Tuesday, January 16
On Tuesday, the symposium continued with two persons speaking, Dr. John Kleinig from Lutheran College in North Adelaide, South Australia and Dr. Nakka Victor Luther Paul
from Andhra Christian Theological College in Hyderabad, India. Dr. Paul began the morning with a lecture to the pastors in their native tongue. After a day of listening to a lecture in English with Telegu translation, there was a palatable relief felt within the 400 pastors gathered that one of their own would address them. Dr. Paul is quite a gifted speaker, passionate and insightful. Even though I don't know the language, his body language communicated to me a love for the gospel, the people, and the continuous reform of the church. One of the points Dr. Paul made (I learned through an interpreter) was that the Lutheran church in India has been there for 160 years, and yet despite the length of time there, the impact on the culture of India has been minimal. Only he, an Indian man and pastor himself, could get away with such an indictment on the ongoing ministry of the Lutheran church in India.
Dr. Kleinig then spoke the remainder of the day on the real presence of Christ in the sacraments, with those gathered for worship, and with those who preach. He took seriously Jesus' promise, "Where two or
more are gathered in my name, there I am." He pointed out that as pastors we are "stewards of the mysteries of God." There is a difference between secrets and mysteries. Secrets are things that are unknown that can be known. Mysteries are unknown things that remain unknown. Our role as pastors, and I would include all Christians, is not to try to explain the mysteries of God, but to be able to be comfortable with the unknown.
An interesting thing happens at most gatherings of Christians in Andrha Pradesh, people begin to sing. Generally, a song leader, usually a pastor, will stand up and begin singing praise songs to which the congrega
tion usually join in singing. It is quite amazing to me simply because of it's uniqueness compared to my experience in America. In America, at every gathering I've ever been, if there is waiting time, there is music played, but it is by CD through speakers or by an organ or piano, but no one dares join in to sing.
from Andhra Christian Theological College in Hyderabad, India. Dr. Paul began the morning with a lecture to the pastors in their native tongue. After a day of listening to a lecture in English with Telegu translation, there was a palatable relief felt within the 400 pastors gathered that one of their own would address them. Dr. Paul is quite a gifted speaker, passionate and insightful. Even though I don't know the language, his body language communicated to me a love for the gospel, the people, and the continuous reform of the church. One of the points Dr. Paul made (I learned through an interpreter) was that the Lutheran church in India has been there for 160 years, and yet despite the length of time there, the impact on the culture of India has been minimal. Only he, an Indian man and pastor himself, could get away with such an indictment on the ongoing ministry of the Lutheran church in India. Dr. Kleinig then spoke the remainder of the day on the real presence of Christ in the sacraments, with those gathered for worship, and with those who preach. He took seriously Jesus' promise, "Where two or
more are gathered in my name, there I am." He pointed out that as pastors we are "stewards of the mysteries of God." There is a difference between secrets and mysteries. Secrets are things that are unknown that can be known. Mysteries are unknown things that remain unknown. Our role as pastors, and I would include all Christians, is not to try to explain the mysteries of God, but to be able to be comfortable with the unknown.An interesting thing happens at most gatherings of Christians in Andrha Pradesh, people begin to sing. Generally, a song leader, usually a pastor, will stand up and begin singing praise songs to which the congrega
tion usually join in singing. It is quite amazing to me simply because of it's uniqueness compared to my experience in America. In America, at every gathering I've ever been, if there is waiting time, there is music played, but it is by CD through speakers or by an organ or piano, but no one dares join in to sing.Tuesday evening I was invited to speak at a large Lutheran revival meeting held at the Gunta grounds, a large open area in Guntur dedicated to large rallies such as this one. Tuesday night was the second of five nights for this rally. Across Guntur were billboards and banners flying inviting people to attend. The organizers expected nearly 10,000 people to attend each night. It was organized by the AELC (Andrha Evangelical Lutheran Church). On Monday night, Pastor Michael Albrecht of St. James Lutheran in St. Paul, MN spoke.
Around 7pm Tuesday evening I was picked up at the hotel by a small group of BFLC pastors, my escort to the event. When we arrived, the choir was already singing and I was greeted by the president of the AELC and invited to sit at the foot of the stage until I was introduced. I was a bit late getting there, but so were the main speakers for the event, well known brother and sister evangelists and musicians. They showed up probably 15 minutes after I arrived. We were introduced and we all sat on the stage. The festivities officially began. The choirs singing when I arrived were only the warm-up to pass time (remember what I wrote above). Once the "show" began, the choirs sang for over an hour. As I sat on the stage, I looked out and there were indeed probably 10,000 people gathered there that night. It was a surreal moment for me. I thought to myself, "Where am I? How did I get here? I'm the only American here on a stage in Guntur invited to address these people and share with them the love of God in Christ. Why me? Who me?" In my mind's eye I shook my head and rubbed my eyes wondering if what I was experiencing was for real. I was humbled by the honor of being there.
Like I said, the choirs sang for quite some time. I looked at my watch and it said 9:15. I remembered Mike Albrecht telling me that he was finished speaking by 8:30pm. I was convinced in that moment that I wasn't going to be able to speak. We were running out of time. After all the evangelists hadn't even spoken yet. Mentally I stopped preparing my talk and sunk into my chair. At that moment, the president of the AELC approached me on stage while the choir was singing. He leaned over to talk to me in my left ear as I sat there.
"What's your name?" he asked.
I told him even though just an hour ago he introduced me and greeted me when I arrived.
"Where are you from? Australia or America?"
America.
"Ok. Only greetings from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ten minutes."
Nice.
A minute or two later, his assistant came to me and said, "Only greetings. Five minutes."
They invited me to the podium and I greeted the people from the ELCA and told them that one thing always to remember is that they are deeply loved by God in Christ. Christ comes to us and whispers into our hearts and lives, "You are my beloved. I love you." Short and sweet per their request. Five minutes, maybe.
The evangelists got up and began their sermon with passion and energy. Turns out, they are Pentecostals.
As I sat there listening, Peter Paul one of my escorts got up on stage and made his way inconspicuously behind the chairs to where I was sitting. He poked his head around my chair and said, "Pastor, are you ready to go?" Yes...thank you. We'd just leave now. He told me to just go ahead and walk across the stage and off, right behind the main speakers while they were speaking and in front of the AELC president. Never would be done in the U.S. but in India, one can get away with such a thing.
That night and the next day, people asked how it went for me at the event. I told them about my experience and to the person, they were upset about the decision to cut my portion of the program. After all, the AELC invited us to speak...but it turns out, we were only there to be an international presence, the token American, to symbolize unity with and approval for the event itself. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time. Needless to say, John Kleinig didn't attend the following night.
Thanks for reading.
Around 7pm Tuesday evening I was picked up at the hotel by a small group of BFLC pastors, my escort to the event. When we arrived, the choir was already singing and I was greeted by the president of the AELC and invited to sit at the foot of the stage until I was introduced. I was a bit late getting there, but so were the main speakers for the event, well known brother and sister evangelists and musicians. They showed up probably 15 minutes after I arrived. We were introduced and we all sat on the stage. The festivities officially began. The choirs singing when I arrived were only the warm-up to pass time (remember what I wrote above). Once the "show" began, the choirs sang for over an hour. As I sat on the stage, I looked out and there were indeed probably 10,000 people gathered there that night. It was a surreal moment for me. I thought to myself, "Where am I? How did I get here? I'm the only American here on a stage in Guntur invited to address these people and share with them the love of God in Christ. Why me? Who me?" In my mind's eye I shook my head and rubbed my eyes wondering if what I was experiencing was for real. I was humbled by the honor of being there.
Like I said, the choirs sang for quite some time. I looked at my watch and it said 9:15. I remembered Mike Albrecht telling me that he was finished speaking by 8:30pm. I was convinced in that moment that I wasn't going to be able to speak. We were running out of time. After all the evangelists hadn't even spoken yet. Mentally I stopped preparing my talk and sunk into my chair. At that moment, the president of the AELC approached me on stage while the choir was singing. He leaned over to talk to me in my left ear as I sat there.
"What's your name?" he asked.
I told him even though just an hour ago he introduced me and greeted me when I arrived.
"Where are you from? Australia or America?"
America.
"Ok. Only greetings from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Ten minutes."
Nice.
A minute or two later, his assistant came to me and said, "Only greetings. Five minutes."
They invited me to the podium and I greeted the people from the ELCA and told them that one thing always to remember is that they are deeply loved by God in Christ. Christ comes to us and whispers into our hearts and lives, "You are my beloved. I love you." Short and sweet per their request. Five minutes, maybe.
The evangelists got up and began their sermon with passion and energy. Turns out, they are Pentecostals.
As I sat there listening, Peter Paul one of my escorts got up on stage and made his way inconspicuously behind the chairs to where I was sitting. He poked his head around my chair and said, "Pastor, are you ready to go?" Yes...thank you. We'd just leave now. He told me to just go ahead and walk across the stage and off, right behind the main speakers while they were speaking and in front of the AELC president. Never would be done in the U.S. but in India, one can get away with such a thing.
That night and the next day, people asked how it went for me at the event. I told them about my experience and to the person, they were upset about the decision to cut my portion of the program. After all, the AELC invited us to speak...but it turns out, we were only there to be an international presence, the token American, to symbolize unity with and approval for the event itself. It would have been nice to know that ahead of time. Needless to say, John Kleinig didn't attend the following night.
Thanks for reading.
posted by Mike Weaver at 6:55 AM
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