SPIN LIKE THE WIND-the blog of Nigel James.

CRAIG AND MADDY'S WEDDING.

Gill and I took Gary and Lesley with us to Chester on Saturday, so that we could attend the wedding of Craig Wakeling and Maddy Wright. Craig lived with Gill and I for a will when he was an intern at Ignite, and he worked as Gary's assistant for most of his year with Ignite. Craig had asked me to give the address in the wedding service and gave me a passage from 1 John 4 to preach from- about God's love. It was good to be a part of such a special day, and Craig had some very kind words in his speech for Gill and myself. I've missed 4 Third Day concerts to be home for a week, but as well as the wedding I was able to be at all 3 services in City Temple yesterday to give a brief update on the Gateway School in India on our quarterly missions offering Sunday.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED..

Along with many other Christians involved in ministry in India, I'm increasingly concerned about the persecution that Indian believers are facing at the present time. Although my friends in Rajahmundry aren't seeing too much of it, the church that hosted our Elim All India conference in Bangalore last October are facing real problems. Samson Paul, one of the brothers who pastor the church sent this recent message.

Greetings to you in Jesus name. I am very sorry to give this news to you. You maybe knowing that there are lots of persecution in Orrisa and Karnataka. Yesterday, we have been informed by the anti-christian party that they have planned to kill my father Dr. Arthur Paul and close the church completely. Last Sunday there were lots of police personnel near the church asking us if there were any rioting...We have sent my father and mother away to Tamil Nadu to be safe in the unknown area. Situation seems to get bad in the coming days. Kindly pray for us...we ask you to alert your prayer force to back us in this tough time. We are receiving lots of threatening calls every now and then. We are moving out very cautiously. people says 8 pastors were kidnapped this Sunday and 20 churches were burnt. The anti-christians say that our church is making hundreds and thousands of conversions...and so need to eliminate us.  

Interestingly I also received a copy of a newspaper editorial  in The Hindustan Times written by Karan Thapar, a Hindu who was disgusted with the way Hindu extremists have been persecuting other faiths.

Does the VHP have the right to speak for you or I? Do they reflect our views? Do we endorse their behaviour? They call themselves the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, but who says they represent all of us? This Sunday morning, I want to draw a clear line of distinction between them and everyone else. My hunch is many of you will agree.

Let me start with the question of conversion — an issue that greatly exercises the VHP. I imagine there are hundreds of millions of Hindus who are peaceful, tolerant, devoted to their faith, but above all, happy to live alongside Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Jews. If any one of us were to change our faith how does it affect the next man or woman? And even if that happens with inducements, it can only prove that the forsaken faith had a tenuous and shallow hold. So why do the VHP and its unruly storm troopers, the Bajrang Dal, froth at the mouth if you, I or our neighbours convert? What is it to do with them?

Let me put it bluntly, even crudely. If I want to sell my soul — and trade in my present gods for a new lot — why shouldn’t I? Even if the act diminishes me in your eyes, it’s my right to do so. So if thousands or even millions of Dalits, who have been despised and ostracised for generations, choose to become Christian, Buddhist or Muslim, either to escape the discrimination of their Hindu faith or because some other has lured them with food and cash, it’s their right.

Arguably you may believe you should ask them to reconsider, although I would call that interference, but you certainly have no duty or right to stop them. In fact, I doubt if you are morally correct in even seeking to place obstacles in their way. The so-called Freedom of Religion Acts, which aim to do just that, are, in fact, tantamount to obstruction of conversion laws and therefore, at the very least, questionable.

However, what’s even worse is how the VHP responds to this matter. Periodically they resort to violence including outright murder. What happened to Graham Staines in Orissa was not unique. Last week it happened again. Apart from the utter and contemptible criminality of such behaviour, is this how we Hindus wish to behave? Is this how we want our faith defended? Is this how we want to be seen? I have no doubt the answer is no. An unequivocal, unchanging and ever-lasting NO!

The only problem is it can’t be heard. And it needs to be. I therefore believe the time has come for the silent majority of Hindus — both those who ardently practice their faith as well as those who were born into it but may not be overtly religious or devout — to speak out. We cannot accept the desecration of churches, the burning to death of innocent caretakers of orphanages, the storming of Christian and Muslim hamlets even if these acts are allegedly done in defence of our faith. Indeed, they do not defend but shame Hinduism. That’s my central point.

I’m sorry but when I read that the VHP has ransacked and killed I’m not just embarrassed, I feel ashamed. Never of being hindu but of what some Hindus do in our shared faith’s name.

This is why its incumbent on Naveen Patnaik, Orissa’s Chief Minister, to take tough, unremitting action against the VHP and its junior wing, the Bajrang Dal. This is a test not just of his governance, but of his character. And I know and accept this could affect his political survival. But when it’s a struggle between your commitment to your principles and your political convenience is there room for choice? For ordinary politicians, possibly, but for the Naveen I know, very definitely not.

So let me end by saying: I’m waiting, Naveen. In fact, I want to say I’m not alone. There are hundreds of millions of Hindus, like you and me, waiting silently — but increasingly impatiently. Please act for all of us.

I'M SATISFIED.

On the road with Third Day, having just had a few rest days in Nashville. Scotty Wilbanks has given me a copy of the brand new DecembeRadio album Satisfied-which he produced. True to his promise a few months back, he's given me the final word on the album! The last song is a hidden 'jam'  track which finishes with me saying one of Scotty's favorite sayings. You'll have to buy it to hear exactly what I say. Despite my involvement, the album is absolutely superb.

9/11 REMEMBERED.

Traveling on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Cleveland on the 7th anniversary of 9/11 was a sobering experience this morning, especially as one of the planes hijacked on that fateful day was hijacked in airspace over Cleveland.  To be honest I might not have registered the occasion at all but for reading a front page article  in USA Today, but Chicago O'Hare airport seemed very subdued and a number of fellow travelers realized the importance of the day. I well remember visiting Ground Zero just a month or so after the attack, and seeing photos of missing husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers, still posted to railings and walls in the surrounding area. 9/11 was one of the few days in my lifetime when I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the Twin Towers coming down.

For me, 9/11 illustrates both the absolute worst and the finest behavior that mankind can display. The levels of depravity, violence and hatred that we can sink to, epitomized by the terrorist attack, never fails to grieve me; but the selfless, brave, sacrificial, loving way that we respond to the deepest of adversity, epitomized by the emergency services in New York, gives me hope. Sadly, much of the hatred, violence and bitterness between people, cultures, and nations is the responsibility of religion, but much of the loving and graceful response to such hatred often comes from communities and individuals of real faith.

IF YOU DON'T ASK YOU'LL NEVER KNOW.

On my recent time on the road with Third Day, God again proved to me that if I'm willing to stick my neck out and spark up conversation with the person sitting next to me on a plane flight it will be worthwhile. On one occasion I opened up a conversation with a guy in the US army on compassionate leave from Iraq. His mother-in-law had passed away and he'd arrived at Baghdad airport at 7.30 am Monday morning for a flight which eventually left at midnight. We were on a flight on Wednesday afternoon and the funeral had started just before he boarded the plane in Chicago. I was able to share some of my experience with Third Day in Iraq earlier in the year, and had an honest and open conversation with him. I was on my way to meet the band ready to play at the Nebraska state fair, and on the plane back to Atlanta the next day I spotted a big guy carrying a snare drum case in the departure lounge. He ended up next to me, and despite him looking daunting with his shaved head and tattoos, I started to chat. He turned out to be the drummer for the classic rock band Starship and had met Ringo Starr and Keith Moon ( from The Who) over the years. Even better from my point of view, he knew the drummers from Supertramp and Huey Lewis & the News- two of my favourite bands. We talked classic rock, politics, faith, life in general, exchanged emails, and I introduced him to the guys in Third Day when we got off the plane. We've sent him a copy of the Revelation album and my new book.  I'm constantly learning to shrug off my natural indifference, come out of my own cosy little world and risk talking to people- it's a thrill to see what God does with it.