INDIA

Recently I read several blogs which share some radical but biblical thoughts about church by Vitor Choudhrie. I will share his thoughts at the end of this blog. A cancer surgeon by profession in India, Choudhrie took up a church planting ministry. I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Choudhrie speak while I was on a mission tour to India in1997.

I saw the work of bible distribution, training of church planters, children bible clubs, Christian schools, and literacy training. I travelled by airplane, bus, train, and motorized ricksaw.

I was fascinated to visit Ghandi’s memorial tomb, the Taj Mahal, the Red Fortress, a Hindu temple, and other places rich in Indian culture. But most important was meeting the people. It was fun in Madras to wake up at 5 a.m. and run down to the shore of the Bay of Bengal and make new friends while playing volleyball. In other places I had the opportunity to visit home to home to meet families and pray with them.

I participated in various worship experiences in small church buildings and in the open air. I remember the offering collection including the gift of eggs and other things beside money. At the end of one worship service the children came forward to kneel at the altar to ask me to say a blessing over each one.




Here are Vitor Choudhrie's thoughts about ...

CHANGING FROM TRADITIONAL CHURCH TO NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH -
FIFTEEN ESSENTIAL STEPS

1. Replace professional clergy with Priesthood of all Believers with authority to baptize, break bread and equip fishers of men. (1 Peter 2:9)

2. Replace Church building with "House of Peace." (Luke 10:5-9; Matt. 10:11-13)

3. Replace programmed Sunday service with daily informal gatherings. The Bride of Christ must have intimacy with her Lord every day and not just for a couple of hours a week lest she become unfaithful. (Acts 2:46-47; Hebrew 3:13)

4. Replace tithing with sharing the enormous financial resources and goodwill available in Christian homes. (Deut. 8:17-18; Acts 5:32-34)

5. Replace the "Crumb and Sip" Holy Communion with simple "Community meals" eaten together with gladness from house to house. (Acts 2:46; 1 Cor 11:20-23)

6. Replace loud music with speaking to each other in psalms and spiritual songs making melody in your heart. (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16)

7. Replace the spectator church to participatory, interactive, prophetic and Missionary sending church. (1 Cor 14:26-31; Acts 13:13)

8. Replace organizational and denominational churches with citywide network of house churches. (Romans 16:3-15)

9. Replace barren church with multiplication. The Bride must not remain barren, but reproduce and fill the earth. (Acts 1: 8; 1 Cor 9: 19-30)

10. Replace submitting to one man - by submitting to each other. We must encourage, comfort, exhort, edify and serve one another. (Galatians 5: 13; Eph. 4: 2, 15)

11. Replace purposeless church with a goal oriented mandate to disciple nations. (Romans 15: 20; Matt. 28: 19)

12. Replace powerless and fruitless church with militants who heal the sick, raise the dead, expel the demons, bind the ‘strongman’ and plunder his possessions. (Matt 11:12, 12:29)

13. Replace all presidents, directors, chairman, secretaries and all the other non-biblical titles with apostles, prophets, and the fivefold ministry gifted elders. Change from a dead organization to living organism. (Eph 4:11; Titus 1:5-9)

14. Replace all Sunday schools, Bible schools, and prayer cells and cottage meetings and call them full-fledged churches. So that they can disciple, baptize, break bread, equip and send missionaries. (1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15)

15. Replace all selfish goats who are members for hatching, matching and dispatching with sheep who take care of the hungry, thirsty, naked, strangers, sick and the prisoners. (Matt. 25:31-46)