Training in the Word Changes Lives

We have now had three good days of training. Some of the sermons the men have presented have been outstanding, some still need some work, but overall we are encouraged with their progress. On the first day, we reviewed what has been learned and I asked three questions:  What is the biggest blessing you have had through this program since the last workshop; what has been the biggest challenge, and what has the impact been in your life personally. Here are some samples of their responses:

Biggest Blessing:

"Habakkuk has blessed the people in our region. We have had much opposition, but Habakkuk 2:4 and the book of Habakkuk have encouraged us that God is in control, even in the midst of suffering."

"One of our churches was renting from radical Hindus. They were trying to force the church out of the rented space. In Habakkuk, we learned that God is working, even when we don’t see it. The police came and arrested the radicals for something else that they did. God brought peace and we saw that He was working the whole time."

"Our people were saying, ‘Why are these bad things happening to me?’ Habakkuk 2:4 encouraged us to trust in God’s plan." 

"We had a poor harvest in our region. The ending of Habakkuk showed us that when things are bad, we live by faith and can trust the Lord.

Biggest challenge:  

"It’s tough to get the pastors with less education to have the discipline to study."

"Experienced pastors don’t have good study habits and slip back into old habits."

"Getting the main point and Structure and Flow of Message."

Personal Benefit:  

"I am seeing many things I never saw before, because I have learned to observe the text carefully."

"I am now preaching shorter passages, because I can go deeper. The result is that people are hungry for more and are asking many questions about the text." 

"I used to preach topically. Now I preach the text. It has changed my life. Now I preach to myself and then to others. People are passing on the messages to others."

"I am from a Pentecostal background, where people use the Word as a launching pad for what they want to say. God has taught me that it’s not my message. It’s God’s message. This has changed my life and it has changed the lives of the people in my church. They used to fear me because they wondered who was going to be the target of my preaching. Now they don’t fear anymore. They are now hearing the Word."

"My wife has learned from Edie and loves the Word of God. She studies the Bible every morning. She also reminds me. She asks, "Ravi, have you studied the Word today?” She now ministers to ladies with the Word of God. She teaches sewing to ladies in our slum ministry. When ladies share their problems with my wife she gives them answers from the Bible. She doesn't even need to have a Bible in hand."

"I used to preach whatever popped into my head. I have developed a love for the Word. My people now have a love for the Word also and are asking questions." 

"I was a hell, fire and brimstone preacher. Now my sermons are simpler. People in my church know that they can study God’s Word and are saying, “Pastor, you used to say this about that text and now you are saying something different. I am able to respond by telling them that I understand the text better now." 

It is such a blessing to see how these men are developing. The leader, Nish, said this about the pathways training: 

"The Pathways training has really helped Logos become biblically based. Our pastors have really developed a love for the Word. At first, it slowed our church planting a bit but now it has made it stronger. We planted 400 churches last year. Studying and preaching the Word has given our pastors and churches a greater fire to reach out. It is like a revival. Many other pastors and groups around us have noticed and want to join with us to learn how to study and preach as we do. We are now much stronger because of Pathways."

This why we do what we do. May God be praised.  

Al

 

Arrival in India

Sunday, January 25:  We arrived in India three nights ago. The flights all went fairly well with no big delays or missed planes. We are fighting the jet lag battle once again. The night before last we went to bed at 4 pm and although we had occasional times of being awake, we did not get up until after 3 am. Last night we made it until 8 pm and got up around 5 am although we both were awake for several hours in the night. Little by little we will adjust.

It is cool here, for India that is. It will reach 80 today for a high. We need a light jacket in the morning but the Indians are wearing full winter gear. This is by far the best time to visit.

Today we begin training, this time mostly listening to preaching through the book of Colossians and making comments for growth and improvement. Not all the participants will be able to come, some because travel is restricted in places because of elections, some because of illness.  

Yesterday we went to a Church of North India service. It was all in Hindi so we did not understand much except what our translator summarized in notes. But it was clear the speaker never interacted with the text. It was a special unity Sunday and the speaker was the national director of the India Council of Churches. We later were invited to sit and talk with him and other "big wigs" in the pastor's office. Who knows what may come of such conversations arranged by the Lord.  

Thank you for praying, 

Al