RZIM meeting provides “wholesome spirituality” and answers life's challenges

New Delhi – Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) Life Focus Resource Center conducted a meeting cum open discussion forum entitled, “A Wholesome Spirituality – Challenges for the 21st Century Church” at C.N.I. Bhawan, New Delhi.

The speakers of the meeting were Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka and Bro. Ajoy Varghese who attempted to help the believers find answers to the questions about their spiritual life and guide them in facing the challenges they face in their daily lives.

The meeting commenced with praise and worship after which Bro. George of RZIM briefly introduced the speakers and handed over the session to them.

“Spirituality has found a new definition, a new meaning these days,” began Bro. Varghese, “as people are beginning to be more interested in spirits and less in God.”

According to him, the problem facing the modern day Church is that though people want Jesus to be the God they want their God to be and many want to know more about Jesus, yet, most of them are simply not interested in the Church.

Quoting David Bosch, who in his book Transforming Mission, said, “It is a stupendous victory for the evil one to have made us believe that structure in the world will not and need not really change,” Bro. Varghese posed a question before the audience: “What is the spirituality Jesus Christ was inviting us to? Who is this God of the Bible?”

Bro. Varghese lamented that many believers often consider Jesus as “a fairy God–mother or a super–psychiatrist” who will answer all their prayers and bail them out from all trouble “as if He is at our beck and call and His agenda is allowing us an insight in self–realization.”

Bro. Varghese also warned about the problem of false pride many believers suffer from. Quoting Monica Hill, he said, “The fallacy of such a narrow concept of conversion is that it can leave our worldly values untouched. It enables us to get on with the business of living in the world, enjoying our materialistic lifestyle and competing in worldly values in the same way as non–Christians while at the same time believing that we are righteous because of the once–in–a–lifetime experience.”

“Some of us accept Jesus as Savior, but not as Lord,” Bro. Varghese lamented. “Some are content in being His followers, but not His disciples.”

“We often run the risk of misinterpreting Jesus Christ Himself as we try to interpret Him in our way,” he said. “We conveniently use the name of Jesus Christ to suit our ends. We mould Him into anybody we want Him to be – the warrior Jesus, the victor Jesus, the vanquished Jesus, the oppressor Jesus, the oppressed Jesus, the protagonist Jesus, the capitalist Jesus…the list goes on.”

About repentance, Bro. Varghese warned that it is not a mere idea or concept but something that affects the entire being of the person and makes him change. “Repentance is finding answers to our concerns and translating them into action.”

Drawing the attention of the audience to the growing concerns of the modern day Church that find many of their members opting for a different path of faith, often mysticism and religions of the orient, Bro. Varghese said that some people in their pursuit of finding and knowing God undergo spiritual experiences but then go on to being hooked to the experiences rather than finding and knowing God. “This leads them to seeking and following those people or that religion which can provide them with those experiences rather than seeking and following God,” he remarked.

“To preach the Gospel is to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God, to preach about the new King, the new Deliverer,” Bro. Varghese shared. Quoting Charles Colson, he said, “Jesus said that the Kingdom of God had come in Him. The Kingdom is a rule, not a realm. It’s not a physical territory, but the reign of God over all.”

Many believers struggle to find answers to some questions about their new–found faith. “Questions like what is the Gospel? Who is the King? Who are the subjects? What is the nature of the Kingdom and its extent? Where is the Kingdom? Is it just within the heart of the man? What about the evil and suffering within the Kingdom? will confront them often in their lives,” Bro. Varghese shared.

“But in our attempt to answer these questions, we must avoid two traps,” he said, quoting Charles Colson. “First, we must not privatize our faith by withdrawing from the public arena altogether. Of what earthly use is the Kingdom then? Secondly, we must not policitize our faith by marrying the values of the Kingdom of God to some particular political agenda. Both these traps are equally dangerous and must be avoided.”

“We must not ask whether God is on our side,” Bro. Varghese concluded. “We must rather ask and check whether we are on His side.”

The meeting was succeeded by an open question–answer session where the two speakers attempted to answer questions like concept of evil, extent of engagements necessitating changes, how culture can dilute the Gospel, etc that were posed by the audience.

“We, as Christians, cannot live in isolation. Culture and Christianity cannot be separated by watertight compartments,” offered Rev. Mondithoka. “In the backdrop of the culture that existed, we can understand Jesus best. He is the paradigm, the model for us when we engage in culture.”

“Rather than withdrawing from the world, we must engage with it for only by our engagement with the culture, we can dispel the darkness and bring in light,” the Reverend stated. “However, we must be cautious not to compromise our spirit and character and always remember that the life of Lord Jesus is the standard we should live by.”

RZIM was founded by Ravi Zacharias, evangelist and apologist of international fame, for the purpose of reaching the thinker with the Gospel of Jesus Christ in key cities around the world and to aid in leadership development.

RZIM Life Focus Society in India was established in 1987.

The objectives of RZIM are:
1.Communicate the credibility of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through evangelism undergirded by apologetics.
2.Train emerging leaders to reach the thinker.
3.Establish Resource Centers to provide resources for apologetics, spiritual disciplines and evangelism.
4.Communicate through mass media.
5.Continue ministering to and through the local church.

Rev. Sudhakar Mondithoka worked with the Government of Andhra Pradesh for a short time as an Entomological officer and later taught Zoology for nine years in the prestigious Wesley and Loyola Institutions in Andhra Pradesh. Since 1994, he has been working with RZIM Life Focus Society and has spoken at some of the best universities in the country. Currently he is the Executive Director – Ministries with RZIM Life Focus Society, India.

Bro. Ajoy Varghese is a commerce graduate from Mumbai University. He was working in Mumbai for a period of five–and–half years as the Executive–Planning in a reputed pharmaceutical company when, in May 1995, he resigned his job and took up the pastoral responsibility of a church in Nashik belonging to The Evangelical Alliance Ministries. He joined the ministry team of RZIM Life Focus Society in April 2000. A person who combines Bible teaching with a strong emphasis on Christian apologetics, Bro. Verghese currently serves as Director Training.