Can Conversions be Stopped?
R. Stanley
The ordinance the Government of Tamilnadu brought out in 2002 to ban forcible religious conversions triggered controversy all over Tamilnadu and the Country, both within Christian circles and other communities. The reactions of the leaders of the various sections of the Church were varied. There were protest fasts, marches and closure of Christian institutions. The simple-minded and sincere Christians were thrown in a wilderness of confusion as to how they must respond to this Ordinance of Prohibition of Forcible Conversions. As a Bible teacher and a Mission mobilizer for over four decades, and as a Tamil Christian, I present here my viewpoint. “I think I also have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor 7:40).
Ordinances against conversions should not surprise Christians, especially those in India. Anticonversion bills have been in force in the States of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh for many many years. Pioneer missionaries working in these States are used to all these bills. In fact, Church growth is only vigorous in such places. Immediately after mentioning the word “church” for the first time, Jesus declared, “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” (Mt 16:18). The building of the Church and battling against Satan will always go together (Neh 4:17). We must not forget what Pharaoh and his task-masters did to the people of God in Egypt. “The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew” (Ex 1:12). Mr. C. Rajaji that great Indian statesman had the wisdom to understand this. He admonished antichristian leaders, “Don’t crush Christians; they are bed-bugs!” There was not a single period in the entire Church history when evangelism was not opposed.
The Anti-conversion bill says that no one should be converted from one religion to the other “by force, allurements or fraudulent means.” In a country like India where superstitions and sentimentality overrule rational thinking, how will anyone give up his religion if he is forced? It would have been sensible if an ordinance to ban defections from one political party to another had been promulgated! Only politicians are telling outright lies and giving false promises to the illiterate masses of the country and “allure” them to their parties for self-interest.
Jesus promised peace, joy, forgiveness and eternal life to the people. If this is called “allurement,” sorry, we can’t help it! All Christians are commissioned by Christ to proclaim the Gospel of these blessings to everyone on earth. The authority for this proclamation is given to them by Jesus the King of kings (Mt 28:18-20). No government can take away this authority from them. Preaching the Gospel to the non-christians is statutory and obligatory for Christians. Missionary work and evangelism are not optional for the Church. A Christian who does not make others Christians has failed in his calling. Any follower of Jesus has to be a “fisher of men” (Mt 4:19).
We are not doing acts of charity to convert people but to comfort them in their suffering because they are helpless. Why did Mother Teresa (1910-1997) pick up babies from garbage, and the dying from the streets, and treat them in her home? Why did the Australian Missionary Doctor, Graham Staines (1941-1999) leave his country and work among lepers in Orissa? We are imitating our Heavenly Father who “makes His sun shine on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mt 5:45). If folks are attracted to Christianity because of its selfless and sacrificial service, and love for the poorest of the poor and the downtrodden and the untouchables, is it “allurement?” Undoubtedly such laws will become a hindrance to the yeomen services rendered by several Christian relief agencies for the poor and the marginalised. In fact the Gospel of Christ enlightens the illiterates and protects them from being exploited by cunning businessmen who fund corrupt politicians.
God who sits in the heavens laughs at the antichristian rulers because they are fighting a losing battle. I sincerely urge all of them to read the second chapter of the Book of Psalms in the Bible and be instructed.
I predict that such laws will usher in an unprecedented revival in the Indian Church. In order that God’s ultimate purpose in letting the rulers promulgate such laws may not be defeated, I present here some practical counsel for all Christians to follow.
1. Let prayer for missions and evangelism be our top priority. When the first century preachers of the Gospel were threatened, the first thing they did was bending of their knees before the God of heaven and earth (Acts 4:23-30). This prayer is worth memorizing. God honoured this prayer by filling the believers with sublime boldness through the Holy Spirit (v 31). Preachers and people have spent too much time in praying for head aches and stomach pains. It’s time we bring the proclamation of the Gospel and salvation of men and women to the top of our prayer list (1 Tim 2:1-7).
2. Let the entire Church be mobilized for soulwinning and evangelism. Teach every Christian how to win souls for Christ. The results of personal evangelism will outwit that of public meetings. Conduct more missionary conventions and soulwinning classes than healing campaigns. This may be the final hour of the endtime harvest in India. Give the Sunday morning pulpit to a frontline missionary or a mission leader atleast once a month. Let each member of the congregation catch the missionary vision.
3. Don’t keep on addressing Christians in public meetings, broadcasts and telecasts. The Church has been guilty of evangelising the evangelised, comforting the comforted, blessing the blessed, but neglecting the neg-lected. The Hindu convert preachers must specialise on speaking to and writing for the Hindu majority. The percentage of Christians in India is just about three. Do you know that over 90% of offerings received from people is spent on this small group only? Gross injustice and subtle imbalance!
4. Increase work among youth. College students and other youngsters are enslaved by sex, drugs and movies. They are tired of the hypocrisy and humbug of the politicians. The Church has failed to address the issues of young people specifically. When nearly 50% of the population is below the age of 20, why not one of the 4 or 5 Sundays every month be observed as a Youth Sunday in our Churches? As long as the youth meeting is conducted only as an extra- curricular activity “after” the Sunday Service, we will continue to lose our young men and young women to Lucifer. See how many times the aged John refers to young men in his short Epistle (e.g. 1 Jn 2:12-14). Who should be the main actors in God’s last day outpouring?—“sons... daughters... young men” (Acts 2:17).
5. Avoid using militant language in Gospel preaching. Don’t shout, “India for Christ!” but say “Christ for India!” Christ has not called us to christianize the world but evangelize it. Don’t attack other religions. Don’t preach in front of temples and mosques, and distribute gospel pamphlets in religious festivals of non-christians. Respect the sentimentality of others. Because of the blasphemous remarks made by the leading Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell of USA in October 2002 against Prophet Mohammed, riots were ignited in Maharashtra, India, in which nine people were killed. He later apologised in public and assured that he would always show respect for other religions, faiths and denominations. Preachers, beware of lighting fires that could grow into a terrible conflagration! Jesus grew not only in “favour with God” but also in “favour with men” (Lk 2:52). That was the secret of the daily phenomenal growth of the early Church too (Acts 2:47). Tolerance is a Christian virtue and it is not com-promise. One of the 2 greatest lessons of wisdom in Solomon was that he ruled for 40 years without war. He had the same enemies that Saul and David had, but was at peace with them. They favoured and respected him, which helped to make him great. That’s why God chose him, and not David, to build the Temple (1 Chr 28:2,3,6).
6. As far as possible, don’t use non-Indian preachers in public meetings. Christianity is already considered as the white man’s religion in India. Don’t we have enough evangelists in India who can preach with cultural under-standing and sensitivity? It is only practical wisdom that we don’t use foreigners in direct evangelism in India. They can help as trainers and equippers in seminaries and seminars. Christianity in India, especially in Tamilnadu, is highly westernised. Apostle Paul released the Gospel from the Jewish clothing. Martin Luther released it from the Latin clothing. Let’s do so from the Western clothing. I often wonder why Christians celebrate English New Year so enthusiastically, but they care the less for the Tamil New Year or Telugu New Year and the like! We Christians speak vernaculars that sound like Greek and Latin to the non-christians. We are yet to realize why God got the New Testament written in Greek the market language and not in Hebrew the religious language of the Jews. Use updated and simplified versions of the Tamil Bible, atleast while addressing non-christians. “Unless we speak words easy to understand, we will be speaking into the air!” (1 Cor 14:9).
7. The Church is divided and fractured. Jesus said that a kingdom which is divided against itself shall not stand. Satan is not divided. All his workers and agents work in perfect harmony. Shame on us! Stop stealing sheep from other folds. Put an end to fighting over matters which matter not. Don’t attack other churches or preachers in pulpit or print. We quote Paul and argue, “Did he not openly warn people against men like Alexander?” (2 Tim 4:14). This was a personal letter written to an individual. Even the Epistles to Churches were letters for private circulation only. But our magazines are registered with the Registrar of Newspapers in India, and the copies fall in the hands of so many antichristian folks. What foolishness that we attack our own preachers and ministries in our magazines and periodicals! It is betrayal.
8. God is looking for Josephs and Daniels to be placed in high positions in civil administration. Years ago there were so many Christian IAS officers in the Tamilnadu Secretariat and District administration. Nowadays we hardly come across Christian names in IAS cadre. Christian youngsters are interested in computer science and overseas jobs only. I call upon Christian youngsters to work hard and aspire for administrative posts. We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. The society will decay and die without salt and light. Parents, pastors and preachers must motivate their youngsters to face this challenge. Strong Christian presence in the government will influence the decision-makers. For example, the impact left in Collectorates, Directorates and the Secretariat by Tamil Christian IAS officers like Mr. S. P. Ambrose, Mr. Daniel Gunanithi, Mr. Wilfred Davidar and Mr. Jagadeesh Pandian is still sharp.
9. Let’s multiply our evangelistic activities but do so with wisdom. Preaching of the Gospel is not banned. If such a law would come up, we will have to obey God rather than men (Acts 4:19,20). As per the anti-conversion bills, there are certain legal formalities to be fulfilled before baptising non-christian converts. Let’s go through them. Who knows, this may be God’s way of stopping fake conversions! We already have in the Church more nominals than those really born again. I urge evangelists not to do anything hastily and get everyone into trouble. Zeal without knowledge is dangerous.
10. The Tamil Christians have perhaps sent more missionaries to North India and spent more money for missions than the Christians of other States during the last five decades and more. “God is not unjust to forget your work and labour of love which you have shown toward His Name” (Heb 6:10). However, in the recent years the Tamil Christians have started to substitute praying and giving for going. When the early Christians lingered on in Jerusalem without moving out to Samaria and other regions beyond, God sent severe persecution among them. The result was, “They were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria... Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the Word” (Acts 8:1,4). Chennai is the Jerusalem of India. If it is to scatter Tamil Christians and Tamil preachers all over North India that God has stirred the rulers to come up with this anti-conversion ordinance, it is welcome!
(My next article, How to Multiply Conversions, is a sequel to this.)
How to Multiply Conversions - R. Stanley
This message is a sequel to my article of the previous chapter, Can Conversions be Stopped? When that was published in the November 2002 issue of the Blessing magazine, I was humbled by the overwhelming response to it from Christians and Church leaders from all over the world. Many acclaimed that it’s a prophetic voice in the wilderness of confusion the Indian Church is passing through.
God never had any surprise in all history and He will never have one in future either. Because He has known the end from the beginning, and as the Alpha and Omega of eternity past to eternity future, He has already taught us in His Scriptures how to defeat the enemy in any situation. It’s now our responsibility to search the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit’s help to work out a sound and successful strategy against the sinister schemes of the serpent.
The Church is the only society on earth that exists solely for the benefit of its non-members! As John Wesley (1703-1791) rightly put it, “The Church has only one business, and that is to win souls!” Christ has not just “commanded” us but “commissioned” us to preach the Gospel. We have no choice. Evangelisation of the world leading to the multiplication of converts is our highest priority. Adverse winds against evangelism may blow more and more vehemently in India in the years to come. The Church of Jesus Christ must be sufficiently equipped for the difficult days ahead. Here’s a list of 7 changes to be effected in our conventional methods so conversions of non-christians to Christ may be multiplied as never before.
1. Public Programmes vs. Personal Work
The impact that mass meetings leave in cities and towns is unmistakable. The Gospel becomes the talk of the town. It serves as an occasion for Christians to come out of their minority complex. But it stirs up the hornet’s nest. The antichristian forces get revived. This of course must be anticipated and can be faced. But what’s discouraging is that the gains in terms of genuine conversions are generally minimal. The amount of time, money and energy spent to conduct big programmes doesn’t seem to be worth it. To worsen the situation, mass meetings in India are usually sponsored and addressed by Western preachers. Non-christians, especially caste Hindus, don’t relish it. Their wrong notions about the origin of Christianity are strengthened.
Christ preached to crowds, but He spent more time with individuals and small groups. Peter and Paul did not always have or look for huge audiences. Conversational evangelism in houses and marketplaces was the most effective method employed by the Lord and the disciples. In spite of the widespread hostility that prevailed in the first century, no one could stop personal soulwinning efforts or conversions. Communism in India grew through tea shops! Let’s spend more time in contacting individuals one by one than for conducting huge meetings. This way we will attract very little public attention but gather a plentiful harvest. I salute Evangelist D. L. Moody (1837-1899) who observed, “Handplucked fruits are the best!”
2. Clergy vs. Laity
God does call certain individuals to give all their time for the work of His Kingdom. They are to be supported by those who are benefitted by the message they proclaim. Churches must 2 have pastors who would spend all their time to tend the flock. Ministries must have leaders and workers who can give all their time to realise the objectives of the organisations. Ordaining anointed Christians exclusively for the ministry of the Church has Scriptural sanction. But in course of time the Body of Christ gets divided into two groups—ministers and non-ministers. This is utterly unscriptural. The ministry of every minister in the Church is to make every member a minister (Eph 4:11,12). There is no non-clergy in the Church. All members are “priests” to worship God (1 Pet 2:5), and to witness for Him (v9).
Unless the doctrine of the priesthood and the prophethood of all believers is restored fully in practice, too few will be attempting to do too big a job accomplishing too little. I am in fulltime Christian service from 1975 and I have been instrumental in leading hundreds of youngsters into fulltime ministry. But I have come to the conclusion that evangelism is too big a task to be left to the professionals. Wars are not fought by Generals but by soldiers! In olden days the Spirit of God came on select individuals only. But the endtime outpouring is promised for “all flesh”— “sons... daughters... young men... old men... men servants... women servants” (Acts 2:17,18). This sort of outpouring is to get every Christian involved in reaching every non- christian (v 21).
I plead with pastors to encourage and give ample freedom to their members to develop creative methods of Gospel communication. In the name of Church order and discipline, don’t try to structuralise every soulwinning effort and kill enthusiasm. Every pastor must remember that it is the sheep which litter and not the shepherd! (Jn 15:16).
3. Mega Structures vs. Smaller Units
The numerical strength of Church congregations has now become the status symbol of many pastors. There’s a rat race among ministers to have the largest Church in the City or the State. Visits to South Korea might have triggered this passion. When temples and mosques have overflowing crowds, it is definitely not wrong to work for an exponential growth in local congregations. Worshipping God and celebrating His praises in huge gatherings is undoubtedly exciting. More the merrier!
However, there are certain inherent evils in mega-Churches. When the number increases too much, interaction between believers and mutual ministry to one another becomes almost impossible. Pastors suffer burn-out when their ministries outgrow their capacity. Too much of time, energy and money will have to be spent for construction and maintenance of buildings. (For a broader treatment, read What about mega-churches? from my book, Bible Answers).
Gathering in the Temple and the synagogues was not a continued practice of the early disciples. The house churches became the beehive of activities including breadbreaking (Acts 2:46; Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19). The Church went underground in China during communistic oppression. A group of small congregations known as Little Flock under the spiritual leadership of Watchman Nee (1903-1972) is an example. The Church not only survived but also thrived!
This is not a call to demolish or dismantle huge structures, but to establish and strengthen smaller units all over cities and towns. Felling a huge tree is compara-tively much easier than weeding a field (Mt 13:29,30). A “little leaven” will leaven the whole lump! (Mt 13:33). It is not by calling people come to our places of worship but by going to their workspots and dwellings, the Church will grow faster. The Church-compound mentality has only hindered Church growth.
3. Para-church organisations also should not go on increasing their size. In times like this, it is safer to have five agencies with 200 staff each than one organisation with 1000 workers.
4. Headquarters vs. Decentralisation
This aspect has specific relevance to missionary organisations, evangelistic associations, relief agencies, and the like. The concept of headquarters became popular a couple of decades ago in pursuit of effective coordination. An undisputed strong leader with the help of associates and assistants would direct the work across the nation from a central office. I believe that this era has come to an end with the changing of times. The old system has to be set aside if the full benefit of the new wine has to be enjoyed. There are several reasons why we must think of decentralisation—
God raises a man, gives him a message, and a movement is born. This founding leader is usually a dynamic charismatic figure. After him, rarely does a single man come up with equal gifting to succeed him. After Paul it is usually a team of men like Timothy and Titus. There is only one Mother Teresa, and only one Billy Graham. Because the second leaders will be more or less equals, in order to give ample space for originality and creativity, decentralisation is a must.
The central offices of most of the Christian organisations in India are situated in the Southern States. Which means, the keyleaders are stationed in the South. But the most unevangelised parts of the country are in the North. Even though preachers and leaders from South are “visiting” the Northern States for ministry, it is nothing like “staying” in needy areas and creating a sphere of Christian influence. Reaching the North Indian non-Christians will not be effective without reviving the North Indian Christians. Even though the Church was born in Jerusalem, it was Antioch which gave birth to missions. Mobility is the antidote for stagnation.
Enemies of the Gospel will usually target central offices of Christian missions. God is our Protector but we must plan wisely. Otherwise what was the need for Joseph to run away to Egypt with Mary and Baby Jesus at night? God forbid, but even if one office is bombed (!), the activities must not come to a grinding halt. The branch offices should be able to run the show. In this computer age, centralisation is not at all necessary for effective coordination. Do you know that top military officials don’t travel together in a single vehicle? Mission executives and administrators should overcome the carnal desire to keep all files and powers with themselves, and expect coworkers report even breathing and sneezing.
5. Independence vs. Interdependence
To function independently is a basic instinct of the fallen man. Desire for independence in Christian work is usually born out of reluctance for accountability and lust for applause. It’s the devil’s half-truth that we can move faster and accomplish more if we do it all by ourselves.
The last four or five decades (1950-2000) have wit-nessed the mushrooming of scores of indigenous missions in India. Many of them had a legitimate birth, whereas others were reactionary in origin or started by a fresh missiological graduate desirous of doing something for God but was not willing to work with one of the existing structures. Following apostle Paul in spirit, we can of course rejoice that Christ is preached anyway (Phil 1:18). But in the absence of networking and partnership, the wastage of manpower and money because of duplication and unhealthy competition is unimaginable. Even though genuine organisations under God may go on from strength to strength, the Body of Christ as a whole will get weaker and weaker.
It is in crises we seek others. We are jolted to realize that we can’t needle each other any longer because we badly need each other! Each Church denomination and Christian organisation has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s time that 1 Corinthians 12 is expounded afresh from every pulpit. Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones is a favourite of revival preachers (Ezek 37). How can the Church rise up as an army unless “the bones come together, bone to bone” (v7)? Nothing can be accomplished as long as feet are fighting with hands, and eyes with ears (1 Cor 12:15,16).
Our enemy is common. That’s a sufficient reason why we must be united. Unity does not mean agreeing with others in everything. In fact we have more similarities than differences among various Christian groups. The non-Christians and the antichristians look at Christians as a whole. They don’t even know how Roman Catholics and Protestants are poles apart in faith. What an advantage!
Dr. Sam Kamaleson of World Vision was the main speaker in a Pastors Conference in Maharashtra years ago, which I was attending with some of my colleagues. I have forgotten most of what he preached but this: “One horse can pull 2 tons whereas two can pull 27 tons!” (Dt 32:30; Lev 26:8). Evangelism is a proven unifier in Christendom.
I have a long-cherished dream though it may appear presumptuous. Why not Churches hold common worship services localitywise atleast once in three months? Just meeting together, though it may look superficial, will weed out suspicions between leaders and help mutual encouragement. Psalm 133 will no more be just a song. It will become our story!
6. Adults vs. Youth
Youth-oriented programmes are not in proportion to the percentage of youth in our Churches. Youth ministry is not attractive to many preachers because in terms of revenue it is all investment with very little returns. Many youngsters from Christian homes go to Church because they have no other choice. An average Sunday morning sermon hardly has any message for them. Talks of Zion and heavenly Jerusalem are totally irrelevant to them. The theatrical performance and hidden agenda of preachers are nauseating. On the whole, to young people religion is boring. They are just too polite to say that!
I am appalled that even some of the “youth” organisations switch gears to concentrate on adults and general congregations. Youth work is no more their primary objective. Walk into Christian bookstores and find out how many youth books come out each year. Collect all Christian magazines published in India and count how many of them are for youth, or atleast allot pages regularly to address youth issues. Secular press publishes so much to cater to youth. How many Christian TV programmes do target youth? I am not despising old people, but I wonder whether there’s no difference in the Holy Spirit giving “visions” to young people and “dreams” to the old! (Acts 2:17b).
Youth are good in making friends. Their contacts in schools and colleges and workspots are numerous. Friendship evangelism is one of the most effective methods of spreading the Gospel message. Until we have mobilized our youth for evangelism, our manpower will remain low. Youth are arrows in the hands of the Almighty (Psa 127:3-5). They rarely miss the target!
Ministering to youth is an art. Very few are naturally talented for this ministry. I would suggest that every Church sends its pastor for a short-term training in youth ministry — Or, atleast appoint a youth pastor exclusively for work among youth. Elders and committee members must avoid over-interference in youth matters. Tendency for elders to despise youth has always been there (1 Tim 4:12a; 1 Cor 16:10). Sarcastic remarks and unkind comments will quench the enthusiasm of youth. Youth grow when they are trusted and encouraged. They must be given freedom to mix with the youth of other congregations. They will serve as a link between Churches and foster unity.
7. Preaching vs. Publishing
There could be two reasons why God allowed apostle Paul to be imprisoned so often. One, to give him rest amidst his tireless itinerant ministry; second, to give him time so he would sit and write Epistles for the Church of his day and future generations. India over the centuries, especially in the 20th century, has produced some of the finest Bible preachers in the world. The depth of their devotions and richness of their sermons have been unparallelled. But unfortunately, not even 25% of their spoken messages has been published.
I have a great regard for the preachers and Bible scholars of the West. I am highly indebted to them for their commentaries and study aids which I regularly use. But having listened to the preachers of both the hemispheres for nearly four decades, my unbiased comment would be that the Biblical understanding and interpretation of the Easterners are better and deeper than their Western counterparts. But the Western Bible teachers are much more disciplined in writing than the Indians. Lesser publishing facilities in India compared to the West cannot be always quoted as the excuse.
I believe that the winds of opposition to the Gospel which blow all over India carry from God a message to the Indian preachers. Let us not be discouraged by the doors which are getting closed for public preaching. Learn to say no to not-so-important speaking engagements. Spend more time for rigorous study and writing. Away with casual writings for which our periodicals are known. Let’s take advantage of the fast-increasing literacy rate in India. Internet is another God-given tool to get the message across.
When the Jews opposed what Paul and Barnabas spoke, they turned to the Gentiles (Acts 15:46). When the Holy Spirit forbade Paul and his team to preach the Gospel in Asia, they tried to go to Bithinia. When the Spirit would not permit them go there either, they came down to Troas and finally ended up in Macedonia where they got their first European convert (Acts 16:6- 15). When God closes one door, He opens another! Blessed are those who can find it!
http://www.blessingyouthmission.org/
