But You're Cool?!?! (India Part 1)

It's hard to believe, but a week ago at this time I was still thousands of miles away in India, a country that truly captured my heart in just the few days that I was there.  In the past week, I've had plenty of time to reflect on my time in India and to really process all that I experienced.  Among other things, I learned a lot about myself during this time of reflection.  In the days to come, I want to express some of these thoughts, not just for the faithful one or two of you (literally) who might check out my blog, but also to help myself continue to sort through and clarify the thoughts in my own head.  So without further ado, I take you to the story of the first impactful event that happened to me on the India trip...before I ever reached India!

Our first flight was from Detroit to Frankfurt, Germany--about a 9 hour trip.  Now I'm not exactly the friendliest flyer in the world.  Once, on a 13 hour flight from Detroit to Tokyo a couple years ago, I read a book the entire time and literally didn't say a word to the person seated next to me.  This flight, I figured, would be no different.  I sat down next to a young Indian man, and for the first 7 1/2 hours of the flight neither of us spoke to each other.  He slept most of the time, while I was engrossed in a book, Revolution in World Missions, written by Gospel for Asia's president K.P. Yohannan.  The book was inspiring, to say the least, as Yohannan shared GFA's vision for the Gospel to be taken to all of Asia, including some of the hardest to reach tribal regions in India.  Yohannan shared that most American Christians say they believe the Bible, but yet rarely does he find a Western Christian who truly lives out the biblical mandates, most notably the Great Commission (see Matt. 28:18-20).  Yohannan shared of the outpouring of the Spirit throughout Asia, and how resources were desperately needed to train and send out native pastors and evangelists to reap the harvest.  The more I read, the more my heart was stirred.

So for 7 1/2 hours, I sat...

...and I read...

...and I did nothing.

Then, as if a light suddenly popped on in my spiritually slow brain, I realized that God had given me an incredible opportunity to share about His Son with the man sitting next to me.  So I struck up a conversation with Naresh, a 25-year old computer-techy who had just finished a 6 month internship in Detroit and was heading back to his home in Hyderabad, India.  I told Naresh that I, too, was headed for India, and that I wanted to learn everything I could about India before I got there.  I picked his brain about Indian culture and customs, politics, family life, and finally, religion.  I took an interest in Naresh's life, and I honestly cared to learn as much about him as possible.  The Spirit was moving as we talked.  

Naresh asked me about what I did for a living, and I initially told him that I was a "youth worker."  Honestly, my first thought was that if I told him I was a pastor he was going to notify the authorities in India, and they would send me home the minute I got there.  Pretty silly, I know.  Well, as our conversation progressed, I began to ask Naresh more and more about Hinduism.  He was a Hindu, but honestly I probably knew more about Hinduism than he did.  He was a Hindu more by culture than by real practice (remind you of any Christians you know?).  

Finally, Naresh asked me about my religion.  I began to share with him about Christianity.  I asked him if he knew anything about it, but he knew very little.  He had seen a few Benny Hinn-like characters on TV, but that was about it.  I began to walk Naresh through the story of Christianity, from creation to the fall...to our need for a Savior...to Christ.  I could tell that Naresh was soaking in my words.  The power of the Spirit was truly speaking through me, and before I knew it I was in "preacher mode."  The funny thing is, as little Naresh knew about Christianity, he could smell a preacher from a mile away.  At one point, he finally said, "You're a preacher, aren't you?"  I admitted that I was, and without missing a beat he exclaimed, "But You're Cool?!?!"  He was shocked that a pastor could be young and "cool" like me.  I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head as I realized that the preachers he had seen on TV in India were presumably as dry and boring as our American televangelists.

I continued to share with Naresh the Truth, as I knew it, and I asked him if he believed what I had said.  He was very hesitant, and I could tell that he was pretty confused.  He began to share that he felt that we all have our own "path"--a very Hinduistic belief, and also not very far off from the relativistic thinking prevalent in our culture today.  His motto was "live and let live."  He believed that there were many "truths."  At which point, I pulled my best Chad Meister impression and shared with him about the Law of Non-Contradiction, namely that two antithetical propositions cannot both be true [ie. Jesus is the only way to God (a) and there are other ways to God (-a)].  Naresh was intrigued by this idea of absolute truth--he had never thought about that before!

In the end, I'd love to say that Naresh gave his life to Christ.  

He didn't.

BUT...I was able to give him a Bible, and he was so appreciative.  He promised to read it, and I think he truly wanted to learn more about Christ.  He gave me his email address, and I plan on keeping in touch with him.  What an incredible start to my trip that was!  The Spirit gave me a boldness that continued on for the rest of my trip, and I was truly encouraged by my experience with Naresh.

And that was just the beginning...