Friday, 27 June 2014

Church Without Walls(to PLWHA People living with HIV/AIDS): A call to inclusive and transformative presence




INTRODUCTION:
Despite efforts to reduce the prevalence and impact of HIV and AIDS in India through prevention and treatment programmed, reports continue to show a significant increase in HIV and AIDS prevalence. The current estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS is at least four million in India and probably rather more – with a national prevalence level of 0.8 per cent. In the World since we have no cure for the HIV AIDS. The Church and each individual must focus on caring for the psychological and mental welfare of people living with HIV/AIDS. And this is the duty of the believers to look after and to care and to love such kind of people and the Church must also take part without a wall to all kinds of people and should look after with love since all are the children of God.

THE CHURCH WITHOUT WALL TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS
A frequently asked question is: What does the Church say about AIDS? Other questions often stand behind this one: Is AIDS is a form of God's punishment? How should we response to a people living with HIV/AIDS? Besides suffering from AIDS, why do I suffer so much prejudice and rejection, even from other members of the Church? Can we do anything about this world-wide epidemic?  This maybe the question asked by the people living with HIV/AIDS to themselves.

The Church, in fact, has spoken clearly and powerfully about HIV/AIDS. Based on the Bible and on the Church's long tradition and especially on the life of Jesus, the Church's teachings have stressed 1) the value and dignity of every person, 2) the rights and responsibilities of society, 3) the love and compassion of God.

Human Dignity
Firstly, if we take the statement of Roman Catholic in a Catholic conference held in Vatican AIDS conference, 1989 "Made in God's image and likeness, every human person is of inestimable worth. All human life is sacred, and its dignity must be respected and protected" "The Gospel demands reverence for life in all circumstances" "Discrimination and violence against persons with AIDS and with HIV infection are unjust and immoral" (Called to Compassion and Responsibility). "The necessary prevention against the AIDS threat is not to be found in fear, but rather in the conscious choice of a healthy, free and responsible lifestyle" (Pope John Paul II to a Vatican AIDS conference, 1989).

The message is clear: every human being is created in God's image, redeemed by Jesus, and called to everlasting life. Accordingly, all persons have worth and dignity, rooted simply in who they are (and not in what they do or achieve). This conviction about the preciousness of every life grounds the Church's teachings about HIV/AIDS. People living with HIV/AIDS face discrimination which is dehumanizing and suffering which strips the person's sense of worth and dignity. Of course, this worth also needs to be cherished and protected by all of us, by individuals and organizations, especially the Church. All forms of discrimination are wrong, whether in housing, jobs, insurance, health care, or religion.

Solidarity
The Church's teachings speak extensively about the rights and responsibilities of society. "As members of the Church and society, we have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with and reach out with compassion and understanding to those exposed to or experiencing this disease. We must provide spiritual and pastoral care as well as medical and social services for them and support for their families and friends.” "
A comprehensive AIDS education then has to place AIDS within a moral context; impart accurate medical information and challenge misinformation; motivate individuals to accept the responsibility for personal choices and actions; confront discrimination and foster the kind of compassion which Jesus showed to others; model justice and compassion through policies and procedures"

Grace
Everything the Church has said about HIV/AIDS has been stated in the context of faith and trust in a good and gracious God. "While preaching a Gospel of compassion and conversion, Jesus also proclaimed to those most in need the Good News of forgiveness. The father in the parable of the prodigal son did not wait for his son to come to him. Rather, he took the initiative and ran out to his son with generosity, forgiveness, and compassion" "The love of God is so great that it goes beyond the limits of human language, beyond the grasp of artistic expression, beyond human understanding . . . . God loves us all with an unconditional and everlasting love"

"The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ shed light on the true meaning and value of human suffering. The Lord invites everyone to join him on the road to Calvary and to share in the joy of Easter". "The threat of AIDS now confronts our generations with the end of earthly life in a manner which is all the more overwhelming because it is linked, directly or indirectly, to the transmission of life and love . . . . It is all part of the difficult problem of the meaning of suffering and of the value of all life, even when it is damaged or weakened" The various Church statements about HIV/AIDS always affirm the love and compassion of God. Jesus has revealed a God who loves each of us unconditionally, a God who forgives our sinful actions. God is not vengeful. God respects human freedom, calling us to love and responsibility, but not interfering even with destructive choices. HIV/AIDS is a human illness not a punishment from God. The statements are very clear about these points. HIV/AIDS causes great suffering and death. And so the Church teachings address this sober reality, helping people to stand before the mystery of suffering and to realize that even here God's tender mercies can be experienced. The teachings neither downplay the immensity of the suffering nor promote a passive acceptance. Rather the teachings urge all Christians to model their lives after Jesus, trusting in God, bringing comfort to those in need, and confronting oppressive structures and situations.[1]

Church as Servant, Teacher and Prophet in Today's HIV/AIDS Crisis
When Jesus had finished washing the feet of his disciples during the last supper, he gave them a fundamental commission and orientation: “you call me Master and Lord, and rightly – so I am. If Lord, then, your Master, and I have washed your feet, you must wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.” (John 13: 13–15).

The Church as Servant
The church's response to this challenge of the Lord is to be a servant, to serve the people of God in their needs. In India and many countries, the greatest needs of God's people today are those arising out of their experience of HIV/AIDS. They are suffering pain, grief and human loss on an unimaginable scale. They are coping, and coping magnificently, with orphans in numbers, which far exceed anything previously known in human history. In their sufferings, dignity, and patience, the people are showing that their joyous and hopes, their grief's and anxieties are not only those of the followers of Christ. They are the joys and hopes, the grief and anxieties of Christ himself among us today.
In our bewilderment and puzzlement as to how to deal with the problems that HIV/AIDS brings, let us be grateful for the way the Church and its members have shown themselves so faithful to what the Lord asked of us, that we copy what he has done. And let us continue to examine how in our lives, our families, our small Christian communities, our parishes, our religious communities, our organizations, we can extend that response of service.
At this time more than at any other; let us see how we can be Christ to our suffering brothers and sisters, to bereft orphans, to vulnerable children, to grandparents facing yet again the challenge of rearing children.
The Lord also commissioned his Church to teach: “go, therefore, make disciples of all nations.... and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.” (Matt.28: 19.20).
The Church as Teacher
The teaching role is inspired in part by the recognition of how the Lord himself worked with people. He did not hesitate to associate with prostitutes and sinners. He never rejected them, never spurned them. Following this example, the Church wants us to be always accepting of the persons infected with HIV, never to spurn the person suffering from AIDS. Because of the inspiration it draws from the life and practice of the Lord, the Church encourages openness about the disease.
It acknowledges the brokenness and weakness of these members – clergy, religious and lay. It acknowledges that they may be HIV-infected, but it sees that this is a reason for service and compassion, never for condemnation. The Church also teaches that even though HIV/AIDS is something new in the experience of humanity, it is not a curse sent by God. It is not God's punishment on any human being for promiscuity or sin. God is every best loving instinct in is, magnified to infinity. God is the one who, like a mother, teaches us to walk, takes us in her arms, and holds us close to her face. God is the one who personally entered into our sufferings in the death of Jesus on the cross, so that we might know that God understands suffering and death from inside.
Today, God still shows that mysterious, deep, powerful love by suffering in a person dying from AIDS, by grieving in a family that loses its loved one, by crying in an orphan left without mother or father. “God so loved the world that he gave his only son... that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16)
The Church as a Prophet and Leader
At the Last Supper, Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them “another Paraclete to be with them forever, the Spirit of truth whom the world can never accept” (John 14:17). He promised them that as his Church they would understand things in ways that the world does not understand them and that they would be strengthened to proclaim these insights fearlesslesly.
The Church has always exercised this prophetic, leadership role. It has pointed out new directions. It has resisted oppressors. It has sided with the weak and powerless. It has always taken to heartas we have seen in the scripture+ scattering the proud hearted, casting the mighty from their thrones, raising the lowly. The whole thrust of Church teaching and action in favour of the poor is expression of this. Its deep concern for justice, for an equitable distribution of the goods of this world, for the preservation of the world's ecological heritage, springs from the same prophetic charism.
At the same time, the church recognises its fragility and brokenness. It acknowledges that many times it has not spoken out fearlessly enough or strongly enough. It is aware that at times it has repeated the weakness of Simon peter: it has temporised, it has been too cautious and fearful, and it has been too silent.With HIV/AIDS it has been the same as with other areas. The Church has spoken and acted for the lowly, for the afflicted. It has reached out in prophetic gestures to those that are afflicted. A dramatic expression of this occurred in a nearby country when the local priests to visit a woman who had AIDS because she had been a sex worker.
When the bishop heard about this, he made a point of visiting the woman regularly until her death and celebrated her funeral mass with solemnity in his cathedral.
We need more leaders like that bishop. We need more prophetic gestures of this kind. We need the church to come out now and use its powerful moral influence and leadership to break once and for all the choking silence that surrounds HIV/AIDS.
This silence leads to stigma and discrimination, and all three – silence, stigma and discrimination – only serve to make it easier to transmit the disease[2].
CONCLUSION
The way we treat HIV/AIDS patients today is almost the same as the way persons with leprosy were
treated in the time of Jesus. In the first century, when someone discovered that they had the chronic
infectious disease called leprosy, they were immediately ostracized. They were kicked out of their homes, excluded from synagogue and Temple worship, had to live outside the city walls and were virtually banished from human society. People with leprosy had to shout “unclean, unclean” wherever they went, always remain at least six feet away from other people, and avoid all human contact with other people. However, Jesus followed none of these prohibitions against people with leprosy. Matthew tells us that, when Jesus came down from the mountain where he gave what we call the Sermon on the Mount, a leper came and knelt down before him and said “Lord, if you
choose you can make me clean.” (Matt. 8: 2). But Jesus responded in a way that shocked them all. Rather than fearing the leper and keeping his distance, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the man with leprosy saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” (Matt. 8: 3). Immediately, the man with leprosy was healed. When others excluded, Jesus included. When others reacted out of fear, Jesus responded with compassion. When others avoided human contact, Jesus reached out and touched the excluded one with his healing hand.[3]

Just as lepers were excluded and avoided in the time of Jesus, so persons with HIV/AIDS are frequently excluded and avoided in our world today. People living with HIV/AIDS are in all of our communities, Church and around the world; so the only question is, do we banish them because of our fear and our judgments, or do we follow the example of Jesus Christ and reach out to them with love and compassion?

                                                  BIBILIOGRAPHY
    
1.        Overberg Kenneth R.: What Does the Church Say About HIV/AIDS?, Xavier University in Cincinnati,1993
2.                 .Kent M Millard: How Would Jesus Respond to Persons Living With HIV and AIDS, Abingdon, 2003

     3.         Michael J Kelly: Church as servant, teacher and prophet in today's HIV/AIDS crisis:

                    




















[1] Kenneth R. Overberg : What Does the Church Say About HIV/AIDS?, Xavier University in Cincinnati,1993

[2]Michael J. Kelly: Church as servant, teacher and prophet in today's HIV/AIDS crisis:,



[3] M. Kent Millard: How Would Jesus Respond to Persons Living With HIV and AIDS, Abingdon, 2003

Towards alternative Paradigms of Pastoral leadership and Church polity


                     
      
Introduction
As we have seen in the scripture Christ is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15-16; Col. 1:18), Church is the family of God (1Tim.3:15), Church is the body of Christ (Acts 20:26) and Jesus say it was my Church (Matt: 16:18). So it is clear the Church belongs to Christ He has brought it so the Church must go and act according to God’s wills. The Church must not be control by any particular person and also must not have any other things as it head but only Jesus Christ. To restored the Church in its original condition the present Paradigms the present structure seems not fit so an alternative Paradigms is needed in Pastoral administration and Church Polity. So in this assignment I have mentioned some of the possibilities with my limited knowledge.
Today’s Church/The Church in Modern World
The life work of the church in the modern world is characterized by hierarchy, episcopacy and patriarchy. This means there is elitism (Superiority) of the few in the church and consequence submission and subjugation (defeat) of many. The organized, institutionalized church is preoccupied with bureaucracy and administration. And it seems that today’s Church administration is busy with money, property and power struggles and political lobbying. So the Pastor must not forget that in this existential context focus on the people become necessary and important.
     Today, churches are patterned more after modern corporations than simple gatherings of the faithful. We have a professional class of pastors and missionaries. We have a clergy-laity distinction no matter how much some churches try to deny it. We have church leaders with authority over others. We have a system of “tithing” to meet its financial obligations (mostly for salaries and facilities), even though it wasn’t practiced in the earliest gatherings. We have countless denominations claiming to have the correct doctrine. Fundamentalists have a gender divide denying women their right to take leadership roles. “Church planting,” with the definition of “church” being a modern, professionals-driven, tithing-dependent, hierarchical institution has become the method for extending the kingdom of God. The trouble is, as much as people are free to establish modern churches (but not free to impose them on others as the only way to have Christian community), so all this none of it were practice by the earliest faith gathering. 
Paradigms of the Church
Mead discovers two paradigms that have worked in church history, both having served their purpose and both now obsolete. The church, he explains, is hurting today because it needs to develop a third paradigm. He does not tell us what that paradigm is, but figures that defining the problem goes a long way toward solving it.
     The first paradigm is the first century church, which he calls the "apostolic paradigm." The church is an isolated unit within the larger culture, and works against the culture in order to share the gospel and promote God's work.  
     The second paradigm is Christendom, in which the church and state are a single unit, sharing the magisterial responsibility of governing. In this case the church is identical with the culture, and stands against those who are outside the borders of the state and accomplishes God's work through national policy. 
     And also we have an Ecclesial Church Paradigm, Here something totally different happen at this time there are Bishop and Pope and Rome was the capital of Christian. At this time when Constantine become king he wanted to make the Christian capital Constantinople as the capital city of Christian. As his wish he later on he made Constantinople the Capital of Christian so he began to put Bishop in Constantinople. So from that time the people began to go to Constantinople rather than Rome so the Constantinople Bishop become more famous than Rome bishop later on their was a misunderstand between Constantinople and Rome bishop so because of this their council of Nicea was summon[3]
Alternative paradigms
Here for the alternative paradigm for the church today we will talks about letting go of the modern notion of “church.” Church or “ekklesia” in Greek, were simply gatherings of believers or what they called “followers of the Way.”
     Convergence Christianity needs a new paradigm for faith communities that are informed by history and unbound by church walls and institutions. One where gatherings of followers of the Path can be truly inclusive. Where doctrines or even Christian conversion, as important as those might be, is not the foundation or the driving force of the community, but rather simply love for God and neighbor. Where the Golden Rule rules and is the only non-negotiable. Where, as all kinds of people are truly welcome. Where customs are derived from original traditions, like sharing a meal together and remembering Jesus’ sacrificial life.
Church Polity
Mostly there are three types of polity Episcopal, Presbyterian or congregational.
 _______Episcopal By Episcopal it does not mean that Episcopal Church, although the Episcopal Church is, logically enough, Episcopal in government. Simply put, Episcopal polity is the polity in which bishops (Greek: episkopos) rule. Other denominations with bishops include, obviously, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches, are among others.
 _______Presbyterian polity, like Episcopal polity, shares its name with its most enthusiastic American adopter, the Presbyterian Church (be it PC (USA) or PC (INDIA) or something else). By Presbyterian, I mean a church governed by a “session” (council) made up of the minister(s) and lay elders. The session is under the presbytery, which is a body made up of representatives from member churches. Likewise the synod is over the presbytery and the General Assembly is over the synods. This is a very representative form of government, but also proportions a nice amount of control over the churches to the ministers and other congregations, keeping some accountability between denominations. This was the polity of the ruling English Puritans when Cromwell came to power.
______Congregational polity technically is a polity in which the individual congregation is completely autonomous in rule. For example, in the Evangelical Free Church, they have districts and so forth that fit fairly analogous to the Presbyterian hierarchy. The key thing with Congregationalists, however, is that they can cede at any time from the denomination, have complete control of our property and the selection of pastors. The denomination cannot seize a church for bad doctrine, although it can disfellowship with it.
Pastoral Administration based on the Vision of Ekklesia
A church is made up of believers who are a part of the body of Christ. (Rom. 12:4-5, 1 Cor. 12:12, 27)
First the Pastor must understand that a church is an organization instituted by God as Acts 2 records on the Day of Pentecost. Any organization must have leadership and in a local church that calling and position God has given to the pastor. The New Testament Greek word that is translated "church" in our English Bibles is the word "ekklesia" and refers a local assembly or congregation of people meeting together in a particular geographical location, for a specific purpose. It cannot by definition refer to a universal church or catholic organization. To proper use the word "ekklesia" it must be applied to a group of people meeting together.
     In the New Testament "ekklesia" referred to the assemblies which met in a city.  Acts 11:22..."The church which is in Jerusalem", 1 Thess. 1:1..."The church of the Thessalonians", Plural use of the word "ekklesia" also referred to multiple churches in an area.  1 Cor. 16:19..."The churches of Asia salute you", Gal 1:2..."unto the churches of Galatia", Gal 1:22...."Unto the churches of Judaea"
     However, in each case the word "ekklesia" referred to an assembly of believers meeting together in a specific geological location. The use of the word in the New Testament requires that those involved in the "ekklesia" must physically meet together.
Believers who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior need to be joined and meet together to serve the Lord.
 The "ekklesia" refers to the members of the family of God on Earth meeting in a specific location. It is His household and the picture is of a home and family that are together. (Gal. 6:10 and Eph. 2:19)
       Denominations holding different doctrines and having hierarchies ruling over them is not known to the New Testament. Denominations are the invention of man. They present a negative picture of Christians in the sense that they represent groups with have differing doctrines and practices. A true church bases it faith and practice on the teaching of the New Testament and all such churches should be in harmony. Sadly, many church organizations hold to false teachings and practices. In this sense being separated into denominations is proper because the beliefs of a group are noted by their denominational affiliation.
       It is the responsibility of the saint of God to support and be a part in the local church. Attending and being a part of the local church is not optional for the believer who loves the Lord and wants to please Him. Hebrews 10:22-25 clearly states believers are not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. Ephesians 5:25 states the importance of the local church in a believer's life because it says the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for the local church.
      The makeup of the New Testament churches was: Saints, bishops, appointed servants which English Bibles call "deacons." "Paul and Timothy’s, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (Philippians 1:1) 
     So the Pastor must know all this and try to lead the people all together irrespective of caste, sex, etc the Church is for all kinds of people and all kinds of people must be involves in the Church activities and also Church leadership and the Pastor must not forget ther Ekklesia model which we hane mention above

 Conclusion
In today Church I think we do not need to create a new anything/ a new paradigm. All that is needed is to recover the old paradigm the apostolic paradigm the biblical paradigm and if that is in our Church today we will once again have a vibrant, growing, and living church. Then we will rediscover the church of the New Testament.

   Bibliography


Das Somen: The Church and the world, ISPCK 2006 
                       
Sir, Dr.S.Chongloi Lecture note

Herb Drake: House Church Central Magazine, “The New Paradigms”                               http://www.hccentral.com/magazine/paradigm.html(Accessed17/7/2013 12:pm Imphal)
                     
Timothy R. Butler: “Defining Church Polity Systems
http://asisaid.com/journal/article/685.html (Extracted 12 Aug 2013, 12:33 am Imphal)






 ROUND OF 16 WORLD CUP 2014 FIXTURE
Saturday 28 June 2014
9:30 PM
Brazil Brazil
v
Chile Chile
Sunday 29 June 2014
1:30 AM
Colombia Colombia
v
Uruguay Uruguay
9:30 PM
Netherlands Netherlands
v
Mexico Mexico
Monday 30 June 2014
1:30 AM
Costa Rica Costa Rica
v
Greece Greece
9:30 PM
France France
v
Nigeria Nigeria
Tuesday 1 July 2014
1:30 AM
Germany Germany
v
Algeria Algeria
9:30 PM
Argentina Argentina
v
Switzerland Switzerland
Wednesday 2 July 2014
1:30 AM
Belgium Belgium
v
United States United States
Friday 4 July 2014
9:30 PM
France/Nigeria
v
Germany/Algeria
Saturday 5 July 2014
1:30 AM
Brazil/Chile
v
Colombia/Uruguay
9:30 PM
Argentina/Switzerland
v
Belgium/United States
Sunday 6 July 2014
1:30 AM
Netherlands/Mexico
v
Costa Rica/Greece
Wednesday 9 July 2014
1:30 AM
A1/B2 - C1/D2
v
E1/F2 - G1/H2
Thursday 10 July 2014
1:30 AM
B1/A2 - D1/C2
v
F1/E2 - H1/G2
Sunday 13 July 2014
1:30 AM
Loser Semi-final 1
v
Loser Semi-final 2
Monday 14 July 2014
12:30 AM
Winner Semi-final 1
v
Winner Semi-final 2
All kick-off times stated as IST