Alongside

How do you make sense of an unprecedented calamity of Global proportion? How do you find your bearings in the sudden and crazy turn of events around you?  In the last couple of weeks literally everything has gone for a toss, the lines have been altered drastically, the way we live, behave, communicate, work, move around, celebrate, worship etc. almost every aspect of life. It has been a big jolt for most of us from our reverie of life, stuck at home, being fearful of this terrible virus lurking at every corner, occasionally stepping out of our houses with utmost caution, our faces covered with mask’s against an unseen lethal enemy, scrambling to stockpile our homes with provisions for the lock-down and lathering our hands constantly with soap to keep the tiny killer at bay or otherwise fiddling away on our smartphones, immersed in our social media apps and frequently switching to see how the dreaded virus is faring city-state–nation and worldwide (that seems to be the most pre...

Apostle Paul concludes his famous chapter on Love with this verse, “ and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ” 1Cor 13:13. When everything around us is going topsy-turvy, when people are gripped with fear, anxiety and uncertainty, we are reminded that no matter whatever happens these three will remain. Everything else will pass, no doubt Covid 19 will eventually pass, it is not here stay, mankind has seen worse calamities over the centuries, but none of them have remained even though they looked ominous and destructive, it has all passed and human race has survived but these three things are permanent: faith, hope and love. Faith in God who is sovereign over all human affairs, who is in control and He allows certain things to happen even if we don’t appreciate and understand it. But yet we firmly believe that He is working all things for good and He has a great plan in all this, is the foundation stone for us as we face calamitie...

The Covid 19 pandemic and the resultant lock-down has  irreversibly  changed our lives for ever. Many of the normal things that we used to do has become abnormal, there is a new normal around us, we kind of have a gut feeling that many of the changes are here to stay at least for a while. Being cloistered in the four walls of our house for indefinite periods has had some positive  effects but there are also many negatives that is slowly emerging. One of that is definitely anxiety and depression which is pushing many to take rash and violent actions including suicidal tendencies.  People who look a bsolutely  perfect, leading seemingly happy and healthy lives are suddenly attempting suicide and many are sadly succeeding in it. There are many who are sharing online about their dark and negative thoughts, utter hopelessness and discouragement due to the economic downturn and job losses, there is fear and anxiety in many and the irony is that even with the ...

When do we move from being good to becoming great? When does an organisation  or individual achieve greatness? When do we know that something that we have built will last for generations? Is it the CEO or the leader that makes the difference? Or is it their flagship program? Is it their track record, their rapid growth and amazing results that makes them great?   Looking at people, organisations, movements, companies around the world, there are very few things that they have in common, things they have done differently that moved them from merely being good to achieving greatness and lasting for a long time. It is not very difficult to spot but it is not easy to replicate as it needs commitment and tenacity to pursue what they did differently or to do very ordinary things consistently that brought them cult status. Here are a few principles or values that are indispensable if one wants to move from being just good to great and enduring on long after we are gone. Cla...

When we see a good model of christian leadership we love it, we celebrate it and we automatically levitate to it and want to emulate it but the fact is that it is on the list of endangered species. We see an increasing number of bad models in christian leadership around us and sadly it is not because of the lack of awareness, teaching or training that is available, in fact there are innumerable books, articles, podcasts and materials all around us on this one topic of christian leadership, but things are not getting any better. I firmly believe the the best place to look at is the Bible and one word that is constantly used in the old testament for leaders is Shepherds.  “Human, prophesy against the leaders of Israel, who are like shepherds"   Ezekiel 34:2;   " Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard, They have trampled down My field; They have made My pleasant field A desolate wilderness ." Jer 2:10;  " And David shepherded them with integrity of hear...

Have you ever wondered as a child of God what does God want to accomplish with your life? Have you struggled with this thought, “am I in the right place, doing the right thing, am I fulfilling Gods purpose for my life?” Well if you have then you are in right company, many of the heroes of faith have also struggled with this. Some of them have asked this existential question quite openly and found answers from God. Some of us has successfully navigated that maze and are finding ourselves in the right place, maximising all the God-given potential for His Glory, some of us are still groping in the dark, uncertain if this is what God has created me for. As we look at the heroes of faith in the Bible we can see many of them articulating their life’s longing, their desire and their very purpose in their own words. It was Joseph who said that in spite of the evil that the brothers had intended God had turned it out for Good, He sent me here ahead of you to save lives of many...