First Presbyterian Church
Las Cruces, NM

BEYOND OUR WALLS

January 2003 Missions Bulletin of First Presbyterian Church, Las Cruces, N.M. Vol. 5, No. 1

WHY ON EARTH ARE YOU WASTING ALL THAT TIME AND MONEY ON THAT TINY, REMOTE TRIBE? WELL, I MIGHT ASK YOU WHY YOU KEEP ON WORKING WITH THOSE OBSTINATE PEOPLE YOU’RE WITH, SINCE YOU HAVE HAD ONLY A COUPLE OF CONVERTS DURING THE YEARS YOU’VE BEEN THERE?

So, we do wonder at times, don’t we? The world-famous linguist and Bible translator, Ken Pike, who attended John Poling’s church in Duncanville, Texas, faced those kinds of questions. Dr. Pike was an intelligent man. He had to be to become a linguistics professor at the University of Michigan, to gain recognition as one of the world’s top theoretical linguists, to contribute a major theoretical concept to social anthropology, and to be nominated repeatedly for the Nobel Peace Prize. So, why would he waste all that time and talent translating Scripture into the language of a remote Mexican Indian village and training others to analyze and translate the languages of still other small communities around the world?

We might also ask why John and Gwen Haspels have been working in a remote Ethiopian tribe where, out of a population of around 30,000, there are little more than a hundred or so Christians. Why not invest our resources in groups like the Bhangi Dalit people of northern India where, during the past year, close to 10,000 a month accepted Jesus as their Savior and joined the rapidly growing Rural Presbyterian Church-India. This church counted 578,649 members at the end of June 2002.

It’s interesting that the two groups our session adopted in 1996 for special attention by our congregation are so different. There are 200 to 300 million Dalits comprised of over a hundred sub-outcaste groups, the lowest sub-group being the 20 to 30 million Bhangi Dalit. So, some 100 out of 30,000 Suri of Ethiopia now know Christ and nearly 580,000 Bhangi Dalits of India know Him. Quite tiny percentages in both cases, but much more productive among the Bhangi in terms of absolute numbers!

The Bhangi church is growing by thousands per month, while the Suri church is hardly growing at all. There may be several reasons, but one is that the Suri are less open to religious change than the Bhangi. The Suri are among the Nilotic tribes of East Africa, who are known for their pride in their ways of life and the country in which they live. In general, they like their customs and do not feel especially downtrodden. By contrast, the Dalits feel downtrodden and demeaned, and they, therefore, are more apt to consider alternatives. Philip Prasad and his colleagues present Christ to them as Dalit Avatar or Suffering Incarnation. They tell them of how Jesus suffered humiliation, loneliness, insults, injustice and cruelty and, because of their own humiliation and suffering at the hands of the general society, the Bhangi (excreta-handling Dalits) understand Jesus, "deep in their souls," as Philip says, and readily accept Him to be their true and only Savior.

Is it possible that we feel that our resources are going farther when we invest in the Bhangi than when we give to support the work among the Suri? Certainly, the phenomenal response of the Bhangi has attracted the attention of the Christian world. What could be more impressive than several thousand people coming to Christ every month. Then, of course, great needs are precipitated by the presence of over half a million new Christians--a need for new industries and other ways of making a living more satisfactory than cleaning smelly latrines, a need for schools for Christian children, a need for seminaries to train pastors, and the need for people to develop new forms of organization and governance.

By contrast, we hear from the Haspels that the number of Christians there grows with difficulty. But, as impressed as we are with the response of the Bhangi Dalits, the planting of the church among the resistant Suri is also impressive. Does God love the Dalits more than the Suri? Do we have the right to decide that a small, resistant tribe is less worth our attention than a population that responds in large numbers? Ken Pike, now with the Lord, pointed out that only God sees the total picture and that our limited human intellects are incapable of knowing the details of God’s strategies and modes of operation in seeing that the gospel gets to all who will receive it. In one statement, this modern Paul quoted the apostle Paul’s declaration that, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (I Corinthians 13:12). Pike reminded us that Christ told us to preach the gospel to everyone, and that we have no excuse for failing to take God’s Word to everyone, no matter how hard or easy the work may be, no matter how impressive or unimpressive the response may be, no matter how small or large the group may be.

First Presbyterian of Las Cruces is one of the churches helping the Prasads to work in India and the Haspels to remain in Ethiopia. Inevitably, much of the work among the Bhangi and the Suri is directly evangelistic, but there is other work to be done that is either "pre-evangelistic," or "post-evangelistic." By helping people meet their material and social needs we create opportunities to tell them about Christ and, even when they reject the message, as many will, we are following God’s will that we do good to all people. Then, those who have become Christians need churches, better homes, material resources for living more abundant lives, education to make possible better lives, the availability of Bibles to encourage spiritual growth, and many other such things. The needs, of course, are endless. Surely we ought to do even more when we can. In the 2002 Missions directory and in the church budget, you will find the Dalit Project and the Surma (Suri) Project listed. What are some of the specific needs to which we can give and for which we can pray? We have been informed of a several in recent communications.

Dalit and Suri

 


Return to home page

Send comments, suggestions, and requests to Alex. F. Burr or send email to aburr @ zianet.com.
Technical assistance and net access provided by zianet.com .
Last update 2002-12-31 09:35:59