The Hsu’s Views

Feb 26 - Today we went off to visit Rock Church.

This was a fascinating facility in what seemed to me to be the middle of nowhere. This ministry is 41 years old with a campus for it’s scholastic endeavors being 25 years old. There are dormitories for students, a bible college, and most curiously, the beginnings of an exceptionally large sanctuary. It is hard to understand the need for this 5,000 seat structure, when the current congregation is only around 400 people and there is clearly no infrastructure around to support such a facility at capacity… yet.

The school has 419 students attending composed of 270 who live on campus, 40 or so from surrounding orphanages, and a few from the homes in the area. Originally a school for the deaf and dumb, it is a middle and high school seeking to take these generally poor students and train them to national standards and requirements. During our visit, I saw an interesting piece of how the caste system forces some interesting moral dilemmas on Christian schools like this one.

India has a program similar to Affirmative Action in the United States. It reserves about 30% of government jobs for those coming from those so marginalized that they are no longer part of the caste system. There are four castes that about 55% of the Indian society divides into. Then there are people considered so defiled that they are considered out of the caste system or “outcastes.” This is about 40% of the population. Ninety percent of Christians in India are from these outcastes.

The interesting thing is that when a person converts to Christianity, the government considers that an “upgrade” of sorts changing one’s caste. It is not clear what caste you change into, however the implication is that conversion to Christianity will not allow you to enjoy the benefits of government employment set aside for the outcastes. There are apparently many millions of “un-baptized” or “secret” Christians, who do not officially register as Christians, because to do so would jeopardize the possibility for employment.

At the Rock Church school, even though most of the students are schooled as believers and many become believers, their graduation papers do not reflect this “conversion” for fear that the very opportunity that Christian schools are struggling to provide these students would be removed should it be acknowledged that they converted.

This situation raises some very interesting questions. Is it immoral to “lie” to the government just so you can help your students get a job? Does a government need to know about one’s religious conversion? As a believer and an outcaste, if you believe the caste system to be wrong and unjust, should you take jobs reserved for your caste?

Feb 25 - We spent the morning on a wild sprint through the city of Chennai, visiting at least seven services in six churches. We visited a bewildering assortment of denominations and traditions that will take some time to sort through, even with the lectures we received on the history of the church in India

We were able to visit the Apostolic Christian Assembly in Chennai that had over fifteen thousand attendees. It was a fascinating building consisting of mostly a roof, but no walls. The men and women were generally segregated. Television sets and fans were sprinkled liberally throughout seating area. There was no parking lot, which indicates a congregation that is generally more urban, and less economically advantaged.

What was interesting was the amount of control that the pastor and staff seemed to employ in the leadership of the church. The pastor is so respected that when he stands, those who are seated on the floor shift into a kneeling position. I was assured that this is not a sign of worship but deep respect. Midweek services gather at the church, but are divided up in the sanctuary by district with each seating area manned by a pastor.

In conversations during the day, we learned that this pastor would not allow his parishioners to see movies, watch TV or to wear jewelry. If they had done so, they were not allowed to participate in communion.

At the St. Thomas Orthodox Church, it was a different kind of rigidity that was displayed. We were able to listen to the mass being sung by the priest, and a song that was surprisingly accompanied by an organ. The mass has not changed since the 4th century and has been celebrated exactly the same way for all this time. One accommodation was to change it into the native tongue here in Hyderabad.

The Orthodox church is located at Parry’s Corner. This area is not a slum, but is the place where tens of thousands of homeless spend the night. Many work, but can’t afford enough to move into the slums. Some have organized in order to campaign for identification cards. People simply sleep on the streets. Despite the hardship these people are incredibly friendly and have a joy that can teach you much.

Contrast those two services with the church that met in the movie theater. Powerhouse Church was loud and contemporary, everything you would expect from a younger church in North America. It was very different from the two churches above. It met in a movie theater, taboo for those from the Apostolic Christian Assembly. It allowed women in leadership. Powerhouse also had a great ministry to the needy and those from lower castes.

Finally, we visted Jehovah Shammah, a church started by a converted Sikh who was interested in developing an indigenous church expression. It was striking to hear virtually nothing as we came upon the sanctuary. Barefooted people were seated on the matted floor, separated by gender in an extended period of silent prayer. Eventually, I heard an “Amen” and people began to take turns praying out loud. Services go for hours, punctuated by a “love feast” or church wide meal.

It was interesting to see the many different expressions of church that exist on a Sunday morning in Chennai. From ancient Orthodox traditions to a historic Scottish Kirk meeting in an Anglican building to a movie theater and eventually a service that felt Hindu though it would not be confused with a temple due to all the scripture on the walls. We learned that churches could grow without parking lots, and some didn’t need walls, and some had very ancient traditions.

Today, Feb 23, a group of us visited a home for the destitute. ARUWE was started by a couple of women who were concerned about abandoned elderly women in their neighborhood. Founders Aspy and Rachael both studied social work in college and knew how to access resources for the needy in the area.

Currently they house 26 abandoned mostly elderly women in one large room on the third floor of a rented building, they feed 40 people and tutor 150 students a day. Together with two interns and a few staff, they provide an incredible level of care. Doctors visit the ladies twice a week to check the women and prescribe medications. Many of the women continually commented on how good the food was.

This young women and her child have been abandoned by her husband. It is a case of dowry abuse. The husband will not allow her back into the home unless she gives him a motorcycle. He cut her hair to shame her. Dowry abuse is of course illegal in India, but still happens frequently. There are still cases of women being married, then murdered or otherwise abused since the main objective was to get the dowry. She asked me twice to take her baby.

On the way out, we prayed for an elderly woman in a shack just across the street from ARUWE. Her husband had just died and she refused to leave her bed, wanting to die in her home. Immediately outside the shack was another elderly woman with severely swollen legs. We prayed for both.

It was incredible to see the contrast between the 26 women who were safe, fed and off the streets with these two women, suffering and surely close to death. ARUWE’s operations cost less than $1,000 a month. It was amazing to think that for such a small amount of money, 26 more abandoned women could be off the street, and another 150 kids could be tutored. It was heartbreaking.

Here is a link to my friends video on YWAM’s leper ministry.

Came home the other night from dinner in an “autorickshaw.” It was an exciting ride with my camera taking video most of the way home. I’ve compiled a video if you are interested.

This afternoon, Feb 24, we went to visit PACT, a project of YWAM that serves abandoned women and orphaned children infected with HIV and AIDS. The stories were heartbreaking. Monica is a little girl that just arrived at the home. Her mother just died from HIV and there are no known relatives. An infected mother and her mentally disabled daughter (also infected, through sexual abuse by a relative) live at the facility. Altogether there are ten children and six women living in two homes like a large extended family.

Intended to be more of a home than an orphanage, Wilson and his wife Elizabeth are the guardians of the ten children (not including two boys of their own.) In India, only Hindu’s are allowed to adopt children, Christians are only allowed guardianship. Nonetheless, Wilson hopes to house many more children. They have property and just received a $25,000 grant to build the first floor of a new facility.

They also have an in-home ministry to those infected with HIV. With a current staff of 18, they have ministered to thousands of people, with over 1,500 people giving their lives to the Lord and over 200 families now attending churches. They have lost 20 women to the virus. Kids with the HIV virus can live 15-20 years with current treatments and fortunately none of the children cared from by Wilson and his team have died yet.

To run their operations in the black would only require $2,500 each month. They need another $25,000 to have enough funds to finish the new building.

If you are just tuning in, I’m in India these two weeks for a doctoral class. We are learning about transforming cities and our afternoon field trips are more lifechanging than any class can hope to be.

This morning we attended a seminar sponsored by the Chennai Transformation Network. It was an early attempt to gather church and city leaders together to learn about the challenges of the city and to think together about the ways that the church might be able to be a blessing to the city.

There was a great if interesting representation on the panel, which included a newspaper editor, an economist, and a “composter” (or solid waste management expert). I thought it was excellent for the church leaders to hear about the city through the eyes of experts who have a different view than a pastor. It was good to hear from the newspaper editor and his view of the importance of sharing information and how churches don’t do that well. Similarly, I don’t know that many pastors can appreciate how composting can not only recycle trash and beautify the slums, but how it can provide a viable micro enterprise for women in the slums as they sell the compost as fertilizer.

I was encouraged by the apparent participation and will take several lessons back to my context in San Diego. First, as I pull younger leaders of the church together in San Diego, one of my desires would be that it would be a place where we too could listen from people who have a different perspective than pastors. This seems so critically important so that we do not approach city reaching in San Diego in only a spiritual light. We must learn about the illegal immigration issues, labor concerns, and the plight of the single parent.

Second, I have seen a glimpse of the kind of networking that Tim Savoda has been doing, and the way he has been involved in many different organizations. This meeting required a broad base of networking to get the people here that needed to be here. Many of the ministries represented have had long relationships with YWAM. It shows how much foresight Tim had in involving himself in the many broad and diverse ways that he has. All the work he has done in helping other ministries, serving on other boards, and networking of organizations seems to be paying off. Our work in San Diego must also have a long-term view.

On our first day, we had an orientation to Chennai from this hilltop. According to tradition, Thomas was martyed here in 72 AD.

While here in Chennai, I visited a Compassion International work in the North part of Chennai. This slum was one that was deeply affected by the massive tsunami of two years ago. Driving to the site helped me understand why it could have been such trouble. Many of the squatters in this slum were affected because the waves took wiped all the coconut palm huts that were made for housing.

Most of the families here are the families of fisherman. In fact, when the tsunami came, the men were out on their boats fishing. The 200 or so children involved in this Compassion International work were at the church for a Christmas celebration. Thankfully the water came to only a few feet from the church and stopped.

Compassion International has over 240 projects, mostly in southern India, serving over 56,000 children. Most of these projects come in the form of a church based community center. The children that are selected are between the ages of 3-8, are usually orphans or semi-orphans, and whose families make less than 3,000 Rupees per month.

What a delight to see the kids perform for our little group of visiting dignitaries. Over 150 kids crammed into a small bamboo church. They were all well behaved and very cute. I was reminded that there is such joy, even among the poorest of the poor. In the West, we can condition happiness to our financial status, but even a quick visit to the slums can show how enslaving that can be.