Raj said a lot of brilliant stuff this morning, but one thing in particular that I thought was really great was what follows. He was describing why what we do as GCC church members coming to visit Indian church planters helps them so much in their ministries. However, in the process, I think he also said some great stuff about just the nature of the Body of Christ in general, and a lesson that we can learn from him about how true Community affects both us and those around us.
“Here in India, individuals are not respected… only communities. Many church planters are viewed as ‘operating alone’ or without the backing of any larger group. As such, they are easily dismissed. You see, you can dismiss an individual. But you cannot dismiss a community. And when we come (or GCC teams come), we show the people of the village that the planter is not alone. That alone gives him some instant credibility. But in addition, as Americans, that credibility is increased. You see, Americans are perceived as being very high in status. If Americans are willing to come and recognize this church planter as having something to say, and if this church planter is a part of their community, then he must really be something special and they will then listen to him.”
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