Email from Arun, a bible talk leader in Dubai

Good day to your Bro, Apologies for the late reply. I’ve been really occupied with a bunch of things lately. Please note that I am writing you this letter of my own accord. I don’t speak on behalf of the Church, Council or anyone else. But I do this as I believe that a direct conversation with you is best without the need to choose sides as I see you as a Brother in Christ just as I am to you. However, let it be known from the get-go that I am not in favour of your ideologies as you would have already realized that from our previous conversations. However, I would like to share with you my viewpoints as a response to what you stated in your recorded message to me. However, I just want to thank you for still keeping in touch. I appreciate and am grateful for the friendship we share because of Jesus. I’ve known you for over 5 years now. And with every year I just saw you grow. At one point, while you were still in the brothers HH, and on other multiple occasions in our Singles Devotionals, Bro Andrew would always lift your name up in the group saying that you are a trusted and dependable brother in Christ who has been by his side through many seasons. I recall Bro Andrew saying, and I am paraphrasing, you have a zeal for the Lord Jesus unlike any other. And it was very evident too in how you would willingly participate in Bible Studies, Evangelism, Ushering and just anything that promotes the Christian faith – whenever you had the time and opportunity, you would give it your best. I remember thinking as a new disciple, when I would reach a level of faith like you. You were a fired up disciple then and you are the same now. However, I have a few charges against you and I don’t say this because I am choosing sides – I am saying this because I saw you grow and mature right before my very eyes and I know you have a burning heart for God and also because I care for you as a brother in Christ. Or else, I wouldn’t be writing this to you in so much detail while at office, in the middle of my work. What I wish to accomplish through this letter is not to impose my thoughts on you or to change how you think – that is entirely your decision! I’ve learnt from past experience that people cannot change people. People can only share with people and hope that the person at the receiving end is humble enough to, at the very least, give it some thought and then consider changing in light of the new advise that was given because he/she wants to and not out of pressure or force. However, I wish to take you back to your humble beginnings where you were at one point lost and were reached out and then someone was willing to take the time out to spend with you and show you the “right path” and when you chose to take that path. Today, it is the same family group of people trying to convey a message to you and that is to take it slow, be patient, slow to anger and abounding in love just as the Lord your God is. God Himself said this to Moses in: Exodus 34:6-7... And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” ...where God used these words almost as a Title similar to using when you address a Sheikh – Example: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai. God is conveying to us through this that His name carries with it these qualities viz. compassion, grace, patience, abounding in love and faithful, constant in His love and forgiving! At His core, this is who our God is. It is what He literally calls and addresses Himself to be. And it is these very traits that His Son, Jesus also carries with Him. And we, are called to mirror Jesus in how we live our lives. Again, I stress on the words God uses to call and describe Himself and I exhort you to meditate more on these aspects of God and then compare where you stand. You will always fall immensely short, as will I and any other human being who compares himself/herself with God. But, He is our standard and it is His standard we ought to try and imitate regardless of us falling short! I realise what Paul said in his letters to the various churches on how to deal with people in continuous sin as well and I don’t reject his exhortations either. However, I would still consider Paul as being lesser in position compared to God Himself. And when God Himself says to Moses and addresses Himself as all of what we read above, I think, and believe, that we ought to listen to what God tells us rather than any other human being. But then, you might argue what God spoke was in the Old Testament and doesn’t apply to us today. But I would counter that by referring you to Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. And because Jesus is the mirror image of God, God carries the very same traits even today. He doesn’t change. People change. Now, this is not meant to undermine what Paul said though. I respect his words too. However, this is where, logically speaking, and for me personally, ‘hierarchy’ plays an important role. The ‘Branch Offices’ (Apostles) which receives its information from the ‘Main Office’ (The Word of God) cascades it down to the ‘Site Offices’ (Jews/Gentiles) – and that’s how the corporate offices work in todays world. In the book of John, we hear Jesus stating that He is the Vine/Stem and we are the branches. Regardless of all the power and authority Paul had, He too, is just a branch. There are many more parts to a grapevine such as the roots, shoots, the cordons, the arms, the canes and leaves. While it is true that Jesus spoke of only the Vine and the branches, He was speaking of being united with Him and anyone not joined with Him will be cut off. He didn’t specify all the other parts because it is only logical to assume that every other part is joined to one of these two parts Jesus spoke of ie: the Vine and the branches. Nutrients (Gods traits) flow from the Stem to the branches and then to the arms, cordons, canes and to the leaves. It doesn’t flow from the Vine directly to the leaves. There is a specific path that is followed. So the power, strength, wisdom all come from God (the stem) and flow through the leaders/deacons etc (the branches arms, cordons and leaves) through sermons and preaching down to the people who are the smallest parts (the canes). And don’t forget, it is the smallest parts that bear the actual fruit (grapes) but play a major role in advancing the Kingdom. Now you might argue saying who made the people small? All men are equal and only God/Jesus is the Head. I agree. However, do consider this viewpoint as well – the word ‘equal’ means that all men can be made equal heirs to the inheritance of Gods Kingdom. This use of the word ‘equal’ doesn’t mean that we are all equal to each other physically or even spiritually. God created all men equally (in being heirs) but He gifted each one with a different set of skill, talent, gift etc according to God’s desired measure. This would mean that each of us are created equally from a spiritual standpoint in what it means to be heirs to the Kingdom of God, but unequally from any other stand point. And for the ones chosen to be given the gift of preaching or leading, it is these who are chosen to become preachers and leaders within the Church based on the measure of the skill God equipped them with. This is an undeniable fact! And I sincerely do hope you see it clearly as it is NOT my interpretation or something I created; it is what is written in the Bible. Now, let me begin responding to your recorded message :) Trying to Expel from Church: Regarding your meeting with Andrew, Joemar and Jacob I believe it is because they see a ‘sheep’ they have been grooming all these years turn against them and they are trying to find out and settle the differences, in my opinion, in a calm and peaceful way so that this ‘Sheep’ finds his way back to the flock. They are not “trying to expel’ you from the Church. They are warning you that if you continue in your impatient, merciless path and belittle their approach in trying to lead the Church, then and only then will they expel you from the Church. As of now, they are only trying to tell you not to spread your thoughts of ‘dealing with sin’ among other disciples as it can create disunity and misunderstandings within the Church The Church is a unified body and it is mandatory that the foundation is the same across the entire Church in order for it to stand. I now refer you to this verse by Jesus: Matthew 12:25 – “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.”. If and only if it ever were to reach a point where you get expelled for your rebellious attitude (I do pray it doesn’t reach that stage), then it is not because the Church is complacent or because it is lukewarm towards dealing with sin or any other such reason, but it would be because your roots have been uprooted by satan and consequently your actions will do more damage than good to the existing members of the Church. You need to note that this is exactly what satan wants to do. Remember how I mentioned above that you were among the best when it came to being spiritually mature in my opening paragraph earlier? And now he is using that very same, mature disciple, to wreak havoc and destruction from within the Church. How, you ask? Did you know that apart from the Trinity who else knows the teachings and writings of the Bible perfectly, word for word and meaning? No, it’s not the Prophets, it’s not the Apostles and it’s definitely not our Church leaders or disciples – the one who knows Gods Word inside and out, apart from God is the devil! Yes. And He knows exactly how to manipulate the Word of God to create confusion, doubt and chaos within the minds of men. And you, I believe, have fallen prey to that trap by satan. Let’s see what the Bible says about a doubting mind. James 1:6 – But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Do you see what a confused and doubting mind can do? When you share your viewpoints with other disciples, they may lose their confidence in the leaders, resulting in chaos. This is why the leaders are advising you to stand down from sharing your views of your extremist approach to dealing with sin with disciples. People have been expelled from ICOC churches all over the world because of their stubborn unwillingness to repent and turn to God. It has been done before and it will be done again. But it needs to be done by giving a fair trial and also the benefit of the doubt to the accused (sinner). Jesus said to forgive not 7 but 7 times 77 and you ought to learn and do the same. We are all part of a spiritual war, and tools/weapons are freely available at our disposal. One of these weapons is called ‘Patience’. Apparently and sadly enough, the devil seems to have more of it than you! People in sin are not the enemy, it is satan who has got them tied down by it. They are a vessel who are being commandeered by satan. However, it is in our power to overthrow satan through earnest prayers on the person’s behalf and also by extending extra attention, grace and love towards that person. Ask God for what is righteous and He will not delay in providing it to you or who you pray for. In your case, this is patience and mercy towards those tied down by the chains of their sin. Divisions: The “divisions” they are talking about are probably the ones you might create with your ideologies, if not done so already, which might cause some disciples who are weak, not yet mature or just young in their Christian faith to doubt, stumble and fall. No Love: Yes it’s true what Jesus said about the branches that are not attached to the Vine get tossed into the fire. You said “God hates you for the sin”. I disagree with that comment. God doesn’t hate me, you or anyone else for that matter. God loves us all. But, He hates the sin in us. And as a result of us being unwilling to give up our sin, we get separated from the Vine. And that’s a personal choice of each individual based on how they choose to use their God-provided freewill. Speaking the Truth: If Andrew said you are speaking the truth, it is probably with reference to the overall idea of the Church having to deal with sin more seriously – which it will and even does in my opinion. However, it is something that needs to be done with care and caution. And this takes time. God took the Israelites around for 40 years before He led them into the Promised Land...this was otherwise a 40 days journey. Why? Because He wanted them to learn and change their ways. But did they? They still fell short. And this is for all kinds of sin...much worse than what our Church is challenged with today. Yet, God forgave them each time they repented. And it was Gods mercy and grace that was extended to them. What’s my point? Bro, you may be speaking the truth, however the problem doesn’t lay with the truth you speak of. The problem lays in how you want to handle that truth. We need to be patient with people who are in sin in our church as well. Instead of simply expelling them, they need to be dealt with first and given ample time and chances to repent and to turn away from their evil ways. Expelling people from the Church is a last resort and is something no leader is eager to do. It gives satan victory and that is another blow on the nail that pierced Jesus on the Cross. Leaders want to avoid doing that which is why they are doing all they can to restore the one who is in sin by extending grace and mercy. In addition, expelling people only sets an atmosphere of discouragement to the existing disciples. Imagine being questioned by God on judgement day on whether you have given enough opportunities for a certain sinful soul to repent and turn back to God? What’s your answer going to be? Bro, It is to avoid all these that leaders try to deal with disciples who have strayed far away from the Word by being patient with them and giving them chances to come back to God. It is definitely not because the Church is not serious about dealing with sin! Judging by Elders: You said to me about two weeks earlier that you wanted your Bible Talk to decide on whether or not they agree to your way of thinking and dealing with sin within the Church. I am almost certain that they will not stand with you and your views to dealing with sin because it is against the Word of God. How do I know this? Because you are the only one who thinks the Church is wrong. And the ones who are not within the Church do not have a say and don’t count towards this. Bro, every organization, whether at your work place or home or even the Church, needs to have an organizational structure in order to maintain unity. I understand your view point where Jesus is the Head and we are all collectively, the body. In other words, there is ONE God and we are all His subjects. Now I want you to consider the following scripture as an example. Philippians 1:1 - Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons. Here Paul is aware that the Church in Philippi has an organizational structure which is why he addressed the different designations of the Churches hierarchy viz. God, Jesus, Overseers & Deacons (a deacon is an ordained Minister who falls below a Priest. So it can be assumed that there is one more level above a Deacon). Other scriptures supporting organizational hierarchy can be seen in the below verses: 1Timothy 3:1 - Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. 1Timothy 3:8 - In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. Bro, even the early first century churches had Elders, Priests, Ministers, Overseers and Deacons. So, why not now? We need to respect the authority of the Elders in our Church just as the disciples did in the first century churches. Why am I speaking of hierarchy? It’s because of the need to establish a higher- up type of accountability to an Earthly member in the body of Christ. We are told to confess our sins to God and also to one-another and then pray for each other. Correct? God didn’t just say to confess to Him and leave it at that. He said to confess to another human being as well. It’s because of this higher- up type of accountability we can hold each other responsible for our actions and if for whatever reason, there is a disagreement, it can be escalated to the higher authority to reach a decision or to maintain/enforce peace and stability within the body of Christ. The elders have that final say. They are in that position because God allowed them to be there and it comes with a HUGE responsibility on their part that weigh heavily on their shoulders because they will be accountable directly to God at the end times for all those entrusted under their care! And if they are unjust, they will be judged by the Supreme Judge! So they need to exercise extreme caution when dealing with settling disputes, sin and leading the Church forward. And I am certain that no Elder in our Church would want to be condemned on that Day for how they led the Church! So, it is safe to say that when the elders make a decision, it is based on God’s Word and with the best interest of all those under their leadership! Bro, trust the authority God has placed in power today in our Church. Be grateful that we even have Elders to lead our Church. There are places around the world where even meeting together to discuss the Christian faith is prohibited. We have been blessed with way so much more than many others. You were called by Him in to His Kingdom. And now you are fighting against the very people who showed you the path to eternal life because YOU think they are not doing their job. Remember the words of Jesus in: Matthew 10:24 - “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. You may think that you know BETTER and that you are a self-proclaimed “PROPHET”. But I shall point out to you what is BEST and this is again from scripture. See below underlined verses. Romans 13:1-5 - Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. But be warned on what you address yourself as bro. Matthew 24:24 – For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Let me ask you, do you think you are so pure and sinless that you are in a position to call yourself a Prophet of Almighty God? Yes, there were many in the Bible. And I am not accusing you because you claim to be one because that is not my right nor is it my right to judge you. However, I only ask for you to think about it for yourself. Tell me this, if the Church elders had agreed to your viewpoints at the very first instance you raised your concerns about dealing with sin, would you have ever dared to call yourself a Prophet? Think about it and you decide the answer for yourself. All I ask is that you be just and unbiased with your reply because remember, you can fool men but God sees the heart and He reads the mind of men like an open book. And if you think that you wouldn’t have called yourself a Prophet, then what you preach is false and the only reason left for you to be doing what you are doing is because of selfish ambition, pride or ego. I am not stating that you have any of those in you because I don’t judge you, I am not allowed to. However, you would know the answer to that question and you should judge yourself on the REAL reasons as to why you do what you do. Is it because you want sin to be addressed in the Church (I am sure you do and this is good) or because you have already gotten in so deep with the Church in exposing your views that you do not want to face defeat and hence push forward based on pure pride and ego. You decide for yourself and remember God reads your heart and mind! Bro, you must take note that I am not stating anything out of my own knowledge or wisdom because I have none. Everything I write in this letter is only an exposition of Biblical Scripture, the majority of which are the words of Jesus Himself! So I urge you to think real hard and deep before you turn against the Council who have been appointed by God Himself! Standing up to what you believe is right, and for all logical reasons, is a good thing to do on your part. And you accomplished that when you raised your concern about how the Church is dealing with prevalent sin in one of your closed room discussions with the council members. Your part as a student and as a disciple ended right after you escalated the issue to the governing Authorities (the Leaders and Elders). Now, it is up to the leaders and elders to deal with it. Trust their judgement and find peace in what the Scriptures say. Let God do His work in His perfect time through the Elders who are His chosen instruments. There is no point in you trying to ‘help’ God do His work. This is what is good and is in complete agreement to what you read in the above scriptures. The charge against you now is that you are taking up matters in to your own hands and this is not right – not to the Church and definitely not towards God. Because you are in effect undermining the authority and wisdom of the prevailing leadership which God instituted and this again is in direct conflict with scriptural teaching. You are now, not fighting against people but against God Himself and I don’t need to remind you how that ended for all those who challenged God head-on in the past, do I? Bro, I urge you again, and will continue to do so throughout the length of this letter, to see where you are headed if you go down the path you are treading on right now. Respect Elders: 1Peter 5:5-7 - In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I really find it awkward having to address the topic of “Respecting Elders” to a grown man. When Jacob gave you a warning, it is for you to accept the warning – not because you don’t have a right to defend yourself but out of respect and nothing else. The first rule a disciple of Jesus needs to learn is to obey and to be humble (from the scripture the words are ‘submit’ and ‘humble yourselves’. Obedience is not easy. Take for example when Jesus was convicted as a criminal for no reason at all, when He was spat upon, flogged, tortured, humiliated, stripped in public view and then finally as He was being raised upon the Cross for no sin He committed, He uttered a short prayer “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”. Those were His words. Do you think He couldn’t have just blinked His eye and the entire world would have blown to bits and scattered to the far corners of the universe? He could have! But, NO! He didn’t do that. Instead, He accepted it and went through the pain and bore the insults. Why? Because this was God’s plan all along and because of His obedience to His Father, He fulfilled the task assigned to Him because of which we all have an opportunity for salvation. He did it for the greater good. All Jacob did was give you a verbal warning and even to that you retaliated by giving a back answer being - “No bro. I don’t accept your warning and I give you warning in the name of the Lord and if you continue like this, the Lord will destroy you”. Don’t get me wrong here bro in what I am about to point out in what you said, I am being direct with you too just as you were with Jacob, but then again, you are a disciple just like me. So, I say this out of love for you but nonetheless, it needs to be addressed: How could you even think to utter those words? How dare you invoke the name of the Lord in your rebellion against the warning given to you by an Elder appointed by God Himself? You publicly insulted an Elder when you made that statement! Where is the humility? Where is the respect? Where is the obedience? Where is the tiniest resemblance to the heart of Jesus and what He did on the Cross when you said those words to an Elder, dear brother?? And you dare call yourself a Prophet of God? Isn’t that proof enough that you are a false Prophet? Again, this is for you to decide, not me. I urge you, dear bro, reconsider now how far you have strayed from the path you were once on? Pray. Ask God to open your eyes! Beg Him for forgiveness! And then go back to the Elders, apologize, make amends and continue on the journey you began the day you were baptized. You have the zeal but it is being manipulated by satan for his benefit. Please bro, think about it and hand it all over to God and come back! At best, in my opinion, we are all Ambassadors to Christ and that is all we can ever be unless God calls us specifically and anoints us Himself to be a Prophet. We do not have any authority to talk on behalf of God, The Father. That authority always was, is and will continue to be only with Jesus Christ! That is why we, even though baptized, and washed by the blood of Jesus, still need to have Jesus as our mediator when we come before God, The Father. It is by the blood that washed us and the value it holds before God that we are considered clean enough to call upon the name of the Father and come into His presence! Confronting People: Galatians 6:1-2 - Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Bro, when you confront people with an ideology that, in your own words, are not being accepted even by the people in your Bible Talk. The something just isn’t right with your ideology. And you got to take a step back and assess how you are handling it. There’s no shame in accepting defeat bro. It takes more strength and courage for a man to accept defeat than it does to stand and fight. Don’t you see? A group of individuals have already rejected your ways. And you are still in hot pursuit of trying to have your way approved. You ought to listen to what Chris spoke in His last sermon. Ask God to give you refined gold, white linen and salve as you really need all of that right now. As for dealing with people involved in sinful acts, they need to first try and sort it out between the disciples and if that doesn’t work, get more disciples involved and if that still doesn’t work, get the Church (meaning leaders as they are entrusted to lead the family of Christ who still live in the flesh) involved. There is nothing wrong in this procedure. Take for example, a disagreement broke out over a decision that needs to be made between you and you wife. Are you going to call over all your neighbors or have the entire Church come over to your house to vote on who is going to get the majority of votes to proceed with making the decision or are you, as the Head of the family, going to make the decision on behalf of your wife? You know the obvious answer to that! The same principle applies to the Church. Christ Jesus isn’t alive in a physical body today to come and make judgments like He used to 2000 years ago. That is why God has appointed leaders and elders in the Church – to settle disputes, deal with sinners and make decisions on behalf of the entire Church. And these decisions need to be in line with God’s Word because the elders will be held accountable to God on judgement day. However, you state that the accused should be brought in front of the entire Church! What do you propose? That we call the accused and have that person brought before the Church on a Friday morning during sermon and then vote on whether he/she should be expelled or forgiven? Bro, in todays world, we just don’t have that kind of time to spare. Be reasonable! We need to deal with sin – this is undeniably correct and a must! However, it can be dealt with discreetly and gently as mentioned in Galatians 6:1. And this is also beneficial to the accused because it allows to retain what little bit of dignity that person has left in him/herself so that the person can have some layer of self-respect to fall back on in order to recover and repent. However, if like what you say, the accused should be brought before the entire church, ridiculed and be charged in public view, then that person may just leave without any sort of willingness to repent – and not because he/she doesn’t want to repent but for the sole purpose of avoiding the embarrassment of facing the people again or whatever other feeling they may have. At worst, if that person is really weak, that person may end up like Judas. And that blood will be on the hands of the Church! It just isn’t right to have this kind of an approach. Do you see where I am going with this? Bro, we need to be considerate of the lives of others. Human life is a gift from God and it needs to be given the respect it deserves whether it is ours or someone else’s - both inside and outside of the Church. Our Church handles such cases in a discreet manner which is the humane thing to do because it allows room for the accused to repent and turn back to God. And if they still don’t change their ways after much counselling and advise, then they would be expelled and this would be announced to the Church. It has happened before. The accused will then have to deal with God who is the judge over all matters in every realm – spiritual and physical! Dima, Bengie & Ces: Bro, I am not fully aware of the reasons why they were expelled from membership. However, they did have certain issues which were brought up and I am guessing they weren’t in agreement to the advise given which caused them to leave. And it is the same option being given to you. If you are unable to follow the rules of the Church, then it would be wise to leave. And if you should chose to stay, then obey the rules. And that is what even Jesus said in Matthew 10:14 - If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. That is what, I think, the leaders are currently trying to convey to you. However, I wish you would not choose to leave and that you would instead, reconsider your stance, putting aside for good your obsessive and compulsive need to reform current Church practices. Bro, in the end, each individual is responsible for themselves when they come before God on Judgement Day. My point is that everyone in our congregation listens to the preaching’s, they attend Bible Talks and hear the Word being preached and each of them have a responsibility, on their part, to be like the Berians! Yes, the leaders are in place to lead and guide the flock. But that’s figurative speech. Everyone has access to The Word of God and it is their sole responsibility to ensure that their life practices are in sync with the teachings of the Bible and not of man. People can make mistakes, they can be blind to reason, they may have their own views and opinions and this applies even to the leaders and any organism that breathes, whatever it is, the Bible is the Word of God and it needs to be obeyed as is and everyone who reads it needs to comply with its instructions if they want to make it to heaven. If they think, that joining another Church can get them to heaven, then so be it. Family: Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Bro, you are a married man. Your primary responsibility is towards your wife. Did you stop to think for a moment how this whole situation is affecting your wife? I have a personal priority list on who and how I serve. This list is as under: 1. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit 2. Wife 3. Kids 4. Parents 5. Church / Everyone else Do you have one? Can you find fault with my list. If so, please feel free to share. Your wife falls in second place, just below the Trinity. Now I have to ask you, do you care for your wife as stated in the scripture Ephesians 5:25 above? The Bible calls people (in your case, marrieds) to be yoked together – and for good reason. Let’s see how Jesus cared for His wife – The Church (I am NOT being specific to ICOC here.). Jesus sacrificed His life for the Church. Every breath He ever breathed was for the sake of the Church. The accusations, the insults, the torture, the pain, the suffering, the sacrifice, even His own life He had willingly given up for His wife – The Church! What have you done for your wife as of today, not in the past, but as of today? What are you doing for your wife? Maybe I should rephrase that question....what are you doing to your wife? Because she is carrying another life in her. Have you stopped to think about your coming child? Or Were you just too busy plotting on how to attack the Church council? Have you thought about what your wife is going through and how all this is affecting her? Don’t you think she is at cross-roads between having to choose between her husband who she loves and the Church she deeply respects? What kind of stress is she undergoing? And how that stress could affect the child growing in her? What kind of a family are you going to raise that child in? What kind of an example are you going to be setting as the head of the family when you are not of the same view as your wife when it comes to your faith – you said this yourself in your recording to me. If the very foundation of your marriage is not one based on sacrifice, peace, unity and a common spiritual foundation with your own wife, then how can you try and bring any of that in to the Church? Again, I emphasize to you that I am raising these questions for you to think about and not because I judge you in any way. However, it is sad to note that you have already judged the Church and its leaders by stating that they are condemned and have rejected the Lord. Bro, aren’t these enough proof to make you realize that you are heading down the wrong path? Open your eyes, bro! Plead with God for answers to your questions. Go to Him with humility and beg Him to bring you back on the right path. Preaching: You said that our Church follows the ‘Protestant’ way where one person preaches and everyone else listens without any interruption whereas in the first century church people could challenge the preacher and you used Jesus being challenged by people in the midst of His sermons as an example. But did you realize that the ones who challenged Jesus were doing so with the intention of trying to find fault with Him so they could arrest Him or prove He was a false teacher? Maybe I could be wrong but I don’t recall any instance where an apostle of Jesus interrupted Him in the midst of a sermon to ask Him questions. They always spoke to Jesus after He was done preaching and that too privately. And you can certainly raise your questions after the sermon and seek clarifications to your questions. It just doesn’t make sense to do this in the midst of a sermon as the discussion may turn to a debate with no end in sight and we have the hall booked for only 1.5 hours or so, bro. If however, the preacher did say something wrong, it can always be corrected in the next sermon or in Bible Talks. Bro, try not to compare today with over 2000 years ago. A lot has changed in terms of time management, laws, public preaching etc. since then. We get a little time to listen to the Word of God in today’s busy world and we ought to make the best of it and be grateful that we even have it in this foreign land. Bro, nobody on Earth is perfect as you expect them to be and the Leaders are no exception to this fact! It doesn’t mean leaders are to stop preaching. Again, it is the responsibility of the listeners to go and do their homework by reading the Bible themselves and doing their own research. Because if they don’t do that, then they are just ticking off a check-box on their “Things-To-Do” list for a Friday. That’s the very reason we have quiet-times. To meditate and do our own digging on the meaning behind scripture. Conclusions: Bro, I have reached the end of your recording. I spent the most of my work hours listening to your recording and made sure I could supply you with the right scriptures and answers to the points you raised. And these are not things I made up in my head. They are taken from the Bible. I’ve referred you to Biblical scripture so there is no way that what I’ve written is incorrect. If you believe it is wrong then all that is left for me to do for you would be to pray. I hope that this letter will help reveal to you that the Church we are all part of is One in Christ. It does its best to keep sin as far away as possible and teaches people to turn away from it entirely. But ultimately, if you were to ask what is a Church? in simple terms it’s a congregation of sinners – people who have lost their way and are looking for a way to come back to the Light! So while we are in sin, it is the people around us, in the flesh, who help us to find our way back to the Light through the gift of the Holy Spirit who guides us through the human beings that God places in our lives. And those who sincerely seek God, will find their way regardless of who takes the stand at the podium on a Friday morning. All God requires from us is an obedient heart to His Word. And His Word is available to everyone, freely, through the Bible. Understand this as well, God is the one who chooses His people. So, as a disciple our job is to shed light on the path to eternal life to the lost and then pray for them and hope that they decide to take it. At best, this is all we can do. It is futile to tether them to ourselves and force them on to the path we want them to take. As a disciple, you did your best and that was to highlight the seriousness of what you believe needs to be prioritized by the church. You did your part. Now you got to trust that God is in charge of the entire Church (His wife) and He will guide and lead the people He has chosen to do what is right according to Him and in His time. We need to be patient, be still and just know He is God. Trust Him and His ways. I am praying for you, bro! :) Regards, Arun PS: I just read your e-mail you sent out to the entire leadership. I am deeply hurt and saddened that you would say such things and make those accusations of the Elders. They were uncalled for. I can only refer you back to Romans 13:1-5. But I don’t think that you are going to heed any attention to scriptures anymore. Because you are blinded with resentment and hatred towards the elders and your judgment is completely clouded. Don’t deny it. Only a resentful heart could utter the kind of accusations you made. You have gone against the very foundation of what it means to be a disciple of Christ! I can see from your tone and choice of words in your e-mail that your intention is to stab where it hurts and disband the existing council of elders. Don’t forget, these are the very elders who started the Church here, much before you even came to know Christ, that you are now targeting and calling the “Enemy”. They are the ones God chose to establish His kingdom in a foreign land since 1999. And you are trying to dismantle what God started to build. In everything that I have mentioned in this letter to you, I refer you to Biblical scripture and then expound on them using what is common in day to day living. However, in your e-mail, I don’t think I can recall even one reference to Scripture. This only proves that most of it is only your reasoning and not from the Word of God although you claim it is! Again, this Post Script are my views only - thoughts on what you did by sending out that e-mail. And I can say with confidence that you are now fighting a battle you will surely lose as you are not fighting man anymore...you are in direct conflict with God Himself. May He show mercy on you, bro. I will have you in my prayers.