I got this from Chris as a comment and since a lot of people don't read the comments, I have taken the liberty to post this as a blog entry. From here on it is all Chris, another like minded marthomite who feels change is needed! Thanks Chris! God Bless. A big welcome to all the readers from around the world logging in to read! Comments would be welcome!
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I dont believe and I dont agree with everything that the Mar Thoma church teaches - but I pay the annual membership fees, so am I a Mar Thomite. Im not sure myself.
However I do feel its time for the bishops to make it mandatory that the services be held in English in every place outside Kerala (yes, even among mallus!). Holding onto tradition (language is now a tradition, I dont know when that happened, but it is) when it doesnt help in the growth of the church is ridiculous. I left the church a few years back because it had nothing to offer me -
1 I didnt understand what was going on (not least because I didnt understand Malayalam). If they are so insistent on being traditional I suggest they go back to holding the service in Greek (because Malayalam is greek for the younger generation and it will be closer to what the New Testament Church practised!). If the priests cant be bothered to learn and hold the service in English, dont expect the younger congregation to learn and attend the service in malayalam.
2 I have never heard the Gospel being preached (I was not saved in the Mar Thoma church).
3 I have never enjoyed worship (I didnt even know there were songs other than hymns and choruses till I left the church).
4 The Sunday School left me full (I had had enough) of, not hungry for - the Word of God. I didnt learn the Word, I learnt stories from it and noone ever told me how it related to Christ. I speak this not as an ignorant irresponsible fellow who never listened in Sunday School - I speak this as someone who won almost all the 1st or 2nd prizes for every Memory verse competition and Sunday school exam there ever was in one of the biggest Mar Thoma churches -the Kuwait Mar Thoma Church.
5 Apologetics (like Explanations of Alleged Discrepancies in the Bible), Doctrines (lke Salvation, Baptism) and Traditions (I mean the necessity of the Smoke and the uniform of the priests and the bishops) were never explained.
6 I left the church a few years back because it had nothing to offer me. I have returned to the church now because it has nothing to offer anyone and I wanted to help out.
After having read this, Im sure a lot of you will think me to be a pompous fellow, but what I have written is the truth. The youth want to learn the Word of God. The youth want to understand the service. The youth want to participate. The youth have left our church because the church offers nothing. Under the guidance of Rev Philip Simon, the Manipal Bethel Home church has grown by leaps and bounds in attracting the youth in just a matter of months. I hope that the other achens ask him how he did it and at least try and replicate it, if not find a formula of their own. God bless you all and I hope this site makes a difference for the future of the youth (I am not 50 myself!).
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1 comment:
The church must concentrate on saving souls. When the church fails in this, they turn to social means to show that they are doing something. Recently at the WCC, they decided that preaching the gospel was being too forward and would be like shoving it down the peoples throats. They say its better to be helping people with social care rather than soul care. The danger of our church agreeing with a stand like this is that we will be making of lot of people live AND die healthy to go straight to hell. Knowing that the Jesus is the only way to heaven and not telling the world is like being the Nurse who had to keep Saddam healthy till they hung him.
The first prerogative of the church is to save souls. Unfortunately now, people in the church do not know how to get to heaven.
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