The Guru vs. Jesus Model of Raising Leadership

By Reuben Pradhan

23rd June 2026

From ancient times, India has followed the tradition of sitting at the feet of gurus, eagerly receiving every drop of wisdom that falls from their lips. Today, however, just as some Christians have turned ministry into a means of personal gain, there are countless self-proclaimed gurus everywhere. Social media platforms and television channels are filled with them. Some display bizarre and even disturbing behavior, yet they continue to attract large followings.

One of the tragedies of modern India is the tendency of many people to become devoted followers of every new guru that appears on the scene. These gurus often sit upon large, elaborately decorated chairs that resemble royal thrones. That becomes their kingdom—the place from which they "rule and reign." They are unapproachable. 

In the traditional guru-disciple relationship, the guru is regarded as one who possesses deeper, higher knowledge than anyone else. The disciple may learn much, but he is never expected to become equal to, let alone surpass, his guru. In fact, many gurus intentionally withhold portions of their knowledge so that their disciples never attain the same level of stature, influence, or enlightenment.

Unfortunately, Indian Christianity can sometimes, whether deliberately or unconsciously, absorb aspects of this guru-shishya (disciple) model of leadership. Christian leaders may begin to function more like gurus than servants. They are viewed as the exclusive custodians of heavenly mysteries, possessing wisdom and insight unavailable to ordinary believers.

One visible expression of this mindset in the Indian and Nepali context is the practice of people bowing before a pastor, who then places his hand upon them as a gesture of blessing. While there may be nothing inherently wrong with such actions—especially in cultures where respect for elders and spiritual leaders is deeply valued—the real issue lies elsewhere.

The problem arises when leaders begin to see themselves as spiritually superior and their followers as perpetually inferior. In such environments, the pastor or leader becomes the unquestioned authority. His opinions carry the weight of divine revelation. His decisions are rarely challenged. Because he is assumed to know more than everyone else, the insights and perspectives of others are often ignored or dismissed. From a church board meeting to a normal social media group chat, this is evident. The unspoken message, or the response implied by the leader's attitude, becomes clear: no one can be as wise, capable, or insightful as the guru-leader.

It’s so much like driving on Indian roads, where larger vehicles such as trucks and Volvos occupy the entire road and would probably consider themselves losers if they allowed other vehicles, especially smaller ones, to overtake them.

Over time, whether in churches or para-church ministries, people stop offering ideas and suggestions. They know their contributions will never survive the scrutiny of the "high and mighty." Eventually, they stop thinking altogether.

RZIM once popularized the phrase, "Let My People Think." It raises an important question for every Christian leader: Do we create safe spaces where people are encouraged to think, question, and contribute? Or do we, knowingly or unknowingly, discourage creative and critical thinking because it threatens our position or authority?

Jesus modeled something radically different.

One can imagine Him gathering His disciples and saying, "Listen carefully, friends, you're going to do the works that I do."

The disciples might have responded in astonishment, "What? Are you serious, Lord?"

Jesus responds by saying:

"Not only that, but you will do even greater works than these."

What an extraordinary statement! One can only imagine the faith, vision, and confidence that must have flooded the hearts of those disciples that day.

Jesus was not interested in creating dependents. He was raising successors who would go on to do even greater works than He did.

Do we carry a similar mindset in the way we disciple and raise men and women for leadership? The apostle Paul affirmed, “We have the mind of Christ.” If we truly share Christ's mindset, are we raising men and women who will go on to do greater things than we have done?

It is not enough for Christian leaders merely to reproduce themselves. That might only duplicate the ministry and yield the same results. And although there is nothing inherently wrong with that, our calling is to raise leaders who will go where we cannot go, accomplish what we cannot accomplish, and speak with greater wisdom, influence, and anointing than we ever possessed. Then we can step back, watch them flourish, and thank God for the way He used us to raise such anointed and wise men and women for His Kingdom, and then humbly whisper, "Lord, I am only an unworthy servant, seeking to do your will."

The Bible compares sons to arrows in the hand of a warrior. God entrusts us with spiritual sons and daughters, emerging leaders, and gifted believers. Our task is to shape those arrows carefully and faithfully so that, when they are ready, we can launch them toward targets we ourselves could never reach.

Healthy leadership does not fear the success of others. It celebrates it.

The true measure of a leader is not how many people remain dependent upon him, but how many surpass him.

Perhaps one of the simplest ways to begin is by cultivating a listening ear. Leaders must learn to hear the thoughts, ideas, concerns, and dreams of those they lead without feeling intimidated or threatened. Instead of suppressing potential, we should honor it. Instead of controlling growth, we should facilitate it.

Coming back to the Indian roads analogy, on many occasions, when signalling to overtake the vehicle in front, the driver ahead will stick out his hand and signal you to wait because he can see a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction, and overtaking at that moment could result in disaster. Suddenly, you see a vehicle whooshing past from the opposite direction. You feel grateful to the driver ahead for warning you of the danger. But as soon as the road is clear, the same driver will again stick out his hand, gesturing for you to overtake because the road is now safe and clear. “Go ahead,” he says willingly. A Jesus-model leader knows exactly when to let others overtake him.

It is a tragedy when some leaders see their ministry as their personal possession. They occupy the entire road and will not let others move ahead of them. 

When we create space for others to flourish, to even let them surpass us, we enable them to achieve far more for the Kingdom of God than we could ever accomplish alone.

That is the difference between the Guru Model and the Jesus Model of leadership.

One seeks followers.

The other raises productive leaders.

Which model are you following?

Blessings!

Reuben Pradhan

Siliguri, WB

GOD Spoke of yet Another REVIVAL in Meghalaya

17^th Oct 2022

Siliguri

Yes, God is still in the business of speaking to His servants. And He uses different mediums to do so, one of them being dreams. This morning I woke up with a dream where God took me through the revival event that took place in the year 2006 in the state of Meghalaya, India which also happened to be the state where I was born and grew up and lived in its capital, Shillong until the year 2010. He spoke to me about why the 2006 revival stopped suddenly and how to be prepared for yet another revival.

2006. The year Meghalaya, especially the East Khasi Hills District experienced a mighty wave of revival. This revival was God’s answer to prayers made by hundreds and thousands of Christians in the state. The Presbyterian church in the region was planning to commemorate the 100 years of revival that had taken place in the year 1906. The cry of both the Presbyterian and non-Presbyterian churches was one and the same – “Lord, do it again.”

And revival came mainly in the Presbyterian churches where Heaven literally came down to earth. People, mostly youth and children were powerfully touched, repenting and crying before the Lord. They vividly saw visions of Jesus, of angels and Heaven and these visions weren’t limited to Christians only but even non-Christian young people and kids had visitations from Heaven. Many turned to the Lord and the meetings of the once liturgy-centric mainline churches looked more like Pentecostal-Charismatic church.

I and my family were living in a locality called Lapalang in Shillong when the revival broke out and almost every day I was receiving updates over the phone from pastors and friends in the city about the daily and regular visitation from Heaven and even a local TV channel would broadcast news regularly about people and churches in different parts of the region experiencing revival. One day, a young girl from our church called me and said that her school came under the power of God and the school authorities not knowing how to handle the situation declared a holiday for that day. This school was a Buddhist institution. You can read this story here and the unfolding story of the rest of the revival events here.

The vision the Lord gave me today is in connection with a vision He gave me a year ago about the same time. And both the two visions have to do with another impending revival. So please read prayerfully and consider seriously what the Lord is saying to His people. But before you continue with the vision I received today please read the last year’s vision first here to get a better sequence of the prophecy regarding the future revival.

In my dream, today, I heard the voice of God the Father (in my various prophetic dreams the Lord gave me He always reveals to me whose voice it is – the Father’s or the Son’s or the Holy Spirit's, very specifically). I don’t normally share or write about every vision that the Lord gives me because some are personal, meant just for me and those that are meant for the Body of Christ to know are what I share.

The Father began to analyse with me the sequence of the revival event that took place in the year 2006, basically revealing the reason why it halted suddenly. Let me break them down for better comprehension of the vision. He revealed to me that…(Now these are God’s Word, not mine and I’m trying my best to quote Him exactly as He spoke to me today).

• Because my people were praying fervently for revival, I answered their prayers and sent the revival. I answered their prayers because they were praying with complete faith and I’m always moved by the prayer of faith.
• However, their prayer was limited to only, “Send revival!” 
• For when they were praying for revival to come, they did not pray for the revival to be sustained and to continue on and that is why the revival stopped.
• People weren’t fully prepared to embrace the revival for a longer period of time and therefore when revival comes again they have to be fully prepared for that in advance and have to pray accordingly.

After these words, the Father continued to speak to me about another revival that would come in this same region again (but I do not know when although I could sense it would not be too far).

Besides what the Father revealed to me in my dream today, here’s an observation and a practical assessment with some prophetic elements as to why the 2006 revival stopped unexpectedly.

1. Before the revival took place in 2006, it was in the month of June or July that year when various churches and denominations in the city had come together for a combined prayer meeting at Malki ground in Shillong.
2. Towards the end of the program, the chairman invited an American brother who happened to visit the city at that time to give the benediction.
3. Few people knew that this white brother was actually a prophet.
4. He came to the podium but instead of giving the benediction, he said over the mic, “God says, when revival comes will you give your children to me?” After saying this he left the stage without giving the benediction. I still remember the pastor-chairman quipping, “Well, that was a strange benediction...”
5. We were all puzzled about what this word meant at that time because revival had not broken yet.
6. But when revival broke out it was largely the youth who were powerfully touched by the Holy Spirit. The city and its adjoining region witnessed a daily and a 24hrs outpouring of young people and even little boys and girls besides adults in many churches, spontaneously praying, singing, crying, repenting, dancing, and rejoicing – simply put the Holy Spirit was the chairman and the pastor of those meetings during that time of revival. The door of those church buildings never closed even once for many days and months. Some of these kids didn’t bother about eating, drinking and sleeping either but would spend their entire day and sometimes night also in the church praising and worshipping God. The church doors were kept open 24x7.
7. However, later the leaders of the church began to regulate the time for people to come to church i.e. morning to evening and after that, they’d close the door. Why?
8. Because they said that the annual exams of their schools and colleges were approaching and that the children needed time to study or else they might lose a year of their studies.
9. Eventually, the revival began to be more and more regulated and controlled by the leaders/pastors/elders of the church including the parents.
10. The revival was mostly confined to the Presbyterian churches while the Charismatic/Independent churches were left drooling for it and wondering why the move happened mostly in and with the Presbyterian churches. It was because we were praying day and night that God would revive the Presbyterian churches and that He would send revival to this denomination again since they were commemorating the 100 years of revival. We didn’t include us, the independent churches so much in our prayers for revival. We were proud, we thought we already had the Spirit of God and that it was the Presbyterian people that needed revival and therefore God answered our prayers accordingly. God is specific in answering our specific prayers.
11. Alas, we weren’t ready to give our children completely for the revival. Schools and education were given priority over revival. (Remember the white brother’s prophecy?). The revival stopped!

Immediately after the end of the revival, there was a secular city-wide concert in the city where a town boy, Amit Paul who stood second in the Indian Idol show during that time, was performing. We the pastors and leaders in the city shook our heads in disbelief when the local news channels telecasted this event in which we saw thousands of young people flooding that ground to the overflowing, chanting Bollywood songs along with the singer. Were these the same young people who a couple of weeks ago were crying out to the Lord in tears and repentance?

What happened to the impact of the revival? Why weren’t these young people who had turned to the Lord in hundreds and thousands day after day grounded in the Word of God? Yes, God uses our emotions to attract our attention but Rom 12:2 says that we can be transformed only by the renewal of our minds. And the Holy Spirit uses the Word to cleanse and to renew our minds. These young people were not established in the Word of God.

What the Body of Christ in Shillong and Meghalaya needs to do?

Only one thing. Repent!!!

• -      Repent for quenching the Spirit of God.
• -      Repent for trying to control the Holy Spirit.
• -      Repent for considering schools and the education of the children more important than the move of God.
• -      Repent for not being fully prepared to sustain the revival and to do the necessary follow-up.
• -      Repent for thinking that the revival was meant only for the young people and not being prepared to be revived themselves.

Last year’s vision that the Lord gave me and today’s, exactly a year later both speak about God sending another revival. But we need to be prepared for it through and through.  

• -        We need to change our praying style.
• -        Pray not only for God to send the revival but wisdom in how to keep it going for as long as the Lord wants.
• -        Pray for the leaders, parents and everyone, in general, to be prepared for the future revival.
• -        Pray for leaders to labour and to be prepared in the Word of God so as to disciple and help established those experiencing revival to be completely transformed so that their experience of revival isn’t limited to their emotions only but that their whole being is touched and transformed both by His Spirit and His Word.
• -        Pray that the future revival will not be confined to only some regions of Meghalaya but that it would encompass the entire state and spread like wildfire from there to other states and countries.
• -        Pray for politicians and administrators to be prepared and to humble themselves before the Lord so that if need be offices and educational institutions comply with the move of God in the city and the state, and that institutions and various departments don’t come in the way of the revival.
• -        Pray for ALL churches and denominations to experience the visitation from the Lord and to be impacted by the revival, by another mighty move of God.
• -        Pray for non-Christians to turn to the Lord in thousands and for churches to be prepared to host and disciple them in their new-found faith.
• -        Pray God for apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to be raised for the building up of the Body of Christ in the city so that the churches are fully prepared to host the revival. That they’d function not just for the sake of titles but for the sake of equipping the saints for the work of ministry.
• -        Pray for the Body of Christ in Shillong and other regions of Meghalaya to be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in praying and preparing for yet another wave of revival.

However, the question is will the impending revival be similar to that of 2006? It could very well be but what if it looks like something that we did not expect it to be? 

I remember reading the story of Andrew Murray, the great preacher and a prayer warrior and how he prayed earnestly for revival to come in his country. But when revival came he did not accept it as being from God because it did not fit his expectation of what a revival should look like. May we not commit the same error when God sends another wave of revival and more dangerously may we not criticize and go against those who accept it. 

Read the Shillong revival of 2006 here.

Read about the first vision of another impending revival here.

May the Lord bless those of you reading this prophecy.

Your brother in Christ,

Reuben Pradhan

Siliguri, India

reubenpradhan@gmail.com

WhatsApp No. + 91 86378 98848

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Revival in Meghalaya. Once Again.

Today I woke up with a powerful prophetic dream. There was a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit upon me and I was prophesying in the Khasi language from a slightly raised place where there was a tree and some dead banana trees below. As I began to prophesy people began to gather – all Khasi people. 

I continued prophesying in the Khasi language and it was the Lord speaking through me in the first person, “I have mercy upon you (the land)…” As I began prophesying, a young man knelt down and began to pray so loudly that he would drown my voice and I told him not to pray at this moment but to listen. Saying that I continued prophesying but the young man kept interrupting with his loud prayers. I told him the second time but he continued doing the same and then again the third time I told him to be quiet. At this others also asked him to be quiet. Every time I had to pause and speak to him I felt that the anointing was being disturbed. However, once he stopped I continued prophesying, “There will be revival again and these dead banana trees coming back to life would be the sign of the revival. There'll be revival in the Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills.”

After the dream ended I was in a semi-conscious state. Then I got interpretation of some part of the prophecy. The young man interrupting the prophecy is Traditionalism. Traditional Christianity will try to drown the prophetic voice but it has to be resisted and rebuked and the prophetic will overcome it. The second elaboration to the prophecy was that the epicenter of the revival would be the Khasi Hills and the Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills would come under its effect. 

May the Lord pour out His Spirit once again and bring revival in the land.

- Reuben Pradhan

8th Oct 2021

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Biblical Pattern for Genuine Fellowship

The Bible calls us to exhort, encourage and stir up one another. In fact, there are several verses in the New Testament that instructs the believers to “one-another”. For instance, “Love one another”, “Forgive one another”, “Pray for one another” and so on. And the fact of the matter is that it's simply not possible for us to practice all these “one-anothering” by meeting once a week inside a building with all the people in the pews facing towards the pulpit an hour or two. The solution for us is to emulate the healthy practice of the church in the book of Acts – to meet informally and daily from house to house.

Yes, in verse 46 it does say that they met in the temple too. And that was because these believers initially still observed the hours of Jewish worship. For instance, in Acts 3:1 we read of Peter and John going up to the temple at the “ninth hour” – the hour of prayer (3 pm) for the Jews. Another possible or additional reason for them to meet at the temple (courtyard) was so they could listen to the apostles’ teachings corporately. Whatever the reason, we should note that their activities in the temple were different from that in their homes where they broke bread and ate food with joy and gladness of heart as they prayed and exhort and edified one another. So genuine fellowship and building up of each other among the believers happened as a lifestyle wherever they existed.

Churches meeting in big numbers in large halls or buildings should realize the need for a genuine fellowship among believers to foster love, unity and building of each other up – something which isn’t possible in a crowd. The power of the early church should be recovered today by simply emulating them. Hence, if it’s not possible for big-sized churches to dismantle completely and meet in smaller groups at homes then they should, at least, invest their efforts by restructuring the church into smaller groups and give impetus to their meetings from house to house during week days. Having said so, it cannot be denied that such churches tend to treat the larger meetings as THE church and the smaller meetings that take place throughout the week simply as activities categorized under some label, usually groups that are geared to make efforts to make the larger meetings grand and successful. For instance, if one is qualified enough to take up a task in the smaller meetings then he or she would be gradually promoted to function in the larger meetings; everything geared up for the larger meetings on Sunday morning. Essentially, in the New Testament, especially in the Book of Acts, the exact opposite was actually true.

The church that met at homes in smaller numbers was a full-fledged genuine church complete and cohesive in every sense.

It's no doubt that large gatherings could enhance worship celebrations and preaching ministries, etc., but when it comes to koinonia fellowship and other activities where body life takes place, meeting in homes in smaller numbers is the most effective pattern of the New Testament for us to follow. Watchman Nee taught that, “Every church after God’s own heart bears the stamp of ‘one another’ on all its life and activity” (The Normal Christian Church Life, Indian Edition pg 47).

Therefore, church leadership ought to motivate believers to meet with one another regularly in order to encourage and pray for one another for mutual edification. Such intentional meetings could also give birth or enhance other ministries like neighborhood evangelism, visiting, reaching out to the poor and needy and many other similar projects and ventures all aimed at advancing the Kingdom of God outside the four walls of our church buildings.  

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, v25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

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The Power of the Word of God

When we think about the power of God we immediately think of the Holy Spirit and rightly so because the power of God is directly related to the Holy Spirit, “You’ll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,”  “But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Acts 1:8; Luke 24:49).

In the book of Acts we find several instances where this power of the Holy Spirit was manifested when the believers met together for prayers. Today, some churches will at times organize “revival meetings” with the expectation that they’d experience the manifestation and power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers that there’d be repentance and renewal taking place. But we’d lose on many counts what the Holy Spirit can do in and through our lives when we limit Him and His power to only certain types of meetings. What we don’t realize is that we can experience the same power of the Holy Spirit daily through one important medium God has ordained for us. And that medium is the immutable Word of God. The same power of God which works through the Holy Spirit also works through His Word - the Holy Scriptures which we call the Bible. In fact, it’s the power of the Holy Spirit that also works through the Word of God. 

The apostle Paul realized this power hidden in the Word of God and boldly declares, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Rom 1:16. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Paul doesn’t say that the gospel contains the power of God but the gospel itself is the power of God that works salvation in the lives of those who accept it. No wonder when Peter preached under the unction of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost three thousand people became desperate to get saved. The Word he preached was so powerful that the hearers felt it like an arrow piercing their hearts which caused them to run to Peter and cried out in utter desperation, “What must we do?” Such is the power of the Word. We ought to pray to God to revive such ministry in our pulpits again in our days. 

Consider again the powerful impact the preaching and teaching of the Word had on the Israelites that had just returned back to Jerusalem from exile.  

Neh 8:8, 9 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.

When the people heard the words of the Law which was read and explained by Ezra and his companion they began to mourn and to weep out of conviction. We could say that there was some sort of revival that took place that day and it was because of the ministry of the Word of God. Such was the weeping and the mourning that the leaders had to calm them down. And that’s the power of the Word of God in action. We, therefore, ought to be conscious of the fact that everytime we read and meditate upon the Word the power of God would work in us and everytime we preach and teach the Word we should expect the power of God to touch and transform peoples’ lives. For the Gospel is the power of God. The revival stories that we read about and which took place under the ministries of God’s servants like Jonathan Edwards, R. A. Torrey and others were basically because of the ministry of the Word of God. Such revivals bring about a genuine and long-lasting transformation in the lives of those being ministered to.  

If there’s one thing lacking in the pulpit today then it is this - the dearth of anointed and systematic preaching and teaching of the Word of God. Not just some emotionally charged up rhetorics and cliches of words but solidly grounded and sound teaching from the Scripture breathed by the Holy Spirit that brings about a genuine transformation in the lives of our people. 

As we seek the power of the Holy Spirit may we not underestimate the power of the Word of God. Remember: The Gospel is the power of God. 

Blessings,

Reuben Pradhan

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Privileged to Teach

During my time in Nepal, I used to teach in a Bible school regularly. I basically taught on Spiritual Growth and the New Testament Church. However, one day the director of the institution asked me to do the survey of the Bible (the Old Testament) with the students. While preparing notes for the subject I was exposed to the historical and cultural background and other relevant facts about the various books of the Bible. This was my first time teaching on the survey of the Bible and I taught on seven different books of the Old Testament, which was quite fair for the starting, I thought. Going through the detailed introductions and accounts of each one of those seven books and making an overall assessment was quite a laborious and mentally tiring task. However, the payoff was fabulous. In my 20 years of studying the Bible, there were things I was discovering for the first time. Thus, I could safely say that I was teaching myself more than the students.

David Pawson in his extensive work entitled, “Unlocking the Bible – A unique overview of the whole Bible”, speaks about the three different approaches to reading the Bible. The first one is the verse-centered approach (self) in which we look for a word for ourselves. In this approach “we read through until a verse fits our situation”. He humorously calls it ‘the horoscope method of Bible reading’. The second approach is the passage-centered approach (others) where we “read the Bible mainly for the sake of other people”. Of course, this is popular today with preachers and teachers. The last one is the “best approach” in which we read the whole book rather than just parts of it. The author reinforces that, “only by doing this can we really understand what God is saying to us through it” (page 612 – 614). May the Lord increase our spiritual appetite to read the Bible and the things therein in its totality. 

Nowadays, an average English Bible contains an introduction and outlines and other information at the beginning of each book of the Bible. Sadly, most of us avoid reading them. I believe a lot of effort has been put into it to make it available for us. Though at times it might appear dull and unnecessary to read it, it actually helps us to know what we are reading with a clearer understanding and perspective. For example, there could be those who are totally oblivious to the fact that some of what we call the “minor” prophets actually lived and ministered before some of the “major” prophets. Similar is the case in the New Testament. In other words, several books in the Bible are not in their chronological order. And as long as we are unaware of this fact it’ll give us the obvious wrong impression that the events in the Bible occurred historically and chronologically according to the present arrangement of the books in the Bible. Of course, such issues aren’t going to shake our faith but as both a Bible student and a teacher it would help a lot to gather some knowledge about the historical background and other related facts about the books in the Bible. Therefore, adding some Bible commentaries, dictionaries or Bible encyclopedias to our library would certainly enhance our Bible study and research. In fact, with a computer and an internet connection, one can have a whole Bible library without paying a dime. I was shocked one day when I saw the price of some of the Bible commentaries and encyclopedias, which came in volumes in a Bible store. In India, the price of such volumes of books would actually add up to a monthly salary for some. I was so excited at that time knowing that I had those Bible resources and many others more in my computer which came along with some Bible software I was using. Of course, we may all be aware of e-sword. Another one that I enjoy using is The Word. Then of course there are many others, not to mention the availability of countless online Bible study tools. Of course, the natural roaming of your fingers across the pages of those books, highlighting some phrases and sentences here and there with colorful pencils and scribbling a little note in the corner of the pages of the hard copy has its own different feel altogether. Whatever the case, it’ll help a lot to have a mini Bible library of your own whether hard copies or soft. Mybible is another excellent app for both android and ios devices. 

Today we spend countless hours of time on our mobile phones and other devices when in fact we could have spent at least even half of it in studying our Bibles and discover truths that would bolster our faith and others’ too. At times, after logging out of some of those sites I look at the clock and relent how much time I had just wasted and wish if I had only spent the same amount of time in reading the Word of God or talking to Him in prayer or yet reading other Christian books for my spiritual edification. 

The world is infiltrating the church today in a much deeper and insidious manner than we could have ever thought. Most Christians today have only religion and less or sadly even nothing of Christ and His truth. And though many factors account for such a pathetic state of the church, much of it is also because of the lack of proper teaching in the church. Pastors today look upon themselves more as preachers and evangelists than teachers and thus miss out much on the ministry of teaching. In listing out the qualification of an elder or a pastor in 1st Tim 3, Paul clearly mentions the ability to teach as one of the prerequisites. Teaching requires a lot of effort in studying, researching, meditation and of course prayer. I wonder if laziness could therefore be the reason why some pastors shirk away from the ministry of teaching. I was in a city pastors’ meeting in a certain town and discussion was making the round as to who would do the teaching sessions during the morning and afternoon sessions at the upcoming annual conference. Most of the pastors decline from taking responsibility with the excuse that they were preachers and not teachers. I wonder if they had forgotten that a pastor should be “able to teach.” Such conferences also tend to portray the evening meetings as the main highlight of the day where they have a preacher to stimulate the emotion and tickle the ears of the people. “More crowd, more noise and more coverage and therefore the allurement to prefer to rather be a preacher than a teacher”, is what one of my pastor-friend critiqued. And I think that he was right. 

Over and over again, the apostle Paul in his epistles, especially that of Timothy and Titus urges the leaders to be diligent to teach the church the whole counsel and the sound doctrine of the Word of God. Would the apostle have something different to say to us today? We need to get back to the school of discipleship, the school of meditating in the Word of God at the feet of Christ. We need to revive the ministry of teaching in our churches today. The Great Commission is all about making disciples (Mt 28:19,20) and this task involves a thorough, systematic teaching of the Word of God. Without the ministry of teaching it’s impossible to make disciples of people. And as pastors if we fail here then we have failed in our pastoral ministry. Therefore, it’s time we jump to our feet and get back to our Bibles, to those Bible resources and literature, and with all the getting we need to get the Holy Spirit’s anointing and revelation to study and to teach. 

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. 

Let us be like Ezra! Amen! 

Blessings, 

Reuben Pradhan 

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I Love You But I Don't Like You

“I love you but I don’t like you.” Has anyone ever said this seemingly rhetoric line to you? The first time someone threw that on me I was a little puzzled and felt funny about it. The second time was during an ice-breaking question in a Bible-study group where I was asked if I’d choose to be loved or liked by people. The third was when I had some friends over to our house for dinner and someone brought up this line for a casual discussion. I questioned the group if it was ever possible to love someone without actually liking him or her. “Well, also the opposite of like is dislike, right?” I added to my question. Now, is it therefore possible for a person to love and dislike a person at the same time?

In the context of Christian fellowship someone might argue that the person concern is not worthy of being liked because of some negative issues or attitudes or some flaw in his/her character. But because the Lord has called us to love one another we could therefore love that person without actually liking him/her. I personally find this saying, this statement rather contradictory. Here’s why. You see when you dislike someone there has to be at least one reason why. And whatever the reason, the Bible says that love covers a multitude of sins. And if you truly love that person then you’d be willing to cover his sins or his shortcomings – the reasons for which you disliked him. And when you cover his sins or weaknesses then you can’t continue to dislike him. For if you do then you’re still holding it against him. Of course, we may dislike the sins in his life, his uncomely behavior, his weaknesses and such other negative traits in his character. And that’s also exactly why when we say we like a particular person we’re actually referring to some aspects of his character, behavior or attitude which are appealing and beautiful in nature. So in that sense, love has to do with a person as a whole while like has to do with certain aspects of that person. Love is more subjective while like more objective. 

The Bible doesn’t say, “For God so liked the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” It’s because He loved the world. He loved us. He didn’t like the sins and darkness in which we were wallowing and dying and yet out of love for us, He rescued us. That’s what love does and it should be no different with us, His children. Now you know God loves you. And it’s on the basis of His amazing love towards us that He not only bears with our sins and weaknesses but also ardently deals with them so that the things He dislikes in us is transformed and replaced with the things He likes and enjoys in us. 

Have you ever clicked on the “Like” button for a post in Facebook only to realize, after contemplation, that it actually doesn’t deserve a like and then you change your mind and click the “Like” button again in order to undo it? Some will even jest, “Where’s the “dislike” button?” Similarly, because people can change, our likes and dislikes are therefore subject to change not for the person as a whole but for certain traits in his life. Love shouldn’t change. 

God may like or dislike certain things in our lives but His loves for us endures forever. “I have loved you with an everlasting love” He says.

Love endures. Likes and dislikes don’t.


   

TESTIMONY: Fruit of my radio ministry, Biswasko Jag (Foundation of Faith)

An unknown man called me up this morning (18th June '14). He had listened to my radio program last week and wanted to meet me. I invited him over to my house. At first guess I thought he'd be just about a year or two older to me sussing (figuring out) from his voice over the phone. But it turned out that he was an elderly gentleman with white beard and 65 years of age. 

He looked at me and said, "Ah! You're just a young man. I thought you'd be an elderly person". We chatted for almost 2 hours. He had read the Bible for the last 50 years and being from a Hindu background had read the major Hindu scriptures. In search for truth, he had also spent one year learning about Islam in India. So in his conversation he'd quote from all these religious books including the Bible. At present, he said some Jehovah Witness visits him to teach him their doctrine. But he had finally concluded that there's no other book like the Bible and that Jesus is the Truth. However, he didn't want to be baptized since he was disillusioned because of the lifestyle of some of the so called pastors and Christians. He felt that people were unnecessarily trying to force him to be baptized.

Cutting the long story short, I narrated to him my testimony of how even after almost all my family members accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior I was unwilling to simply because I had the same problem - finding faults in other Christians. And this would be my answer every time, especially when my parents would try to persuade me to commit my life to the Lord. Then I told him what my mother told me one day. When I came up with the same reply, she simply said, "Son, don't look up to people and their shortcomings for in doing so you'll always have one or the other complain about them and that'll actually prevent you from progressing in life. Just look unto Jesus and see if you find any fault in Him. If you don't then believe and follow Him." Then I told the gentleman, "Sir, today I want to repeat to you the same word my mother said that day." His countenance changed and declared, "That's it! No more finding faults at people from today and I'm going to look up to Him from now on." "Amen", said I and tried to shook hands with him but he got up and hugged me tightly and sitting down wiped his tears away. The Lord touched him at that moment. After that we continued chatting for the next hour or so and handed him the book, "Questions of Life."

Please pray for his complete salvation, and of course though I didn't want to be another guy to press him for baptism he desires to meet with me again. My message last Friday night was about the benefits/fruits of meeting in small groups which included church planting in every neighborhood. He had been so encouraged through the message that he desires to start a church right in his locality.

Please also continue to pray for my radio ministry. Thanks and God bless!

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Udaypur, Rupatar - 2 Days Training in a remote village. <= Click on the link/title to read and to check some lovely photos.

Meghalaya Ministry Trip Report April 2012

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD (Pro 18:22).

Well, I know it sounds rather unusual to start a report with the verse above. But I have a good reason to do so :-).

God's word can, without doubt, be taken at face value. Undertaking this two-week ministry trip for the first time with my wife, I could see the favor of the Lord everywhere we visited. No doubt, my wife at time past had accompanied me for ministry but that was simply for church meetings on Sundays. However, this visit was really a different experience for me. Her presence made me feel so complete in ministry. I would wish that it was possible for her to join me every time I make such long and outstation ministry trip. But that would also mean someone willing to take care of our kids like John (my younger brother) and his wife Esther did with such loving care. But just as I have witnessed that many couples serving the Lord together are usually older folks (and my perception could be wrong), I wonder if that would be the case with us too. Grow up fast kids!

The Church in Shillong

On the 1st of April we headed to Pokhara where we were going to drop our kids to John's house and where my mother was also living. Taking a six hour bus drive we finally reached Pokhara in the late afternoon. We were much relieved taking into consideration the moment when halfway through the journey our bus came to a halt behind a long trail of several other vehicles. We were told that there was a "bandh" (road blockade) called by some organization in protest of the death of a prisoner that took place in police custody several weeks ago. It was just past midday and to our utter frustration we were told that the road would only be open after 6 pm. This meant that we would reach Pokhara only late at night. I'm sure we whispered a prayer. The road, however, looked lively when people, both locals and tourists of different shade began to come out of their vehicles and mingle in groups chit-chatting and frolicking around. Despair gave birth to hope as we saw some vehicles coming from the opposite side after almost an hour. There were some movements of the cars on our side too as it began to inch forward and surely enough after a little while the traffic resumed its flow once again. What a relief it was!

A railway station in NJP area

Since it was our first time, it wasn't easy for us the next day, to bid farewell to the children and head to India for the next two weeks of ministry. The bus we boarded from Pokhara for the Indian border was an old one and very early in the morning as it began to rain heavily, water began to drip right inside the window seat which I had actually graciously granted to my wife. She was getting wet and I offered to swap our seats. Now it was my turn to get wet. By the time we reached Kakkarvitta (Nepal's boundary with India), early in the morning my jeans had dried up. That day in the evening we were going to catch our train from NJP, India and since we had the whole day to ourselves we went to Siliguri and lodged in a hotel until evening. We had passed by this city several times but had never ventured out to the town area. In fact, this city serves as a  gateway to different places both nationally and internationally and thus a very strategic place for mission base. Lying in the eastern part of India, it connects Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh besides being the only land route to all the northeastern states of India including Sikkim and the district of Darjeeling. After scouting through the market we returned back to our hotel to head toward the railway station. Trains rarely arrive or depart on time in India and so ours was late by more than an hour. The next morning, after the train ride we took a jeep to Shillong from Guwahati. The normally three hour’s national highway from Guwahati to Shillong is undergoing expansion and traffic snarl therefore becomes a regular occurrence. At times there have been cases where people got stuck for the whole day and whole night. Worst still there have been a couple of death too where patients with emergency medical cases sent to Guwahati from Shillong couldn't make it in time. We were spared the pain although it took five hours to finally reach our birthplace.

Some Shillong believers coming to see us off at a bus station

We stayed mostly in my in-laws place while in Shillong since Anu wanted to be with her parents. The next day, 5th April, we had the Good Friday meeting with the church and I preached on the seven sayings of Christ on the cross in regard to carrying our cross and following Him. The message was well received by the church and some testified how it blessed them. Post lunch we divided into groups and discussed about the message heard which was lively and effective. Saturdays are usually prayer meeting day and therefore I taught on pursuing intimacy through fasting and prayer. Several testified that the Lord had actually been already speaking to them to set aside time for fasting and prayer and my message served as a confirmation and also provided them with foundational guidelines into fasting on both its spiritual and physical aspects. After that we had a meeting with the key leaders along with our wives over the lunch discussing at length about what the Lord's been doing in our lives and ministry and sharing plans for the future. One common setback with most of the churches in Shillong is the slow pace of church growth. So the emphasis was on evangelism with a firm grip on follow-ups. I also stressed on the importance of not giving up the weekly gathering of the men. The next day we had the regular Sunday meeting and it was a joy meeting almost everyone from the church. I preached on walking in the resurrected power of Christ as we grow in intimacy with Him. Our time in Shillong, besides the meeting, was packed with invitations either for lunch or dinner including breakfast - one reason for bringing your wife along :-). It was fulfilling to see a couple of other brothers gradually growing up to carry responsibilities in the church.

Mikseng & Rosemary

Evening Meeting

On the 11th we traveled to Tura by an overnight bus. We were joined by one of our church leaders, Dilip and my elder brother's son, Abhishek who was also coming to Nepal with us since he had recently finished his high school leaving exams and was having holidays for more than two months. We reached Tura very early in the morning and what a joy it was for us to meet Mikseng and his family once again. Since it was still dark we went to sleep. That morning after breakfast we had a leadership meeting at Mikseng’s house. We spent the whole day discussing about church, future plans, evangelism, mission, etc. It was a healthy time of discussion. The first meeting with the church was going to start from that very evening and I was eagerly looking forward to it. That night I preached from the gospel of John chapter 9 on how God uses our adverse situations for His glory and for our good but not without faith and obedience on our part. Every evening, after the message we spent time praying for the various needs of the people. At times there were a couple of testimonies about people getting healed too.

Tura Times editor, Pangseng & Dilip.
Pangseng is also in Mikseng's leadership team.

The next two days (Friday & Saturday) we had seminars on the New Testament Church during the day and in the evening I did a series on pursuing intimacy with God.

Garo delicacies

One evening I was sharing on Psalms 37:4 that as we learn to delight ourselves in the Lord He shall fulfill our heart's desire. If taste is the desire when we eat food (of course besides satisfying our hunger) then we would find taste even in a simple plain food because of our delight in the Lord and we wouldn't be nagging so much at our wives. At this point an elderly couple began to look at each other and as the wife began to chuckle the husband suddenly burst in uncontrollable laughter and we also began to laugh with them. And yet in the midst of the laughter the Lord was speaking to the people. Tura is a place where I enjoy the fellowship of the believers the most. They seem to have an insatiable hunger for the word and fellowship. At times the meeting would end at around 9 at night and yet they would continue to sit down and not move from their seats. After the meeting we would then proceed to someone's house for dinner- a late night dinner that is. Also believers coming from other villages were hosted by different church members thus giving them opportunity for fellowship with each other. What a joy it always is to be with the saints in Tura! In November this year I'll be visiting them again, but it'll be primarily to train the leaders.

Anu & Abhishek

On Monday, i.e. the 16th Anu, Abhishek and I left Tura in the afternoon by a jeep for Guwahati, a five hours ride and from where we were going to board the train back to NJP. We reached the railway station two hours before schedule and the train was on time too. The next day we crossed the Indian border and soon enough we were flying to Kathmandu. At the same time our kids were also heading to Kathmandu from Pokhara by bus along with their grandmother (my Mom) and another Christian family from here who had also visited John's family.

At the crowded railway station in Guwahati

What a joy it was to see them finally! We were rather amazed that all the while Daniel never troubled anyone for the absence of his parents (he’s turning 4 on May 9th). We could see the hands of God guiding both us and the kids, ever proving His loving care for His children. But at the same time we cannot forget the prayers you made for us in this mission. Thank you so much. God bless you, indeed!

Back home, I’m teaching the Alpha course to about 40 young people most of who are non-Christians and I’ve another week to go in order to complete the course. The Lord is using this time to bring these young people to know Him better and to commit their lives to Him. Your prayers would be invaluable for this ministry.

...and yes that's our little Daniel.
He'll never pose for a photo without the  V sign

Thanks again.

With gratitude of love,
Reuben Pradhan

......More  photos.....

Praying for various needs

Worshiping

Word of prophecy for an elder's son

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