship a 

‘partnership in the Gospel’. 

The major area of concern in the study is the message of 2 

Cor.8 on the third aspect of giving, i.e. to the poor in the congregations. 

Knowing the need and suffering of the poor in Jerusalem, 

Paul urged the churches in Macedonia (Thessalonians and 

Philippians), Ephesus and Corinth to raise some money and 

send it regularly to the church in Jerusalem. Paul suggested a 

systematic way of giving in 1 Cor. 16:1-4, encouraging the 

Corinthians to set aside a sum of money on the first day of every 

week according to their income so that the help will be readily 

available. They need not rush to collect the money at the last 

minute. The Corinthians followed this suggestion and sent the 

collection regularly to the poor in Jerusalem. However, they 

started showing slackness and irregularity in setting aside the 

money to be sent to Jerusalem. In urging the Corinthians to 

keep up this good work, Paul made explicit to them, the ideal in 

the churches in Macedonia. As I analyzed 2 Cor. 8 more intensely, 

I noticed three foundations in Paul’s writing on Christian 

stewardship. I would like to call them the theological, 

missiological and sociological bases. Each of them are closely 

connected to the other. In highlighting the model of Macedonia 

to challenge the Corinthian church, Paul emphasized the 


missiological basis. The Thessalonians and Philippians gave themselves 

first to the Lord and then to the support of the poor in 

Jerusalem. According to Paul, by accepting the Gospel and acknowledging 

Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they gave their lives 

to the Lord. Giving begins by surrendering one’s life to the 

lordship of Christ and then it flows to help the lives of others. 

Surrendering to the Gospel demands practising the kingdom 

values of sharing and supporting. Giving life to Christ naturally 

leads to giving up possessions and life for others. Both are inter-linked. 

One without the other is meaningless. The mission 

of proclamation of the Gospel leads to the mission of sharing. A 

person can very well contribute money and other resources without 

surrendering his or her life to Jesus. Such an act is basically 

humanitarian and done out of common concern but it need 

not be based on the missiology Paul is talking about. To Paul, 

Christian stewardship is not based purely on secular humanism 

but on missiological, sociological and theological bases. The 

Macedonians were not rich. They were living in poverty and facing 

persecution. Yet, they gave voluntarily beyond their means. 

They even pleaded that their gift for the poor people in the congregation 

of Jerusalem be accepted. Their experience of the 

Gospel motivated them to give in spite of their poverty and affliction. 

Their sincerity and eagerness to give was the criteria for 

accepting their charity. Those who are in need and at the receiving 

end need to see the positive aspect of sincerity and eagerness 

on the part of the giver in order to accept their help. 

Paul’s point was that if a poor church could share their money, 

then the rich Christians in Corinth could do much more. He 

challenged them to excel in giving also apart from their excellence 

in many other aspects. It is the test of one’s love for God 

and for others. 

Paul states the theological basis for giving in 2 Cor. 8:8-9. 

Although the Lord Jesus Christ was rich, He became poor for 

our sake and that is the theology of giving. Jesus Christ left 

everything to come and die on the Cross that humanity could 

enjoy the richness of salvation. In stating this ‘theology of God 

becoming poor’, Paul mentioned that ‘Lord Jesus Christ’ became 

poor. God in entirety, according to these verses, became 

poor not holding anything for himself. If God could become 

poor for our sake, then the Corinthians who received God’s rich- 

188 189


ness of forgiveness and eternal life had to show the same kind 

love for others. Sharing their wealth with those in need proved 

their genuine love for God. Paul called it ‘a ministry to the saints’ 

in 2 Cor. 9:1. Although he spoke of help to the poor among the 

Christians in Jerusalem, Paul did not rule out the need to help 

the needy outside the church. 

Paul was not satisfied with the mere act of generosity to the 

poor just to console their conscience. His sociological basis stated 

in 2 Cor. 8:13-14: ‘… but it is a question of a fair balance between 

your present abundance and their need, so that their 

abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a 

fair balance’ was, a tremendous challenge and radicalizing the 

giving by using the phrase ‘fair balance’. He contrasts the ‘abundance 

of having’ with the ‘need of the people’ and proposes a 

fair balance between possession and distribution of wealth. I 

do not like to push Paul’s idea of fair balance too much to mean 

Christian communism or socialism. I think, Paul was aware that 

the accumulation of wealth and earnings would go on but he 

desired that those who accumulated wealth share with the needy. 

In sharing, two things happen. The accumulated possession in 

the hands of the rich is reduced and the needy rises to the 

stage of having resources. This flow of abundance from the rich 

to the poor should continue to create at least a ‘fair balance’ if 

not ‘equal balance’. Achieving economic and social equality demands 

more than charitable giving. Charity can only offset the 

situation of accumulation and narrow down the gap between 

the rich and poor to a certain extent. For Paul, this sociological 

challenge, is linked to the ‘theology of God becoming poor’ and 

the missiological basis of ‘partnership in the Gospel’. Christian 

charity should work towards fair balance and not stop with a 

token or symbolic ritual of alms-giving. The Charity model challenges 

both the ‘giver’ and the ‘receiver’ in the Christian context. 

As has been mentioned above, sincerity, eagerness and 

willingness are expected on the side of the giver. Furthermore, 

the giver is expected to give according to his or her ability and 

even beyond his or her means realizing the love of God and the 

benefits of the Gospel. The receiver need not feel ashamed to 

accept the gift or the generosity of the giver because it has theological, 

missiological and sociological implications. When the 

status of the needy changes to one of abundance, they are ex- 


pected to follow the same principle of eagerness and willingness 

in giving to others. It is only when the ‘giver’ and the ‘receiver’ 

commit themselves to the theological, missiological and sociological 

bases, the model of charity or Christian stewardship becomes 

more meaningful and significant. 

The Charitable service of individuals and institutions in contemporary 

society needs attention. Out of sympathy, love and 

concern, some individuals give some money to the beggars who 

roam the streets and sitting in front of the churches, bus and 

railway stations. Most of these beggars are either lepers or deserted 

women with children or children who ran away from 

homes. They ask for some money to buy food or medicine. Giving 

some money to these people does not meet all their needs. 

Some criticize these poor people, believing they make a lot of 

money through begging. Cartoons and jokes are written in magazines 

to ridicule them. Whatever the suspicion for these victims 

may be, helping them with money is not wrong unless their 

misuse of alms to buy drugs, alcohol or tickets of gambling, is 

obvious. There is the need to be sensitive to poverty. Their helplessness 

looking at us for help should touch our mind and heart. 

By giving a few paise or rupees we are not encouraging them to 

continue begging but trying to quench their thirst and hunger 

temporarily. However, some Christian families have a systematic 

and well-planned pattern of charitable service. Having acquainted 

closely with individuals or families in poverty and knowing 

their needs clearly, these Christians help poor children to 

get educated by paying their school fees, buying school uniforms 

and books. Regular help is given to buy medicines for 

some poor families. Annual financial assistance is provided to 

clear part of their debts. Adopting the poor, understanding their 

difficulties and sharing resources with them is a good way of 

fulfilling charitable service. 

Christian institutions such as churches, schools, colleges, 

hospitals and orphanages are involved in charity. They run several 

programmes such as Sunday lunch for the poor, free medical 

check-up, provision of free shelter and food and scholarships 

for studies. They convey the concern and commitment for 

the poor. However, two major problems have risen in the past 

few decades with regard to institutional charity. One is the tension 

to commercialize institutions due to increasing requests 

190 191


for help and the lack of funds to meet all the requests. Schools, 

colleges, hospitals and even orphanages started charging some 

amount from those who seek our help in spite of subsidizing 

the cost of operation with the donation of the well-wishers. The 

donations are not proportionate to the demand. By becoming 

commercial the poor are unable to have access to certain services. 

Only those who could afford to pay some money could have 

access to the service of these institutions. Some institutions 

which started as charitable services have now become fully commercial 

and serve the rich and the middle class. The poor are 

excluded gradually. Another problem is the lack of volunteers 

to work in these institutions as service to the poor. Many Christians 

see these institutions as avenues for employment rather 

than volunteer service for honorarium or low salary. Some teachers 

employed in our schools are doing extra tuition outside class 

hours and run coaching centres at home for earning more money 

rather than sparing their time to coach poor students. The increased 

cost of living, loans and debts and indifferent attitude 

towards the needy is affecting individual and institutional charitable 

service. Biblical teachings on Christian stewardship and a 

deliberate effort to keep the vision and action of Christian charity 

is needed today. Christian life and ministry cannot ignore 

charity and justice. 

COUNSELLING MODEL 

The ministry of counselling went on in ancient Israel and in 

the churches planted by the apostles. However, it is not given 

explicit recognition and identity as a separate model like the 

priestly, prophetic, evangelistic and pastoral models in the Bible. 

Counselling was integrated with the ministry of the priests, 

prophets, judges, wisemen and pastors. Moses, Joshua, 

Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Jesus and the apostles were 

involved in counselling the people along with doing other ministries. 

Counselling as a separate model of ministry and discipline 

of study gained importance in the modern days. The word 

‘counsel’ means instruct, guide, advise or build up. Although, 

these meanings are not ignored, the term ‘counselling’ is defined 

by the secular psychologists and therapists as ‘listening 

to the people in pain’, ‘comforting the people in suffering’, ‘enabling 

them to understand their problems’ and ‘helping the peo- 


ple to reconcile within themselves’. Various techniques and approaches 

from the science of psychology are used in the process 

of counselling. Psychologists speak of different kinds of counselling 

such as ‘Client-oriented Counselling’, ‘Referral Counselling’, 

‘Educative Counselling’, ‘Marriage Counselling’, ‘Family 

enrichment Counselling’ and ‘Group Care Counselling’. 

Howard Clinebell, a Christain counsellor discusses each of the 

types of counselling in detail in his book Basic Types of Pastoral 

Care and Counselling (1984). The Bible does not speak of 

counselling the way the modern psychologists have defined the 

professional counselling. But it underlines the principle of ‘listening’, 

‘helping’, ‘comforting’ and ‘consoling’ showing empathy 

and accepting the people in physical and psychological pain. 

Physical problems such as sickness, death, poverty, suppression 

of freedom and rights and persecution for faith in Christ 

have created psychological pain. The Bible recognizes the link 

between physical and psychological problems. Many psalms 

particularly the psalms of lament in the OT reveal the problem 

of suffering (6:1-7; 22:1; 37; 73; 82). Peter, Paul and John encouraged 

the early Christians to tolerate the persecution and 

continue in their Christian faith (1 Pet.3:17; 4:12-19; 1Thes.3:4; 

2 Thes.1:4; 2Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 1:9; 7:13-14). They did counselling 

through their teachings. Whether their ministry of teaching 

could be regarded strictly as counselling or not is debatable. 

However, the biblical image of shepherd includes the function 

of caring and guiding the flock. Isaiah speaks of the four-fold 

function of a shepherd namely, tending, gathering, carrying and 

leading using different verbs (Isa. 40:11). To this prophet, Yahweh 

is the shepherd of Israel. Using the same metaphor, Jesus called 

himself as the good shepherd committed to service of caring the 

people (Jn. 10). The status and the role of a shepherd will be 

dealt later in the Pastoral model. 

Since the function of care which includes not only teaching 

and social service but also counselling is linked to the image of 

a shepherd in the Bible, scholars combine the two phrases ‘pastoral 

care’ and ‘counselling’ together and speak of ‘Pastoral 

Care and Counselling’. According to William Hulme, Pastoral 

Care is “a supportive ministry to people and those close to them 

who are experiencing the familiar trials that characterize life in 

this world, such as illness, surgery, incapacitation, death and 

192 193


bereavement” and the Pastoral Counselling is ‘either in one-toone 

relationships or in groups, is a ministry to persons, couples, 

and families that assist them in working through pressing 

problems in their relationship to themselves, to others, and to 

God. Both are dialogical ministries, and both are oriented to the 

healing process in pain and suffering” (Pastoral Care and Counselling,1981:9). 

Howard Clinebell goes one step further in defining 

the aim of pastoral counselling from the point of the growth 

of the counsellee. Pastoral Counselling, according to him, “aims 

at helping persons deal constructively with their immediate problems, 

make decisions, face responsibilities and makes amends 

for self-other hurting behaviour, as well as expressing, experiencing, 

and eventually resolving growth-blocking feelings, attitudes, 

and self-perceptions” (1984: 35). 

The probable examples which are closer to the idea of counselling 

in the OT are the counsel of Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and 

Elihu to Job and Deutero-Isaiah to the people of Israel. The 

former is an example for an individual being counselled by his 

friends and the later is for the community being counselled by 

the prophet. The Book of Job is regarded as a wisdom literature. 

The common understanding among the scholars about the purpose 

of wisdom literature is to instruct and guide the individuals, 

families, rulers and people. The Book of Job is explained 

rarely from the perspective of counselling. Job was a 

righeousman. He was faithful to God but was severly tested. He 

lost his possession, servants and his children (Job. 1:13-22). In 

addition to the losses of properties and people, Job’s health was 

affected to the extent that his own friends could not recognize 

him at sight (2:7-8). Job was in physical suffering and mental 

stress. His pain was unbearable. His problem became more severe 

when he started analyzing the reason for his suffering. 

The ‘patient Job’ in Chapter 1:1-2:9 became an ‘impatient Job’ 

in the rest of the chapters till the arrival of Elihu. Scholars such 

as Francis Andersen, David Clines, J.H. Eaton, Gustavo 

Gutierrez discuss the problem of suffering and show different 

kinds of reading the Book of Job. Yet, the Book of Job is not 

fully analysed from the study of counselling. From the perspective 

of counselling, one can look at Job as a man longing for 

people to empathize and identify with him and provide an answer 

to his theological question on innocent suffering. He was 


looking for spiritual, physical and psychological healing. But 

Job was disappointed with the arguments of his three friends. 

While the three friends failed to convince and comfort him, Elihu 

played the role of a counsellor expressing his empathy (32:2- 

10, 11-12, 21), identifying himself with the suffering Job (33:6, 

32) and enabling Job to rethink about the problem of his selfrighteousness 

(35:1-8), encouraging him to remember God’s 

goodness and righteousness (36:5-6; 37:14) and gain hope. A 

re-reading of the Book of Job particularly chapters 32-37 from 

the perspective of counselling can be useful in pastoral ministry. 

William Kirwan regards the approach of Elihu as an example 

of Christian counselling because it created a ‘sense of belonging’ 

showing empathy, genuineness, warmth, concreteness 

and giving Job a feeling of security for self-exploration and writes, 

“The modern day counsellor would do well to follow the general 

example of Elihu” (Biblical Concepts for Christian Counselling: 

A Case for Integrating Psychology and Theology, 1994:119-148). 

Kirwan notices another aspect of counselling in the Bible. It 

is the effort of ‘edification’ and enabling the counsellee to ‘serve’ 

others. Based on the term ‘building up’ used by Paul in Rom. 

15:2 and 1 Thes. 5:11, Kirwan points out the goal of edification 

is “to help the counselees gain a comprehensive self-understanding 

– an objective, healthy and integrated perspective on their 

problems and on their assumptions about themselves, other 

people and the world.” (1994:149). The edification through the 

teaching ministry of Deutero-Isaiah could be regarded as a counselling. 

Isaiah 40 begins with the words ‘Comfort and Comfort 

my people” and ‘speak tenderly to Jerusalem” which express 

the idea of counselling in the context of suffering in Babylonian 

exile. Their suffering includes the suppression of their rights to 

return to their land, restriction of their movements in Babylon, 

forceful situation to accept another culture, learning the language 

of Babylon, living with the taunting question of failing to 

keep the commandments of Yahweh and carrying the guilt of 

losing the land and the theological question of supremacy of 

Yahweh over Marduk, the Babylonian god. They had physical, 

spiritual and psychological suffering. The teachings of Deutero- 

Isaiah helped the community of Israel in Babylon to understand 

their problem, reasons for the suffering in exile, answer the 

theological question of supremacy of Yahweh (40:18-23) and the 

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assurance of salvation (40:3-5; 41:14; 43:18-19). The prophetic 

proclamation gave enough edification to the Israelites. His teachings 

presented Yahweh as the God of compassion and concern 

(49:13-16), powerful than Marduk and his emphasis on ‘do not 

fear’ (41:10, 14) encouraged them not to continue in despair. 

Some of the teachings of the apostles edifying the Christians 

during the political and religious persecution, as mentioned 

above, could be regarded as counselling. 

The ministry of Jesus included counselling. Unfortunately it 

is not highlighted much in theological books. His approach is 

not only healing the people from their sickness, diseases and 

disabilities but also healing them from guilt feeling and providing 

spiritual answer and psyhological relief. One can notice this 

dimension in healing the paralytic man in Mt.9:1-9 and of the 

man born blind in Jn.9:1-7. The theological discussions on these 

texts centre around the question of sin, theory of retribution, 

and the power and authority of the Son of Man to forgive and 

heal but not from counselling perspective. In these events, Jesus 

discussed the issue of the link between sin and disability. It 

is a common notion even today among people that disabilities 

and deformities are due to the sin of that individual or his family 

or the curse on their ancestors. Jesus challenges this notion 

and points out that the human beings need physical and spiritual 

healing. Healing the paralytic man or blind man need not 

have removed their guilt feeling taunting them over a period 

that their disabilities could be due to the sin they themselves or 

their families have committed. Leaving them with such questions 

to continue in their mind even after giving them physical 

healing is not a full healing. Hence, he pronounced forgiveness 

of sin in the case of the paralytic man and clarified openly the 

absence of link between disabilities and sin in the case of the 

man born blind. The counselling approach of Jesus helped to 

solve the psychological problem of the paralytic man, blind man, 

their families and friends. These cases are examples for combining 

‘Individual Counselling’ and ‘Group Counselling’ method. 

Jesus, furthermore, was concerned about the way worries and 

anxieties of life could affect the people. He asked his followers 

not to have worries and anxieties which could affect their spiritual, 

mental and physical status and cause sickness. He asked 

them to look at the birds of the air and lilies in the field (Mt. 

6:25-34). Although, the focus of this text is on seeking the Kingdom 

of God and its righteousness, his assurance of God’s care 

for all through the illustration from the nature is a comfort and 

edification to the followers. 

Christian counsellors of today may use various techniques. 

But faith in God and prayer to God play an important role in the 

process of counselling. Both the counsellor and counsellee act 

upon the faith in God. Faith should be understood as a dynamic 

force rather than a set of beliefs in the process of counselling. 

They should believe that God loves people, shows compassion, 

forgives and gives freedom from guilt, answers prayers 

and offers hope of life. One important issue connected with the 

ministry of counselling is its limitation. Should the counselling 

stop with comforting and consoling? Should the counsellors limit 

themselves with enabling the counsellee to identify the problems, 

reasons and solutions? Can’t they take the persons in 

suffering along with them and involve in actions to achieve justice 

and welfare and peace of mind from their problems? 

PASTORAL MODEL 


This chapter began with the Priestly Model and it will be 

concluded with the Pastoral Model which is inclusive of some of 

the ministries stated earlier. The biblical image of a pastor is a 

shepherd. However, many churches prefer to use the word ‘pastor’ 

or ‘priest’ than the term ‘shepherd’. Some of the mainline 

denominations founded by the Western missions still prefer to 

use the titles such as “Presbyter’, ‘Vicar’, ‘Canon’, ‘Rector’ and 

‘Reverend’. Using of various titles and equating these titles to 

mean pastoral ministry has created confusion among the people. 

Shepherding is more than the priestly function of performing 

rituals in the church. Instead of reducing the shepherd to 

be a mere priest in the church, it is important to raise the priest 

to be a shepherd, a role which is holistic. 

The roots of the Pastoral model go back to the period of the 

Israelite. In the ancient Israel, the Hebrew term, ro’eh (from the 

root word raah – to tend, pasture flock) was used several times 

to refer to the shepherd of sheep and the word boker (from the 

root word baker – cattle) to refer to the herdsman of cattle. The 

Hebrew word ro’eh is translated as poimen (to tend, pasture) in 

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Greek. These two terms in the OT and NT are used in the literal 

sense to refer to a shepherd tending flock and also in the metaphorical 

sense to refer to people involved in other leadership 

viz. liberators, kings and rulers as shepherds. There were professional 

shepherds in ancient Israel, who either stayed with 

masters and took care of their sheep or gathered sheep and 

cattle from families, led the flock to green pasture for a period 

and return them to the owners for a fee. Many families in Israel 

were involved in agriculture and also owned cattle and sheep at 

home. The stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob speak of them 

as shepherds. The descendants of Jacob continued as a shepherding 

community in Egypt before being forced into the compulsory 

labour of construction. Although the Israelites’ occupation 

shifted more towards agricultural farming after their settlement 

in Canaan, shepherding of sheep and cattle continued. 

The stories of Manasseh, Saul, David and the message of Amos, 

Micah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel showed that shepherding continued 

as an important occupation in Israel. The metaphorical use of 

the word shepherd, therefore, was so deeply rooted in their songs 

(e.g. Ps. 23; 80:1) and stories and proverbs. The Israelites developed 

this imagery from their own experience as a pastoral community 

from the time of Abraham, used it in their conversation 

and literature and later to the ministry in the context of the 

church. However, the prevalent and general assumption among 

contemporary Christians equates priesthood with shepherding 

and calls priests as pastors and vice versa. A close look at certain 

biblical texts brings to notice the fact that priests were not 

called shepherds and that the OT categorically classifies levitical 

priesthood as a separate model from the political leadership and 

rule as shepherding. The following expounds the different dimensions 

of shepherding. Liberators, kings, prophets in Israel 

were called shepherds. Descriptions of God as the greatest shepherd 

and Jesus as the Good Shepherd are present in the Bible. 

Moses described the congregation of Israel as sheep; he understood 

himself to be their shepherd and asked God to provide 

a shepherd ‘to go out before them and come before them… lead 

them out and bring them in … ‘ (Num.27:17) since he was too 

old to continue the ministry of shepherding. The entire community 

of Israel in the wilderness needed a leader to be with them, 

to lead them to the promised land, where they could enjoy a 


good life. The shepherd in succession to Moses was expected to 

perform all the functions which Moses was performing from liberating 

to leading them. Joshua was selected to succeed Moses 

as the shepherd of the liberated community. Shepherding the 

people of Israel was not mere tourist guidance in their travel to 

the land but a comprehensive function involving worship, proclaiming 

God’s word to the people, interceding for them, inquiring 

the problems of the people, administration of justice, taking 

care of their day-to-day needs, protecting them from becoming 

slaves to neighbouring nations, encouraging the liberated community 

to continue in the covenantal relationship and being an 

exemplary society in Canaan. The functions of Moses and 

Joshua included these cultic, political and social aspects while 

those of the levitical priests were confined mainly to the cultic 

functions. The pastoral model of Moses and Joshua during the 

liberation from Egypt, till the settlement of the people in the 

land, was holistic. 

2 Samuel 5:2 speaks of David as the shepherd of Israel during 

his anointing as their political ruler (cf. 2 Sam.7:7). This 

idea of calling kings as shepherds was developed further by the 

prophets. They used the term ‘shepherd’ to refer to the kings of 

Israel and Judah and even the kings of Babylon and Persia. In 

the prophecy of Micaiah, the son of Imleh, Ahab the king of 

Israel was mentioned as a shepherd (1 Kings 22:1). Jeremiah 

spoke of the kings of Judah as shepherds (Jer. 3:15, 23:2-4, 

33:12, 50:6, 51:23) who failed miserably in their rule of the 

people of Israel. They were unable to support people in justice 

and righteousness, in growing in the faith of Yahweh and in 

providing political security and economic prosperity. Jeremiah 

criticized the kings of his period for listening to the prophecies 

of false prophets than to the prophets called and sent by Yahweh. 

Their failure contributed to the destruction of the country by 

the kings of other nations. These kings of other nations were 

also designated by him as shepherds (6:1, 23:1). Ezekiel too 

called the kings of Israel shepherds and criticized them for not 

caring the people like a true shepherd (Ezek.34:1). According to 

him, they were shepherds of selfish gain than for sacrificial leadership, 

working for the justice and welfare of the people. However, 

he came out of his frustration and disappointment with 

the previous rulers and expressed his hope of getting a good 

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shepherd in the line of David who will take care of the people 

and turn their miseries during the period in exile into enjoyable 

life when they return to the land. In my opinion, these 

prophets used the term ‘shepherd’ in a particular sense to the 

political rulers rather than in an inclusive sense of including 

priests and prophets. Whenever these prophets criticized the 

priests and false prophets, they referred to them as ‘cohen’ 

(priest) and ‘nabi’ (prophet) and not as shepherds. My observation 

of prophetic texts drives me to draw the conclusion that 

priests were not regarded as shepherds. In prophetic literature, 

shepherding is always understood to be political leadership and 

rule. The prophets were aware of the two separate ministries 

viz. the ‘cultic-priestly model’ and the ‘political-pastoral model’ 

in ancient Israel. 

The prophets were not known as shepherds but a few shepherds 

in Israel were called to become prophets. For example, 

Elisha of 9 th century BC, Amos and Micah of 8 th century BC and 

Habakkuk of 7 th century BC were shepherds by profession and 

proclaimed God’s justice in their response to God’s call into 

prophetic ministry (1 Kings 19:19’ Amos.1:1, 7:14, Habk 3:17). 

They expressed their experience in the shepherding profession 

in their oracles and preferred to be understood as shepherds 

and farmers than as sons of prophets engaged in their family 

business of professional prophesying for profit (Amos 7:11-14). 

By proclaiming God’s word, along with their shepherding and 

farming, these prophets integrated the prophetic ministry and 

the shepherding profession. 

The OT describes Yahweh, the God of Israel as a Shepherd. 

Jer. 31:10-11 and Isa. 40:11 describe Yahweh as the Shepherd, 

who liberated the people of Israel from the exile and restored 

them to their land. These prophets proclaim the message of 

hope that their God will be like a shepherd, who will gather 

them in His arms as an expression of forgiveness and acceptance, 

lead them to the promised land and take care of them. 

The salvation oracles proclaimed by Deutero-Isaiah are messages 

of counselling to the hopeless people to draw strength and hope. 

God’s love and concern for afflicted people is always assured 

and He watched over them in exile, on their return to the land 

and in the restoration of the land. All the responsibilities of a 

shepherd viz. feeding and watering, gathering and protecting, 


carrying and leading and counting and multiplying the flock 

were expressed metaphorically in these prophetic texts in relation 

to the suffering community in exile. As such God is portrayed 

as the liberator and leader of the community – a holistic 

function in terms of political, social, economic and spiritual as 

in the tradition of Moses. Psalm 23 also describes God as the 

Shepherd. The context of this psalm is not clear but this psalm 

expresses the holistic function of a shepherd and describes God 

as the greatest Shepherd to the entire community of Israel. 

Jesus uses the metaphor of shepherd in Matt. 9:35-36 and 

Mark 6:34 with regards to the liberation of the Jews from the 

political and religious oppression of the Roman Government, 

temple authorities and Jewish religious sects such as Pharasees, 

Sadducees and Scribes. Jesus envisioned these liberators lead 

the people for welfare and justice and to the proper understanding 

of scripture. However, the shepherds had so far either neglected 

or exploited the people for their own gain. The Jews 

longed for a good shepherd. It was in this situation that Jesus 

claimed to be the Good Shepherd (Jn.10), stating the responsibilities 

and life style of a good shepherd – knowing, carrying 

and protecting the sheep-willing to risk his own life for the sake 

of the sheep. His concern and care crossed the boundaries of 

His own people and extended to other people who were not 

Jews. He is a good shepherd, not restricted by a particular 

people or geographical boundaries but a universally good shepherd. 

His understanding of liberating and leading the people is 

in close connection with the Gospel of the Kingdom which He 

preached and practised. The metaphorical use of good shepherd 

is closely linked to the idea of the Kingdom of God. He is a 

ruler not of this world but of the kingdom of God, which stands 

for right values and not a political system. However his role is 

holistic – having socio-political and religious dimensions. The 

cost of this holistic mission, resulting from being the good shepherd, 

was His own life (Matt. 26:31, cf. Zach.1:7). His life style, 

message and ministry and the sacrifice of his own life for the 

people made him the Great Shepherd (Heb. 1:20). The wish and 

ambition of Jesus was that God may raise such good shepherds 

for holistic ministry since the demand is so much (Matt.9:36). 

These shepherds were expected to follow the pastoral model of 

Jesus and work as good shepherds. 

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Jesus, the good shepherd is the paradigm for pastoral ministry. 

His ministry included preaching, teaching, healing, proclaiming 

justice and judgment (Matt. 25:32). He preferred titles 

like ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Good Shepherd’ which do not express 

any position of power. He avoided performing priestly functions 

either in the Temple or in the Synagogue, except teaching the 

Scripture when He went to these cultic centres. He avoided using 

priestly titles for himself or using the title ‘shepherd’ for the 

priests of his days. Jesus was aware that the OT priestly model, 

which was usually a ministry directed towards God, had fallen 

into performing rituals and exercising power and authority. He 

wanted to counter this model with a suitable alternative. He 

preferred the pastoral model which was people (flock) - oriented 

and holistic. This could be the reason why he started calling 

himself a good shepherd. Jesus is later described as the high 

priest by the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews to mark the 

fulfillment of His priestly function. Today, many assume that 

priestly role is the shepherd’s role and vice-versa. Unfortunately, 

shepherds role is reduced to the priestly role of mere conducting 

worship, and prayer meetings and the performance of certain 

rituals and sacraments. These activities become the main 

function of pastors. But shepherding is more than a priestly 

function. The shepherd’s role includes the priestly function and 

with other functions intrinsic to pastoral model. 

After his resurrection, Jesus asked Peter to feed and take 

care of His flock. The call and command to Peter to be the shepherd 

is more than a priestly role. He had to follow the pastoral 

model of Jesus and he had a wider ministry of liberating the 

people from their sufferings, leading them to practise the values 

of the Gospel of the kingdom and to begin enjoying the good life 

now on earth. The person and work of Christ became the foundation 

of pastoral theology. 

The leaders who were taking care of the churches planted by 

the apostles were never called priests (hiereus) but elders 

(presbyteros), bishops (episcopon - overseeing) and ministers 

(diacon), purposely to avoid the traditional notion of the priestly 

model and also not to limit the status and role of the elders to 

strict mere priesthood. The apostles wanted to make a distinction 

between the Judaistic priestly role based on the Torah particularly 

offering sacrifices, and the leadership of the churches 


based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They, therefore, used the 

term ‘elders’ and raised them for wider ministry, following the 

pastoral model of Jesus. The term ‘elders’ is not new to the 

Jewish people since it was used in the OT to refer to the elders 

of the villages or communities, those who sat at the city gate to 

judge as well as the elders of the synagogues. However, the 

office of the elders in the NT churches was broadened to include 

functions such as pastoral visitation of the sick (James 4:4), 

interpreting the Scripture in the light of the life and ministry of 

Jesus (1 Tim. 5:17), general oversight of the congregation (1 

Pet.5:2), receiving gifts on behalf of the needy in the congregation, 

collecting money and sending it to the poor in Jerusalem 

(2 Cor.8) and taking part in the Council of the Apostles (Acts 

15:4,6,23; 16:4). 

The role of the elders of the churches in the NT is the pastoral 

model which includes the socio-political and religious functions 

for the congregations as well as extendable to others outside 

the churches. Paul addresses the elders of the church at 

Ephesus as shepherds (Acts. 2:28). Peter, in his epistle, applied 

the term poimen (shepherd) to the elders of the churches in 

dispersion in West Asia (1Pet. 5:1-4) and called them ‘Shepherds 

of God’s flock’ because they took care of the congregation 

like selfless shepherds. He asked them to be selfless in this 

ministry and willingly to serve and not for gain. These elders 

were already engaged in the ministry of caring for the people of 

God, in conducting worship, preaching and teaching the Scripture, 

counselling and guiding them in the Greco-Roman context 

of West Asia. By calling them shepherds of God’s people, 

Peter encouraged them to have a wider ministry. 

Some assume that the metaphoric use of shepherd is not 

comprehensive enough to include all ministries particularly the 

aspect of a suffering servant and the prophetic role. But, a shepherd 

is a suffering servant for the sake of his flock. The shepherd 

stays with sheep day and night, faces harsh environment 

during pasturing, suffers to lead the flock to green pastures and 

water, risks his life to protect the sheep from animals, thieves 

and unsuitable environment, seeks the lost sheep, keeps account 

and makes the effort to multiply the sheep. A shepherd is 

also a prophet in the sense of looking ahead of the suitable 

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pasture and forth-coming dangers. As the prophet warns the 

people, the shepherd warns the flock and guides them to safety. 

Another significant aspect connected with the concept of biblical 

shepherding is the double role of the shepherd. On the 

one hand, Jesus played the role of a shepherd but on the other 

hand, He is described as the pascal lamb, undergoing vicarious 

suffering as described in Isaiah 53 and in Hebrews 9:12-28. 

This transcendability of shepherd becoming a suffering sheep 

and revealing the powerlessness and vicarious aspect is unique 

in the Christian tradition which challenges Christian leaders to 

be shepherd as well as pascal lambs. Opinions expressed show 

that the title ‘pastor’ is not suitable today in contemporary society. 

Many pastors have come from towns and cities without having 

any link with the context of farming or shepherding. They 

prefer to minister in the urban churches. Whether one has an 

experience in farming or not, human life is closely linked to 

agriculture. It is the source of human existence. Since no other 

image can express the dimensions of suffering and caring, the 

title ‘shepherd’ is suitable and could be retained in spite of the 

changes in the world. 

The phrase ‘pastor-teacher’ in Eph. 4:11 emphasizes the two 

important functions of the pastoral model i.e. feeding and caring 

in the pastoral ministry. In replacing the old priestly model 

with the new pastoral model, the cultic function of organizing 

and leading worship was taken over by the apostles and elders 

of the churches in Jerusalem, Corinth, Ephesus, Galatia, Philippi 

and Colossae. They incorporated the ministry of worship into 

their role out of necessity. The Jewish Christians were not allowed 

to worship in the temple and synagogue. They were persecuted 

and forced to worship in houses. Their historical and 

geographical situation led the apostles and elders to add the 

ministry of worship with certain modifications to their ministry 

of teaching and caring. Worship can be defined as adoring God, 

acknowledging God as Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer. It is 

an expression of faith in the person and work of Christ. It provides 

the opportunity to confess sins, seek reconciliation and 

restore relationship with God. A faith community listens to the 

reading of scripture and brings prayers and offerings to God in 

worship. Apostles were careful to avoid certain elements of wor- 


ship demanded in the OT, particularly offering animal sacrifices 

and selection of elders following the laws of priesthood from the 

tribe of Levi. They brought changes in worship patterns on the 

basis of their understanding of the fulfillment of the OT in the 

person and work of Christ. After a long discussion on the issue 

of circumcision, the apostles decided not to require it from the 

Gentile converts. They introduced a change to include Gentiles 

with Jewish converts in the same worship service, making it 

more inclusive of converts from different race and culture. However, 

their thrust was more on teaching the Word of God, edifying 

and caring for the congregation through counselling and 

guidance. 

The study of the ministry of the shepherds like Jesus, apostles 

and elders in the NT reveal four main purposes of teaching. 

First, teaching educated the congregation on the knowledge of 

God. Jesus made the effort to teach the people in the temple, 

synagogue and on the streets or the shore of the sea of Galilee 

(Mt. 5:2; 11:1; Lk.4:15; Jn.7:14-15) that they may get the right 

understanding of God. According to Paul, the purpose of teaching 

is to root believers in the sound doctrine of God (Titus 2:1- 

10). He wrote extensively on the person and work of Christ, the 

fulfillment of the OT in Jesus, justification by faith, sanctification, 

the gifts of the Spirit, the body of Christ, new creation in 

Christ, the second coming of Jesus Christ and the final judgment. 

Peter’s preaching and epistles spoke of the doctrine of 

God. John described God as light, love and advocate and warned 

his readers about the anti-Christ (1 Jn.1-4). Second, the apostles 

were keen on teaching in order to counter the wrong interpretations 

and heresies confusing the congregation. Paul wrote 

to the Galatians to be careful about Gnostic and Epicurean teachings 

(Gal.1:6-9) and taught them to abandon the practices of 

special days, months and superstitions belonging to the religion 

of ‘elemental spirits’ (Gal. 4:8-11). He taught the 

Corinthians not to have divisions among them but to strive for 

unity and true fellowship (1 Cor.3:5-8) and to be careful about 

the teachings of the false apostles (2 Cor. 11:1-15) who preached 

a different Gospel and those who denied the resurrection (1 

Cor. 15). Third, their teaching focused on the issues of human 

relationship and the socio-economic life of Christians. The apostles 

were particular about the quality of Christian life and wit- 

204 205


ness in society. Peter, James, John and Paul taught believers to 

have proper relationship with others particularly between masters 

and slaves, to accept the equality of gender and race, to 

abstain from drinking and adultery, to marry fellow believers as 

far as possible, uphold justice, love and share resources with 

the poor and bear fruits of the Spirit. Four, the teaching ministry 

of the apostles and elders included the training of leaders 

and congregations to share their new faith in Christ to others. 

Paul encouraged the Corinthians and trained Timothy and Titus 

to witness for Christ. The different aspects of their teaching ministry 

strengthened the congregation in the faith of the Lord Jesus 

Christ and emboldened them to face oppositions, heresies, 

and persecutions and to witness for Christ. Today in many 

churches preaching for about twenty minutes to one hour once 

a week in a Sunday service has gained priority rather than regular 

and systematic teaching. Weekly Bible studies to help the congregation 

to learn about the content of the books in the Bible 

and have theological reflections on contemporary socio-political 

and economic issues are neglected both by the pastors and congregations. 

People seem to derive more satisfaction from just 

attending worship service on Sundays and special revival meetings 

rather than longing to learn the Scripture to know more 

about God. This has created pseudo-spiritual members, who seek 

signs and wonders and seek to evade struggles and sufferings 

for the sake of faith and justice. 

Not much is known about the way in which the apostles and 

elders carried on the ministry of counselling. The NT does not 

tell which techniques they used. What could be discerned, however, 

is that some individuals would have approached the apostles 

and elders to share their spiritual, family and economic 

problems. These leaders may have listened, given some guidance 

and prayed for them. However, the teachings of the apostles 

through their preaching, conversation and writing focused 

on the entire congregation. Their approach was more of counselling 

and guiding the group. The ministry of counselling has 

grown over years and developed many techniques to deal with 

individuals, families, groups of employers, employees and the 

community of faith. Pastors cannot ignore these new techniques 

used in the ministry of counselling and guidance. Contemporary 

pastoral ministry requires pastors to be well versed in Scrip- 


ture, knowledgeable and well acquainted with their congregation 

if they wanted to be effective and contributive. 

What has been discussed about the different models of ministry 

in the preceding pages is limited. All the ministries of God 

require certain qualities. God’s ministry is one which demands 

high level of responsibility. Human beings are not worthy of 

doing God’s ministry. Yet God calls some individuals to full-time 

ministry and others to voluntary involvement. God has entrusted 

this responsibility to the Church and given the promise of enabling 

the Church to fulfill these various ministries. Suffering 

and losses are an integral aspect of ministry. God and society 

expect absolute truthfulness on the part of those who are involved 

in ministry. Prayer is another important aspect in Christian 

life and ministry. Jesus made special effort to pray alone as 

well as pray with His disciples. Peter, John and Paul wrote about 

the role of prayer in ministry in their epistles. With the willingness 

to learn from God, people and nature and the incorporation 

of the insights gained, the ministry should thrive. 

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Chapter Five 

Priesthood of all Believers 

Different models of ministry in the Bible have, so far, been 

identified and some of the salient features of these models have 

been discussed. These have been ministries of individuals or 

groups in different periods of biblical history. After the period of 

the apostles, some of these ministries were carried on with some 

modifications in different parts of the world. However, some of 

the traditional designations like ‘priestly’, ‘prophetic’, ‘evangelistic’, 

‘missionary’ and ‘charity’ are retained. Today, modern 

technology is used in doing some of these ministries, Even 

though, Christian ministry is done by leaders particularly by 

pastors, evangelists and missionaries, it is not by a few leaders 

or for a few people but by the church as a corporate body. According 

to Donald Messer “Ministry is the function of the church 

as a whole. It is God’s gift not first of all to the individual, but to 

the community of faith, who in turn chooses who should represent 

it in leadership roles. The Church is ministry. Its raison 

d’etre is service to the world. There is no other reason for the 

church to exist” (1989:64). The ministry of the Church is called 

the ‘priesthood of all believers’ (1 Pet.2:5,9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10). The 

term ‘priesthood’ is used in the comprehensive sense of the 

‘ministry’ or ‘service’ of all those who believe in Jesus as the 

Lord and Saviour, whether these believers are ordained or not 

ordained. The emphasis of the NT is not just on the priestly 

model only but falls on all the functions of ministry (Eph. 4:11- 

13) done by the Church in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In other words, the Church is the priest to serve the eternal 

God. This doctrine of ‘priesthood of all believers’ is a significant 

development on the OT idea of priesthood. The people of Israel 

were called the ‘chosen people’, ‘ a kingdom of priests’ and ‘a 

holy nation’ at the time of making the covenant at Sinai (Ex. 

19:5-6). While this text speaks of the entire people of Israel as 

208 209


the priests to serve Yahweh and to act out the commandments 

in the society, it is also easy to note the separation of the tribe 

of Levi from the Israelites as the priest. This was a special calling 

to the Levi tribe to act on behalf of the people of Israel. These 

priests were chosen to provide leadership in worship and ethical 

guidance to Israelites. The Levitical priesthood did not invalidate 

the priesthood of all the Israelites. The entire community 

was expected to service Yahweh not only by worshipping 

and offering sacrifices but also by obeying the Commandments 

and serving their society. This idea was later reiterated in Num. 

11:29: ‘… Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets and 

that the LORD would put his spirit on them’. Moses made it 

clear that the prophetic ministry was not for a few privileged 

people but for the entire community of Israel. The people of 

Israel could be regarded as prophets because they received, proclaimed 

and fulfilled God’s word. 

The NT narrows down the idea of ‘priesthood of all believers’ 

from the nation of Israel being the priest of the Lord to the 

Church being the “priest of the LORD”. The disciples of Jesus 

joined together as the Church is the new Israel within the large 

old Israel. As the Gentiles joined the Church after hearing the 

Gospel, the composition of the new Israel changed. The composition 

of the true and new Israel, that is the Church, became 

largely Jews and Gentiles. As the Gospel spread to other parts 

of the world, the composition of the Church became inclusive of 

the believers irrespective of their race, caste, colour and geographical 

territory. What was important was their faith in the 

Lord Jesus Christ, their participation in worship and sacraments 

and their firm commitment to the mission of God. Peter and 

John, the apostles discussed the idea of the priesthood of all 

believers in their writings. After witnessing the tremendous 

numerical growth, progress in ministry and the emerging need 

for people to share responsibilities, Peter wrote about the theology 

of the priesthood of believers: 

“Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals 

yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living 

stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a 

holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to 

God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet.2:4-5). 


Peter’s use of stone is metaphorical. Stones do not have life. 

They are only materials. But, Peter referred to Jesus Christ as 

the ‘living stone’ rejected by mortals and by that he meant the 

crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The sentence, ‘like 

living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house’ referred 

to the believers. Believers of Jesus Christ become like 

living stones because they received the eternal life from Him. 

Instead of leaving these believers as individual stones, it was 

meaningful to bring them together to build on the foundation of 

Jesus as a ‘spiritual house’ that is, the Church. The purpose of 

becoming the Church, the spiritual house was ‘to be a holy 

priesthood’. The founding of the Church with the believers as 

living stones was for service. Peter combines the two words, ‘holy’ 

and ‘priest’, found separately in Ex. 19:5-6 to emphasize the 

importance of founding the Church for the service of God. Since 

it is for the service of God, it is a holy priesthood and expected 

to project the holiness of God to the world. This idea is further 

qualified by the phrase ‘to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to 

God through Jesus Christ’. Offering spiritual sacrifices means 

serving God in a way that is acceptable to Him. Believers, as a 

local church, can have several ministry or programmes. It does 

not mean that all the activities and programmes are acceptable 

to God. The Church should discern which ministry is acceptable 

and fulfill such activities sincerely. As God established His 

mission through Jesus Christ, so should the ministry of the 

Church be through Jesus Christ. This means, the ministry of 

the Church is founded on the person and work of Jesus Christ 

and carried out in His holy name. The Church is qualified to be 

the priest of God through the work of Jesus Christ. Peter emphasized 

this again in verse. 9 saying, “… in order that you may 

proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness 

into his marvelous light”. The mighty acts, obviously, are the 

death and resurrection of Jesus and the offer of forgiveness, 

holiness and eternal life. Peter carefully combined these ideas 

in verses 4-5 and 9 to show the inseparable link between God, 

Jesus Christ, the Church and the Ministry. Commenting on 

this text of Peter, Wayne Grudem writes, “This verse, thus, 

gives explicit statement to the doctrine of the ‘priesthood of believers’. 

Since all who come to Christ are now a holy priesthood, 

able continually to ‘draw near’ to God’s very presence and offer 

210 211


spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, there 

can no longer be an elite priesthood which claims special access 

to God, or special privileges in worship or in fellowship with 

God. To try to perpetuate such a style of ‘priesthood’ distinct 

from the rest of believers is to attempt to maintain an Old Testament 

institution which Christ has abolished once for all.” 

(1989:101). 

The idea of priesthood of believers runs to the end of the 

Bible. John also emphasized that the Church became the priest 

of God by the work of Jesus. He writes, “To him who loves us 

and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a 

kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory 

and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev. 1:5-6). He mentioned 

how believers could become the priests of God and also 

pointed out that this priesthood of believers embraces saints 

from every tribe, language, people and nation ( Rev. 5:9-10). 

Paul elaborated on the priesthood of all believers through the 

use of the metaphor of the body of Christ, even though he did 

not use the phrase ‘priesthood’ in 1 Cor. 12: 12-27. To Paul, 

the membership of the Church crosses race, class and region. 

As different parts of the body jointly make a whole, these members 

baptized by the one Spirit, make the body of Christ. As 

each member of the body has a function to play , so the members 

of the Church have a ministry and are each endowed with 

the gift of the Spirit to carry out that ministry. 

The writings of Peter, John and Paul declare some important 

truths about the priesthood of believers. First, the Church as a 

whole is considered as the priest and not just the ordained ministers. 

Second, the priesthood is not a status but a function or 

service to be accomplished. Third, the nature of the priesthood 

is holy because it is a service to God and the Church is expected 

to reveal holiness, purity and honesty in the ministry. Fourth, 

the composition of the members belonging to this priesthood is 

not limited to Jews or Gentiles of West Asia but includes believers 

from all tribes, communities and nations irrespective of language, 

culture and region. It does not mean that all those who 

belong to other faiths or ideologies and offer good service form 

the members of the priesthood of believers. It includes only 

those who acknowledge the person and work of Jesus Christ 

and commit to his teachings and are willing to be part of the 

Church. Fifth, the priesthood, at the universal level, is a corporate 

ministry exercised by the whole Church. However, at the 

local level, this priesthood is expressed locally by the members 

of the local churches through various activities. 

CHURCH OR KINGDOM 

In discussing the doctrine of the ‘priesthood of all believers’, 

it is important to note some of the criticisms raised against the 

Church. It is not possible to discuss in detail the theology of the 

Church or the concept of the Kingdom of God here. A number 

of books have been written on these issues. The focus,here, will 

be on the validity of founding the Church on theological and 

practical grounds and to show the relationship between the 

Church and the Kingdom of God. 

212 213 

Church 


Some scholars think that the intention of Jesus was to preach 

the Gospel and establish the Kingdom of God but the outcome 

was the Church. They think that Jesus never intended to create 

a new religion or worship outside his own Judaism. He continued 

within the religion of Judaism, attended the Temple in 

Jerusalem and the synagogues, offered prayers, interpreted the 

OT scripture, fulfilled the Jewish rites and participated in the 

festivals. His intention was to reform the Jewish religion and 

society following the tradition of the prophets, preaching the 

age-old concept of the Kingdom of God developed by the prophets. 

If the intention of Jesus was to create a church, then He 

would have done it during the three years of his ministry, but 

Jesus did not do it because he did not want to separate himself 

from Judaism and preferred to continue in Judaism right to 

the end of his life. It was the apostles who deviated from the 

intention of Jesus and created the Church. Based on this view, 

some leaders in India discourage evangelism, conversion and 

planting of churches. In addition to the above reason, they 

state other socio-economic and cultural reasons. 

Biblical scholars have argued that the teachings of Jesus 

implied a Church in some form or other without telling clearly 

the form of worship to be followed or the organizational struc-


ture of such an institution. Leon Morris’ book, Ministers of God, 

lists some of the following arguments (1964:11-17 ). First, the 

Greek word ‘Ekklesia’ which means the ‘Church’ appears in the 

teachings of Jesus, twice (Mt. 16:18; 18:15-20). The reference 

to the Church in the text of Mt. 16: 18: ‘I will build my Church..’ 

is not a later addition by the writer of the Gospel. Neither could 

it mean building the existing nation of Israel. It has a specific 

meaning. After seeing the reaction of the Jewish community 

towards His message and ministry, Jesus declared that He would 

build His own Church with those who believed his message and 

mission. The Church here is not to be seen as the hierarchical 

and denominational church of today. What Jesus meant was to 

establish a group or fellowship of believers as the ‘true Israel’ 

within the larger Israel. While the nation of Israel rejected Jesus, 

a few individuals accepted Jesus. This small fellowship of 

believers were expected to continue as the ‘true Israel’ to proclaim 

the good news of the Kingdom and work for its ideals. 

These disciples were the members of His Church. The other 

reference to the use of ‘ekklesia’ in Mt. 18:15-20 mentioned in 

the discussion of settling the disputes indicates that the formation 

of the true Israel has begun. There were some problems 

between the members of this fellowship but the problems had 

to be settled in a proper procedural and cordial manner before a 

member was estranged from the fellowship. This instruction of 

Jesus was not a general one to the larger Israel which had similar 

teachings in Judaism. Jesus was specifically addressing His 

disciples. They were expected to settle problems without affecting 

the relationship between one another and were asked to 

forgive the other members of the Church as many times as possible 

(Mt. 18:21-22). In addition to these two references, it is 

easy to notice the intention of founding a community of the 

Gospel by using different terms. Jesus called His followers a 

‘flock’ (Mk.14:27, Jn. 10:6), ‘little flock’ (Lk. 12:32), ‘my lambs’ 

(Jn 21:15) and ‘my sheep’ (Jn. 21:16). These expressions clearly 

indicate that Jesus regarded His disciples as a ‘coherent group’, 

committed to his ideals and mission. Jesus’s idea of discipleship, 

as I have pointed out earlier, are different from the discipleship 

in Rabbinical Judaism. The uniqueness of following Jesus 

lies in accepting Him as the Lord and Saviour and totally 

committing to His person and work. This demanded the coming 


together of the disciples to function as a coherent group or a 

fellowship. In other words, this ‘koinonia’ is called ‘the Church’ 

i.e. the disciples called and organized for a commitment. Second, 

the Messiahship of Jesus implies a definite messianic group 

of people. Jesus interpreted his vocation as the Messiah in 

terms of two OT figures viz. the Son of Man in Dan. 7 and the 

Suffering Servant in Isa. 53. These two figures presuppose a 

society and express service to the entire people, even those crossing 

the boundaries of the Jewish community. The concept of 

being Messiah demands those who enjoy the benefit of the service 

and the vicarious death of Jesus the Messiah, to exist and 

function as his messianic community. This messianic community 

envisaged by Jesus is the Church. This messianic community 

is called to be a Suffering Servant for the rest of the people. 

Third, the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper 

instituted by Jesus (Lk. 22:19-20; Mt:28: 19-20) presupposes 

that a definite fellowship group must practise them. Jesus asked 

the disciples to continue this new covenant in remembrance of 

what he has done for humanity. He asked them to preach this 

good news of forgiveness and eternal life and baptize those who 

responded positively and disciple them continuously. These sacraments 

are meaningless if a community of disciples is not there 

to believe and practise them. Fourth, Jesus’ desire to gather 

and organize a new community of disciples is implied in His 

teaching about the bridegroom (Mk.2:19-20), the prepared wedding 

feast (Lk.14:15-24), the temple to be built (Mk. 14:58; 15:25; 

Lk.18:45-47) and the cornerstone ( Mt. 21:42; Lk.20:17) and in 

the prayer recorded in Jn. 17. Fifth, some of the actions of 

Jesus such as calling of the twelve disciples, organizing them as 

the initial community, commissioning them to go to villages with 

His authority to preach and heal the sick, teaching and training 

them for the mission, reveal His intention of instituting the 

Church. G.E. Ladd remarked, “by the acted parable of choosing 

the twelve, Jesus taught that He was raising up a new congregation 

to displace the nation that was rejecting his message” 

(1974: 109). Whether one agrees with the above arguments or 

not, it is clear that the Church is not the creation of the disciples. 

Making people to respond to a message and organizing 

them as a fellowship for a mission which demands surrendering 

of life and embracing losses than gains cannot be achieved by 

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the power of human beings. The timing of the birth of the Church 

is also worth noting. The disciples were dismayed at the death 

of Jesus and were the targets of the Jewish religious leaders 

and Roman political power. In this milieu of fear and persecution, 

people hesitated to join the disciples or declare themselves 

as the followers of Jesus. What happened in history, as 

told in Acts 2, was beyond their plan and ability. The birth of 

the Church in Jerusalem was the work of the Holy Spirit and 

not the effort of human beings. After seeing the working of the 

Holy Spirit convicting and converting thousands of people, moving 

them to join the fellowship and continue in teaching and 

breaking of bread, the apostles were awakened. They began to 

understand the message and mission of Jesus. They found the 

meaning to Jesus’ reference to them as flock and his declaration 

, ‘I will build my Church’. They began to see the movement 

growing beyond their expectation and ability. They understood 

the phenomenal growth of the Church as God’s will 

and went on planting churches in other parts of the region. 

Some of the Christian leaders who have had problems with 

the establishment of the Church suggest that the present form 

of the institutionalized Church be dismantled and secularized 

by including all those, irrespective of their religion, who believe 

in the ideals of Jesus Christ. According to them, baptism is not 

necessary. The members needed not confess that Jesus Christ 

is the Lord and Saviour but they could have some sort of holy 

communion to express their solidarity. They could have a common 

goal of service to the humanity. Their worship could be 

ecumenical by reading the Scriptures of different religions and 

incorporating the rituals of such religions in a symbolic way. 

These attempts have been made in different periods of history 

in different parts of the world. Either these movements could 

not continue for long or ended up becoming different sects or 

cultic groups which spread heresies. The Church, according to 

the NT, is not a club of fans who agree on ideologies. The Church 

has a definite nature, composition and mission. The members 

of the Church are those who believe Jesus to be the Messiah 

and his act of salvation and declare Him as their Lord and 

Saviour. The Church is not inclusive of all those secular humanists 

who belong to different faiths or deny faith in any religion. 

The Church is a worshipping community, professing the 

faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and witnessing for 

such a cause. While the nature of the Church is religious, the 

service of this religious community is intended for the rest of 

the humanity. 

The proliferation of racial and caste discrimination, nepotism, 

politics, increasing financial and moral corruption among 

the leaders of present day churches, has urged some Christians 

to suggest leaving the church and mingling with the rest 

of the society while keeping their faith in Christ and continuing 

in social service. It is easy to understand the feelings of 

such Christians but, where will they go? They could very well 

join some social service organizations or Non-Governmental Organization 

voluntarily or simply remain at home without joining 

any group and yet continue in charity and social service. These 

people would soon feel the desire for worship and fellowship. 

There is something significant in Christian worship, even though 

the church has its limitations and short-comings. Although the 

Church is expected to grow in quantity and quality, the number 

game is not important. Those who would not want to believe in 

the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Bible and the Church 

could very well leave the Church and find a place suitable to 

them. Theological and practical problems have been discussed 

in the history of the Church and the Creeds were created to be 

remembered and affirmed by the members. The Church can 

survive with a few genuine Christians yet, carry out the mission 

of God. 

Kingdom 


Some Christians and preachers confuse Church with the 

Kingdom of God and the Kingdom for the Church. One example 

is the Sermon on the text in Mt. 6: 33 ‘ Seek first the Kingdom 

of God and its righteousness and everything shall be added unto 

you’ in the sense of saving souls who would also join the church. 

When they preach about building the Church, they imply building 

the Kingdom. These two words ‘Church’ and ‘Kingdom’ are 

used interchangeably to equate the Kingdom with the local 

church. Furthermore, this confusion has led some preachers to 

create their own cultic groups and have demanded that people 

to sell all their property and join the cultic groups. Their understanding 

is that they are now in the Kingdom of God and 

216 217


their eternal destiny is safe and secured. It is usual to hear that 

most of cultic groups end up in further confusion, disillusionment 

and even embracing mass suicide ordered by their leaders. 

Another negative effect of confusion on those who hold this 

view is passiveness. They assume that the merge between the 

Kingdom and the Church implies the mission is over and they 

have to wait for the final consummation only. It is, therefore, 

important to know the relationship between the Church and 

the Kingdom of God. 

G.E. Ladd discussed this subject in detail in his book, A 

Theology of the New Testament. Eddie Gibbs also discusses this 

issue from the perspective of church growth in his book, I 

believe in Church Growth. The following insights could be drawn 

from these scholars, who prove from the biblical text that the 

Church is different from the Kingdom of God. First, the Church 

is a worshipping community and believes in the Gospel of the 

Kingdom but not the Kingdom itself. The Kingdom of God symbolizes 

the dynamic rule of God. It emphasizes the prevalence 

of certain values in society. God and not the Church is the 

ruler of the world. The Kingdom of God is not a political system 

yet it touches the sphere of politics and economics and the 

social and cultural life of people. The Kingdom of God was inaugurated 

by the coming of Jesus. As projected in Jesus’ death 

and resurrection, the Kingdom of God has already come in His 

person into the world. It is present in the world and moving 

towards the future for its final fulfillment. As such the Kingdom 

of God is past, present and future. Second, the Kingdom of God 

creates the Church. By preaching the good news of the Kingdom 

of God and teaching its values, people are changed. It 

transforms the attitude, behaviour and actions of those who respond 

positively to its call. People are not just responding to a 

set of ideals but to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The 

transforming power of the Kingdom is Jesus Christ. Responding 

to the Lord Jesus Christ requires them to join the Church 

which is founded by Jesus himself. The Church is a fellowship 

of believers whose ideals are based on the message and the 

values of the Kingdom of God. Third, the Church witnesses to 

the Kingdom of God. As Jesus proclaimed the good news of the 

Kingdom, the Church is expected to proclaim the Gospel of the 

Kingdom. G.E. Ladd wrote, ‘The Church cannot build the King- 


dom or become the Kingdom, but the Church witnesses to the 

kingdom – to God’s redeeming acts in Christ both past and future. 

This is illustrated by the commission Jesus gave to the 

twelve (Mt.10) and to the seventy (Lk.10), and it is reinforced by 

the proclamation of the apostles in the book of Acts” (1974: 113). 

Fourth, the Church is the instrument of the Kingdom. The disciples 

of Jesus not only proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom 

but also made it manifest in action by liberating people 

from sin, healing the sick and delivering people from the possession 

of evil spirits. The same power which worked through 

Jesus also worked through the disciples. The apostles used this 

delegated power to serve the community. Many who saw or benefited 

from the deliverance joined the churches they planted in 

different places. The Church is expected to continue as an instrument 

for bringing the goodness of the Kingdom to the 

people. 

Criticisms have been raised against the view that the Church 

is the only instrument of the Kingdom. Are secular movements, 

Non-Governmental Organizations and Liberation Movements not 

working for the Kingdom of God? Could they not be considered 

as instruments of the Kingdom of God? Does God not use 

these movements for liberation, healing and the welfare of people? 

The usual biblical evidence quoted to argue for this view is 

the action of Rahab, who helped the spies engaged in conquering 

the land of Canaan (Josh. 2:1-14), the deliverance given by 

Cyrus, the Persian king to the exiled (Isa. 45:1-7) and the saying 

of Jesus in Mk.9:38-40. It is true that God uses various 

people for His purpose. In the first case, Rahab had come to a 

conclusion that her nation had been defeated and so she helped 

the Israelite spies with vested interest. She had a personal motive 

of saving her life and family by doing this favour. Not betraying 

those who came to her is part of her profession. It was also 

assistance she extended on humanitarian grounds to save the 

lives of the strangers. However, she was remembered for the 

timely help she gave to the Israelites. She was engraved upon 

their history as noticed in Heb. 11: 31. The Prophets made it 

clear that Yahweh used nations to punish and deliver Israel. 

Their history stands in close relation to the sovereignty of 

Yahweh. Deutero-Isaiah has interpreted the rise of Cyrus as 

the work of Yahweh, mainly to defeat Babylon and deliver the 

218 219


Israelites. This prophet did not say that Cyrus worked for the 

Kingdom of God but that he helped the Israelites to return to 

their land. Did Cyrus know Yahweh was the one raising him up 

to deliver Israel? Did he ever acknowledge that the God of Israel 

raised him up in power? Did he not attribute his rise as the 

work of his Persian god? What about the bloodshed in his conquest 

of Babylon? Was that the best way to work for the Kingdom 

of God or the expansion of his own kingdom? Deutero- 

Isaiah did not care what Cyrus thought about his rising or how 

he would have looked at history. His interpretation of Cyrus as 

Yahweh’s instrument should be seen in relation to the Israelites’ 

loss of faith and hope in Yahweh and the marvel of Marduk, 

the powerful god of Babylon . They were in doubt as to whether 

Yahweh or Marduk was in control of their history. In despair, 

Deutero-Isaiah looks at the rise of Cyrus as Yahweh’s action. 

Both the rise of Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and the rise of 

Cyrus to deliver the exiles, according to the prophet, were the 

actions of Yahweh. Yahweh is the one who is in control of their 

history. This view is communicated by interpreting the rise of 

Cyrus as Yahweh’s work. The other text in Mk.9:38-40 is a 

general remark by Jesus that many may use His name and do 

miracles and wonders without acknowledging Him as the Christ. 

Yet, they are not against Jesus. They are also interested in social 

service. Jesus did not say that the other exorcist is an instrument 

of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was aware of many such 

people who were doing miracles in his name and delivering people 

from the demons. He even pointed out that some of these 

people who perform miracles would not enter into the Kingdom 

of God (Mt. 7:21-23). The magician asked Paul to grant the gift 

of doing miracles without acknowledging Jesus or His message 

of the Kingdom of God is another evidence. These miracles need 

not necessarily stand in direct relation with the Kingdom of 

God even though they bring some good results for the people. 

All the above three references are about the work of the individuals. 

Can the instrument of the Kingdom of God be individuals 

or a corporate group like the Church? As far as I understand 

the NT, the instrument of the Kingdom of God is not 

identified with an individual whatever may be his contribution 

for the good of the people. It is always a group of believers i.e. 

the Church. 

Many as individuals or groups could involve in doing something 

good for the society either in the name of God or on the 

basis of ideologies they hold. For example, a group of Hindus or 

Muslims or Atheists or Marxists could involve in the struggles of 

justice and human rights and bring liberation and welfare for 

people. Each religion teaches to do good for humanity. Some 

Human Rights groups work on the basis of secular humanism. 

RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal which promote Hindutva and the Kingdom 

of Rama and upholding Vedic rituals, Varnashrama and to 

a certain extent Sati are involved in charity and liberation. To 

call all these groups in par with the Church as an instrument of 

the Kingdom of God needs serious thinking. This does not mean 

that the Church only can do good works. Are our local churches 

perfect to claim to be the only instrument of the Kingdom of 

God? Can they complete the task? Such questions are raised. 

It is true, our local churches do have shortcomings and commit 

mistakes. But the Gospel of the Kingdom challenges to reform 

the local churches. The Holy Spirit is there to help the churches 

to transform. To brand all the good works of other groups as 

belonging to the religion of demons is also wrong. We can understand 

their faith in their religion and give due credit for their 

contribution. But to expect these groups outside the church to 

acknowledge openly that their action is based on the ideals of 

Jesus and they are working for the kingdom of God inaugurated 

by Jesus is unfair. Equally wrong for the Christians to say 

that these groups whether they acknowledge Jesus Christ or 

not are fulfilling the command of Jesus. We cannot interpret or 

thrust our own ideas and claims on other groups. In the biblical 

context, there is a unique relationship between the Church 

and the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not a secular 

ideology. It is a religious ideology which includes the person 

and work of Jesus Christ and committing to his commandments. 

Jesus Christ has linked the Kingdom of God with the Church 

and the Church with the Kingdom of God. Neither Jesus Christ 

nor the apostles speak of other voluntary social service groups 

as the Church or the instrument of the Kingdom of God. 

CALL OR COMMAND 


The doctrine of ‘priesthood of all believers’ is not properly 

understood by many Christians today. They are of the view that 

220 221


the ministry is only for those who are called by God. The rest of 

them are to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, attend the 

worship service regularly, confess the Creed, pay their subscription 

and support the activities of the Church financially and 

take part in the Holy Communion. Some of them hesitate even 

to read the Bible lessons or lead the intercession or help in 

serving the Holy Communion. They are satisfied with their secular 

job and in supporting their local church. In many local 

churches, the ordained clergy shoulders all the burden of the 

ministry. Congregations are only spectators and not willing to 

share the burden or be involved in the ministries of the church. 

Or else they think that it is the responsibility of their pastorate 

committee to do ministry with the pastor. There is an another 

side to this problem. Some clergies do not encourage the idea of 

service of all the believers in the Church, may be due to lack of 

confidence or fear of superceding his image and authority or to 

have absolute control over the laity. To enlighten and motivate 

the congregation for various activities, means clergies have to do 

more work. Such members of the clergy want simply to limit 

themselves to conducting worship service on Sundays. They use 

the idea of call and ordination to threaten the laity to limit them 

to their pews. Because of this attitude and situation, many talented 

members who like to exercise their gifts in the ministries 

left their local churches and started their own para-church organizations. 

It is true that God calls some people for ministry. God called 

the entire tribe of Levi for the priestly ministry. Moses was called 

to liberate the bonded Israelites. Prophets such as Samuel, Elijah, 

Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah were called for prophetic ministry. Jesus 

called the disciples to follow him and continue the ministry. 

Paul received the call and committed to build the churches rather 

than persecute them. Receiving and realizing the call is important 

for ministry. One can get God’s call for ministry in three 

different ways namely, inner call, churchly call and the congregational 

call. Individuals commit for fulltime ministry of the 

church because they received the ‘secret call’ or ‘inner call’ of 

God. They could have received such a personal call through inner 

feelings in their heart or vision or dream. Or else a biblical 

text could have spoken to them. Sometimes individuals are called 

by the leaders of their church which is known as ‘churchly call’ 


because these individuals have manifested their secret call and 

commitment through their personal holy living and by showing 

leadership using their talents and resources for the ministries 

of the church. While the authorities of the church fail to recognize 

such individuals or deliberately ignore them on caste and 

class discrimination, the families, friends and members of the 

church notice these individuals and encourage them repeatedly 

to go for fulltime ministry. Such a ‘congregational call’ leads 

the individual to recognize his or her secret call and confirms it 

by the repeated encouragement of the congregation. One can 

dedicate himself or herself for fulltime ministry by receiving the 

call in one of the above three ways. While the experience of 

having a call for ministry constantly motivates, sustains and 

empowers the person, it is not a guarantee for continuous success. 

Many who experienced God’s call in a definite way and 

proved their honesty and sincerity throughout their ministry 

could not achieve a great success or become popular. But they 

were true to their call and commitment. On the other hand, 

some who received God’s call and proved effective have ended 

up as failures because they failed to keep the call in focus and 

did not lead a life worthy of their calling. Somewhere in the 

middle of their ministry, they lost their interest and became 

ineffective or have fallen prey to financial or moral or theological 

corruption. 

God’s call to some individuals does not restrict others from 

doing God’s ministry. All the believers of the Church are expected 

to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church as a whole 

has the calling to do ministry. This is on the basis of the work 

and command of Jesus Christ. As Jesus is the Suffering Servant, 

the Church is the Suffering Servant of God for humanity. 

The ministry is by the whole Church and for the whole church 

and society whether the members have special call or not. There 

is a Great Command of Jesus to love God and love the neighbours. 

Love of God and fellow human beings leads us to serve 

them in all the possible ways. The Great Commission demands 

all the believers to proclaim the Gospel and make disciples. The 

metaphor of the ‘body of Christ’ used by Paul, as we noticed, 

indicates that the different members of the Church have ministries 

to perform and transform people and society. 

222 223


In the history of evangelism, missionary work, translating 

the Bible and charitable service and social action, lay members 

have done effective ministry and achieved great goals. Some of 

them never waited for a special call from God. Realizing the 

Great Command and Great Commission, they went on achieving 

and contributing to the growth of the churches and progress 

of the society. One important question in connection with the 

ministry of the lay person is to be discussed. Should the ministry 

done by a Christian or a group of Christians in these days 

outside the church to be linked to their church? The idea of 

‘priesthood of believers’ indicates that the ministries of the church 

are exercised by the Christians should be in and through the 

church. The ministries of the laity stand in close relationship to 

the church. The leaders and other members of the church are 

aware of these activities. They can appreciate, pray, support financially 

and involve if they are done in close connection with 

their church. This can be noticed in the history of the early 

church. The apostles and laity in Jerusalem were aware of the 

ministries of Paul, Baranabas, Mark, Silas, Timothy and Titus. 

Their ministries had some sort of a link with the church in Jerusalem 

or Antioch or later with the churches in Corinth, 

Ephesus, Philippi and Galatia. My next chapter on the structures 

and partnership for God’s ministry discusses the relationship 

between the church and para-church organizations. It is 

always better to have a close link between the ministries of the 

laity and their local church. For some reason, if a Christian lay 

person or a group of members start a ministry outside their 

church and continue it without having any link with their church, 

we cannot force them to link their ministry with the church or a 

diocese. Usually these movements started outside the church 

eventually could become a local church and grow into a denomination 

or may continue as an inter-denominational organization. 

The danger is that these groups could end up as a questionable 

cult or become a secular movement totally cutting off 

its connection with the local church and strengthening the activities 

and programmes with the resources and people of multifaiths. 

ORDINATION 


Connected with the ministry is the question of ordination, 

gifts of the Spirit and the training. Ordination is given much 

importance in the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant 

mainline denominations in India. To the Roman Catholics, ordination 

is the ‘apostolic succession of the pastorate’ and one of 

the seven sacraments of the church. Baptists define ordination 

as the ‘recognition of a divine call or as being commissioned or 

set apart by God for special service’. United Methodists too speak 

of ordination as the recognition of the call of God and ‘setting 

apart by the Church for the specialized ministry of Word, Sacrament 

and Order.’ Presbyterians regard the ordination as the 

‘congregational call’ for the ministry of the Church (Messer, 

1989:.69-70). According to the Constitution of the Church of 

South India, ordination is an ‘act of God in his Church’. To 

quote, “The Church of South India believes that in all ordinations 

and consecrations the true Ordainer and Consecrator is God, 

who, in response to the prayers of His Church, and through the 

words and acts of its representative, commissions and empowers 

for the office and work to which they are called the persons 

whom it has selected” (Constitution II, 7 and 11). Pentecostals 

speak of ordination as recognizing the call of God, anointing of 

the Holy Spirit and affirming the apostolic authority for the ministry 

of the Church. How these denominations view the ordination 

may vary but all of them emphasize the call of God in the 

lives of the individuals who dedicated themselves for the ministry. 

Ordination is granting them some sort of authority and recognition 

by the whole church to do ministry. Donald Messer 

defines the ordination as ‘a communitarian act, bonding persons 

to the church and convey authority on behalf of the church. 

The church authenticates God’s call and authorizes the persons 

called by God’ (1989:69). 

The important pre-requisites, in my opinion, for ordination 

are the personal experience of repentance and accepting Jesus, 

the assurance of forgiveness and salvation, call for ministry, witnessing 

life, continuous feeling for ministry and the real love 

and concern for people. The other qualifications and training 

depend upon the ordaining denomination and the nature of 

ministry for which the ordination is performed. On the theo- 

224 225


logical basis of the priesthood of all believers, some churches 

have ordained women as pastors, chaplains, missionaries, social 

workers and counsellors. Moreover, the Scripture tells us 

that women are also created in the image of God and in equality 

with men. There is no discrimination of gender in the sight of 

God. I have arqued that Sarah was also chosen along with 

Abraham for the mission of God in my article ‘Naming and Renaming 

as communication in Ancient Israel’ (AJTR, V. 1992:158- 

170). Deborah and Esther were instruments in God’s mission. 

Women are part of God’s mission. If the gift of ministry is given 

to all those who believe in Jesus and members of the body of 

Christ, as noticed in the NT, then women are also included. 

Can the body discriminate the other member of the body? Priesthood 

of all believers is inclusive of women. Can they be discriminated 

if women too express their faith, call and commitment 

for ministry? Some churches do not agree with this theological 

argument. While others agree with the biblical teaching 

of priesthood of all believers, they hesitate to ordain women for 

practical reasons. However, the ordination of women in Indian 

churches is gaining acceptance among the laity. Ordaining unmarried 

men and women (e.g. Roman Catholic churches) or a 

widower or a widow is not a theological problem. While Indian 

culture appreciates such dedicated men and women who remain 

to be single for the sake of God’s work, marriage is certainly 

an advantage in the ministry. More serious question rocking 

the western churches is the ordination of homosexuals and 

lesbians. Theologians, leaders and laity are sharply divided on 

this issue. 

Each denomination performs ordination by conducting a special 

worship with the celebration of the Holy Communion. In 

the churches which uphold hierarchical structure, the Bishop 

calls each ordinant to come and kneel down and places his hands 

on the head of the ordinant and issues later the certificate of 

ordination. In the Pentecostal churches, as the senior pastor 

lays his hands on the head of the ordinant other pastors also 

lay their hands on the ordinant and pray for the special anointing 

of the Spirit to give wisdom and power to carry out the ministry. 

Although the Bishop and Pastors are only representatives 

of the church, it gives an impression that the ordination is by 

the authorities of the church. Since the ordination is the act of 


the whole church, it is better to invite a few lay members, if 

possible representing the section of men, women and children, 

from the congregation to join in the laying on of hands on the 

candidate. What is significant in ordination service is the ‘laying 

on of the hands’ and dedicating the ordinant for the ministry. 

This practice is taken from the Bible. The apostles laid their 

hands on the selected six for the special ministry of taking care 

of the widows in the church in Jerusalem (Acts. 6:6). The church 

in Antioch used the same practice of laying hands on Paul and 

Barnabas for the ministry of evangelism (Acts 13:3). Paul also 

laid his hands on Timothy to do the ministry of the church (2 

Tim. 1:6) and warned him not to lay hands on everyone but to 

use this gift carefully and diligently (1 Tim. 4:14; 5:22). It is also 

important to examine what happens to the person who received 

the blessing of the laying on of hands. This person could experience 

physically or psychologically something at the moment of 

ordination. But it is more important to understand the seriousness 

of God’s call, the high expectation of the church and the 

accountability in the ministry. This person does not become 

divine or sacred or infallible through the ordination but is required 

to be more holy in thinking and deeds and honest in life 

and ministry. Such persons are servants of the people and should 

not abuse their authority vested by the church. They are special 

instruments of God to bring blessings to the members of the 

church and others in their society. However, these salient features 

of ordination are not kept in the forefront of the churches 

today. The ordination service in some churches are held like a 

festival with all the pomp and show particularly in South India. 

So much of money is spent to make the annual ordination service 

a political extravaganza. Some caste groups elevate the 

ordinants belonging to their caste by garlanding, felicitating and 

giving gifts. They organize a private caste group dinner parties 

as if a M.P. has been elected for the Parliament. Christian communalism 

shows its ugly face in this kind of service which is 

supposed to be solemn and cut cross all the racial and caste 

discrimination. The congregation which ordains them to be the 

suffering servant of their church encourage them to glorify in 

their titles and positions than in their responsibilities and 

service. 

226 227


The cassock, colourful vestments or costly suits in our culture 

add further authority and hinders the ministers to be close 

to the congregation. Many Christians do not know the significance 

of cassock, surplice and stole. Cassock was the usual dress 

of people in the Greeco-Roman world. Even now it is the common 

dress in the Middle East. Salves and servants did not have 

more than one or two cassock to wear and so it is used to be old 

and dirty due to their labour. When such slaves or servants 

come to serve the food at the table of their master, as some 

explain, they wear the surplice to hide the dirty cassock and 

then remove and hang the surplice in a safe place after serving 

the master. They also had a long piece of cloth hanging around 

their neck as a stole to wipe away the dirt and clean the plates 

and cups before serving food and drink. Whether one agrees 

with this explanation or not, we can say that these items symbolize 

the hard labour and servitude of the slaves and servants 

towards their masters. When this imagery of cassock, surplice 

and stole was incorporated into the ordination and made as a 

uniform of ministers is not clear. It should have happened after 

the period of the apostles. But the application of the imagery of 

slaves and servants to the ministers of God does appear in the 

writings of Paul and Peter. Today, this uniform decorated with 

colourful embroideries and silver and gold lining is turned into 

a dress of authority, power and respect. We can notice the reactions 

of some of our Roman Catholic friends towards this wrong 

understanding. So they prefer to make their uniform more simple 

and appropriate to the local culture. This is more evident in 

the case of some of their Orders. Instead of cassock, some Roman 

Catholic priests wear dhoti and shirt. Nuns started wearing 

saress than their traditional gown in order to relate more 

closely to people. The use of costly suits when there are poor 

people in the churches in India is nothing less than giving the 

image of a western businessman or a CEO of a big company or a 

corporation. I am not against the use of uniform or vestments to 

give some sort of identification and distinction for the ministers. 

My concern is to see that such a dress is not a hindrance for 

ministry but go with the local context of the people. Continue to 

use the traditional uniform like cassock demands teaching on 

the meaning and significance of such a uniform, liturgical colours 

and vestments and constant realization on the part of the 

wearer not to misuse it in ministry. 


Questions are raised about the re-ordination of an already 

ordained minister and the withdrawal of ordination. We notice a 

number of cases of re-ordination particularly in the circles of 

independent churches and Pentecostal assemblies. This happens 

either because the person who got ordained in one church 

does not disclose it when he moves to another denomination for 

a better salary, benefits and organizational structure or because 

the authorities of that church insists them to be re-ordained. 

The re-ordination takes place because both the parties do not 

understand and respect the biblical meaning of ordination. These 

ordained ministers consider the ordination as a token which 

can be exchanged for another token. Those leaders who insist 

re-ordination try to show their authority and impose their own 

rules and regulations rather than upholding the biblical teaching. 

The gift of ordination is a permanent one. Once a group of 

believers of Jesus Christ evaluated the call and commitment of 

a person and ordained that person in a corporate act for the 

ministry of the church, then it stands valid. The ordaining denomination 

is not important. If for some reason, the ordained 

person is lent to do ministry in another denomination in a different 

place, the receiving denomination can confirm the appointment 

accepting the earlier ordination. There is no need to 

re-ordain the person. We have a historical evidence in the formation 

of the Church of South India. On the basis of the above 

theological reason, the ordination of the Anglicans, Methodists, 

Baptists and Congregationalists were accepted at the time of 

unifying these denominations into CSI. The ministers were allowed 

to continue with their earlier ordination but required to 

follow some changes in the order of worship and administration 

(Refer to the documents on the formation of CSI. Also the Constitution 

of CSI). 

Can the church withdraw the ordination of one of their ministers? 

Some denominations faced this problem and tried to withdraw 

the ordination and de-robe the minister on the grounds of 

immorality or theological perversion. We lack clear evidence from 

the Bible that the apostles had withdrawn the ordination of some 

one. But we can infer that they took some sort of disciplinary 

action on those leaders and members who did not prove worthy 

in the ministry (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 11:31-32; 14:26-36; 1 Tim. 

1: 19-20; Titus 1:10-13). If a minister is willing to acknowledge 

228 229


mistakes, repent and ask for pardon, then, the ordination need 

not be withdrawn. Instead of de-robing, the person could be 

forgiven and suspended from doing ministry for a year or two as 

a disciplinary action. Such a person can very well take part in 

the worship service and Holy Communion. He loses the right of 

ministry only for the banned period. That person certainly loses 

the reputation among the people but not the forgiving love and 

grace of God. On the other hand, if the person continuously 

show apostasy and promote heresies, then the church can come 

together and take a decision to dismiss such a person once for 

all from the fellowship and ministry. Although ordination plays 

an important role in commissioning and authorizing pastors, 

evangelists, missionaries and other leaders for fulltime or parttime 

ministry, it is not a requirement for the rest of the believers 

to involve in the ministries of the church. They can very well 

involve in the activities and programmes of their church and 

shoulder the burden with their pastors, evangelists and missionaries 

without ordination. 

GIFTS AND TRAINING 

Do we need special gifts, talents and guidance of God to do 

the ministry? Quite often many Christians assume that they 

cannot involve in the ministry because they do not have the gift 

of the Spirit or talents to express or a clear guidance from God. 

They are interested to involve in the activities of the church but 

they hesitate and stay behind. We must remember that Paul 

addresses this problem in 1 Cor. 12: 1-31. He enlightens his 

readers about the nature of the church and the spiritual gifts. 

The text is important for our discussion on the gifts of the Spirit: 

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and 

there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there 

are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates 

all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation 

of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given 

through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another 

the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to 

another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the 

working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the 

discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, 

to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated 

by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one 

individually just as the Spirit chooses.” (1 Cor. 12: 4-11) 


First, Paul points out that there are ‘varieties of gifts’ and 

‘varieties of services’. He lists them in terms of the office of the 

apostles, prophets and pastor-teacher and further in terms of 

functions like healing, assistance, leadership (vv. 27-28) and 

various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues, discernment 

of spirits and utterance of wisdom and knowledge. Except to be 

the apostles which is limited to the twelve plus Paul, the rest of 

the gifts of the offices and functions are given to the members of 

the church. Believers can be prophets, pastor-teacher or healers 

or leaders of other activities of the church. Second, these 

gifts of ministry, according to Paul, are unlimited. God is not 

only the bestower of these gifts of ministry but also activates 

these ministries to be done by the members of the body of Christ. 

Christian ministry of the Church is going on for ages. This is 

because God activates the ministries continuously. God has spoken, 

motivated and led people to commit for ministries. The continuance 

of the ministries of the church through out the ages is 

not the effort of any human being or because of well-established 

infra-structure. Some of the well-established organizations, institutions 

and movements with the ability and training of leaders 

and enough funds have stumbled and disappeared in many 

parts of the world. Although we are expected to show interest 

and obedience to the activation of the Spirit and take effort to 

carry on the ministry, we need to remember that it is the Spirit 

of God which helps us in the ministry. Without the initiative 

and support of the Spirit of God, these gifts of ministry cannot 

be exercised by us. God is with the ministries of the church, 

that is why, the ministries are thriving till today and spreading 

all over the world. God did not seclude himself after bestowing 

the gift of ministry to the church but committed himself as a 

continuing partner with the believers in the ministry. Jesus 

has promised and assured his followers his continuing presence 

till the end of the world. Ministries produce believers and 

Believers contribute to ministries. This dynamics is the continuous 

work of the Holy Spirit. Persecutions may come and go. 

People may deny their faith and leave the church. Some churches 

and denominations could dwindle and disappear. But the ministry 

of the Church cannot be stopped or put an end. For, ministries 

are given as a gift by God and will be continued by the 

One who bestowed it to the Church. It’s a tremendous truth 

230 231


predicted by Paul. Third, the purpose of giving the gifts of the 

Spirit is explained in Eph. 4:11-13. The various offices and functions 

are to equip the believers for ministry and to build up the 

‘body of Christ’ in faith and witness. Fourth, the goal of granting 

such a gift of varieties of ministry and various kinds of services 

to the believers is for the ‘common good’ (1. Cor. 12:7). 

These gifts of the Spirit are not given to one or two individuals to 

become prosperous and powerful. They are granted to the entire 

church to build in faith and the communities around them. 

To me, the goal is not limited to the strengthening the faith and 

witness of the congregations only but goes beyond this limitation. 

These gifts are to promote the Kingdom of God in society. 

For, the gifts of evangelism, prophecy, utterance of wisdom and 

knowledge and working of miracles to heal or liberate have connection 

with the society. They have meaning only when they 

are related to the socio-economic situation of the local people. 

These special gifts of God, in my opinion, cannot be regarded 

as talents which have different connotations in these days. Some 

talents, as people say, are inherited biologically and some are 

developed through learning and training. Human talents can 

be used to enhance the above ministries given by God. For example, 

the talent of music – singing and playing instruments – 

can be used in the worship service to enhance the pietism and 

joy of the worshippers. Intellectual understanding of history, 

science and technology can contribute to the ministry of utterance 

of wisdom and knowledge to bring critical evaluation of the 

trend in the church and society and provide guidance and direction 

in the life and activities of the believers. Everyone of us 

has some sort of talents about which we may not be aware or 

we hesitate to develop and use them in the service of the local 

church. Let us remind ourselves the parable of the talents told 

by Jesus in His teaching about the Kingdom of God. The leaders 

of the churches also should encourage their congregations 

to share their talents. A good leader will certainly provide opportunities 

for the laity to express the talents and strengthen 

the ministries of the church. 

Theological education and ministerial training are helpful in 

the ministry. Varieties of training are designed according to the 

need of the local churches. Long term seminary training for 

pastoral and missionary work, short term training for evange- 


lism, social work or Sunday School teaching or operating the 

audio-visual equipment and refresher courses are available. 

Churches can encourage the interested persons to join these 

programmes. It is not possible here to discuss in detail the nature 

and types of theological education. They have their own 

merits and demerits. It’s a vast area and needs a separate treatment 

on theological and practical grounds. However, it is important 

to note that the office of the pastor is not just to conduct 

the worship service and prayer meetings or offer counselling 

help but also to teach the biblical truths and train the members 

of the church. Each local church is not only a community of 

faith but also a training centre for the various services of the 

church. Pastors could hold some of the teaching and training 

programmes as well as invite the experts to train the congregation. 

Laity can be better trained and effectively at a low cost if 

the programmes are arranged periodically in the church. While 

different kinds of training for fulltime or voluntary ministry help 

us, we need to rely on God for more insights, guidance and 

talents and to be used as a channel of blessing to bring the 

goodness to the entire creation of God and glory to his holy 

name. 

232 233


Chapter Six 

Structures and Partnership for 

God’s Ministry 

Churches and para-church organizations have contributed, 

for many years through their various ministries, to the growth 

of the church and the progress of society. Their existence and 

contributions confirm that churches cannot ignore para-church 

organizations and social movements. The para-church agencies 

too cannot replace the churches or make them irrelevant. These 

modalities and sodalities are realities today. They need each 

other. However, there are tensions and problems between 

churches and para-church organizations. Churches are suspicious 

of the competitiveness of these organizations . The preaching, 

teaching and writings of the leaders of para-church organizations, 

they feel, are not theological. Some of them teach wrong 

doctrines and others promote conservatism. The leaders of the 

churches, therefore, constantly have to counter such wrong 

trends in theological doctrine from spreading among their congregation 

and guard the members against leaving their churches 

to join fundamentalist groups. Moreover, churches feel that parachurch 

organizations are encouraging the congregations to send 

their tithe and offerings to their programmes and ministries 

rather than to give to churches in support of the ministries of 

the parishes. Churches are afraid that they might lose their 

income, which would affect their programmes and ministries. 

They, therefore, want to control the para-church organisations. 

Some dioceses have restricted the activities of para-church agencies 

in their churches. Some of them banned some para-church 

movements and have announced to their congregation not to 

have any link with such movements. 

Para-church agencies, on the other hand, accuse churches 

for limiting their activities to worship, which is often traditional 

234 235


and restricted to formal liturgies and not interesting enough to 

the generation of today. They worry about the neglect of other 

ministries such as evangelism, church planting, literature, teaching 

and training the laity, prayer meetings, counselling and 

healing the sick. They point out that there is not much freedom 

for the youth to use their talents in the churches or to experiment 

new outreach programmes or to work out action plans to 

demand social justice. They justify the need of para-church 

movements to carry out these various ministries with the ever 

growing population, especially in a vast country like India. These 

suspicions, misunderstandings and restrictions have affected 

the relationship between the churches and organizations. These 

two structures are unable to work together and co-operate in 

the various ministries of God. If they worked together in full cooperation, 

then the expected result is ‘synergy’ that is, ‘a phenomenon 

where the output is greater than the sum of the individual 

components’ (Taylor:1994:6). Ralph Winter in his article, 

“The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mission” has argued 

for the validity of the two structures such as Church and Mission 

society (Perspectives: 1999:220-230). In this chapter, I am 

trying to show that God raised many suitable structures to fulfill 

His ministries during different historical periods and I plead for 

better understanding and partnership between these structures. 

DEVELOPMENT OF STRUCTURES 

From the records of the Old and New Testament, some institutions 

and movements used by God in the history of Israel can 

be identified. The people of Israel became an elected and 

covenanted community at Sinai (Ex.19-24). Moses, who liberated 

and guided them through the wilderness, instituted the 

priesthood by appointing priests and Levites after receiving instructions 

from God (Ex. 28-29; Lev. 8-9). The priests and Levites 

were to be dispersed among the rest of the twelve tribes upon 

entry into the land of Canaan and they were to live with them in 

their villages and to build altars for worship and sacrifice. In 

addition to conducting worship and offering sacrifices, these 

priests were asked to teach the commandments, counsel and 

guide the people, settle their disputes and render justice. During 

the settlement period, the priesthood became a well-established 

institution throughout the land of Israel. However, this 

Structures and Partnership for God’s Ministry 

main structure had its own limitation. When the people faced 

the aggression of the Philistines and Midianities, who plundered 

their harvest and subdued the tribes for several years, the priests 

were unable to liberate the Israelites from the hands of their 

enemies. The ministry of Judges emerged in such a situation. 

God called a few individuals, endowed them with power and 

used them to liberate the tribes. Such charismatic leaders functioned 

individually in administering justice and then, with a 

group of selected Israelites as a team in liberating the oppressed 

tribes. The ministry of the Judges over a period of 200 years 

made such a significant impact that their movement became a 

para-structure to priesthood. Quite often priests and judges 

worked together in cultic preparations before and after the battle 

and in rendering justice to the people. Their partnership 

contributed to the security of the country and to the administration 

of law and order in the land. On certain occasions, the 

priests and judges could not get along together. Yet, the priests 

did not consider the judges as rivals to their structure, neither 

did they stop their activities. The judges, although, successful 

in militarism and efficient in administering the laws of the land, 

did not regard the priesthood as irrelevant, neither did they 

abolish it, using their military might. They recognized each other 

as God’s instruments in fulfilling His will in the lives of Israelites. 

The institution of priesthood continued before, during and 

after the period in exile and the inter-testamental period. However, 

the para-movement of judges did not continue for long. It 

served a purpose in a particular period of history and was replaced 

by the institution of kingship in Israel. 

Priesthood, which played a role in the consecration of kings, 

the cultic service before and after the battle against other nations 

and co-operation with the administration of kings in the 

early period of monarchy, came into tension with kings like Solomon, 

Rehoboam and Jeroboam (1 Kings 2:26-27; 12:6-16; 12:25- 

33). The political institution of kingship started controlling and 

corrupting the religious institution of priesthood with its power 

and authority. Both, kings and priests, joined together to pervert 

justice and oppress the poor and powerless, so much so 

that the people needed another movement to support them and 

speak against the injustices. It became necessary for God to 

raise the prophetic movement to proclaim justice. Nathan, Gad, 

236 237


Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 

Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi proclaimed God’s words. Some 

of them functioned as individuals and others had close association 

with the prophetic groups in Israel. Prophets became a paramovement 

to priesthood and kingship in Israel. Some of them 

(Nathan, Gad) worked closely with priests and kings. Their partnership 

helped the country to progress politically, economically 

and religiously. David enjoyed their partnership to strengthen 

the kingdom but tensions mounted between the prophetic movement 

and the other two established institutions after the10 th 

century BC. Elijah had confrontation with the priests and kings 

of Israel (1 Kings 17-19). Amos was driven out by Amaziah, the 

priest at Bethel (Amos 7:10-17). Jeremiah was beaten up and 

locked up in the courtyard by the priest of Jerusalem (Jer. 20). 

Instead of working together, the priesthood wasted time and 

energy to suppress, if not to eliminate, the prophetic movement. 

If these two structures had joined together, they would have 

transformed their religion, politics and society and avoided the 

fall of their kingdom and the loss of their land and resources to 

foreign enemies such as Assyria and Babylon in 722 BC and 

587 BC, respectively. 

Occasions of tensions between the institution of priesthood 

and Jesus are narrated in the Gospels. Jesus tried to work in 

and through the religious structures of His day but His movement 

with the twelve disciples in establishing the kingdom of 

God and fulfilling God’s mission was misunderstood and threatened 

by the priesthood. The Church, born after the death and 

resurrection of Jesus, was initially a movement of disciples and 

not an established institution. This new movement of Jesus’ 

disciples had to face problems and persecution from the Jewish 

priesthood, Roman empire and other para-movements such as 

the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes. In spite of these difficulties, 

the Church became a well-established institution and an 

ongoing modality. The NT Church with its leaders as shepherds 

(pastors) replaced the OT priesthood which was linked to the 

system of sacrifices (J.B. Jeyaraj: AJTR:1995:164-175). The early 

Church in Jerusalem had various workers including Stephen, 

to take care of the social problems of people but a new parastructure 

emerged with the sending of Paul and Barnabas as 

missionaries to West Asia. This laid the foundation for the spread- 


ing of the Gospel and for the expansion of Christianity in West 

Asia, Europe and North America. God used the structure of missions 

to plant churches and the structure of the church to create 

para-movements for various ministries to transform society. 

These two structures are interdependent and are expected to 

continue in partnership in God’s ministry. The history of Christianity 

shows the development of other structures such as monasteries, 

seminaries, mission societies like Church Mission Society 

(CMS), London Mission Society (LMS), Baptist Mission Society 

(BMS), etc. in different periods of time and their contributions 

to the growth of churches and the progress of the society 

(Gibbs:1978; R.D.Winter:1976: 213-234). 

India is witnessing the growth of hundreds of para-church 

agencies specially in the post-independence period. Some of 

them belong to denominations such as Church of South India 

(CSI), Church of North India (CNI), Methodist, Baptist, Christian 

Missionary Alliance (CMA), Mennonite, Assembly of God, 

etc. Others are inter-denominational and are doing their ministries 

either in co-operation with some churches or independently 

without official relationship with the churches. Human 

resources and financial support for these organizations come 

from mainline churches. All the para-church agencies can be 

classified and grouped under seven major categories as follows: 

(i). Evangelistic organizations which preach the Gospel to 

Christians and non-Christians through revival meetings, conventions, 

camps and conferences. (ii) Cultural and Cross-cultural 

Mission societies involved in planting churches in 

unreached areas and establishing schools and hospitals in mission 

fields. (iii) Social Service agencies who take care of orphans, 

widows, aged people and provide relief measures during calamities, 

ethnic violence and war through their projects. (iv) Social 

Action movements which identify the factors causing injustice, 

forces which perpetuate violence, violation of human rights and 

demand social justice and work for the welfare of the people. (v) 

Educational and Literature ministries which organize seminars 

and workshops to strengthen the laity and train leaders for involvement 

in churches and society. Training institutes, seminaries 

and research centres affiliated to the Senate of Serampore 

(SSC) and Asia Theological Association (ATA) provide specialized 

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training for God’s ministry, as compared to the general education 

given by mission schools and colleges. Bible Society, Christian 

Literature Society (CLS), Evangelical Literature Service (ELS), 

Indian Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge 

(ISPCK), Theological Book Trust (TBT), etc. are providing Bibles 

in different languages, theological text books, devotional and 

song books for the churches, missions and institutions. (vi)More 

Dialogue Forums are emerging due to the initiative of some Christian 

leaders in various parts of India to bring people of other 

faiths to understand each other and to live in peace and harmony. 

(vii) Other associations such as World Council of Churches 

(WCC), National Christian Council of India (NCCI), World Evangelical 

Fellowship (WEF), Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), 

India Missions Association (IMA), Evangelical Fellowship of India 

(EFI) which co-ordinate churches and para-church agencies 

for sharing of information, discussions and work-out programmes. 

They help the churches and para-church organizations 

to do the ministries effectively in our country. It is estimated 

that there are more than 500 of such protestant parachurch 

agencies with approximately 6000 Indians working for 

them at the local, regional and national level. Their number is 

expected to grow some more in the next decade. 

THIRD STRUCTURE 

God does not limit Himself to the work of these two structures 

only. He has raised a third structure in different periods 

of history to contribute to the goals of His mission. This third 

structure used to be secular or religious, belonging to people of 

other faiths. The leaders of this structure do not adhere to the 

faith of the Israelites or Christians. Jewish leaders such as 

priests and prophets acknowledged and co-operated with the 

third structure. For example, the 8 th century prophets recognized 

that God raised the Assyrian empire as an instrument to 

punish the northern kingdom of Israel (Amos 3:11; 7:17; Hosea 

10). Jeremiah acknowledged the Babylonian empire as God’s 

instrument to re-structure the corrupt society of Judah by destroying 

the temple in Jerusalem and leading them to exile 

(Jer.1:14; 4:5-8,21,29). Deutero-Isaiah claimed Cyrus, the king 

of Persia as God’s servant to bring salvation to the exiled (Isa. 

45:1-13). Nehemiah and Ezra co-operated with the Persian rule 


in the governance of the land in the period after exile. Their 

reform movement functioned with the help of the Persian King 

and they were able to construct the temple, the wall of Jerusalem, 

reinstate worship and the preaching of the Torah and maintain 

law and order in the land (Neh. 2; Ezra 3). Priests of the 

post-exile community co-operated with the plans of Nehemiah 

and Ezra and never opposed them, drawing support from Persian 

rulers. They too recognized that their God worked through 

such political structures for the good of the people. Jesus also 

did not exclude the third structure from the mission of God. He 

considered the movements belonging to the third structure not 

as enemies or rivalries but supporters even to the extent of regarding 

them as His own brothers and sisters (Mk.9:38-40; 

Mt.12:50). 

Many Christians, today, think that it is not right to have any 

link with the third structure, whether it is secular or religious. 

They do not want to co-operate or work together with the movements 

and organizations belonging to the third structure in establishing 

the values of the kingdom and in transforming society. 

They consider it as unscriptural, fearing that it will lead to 

syncretism or compromise with other religions or ideologies. 

Leaders of the churches and para-church agencies are afraid 

that Christians who support their ministries would question their 

links with secular and other religious movements and withdraw 

their financial support. It must be realized that Christians are a 

minority in India and living in pluralist context. Although this 

minority has contributed much through the ministries of the 

church and para-church organization to the nation, it cannot 

change society alone. Christians must acknowledge the contribution 

of secular movements and other forces such as peasant 

organizations for the right of the peasants, ecological movements 

in protecting the nature, feminist movements for the welfare of 

women and children, Dalit organizations for the cause of the 

untouchables, Gandhian peace foundation for the harmony of 

people and national integration and must be willing to co-operate 

with them for socio-political changes in the country without 

compromising their faith and convictions. Critical co-operation 

with this kind of third structure is a necessity in God’s ministry. 

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PARTNERSHIP AND CO-OPERATION 

Churches, para-church agencies and secular movements have 

their own problems and limitations. If these structures wanted 

to be more effective in their ministries, they needed the partnership 

and co-operation of the other. According to the nature 

and need of their ministries, they could work out either ‘bilateral’ 

or ‘vertically integrated’ or ‘horizontally integrated’ partnership 

(Butler:1994:9-30) If partnership was difficult to work 

out then, at least mutual co-operation must be established. 

Some of the challenges of building partnership or co-operation 

for these structures are listed briefly. 

(i) The challenge, first of all, comes from the Scripture. It is 

noticeable that God raised structures to fulfill His purpose in 

different historical periods. Whenever the priesthood and other 

para-structures such as Judges, Prophets and Reformers cooperated 

and worked together, they were able to transform the 

politics, society and religion of Israel. Drawing motivation from 

the history narrated by the Scripture is an important challenge 

to present-day leaders of churches and organizations. To stand 

aloof and do the ministry is against the scriptural principle of 

fellowship and unity. The spirit of ecumenism should enable us 

to understand and accept others and bind us together in the 

ministry of God. 

(ii) The changing world with the new info-tech challenges for 

partnership and mutual co-operation. The need for efficiency 

and suitability in the new millennium demand more collaboration 

among Christians. The secular business world has understood 

the changes taking place around the globe and is moving 

towards joint venture in technology and trade. It is pooling its 

resources and expertise to avoid duplication, saving funds and 

resources to become more effective. Churches and most organizations 

are far behind in their theological outlook, working pattern 

and in achieving expected results. There is the danger of 

getting outdated in the new millennium. Partnership is one of 

the ways to avoid duplication of work and wastage of resources 

and to modernize thoughts and workout strategies. 

(iii) The administrative set up created to suit personal convenience 

needs re-structuring for cordial co-operation. Administration 

should open up their structures for participatory deci- 


sion-making. Real administration allows leaders of other structures 

to be involved in the committees of other structures. Involvement 

of pastors and bishops in the administration and ministries 

of other para-structure and the involvement of leaders of 

organizations in the committees of churches will surely 

strengthen co-operation and partnership. 

(iv) The power of political and social forces is so great nationally 

and internationally, it could pervert justice, instigate communal 

violence, disturb peace and harmony and hinder economic 

progress and welfare. The oppressive forces do not like 

churches, para-church organizations and other similar movements 

to co-operate in partnership. Critical co-operation with 

the Third Structure is a necessity in order to deal with national 

and international issues. National and international injustice 

are important challenges to the structures in their efforts to 

exist in solidarity rather than as divided forces. 

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Chapter Seven 

Developing Leaders for Ministry: 

Principles of Training 

Training and developing leaders for the ministry of churches, 

organizations and institutions is indispensable. A few people 

are born with the qualities of leadership but, many people are 

shaped to be successful leaders by their families, friends, unavoidable 

circumstances and situations or through special training. 

Rigorous training is given to soldiers and officers in the 

military service. Terrorist groups train their men and women to 

accomplish the task with minute precision at the cost of their 

lives. Industries and businesses train their executives, managers, 

sales personals, office staff and labourers by sending them, 

periodically, to various institutes and training centres. Doctors, 

nurses and lab technicians are constantly updated on the use 

of new techniques and modern equipment. Compared to these 

people, Christian ministers are trained less. It is sad to note 

that the churches are not giving priority to training their clergy 

and lay people towards the development of quality leadership. 

Anthony D’Souza points out that ‘Christian leadership essentially 

involves service’ and should not promote power, authority, 

honour, prestige or personal advantage (Developing the Leader 

within You: Strategies for Effective Leadership:1994:5). He reminds 

us to distinguish between leadership and management 

and writes, ‘Essentially, leadership is a broader concept than 

management. Leadership involves working with and through 

people to achieve results, which are not necessarily institutional 

or organizational goals. We can think of management as a special 

kind of leadership that sees achieving of institutional or 

organizational goals as paramount’ (1994:17). Various reasons 

contribute to the neglect in the development of efficient 

leaders. 

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1. Some people think that a call from God is the sole criteria 

for doing God’s ministry and that the training is not important. 

The Holy Spirit, they believe, could give them the gifts and talents 

needed for ministry and guide them through critical situations. 

They assume prayer could give them enough wisdom and 

strength for ministry. It is true that the call of God, gifts of the 

Spirit and prayer are important. They are needed for ministry 

but they alone are not enough. Training is needed to analyze 

the situation, plan actions, work out strategies and implement 

them. 

2. Some have a low respect for Christian ministry and place 

high esteem on other professions such as medical, engineering, 

business management and international relations. This is another 

reason for not realizing the importance of training. 

3. Evangelistic campaigns, annual festivals, maintenance of 

buildings, Christmas celebrations and dinners are regarded more 

important than training programmes. So churches and institutions 

allocate a small amount of the budgets for training and 

developing leaders. 

4. Some Bishops, Superintendents, Directors and General 

Secretaries of churches and para-church organizations are afraid 

of updating their clergy, staff and workers. They discourage them 

from further studies or from attending workshops and seminars. 

These leaders want to control those who are employed for 

various reasons. Sometimes they are concerned about the 

financial expense of training people and the increase in salaries 

to be paid after the training or higher studies. 

5. Since well-trained personnel leave the church or organization 

and start their own ministry, leaders hesitate to spend 

funds to develop others working in their institutions. Sometimes, 

the well-trained people are reluctant to go to rural areas for 

ministry or accept some other responsibility. This kind of experience 

dissuades the leaders from organizing training programmes. 

6. Racial, language and caste discrimination too contributes 

to the neglect of training and developing leaders. If the ruling 

class in churches or organizations belong to a particular caste 

or tribe or race, then others belonging to different castes and 

ethnic groups are deliberately left out from training programmes. 

Developing Leaders for Ministry: Principles of Training 

Potentially committed people of ethnic minorities are 

marginalized by the majority and their policies of nepotism. 

God is interested, not only in calling and guiding people for 

ministry but, also in training them. God used many forms of 

training as we notice in the Bible. Abraham was trained to sojourn 

in different places. Although semi-nomadic life was not 

new to Abraham, moving from one place to another unknown 

place, obeying God’s guidance and just believing His promises 

were part of his training. He learnt to trust Yahweh. A similar 

pattern could be noticed in the life of Isaac and Jacob. Joseph’s 

training included experience of hatred and betrayal from his 

own brothers. Being sold as a slave, a servant in the Egyptian 

palace and imprisoned in Egypt for his truthfulness, gave him 

opportunities to learn administration and shaped him to become 

a great leader in Egypt. Moses received royal training from 

Pharaoh’s official at the Egyptian palace. God trained him in 

the wilderness before sending him to lead the people of Israel 

out of bondage. During the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, 

the Israelites were trained to regard themselves as a 

pilgrim community in covenant, to trust Yahweh for their needs 

and have Him prepare them for a life in the promised land. 

Moses trained Joshua to succeed him and lead the people to 

the land. Samuel learnt to receive and proclaim God’s word by 

ministering under the leadership of Eli at Shiloh. Before making 

David the King of Israel, God trained him to be a shepherd, 

face Goliath, win several battles for Israel, confront difficult people 

and situations, develop courage and confidence and learn 

diplomacy. Elisha was called and trained by Elijah to continue 

the prophetic ministry in Israel. After being with Elijah and witnessing 

his powerful ministry, Elisha realized the need for God’s 

power and asked for that gift in abundance. Mordecai raised 

Esther and also trained her to be faithful to the Israelites. She 

received guidance and was challenged to speak to the king and 

save the Israelites from genocide. Ezra was a trained priest. Daniel 

went through various stages of training to interpret dreams 

and visions. He learnt administration at the court of Darius. It 

took many years for him to come to the top position (Dan.6:1-3). 

He had to undergo suffering in the prison for his honesty and 

in the den of lions for his faith and commitment. Jesus was 

trained at home. It is also possible that Jesus could have re- 

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ceived religious education from a Rabbai or synagogue. The first 

thirty years of his life was a preparation for his ministry. Details 

about his training is not given in the Gospels. However, the 

writers of the Gospels (Mt. 13:54-57; Mk.6:2-4; Lk.4:22-37; 

Jn.7:14-15) have recorded the way the Priests, Pharisees and 

Sadducees marveled at his teaching and power of healing the 

sick (J.B. Jeyaraj, Meeting the Messiah, 1999:20-31). Jesus 

trained his disciples for three and half years before dying on 

the cross. He did not establish a seminary at the banks of Jordan 

or at the centre of Jerusalem to train the disciples. He took 

them along with him and trained them through discipleship. 

The content of His teaching included the meaning of the Law, 

ethics of the Kingdom of God, bearing and suffering on the Cross, 

eternal life, love for others, prayer, great commission and the 

second coming. His teachings imparted the values of life and 

shaped the character of the disciples. The disciples learnt the 

values of the Kingdom of God and the skills to do the ministry 

from Jesus. Victor Cole analysized the way Jesus trained His 

disciples from the perspective of curriculum and writes, “As 

touching what Jesus taught, we can categorize these into three: 

prepositional truth, or cognitive facts; practical matters of life, 

values, character and spiritual life; as well as practical skills 

necessary for ministry. All three correspond to cognition, affect 

and somehow psychomotor skills, respectively, in today’s educational 

categories” (Victor Cole, Training of the Ministry: A Macro- 

Curricular Approach, 2001:61). Paul had professional training 

from Rabbai Gamaliel. Using the discipleship method of Jesus, 

Paul trained Timothy, Titus, Aquilla and Precilla and the elders 

appointed in the churches at Galatia, Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi 

and Colosse. 

Training for ministry could be formal or informal. The above 

examples indicate that some of them were trained formally in 

the cultic centres, royal courts, prophetic guilds, priestly groups 

and rabbinic schools. Others were trained informally through 

travel and sojourn in various places, in the wilderness, prisons 

and among families. Sometimes, the training was a combination 

of both formal and informal patterns. Different forms of 

training at different places shaped the leaders. No one could 

say that the training received so far was enough for the rest of 

their lives to do God’s ministry. Training and developing oneself 


to be a leader is a life-long process. We continue to learn new 

insights, techniques and methods needed for a particular ministry. 

The theoretical knowledge and techniques, as well as sociopolitical 

and cultural contexts, influence the training and development 

of leaders. Sometimes, people are trained in one context 

and sent to another cultural or socio-political context for 

ministry. Sometimes, people are trained and placed within the 

same context. Training should give serious attention to the context 

in which the persons are trained and to the context to which 

these trained personnel are going to serve. Integrating theory, 

techniques, practicals and context in training is important to 

develop efficient leadership. Having both full-time ministers such 

as the clergy, evangelists, missionaries and social workers and 

the lay people involved in the ministry of churches and organizations 

in mind, the following general principles are suggested 

to be at the centre of training and developing leaders for church 

and society. These principles are key in spiritual, theological 

and ministerial formation. Instead of discussing details about 

the way training could be given, I am highlighting the principles 

for training. Case studies listed in the next section speak of 

different approaches in training. 

VISION OF GOD AND VISION FOR PEOPLE 

The foremost principle in training for ministry is enhancing 

the vision of God and that for people. The word ‘vision’ could be 

regarded in the literal sense of seeing God or receiving a message 

from Him through a trance. God revealed himself to 

Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Amos, Isaiah and Daniel. These 

men saw visions and dreamed dreams of God. However, we cannot 

insist that everyone of us should receive visions from God as 

the above persons did. Since God had revealed himself in Jesus 

and provided us His written Word, we need to gain the vision 

of God through the Scriptures. Vision, therefore, should 

not be understood in the literal sense of dreams and trance. 

Vision means knowing God’s nature, attributes, actions, will and 

expectation through the reading of the Scripture and listening 

to the experience of others. Knowing God is an on-going experience. 

Difficult moments and critical situation in our personal 

lives and ministry too, contributes to understanding God. Growing 

in the vision of God motivates, sustains and enables Chris- 

248 249


tians to take up challenges in serving God. Vision of God leads 

Christians to gain vision for others. Understanding God helps 

them to understand humanity. For example, the more divine 

the revelation was to Abraham, the more he understood human 

beings. His plea for forgiveness for the people of Sodom and 

Gommorah and his intercession that their lives may be spared 

from destruction is an evidence (Gen. 18:17-33). Moses was willing 

to lose his status and life if the people of Israel were punished 

and banned from entering the promised land. He was a 

man filled with concern for his people. He prayed, struggled 

and suffered for his people. Amos pleaded to God not to destroy 

Israel after seeing the visions (Ch.7-8). Isaiah’s vision of God in 

the temple at Jerusalem made him to realize the holiness of 

God and his unworthiness for ministry (Isa.6). The visions of 

Habbakuk, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel helped them to understand 

who God is and what God wanted them to do for people. 

The visionary experience of these people was a good training 

to serve God and society. In their lives the vision of God and 

vision for people were inter-linked. This aspect comes out more 

vividly in the life of Jesus. Jesus quite often spoke of his Father 

(Jn.15). He told his disciples about his relationship with the 

Father. He explained the purpose and will of the Father for humanity. 

The vision of the Father made him more conscious of 

his identity as the Son of God and Son of Man. Jesus could 

claim himself as the Good Shepherd. His understanding of the 

Father enhanced his concern for people and encouraged Him to 

lay down his life for humanity (Jn.10:14-15). Jesus trained the 

disciples to keep the vision of God in focus and serve people. 

The apostles narrate their vision of God in the epistles. Their 

understanding of God and their personal experiences in ministry 

motivated them continuously to take up challenges and face 

persecution. By reading the visions narrated in the Bible, one 

could certainly understand God as God of the poor, justice, welfare, 

love and peace. Unfortunately many Christians fail to see 

these dimensions of God. Theological training should provide 

them a re-orientation to God. 

The vision of God should be inculcated in the vision for people. 

Some people come to understand God more and more 

through their vision and service for people. Which of these two 

comes first depends on the individual. What is important here 


is the necessity of inter-action of vision of God and for people for 

effective leadership. However, this inter-action is either at a low 

level with some leaders or is one-sided. Some of them speak 

highly of God and their visions, dreams and experience of God 

but ignore the aspects of justice, human rights and the welfare 

of people. They dichotomize the vision of God and vision for 

people and hold on to the vertical aspect only. Recent events of 

terrorism by Islamic fundamentalists and sucide bombers of different 

groups make it clear that terrorists are indoctrinated with 

the high vision of God, glory of death and heaven rather than 

the value of human life. They have lost the vision for others and 

ignored the damage and pain they could cause to people. Innocent 

people become victims of their terror, which they believe 

was done for the sake of their God. Terriorists need proper 

vision for humanity. Training for ministry should be based on 

the vision of God and focused on the people. It is important to 

train people to subject their traditions, rituals, customs and views 

to the authority of God and to uphold God’s love, mercy, grace, 

justice and the welfare of people. Hosea brings out this emphasis 

saying, ‘for I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge 

of God rather than burnt offerings’ (6:6). 

KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCRIPTURE 

The knowledge of the Bible is indispensable for Christian 

ministry. This need is already emphasized earlier in this book. 

However, I would like to quote a few texts to show how much 

God and the apostles valued this principle. The books of the OT 

and NT were written and edited stage by stage. According to the 

biblical narratives, the earliest written text could be the 

Decalogue. The other statues and ordinances were expansions 

of the Decalogue and were added later. Moses read the Ten 

Commandments and explained it to the people of Israel. Moses 

trained the priestly group from the tribe of Levi and the rest of 

the Israelites to be rooted in the knowledge of God’s commandments. 

The levitical priesthood was trained to instruct the people 

in the laws. Joshua too taught the law to the people of Israel. 

It is not clear how the ministerial training of the priests 

and levites went on after the settlement in Canaan. It is possible 

that the families of the levites trained their sons in the knowledge 

of the Torah. Cultic centres could have functioned as a 

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training ground for priests and levites. The temple in Shiloh, 

where Eli ministered, could have been a training place of that 

region. Knowledge of the Torah was expected of everyone in 

Israel (Dt.6:1-9). Prophets were able to quote the laws of Torah 

in their proclamation. The lives and ministry of priests and prophets 

were based on the Word of God. 

Jesus ministry, particularly teaching in the synagogue, was 

so radical. The priests, pharisees, sadducess and scribes who 

were well versed in the Torah made religion a burden for the 

Israelites through their interpretation. The interpretation of Jesus 

challenged religious scholars to understand God’s word properly. 

He corrected their wrong notions. Jesus gave more time to 

orient his disciples on his interpretation of the Law and Prophets. 

His teachings, recorded in Matthew 5-7, gave the disciples a 

new perspective of God and ministry for people. His parables, 

sermons and remarks enlightened the disciples on God’s word. 

The training of the disciples in understanding and interpreting 

God’s word enabled them to preach the right message and do 

powerful ministry after the ascension of Jesus. Paul insists that 

the knowledge of God’s word was an important foundation for 

Christian life and ministry. He says, ‘All Scripture is inspired by 

God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and 

for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, 

equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim. 3:16). He took time 

and effort to increase the knowledge of Scripture in the churches 

he had planted. He trained Timothy and Titus not only to have 

deep insights of God’s word but also commanded them to teach 

the Word of God to the congregations (1 Tim. 4:6-9). The other 

apostles such as Peter, John and James imparted the teachings 

of the Scripture by writing epistles and sending them to the 

elders of the churches. Their effort enabled the elders to avoid 

heresies and show remarkable leadership in times of opposition 

and persecution. The ministry could continue because of their 

strong foundation on God’s word. Knowledge of God’s word is 

not enough. People of God should be trained in understanding 

and interpreting God’s word from contextual perspective. 

KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD 

Sufficient knowledge of the world, particularly the socio-political 

and historical background of the context in which the 


ministry would be done, is necessary. General knowledge of the 

world could have been built up through the reading of newspapers 

and the watching of TV but, the knowledge of the world 

means the ability to understand the society critically. Training 

programmes should include courses on analyzing the socio-political 

and economic situation at a micro- and macro-level respectively. 

The reasons and consequences of poverty, exploitations 

and accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few should be 

analysed through teaching and involvement. The land of Canaan 

was new to Moses. He sent spies to study in detail geography, 

religion and culture of the people of Canaan (Num. 13: 17-33). 

Prior knowledge of the promised land became a necessity to 

train the elders of the tribes of Israel and the priests who were 

to lead the Israelites to Canaan. Moses and his team analyzed 

the situation and prepared the people. Joshua warned the Israelites 

about the religion of Baal and the culture of the Canaanites 

because he could compare the nature of Baal to Yahweh (Johs. 

1:6-8; 2:1; 23:6-8; 24:14-15). Baal promoted fertility cult, human 

sacrifice, the practice of sorceries and the worship of nature 

than the Creator. Analysis of religions is part of the training. 

David was successful in battle because he gained the knowledge 

of the location, people and their strength prior to an attack 

by sending spies. Prophets could predict the rise of a new empire 

because they were careful to collect information about the 

political situation within the land of Israel and in Assyria, Syria 

and Babylon from the caravan traders. They analyzed the policies 

and administration of the kings in Israel and Judah. Prophets 

such Elijah, Amos and Micah knew what was happening in villages 

and towns around them. They were sensitive to the pain 

and opinion of the public. Without such an experience they 

would have failed to progress in their ministry and make it relevant 

to their historical period. Jesus’ observations and analysis 

of the Jewish society and Roman political power, helped him 

to teach and train the disciples. Paul was already educated not 

only on Judaism but, also on the philosophies and mystery religions 

of the Greeks and the Romans (Acts.16-20). His knowledge 

of the Roman world enabled him to write and counter the 

false teachings of Gnostics, Epicurians, astrologists and sorcerers 

and the religion of Diana of Ephesus. His analysis of the 

society led him to challenge racial and economic discrimination 

252 253


and segregation of Jews, Greeks, masters, slaves, men and 

women and to use the Church as a dynamic force to counter 

this evil (Gal. 3.28, Eph. 2:15-18; 6:10-20). He trained leaders 

of different ethnic origin. He trained the leaders to make the 

Church inclusive of believers of all race and economic background. 

The uniqueness of training is subjecting the knowledge 

of society, analysis and results to the message of the Gospel. 

The Gospel is the basis of evaluating the knowledge we 

have accumulated about the world. This inter-action between 

the knowledge of society and the Gospel is an important principle 

in training and developing leaders for ministry. 

KNOWLEDGE OF THE INSTITUTION 

Persons appointed or allowed to be involved in programmes 

as volunteers should be knowledgeable in the structure of the 

church or organization that uses them in ministry. They should 

be told the history and development of the institution. Records 

such as the annual reports, magazines, documents of the programmes, 

auto-biographies or biographies of the founders should 

be made available to the trainees. The information about their 

organization should help them to know about earlier problems 

and how they were solved. They could avoid repeating the same 

mistakes. They can learn new insights and set new strategies 

and patterns of ministry. The more they understand their institutions, 

the more they become loyal to their service. The leaders 

of ancient Israel never forgot to tell the history and traditions of 

their ancestors, Egyptian bondage and liberation and the covenant 

with Yahweh to each generation. The knowledge of the 

history and growth of Israel was imparted to generations through 

story-telling and singing the psalms. Their worship, laws, songs, 

proverbs and prophecies incorporated the history of the institution 

of Israel and contributed to the growth of their knowledge 

about themselves. 

Some leaders are so successful in the ministry and take their 

institutions to a greater height because they know very well the 

history and development of the institution, the people who work 

with them and the people for whom they work. Some pastors 

who are transferred to other churches, take interest to know 

the history and people of the church. Some others fail to know 

their institution. Their lack of knowledge about the new place 


of ministry causes problems and even leads to divisions in the 

church. Some leaders do not want their staff to know about 

their institution. They deliberately keep the staff and workers 

in darkness as a medium of control, which make ministry inefficient. 

We live in an era of information technology. A person 

could become an efficient leader and contribute to information 

building about an institution, the people employed and the context 

to which the ministry is directed. 

ADMINISTRATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Everyone involved in the ministry needs the skill of administration. 

I mean, the ability to manage their time, resources at 

their disposal and co-ordination of the work. Some pastors, evangelists, 

teachers, social workers are poor in administration because 

they do not take interest in learning management skills. 

Some Christian ministers are highly disorganized and do everything 

at the last minute. They do not plan ahead. Others lack 

the skill of accounting and managing the funds. It does not 

occur to them to settle accounts or keep record of bills or vouchers. 

Some are good in spending than raising funds for ministry. 

The Bible speaks of administration and stewardship. One of the 

key principles in administration is to delegate power and authority. 

Moses tried to manage the people of Israel all alone. 

Jethro, his father-in-law, instructed him to appoint leaders and 

to authorize them to serve the people of Israel (Ex.18). Jesus 

delegated his authority to the disciples, to go and serve the people. 

Another principle in administration is sharing of information, 

decentralization of decision-making and the creation of 

corporate accountability. Many leaders do not want to share 

information and try to avoid the democratic approach in making 

decisions. They do not record the minutes of meetings properly 

or circulate it among members on time. The authoritarian way 

of administration quenches the spirit of ministry and demoralizes 

ministers, forcing them to neglect their work. The democratic 

approach and corporate decision-making, which is encouraged 

for ministry, could be noticed in the OT and NT. The 

body of elders, priestly groups and prophetic guilds played an 

important role in the administration. The council in Jerusalem 

allowed extensive discussion on matters of faith, formulating 

doctrines and policies, analyzing the problems of ministry and 

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decision-making. The elders appointed in churches were asked 

to use democratic approach in their administration. They are 

good examples for the democratic approach and participatory 

decision making patterns. The parables of Jesus speak of accountability 

(Mt.6:19-24; 13: 15:37; 21:28-32). Individuals as 

well as leaders should be held responsible for the use of finance, 

labour and properties belonging to the ministry. Moral 

and financial corruption have no place in Christian ministry. 

Training programmes for ministry should enable the trainees to 

learn the truth of stewardship, the democratic approach of administration 

and accountability to God and the institution. Christian 

ministry suffers in many parts of the world because the 

training programmes fails to emphasize these principles in developing 

leadership. 

ACCEPTING CRITICISM AND CORRECTING MISTAKES 

Many Christians are alergic to criticism. They do not want to 

be criticized or their mistakes pointed out. Some leaders go to 

the extreme of victimizing their staff for criticizing them. Criticism 

should be done with due respect to the individual and with 

the view to help the person to do the ministry efficiently. It should 

not be done with the attitude of enmity. A leader could be successful 

if only he/she allowed to be criticized and welcomed 

differences in opinion. “Agreering to disagree” must be learnt in 

ministry. Moses was severely criticized by some people in the 

community. He accepted their criticism and suggestion. David 

learnt to accept the criticism of Nathan the prophet. Solomon 

and Rehoboam could not tolerate the criticism of others. Their 

vengeance against their critics went to the extent of killing them. 

Proverbs points out that where there is no criticism, people perish. 

Ministry also could suffer. Amaziah, the priest could not 

tolerate the message of Amos. He forced the prophet to leave 

Bethel and stopped the prophetic ministry. Daniel was criticized 

for his faith. Jesus was criticized by the priests, Pharisees, 

Sadduceess and Roman soldiers. Jesus listened to their criticism, 

respected their opinion against him and replied them with 

a motive to correct them. The apostles were criticized for preaching 

Jesus as the Messiah and for healing the sick people. Some 

of our leaders tolerate criticism but, they are unwilling to correct 

their mistakes and wrong approaches. Jesus predicted the 


denial of Peter, but, Peter did not accept this prediction. He 

repented later and tried to make up for his mistakes. Thomas 

expressed doubts on the resurrection of Jesus but, he was 

ashamed of his doubts after seeing the resurrected Jesus. He 

made a profound statement ‘My Lord and my God’ in an attempt 

to correcting himself (Jeyaraj, Meeting the Messiah, 

1999:76-82). Paul repented for persecuting the Christians after 

receiving the vision of God and dedicated himself to suffer for 

Christ. To accept mistakes, confess failures in public and correct 

wrong approaches, courage is needed. Some leaders regard 

the acceptance of mistakes and the ability to correct them as an 

issue of prestige. To them, prestige is more important than the 

blunders and their consequences in ministry. They refuse to 

learn the principle of accepting and correcting mistakes. Such 

people cannot develop themselves as good and honest leaders. 

Training programmes should help ministers with the skill to 

face criticism, set right their weakness and failures and to grow 

more in efficiency. 

COMMUNICATION AND CONFRONTATION SKILLS 

Efficient communication is necessary for ministry. Many leaders 

such as Moses, Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah were not born orators, 

but, they trained themselves to communicate the message 

of God to the people. Communication skills such as oration and 

writing could be developed through particular techniques and 

practices. Prophetic ministry in ancient Israel included visual 

communication. The symbolic actions of Jeremiah are evidences 

of visual communication (Jer.13:1-11; 27:1-8). Amos, Hosea and 

Isaiah used different forms in communicating the message. Conveying 

the ideas in proper form and style is necessary for leaders. 

Some leaders are good in thinking and developing new ideas 

but poor in communicating to people. Jesus was able to communicate 

his teachings using the method of story-telling, parables, 

proverbs, rhetoric and prophetic form. He used visual communication 

by asking his followers to look at the birds of the air 

and lilies of the fields (Mt.6:25-34; 13:24-34). His action of triumphal 

entry into Jerusalem using the colt and cleansing of 

the temple are evidences of visual communication (Jn.12:12- 

18). Peter, who was a fisherman, became an eloquent communicator. 

His preaching led many Jews to Christianity (Acts.2:14- 

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41). Paul’s oratory abilities allowed him to speak at Athens (Acts. 

17). His style of writing was scholarly yet ordinary people could 

understand his teaching. The apocalyptic style for communicating 

the visions of John in the Book of Revelation (Chs. 4-9; 12- 

16) was the appropriate skill at the time of severe persecution. 

Paul’s verse, ‘for our gospel came to you not only in word, but 

also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction’ (1 

Thess.1:5) emphasizes style, power and conviction as important 

elements in Christian communication. Training programmes 

should enable leaders to develop decent literary styles, filled 

with the power of the Holy Spirit and full conviction for effective 

communication. 

Confrontational skill is also necessary. In doing ministry, we 

come across difficult situations and problematic people. Instead 

of avoiding such people or difficult situations, it is important to 

face and sort out the problem. Patience is an indispensable element 

in the skill of confronting people and situations. Developing 

patience and faith in God provides strength to deal with the 

problems. Jesus was confronted with difficult people such as 

Pharisees, Sadducess, Roman soldiers and Pilate. He never 

avoided or condemned them. He faced them with patience and 

confidence. When Jesus was confronted by the people possessed 

by evil spirits and at the death of Lazarus, he related his ministry 

to these people. He knew what was supposed to be done. He 

neither wavered nor compromised but stood firm in his plan in 

confronting the situation and the people. Peter, Paul and James 

followed Jesus’ method. Confronting skill is not to show power, 

authority and pride. It is done out of respect for people. It should 

show love and forgiveness and contribute to the restoration of 

justice and peace to people. 

PRAYER 

Prayer and meditation are part of Christian life and necessary 

for ministry. Some leaders who are so busy with the work 

neglect prayer. Since prayer is a voluntary action, it is difficult 

to give training on it. The initiative is on the side of those who 

are involved in ministry, but, the opportunity to come together 

to pray for people or particular needs could be provided by 

churches and organizations. Prayer topics could be collected 

and circulated among members of the body of Christ. Personal 


and corporate prayer strengthens life and ministry. The personal 

prayer of an individual could include asking God to point 

out his or her weakness, asking for wisdom and knowledge, 

forgiveness and assurance and strength to bear all the difficulties 

in ministry. Personal prayer could also be an intercession 

for others. Abraham prayed for his personal needs and the 

fulfillment of God’s promises. He also prayed for Lot, the people 

of Sodom (Gen. 18) and Abimelech, the king of the Philistines 

(Gen.20:7). When we pray for others, it becomes a ministry to 

them through our prayers. Moses took time to be with God in 

prayer and interceded for the Israelites (Ex. 32:9-14). David, as 

a king, prayed to God to forgive him for the mistakes he had 

committed and pleaded that Israel should not be punished for 

his failures. The prophet Habbakuk prayed to God to be merciful 

towards the nation of Israel and pleaded for justice to be 

done (Habk.2). The prayers of Jeremiah show the depth of his 

inner struggles and pain and draws strength to continue the 

prophetic ministry (Jer.4:19-22; 9-12). He pleaded to God to 

forgive Judah and restore the nation. The Book of Daniel shows 

him as a man of prayer for the nation. Through prayer, these 

ancestors of Israel were able to influence the people around 

them and bring great impact in history. Jesus spent time praying 

to his Father. He withdrew often from the disciples and prayed 

for his life, ministry and for the people. His prayer at Gesthemane 

revealed his inner struggle in fulfilling the will of God. Quite 

often he instructed his disciples to pray for themselves, the nation 

and to raise more labourers for ministry. The prayer taught 

by Jesus which we call as the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ has a deeper meaning 

and much relevance for personal and social life. Water Wink 

writes, “… the phrases of the Lord’s Prayer are not indicative 

but imperative – we are ordering God to bring the Kingdom near. 

It will not do to implore. We must command. We have been commanded 

to command. We are required by God to haggle with 

God for the sake of the sick, the obsessed, the weak and to 

conform our lives to our intercessions” (Wink, Engaging the Powers: 

Discernment and Resistance in a world of Domination, 

1992:303). He taught them the meaning of fasting and prayer 

(Mt.6:9-18). By the example of the prayers offered by the Pharisee 

and the Sadducee, He warned his disciples that prayer could 

become a ritual and hypocritical (Mt. 6:9-15). He prayed for Is- 

258 259


rael on the Cross and asked God to forgive them. The apostles 

gave importance to both individual and corporate prayers. Their 

miracles are an evidence of such prayers. Paul’s letters contained 

many prayers offered for the believers in the Church. He 

began his epistles not only with greetings and blessings but a 

few sentences of prayer. A detailed study of prayer found in the 

OT and NT is needed in training programmes. The study of the 

content and literary styles of prayers, the occasions on which 

they were offered, the persons who said the prayer and the result 

of the prayer could encourage those who are involved in 

ministry today. Many Christians pray mainly to change situations, 

solve their problems or to supply their needs. Quite often 

our prayers are self-centered. Prayer changes not only the situation 

but should also change the person in prayer. The experience 

of Jacob at Peniel brought changes in his personality (Gen. 

32:21-32). Prayer alone cannot change the society has been 

pointed out elsewhere in this book. Action is also needed. On 

prayer and action, Walter Wink remarks, “…action is also no 

substitute for prayer. For some, action is a cover for unbelief; 

they simply do not believe that God is able to act in the world. 

Since God cannot change things, we must. For others, who feel 

called by God to establish justice, prayer seems a waste of precious 

time. But long-term struggle requires constant inner renewal, 

else the wells of love run dry. Social Action without prayer 

is soulless; but prayer without action lacks integrity” (1992:306). 

Our motives, attitudes and values towards prayer should change 

whether it is personal or corporate. 

LIFE STYLE 

The life style of ministers carries more impact in the ministry. 

Great leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teressa 

led a simple life. Our model is Jesus. He led a simple life-style. 

He shared his power and authority with his disciples. His life 

was transparent to his disciples. He did not accumulate wealth 

or look for comfort. He avoided popularity and fame. Above all, 

Jesus was careful to maintain high standards in ethical life. He 

showed the disciples the meaning of humility by washing their 

feet. Paul followed the model of Jesus and challenged Christians 

to lead a simple and ethical life. He wrote to the church in 

Phillippi to count everything as a loss for the sake of Christ 


(Phil. 3:7-11; 4:12). Ministry is not for making personal gains 

but for losing everything for Christ and for others. Gnana 

Robinson writes, “The context of the poor calls for a new life 

style both in our personal life and in the structure of our theological 

institutions so that our words and actions may go together 

and carry some credibility” (G.Robinson, A Journey 

through Theological Education, 1989:94). The credibility of Christian 

ministry lies in the life style of Christians. It is important 

that those who teach and train others translate their teachings 

into life. Those who are in training for ministry hear not only 

the teachings but also see the life style of the leader. Victor Cole 

emphasizes this fact by saying, “teaching of content materials 

in training of the ministry must combine what is said with what 

is lived. Then learning will combine what is heard with what is 

seen. Thus, in the teaching-learning process, saying correlates 

with hearing, while living out a life correlate with seeing a life 

style lived out’ (2001:44). 

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Chapter Eight 

Theological Education, 

Context and Involvement 

This essay is a reflection based on my 20 years of experience 

as a Theological teacher in an ecumenical seminary affiliated to 

the Senate of Serampore College and involvement with various 

evangelical institutions and missionary organizations. It is more 

a sharing of my views to initiate discussion in churches and 

seminaries. The present scenario of theological education in 

India is very much encouraging. The following reasons could 

be stated : 

(i) We have developed advanced level theological education 

that many of our students can complete their doctoral degrees 

within India. Scholars to guide researchers, library resources 

and scholarship funds have been developed over the years to 

provide quality education in our seminars and colleges. 

(ii) Indian seminaries are drawing students from neighbouring 

countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, 

where theological education is not that much developed either 

due to political or ecclesiastical reasons. Indian seminaries have 

risen to extend their help to the churches and theological institutions 

in Asia. India will become an important centre of theological 

training in Asia in 2000 A.D. 

(iii) Indian theological education gives importance to pietism, 

ecumenism, evangelization, church planting and liberation. 

Indigenization of Christianity was taken seriously soon after Independence 

and efforts were taken to create an indigenized form 

of liturgy and worship, theology in philosophical terms, impart 

theological education in regional languages, produce books and 

course materials in vernacular, etc. Contextual theologies like 

liberation, dalit, tribal, feminist and eco are developing. 

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(iv) Churches particularly belonging to Charismatic movements 

who once questioned the necessity of theological education 

have now acknowledged its importance and started establishing 

their own seminaries and institutes either at a large or 

small level. However, the mushrooming of theological colleges 

in India with overseas funds in the last decade is a serious matter 

of concern for us. For, some of these seminaries are neither 

related to churches nor missions. They are owned by some 

families. They call themselves trans-denominational but not 

willing to get affiliated to a Senate/Board/Theological Association. 

They are not bothered to have evaluation and accreditation 

by an accrediting agency. Some of the graduates find no future 

since their certificates are not recognized by churches and organizations. 

(v) Co-operation between the theological institutions of Roman 

Catholic churches and Protestant churches in terms of exchange 

of faculty, organizing seminars and producing publications 

is increasing these days. This can help us to learn from 

each other. 

(vi) Students who have studied in evangelical seminaries are 

accepted for higher studies in ecumenical seminaries. Some of 

the students trained in ecumenical seminaries are accepted as 

teachers in evangelical seminaries and vice versa. This is a notable 

change in the Indian theological education. The division 

between evangelicals and ecumenicals can be narrowed down 

further if Senate of Serampore (SSC) and Asia Theological Association 

(ATA) work closer on certain programmes and projects. 

Although we notice progress in theological education in India, 

we also hear a lot of complaints from Bishops, Presidents, 

Senior Pastors and Laity about the declining commitment of 

theologically trained students, lack of vision for people, shallow 

understanding of the Scripture and society, misuse of power 

and authority, moral lapses and negligence in the stewardship 

of money. Should we blame the college that trained such ministers 

and the system of education given to them? Or should we 

blame the structure and treatment of the Church/Organization 

that employed them? Leaders of the churches and organizations 

are partly responsible for not providing proper guidance 

and encouragement and shaping their ministers to be effective 

Theological Education, Context and Involvement 

in the ministry. I believe, the system of education and the training 

of the colleges are also partly responsible in the formation 

of Christian ministers. This leads us to raise questions such as 

- What kind of Education is more suitable to our context? What 

should be the goals and objectives of our theological training? 

What should be the centre of our training - Student or Society 

or Church? 

Another issue raised quite often in the present context is the 

theological thrust or focus of the seminaries. Should all the seminaries 

agree and promote only one theology suited to the policies 

and doctrinal stand of their management? Theologies are 

pluralistic. But what should be the common theological thrust 

of the seminaries? Liberation theology which is biblical as well 

as contextual should be the main thrust of the seminaries. Seminaries 

are not just educational institutions but also service agencies 

in our society. They cannot simply teach subjects and close 

their eyes to the evils in our society. Teaching and involvement 

should go hand in hand in all our educational institutions including 

secular schools, colleges and universities. However, many 

church leaders question this view and insist that seminaries 

should produce only ‘poojarees’ to conduct worship and rituals. 

There is a lack of understanding of the biblical concept of a 

shepherd. Seminaries, therefore, are in constant struggle with 

their churches to promote the kind of training churches expect 

or churches need today. 

MODELS AND OBJECTIVES 

Different models of theological education such as monastery, 

university, seminary and discipleship centre, etc., have been 

developed over the years. As I was completing this book, I received 

a copy of Victor Cole’s book Training of the Ministry from 

TBT Publishers. He has dealt in detail the historical development 

of theological education which I need not repeat here. 

Seminary or Bible College model is more popular in different 

parts of the world. Trained in a seminary and honoured with a 

degree or diploma are liked by many. It gives them recognition 

and religious authority. This was the situation even in the period 

of Jesus. Scholarly Rabbinic schools were offering theological 

training on Torah, Prophets and Writings. Students like 

Paul preferred the scholar Gamaliel. Some Pharisees and 

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Sadducees were trained in such Rabbinic schools. Scribes were 

given special training in writing and copying the Torah. When 

Jesus started preaching, teaching and giving radical interpretation 

of the Scripture, the Pharisees and Sadducees questioned 

his authority to preach and teach. They did not respect him or 

accept his interpretation since Jesus did not study in a Rabbinic 

school (Jn.7) Jesus noticed the fallacies of formally structured 

training, professionalism of the Pharisees and Sadducees 

helped them to show as the only recognized authority over the 

Scripture and to force their interpretation on the people. But 

Jesus created an alternative model of training - ie., the Discipleship 

Training (Guru-Shishya model). He could have established 

a seminary with a campus either on the sea-shore of 

Galilee or by the riverside of Jordan or in the city of Jerusalem. 

He preferred Discipleship Training model to suit the goal and 

objectives. He knew very well that goals and infra-structure are 

inter-related. His model did not require a big infra-structure 

and continuous financial support. He made the training contextual 

and people-oriented rather than authoritarian and oppressive 

of people. His mission is liberative. He trained the 

disciples to live and die for the Gospel of forgiveness, liberation 

and welfare. He used houses, sea-shores, street, pools, gardens, 

hills and mountains, temple and synagogues as the centres 

for his training. Jesus avoided the danger of falling into 

the trap of constant fund raising and protecting the buildings 

and structures. He carefully selected the objectives, the model 

and programmes to build-up the disciples in personal, theological 

and ministerial formations to exercise their faith and practice 

what they learned. He used various methods of testing 

their performance in the context. A very important lesson we 

need to learn from the ministry of Jesus is that goals, objectives, 

programmes, curriculum and infra-structure are carefully 

selected and inter-linked and determined the nature of training. 

Should we say only the Discipleship model is the best and 

to be followed ? Should we avoid all the other models of theological 

training ? No. Each model has its own merits and demerits. 

We cannot ignore the historical and theological reasons 

which necessitated the development of various models over the 

years. India is a vast country with different culture and church 

traditions. No one can claim the monopoly of theological educa- 


tion for the whole of the country. Senate of Serampore as an 

‘affiliating agency’ is playing an important role in giving highly 

academic theological education in our country. Senate of 

Serampore is even aiming high to achieve the status of Christian 

University in India. ATA as an ‘accrediting body’ is also playing 

a valuable role in our country particularly evaluating some 

seminaries and requiring them to offer quality and contextual 

training. While we recognize such a pluralism of affiliating and 

accrediting agencies for India, we need to emphasize the wholistic 

theological thrust which includes liberation, evangelism, sharing 

of resources, non-violence and justice in our context. We 

need various models of training but they should contribute for 

the transformation of the ministers and society. 

Models integrating objectives, programmes and evaluation 

methods alone cannot make the trainees successful and effective 

in the ministry. We have a number of cases who were trained 

in such institutions and have miserably failed in the ministry 

and family life. Therefore another important dimension in training 

is the call, vision and continuous commitment of the individual. 

Identifying and selecting only such candidates without 

favouritism and nepotism is an important responsibility of the 

churches. Seminaries too should provide an atmosphere for ministerial 

candidates in training to grow in their vision and commitment. 

CONTEXT AND CURRICULUM 

Each training is focused on a context. Context of India is 

pluralistic - religiously, politically and socio-economically. In 

addition to major religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, 

Buddhism, Jainism, Sikkism, we have a number of minor 

religions. People of different faiths live side by side and usually 

get along well. But we notice tensions and violence between 

religious communities are increasing in recent years. Some are 

over emphasizing the supremacy of their religions over other 

religions and try to demolish the worshipping centres of others 

and suppress their culture and customs. Conversion and anticonversion 

efforts of some religions spark violence and vengeance. 

Religious communities live in constant suspicion. What 

should be our theological training to our religious pluralism? 

Should we insist only on evangelism and ignore inter-religious 

266 267


dialogue? Should our curriculum include these issues and enable 

the students to work for peace and harmony or not ? How 

do we train our students to appreciate culture, uphold 

indigenization and at the same time not to contradict the Gospel 

or compromise and betray the Gospel? 

Socio-economic dimension of our context is also pluralistic 

because Indian society is a class as well as caste oriented . 3-5 

% of the population are the richest and control the business 

and politics of our nation. More than 50% of the people live 

below the poverty line not able to have their daily bread. Out of 

40-45 % of the middle class, a large segment are employed in 

the private and unorganized sectors, struggling to meet the cost 

of living with their poor salary. A small section of the middle 

class are salaried people, employed in the Government and trying 

to go up the ladder by any means. Caste system has divided 

our society and created the evils of untouchability, nepotism 

and communal violence. Tribals and Dalits demand justice and 

equality. Ranvir Sena of the landlords kill the poor Dalits mercilessly. 

RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal try to impose Brahminical 

customs and Sanskritization on others. Caste politics in the 

appointments or elections in the churches and dioceses is becoming 

unavoidable and ruin the unity of the Christians. What 

sort of courses and practicals should be offered to make our 

theological training more meaningful to our nation ? We need a 

paradigm shift from “Church focused curriculum” to “Society 

focused curriculum”. 

Curriculum which includes the list of subjects, detailed course 

outline with requirements of reading, assignments and evaluation 

criteria cannot be formulated theoretically. It should be 

related to our context, address to the issues and bring out solutions. 

Otherwise curriculum written without taking the context 

into consideration is useless and irrelevant. Curriculum is not 

just to teach knowledge and issue certificates but to impart 

knowledge on the context, develop the skill of analysis and identifying 

the problems, challenge the teacher and students to get 

involved in society and achieve some results. 

(i) One major problem with many of us is to think of theological 

training is only to work in the churches. We have a limited 

understanding of God’s mission. We are satisfied with produc- 


ing “poojarees” to conduct the worship lively, pray and counsel 

the congregations and plant churches. We need to raise the 

important question - What is the mission of God ? Should the 

church be satisfied with worship services, prayer meetings, orphanages 

and evangelistic campaigns ? Is she not called to 

establish justice, welfare and peace ? Is she not the agent in 

promoting the kingdom values in our society ? Churches exist 

for society. They are the salt and light to the world. Churches 

without social focus are irrelevant. Society without the Gospel 

of the kingdom is meaningless. When the disciples of Jesus 

planted Churches, they had a clear vision and mission of the 

churches. They are to challenge the socio-political injustice, 

bring equality and to function as a model community in the 

midst of the corrupt and divided world. Churches were planted 

to live and function for the oppressed and powerless. The epistles 

of Paul, Peter and James reveal their expectations on the 

part of the churches planted by them. Transforming the local 

context is the purpose of education. Theological training is to 

mobilize the ministers and congregations to witness their faith 

in proclamation and actions in the society. 

(ii) Another problem is to follow the western curriculum which 

is written for the western context. Some of our leaders have 

more trust in western writers than in our own writers and educationists. 

Not only the course outline and books but also illustrations 

and case studies taken from the context of Chicago, 

Liverpool and Berlin mentioned in the books are used. Quite 

often neither the teacher who follows the syllabus has visited 

such context nor students understand the teaching meaningfully. 

On the other hand, western curriculum can promote interest 

in students to migrate to the west. 

(iii) The gap between the “Course Writer” and “Course 

Teacher” is another problem. The writer of the syllabus should 

have experience in the ministry and continuous contact with 

the people at the grass-root. Otherwise what the person writes 

would be theoretical. The writer should spell out clearly the 

general goals, specific objectives, expectations and requirements 

in the syllabus. The present syllabus followed by many seminaries 

do not have such details. For some courses, seminaries 

do not have syllabus at all and teachers teach such courses 

according to their whims and fancies and give marks. This is 

268 269


like a boat without a sail and rudder. Unless the syllabus is 

produced like a Study Guide with all details, it is difficult for the 

teacher who is not the course writer to understand the objectives 

and achieve the results in teaching. But more than such 

details, the direct involvement of the teacher in the local church 

and society helps the teacher to understand the syllabus, develop 

the teaching skill to relate the syllabus to context and 

bring out personal, theological and ministerial formation in the 

student. 

(iv) Lack of involving women in writing the syllabus and teaching 

the courses to bring feminist perspectives is so obvious in 

many seminaries. Some seminaries do not have single woman 

teacher in their faculty list. Theological education is generally 

dominated by men. Extra care and deliberate effort should be 

taken to incorporate the dimension of women, children and environment 

in our theological curriculum. 

Curriculum needs periodic revisions and modification. Teaching 

is relating the curriculum to the context and context to the 

curriculum. It is a two way traffic. By relating the context to the 

curriculum, we constantly shape the syllabi. By applying the 

syllabi through our teaching to the context, we try to transform 

our society. This two way traffic could become successful only 

when staff and students have involvement in our pluralistic context. 

INVOLVEMENT, TEACHING AND EVALUATION 

Teaching in a theological college is preferred by many graduates 

rather than pastoral ministry or missionary work or social 

service. Students look at the teachers in theological colleges 

and their life style and like to lead such a life after their graduation. 

We are the role models of our students. Our teaching is 

not a profession like in the secular colleges but a ministry with 

involvement. Only by involving in our society, we can make our 

teaching meaningful and mobilize our students to do the ministry 

with burden and concern. Why should we involve in local 

churches and socio-political and economic problems of our people 

? 

(i) Our teaching and training is not just to offer degrees but 

to serve the people. 


(ii) Involvement helps us to re-read the Bible with particular 

perspectives and re-interpret the text and make relevance to 

the problems faced by the people. 

(iii) Teachers gain experience with the people and blend their 

experience in teaching the subjects, drawing examples and illustrations 

from the insights gained out of involvement. Our 

teaching becomes more authentic because of real experience. 

Students respect our teaching and get challenged. Otherwise 

students know that the teacher is having only theoretical knowledge 

and hesitate to put their confidence in what he/she 

teaches. 

(iv) Involvement in the local community challenges not only 

our intellectual thinking, skill of theological reflections but also 

our own spirituality. Many theological teachers and pastors are 

not dynamic and become dry to say anything new in teaching 

or preaching. They are tired of ministry and become a burden 

to the institutions because of saturation in their spirituality. 

(v) Involvement wins the confidence of the local community 

and enhances credibility for our mission. Unnecessary gossiping 

and dirty politics in administration are due to lack of involvement 

in society. More the involvement and suffering for 

the people, less the time for gossip and politics in our churches 

and institutions. 

(vi) Involvement challenges our life style. Many of us are 

afraid that we cannot have comfort, accumulate wealth, use the 

power and authority as we like if we involve and identify with 

the poor. We are not prepared to lose and become powerless. 

The poor and powerless repeatedly raise various questions about 

God and the role of churches. Such theological questions challenge 

our syllabus, teaching methods, programmes, practical 

work, infra-structure and force us to find a theological and practical 

answers. The inter-action between involvement - curriculum 

- teaching - involvement alone can keep theological education 

alive and relevant. 

How can we involve if we are required to teach so many hours, 

complete the syllabus and conduct the exams within the given 

time and submit the marks ? Certainly we need these requirements 

and discipline in any educational system. Experiences 

of some Roman Catholic and Protestant seminaries in India and 

270 271


Asia prove that teaching and involvement can go together in 

theological education. This demands careful planning in curriculum, 

time-table, academic calendar and requirement for the 

degree or diploma. Each student should have gained experience 

through involvement to the problems of industrial workers, 

agricultural community in villages, issues related to religions 

by visiting temples, mosques and shrines and involving in 

inter-religious dialogue and in the struggles against the violation 

of human rights. I classify the involvement programmes for 

seminaries as follows : 

(i) Emergency Involvement - during the sudden spark of ethnic 

violence, violation of human rights of a community, death of 

rape victims or in police custody, etc. After verifying the fact 

and collecting reliable information, seminaries can organize protest 

march, hunger fast, satyagraha, bus or rail rokko, etc., to 

get justice. Or else students and staff can join the agitation 

organized by local Human Rights groups cancelling the classes 

for the day. 

(ii) Programmed Week-end Involvement - Either a particular 

class or batch of students can be assigned to involve with the 

staff-in-charge of weekend programmes like Jail Ministry, Environment 

Protection, Village Adult Education Project, etc., 

throughout the academic year. 

(iii) Short Term Involvement - Sending a particular class to 

one term/semester internship in a different place to be associated 

with Rural/Urban Development Agencies, NGOs and Social 

Action Group and getting supervised by a team of faculty 

members. 

(iv) Long Term Involvement - Requiring a class to be involved 

for the entire year in a village or slum and helping the local 

community to get certain basic facilities such as electricity, water, 

ration card, patta for the land/house from the Government 

under the leadership of local people and with the guidance of 

the teachers staying with the students. Then our staff and students 

will understand the meaning of struggles against principalities 

and power. 

(v) Summer Vacation Involvement - Requiring the students to 

get involved in the programmes of their local church such as 

VBS, Evangelistic Team, Sunday School Teachers Association, 


Youth Fellowship, to observe the prevailing theological thinking 

and the radical change needed in these ministries and report to 

the seminaries to modify the curriculum and training. 

Evaluation of the performance of the students is so important. 

Many of us do not pay attention to this area in our teaching 

ministry. We think that our job is to correct the assignments 

and exam papers and submit the marks. Evaluation is 

not taking place at the end of the course but throughout the 

academic year. Since we evaluate the personal, theological and 

ministerial formation of a student, we have to use various criteria 

in our evaluation. Evaluation is not to condemn but to build 

the student in faith, knowledge, witness and action. The following 

methods can be used to evaluate and shape the student : 

(i) Regular Attendance - to the chapel service, classes, prayer 

meetings and to the programmes organized by the seminary. 

Sermons preached by students year after year should show their 

spiritual growth. 

(ii) Class Participation - to interact with the teacher and students 

expressing his/her own views and seeking genuine answers. 

Students should be given freedom and time to question, 

clarify and express the views during the class lectures. Teachers 

should not suppress their freedom or condemn them if they 

do not agree with their teaching. 

(iii) Assignments & Projects - to express critical analysis of the 

issues, relate the Scripture and bring out new interpretation 

out of class room teaching, extra reading of books and experience 

in the involvement. This should reveal the theological formation 

taking place in a student. 

(iv) Involvement and Contribution - Teachers can study the 

interest of students for involvement and commitment to the people 

with whom the students are involved. Some of them may 

take it as a requirement and participate for the sake of completing 

the requirement and others may take real interest and get 

challenged to work for the people. Their questions, difficulties, 

problems of the people, and Church give us a clue about the 

theological and ministerial formation taking place in them. 

(v) Final Examination - is needed to evaluate the progress of 

their study, comprehension, reflection and integration of theory 

272 273


and experience expressed through their answers and not mere 

reproduction of the notes dictated in the class or text books 

used for the course. 

(vi) Annual Assessment - of students at the end of the academic 

year about their overall development and progress is necessary. 

This evaluation should not be done by one faculty but 

by the entire faculty members and staff-in-charge of the involvement 

programmes. Students can also be asked to fill in a “Self- 

Evaluation” sheet to have assessment of their spirituality, studies 

and involvement. SSC and ATA can prepare and supply 

such evaluation sheets for colleges. Seminaries after giving 

enough opportunities, counseling and guidance for improvement 

can terminate students who are unfit for ministry. 

Today, theological education is a costly affair. We cannot 

waste resources. We have to plan and work carefully to make 

the theological education relevant to our context by modifying 

periodically the curriculum, teaching method, involvement and 

evaluation procedure. A marked shift is needed in this new 

Millennium to give importance and priority towards the training 

of the laity in taking up leadership in the churches as well as 

being effective witnesses in their own secular professions. 

Chapter Nine 

Models of Theological Education: 

Case Studies 

The Case Study method is used extensively in social sciences, 

education, commerce and management. A case study is a device 

of collecting information about a group of persons, a tribe or 

community or an institution, analyzing and interpreting the 

collected date. The Case Study method has its own limitation 

because the narration of the case is the interpretation of the 

researcher. However, this method is needed for various reasons, 

namely, to document the historical development of a community 

or an institution, use the case as a specimen or an example 

to emphasize or illustrate the uniqueness of the case, 

learn from their past history and set a new direction for future. 

The main purpose of including case studies in this book is to 

show the different models of theological education developed 

for the training of clergy and laity in India. Although, several 

models of theological education can be identified in India, I have 

selected only five models which show certain originality and 

uniqueness in relating education to context. These institutions 

have made some achievements. Their impact can be seen in 

churches and society. Because these five institutions are known 

to me for the past several years I have selected them for study. 

Three of them are involved in training the clergy and the other 

two equip the laity. To visit all the institutions in India and study 

their educational programme and write about them, although 

will be rewarding, require more time and financial support. 

Arul Kadal seminary is selected as a case because of its thrust 

on rural training. It is regarded as an innovative experiment in 

theological education by the Jesuits in India. Tamilnadu Theological 

Seminary is selected because of its focus on inner cities 

and training students to have exposure to the problems of ur- 

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ban context. Furthermore I was the staff advisor of the Off-Campus 

Programme of this seminary and involved in training four 

batches of students. Madras Theological Seminary and College 

is included for their specialized training in evangelism and linking 

the theological education to planting and caring of the 

churches. These three institutions have a goal of training fulltime 

clergy to take up challenges of the rural and urban context. 

ACTS Institute in Bangalore integrates vocational and theological 

education and train men and women laity for effective 

witness in secular jobs. Their graduates earn their living by working 

in companies, industries and institutions and involve in ministry. 

Very few Christian liberal arts and science colleges in India 

give attention to train their students for effective witness in 

the society. Lady Doak College is one among them. Although 

Lady Doak College is a liberal arts and science college for women, 

it offers Christian Studies Programme for all the Christian girls 

and train them to be fully equipped in biblical, theological and 

contextual reflections. The five case studies included here may 

not narrate all the details of these institutions. Researchers who 

are interested in these institutions can visit and get other details 

needed for them. 

Models of Theological Education: Case Studies 

LIVING AND LEARNING IN VILLAGES: 

INCULTURATION EXPERIMENT 

(Arul Kadal Seminary, Chennai) 

Seminaries of Roman Catholic Church in India are famous 

for their academic excellence, quality in ministerial training, 

rigorous discipline and involvement with the local communities. 

Arul Kadal is one of the Regional Theologate Centres (RTC) of 

the Vidyajoti College in New Delhi for the training of the Jesuit 

priests. This Centre is an outcome of a study and search for a 

new formation in ministerial training initiated by the Second 

Vatican Council which instructed the Roman Catholic Churches 

in different parts of the world to explore various kinds of priestly 

training rather than continuing with one universal priestly formation. 

The mandate from the Vatican prompted the Indian leaders 

to discuss and create new forms of priestly training. The 

Jesuit General Congregation 32 (GC 32) issued directives for 

new theological formation and emphasized the notion of ‘integration’ 

at three levels viz. ‘personal integration, integration into 

the apostolic body of the Society and integration into the regional 

and national cultures’. An expert committee appointed 

in 1966 to formulate a new Regional Order of Studies to suit the 

Indian context published its proposals in 1969 under the name 

The Plan of Jesuit Studies in India. This document affirmed that 

‘the entire formation of Ours in India must be imbued with the 

missionary spirit, within the universal goals of the Church and 

the Society and the special local situation. Therefore in our country’s 

special context of tradition and modernity, our young Jesuits 

must be formed to rethink, express and live Christ’s message 

in a manner which is truly personal, Indian and creative’ (Quoted 

from the unpublished paper of Fr. P. Arockiadoss titled ‘ Trends 

in Jesuit Theological Formation’ presented at the Seminar on 

New Jesuit Madura Mission: A Historical Perspective held from 

3-4 th Dec. 2001, p.2). After extensive discussions, a follow-up 

Commission on Inculturation was formed in January 1976 which 

identified the areas of failures in Jesuit training and the basic 

challenge for inculturation. This Inculturation Commission proposed 

that ‘we should help train the coming generations of 

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Jesuits to be men who have a great apostolic love for the people 

of our land, for their freedom and life, men with deep commitment 

to satya in all its aspects, men who are sensitive to the 

needs of others – especially the poor and illiterate –and ready to 

share their lot, men who draw their inspiration for all these 

attitudes from their personal faith experience of Jesus Christ in 

whom they are rooted and grounded’ (Fr. P. Arockiadoss’ paper, 

p.4). This Commission, according to Fr. Arokiadoss, Professor of 

Arul Kadal, insisted the following four dimensions to become 

the integral part of the Jesuit formation (Quoted from the above 

paper, p.4-5): 

1. Vernacularization: For effective inculturation, the regional 

language of the future mission should become increasingly the 

normal medium of communication and instruction in the various 

stages of formation. The use of English should be maintained 

as the link language. 

2. Regionalization: The early part of formation should be done 

in the Regional Centres. During the study of Philosophy and 

Theology, the formation could take place partly in the Regional 

Centre and partly in the National Centre. Though there cannot 

be any true nationalism without regionalism, the dangers of 

narrow regionalism should be avoided. 

3. Contextualization: The formation should be contextualized 

integrating the Indian categories and methodology of reflection 

and expression. The pedagogy should be Indian which stresses 

more the experiential and personal dimension than the conceptual 

and impersonal. The formation should further be in the 

context of the poor and the marginalized, rather than that of 

the elite. 

4. Integration or Harmonization: It is true that there are many 

dimension of formation: personal, psychological, spiritual, intellectual, 

social, cultural, apostolic, etc. But all these dimensions 

should be integrated and harmonized, to enable the emergence 

of well-integrated human persons. 

This Commission emphasized the methodology of experience 

and reflection in teaching and learning and a simple life style. 

On the basis of these recommendations of the Commission on 

Inculturation, the Pilot Project of Tamil Theology (PPTT) was 

formed. The Vidyajoti Theological Faculty in New Delhi gave con- 


sent to start the Arul Kadal as its RTC. Rt. Rev. Michael Augustine, 

the Auxiliary Bishop of Madras-Mylapore inaugurated the 

Arul Kadal in Aikya Alayam on 10 th June 1979. 

Naming the RTC in Madras as the Arul Kadal is the first step 

in inculturation experiment. The Tamil phrase Arul (Grace) Kadal 

(Ocean) means the ‘Ocean of Grace’. This name selected by the 

students is from Thembavani (Part I, Ch.6, stanza 34) written 

by Veerama Munivar (Fr. Joseph Constantine Beschi), the Italian 

Jesuit missionary who loved the language and culture of 

Tamil and addressed God as the ‘Ocean of Grace’ in his epic. 

Describing God as the ‘Ocean of Grace’ is rooted in the bhakti 

tradition of Tamil poets. It is not merely a name taken from 

Tamil culture. This phrase is a theological expression to refer to 

the integration of theology and praxis. It is God who is the ocean 

of grace calls those who do theology ‘to immerse into the ocean 

of grace to find the pearl of great price (i.e. the Kingdom of God) 

and gain the integral experience of understanding God and involving 

in society’ (Fr. Xavier Irudayaraj, ‘Arul Kadal – An ongoing 

Experience’ in Roots and Blossoms: 1987:89). This seminary 

located in the premise of Aikiya alayam in Santhome area of 

Madras is closer to the shores of the Bay of Bengal. It is also 

symbolic that the ocean nearby Arul Kadal reminds them of 

God as the ocean of grace and calling them for doing theology. 

Arul Kadal as a Pilot Project of Tamil Theology is meant for developing 

‘Tamil Theology’ to articulate the self-identity of the 

Church in Tamil and not just to translate or teach theology in 

Tamil. 

The entire programme of B.Th. is for four years. The Tamil 

students of Vidyajoti College spend their first and second year 

in Arul Kadal. During this period, they are sent to live in villages 

selected for the immersion experience. According to Fr. 

Alangaram, the Rector of Arul Kadal, the immersion experience 

means ‘to be rooted in a context or in a place with its people, 

and to be aware of the movement of the Spirit of God and listen 

to him in that context’ (Christ of the Asian Peoples: Towards an 

Asian Contextual Christology:2001:7). The programme of living 

and learning in the selected villages during their first and second 

year of study at Arul Kadal is called Arul Gram. The students 

spend their third year in the Vidyajoti college to study 

and have exposure to the wider national context. In the final 

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year, they are sent to parishes in villages to work and prepare 

themselves for ordination under the programme called SUPAM 

(Supervised Pastoral Ministry). My interest is to high light their 

Arul (grace) Gram (village) and SUPAM programmes which provide 

ample opportunity for inculturation and contribute for their 

theological and ministerial formation. 

ARUL GRAM 

During the initial years of Arul Kadal, students were sent to 

the village parishes on Saturday afternoon and asked to stay on 

there till Sunday evening to gain field experience. Very soon 

students found the week-end involvement with the villagers was 

not enough for contextualizing theology. They suggested to have 

a longer experience of immersion into the context of villages. 

Students were ready to spend the entire first semester of their 

Second Year of B.Th. in Arul Gram. Each batch of students in 

Arul Kadal was asked to select a village for one semester involvement. 

The first phase of this experiment went on from 1984- 

1989. The students selected Malligapuram village in the Archdiocese 

of Madras-Mylapore for their Arul Gram experience from 

June to October 1984 and worked among the Dalit Christians. 

The next year batch selected Thiruvellai Vayal, a sub-station of 

Kasimedu Parish in the same Archdiocese mainly because of its 

multi-religious population and to get more interaction with the 

people of other faiths. During their stay in this village, they 

were able to participate in the festivals of these religious groups 

and observe the casting out of evil spirits by the village shaman. 

However, they realized that they are using the people for their 

learning and not contributing to the social, economic and political 

empowerment of the villagers. This evaluation led the next 

batch of 1986 to choose Aniladi Olipuram in Pondicherry Diocese 

to develop an integrated approach to socio-pastoral ministries 

by involving in the social welfare programmes of the local 

parish and the New Education for Liberation (NEL) organized by 

the youths as a Non-Governmental Organization to bring awareness 

among the down-trodden people in that area. Very soon 

the students of Arul Kadal learnt to notice the effective contribution 

of the lay people and recognized the need of co-operation 

between the priests and laity for social transformation. The 

batch of 1987 went on the same line of ‘socio-pastoral approach’ 


choosing Nallur village in Vellore Diocese where the parish priest 

had already integrated both the pastoral and social ministries 

and was leading an Action Group for conscientizing dalits and 

other landless labourers and mobilizing them to get their justice 

from the landlords who belong to the upper caste. Students 

realized the power of the oppressive forces and the need of solidarity 

of others particularly the church in the local area towards 

the struggles of the poor and marginalized. They could gain 

experience in socio-political action. The next batch of 1988 selected 

Mammbakkam village for their exposure but could not 

gain much due to the lack of volunrary agency and action group 

in that area except an experience to the realities of the village. 

The Arul Gram programme was not going on smoothly. They 

had to face a lot of difficulties such as: 

1. Selecting a village for each batch and negotiating with the 

local parish priest to use the church as the center and to help 

in physical arrangements like renting houses in the surrounding 

villages, providing food and allowing the students to involve 

in the worship service and social programmes. 

2. Shifting sufficient number of library books needed for the 

courses of that particular semester to village and bring them 

back to the center. 

3. Sending teachers to stay with them in the village for a 

semester while another batch is continuing in the center at 

Madras which also needed faculty to teach the classes. 

4. Lack of electricity and sufficient space for private study in 

villages 

5. Lack of good drinking water in some villages affected the 

health of students 

6. Providing medical help to students affected by sickness. 

The above problems were expected and the students were 

prepared well to face the difficulties. These problems did not 

affect the continuance of Arul Gram programme rather challenged 

them to continue it. Next batches of students went to 

Soosaipuram and Pavumchoor villages. After evaluating the first 

phase of the progamme, they suggested to live in the chosen 

village for a minimum period of one year and to a maximum 

period of two years. Accordingly the students of 1989 spent 

their entire one year in Shenbaganur in Kodai hills having their 

280 281


classes in the Cheshire Home for four days and involving with 

the Madhary community, Tribals and the Sri Lankan Tamil Repatriates 

rehabilited in the upper hills for the rest of the three 

days. The cold weather affected the health of the students. After 

completing one year in Shenbaganur, they wanted to continue 

their experience for another year in a village in the plains. They 

were placed in Komanagar village in the Kovalam Parish of the 

Madras-Mylapore Archdiocese. Meanwhile another batch of students 

in 1990 went to Moolayar situated in a lower altitude of 

the Kodai hills. After spending their first year in the hills, they 

retuned to Komangar for their second year experience. Keeping 

one batch of students in Moolyar and another batch in 

Komangar simultaneously caused problems in sparing faculty 

members to these villages. Further more, many voluntary agencies 

and organizations were working in the Komangar village 

which created a problem for the students of Arul Kadal to continue 

their involvement in Komanagar. For some of these agencies 

were giving financial aid to the villagers and others were 

trying to convert them to Christianity. The villagers could notice 

the rivalry between these agencies and denominations working 

there. The villagers assumed that the Arul Kadal is receiving 

foreign funds for their sake but not distributing to them. So the 

students of Arul Kadal were expected to give them financial help. 

It was also possible that the villagers were suspicious of the 

activities of Arul Kadal and assuming that the students may call 

them to convert to Christianity. But conversion was not the purpose 

of the programme except to train the students in the rural 

context. Some youths of the village were instigated now and 

then to disturb the tuition centers organized for the Arul Gram 

village children. After the intended period of five years stay in 

Komanagar (1991-1995), this center was closed down in April 

1995. There were no new batches of students for two academic 

years ( June,1995- April 1997). Hence no new Arul Gram was 

chosen to replace Koman Nagar diaconate. However the Arul 

Gram programme shall continue in the following years choosing 

different villages after consolidating the evaluation. 

SUPAM 

After completing the third year in Vidyajoti college, the students 

are ready for deacon ordination. They are sent to parishes 


as deacons. Arul Kadal took effort to create another programme 

called Supervised Pastoral Ministry for these final year students. 

Fr. Xavier Irudaiyaraj writes, ‘the purpose of SUPAM, as agreed 

upon by the Assistancy Commission for Formation is to train 

our new priests in pastoral skills and pastoral attitudes. As such, 

it aims at cultivating a contextual pastoral culture and a creative 

pastoral taste. It also inter-mixes theo-praxis and theo-logus, 

extending thus a solid season of synthesis of all our formative 

ventures’ (Roots and Blossoms:1987:103). Under this programme, 

the students of Arul Kadal are sent to new villages where the 

local priests could give them more orientation to pastoral ministry 

and use them to develop the church and communities. These 

students who are placed in different villages gather twice or thrice 

in one of the parishes or at Arul Kadal during the period of 

SUPAM for sharing and theological reflection with the faculty of 

the Arul Kadal. In their effort to theologize collectively on the 

pastoral ministry, they plan and work out possible action plans 

and welfare schemes. At the end of the fourth year, they come 

to Arul Kadal to write the exams and complete their study. The 

final evaluation takes place before ordaining them as priests. 

Some of the salient features of Arul Kadal model of training 

can be listed below. 

1. The theological training of the Arul Kadal is related to the 

church on the one hand and to the local context on the other 

hand requiring the students and faculty to live in villages and 

work through the local parish. 

2. Regular visiting of the homes of villagers not only helped 

them to have the first hand experience to the problems, views 

and attitudes of the villagers but prepared the students for visiting 

the families in the future parish ministry. 

3. By living among the dalits and other poor people, the seminarians 

encounter a living gospel. They are first touched spiritually 

by the poor and moved with the gospel by the Spirit 

before bringing further good news to them. 

4. Organizing awareness programmes and coaching classes 

for the children, youths and women of the villages, involving in 

relief and rehabilitation projects and participating in the struggles 

for justice enabled the students of Arul Kadal to understand 

the power of oppression, caste domination, negligence on 

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the side of the government and the difficulties in empowering 

people. This experience of socio-political action motivate them 

for greater commitment. 

5. Accepting the hospitality of the villagers and the simple 

food offered by them shape the students to learn humility, simple 

life and respect the poor. 

6. Involvement in the worship service of the local church provide 

the students enough opportunity to learn about liturgy and 

worship. In integrating the worship and village context, they 

learn the indigenize liturgy and develop skill to communicate to 

rural people. 

7. Living and learning in villages enabled many students to 

write songs on liberation, welfare etc., and publish their views 

through news items, stories and articles in magazines. 

8. Following the Ignatian pedeogogical dynamics of ‘involvement-reflection-involvement’ 

affect their life style, change their 

perspectives and inspire more for commitment. They learn the 

true meaning of theological education and ministerial training. 

9. This model of theological education does not require a big 

infrastructure of buildings with class rooms, hostels and a compound 

wall which cost a lot of money to construct and maintain 

in these days. 

Arul Kadal has worked out a flexible and dynamic model of 

Jesuit formation. Arul Kadal is an achievement in the effort to 

contextualize theology and ministerial training. The faculty and 

students are not complacent but in constant struggle to evaluate 

what they do, modify and improve and evolve new model to 

relate to the changing rural context out of their failures and 

achievements. 


OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMME FOR 

URBAN EXPOSURE 

(Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, Madurai) 

Theological education is not merely what a student learns 

within the four walls of the class room. The very nature of Christian 

ministry demands theological students to learn not only 

from books but also from people and nature. The socio-economic 

condition, religious beliefs, world views, encounter with the values 

promoted by commerce and mass media and day to-day 

struggles of people challenge theological education to address 

to the present and future problems and make it more meaningful 

to people. The emphasis on contextual education and doing 

theology has forced the seminaries to work out schemes and 

programmes which would provide opportunities to students to 

live with the people in a local area for a considerable period of 

time during their theological education rather than residing inside 

the hostels in the seminary campus and complete the entire 

Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) or Bachelor of Divinity (B.D) 

studies. 

Living context plays a major role in shaping one’s personality, 

attitude, thinking and involvement. I would like to call the 

hostel type of accommodation in the campus providing single 

room for each student with cot, fan, washbasin, shelves and 

wardrobe and bathroom facilities as ‘Lodging Model’. In this mode 

of living, a student is like a tourist who rents a room in a hotel 

for a short period and lives alone and eats in the dining-hall or 

the restaurant without interacting with others. Another model 

of living is the ‘Barrack Model’ – a hall of accommodation where 

20-30 people are herded together sharing facilities and eating 

at the common dinning hall. Although it provides an atmosphere 

for a few people to live together, it has its own disadvantages. 

The third type is the ‘House Model’ where 4 or 5 students 

live together as a family in a house in a village or city and prepare 

their meals in the kitchen and shoulder responsibilities 

together. This is not an ideal model of living without disadvantages 

but a better model in terms of team living, coming closer 

284 285


in friendship, understanding each other and helping one another 

in sickness, cooking and studies and for prayer, discussions 

and reflections. In our Indian context, house model provides 

better opportunities to identify with the local community. 

The same may not be suitable in another cultural context where 

another model may be better than the house model. A group of 

theological students renting a house and living together is a 

common phenomenon in the Western countries. Living off-campus 

and attending the classes in seminaries go on for several 

years. But this practice is not organized as a required and guided 

programme of the seminaries in the West when compared to 

the off-campus programme of TTS. Seminaries in each country 

can decide the suitable model of living for their students which 

will enrich their theological education and ministerial training 

in their context. 

Involvement with the people and reflection on their experience 

consequently can bring changes in curriculum, revising 

the content of existing courses and develop new subjects suitable 

to their region. Seminaries in our country have worked out 

different kinds of programmes, namely, Weekend Outreach, Practical 

Work for 2 or 3 weeks, Intensive exposure for one semester, 

Summer Vacation training, Arul Gram (living in a village) to 

enable their students to gain experience of living with the people, 

learn from them and serve them. Some staff members responsible 

for such programmes may accompany the students 

and guide them in their involvement and theological discussions. 

During the four year theological training at the Tamilnadu 

Theological Seminary which is an ecumenical seminary for CSI 

and TELC affiliated to the Senate of Serampore, students stay 

inside the campus in the first and final year of B.Th or B.D. 

studies. Although students have plenty of opportunities to meet 

people coming to the campus for various reasons and the local 

congregations when students go and assist in the worship services, 

students miss the opportunity to live with people, see 

their life style and take part in their struggles. In order to live 

with people for a longer period and interact with them, draw 

challenges and shape their theological thinking, students have 

to undergo three kinds of programmes integrated with the academic 

requirement, namely, off-campus programme in the sec- 


ond year and Internship Exposure and Rural Theological Institute 

training in the third year of their studies. In this paper, I 

would like to share my reflections out of my experience as the 

Dean of the Off-Campus programme for four years (1990-1994) 

and try to trace briefly the history of it and highlight its significance 

for theological education and mission of the churches. 

ORIGIN AND OBJECTIVES 

A group of five students and a staff member (Rev. Y. David) 

volunteered to live in the nearby Chitalkshi slum in 1973-1974 

to know more about the life of the slum dwellers and enrich 

theological thinking through involvement. The objectives of living 

off-campus are: 

…identification with the people, empathetic understanding 

of problem and power structures in the slum, help in 

education and sensitization of the people there, help to organize 

them so that they become aware of their rights and 

responsibilities and create a style of life of responsible 

citizenship…distinctively Christian…(Principal’s Annual 

Report, 1973-74, p.5). 

The three dimensions of the programme viz. identification 

with the people, understanding their problems and power structures 

of the society, helping them to be aware of their rights 

and responsibilities and relating this experience to their theological 

thinking are not easy to achieve and see the success. 

However, the interest and initiative of this group to go and live 

in the slum provided encouragement for experiment. They overcame 

the suspicion of the slum dwellers who wondered why 

these theological students training to be priests should come 

and live in the huts and establish friendship with them. The 

friendship of the slum dwellers led the students to serve them 

by helping their children to learn their school lessons daily and 

be aware of basic hygene and health. This experience of living 

in off campus continued in the following academic year 1974- 

75 with the help of volunteering students. The relationship between 

the slum and the seminary became closer when other 

students started visiting their fellow students living in the slum 

and trying to involve in their service rendered to the slum community. 

Our understanding of their needs and their cry for help 

led us to think about projects for the slum community. 

286 287


After evaluating the two year experience of our students living 

in the slum, a formally structured off-campus programme 

was introduced in the year 1975-76 to make it a requirement 

for all the Second year B.D and B.Th students. Women and 

married students were exempted due to the difficulties in securing 

suitable accommodation for them and admission in 

schools for the children of family students. In addition to the 

accommodations in the slums, houses and rooms were rented 

in different locations of the city for this purpose. Students from 

different dioceses and backgrounds were grouped in small numbers 

and asked to live in these accommodations and attend the 

classes in the campus every day by providing bicycle and special 

allowance. Special subjects to understand the urban context 

were offered to these students. Living in off campus led 

them to hire utensils, prepare their meals as a team, adjust to 

one another, overcome differences in relating to each other and 

develop relationship with their neighbours. In the following year 

1976-77, some students volunteered to live in the Bethel Farm 

(RTI) and attend the classes in the seminary. The enthusiasm of 

the students and the impact of living in off campus in their 

theological thinking enabled the seminary to continue this programme, 

bit expensive although, up to 1985. A number of practical 

difficulties in connection with finding accommodations in 

the city, fulfilling their academic requirement of the revised curriculum 

of the Senate of Serampore and the introduction of one 

semester (appx. 5 months) Internship Programme by the seminary 

in 1977-79 which provided exposure to the third year B.D. 

and B.Th students by placing them as different groups in various 

places of Tamilnadu and outside the state with para-church 

ministries and social projects and then sending them to RTI for 

the second semester affected the off-campus programme and 

brought it to a halt in 1986. However, the lapse of this programme 

for three years (1986-89) and allowing the students to 

live on the campus in their second year of study created a vacuum 

in their exposure experience to the problems of urban living. 

The need for off-campus living and exposure to urban problems 

could be felt in class room and seminar discussions, assignments 

written by our students, preaching in the chapel and 

involvements in our projects. We strongly felt that the off campus 

programme is unique and has its own contribution in our 


theological training and therefore decided to revive it once again 

in 1989. 

Once again we looked for accommodation in the city for our 

students. Instead of renting houses, we negotiated four houses 

in different locations on renewable lease for 3 years. One such 

house was fixed in the area of S.S. Colony where high caste 

Hindus live; another house in Thathaneri, across the Vaigai river 

where poor communities such as dhobis (washermen) and basket-makers 

live and the other two houses in Ponmeni and Nehru 

Street predominantly of middle class Hindus. In addition to these 

four houses on lease, we used our own building constructed for 

the development work of slum dwellers in the Chitalashi Nagar. 

Inba Illam (Old Age Home) in Pasumalai accepted our students 

from 1992 to live and gain off-campus experience. These accommodations 

in the area of different class groups and communities 

provided a suitable atmosphere to live and look into the 

varied problems in an urban context. Some of these houses 

lacked water supply, proper drainage and sanitation facilities. 

Students, exempting women and married students, were asked 

to live in these houses and prepare their meals and attend the 

classes in seminary. Cycles were provided on subsidy. Students 

usually find the off-campus living difficult at the beginning since 

they have to sleep on the floor, tackle water shortage, lacked 

cooking experience and do cycling up and down to the class 

and to their houses. They overcome these difficulties in one or 

two months and try to live as a small team helping each other in 

cooking, sickness and preparing their lessons and study 

projects. This kind of team living and working contributed not 

only to shape their theological thinking but also transform their 

personality. In a team living under one roof, each student in the 

group realizes his own weakness and strength and understands 

others and learn from his friends. The team living brings the 

members of the group much closer in their friendship and overcome 

their difficulties and tolerate and help one another. 

SOCIAL INVOLVEMENTS 

The purpose of living in off-campus is to help people and 

learn from our social involvements. There is no scheduled programme 

for their involvements. The need of the hour determined 

the nature of their involvement. In the months of October and 

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November 1992, Madurai District received so much rain that 

the Vaigai river overflowed suddenly and destroyed the huts 

erected on both sides of the river. Poor people who have no 

place to live have erected these huts on the banks of the river 

lost their accommodation, clothes, utensils and tools and were 

left homeless. Since these people were not warned much earlier 

and evacuated from the river side, the sudden flood in the river 

made them homeless. Some of them who left their babies and 

old people in the huts and went to work in the night could not 

save the lives of some of their beloved ones. Our students in the 

off-campus took initiative to visit the area of damage and consoled 

the families. Their effort to bring to our notice the extent 

of the calamities of the flood urged the rest of the students and 

staff to go and help the victims of the flood providing food packets, 

old clothes and utensils. Students surveyed the losses and 

reported the Madurai Corporation and urged the local government 

to help these poor people. 

The same phenomena repeated in the following year 1993 

but people were warned earlier about the flood and asked to 

move to safe places in the city. Unfortunately, due to the breach 

of a water reservoir, the north region of the river was flooded. 

Many houses, shops, schools and roads in the area of Sellur 

and Tallakulam were damaged. The flood left so much rubbish 

and dirt in these areas that the Corporation sought the help of 

student volunteers from various institutions including our seminary 

to clear the debris, rubbish and help the victims. The whole 

student body co-operated with the local government in this emergency. 

Social involvements enabled the students to see the plight of 

the people and hear their agonies. The victims of the flood expressed 

their pain, misery and anger to our students and raised 

various questions: Why do we poor always suffer? Why is God 

not on our side? Why should the nature punish us? Where is 

God’s power to control nature and help us? What is the use of 

religion? These are valid questions which we are aware of. But 

when these questions are raised by the people suffering and 

looking for an answer to their spiritual struggle and immediate 

aid to solve their problems, become meaningful and challenge 

our spirituality. Aids were provided by the government, other 

institutions and social agencies. Finding answers to their ques- 


tions made our students to realize how much inadequate are we 

in answering their questions, solving their psychological trauma 

and making our theological education more relevant to the local 

context particularly to people of other faiths. In discussing these 

questions later in the meeting of off-campus students, it is felt 

that religious answers should be developed which will address 

to the multi-religious people who were the victims of the flood 

than Christians, besides giving social help and create environmental 

awareness among the people. As a small effort to 

conscientize their neighbours, off-campus students, used T shirt 

printed with the slogan ‘Protect Nature’ in 1992. This T shirt 

campaign went on in the following years with the slogans ‘Support 

Peace and Harmony’ due to ethnic unrest in 1993 and ‘No 

Place Like Home’ in 1994 reminding the UN International Year 

of Family’. Off-campus students were encouraged to participate 

in the Inter-religious Dialogue Programme of the seminary, particularly 

attending the ‘Meeting of Friends Circle’ organized every 

month on a theme for dialogue either in a temple or mosque or 

local institution in the city. Their involvement in the Dialogue 

programme enabled them to see the various religious perspectives 

and world views of Madurai people and understand the 

religious factors which can cause ethnic violence or unite and 

bring harmony among the local communities 

RESEARCH PROJECTS AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS 

Students of each academic year are required to write a paper 

out of their research and experience of living off-campus. 

This kind of research study is to be in touch with the people 

and find out their views, difficulties and interpretations of their 

world views rather than reading few books and writing a paper. 

Meeting the people and having dialogue with them enable the 

students to get first hand information. This is enhanced further 

by teaching subjects, namely, Understanding the Indian Society 

and Hinduism, Pentateuch, Synoptic Gospels and other relevant 

courses for Second Year B.D and B.Th. students. With the 

help of learning these subjects, students are able to analyze the 

society and religions during their off-campus living. The interaction 

between class room learning and exposure in the offcampus 

help them to reflect and write their research projects. 

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Communities in Unorganized Sector 

In the academic year of 1990-91, students were asked to 

study the socio-economic aspect of street vendors such as vegetable 

and fruit sellers, aluminum and stainless steel utensil 

sellers, teashops, sugarcane juice sellers, rickshaw pullers, 

dhobis, barbers, etc. These jobs are done by people belonging 

to various castes except the last two-dhobis and barbers by respective 

caste groups. These people try to earn a living by doing 

these businesses on the streets as an unorganized sector of 

labour. The study on these people brought to light that the street 

vendoring is done as a family- husband and wife or parents and 

sons or brothers joining together and borrowing money on interest. 

Almost every day, they have to bribe the police and the 

Corporation officials to keep their goods on the roadsides and 

sell them. These officials, many times, show no mercy save throw 

away their goods and drive them out of the road in the pretext of 

keeping the streets clean and avoiding traffic congestion. Staying 

in the open air whether it is hot sun or rain or dust from 

morning till night to sell their goods has affected their health. 

Husband and wife spending the whole day on their business 

neglecting their children has caused a lot of damage to their 

family particularly to the care and education of their children. 

This unorganized sector has no trade union to protect them or 

represent their case to the Government. 

Religions: Unite or Divide 

Madurai city developed around the ancient Meenakshi Temple 

is called the Temple City. In the last four decades small 

temples and shrines are mushrooming in the nook and corner 

of streets and main roads. It is estimated that more than 300 

road-side Hindu temples and shrines are in Madurai. Temple 

city has become the City of temples. We cannot ignore such a 

development of religion which is a challenge for scholarly as 

well as grass-root level analysis. Off-campus students of the 

academic year 1991-92 were asked to survey this kind of temples 

in their areas of living and find out the opinions and interpretations 

of the worshippers about their deities, temples and 

faith. Their findings should be written out of personal interviews 

with people, priests and temple trustees and not out of 

reading a few books sitting inside their homes. I can share some 


of the insights taken from the assignments written by the students. 

Their survey and study at the grass-root level brought to 

light that there is no systematic teachings in most of these 

shrines to educate and unify the understanding of the worshippers. 

As such the people have their own understanding of the 

deities and temples. 

Various temples such as Meenakshi, Mariamman, Muniyandi, 

Murugan, Kali, Hanuman, Karuppasamy and Vinayagar on the 

streets of their localities were studied. The temples of 

Mariamman, Vinayagar and Kali deserve our attention. 

Mariamman, the goddess is originally a rural deity worshipped 

by the village folk, protects the people from chicken pox and 

small pox and used to have their temple outside or at the entrance 

of the villages in those days. Priestly services and ecstatic 

utterances are performed by both men and women in villages. 

Sacrifices and offerings are offered annually to appease her that 

she will continuously protect the village from these diseases. 

This goddess worshipped mostly by non-brahmins, is interpreted 

and believed, as none but Parvathi, the wife of Siva but took 

different avathars and appeared as Mariamman under different 

titles such as Muthu (pox) Mariamman, Karumariamman and 

Santhanamariamman in various parts of Tamilnadu. This interpretation 

attests that the rural folk cult is already incorporated 

into Saivism. When the villagers migrated to cities, they brought 

Mariamman cult with them and established shrines in their 

streets to protect them from diseases. Not only Mariamman but 

also the Karuppasamy and Muniyandi cults came to Madurai 

from villages. 

Karumariamman worship began in Gnanaolivoopuram (an 

area within Madurai city) when a tailor, a non-brahmin went 

and brought a handful of sand from the Mariamman temple in 

Thiruverkadu. He functioned as the first priest since he founded 

the cult in his area. But he was replaced by a Brahmin priest as 

many started worshipping and the income increased. Temple 

building was constructed in 1988 and dedicated in 1989 by the 

Minister for Hindu Trusts, Tamilnadu Government. Idols of Saivait 

deities such as Murugan, his two wives and sons found their 

place in the temple building. No animal sacrifice is offered except 

vegetarian offerings of food, fruits, coconut, milk and flowers. 

These developments raise the important question of motive 

292 293


behind syncrenizing Dravidian folk cult with caste Hinduism. 

We find this trend in many temples constructed for village deity 

in the city and we will turn to this issue later. 

Another famous cult is the worship of Vinayagar (elephant 

god) who is otherwise known as Ganapathy or Pillaiyar, particularly 

in the area where Brahmins live. Our students have collected 

40 titles of Vinayagar by which his temples are named. 

These titles are adjectives prefixed to the name Vinayagar expressing 

the various attributes of this god as perceived by the 

worshippers. In surveying the two Vinayagar temples in the State 

Bank Colony and S.S. Colony, it is noticed that the priests of 

these temples are from high caste Hindus. These temples have 

accommodated the idols of deities of Saivaite and Vaishnavite 

traditions but not of Mariamman or Muniyandi of village folk 

tradition. Sri Kumara Sundara Panchamuha Vinayagar temple 

in Palanganatham is famous for its architectural design. This 

temple alone has 8 idols of Vinayagar and 10 steps named after 

different titles of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. Vinayagar 

Sathurthi, the annual festival is celebrated so far peacefully in 

the temple but in the recent days the idol is taken out in procession 

which caused ethnic violence elsewhere in the state. 

Kali temple which is known as Calcutta Kaliamman on the 

main road in Karimedu (another area within Madurai city) was 

constructed and administered by people belonging to Thevar 

caste because one of the elders of this caste went to Calcutta 

and brought a handful of sand from the Kali temple and founded 

this cult. Along with the idols of lingam, nine planets and nandhi, 

Muthuramalinga Thevar statue is placed in the temple. He is 

regarded as their caste leader who struggled for freedom joining 

the Forward Bloc Party. Keeping his statue in the temple raises 

questions such as whether to make him divine or to represent 

the cult for Thevar community. Or else to link the religion with 

politics. In contrast to this temple, the Kali temple in S.S. Colony 

is visited and worshipped by people of various castes. 

It will be rewarding if a detailed comparative study of all the 

temples in the city is undertaken. But this is beyond the time 

and geographical limit of our off-campus students. However, the 

study of road side temples, although done in a limited way, 

reveals firstly that migration from villages bring rural folk cult to 


cities. But soon such cults allow idols of other deities to have a 

place in their temples. We notice, therefore, the mixing of the 

folk tradition with caste Hindu traditions in the urban context 

and the folk worship which went on at the time of founding the 

cult in the city decline to individual worship or families gathering 

only for the annual festival. Several interpretations given by 

the people for mixing up the caste Hinduism with rural folk 

tradition in the urban situation were noted by our students, viz. 

i. in order to draw people adherent to other traditions and 

thus bring people of different Hindu traditions to come closer. 

ii. In order to help the people to meet different deities in one 

temple and get whatever the benefits they want from such deities. 

iii. To suppress the rural folk cult which is predominantly 

non-brahminical. 

iv. To sanscritize the rural cult and incorporate into 

brahminical Hinduism and keep their dominance over religion. 

Secondly, priesthood of Mariamman, Muniyandi and Kali cult 

was initially of non-brahmins but Brahmin priest entered these 

temples and replaced the original non-brahmin priests if not 

serve as an additional priest. Their salaries range from Rs.100- 

300 plus the free will offerings given to them by the worshippers. 

In some of these temples, priesthood is hereditary and 

perform it as their family or caste tradition to maintain their 

social status. 

Thirdly, inspite of incorporating various deities in one temple 

in the urban context and people of different caste worshipping 

in such temples, the caste difference is still maintained. 

No real unity among people of various Hindu traditions is 

achieved. Brahmim priests and non-brahmin priests could not 

join hands together and serve at the same time except in different 

timings in temples. Still the exclusivism of Saivism and 

Vaishanivism is maintained by many. The important question 

raised out of the off-campus experience is whether temples can 

solve caste differences, enable people to transcend their own 

traditions and bring unity and harmony among Hindus or will 

uphold the varnashrama? 

294 295


Children and Education 

India has a long history of education. To mention a few important 

educational systems used in different periods of history 

are Gurusala, private tuition for the royals, open-air teaching 

under a tree, British system with English as an important subject 

and post-independence policy of education for all and the 

recent drive of enabling the illiterate at least to read and write. 

Education is important for the society. But we have a high percentage 

of illiterate in certain parts of our country and school 

drop-outs are steadily increasing. On the other hand, private 

English medium Nursery and Matriculation schools are mushrooming 

as a self-employment scheme and a business. So we 

have decided to make this topic of children and education for 

our study in the academic year 1992-93. 

The survey of schools done by our off-campus students has 

brought out the following facts about families, children and 

schools. Firstly, the study classified the schools under three 

broad categories, namely, schools owned and managed by the 

government, Christian mission schools and private English medium 

schools owned and managed by family and Trusts such as 

TVS, YMCA, State Bank Officers Association, Madura Coats, Seventh-Day 

Adventist, Jeevana, Dolphin, Railways and Nadar 

Sangam. On the basis of the analysis of the socio-economic condition 

of the children attending these schools, we can further 

caricature them as a class oriented schools – poor, middle class 

and rich elite. Schools owned by the Madurai Corporation are 

managed badly and in a neglected state due to lack of funds, 

sense of direction and attention from the government. Buildings 

are not maintained and basic facilities are not provided for 

teachers and students. Poor children only go to these schools 

because their parents are unable to pay for private schools and 

to get their free mid-day meals. These children from slums and 

redundant area neither get good education in these schools nor 

at home. Their parents are illiterate and their huts and houses 

have no electricity facilities. Both father and mother go for work 

to earn their bread leaving the children to play on the streets. 

Some of these children are asked to go for work after returning 

from their schools to supplement their income. After attending 

the school for 4 or 5 years, many of them drop out and go to 


work in tea-shops, building construction work, automobile workshops, 

selling flowers and making incense sticks. Some of them 

turn violent and involve in theft and robbery and face harassment 

from police. 

Using rickshaws, public transport or school bus, children of 

middle class parents go to schools managed by the CSI Diocese, 

TELC, Roman Catholics and other groups. These schools render 

good service to these children at a nominal fee collected at the 

beginning of each academic year. These schools are aided financially 

by the government. However, schools are over crowded 

and the teachers have to manage a large number of students in 

each class and therefore unable to give sufficient attention to 

students and encourage them for creativity or provide extracurricular 

activities like music, karate, dance, etc. Upper middle 

class and the rich who can afford to pay a high fee, send their 

children in cars and autos to private English medium Nursery 

and Matriculation schools. These schools have obtained recognition 

from the government. Unlike the other two categories, 

they do not get financial grant from the government to pay the 

salaries of the staff. Staff members are paid less and have no job 

security but have to work hard to show their schools give high 

standard of education in the competitive market of private schooling. 

No doubt that these schools update regularly their extracurricular 

activities, introduce new programmes and install electronic 

equipments. Children studying in these schools have a 

lot of advantage over the children studying in the schools of 

other two categories. 

Since schools are class oriented, poor children meet only 

the poor children and the rich meet the rich. Interaction and 

friendship between the poor children and the rich children in 

schools are rare after the development of three tier system due 

to the liberal policy of the government for the multiplication of 

private schools. Educational institutions are the places where 

children of different caste, colour and class can come together, 

understand each other and learn from others. Unfortunately 

the privatization of education due to lack of funds in the government 

has paved the way to segregate the people from their childhood. 

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Secondly, families play an important role in the education 

and shaping the personality of the children with right values. 

Our study of families reveals that the rich and upper middle 

class families are able to provide a better atmosphere at home. 

Children are taken care – Parents spend time with them encouraging 

them to involve in extra-curricular activities outside 

their schools, improve their sports and talents and train them 

to participate in public competition because they have money, 

elitism and other resources. On the other hand, children of poor 

families and lower middle class suffer at school and home. Many 

of them do not enjoy peaceful atmosphere at home either because 

the father is alcoholic addict, batters his wife and quarrel 

with her or deserted his wife and married another woman. Parents 

use abusive language against children and discourage their 

education. Loans and debts of the parents make the entire family 

miserable. Some of the children run away from homes and 

return after sometime or throw themselves as cheap labour. 

Children long for compassion and encouragement and they seek 

their happiness in going to the homes where TV sets are and 

watching programmes particularly cinemas, dramas and advertisements. 

Thirdly, children have good nature. They like to forget their 

differences and try to play together. It takes place within the 

class groups and local areas. They forgive and forget the mistakes 

of their friends and visit their homes. They are aware that 

they are dependent and their freedom is limited. They feel neglected 

if they are not included in decision making. These expressions 

of the children led our students to find out what the 

Bible says about the children. They read and listed a number of 

texts such as 1 Sam. 3:4-14, 2 Kings 5:2-3, Matt.18:6, Mk.10:14, 

Lk.10:21, 16:15-17, Jn. 6:9 related to children. Our study and 

reflections on these texts, due to various reasons, were not sufficient 

to create a theology of children. 

Fourthly, two of our girl students studied the problems of 

women in the Vigilence Home. These women caught in prostitution 

are brought by police, court and voluntary organization 

to this Home. The Vigilence Home managed by the government 

is not having basic facilities or effective rehabilitation programmes 

to help them to stand on their own feet after they leave this 

Home. Most of them return to prostitution and come back to 

Vigilence Home, either because their families disown them and 

drive them out or husbands marry other women while the trial 

goes on or relatives look down and use abusive language against 

them. 

These studies on children and women are an eye-opener to 

many of our students. Their problems cannot be solved by social 

service projects alone. Alternative education outside schools 

is needed for children and parents to counter the values promoted 

by class oriented schools. Programmes should be designed 

in such a way to deal with children belonging to different class 

at various levels. Persuade the government to reconsider its policy 

of privatizing education and improve the facilities and standard 

of its own managed schools is necessary. 

Loan and Debts: Vicious Trap 


Loans and debts have become unavoidable evil in the lives of 

people. Even the rich claim that they have borrowed millions of 

Rupees and are living in debts. But the analysis of the purpose 

for which the rich have borrowed money and the ways they use 

their capital reveals the truth of multiplying their profit and 

investments and accumulating more wealth in contrast to the 

poor who struggle everyday and borrow money to buy their food. 

Loans and debts are a nightmare and serious threat to the lives 

of the poor and middle class in our society. Off-campus students 

of the year 1993-94 were asked to study the problem of 

loans and debts of the people living nearby tracing the reasons 

for their borrowings, kinds of loans and interest and the consequences 

of loans in their lives. Initially students could not get 

details of loans and debts of the people since it is regarded as a 

private and sensitive issue and the prestige of the family is at 

stake. Some people come forward to share their problems of 

debts and their sufferings with our students and asked for financial 

help to clear the debts. In studying the problem of loans 

and debts of the poor in the slums and middle class teachers of 

two schools and staff of a hospital, we realized the menace of 

unauthorized money lenders and the powerlessness of the people 

once trapped to break the shackles of debts. What is more 

shocking to us is the silence of the local churches and Christian 

organizations on this issue. Regret to say that neither pastors 

have preached sermons on loans, debts and interest rate nor 

298 299


organizational workers have educated the poor and middle class 

on the seriousness of this problem and help them to come out 

of the vicious trap. 

In money lending business, two basic types of loans are viz. 

lending money without demanding security and pledges and 

lending with security and pledges such as land, house, jewels, 

utensils, watches and clocks, cycles, tools and properties and 

clothes. These loans operate with interest on the capital borrowed. 

The study classifies five different types of money lenders 

namely, banks, licensed pawn brokers, unauthorized individual 

money lenders, shops and hire purchase, Finances and Chit 

Funds and Government. State Government offers loan schemes 

through banks to help the poor and middle class to start a small 

business at low rate of interest. But rarely the people are able to 

get this subsidy from the government because of legal formalities 

and rampant corruption in the system. However, salaried 

middle class members such as teachers in schools are able to 

make use of the Festival loans given by the government to buy 

clothes and Provident Fund loans to buy jewels. Moreover these 

teachers and hospital staff members make use of the hire purchase 

offers of local shops to buy TV, radio, watches and even 

two wheelers. Most of them, although feel the burden of debts, 

think that these loans are useful to improve their standard of 

living except a few who have borrowed money for higher interest 

from some money lenders, failed to clear the dues and lost their 

jewels and properties given as security. 

The story of the poor is different from the middle class. Most 

of these poor in the slums are muslims and dalits who have no 

regular monthly income. They have to work every day to earn 

their bread. Wages paid for their hard labour is meager. Banks 

and Hire purchase Finances are hesitant to lend money to them 

because of the fear of default in paying the interest and the 

capital. They, therefore, go to individual and unauthorized money 

lenders, pledge their utensils, kerosene cookers, clothes and 

even their Ration Card which enables them to buy rice, wheat 

and oil on controlled price and borrow money to buy food, pay 

rent, school fees for their children’ education or marriage expenses. 

The terms and conditions of interest for the borrowed 

amount varies from one lender to another lender. Daily interest 


collected for a loan of Rs.100 is Rupee 1 per day. Under this 

scheme, the borrower is encouraged to continue to pay the interest 

than clear the debt so that the lender can earn more than 

the amount loaned to the debtor. Collection of weekly and 

monthly interest ranging from 3-20 per cent for a loan of more 

than Rs.100 is practiced. Money lenders live in the midst of 

them or nearby as parasites and are ready to lend money to 

these poor who would not oppose them or turn violent but would 

pay the interest regularly. No legal action on their unauthorized 

money lending and the exorbitant interest rate extracted 

from the public or police action against these lenders is possible 

since their lending goes on without written documents or 

evidences. Defaulters, however, are beaten up and the their cycles, 

shops or huts are damaged by the lenders. Sometimes 

these money lenders go to the extent of harassing the members 

of the family particularly women and children of the defaulters. 

Fear of cruelty from the hands of these lenders make the poor 

to pay the interest first and starve in tears. Their vicious poverty 

surrenders them to vicious borrowings and debts. These poor 

are silenced by force not to tell others about their creditors and 

their cruelty. Loans and interests have disturbed the peace in 

the families. Debts are their death traps. 

Students search the Scripture to know the theology of loans, 

debts and interest. They have taken effort to interpret Ex. 22:25; 

Lev. 25:35; Dt. 15:8; 28:12-24; 23:20; 24:10-17; Ps. 19:17; 37:21- 

26; 112:5; Prov. 6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; 27:13; 2 Kings 

4:1; Ezek. 18:8; Neh. 5:6-13; Matt. 18:22-35; Lk.16:1; 7:41 etc. 

and pointed out some of the principles connected with lending 

money such as the prohibition of collecting interest from another 

Israelite or entering into the house of the debtor and taking 

his belongings by force as security and keeping the mortgaged 

cloak throughout the day without returning it to the poor 

in the evening to cover and protect himself; provision of the 

Jubilee Year to forgive all the debts and release the debtors to 

go free from their masters and Jesus’ teaching of forgiving the 

debtors and write off all the debts whatever be the amount. More 

reflections are needed on biblical texts to make a relevant messages 

to the money lenders and debtors and plan pragmatic 

actions to liberate the debtors and protect them from falling 

into the vicious trap. 

300 301


Many questions may arise out of this extended essay on Offcampus 

programme of this seminary. Some of the challenges of 

this programme were already highlighted above in this essay. 

However, opportunities for evangelism and church planting in 

the slums or nearby area of caste Hindus were not taken seriously 

for some reasons. There is no doubt about the influence 

of off-campus programme in the personality development of students, 

seminary curriculum, teaching methods and evaluation. 

As a concluding remark, I would like to affirm that social involvements 

and short term and long term projects could not be 

ignored in theological education. They are integral parts of ministerial 

training. A viable interaction between class room learning 

and involvement through projects and programmes must be 

worked out by each seminary to make theological education 

more meaningful. Class room learning without involvement 

through projects and programmes, and projects without class 

room reflections in Seminary education cannot be more useful 

and regarded a holistic training. Seminaries are not only educational 

centers but also should become Missions to relate the 

training relevantly to the context. 


MINISTERIAL TRAINING FOR 

CHURCH PLANTING 

(Madras Theological Seminary and College, Chennai) 

The focus of theological training differs from seminary to seminary. 

Madras Theological Seminary and College (formerly known 

as Madras Bible Seminary) in Chennai, Tamilnadu belongs to 

the Oriental Missionary Society. The OMS was founded by 

Charles E. Cowman in 1901 to preach the Gospel and plant 

churches in Japan, Korea and China. He went as a missionary 

to Japan in 1901 and established a Bible college. The OMS 

started sending missionaries to Korea and China. Due to the 

World War and the emergence of Communism in China, missionaries 

of OMS were asked to leave China. They came to India 

in 1941 and established Bible colleges in Allahabad and Mysore 

with a purpose ‘to train nationals to preach the Gospel and plant 

churches’. Their missionary Rev. G. Phillippe and his wife were 

asked to move from Allahabad to Madras to find out the possibility 

of establishing a Bible college and enhance evangelistic 

activities. They arrived in Madras in 1953 and rented a house to 

start the Bible school. Mr. D. Samuel who served the YMCA for 

a long time was doing personal evangelism on the basis of ‘Oneby-one 

Band’ and training evangelists in his Night Bible School 

in Madras. Coming together of the missionary G. Phillippe and 

D. Samuel to evangelize Madras and start a regular Bible college 

paved the way for establishing Madras Bible Seminary (MBS) 

on 3 rd July 1953. Mr. D. Samuel transferred all his students of 

the Night Bible School (NBS) to Madras Bible Seminary and 

worked as its Dean. The missionary G. Phillippe, the first Principal, 

D. Samuel, the Dean and Rev. Victor Joseph, an Evangelist 

cum Pastor were the faculty members. With these three men, 

MBS started training 20 students in 1953 with a clear goal to 

plant churches in and around Madras city. Dr. David J Rigby 

took charge of the seminary in 1955 since the Phillippes had to 

leave for USA and emphasized personal evangelism and openair 

preaching and campaigns. Under his leadership, MBS drew 

‘The Madras Plan’ of evangelism for preaching and planting 

churches. They were able to plant churches in Vyasarpadi, West 

302 303


Saidapet, West Mambalam, Arumbakkam, Aminjikarai, Otteri 

and Porur (M.Ezra Sargunam:Multiplying Churches in Modern 

India:1974: 69-82). Rt.Rev. Dr. Ezra Sargunam, the present 

Bishop of ECI was a student in MBS during 1953 to 1955 and 

worked as a pastor in Porur. He narrates the origin and development 

of MBS in his book Multiplying Churches in Modern India 

(1974:53-70). In the year 1993, the name of MBS was 

changed to MTSC due to the development in their programmes. 

The history of MTSC is closely linked with the history of OMS. It 

is not my intention to write all the details about the history of 

OMS, MTSC and the Evangelical Church of India (ECI) which is 

the Indian administrative body like a diocese for all the planted 

churches of MTSC. The pattern one could notice here is that 

the OMS establishes Bible colleges. The students of their Bible 

colleges plant churches. The planted churches are taken care 

by their graduates. The churches are linked with and developed 

under the administrative body called ECI (S. S. Dhanaraj, ‘The 

ECI Model’ in the book Mission Mandate:1992:561-573). The 

pattern is Mission – Bible College – Churches. These three institutions 

are inter-linked as denominational institutions but 

function separately with their own offices and staff members. 

My interest is to show how the theological education at MTSC 

helps the ministry of planting churches and pastoral care of the 

planted churches. 

THEOLOGICAL BASIS AND MISSION STATEMENT OF MTSC 

The Great Commission given by Jesus to the disciples and 

recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel 28:19-20 is the theological 

basis for training students and planting churches. (MTSC Prospectus 

1999-2000:2). The missionaries of OMS who founded 

this seminary had a deep conviction that the Christian message 

must be taken to the unevangelized masses as quickly as possible. 

They spelled out their priority for direct evangelism and set 

side medical and social service as secondary because social service 

could divert or dilute their goal of evangelism and church planting. 

On the basis of their theological conviction, the following 

mission statements were formulated for the training programme 

of MTSC. 

1. To equip pastors, evangelists and lay people for pioneer 

evangelism and church planting among the marginalized people 

groups. 


2. To give the students good theological training, sound spiritual 

life and good Christian discipline. 

3. To motivate and mobilize students to plant churches 

through weekend evangelism and lay down strong foundation 

for pastoral ministry. 

4. To absorb most of the graduates to be pastors in the ECI. 

5. To fulfill the vision and goal of ECI since MTSC is a denominational 

seminary of ECI. 

From the above mission statement, it is clear to all those 

who work or study in MTSC that they are expected to uphold 

the thrust of evangelism and church planting. They do admit 

that their active involvement in the field of evangelism and achieving 

their goal of church planting are more important than academic 

or theoretical study within the four walls of the class room. 

Dr. D. Sunder Singh, the Principal of MTSC and the Bishop’s 

Commissary, believes that the theological training for church 

planting is God’s unique plan and writes in his article ‘Missionary 

training in India for the most part is a failure as far as producing 

evangelists and church planters are concerned because 

there is more theology and less missiology. Almost all the theological 

colleges are interested in training their students only in 

western theology which is scholastic, idealistic and hence dry. 

Unless Missiology finds its place in the curriculum, theological 

education in India will not enable the seminaries to produce 

church planters. Ideally Missiology should be integrated with 

the very theology of the Triune God’ and lists his proposals for 

effective church planting through theological training (‘Theological 

Education and Church Planting’ in Mission Mandate:1992:356-362). 

This seminary has proved in planting more 

than 150 churches in Madras city and hundreds of churches in 

other parts of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and in some 

towns and cities in North India within the short span of 50 years 

of its theological education. It is estimated that ECI has more 

than 700 churches today all over India planted by the students 

of their seminaries. Due to the steady growth of their churches, 

ECI has become a powerful denomination in India. The leadership 

of ECI could raise voice for the rights of Christians, participate 

in the Minority Rights Committees, negotiate with the government 

on political, economic and religious issues and chal- 

304 305


lenge Christians to stand for their conviction and rights. The 

success of ECI lies mainly on the way MTSC has taught the 

students with the principles of Church Growth, encouraged to 

use the spiritual gifts and talents, show concern and care for 

converts and become good shepherds to their congregations. 

The missiological basis of MTSC has been enhanced by the 

teachings of Dr. Donald McGavran and his team for Church 

Growth. Dr. Ezra Sargunam trained in Fuller Theological Seminary 

returned to MTSC to teach as well as pastor a church in 

Madras. His previous experience at Porur and M.Th. studies at 

Fuller Theological Seminary have broadened the vision for multiplying 

churches using the principles and strategies learnt from 

Dr. McGavran. Pastors and students were asked to study the 

books on Church Growth and attend seminars on Church Planting. 

Students are taught to find out the responsive area and 

receptive people groups in that area and evangelize them. They 

are encouraged to focus on one ethnic group and organize them 

as a church. Planting caste churches is an acceptable policy of 

MTSC to minimize social dislocation. Converts are encouraged 

to bring the rest of their family members to Christianity. Webmovement 

is encouraged to bring the entire caste or tribe in the 

area to accept the Gospel and join the church. Students are 

made aware of the merits and demerits of having several caste 

groups in one church which could hinder or contribute to the 

web-movement and growth of the churches (Multiplying Churches 

in Modern India: 151-178). Using these principles and strategies, 

MTSC is planting churches and linking them with ECI for 

further care and growth. Evangelism and church planting are 

not regarded as something wrong done to society. Rather it is 

regarded as useful for bringing true reconciliation, new order 

and transformation in our society and to be service to the nation. 

Dr. Graham Houghton, the former Principal of MTSC expresses 

this understanding of evangelism in his article ‘Our Theological 

Task in Evangelism’ (Mission Mandate:1992:363-371) 

THEORY AND PRACTICE 

MTSC offers fulltime residential B.Th. degree course in affiliation 

with the Senate of Serampore. It is also an accredited college 

of ATA offering its own B.A in ministry and M.Div. through 

Distance Education to help those who are already in ministry to 


upgrade without taking leave or being away from their church 

affecting their pastoral ministry. In addition to teaching the subjects 

of SSC and fulfilling its requirements, MTSC is teaching 

other subjects such as Missionary Biographies, Principles of 

Church Growth, Perspectives on Mission, Apologetics, Religious 

Traditions of India, Scripture Knowledge, Mission Strategies and 

ECI Constitution and Manual. Hindi is taught to help the students 

for their practical work in north India. These subjects offered 

by MTSC motivate and enable the students to learn the 

technique of evangelism, church planting and taking care of the 

planted churches and how to inter-act with the oppositions from 

Hindu fundamentalists or Communists. Classes are conducted 

from Tuesday to Friday. 

Students, as the first step in practical work, are sent in batches 

to preach the Gospel and plant churches on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Practical involvement on week-ends is required of all men 

and women studying at MTSC and they are expected to give a 

report of their week-end work on Monday morning which is allotted 

for discussion. The discussions on their report are followed 

by a time of planning for further intensive evangelism 

and prayer for the people who showed interest in the Gospel, 

converts and build churches for them. 

The second step in their practical training is camping for 10 

to 14 days in a village or a locality in the city for intensive evangelism. 

The camping ministry takes place during the holidays 

between the semesters and also during summer holidays. Particular 

villages or inner city areas are carefully selected by the 

faculty or their missionary wing called Indian Missionary Movement 

for the camps. Students are assigned in teams to these 

camps. They distribute tracts and gospels for the first few days 

to the families in that area without preaching sermons. As people 

ask questions or request the students and the faculty or 

local pastor leading the team to pray for them, they pray for the 

people particularly for their health, quarrel in families, financial 

problems, employment for husbands or sons and marriage 

for their daughters. No assurance for financial help or social 

service is given to the people from the side of the teams of MTSC. 

However, the prayer ministry continues for the people strengthening 

their contacts with the local community. The last few days 

of their camping, students organize public meeting to proclaim 

306 307


the Gospel openly and invite people to accept Jesus Christ as 

their Lord and Saviour. Those who came forward are not baptized 

immediately but asked to attend the prayer meetings, bible 

studies and worship service organized in the village or slum. 

They are nurtured and strengthened for few months till they 

make a voluntary decision to be baptized and join the church as 

members. Meanwhile, MTSC searches for a rented house or a 

piece of land to build a shed for worship. Another strategy 

adopted is to start Sunday Schools in villages and the outskirts 

of Madras city by the students of MTSC. During their week-end 

outreach, they teach the children and adults the biblical truths 

through story telling, songs and choruses and showing slides 

and film strips. The Sunday School ministry on Saturdays and 

Sundays not only trained the students in preaching and teaching 

but also paved the way to establish contacts, find the receptive 

people groups and organize them as a fellowship before 

making them members of churches. 

The third step is to appoint their own graduates as pastors 

for the planted churches. Since these graduates were involved 

in evangelism during their theological education, they knew very 

well the value of their hard work and the risk the converts have 

taken to become Christians These graduates work as assistant 

pastors for five years before ordination to become the full fledged 

pastors of ECI. They give all sorts of pastoral care and strengthen 

the congregation in biblical faith, financial giving and Christian 

life. All the pastors in and around Madras city are called to meet 

at MTSC campus once a month for discussion and planning. In 

this monthly forum, they share their experience, problems and 

the books reviewed and draw guidance and support from other 

fellow pastors. 

The fourth step is mobilizing the laity of the churches to 

witness and plant churches. Once the planted church grows 

enough, the pastor train the congregation to witness for Christ 

and plant extension churches. Dr. Ezra Sargunam has documented 

such extension churches planted by the laity and explained 

the way this approach was implemented (Multiplying 

Churches in Modern India: 99-113). He lists the cases of Kilpauk 

Congregation of ECI planting a church in Villivalkam, Saidapet 

church branching out to Chrompet, Otter and Basin Bridge 

churches opening up Ennore Church. 


The advantage is that the pastors and laity of ECI are able to 

gather in MTSC for constant updating, refresher programmes, 

bible studies, prayer meetings, retreats and guidance. The seminary 

continues its contribution to the graduates and laity, although 

they are under the administration of ECI, and encourage 

them in pastoral ministry. The student body involved in 

these meetings gain further insights about the churches and 

develop themselves. They learn the pastoral problems and difficulties 

of the laity through these meetings in addition to what 

they learn in the class room. 

The fifth step in their outreach activities is to recommend to 

ECI to extend social help to the needed families in their congregations 

or to work out relief measures during emergency like 

flood or famine in the villages where they have the week-end 

activities and camps. The MTSC is aware of the demand of the 

people in villages and slums for social help, relief and rehabilitation. 

But MTSC does not carry out the social service. It recommends 

the needs of the people to the Head Quarters of ECI 

which works out with CASA, EFICOR and World Vision. However 

students of MTSC are involved in extending their labour 

and help through the local pastor to the community in need. 

Such opportunities train students to understand the problems 

of society and express their help in the struggles of Christians 

as well as people of other faiths. 

Religious conversion in the pluralistic context of India is a 

burning issue. MTSC and ECI believe in converting those who 

respond positively to the Gospel and make them disciples of 

Christ. They believe that the conversion of the dalits and oppressed 

people to Christianity can help them to improve their 

socio-economic status. However, they are aware of the disadvantages 

in discipling the suppressed communities (M. Ezra 

Sargunam, ‘Church Growth among the Poor and the Suppressed’ 

in Mission Mandate: 1992:265-269). Although MTSC has been 

criticized by some leaders for their stand on church planting, 

their theological training of studying and using the principles 

and strategies of Church Growth has led them to plant and take 

care of more than one thousand churches today. MTSC and ECI 

have created churches which can work as a base for bringing 

social transformation. 

308 309


LAITY FORMATION IN SECULAR 

COLLEGES: EQUIPPING WOMEN 

(Lady Doak College, Madurai) 

The term ‘laity in a general sense could refer to persons who 

are not technically trained for a job or ‘those lacking professional 

knowledge of a subject’. In the context of the church, it 

has a theological meaning referring to the whole people of God 

who worship together and are involved in the mission of God. 

But, today, one gets the picture of a three tiered hierarchical 

division of bishop and clergy as specially trained and ordained 

to conduct the worship and administer the sacraments and the 

laity sitting in the pew being ministered to by the ordained group 

in churches. Lay persons are looked at as not technically qualified 

to do God’s ministry. They are expected to be a witness to 

their faith and practice the ideals of the Bible in their working 

places and living context. To witness, practice and to be involved 

in society, the laity need religious education, edification, encouragement 

and guidance. Laity formation happens through 

various programmes. Being involved in education for the past 

twenty years, I have tried to reflect on the role of Christian educational 

institutions in laity formation. 

CHURCH AND LAITY FORMATION 

Secular education and theological education, as in many 

countries, are separated in India too. Most of the theological 

seminaries offer degree courses in divinity to students who have 

earned their first degree either in arts or sciences from a recognized 

University. Graduates who do not want to be trained in a 

residential programme of the seminary to become pastors of the 

churches, but would prefer to continue as a lay person can do 

theological studies through external programmes of the Senate 

of Serampore and Asia Theological Association. Very few lay persons 

enroll themselves for external studies and equip themselves 

as theologically trained laity. This kind of laity formation 

requires the interest and voluntary effort of the individual and 

the spending of his or her own money towards tuition, books 

and attending contact tutorial classes conducted in a few se- 


lected cities in India. The rest of the vast majority of the laity 

receives education mainly through preaching in the churches. 

This happens usually once a week on Sunday worship service. 

Well planned regular Bible studies go on in very few churches 

during an evening on a week-day. Lay people who are employed 

in secular jobs find it difficult to attend such a Bible study after 

their days’ hard labour. Planned and prepared Christian education 

programmes for children, Youth and adults are used in 

very few churches which could afford to spend money on staff 

training and printed materials. As this situation prevails in many 

churches in South and North India, the laity do not get sufficient 

training in theological and ministerial formations. This has 

been pointed out in the discussions in churches and seminaries 

over the years. 

Laity formation gets less attention and low budget in comparison 

to ministerial training in seminaries, bible institutes 

and missionary training centres. Overseas churches and mission 

boards too give priority to ministerial training in India rather 

than laity training particularly training young men and women 

in colleges. Mushrooming of seminaries, Bible colleges and institutes 

in the recent years in India is an evidence to that fact. 

The main reason stated for this priority and imbalance is that 

one clergy when trained will train many lay people. Such an 

opinion, we know, is not much realised in the mainline and 

independent churches. For many Christians go to the church 

three or four times a year during the festival period. These Christians 

cannot be reached only by preaching and teachings held 

in the Church. Village congregations only occasionally hear sermons 

from theologically trained clergy since one cleric is assigned 

to many churches. Most of the Sundays, lay leaders such 

as local school teachers, youths or evangelists lead the worship 

and preach the sermon. City Christians are busy with their jobs, 

commuting long distances in buses and trains and attempting 

to make time for recreation. Organising these urban Christians 

for regular training and teaching in churches is difficult. The 

idea that laity, therefore, can be only trained by churches is an 

outdated concept. This strategy for the formation of laity does 

not work effectively anymore. Churches and Mission Boards 

should raise the following questions: Where can we train the 

laity more effectively? What is the best period of their life for 

310 311


such a formation? It is where the lay people study, work and 

live. 

A Christian child spends the best part of his or her life (age 

5-17) in schools and (18-23) in colleges. The time spent (age 

18-24) in colleges or in technical institutes is a suitable period 

of laity formation. They raise questions about society and the 

church and seek theological answers. They are full of emotions 

and enthusiasm for involvement in the mission of the churches. 

They question the injustice that prevails in our society and are 

eager to bring about transformation. Since churches are not 

meeting their needs, many youths stop coming to the churches, 

join other groups or cults and even go to the extent of regarding 

the churches as irrelevant. 

Christian colleges and Institutes can meet this need and produce 

well trained youth if they can offer Christian studies programmes 

with a planned curriculum and trained staff. This is 

one reason why missionaries insisted on Christian education 

and religious instruction to be offered in the schools and colleges 

they established. They were able to offer religion courses 

within the regular time-table of the week. The pre-independence 

period of India witnessed much importance in the religious 

education of the laity in schools and colleges for the following 

reasons: 

(i) One of the objectives of founding schools and colleges by 

missionaries is to teach the Bible, offer more instruction to students, 

particularly the converts, and to transform society with 

the values of the Gospel. They knew that training children and 

youth during their education at schools and colleges could provide 

trained laity for the ministries of churches. 

(ii) Educational institutions in the missionary period were 

not dependent on the Government for financial aid. They were 

able to raise finance abroad and locally. The salaries of the staff 

were paid by the Mission Boards. Therefore, the interference of 

the Government with the affairs of the schools and colleges was 

less. Quality education with religious instructions provided qualified 

and committed youth to the society. 

(iii) Converts were eager to strengthen their Christian faith 

and equip themselves with the knowledge of scripture, liturgy 


and worship, creeds and confessions. In addition to churches, 

Christian schools and colleges were able to provide such facilities. 

Some of these converts who were trained in mission institutions 

took the idea of indigenisation of the Gospel, worship 

and ministry to suit to the growth of the Indian Christian literature 

and theologies. This quality of laity formation and theological 

contribution challenged even the clergy who had special theological 

education. This is one contribution of secular institutions 

towards laity formation. 

(iv) Pre-independence society of India valued Christian educational 

institutions as liberating forces and the moral instructions 

as a transforming force for society. Many political leaders 

and social reformers supported the work of Christian schools 

and colleges and encouraged the people to study in those institutions. 

(v) Missionaries were able to control the local politics and 

the problems of administration in their churches. They did not 

interfere in educational institutions, but took care that those 

institutions functioned effectively free from church politics and 

continued their service to society. 

COLLEGES AND LAITY FORMATION 

The main objective of secular colleges is to educate the students 

and get qualified with degrees and diplomas. Colleges, in 

India, are under pressure to make higher education more career 

oriented rather than emphasizing the holistic development 

of students. There are only a few Christian Colleges which do 

not experience this tension. The others face the following difficulties 

in training the laity. 

(i) As aided colleges who receive financial grants for staff salaries 

from the government have to oblige the rules of the government. 

Any religious education is viewed with suspicion as a 

propagation of the religion. 

(ii) Faculty who are trained in their field of arts and sciences 

are not trained and qualified in theological education to teach 

theological subjects to the students. 

(iii) Aided colleges are not allowed to include theological 

courses as part of their curriculum. Religions and Philosophies 

312 313


may be taught, not as theological training, but as academic disciplines 

with an approved syllabus by the University for students, 

irrespective of their particular religion. But very few students 

belonging to different religions prefer these courses since 

employment opportunities for such graduates are rare. This ’academic’ 

approach to courses lacks recognition by religious authorities 

and institutions. 

(iv) Due to the pluralistic composition of staff and students 

and the multi-faith context, Colleges hesitate to offer theological 

education, emphasizing laity formation. 

(v) Some management and staff of colleges feel that laity formation 

is the responsibility of the local church and hesitate to 

add the extra burden of teaching theological courses on teachers, 

in addition to their field of specialization. 

LADY DOAK COLLEGE 

Lady Doak College was founded in 1948 by the American 

missionary, Miss Kaite Wilcox, with the support of Sir James 

and Lady Helen Doaks of UK, exclusively for the higher education 

of women in the region of Madurai and Ramnad. As an 

ecumenical institution, it has drawn the members of its governing 

board from various Christian churches and organisations, 

CSI, UELCI, Madurai-Ramnad Diocese, Christian organisations 

along with experts in education. It is affiliated with the Madurai 

Kamaraj University with autonomous status granted by UGCand 

awarded Five Star status by NAAC. At present approximately 

2300 women students are studying in 15 disciplines, of which 

50 per cent are Christians belonging to CSI, Lutheran, Brethren, 

Seventh Day Adventist, Methodist, Pentecostal and Roman 

Catholic churches. As a Christian college, it is a duty not only to 

give quality education and to train students to be responsible 

citizens in society, but also to be trained laity of the churches 

and to witness in the secular world. The Kingdom of God, therefore, 

is the focus of the laity training. Laity formation takes 

place in various ways which can be brought under two major 

headings viz., Voluntary programmes and Required programme 

for Christian students. 

Voluntary Programmes 

Worship Service 

Christian staff and students are welcome to attend the morning 

and evening worship services held in the chapel. Staff members 

share their thoughts from the Bible. This is an opportunity 

for women to lead-and preach which they are not able to do in 

the churches. Quoting incidents, experiences and interpreting 

the text from feminist perspectives challenges students. Although 

a lectionary is not followed for worship, Lady Doak College uses 

the liturgies of various church traditions and a list of important 

international and national days to be remembered in the worship, 

preaching and prayers. This makes the community aware 

of the global and national issues and to try to relate Christian 

faith and commitment to address these problems. Since many 

women do not have the opportunity to attend the Confirmation 

courses conducted by the churches, Lady Doak College organizes 

Confirmation classes to these students. They learn the basic 

beliefs of CSI and get confirmed in a special service at the 

chapel by the Bishop of Madurai-Ramnad Diocese. 

Bible Studies 

Those students who are residing in the hostels on the Campus 

have the privilege of attending the evening worship service 

and to enrich themselves with regular Bible Studies. With the 

co-operation of local pastors and professors of the seminary, 

students learn to understand the biblical books chapter by chapter. 

Seminars 


Christian students are requested to attend special seminars 

on theological issues organised by SCM and the Christian Study 

Centre. Theologians and church leaders are invited to address 

the students. Scholars visiting Madurai or on sabbatical arrangement 

with the college are invited to speak to the students and 

staff and, thus, the students are exposed to scholarly discussions. 

314 315


Required Programme 

Christian Studies 

While the above three voluntary programmes contribute to 

the formation of laity, attendance is optional. These programmes 

have their own limitations. Laity formation needs structured 

programmes and to be organised as required. Christian Studies 

Programme is required of all Christian students who are doing 

graduate studies at Lady Doak College. During their three-year 

degree programmes, Christian students irrespective of their denominational 

tradition, have to learn the Old Testament, New 

Testament and Theology at a basic level. These subjects are offered 

each year with a detailed syllabus provided by the Christian 

Educational Council. The syllabus of the Old Testament 

includes the study of the creation and fall, ancestors of Israel, 

bondage and liberation, covenant and law, judges, united and 

divided monarchy, leadership, 8 th and 9 th century B.C.E. prophets, 

exile, message of Ezekiel and Daniel, post-exilic period, 

psalms and worship and the message of the Old Testament. 

The New Testament subjects include the birth, ministry and 

teachings of Jesus in the Gospels, resurrection of Jesus, birth 

and growth of the new community, mission to the gentiles, gifts 

of the spirit, pastoral concerns, doctrinal concerns, message to 

the seven churches in Revelation and the idea of new heaven 

and new earth. 

The Christian Theology Course deals with doctrines like the 

Trinity, humanity, incarnation, atonement and cross, resurrection, 

work of the Holy Spirit, eschatology and issues related to a 

Christian home, vocation, ecology and environment and the role 

and status of men and women in ministry-with a view to 

strengthen Christian faith and commitment towards immediate 

context. 

Classes to teach these courses are conducted once a week 

in the evening after the regular working hours. Students who 

study these courses and take the exam at the end of each year 

go with a basic knowledge of the scripture and theological perspectives. 

Some of the students have tried to relate their field of 

study with theological issues in their thesis or project writing. 

Students and their parents have appreciated the effort to deal 

with the gender issues in the Christian Studies Programme because 

women are marginalised in their churches. The programme 

assists the female students when they become mothers 

and helps to bring up their children in faith. The course also 

helps women to understand the problems and ethical issues 

connected with their husband’s careers. 

Challenges 


Some of the efforts Lady Doak College had undertaken and 

the challenges they face to make the Christian Studies Programme 

more effective are the following: 

i. Staff members drawn from different disciplines are given 

short term training by the pastors and professors of the seminaries 

and institutes in Tamil Nadu. Guest lectures and refresher 

courses are organized for the staff members. 

ii. This college has a good collection of theological books in 

English and Tamil in their Christian Studies Centre and main 

library. However, to continuously update the library with recent 

theological books, acquiring reference works as well as journals 

is costly. As a secular college, the priority in the library budget 

is for books and journals on arts and sciences. Financial constraints 

also limit them to organize seminars, set up faculty training 

programmes or to sent faculty members abroad for shortterm 

training. 

iii. Since students have to spend money to buy text books of 

their discipline, they find it difficult to buy theological books. 

Providing printed notes or at least xeroxed materials for each 

lesson to staff and students has been found to be helpful. 

iv. Although laity formation through their Christian Studies 

Programme has been a valuable contribution to the families and 

churches to which their students belong, this contribution has 

not been brought to the knowledge of the churches. The 

churches, therefore, do not provide many opportunities for the 

students to be involved in their programmes and ministries. 

STUDENTS OF OTHER FAITHS 

Students of other faiths are not ignored in their formation. 

The Value Education Programme of the College is for all students. 

In addition to VEP, this college also offers Women’s Stud- 

316 317


ies Programme (WSP) and Human Rights Course to all students, 

irrespective of their religion. The college requires the students 

to do the course with the objective to expose them to women’s 

issues and concerns. Laity formation is not achieved by academic 

courses alone, but through various voluntary and structured 

programmes is their experience. It is the spiritual element 

which remains a continuous challenge to secular education. 

Building the nation depends on the academic and ethical 

formation of youngsters and to develop their personalities in a 

holistic manner. 

Although, the priority is for secular education, the effort of 

Lady Doak College to equip their Women Students with Theological 

education, Value Education Programme, Women Studies 

Programme, Human Rights, Gandhian Studies, and Inter-Faith 

Dialogue programmes certainly contributes to the growth of personal 

and academic development of students and staff and prepares 

them to be leaders at home, work place, worshipping centres 

and society. Lady Doak Model is a challenge to Christian 

Schools and Colleges in India. 


VOCATIONAL AND THEOLOGICAL 

INTEGRATED TRAINING 

(ACTS Institute, Bangalore) 

ACTS is an acronym for Agriculture, Crafts, Trades and Studies. 

The motto of ACTS Institute is Work, Worship and Witness. 

The basic philosophy of ACTS Institute is that the ministry of 

the body of Christ is to serve the Church and Society. Christians 

all over the world need to recover the holistic meaning of 

ministry and regard their work whether separated for the ministry 

within the local church and para-church organization or 

settled in secular job as ministry unto the Lord Jesus Christ. 

But many Christians employed in secular jobs do not regard 

their vocation as a ministry for the Lord, may be because of lack 

of proper understanding of the concept of ministry or problems 

in their job. The attitude toward work is marred often because 

of the grim situation of the employment. Very few people get 

jobs which offer satisfaction. For many people, work is a drudgery 

and working place is like a hell. They carry on their job 

without motivation and satisfaction except for the sake of earning 

salary to meet their needs. They raise many questions about 

God, society, government and employer and get disillusioned 

with their life. Christian youths are not given proper biblical 

teaching about work and life either in the families or churches. 

Many youths are in need of theological teachings on work and 

skilled training in a profession. These two aspects need to be 

integrated to lead a meaningful life. Should theological training 

be separated from vocational training or vice versa? Should 

churches and institutions fail to integrate vocational and theological 

training for Christians and develop them as better witnesses 

in secular profession? ACTS Institute in Bangalore challenges 

the dichotomy in understanding the ministry of the 

church and the training by integrating work, worship and witness. 

It trains Christian men and women to have skilled training 

along with theological education and contributes to the formation 

of laity to be effective witness in our society. 

318 319


THEOLOGICAL AND MISSIOLOGICAL BASIS FOR 

VOCATIONAL TRAINING 

ACTS Academy of Higher Education has several institutes 

and social projects. One of the units of this Academy is the 

ACTS Institute which offers the integrated vocational and theological 

training for the past 20 years. This Institute combines 

theology of work, worship and witness. Worship of God is at the 

center of their training linking the dignity of labour and the 

Great Commission of witnessing for Christ. Dr. Ken Gnanakan, 

the founder of ACTS Institute explains his vision for India through 

this motto (Refer to his book Still Learning,:1995 :89-104). This 

motto stands not only as the philosophy of the Institute but also 

serves as the theological and missiological basis for the training 

(Ken Gnanakan, ‘Work, Worship and Witness’ in Mission Mandate:1992:372-376). 

The following nine concerns explaining further 

their theological and missiological basis are documented 

in the unpublished doctoral thesis on Work (Richard Gnanakan, 

Work in God’s World: A Biblical Perspective on the significance 

of Work for today: 1999:250-252): 

1. The programme of ACTS Institute is being implemented 

with the firm belief that there is need to integrate the work, 

worship and witness of the Christian community in India. The 

disparity between our work-attitude has definitely weakened 

our witness. We want to learn to glorify God in work as well as in 

worship so that together they will constitute an effective witness. 

2. There is a need to see Christian training within the context 

of life. Theological training needs to have a goal. This definitely 

accounts for the success of several seminaries which have 

as their goal the training of men as for instance the pastoral 

ministry. There is also need, however, to train men and women 

for witness within the larger context of life itself. We are interested 

in developing people who will go into real life situations 

rather than only seek after the security of the traditional patterns 

of ministry. 

3. There is need to stress people rather than a curriculum. 

Our traditional educational patterns seem to start with curriculum 

which then is injected into people, regardless of their abilities 

and aptitudes. Is it not possible to start with people and 

then build a curriculum around them? 


4. There is a need for Bible training for Christians wherever 

they may be called to serve. The contribution of extension 

courses, lay training courses etc. is commendable. With a similar 

concern we have moved into the building up of people who 

will take the Bible into the heart of India. Would not our witness 

be far more effective if one day we see as bold a proclamation 

going forth from a carpenter, a tailor, an electrician etc as from 

a paid pastor or an evangelist? 

5. There is a need to provide an atmosphere where individual 

gifts can be developed within the context of the body of Christ. 

A limitation, though not a failure, in Christian training is that 

only a few outstanding gifts have sought to be developed. The 

danger is that the gift could become the end in itself. There 

needs to be a place where every Christian could find fruitfulness 

in developing his particular gift no matter how small it is, 

but within the context of the entire body of Christ. 

6. There is a need to develop a self-supporting witnessing 

Christian community. We must commend the efforts of several 

organizations and churches to become self-supporting. There is 

still however, a greater need to educate our community to work 

harder on the utilizing of talents and opportunities, that God 

gives us to more productive use. We believe that God will be 

glorified if we use the little He gives to maximum advantage. 

7. There is a need for bridging the gap between the Christian 

witnessing community and the working masses of India. Our 

witness could be dynamic if as salt we can penetrate the heart 

of real India. Could we not get right into villages and towns and 

work alongside our countrymen to demonstrate Christ through 

our lives before we proclaim Him? 

8. There is a need for a stress on evangelism as a persuasion 

rather than as a profession. We do not discourage full time evangelists, 

pastors and teachers. There is need for them. But there 

is need for a greater number of practical witnesses whose heart 

beat will be evangelism like the Christians in the book of ACTS. 

We need people who will be more concerned with the Salvation 

of man rather than with the success of a methodology; men 

concerned for people more than for a programme. 

9. There is need for Christ like servanthood. ACTS Institute 

is not concerned with the training up of leaders, but with the 

320 321


equipping of servants. We want to go out to serve our nation in 

real humility so they can see Christ’s servanthood in our lives. 

‘For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and 

ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake’ 2 Cor. 4:5. 

The ACTS Institute had a humble beginning in a rented house 

in Koramangala area of Bangalore in July, 1979. Within two 

years, the ministry grew that it had to move into a 4 acre campus 

on the outskirts of the Hosur Road. This small campus provided 

facilities to construct workshops for skilled training, accommodation 

for the staff and students and to reach out the 

nearby villages for witnessing and planting churches during 

weekends. The Institute continued its programmes in the campus 

from 1980 to 2000. But it had to move in 2001 into the new 

campus of 14 acres situated further interior in the rural area of 

Rayachandra out of necessity to have more accommodation, class 

rooms, library, workshops and a place for games. Part of the 

skilled training and Community Health Programme continue in 

the old campus. Students move between the old campus and 

new campus for study and training. 

WORK AND STUDY 

ACTS Institute offers at present Certificate in Ministry, Diploma 

of Ministry, Bachelor of Ministry (BA in Ministry) and 

Master of Ministry (MA in Ministry) combining the technical 

training and theological education. The technical training programmes 

are accredited by the National Open School of the 

Government of India, State technical board, Pitman of UK and 

City and Guild of UK. Students get recognized Certificates and 

Diplomas for their technical training courses. The theological 

part of their programmes is recognized by the ACTS Academy of 

Higher Education. Since there has not been enough theological 

discussion on vocation and witness in the circles of Asian ‘Affiliating’ 

and ‘Accrediting’ body for theological institutions so far, 

the vocational programme combined with theological education 

of ACTS Institute was not accredited by theological Senates or 

Associations. The traditional trend is to affiliate or accredit only 

theological seminaries and bible colleges meant for the training 

of clergies, evangelists and missionaries. While these affiliating 

and accrediting boards have dicatomized the vocations as sacred 

and secular, ATA has broadened its theological perspective 


and come forward recently to recognize the integrated vocational 

and theological degrees of BA and MA in Ministry prgrammes of 

ACTS Institute. This is a welcoming change in understanding 

God’s call for different people, dignity of labour, gifts and talents, 

earning the financial support and witness for Christ. This 

is a bold step, in my opinion, in equipping the laity with due 

recognition for the integration of technical and theological education. 

It can challenge the myth that the ministerial training 

given by the seminaries should be recognized as high and holy 

and calls us to value the priesthood of all believers through other 

vocations and witness in secular world as equally important. It 

is also a challenge to the concept and practice of varnashrama 

because the biblical theology of work upholds dignity of labour 

and counters the idea of jobs according to the caste or race as 

promoted by some fundamentalists of Hindu religion. ACTS accepts 

students of all castes, colour and race from different regions 

of India. The young boys and girls who have completed 

their studies in the school are accepted in the one year Certificate 

Programme and upgraded to the Diploma Programme in 

the second year if they do well. Some of the drop outs of school 

are considered on certain reasons to study in the ACTS Institute. 

During this period, these drop outs and failures are encouraged 

to complete SSLC (10 th Standard) or Plus Two (12 th 

Standard) directly with the local government getting some tutorial 

help and special coaching at ACTS. Thus they get a chance 

to complete the school as well as gain skills for a profession. 

Those who have passed Higher Secondary (Plus Two in school) 

or PUC can join BA. A graduate can join MA in ministry to learn 

some technical course and theology. The subjects and skill training 

vary in standard according to the level of Certificate, Diploma 

or BA or MA programme. 

The technical courses offered at ACTS Institute are Carpentry, 

Tailoring and Dress-making, Community Health (Basic 

Nursing), Secretarial Practice ( Shorthand and Typing, Telephone, 

Xerox and Fax operation, Emailing), Computer Application, Electrical 

(Wiring, Repairing household appliances, TV repair), Agriculture 

(Horticulture, Vegetable gardening, Flowering plants, 

Land scaping, Environmental work, Recycling waste, 

Vermiculture), Sheet-metal work (Windows, Grill, Doors, Arc and 

Gas Welding, Fabrication and partitions), Lathe works, Home 

322 323


Management (Cooking, Baking, Juice making, catering, interior 

decoration) and Screen and Off set Printing. ACTS is planning 

to add some more technical courses. Many of the above 

courses are recognized by the National Open School of the 

Central Government. Recognitions are sought as and when other 

courses are introduced. Students have to learn the theory part 

of the courses and do practicals as well. The question papers 

are set by NOS and send to the institutions to conduct the exams. 

The answer sheets are sent to Delhi for valuation and certification. 

Students who cannot write in English or Hindi can 

write in their own mother tongue and the NOS appoints examiners 

to value answer sheets written in regional languages. This 

shows how much the Government of India (Ministry of Human 

Resource Development) is in favour of vocational training and 

developing our young men and women. The Central Government 

should be appreciated for its concern and contribution to 

enable men and women to achieve skill with a recognized certificate 

or diploma and get a job. The teachers of the vocational 

courses are qualified in the technical discipline and holding 

approved Diplomas and Degrees. 

The theological courses offered for the students of vocational 

training vary. Some of the important subjects are viz. Theology 

of Work, Introduction to the Bible, Major Religions of India, 

Gospels, Christian Doctrine, History of Christianity, Psalms, 

Prophetical Movement, Homiletics, Life of Christ, Mission and 

Evangelism, Christian Growth, Modern Religious and Secular 

Movements, Historical Survey of Self-Supporting Ministry, Life 

and Work of a Christian Minister, Christian Ethics, Christian 

Education, etc. Advanced level subjects are introduced for BA 

and MA students in Ministry. These courses are taught for a 

semester of twenty weeks by qualified pastors, teachers and visiting 

professors of seminaries. In addition to these subjects, students 

are taught the language of English to improve their reading, 

writing and speaking skill. Some students who come to the 

Institute without the ability of speaking or understanding English 

have remarkably improved their English. This has given 

them confidence to seek employment in offices, industries and 

clinics in towns and cities. In the early period of the Institute, 

students were taught theological courses in the morning and 

technical courses in the noon. This has created an impression 


that theology is more important than technical courses. So the 

Institute has modified its time-table offering theological and technical 

training in the morning and noon. The staff of the Institute 

believe that the theology of work is for the entire community 

of ACTS. The community of ACTS is required to have weekly 

manual labour in the agriculture fields, building construction, 

campus cleaning, eco-projects as their Shramadhan programme 

to uphold the dignity of labour. 

The two phases in the philosophy of training at ACTS Institute 

are ‘discovering’ gifts and talents and ‘developing’ such gifts’. 

In the first two to three months of the academic year, the newly 

admitted boys and girls are encouraged to discover their gifts 

and talents by introducing them to various departments like 

Carpentry, Community Health, Electrical, Mechanical, Tailoring, 

Computer and Agriculture and enabling them to explore 

various opportunities in skill training. They are guided by the 

teachers and supervisors and tested for their aptitude. Once 

the students discover their interest and skill, they are assigned 

to that particular department for developing the skill and qualify 

with the Certificate from the government. Vocational training 

includes theory of subjects and practice. Students are taught 

theories of the particular trade and crafts in the class rooms 

and required to do the practices in the workshops, Health Center, 

Offices and even in villages for Community Health programmes. 

ACTS Institute has links with some of the local industries and 

institutions in Bangalore and accepts orders for work. Although 

there are a number of businesses and trade groups who take up 

tenders for companies and create competitions in the market, 

ACTS is bold enough to accept a few orders and involve in production 

at a small scale level. This Institute has done small jobs 

of making wooden furniture, steel cabinets, logos, steel grills, 

aluminium fabrication, etc for local industries (R.Gnanakan, 

ACTS: A unique blend of theory and practice in ACTS Health 

Center and Hospital Magazine: August:1998). Those students 

who have picked up their skill fast are introduced to the production 

side of the Institute and earn wages for the hours of 

work to meet their travel or medical or pocket expenses such as 

purchasing clothes, shoes or books during the course of their 

study. In addition to earning their pocket money, such an involvement 

in producing goods for industries and institutions 

324 325


has given them confidence about their skill and hope of getting 

an employment after the completion of their education. It is 

estimated that 90 percentage of the students who graduate from 

the Institute get a job because of their vocational training or 

start their own personal business and make a living (For their 

alumni situation refer to: ACTS Ministries: Celebrating 20 Years 

of God’s goodness:1999 and other News Letters). 

Not only technical formation, but also personal formation 

takes place during their training. Students develop their personality 

through learning theological courses, inter-action with 

staff, living and working together with fellow students. The physical 

side of their personality develops by practical training in the 

workshop, involvement in the projects in the campus and villages 

and games in the evening. By integrating theological and 

technical courses, students’ mental perception about their career, 

life and meaning of being a Christian is constantly shaped. 

During my stay at the ACTS Institute and interaction with the 

students, I noticed the way they could analyze their past and 

present situation and recognize the improvement in their personal 

development during their study at ACTS. 

WORSHIP AND WITNESS 

Worship plays a key role in shaping their spirituality and 

outlook of life. Students and staff gather in the hall at 10.30 am 

from Monday to Friday for a time of worship. Although staff of 

ACTS Institute are responsible for conducting the worship and 

expounding the Scripture, students are trained to lead the singing 

in different languages, play musical instruments and share their 

testimonies. The students get trained in leading the worship 

services. The opportunity they get at the Institute help them to 

lead the House Prayer meetings in villages during the week-end 

outreach programmes. Students are sent in teams on Friday 

evening to meet the people in villages and sub-urban area and 

lead the bible study and prayer meetings in Christian homes 

welcoming their neighbours to join the House cells. The usual 

questions asked by the local people are viz. Why do you witness 

for Christ? How much are you paid for witnessing? Who are you 

by profession? The vocational training students tell about their 

past life and the way they found meaning for their life in Christ 

and developing the skill for a job. They speak of themselves not 


as evangelists or preachers but as carpenters, electricians, mechanic, 

health worker, typist, office assistant, gardener and horticulture 

experts. They boldly speak of their witnessing out of 

their conviction and not as their profession for earning salaries. 

Their testimonies and genuine spirit in witnessing have brought 

many local people into the House Prayer meetings which have 

now grown to 55 in number. Those people who are not given 

pastoral care or provided with worship service on Sundays by 

other Churches are invited to come and worship in 12 different 

centers planted by ACTS and are called as Christalaya Congregations. 

The Christalaya Congreations include the worshiping 

congregation of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. 

It includes Christians who migrated from other states to 

the region of ACTS Institute for jobs and looking for worship 

and pastoral care as well as people of other faiths and ideologies 

who showed interest in the Gospel of Christ. The effective witness 

and active involvement of the staff and students to organize 

the interested people into congregations and providing them 

the pastoral care are contributing to the steady growth of the 

Christalaya Congregations. The strength of their witness is on 

training the students to be skilled persons, giving dignity to 

labour and making them to earn their own living out of the 

technical training. This dimension of witness of this laity has 

attracted others to join their fellowship and worship the Lord 

Jesus Christ. Many of the members in the congregation are 

labourers and some of them are professionals who could appreciate 

the witness of the students who are getting training for 

work and witness. Some of the staff members of ACTS live in the 

area of the congregations and are ordained to provide continuous 

pastoral care as well as teaching in the Institute. This has 

facilitated more the ministerial formation of the students for 

witness and leading the worship services, prayer meetings and 

bible studies on week-ends. Some of their graduates who went 

to start their own trade and business in different states in India 

have been successful in continuing their secular job as well as 

planting congregations nearby and taking care of them without 

depending on the congregation for financial support. Work, 

Worship and Witness can be integrated is evident from the training 

of ACTS Institute and the successful ministry of their alumni. 

It is also admitted by the Institute that not all of their alumni 

326 327


are able to plant churches but they continue to witness wherever 

they are employed. 

The founder Dr. Ken Gnanakan, the Executive Director Dr. 

Richard Gnanakan and faculty members of ACTS Institute admit 

the limitations in their integrated vocational and theological 

training and are aware of some of the problems and prospects of 

such an integrated training. Let me raise the following few issues 

related to theology and praxis of work, worship and witness 

for further discussion and exploration. 

1. The frequent question raised is: How to balance the emphasis 

on work and witness? Some students are so enthusiastic 

for evangelism and ministry that they regard the vocational 

training is ultimately for witness. Other students regard work 

and labour as the primary calling but recognize witnessing cannot 

be ignored in Christian life. Moving between work and witness 

is a practical problem which is recognized by staff and 

students. 

2. Very few of their alumni have left their secular jobs and 

went for fulltime ministry as pastors or evangelists. Should we 

expect all the graduates to continue in skilled jobs for their life 

or allow them to go for fulltime ministry is another question. On 

the other hand, can a fulltime pastor or evangelist trained in a 

traditional seminary return to jobs like teaching or administration 

in companies and institutions or banking or to start private 

business? Will the move from ministry back to secular work be 

regarded as denial of his or her call and backsliding? What is 

wrong in returning to secular jobs and continue witnessing for 

Christ when a pastor or evangelist or theological teacher or missionary 

could not be effective or feeling miserable for various 

reasons in fulltime ministry? 

3. Although companies and private business concerns recognize 

their training and certificate and provide their students 

employment, the Dioceses, Churches and Christian Organizations 

have not come forward to employ and encourage these 

young men and women. In my opinion, churches and organizations 

can give priority to these youths who have the integrated 

training than preferring people without skilled and theological 

training. What is the attitude of Christian leaders towards the 

theology of work and integrated training? How can Christianity 

challenge varnashrama and help the Dalits particularly from 


Hindu background? Can the integrated training help Christian 

youths to find employment? 

4. Is the philosophy of ‘Work, Worship and Witness’ only for 

the school or young college graduates? What about those Christians 

who are highly qualified and employed in banks, colleges, 

government services for many years? Do they not need such a 

training to look at work, worship and witness through Distance 

Education? ACTS Academy of Higher Education is taking effort 

to provide Distance Education through their Asian Institute of 

Theology for laity formation. 

5. How effective is the ACTS Institute with their vocation and 

theological training in bringing social change and transforming 

our society? This question is taken up by the founders, faculty 

and students. Their involvement in training the laity for work 

and witness necessitated them to create social projects such as 

Community Health Programme, Adult Literacy, Hygiene Awareness, 

Toilet Constructions for slum dwellers, collecting trash 

and recycling the plastics, vermiculture, eco-projects as another 

unit called ACTS Ministries with separate staff members having 

doctors, nurses, teachers, civil engineers, health workers and 

volunteers. Their social services in villages and Bangalore city 

contribute for social change. These projects provide opportunities 

for vocational training students to involve and gain more 

insight and meaning. 

ACTS Institute has learnt out of their experience of success 

and failures in the past 20 years to hold on to the vision of 

integrated training and shaping many youths to value the dignity 

of labour and witness for Christ. It is not without its own 

limitations. ACTS Institute, in my opinion, is neither an old 

Ashram model nor a traditional seminary model in the strict 

sense. But it has combined the merits of Ashram and Seminary 

models and created a unique model of integrated training to 

relate to the changing context of 21 st century. This ACTS Model 

is not limited to Indian context only. It can be experimented in 

different parts of the world with some additions and changes of 

courses and training to suit the need of the concerned nation. 

Unlike some traditional seminaries, ACTS model provides flexibility 

for change and growth. It has a universal validity since 

work, worship and witness are unavoidable elements in human 

life. 

328 329


Conclusion 

Christian ministry is an on-going service. Christians cannot 

be satisfied with what has been done so far within the church 

and society. Churches should move on to make the ministries 

more relevant to the changing situation today and to-morrow. I 

have highlighted the theological, ecclesiological, contextual, vocational, 

relational and educational aspects of Christian ministry 

and a few models of ministry and training in the above chapters. 

Instead of repeating what has been written in the previous 

chapters, I like to re-emphasize some of the challenges for Christian 

ministry in these concluding pages. They can set new directions 

for ministry in the future. 

Christian ministry, as defined earlier, is done by the whole 

church. It is a priesthood of all believers. It is a service to humanity 

and natural world. The effectiveness of Christian ministry 

depends upon the Christian understanding of the nature, 

identity and the role of the Church. Many Christians think of 

the Church as a building for worship and prayer. The Church, 

according to them, is an institution for gathering, conducting 

marriages, baptizing the children, burying the dead and running 

schools, orphanages and hospitals. Their understanding is 

limited to the idea of institution and rituals. Howard Synder, in 

his book, Liberating the Church: The Ecology of Church and 

Kingdom, identifies ten areas in the life and ministry of the 

church which require renewal in understanding and action and 

discusses the need for liberating the Church from the idea of 

institution and rituals. His discussion on the liberating models 

of the Church is biblical and applicable to the context of various 

countries. Another essay entitled, ‘Images of the Church in India: 

Assessment and Perspective’ written by Christopher 

Duraisingh presents the various understandings of the Church 

in India, namely, the images related to the nature and inner life 

of the Church, images related to the mission and ministries of 

the Church and the images related to the structure of the 

Church. (Christian Perspectives on Contemporary Indian Issues: 

A National Colloquium, ed. Ram Singh, 1983:134-162). He brings 

330 331


out the traditional and distorted views of Christians on the 

Church and the criticism of non-Christians on Christianity. One 

of the main reasons for the distorted image of the Church, according 

to Duraisingh, is that ‘large numbers of Christians do 

not adequately distinguish between the core-visioning of Christthrough 

faith and living out that faith within a fellowship – and 

the relative and time bound institutional expressions of the process 

of visioning. The inner meaning of the Church as a living 

and dynamic movement of a people shaped by the core-vision 

that was expressed in Jesus Christ and committed to his 

messianic mission is lost’ (1983:137). Bringing a renewal in theological 

understanding of the Church among Christians is an 

important task ahead. 

A paradigm shift from understanding the Church as an ‘institution’ 

to a ‘community’ is necessary. I had already pointed 

out this important aspect of conceptualizing the Church as a 

community in this book and explained the meaning of the metaphor 

of ‘body of Christ’. This community, on the one hand, is an 

exclusive community of believers expressing their faith in the 

person and work of Christ and worshipping Jesus Christ as their 

Lord and Saviour. On the other hand, it is an inclusive community 

of believers irrespective of their race, caste, colour, class 

and culture. It is united in Christ crossing the geographical and 

cultural boundaries and its mission is universal. The theological 

dimensions of the Church as the ‘incarnational community’, 

‘diakonal community’ and ‘hermenutical community’ have been 

discussed briefly at the beginning chapters of this book. The 

Church is also a ‘relational community’ since the incarnation of 

Jesus was to dwell among the people and serve the communities. 

The ministry of the Church is to relate to the members 

within the church as well as to those outside the church. The 

pluralistic context in which the church exists and continues 

the ministries demands a renewal in understanding the church, 

ministry and training. The growing interest in the inter-faith 

dialogue and understanding the teachings of other religions, 

on the one side, are challenging Christian theology of the Church, 

Sacrament, Kingdom of God, New Humanity and Ecumenism 

and demanding us to bring changes in doing the ministry within 

the church and in relation to the people in society. De-westernizing 

the church and indigenization of Christianity is another 

Conclusion 

challenge to make the Christian ministry more acceptable and 

meaningful to context. 

The emerging problems such as growing religious fundamentalism, 

communalism, violence, injustice, decline of secular ideologies, 

religionizing politics, increasing unemployment, poverty, 

environmental degradation, gender discrimination, longing 

for true spirituality, peace and hope of life, on the other 

side, are contextual challenges for Christian ministry. Renewal 

in ministry means re-emphasizing the idea of servanthood of 

the Church and enhancing the vision for service and giving priority 

to train the laity with the theology of work and witness. 

Christians in different professions should be given teaching on 

the biblical concept of labour and service, witness for Christ 

while working in their institutions or companies or offices and 

training for serving the communities around them. The last two 

Case Studies in this book emphasize the importance of integrating 

theological education with liberal arts, sciences, management 

studies, vocational and professional education in 

schools, colleges and universities. Renewal in training requires 

re-visioning of curriculum in seminaries and institutes, requiring 

involvement in local and national context and providing opportunities 

for theological training through distance education 

to the members of the churches. 

Equally important to the theological and ministerial formation 

is the personal formation of those involved in ministry. More 

than the methods, strategies, qualification and training, the life 

of Christians counts a lot in ministry. Ministers whether in 

fulltime or voluntary service are required to be matured spiritually, 

grown in Christian faith, academically excellent, theologically 

balanced, loving and approachable and ethically committed 

to service. What sort of means used in ministry is counted 

more important than the goals. The world values more the sincerity 

and commitment of those who do God’s service than their 

achievements. The society builds confidence on such persons 

and extends its support in shaping the new humanity created 

in Christ. 

332 333


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334 335 

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342 343


Administration 100-112, 237, 242, 

247, 255-256. 

Alms 183, 186, 191. 

Ashram 183 

Baal 93-95, 115, 123, 253. 

Body of Christ 28-30, 41, 52, 212, 

224, 332. 

Call 25, 47, 91, 221-224, 246-247, 

329. 

Case Studies 275-276, 333. 

Cassock 87, 228-229. 

Caste 57-60, 68-69, 126-129, 143, 

179, 227 

Charity 183-191 

Chronicler 141-145 

Church 24, 50-52, 65-68, 98, 120- 

121, 133, 142, 163-167, 200-207, 

213-221, 231, 238, 297-298, 310, 

331-333. 

Communication (skill) 257-258 

Context 51—52, 55-79, 249, 267- 

274, 278, 279. 

Counselling 192-197 

Conversion 68, 70, 71, 100, 167- 

170, 178-180, 205, 282, 309, 312. 

Creation 31, 49-50, 70, 76, 78, 119, 

173, 233 

Cross 27, 40, 131, 152, 172, 248 

Curriculum 79, 267-270, 288, 302, 

313 

Debts 116, 184, 298, 299-302 

Diakonia 27, 36-37, 177, 187, 332 

Discipleship 26-28, 32, 152-153, 

160, 266 

Ecumenism 156, 332 

INDEX 

Education 24, 78, 232, 245-261, 

263-274, 275-276, 285, 296-299, 

303, 312, 313, 318 

Elders 34, 100-107, 109, 174, 202- 

203, 205-206 

Evangelism 99, 150, 155-170, 

173-175, 239, 246, 322 

Fair-balance 188-191 

Faith 31, 53, 54, 89, 173, 175, 197, 

206 

Gender 60-63, 164, 206, 226 

Gifts (Talents) 22, 230-233, 325 

History 44-46, 85, 125, 141-145, 

171, 216, 254 

Holy Spirit 43, 48-49, 155, 159, 

161, 165, 170, 172, 174, 216, 221, 

225, 230 

Judges 32, 101-106, 109, 113, 237 

Justice 60, 100-107, 115-118, 

145, 192 

Kingdom of God 32, 53, 77, 132, 

144, 148-149, 153, 157-160, 164- 

165, 175, 177, 196, 201, 213-221, 

248, 314 

Koinonia 177, 187 

Laity 224, 233, 274, 308, 310-314, 

317, 318 

Land 64, 104, 112, 115, 124-125, 

140, 184, 273 

Leadership 98, 101, 108, 174, 245- 

261, 273 

Liberation 45-48, 70, 88-100, 150- 

153, 201, 280, 283-284 

Life-style 202, 260, 271, 284, 333 

Living stone 210-213 

Magistrate 106-108 

344 345


Marduk 195-196, 220 

Marriage 62, 123-129 

Marxism 74-77, 93, 97-98, 133- 

134, 149, 182 

Messiah 132, 147-149, 159, 171, 

172-173, 176, 215, 217 

Metaphors 27, 28, 30, 224 

Ministry 21-31, 55, 331 

Missionary 156, 163, 170-183, 

188, 313 

Models 38, 81-82, 206, 267, 285 

Ordination 225-230 

Partnership 26-27, 46, 126-128, 

190, 235-243 

Pastor 140, 197-207, 216-217, 255 

Patriarchy 60-61 

Political 55-57, 81-82, 114-117, 

129-136, 199-201 

Power 72-73, 103, 110-112, 119, 

132-135, 238, 256 

Prayer 92, 130-133, 139, 147, 150, 

197, 206, 258-260 

Priest 32, 82-87, 104, 200, 209- 

233, 236-238, 254 

Prophet 32, 34, 35, 112-122, 185, 

194, 220, 242, 253 

Reform 122-129, 241, 242 

Sacrifices 83, 86-87, 124, 173, 251 

Satyagraha 131 

Scripture 23, 24, 26, 43, 53-54, 77- 

78, 142, 242, 251-252 

Servanthood 19, 35, 38-41, 47, 

203, 323 

346 

Service 33, 35, 36, 46-47, 70-72 

Sharing 193, 206 

Shepherd 32. 35, 101, 193-194, 

197-207, 250, 265 

Sin 145-146, 153, 163, 166-167, 

179, 196 

Slave 27, 37, 91, 98, 164, 175, 183, 

205, 254 

Social Action 134-136, 180-183, 

240, 259-260 

Social Work 70, 108, 164, 181,183, 

290-292, 299 

Son of Man 146-155, 202, 250 

Structures 63, 75-77, 121, 163, 

186-187, 235-243 

Suffering 40-41, 90-92, 99, 120- 

122, 154-155, 177-178, 193, 195, 

197, 204, 207, 215 

Tax 71, 110-112 

Terms (for ministries) 32-37 

Training 18, 78-79, 230-233, 245- 

261, 263-274, 275-330 

Tribe 60, 83, 128, 143 

Trinity 43-50 

Varna 57-59, 180, 221, 324, 328 

Vision 73, 92-93, 118, 249-251, 

258, 331 

Vocation 24-25, 71, 319-329 

Wisdom 136-141, 194, 232 

Women 60-63, 138-140, 143, 185, 

226-227, 253, 314-318. 

Worship 30-31, 36, 95, 118,174, 

204, 232, 269, 315, 321-322, 326- 

329

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