South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter
Issue 26: April 2017
S outh As i a n F orum of the
Evangelical Alliance
connecting, uniting, representing
The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, it was set up to provide a place for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church. With the support of both individual members and church members totalling more than 20,000 people, SAF is steadily growing. Visit saf.eauk.org to get involved in supporting this wonderful
ministry by becoming a member of SAF. Once you become a member, you will receive idea, the Alliance’s bi-monthly magazine, as well as regular newsletters from SAF detailing our progress. If you are already a member of the Evangelical Alliance you can add SAF to your Alliance membership at no extra cost. In this instance please send an email to saf@eauk.org
Ways to reach my Hindu neighbour with the gospel - Is there a way to share
fulfilling one’s role in everyday life in family, occupation and society. This reminds me very much of the approach Jesus used with his disciples.
Jesus in a way that makes sense to Hindus? I really enjoy sharing my Christian walk with people. Years ago I wanted to evangelise, but I didn’t know what to do, so I used my bus pass and boarded buses. Strategically, I would sit near the driver and the stairs to the upper deck and then sing every Christian hymn or chorus I could think of. After a couple of days I was a greatly saddened that I had to abandon my mission as the bus drivers would drive past the bus stop without stopping to let me on. Needless to say, there were no reports of mass revival breaking out on the West Midland’s buses. I decided to follow my passion by becoming a missionary. I’ve had a wide variety of training and teaching on numerous methods and strategies to evangelise. While all taught me something, they were from a perspective very different from my own. So I would try to use techniques that were literally foreign to me. Finally, I realised that while that approach worked for a Western perspective, it didn’t necessarily work from mine. Theologically explaining the gospel doesn’t come naturally to me. I’m aware that part of this is cultural. I was born into a Hindu family. In Hinduism the rituals hold more importance than theology. There is an understanding theology will be learned along the way through discipleship. Hindu rituals are not purely ‘religious’ as in prayer and worship. They’re present in daily life, as spiritual duty in
So when I look at my reasoning behind my failed evangelism attempt, it was because I was trying to copy what I saw in church. I had no real idea how Christians behaved outside of church, so I tried to mimic a church service on the bus. It took many years for me to build an identity as a British Gujarati Christian and through it my own way to share the gospel. Through this process I’ve learnt that building relationships in line with my cultural understanding enables me to share the gospel in a genuine manner. Relationships hold a different significance in majority world cultures. They speak of acceptance and with time encourage discussion and even guidance on meaningful matters. The importance in this is the idea of gentle reciprocity that values living experiences and relationship, above a religious duty to convert someone. My parents’ individual journeys to Christ spanned several decades. My mum had passed away before my dad accepted Christ. They both acknowledged that their journey began when a 22-year-old school teacher back in the 1960’s reached out to their children and befriended them, becoming a living example of Jesus. Here are some thoughts I have found helpful in my approach to sharing Jesus. 1. Genuine friendship is more important than theology. 2. Do not presume to know what Hindus believe. 3. Allow discussion on what it means to obey God. You will be surprised! By Usha Reifsnider
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly Newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org
Suthee's Story: From Buddhism, to Nihilsm, to Jesus A chance encounter with a street preacher in Manchester brings a self harming Nihilist to know that his life matters to God. Suthee is a Christ follower from a Thai Buddhist background. As an introvert and having been baptized just a couple of months ago, there is much that isn’t easy for him to articulate. This is my attempt to put into words the miracle of this young man's journey to Jesus. As an only child born to an unmarried mother, Suthee bore the shame of having no father and battled with deep feelings of rejection living in the traditional Thai community. Following his mother’s religious practice, he found the rituals of Buddhism simple and comforting as the focus was on simple meditation. It was a way to experience self-awareness and connect with surroundings. Buddhist religious practice is not dependent on reading the ancient texts privately; but through living in community with multiple generations living out faith publicly in day-to-day life. Aged 12, Suthee and his mum migrated to England for a better life. Not only was everything foreign, not only was everything different, but his frail identity was destroyed. Cultural adaptation felt impossible for this pre-teen lad. The inner loneliness was worse on the outside as he struggled with English and making friends. The rejection he had felt in Thailand was now magnified. Feeling totally lost, by age 15, Suthee found a connection to the Western world by exploring Nihilism. Ironically it was by rejecting any existence of God and belonging that Nihilism provided a place of belonging. He had found a name for the internal chaos, the state of the world and the impossibility of any change. Without even realising it, he had adapted to a form of the Western culture he was living in. His new religious rituals were external and involved self-harm and led to depression. Even though Suthee had only ever spent a total of six months with his dad, hearing the news at age 16 that his father passed away deepened his depression. At 22 he returned to Thailand for a long visit.
While in Thailand, Suthee’s views of God were challenged by a young Thai Buddhist lady who was learning about Jesus. Shocked that he rejected all religion and saw life as pointless, she asked if he ever thought about Jesus. Maintaining a relationship with this lady, Suthee returned to England. Living in Manchester he had often seen a street preacher. “On this day he asked me if I believed in Jesus and said: ‘Your life matters to God.’ I took the little book he offered and read it every day for two weeks.” Not knowing how to pray, he simply asked: “God, is it ok if I talk to you like I would talk to my dad? Screaming out to Jesus was the best decision of my life.” Suthee identifies himself with Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9. King David finds a lost relative who was crippled and brings him into the palace. “I was that crippled, rejected, hopeless one that Jesus picked up and brought into the palace.”
Suthee, now living, working and attending church in London, is trying to share Jesus with his mum who lives in Manchester. Currently he is seeking “I couldn’t even speak in my own language as I had others who will help him learn more about living as a Christ follower from a Thai Buddhist background. shut it out of my head. I was as foreign in Thailand as I had been when I arrived in England at age 12.” By Usha Reifsnider
South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance
Become a member - saf.eauk.org
Christianity being a relationship, not a religion - the way it presents Jesus as the God who seeks and loves is quite alluring – but at the same time there is no soft-pedalling on sin. There’s also plenty of opportunity to discuss questions that other courses don’t address: “Is Christianity a Western religion?” was a particularly lively session for us. Our unbelieving members needed to tease out whether Christianity is just a cultural expression of many paths to God or the exclusive way that Jesus claimed.
Discovering Jesus through Asian Eyes “We want to learn more about Jesus,” the ladies said. “Find us another course about Jesus.” We’d just finished going through the gospel of Mark and I was asking the group members what they wanted to do next. The group was pretty eclectic. Members came from China, Korea, Eastern Europe and England. Most had an Asian heritage – many had atheism, communism or forms of Buddhism in their pasts – all were intrigued by the person of Christ though only some had decided to follow him. Another course about Jesus sounded great to me, but they’re not that easy to find – at least, not ones that are biblically faithful, linguistically simple and culturally nuanced. There is, however, Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes, and that was the course we decided on next. The material was an instant hit – the combination of Bible study, culturally relevant testimony and discussion questions was just right. Those who were still wrestling with Christian beliefs were given ample opportunity to scour Scriptures on issues such as the evidence for the resurrection; those who thought Christianity might be true but not entirely practical for their family situation heard stories of how others from similar cultures had discussed coming to Christ with their relatives and friends (with all the joys and heartbreak that had brought); those who had questions had plenty of time to articulate the things about which they were confused. Throughout, there was a real emphasis on
It was towards the end of the sixth session that the excitement started to build in our little group. With the person of Jesus firmly presented and the call to repentance set out, one of our ladies said she wanted to follow Jesus. Little smiles went round the room, but we needed to be sure that she really understood what Jesus had done on the cross – we needed to check she had related the material of the course to the realities of her life. “What do you think Christianity is all about?” I asked. The lady, who had spent her entire working life in catering said this: “You can’t wash dirty pots in dirty water. You must wash dirty pots in clean water. I’m a dirty pot. Jesus is clean water. I need him to make me clean.” The Spirit was at work – a new believer joined the kingdom of God. But it wasn’t just the non-believers who benefitted from the course: the new Christians became more confident in their beliefs and more thoughtful about how they could share their faith with others. They were better equipped to talk to their families about the changes that had been taking place in their lives and better prepared to persevere through the ups and downs of those conversations. As a leader, I grew too. The course caused me to listen much more carefully to the kinds of questions my Asian sisters in Christ were asking, it caused me to pray more deliberately for those walking the path of faith apart from their families. If you haven’t tried the course in your church yet – why not give it a go? Maybe you too will see the joy of people Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes … Helen Thorne is the Director of Training and Mentoring at London City Mission and runs the International Ladies Bible Study at Dundonald Church, West Wimbledon You can order the Discovering Jesus through Asian Eyes course at thegoodbook.co.uk.
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly Newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org
A Hindu Defends the Gospel Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a close and trusted Hindu relative over coffee and delicious chocolate-orange cake at John Lewis. After a quick catch-up, conversation moved on to how my relative had been invited to an interfaith initiative involving a group of some 20 people visiting a local mosque, synagogue, gurdwara and church.
She recounted how welcoming the gurdwara’s Sikhs were as they shared the importance they give to acts of service and blessing the community through food. The Muslims at the mosque were equally hospitable, taking the time to sensitively explain the basis of their faith, before ending the visit with an array of tasty Asian snacks. The synagogue had also made an enormous effort, with its representatives laying on refreshments and considerately expounding the Jewish religion. I then listened with huge disappointment to how the church visit had gone – the interfaith group had been given nothing more than a brief, five-minute lesson on the building’s history and an invitation to “take a look around for yourselves”. Not only that, but one of the two Christians hosting them remarked that they had to dash off shortly to attend some other meeting. As I cycled home later that day, I mulled over what I had heard. To say I was disappointed would put it mildly! How could the church have got it so wrong? Some 20 people from different faith backgrounds had come to visit a church, but rather than leaving with the gospel and a profound sense of Jesus' love for them, they left with negative feelings about the experience and Christianity itself. No welcome, no talk on the Christian faith, no mention of the Bible, no food, no refreshments and no gospel. Not one single word about the gospel. My relative described the church as being dead. Fortunately, she was able to share with the other group members that she had experienced better hospitality at another church she had visited
and she tried to portray Christians in a more positive light. How much this washed with them I don’t know, but given their experience I doubt it changed much. An evangelistic opportunity had been utterly wasted. The cross stood tall in that church building on the wall, but there was no follower there to sensitively share the amazing grace of God that it represents. God almighty coming Himself to die for those He had created – what might this message have meant to those visitors? A King dying for His friends that they may be restored and have life, if only they would believe? The opportunity to share God's crazy act of love for wretched sinners like you and me had been missed. I despaired. My disappointment subsided to a point as I remembered how frequently I had messed up in my witness to non-Christians. How I had said the wrong thing, how I had failed to speak sensitively, how I had failed to show love. I was also guilty of failing to be the ambassador God calls me to be in Jesus Christ. As I approached home, the irony of what had happened suddenly dawned upon me. It was my Hindu relative who had been left to try and persuade the group that there were other Christians and churches that were warm and welcoming. The Hindu had had to evangelise on our behalf, encouraging the group to not reject Christianity all together. Is this what we have come to? Have we become so dulled that we have to leave it to a Hindu to defend our faith? Of course, this incident is not typical of all churches. I know so many who would have gone all out to make the most of such an opportunity, with feasting, warm hospitality and sensitive sharing of the gospel. Nonetheless, the penny had truly dropped. Many churches are sound asleep and the consequences of our failing to act are made clear in no uncertain terms in the Book of Revelation. “Wake up!” could well be Jesus’ message to us today (Revelation 3:2). There is indeed much to be done to revive our sleeping churches and to reach our nation for Christ. What particularly impressed those on the interfaith tour as they visited each venue was hospitality, food and clear teaching – three simple principles we can embrace today if we are going to reap the harvest. By Manoj Raithatha