Long Obedience in the Same Direction in a Complex Neighborhood: Mumbai

Respect

I have a lot of respect for leaders who stay working in a business or organization for more than ten years. In order to do so they have built a tremendous trust account with their people, have adapted to the many changes that take place, and have re-invented themselves at least two or three times.

It is for these reasons that I was so delighted to spend time with a great leader – Stanley Mehta. He is, and has been, Senior Pastor at Bombay Baptist Church located at the southern end of Mumbai near the Gateway of India. He has been here for thirty-one years and is fifty-nine years old.

The British rulers, using Indian labor, constructed this architectural statement between 1913 and 1924. It was to commemorate the visit to India of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. The locals here refer to it as the Taj Mahal of Mumbai.

Interestingly, the congregation of Bombay Baptist Church would have watched this construction take place for the church was formed in 1896.

Complex Neighborhoods

Across the street from this charismatic Baptist church is the Imperial Mansion. In fact, within walking distance of the church are: homes of two of the wealthiest people in India (one of them in the world); a beautiful beach area frequented by Bollywood stars; and then less than fifteen minutes away is the underworld of the brothels of Mumbai.

This is a very complex community in which to ‘be the church’ due to the extremes of socio-economic cultures as well as a very diverse ethnic blend an languages spoken here.

The sanctuary itself seats five hundred people on plastic chairs that are stacked against the walls to use the auditorium throughout the week for other purposes. Today they have 4,400 attending on Sundays with services in English, Hindi and Tamil.

How do they do this? Well in 1987 they started training lay people in the church to minister in house churches and today they have over 25 locations for Bombay Baptist Church throughout greater Mumbai. With 70 staff and 65 committed volunteers it was easy to discern that my new friend Stanley is a great leader of people. Then when he let me in on his organizational structure that makes all this happen I was even more impressed.

Stamina and Giftedness

To stay put in a complex neighborhood situation like this requires stamina. In a formal role that demands you provide leadership, you’ve got to deal with the people thing. In fact, your impact, your effectiveness, and your performance depend on your ability to influence, work with and/or through others effectively. As obvious as this sounds, it is the primary failure of most leaders.

Stanley is not a failure. This man taught me so much in two hours I went away amazed and wondering how some of his strategies and methodology might speak into our church situation in downtown Vancouver.

What a joy to be with someone who is so committed over time. I am silenced just thinking about all that has been accomplished in his neighborhood.

So, just before leaving I mentioned to Stanley how moved I was by their commitment to the community (I have in my journal a list of all the services they do as a church in the city).

“Carson”, he replied, “Jesus told us that we are to be about loving God, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. In our churches we are good at loving God in our worship and our prayers. We are not very good at loving our neighbors.”

I was quiet on the drive back to the hotel as I drove by his people, his neighborhood, and ponder these words.

Day 9 Santiago, Chile: Public Transit to the Palace

Flying into Santiago the city is completely surrounded by mountains, like it is in a meadow amidst snow-capped peaks. The ocean lies to the west and is accessible through a valley pass while the majestic Andes to the east.

It is already reminding me a lot of Vancouver and there is a common expression here in Santiago like we have at home saying that you can ski in the morning and sail in the afternoon.

An organized city of 6.25 million it seems quite manageable both in size and because of the subway system – the Metro.

James Matheson, a gifted younger leader, served as our host while here. He conscripted dad to meet us at the airport and take us to our hotel the night we arrived. The next morning James met me at the hotel and we walked to the subway to begin a day of interviews.

James is a communication major at university and works with YFC here in Santiago. He is a very networked guy and seems to know everyone. On the way to the subway we stopped and picked up Justine, daughter of a Baptist pastor from Dartmouth, NS who is in Santiago for the term and off we went, two Canadians and a Chilean. Bob stayed and rested today at the hotel.

Encuentro Con Christo

We travelled by underground to “Encuentro Con Christo” (Meeting with God). This church in a great location in Santiago with a large shopping mall under construction across the street and very close to the Metro.

The first person to greet me when I entered was Marlene – a close friend of my colleague Luz back at FBC and I was welcomed like family. They had set up a meeting room for me and I conducted interviews there in the morning.

Pastor Jorge Eduro is the teaching pastor at the church and has been here thirty years and what brings him greatest joy is building the team among the pastors.

Miner’s Home Place

Luis Castro is a leader of a home for miners children. He left a secure job and salary to work full-time helping vulnerable youth. They have on home with forty-five boys and girls and a waiting list of thirty.

World Vision Chile

Elza Fagundes is the national director of World Vision Chile where she and her team oversee over 35,000 sponsored children and then the many more family members who also benefit through their sponsorship program.

We met in their offices with other senior staff including a pastor responsible for church relations. I have visited staff of World Vision in over a dozen countries around the world and I am consistently impressed with the caliber of people working to save and protect children.

Next to Group Biblica de Universitad, the IFES group working in over thirty-five campuses of university and colleges. Their commitment to students is impressive and to hear that they are only able to touch half the campuses in this city is a little daunting.

The surprise addition to the day was a late invitation to come to the presidential palace. Alfred Cooper, Capellán Evangélico en La Moneda is the chaplain and spiritual advisor to the president and was a significant leader during the Chilean mine disaster. He called James and wanted us to meet.

Day 4 Lima Peru: No Problem

Hospitality and Excellence

Our teams at First have been hearing me emphasize two focus words for 2012 – Hospitality and Excellence.

Why? Well, we describe ourselves as a community, and that implies a relationship. To welcome people into a community requires an expression of hospitality and I think this is especially true for those living downtown. A core requirement for a community is interaction between the members and the downtown presents such diverse people groups that this can be hard. It is making me think a great deal about how we can enhance community building at First Vancouver.

Complex Communities

Pastor Samuel Reátegui and his daughter Susana met us to drive us to the ocean (Pacific) and to see more of the district of Miraflores. Samuel wanted us to see the beauty of the ocean (that we share) and a terrific view of the city. The view however was partially eclipsed by a heavy marine layer fog that often hangs over Lima during the winter months.

Miraflores is an upper class community of people living in multi-million dollar homes ironically bordered by barrios – housing made of metal and wood scraps strung over adobe bricks.

Interesting that they both have a million dollar view.

Real Community

Three thoughts from the day:

1. The differences between people groups that attend our church are not as readily visible as the contrast between barrios and mansions, but they still exist. How can they build community beyond their affinity groups?

2. Here in Peru, there exists a strong value on being in community. People love being together. Even among the very poor, their default is to join all of their belongings together. They may all be poor, but perhaps together something good will come of it if they face it together.

In our culture downtown, when people are going through tough times the tendency is to hide and make it through yourself. How can we make it easier for people to join into community during tough times and good times.

3. My final insight came through the example of Samuel, Margarita and their two daughters. We were strangers with the exception of a few email interactions prior to our trip to Lima. We left as family. The value of hospitality is such that they seemed to drop everything to welcome us, translate for us, transport us. Throughout the day we heard him enthusiastically express in one of his favourite English expressions, “No problem.”

Part of this instant community is being in the family of God, but beyond this there is a value where Bob and I were meant to feel as treasured guests, and they did this with excellence.

I’d love the chance to honour them with a return of hospitality in our city someday.

All to often in our busy downtown world we try to fit in guests around our already busy schedule. Is hospitality a spiritual discipline we need to practice more in our lives?