The Simple Pastor
Simplicity & Generosity
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You can’t visit a country like Pakistan and not be affected by the great call to preach the gospel to the nations. 164 million people in one country alone who need to hear about Jesus. Check out this list for details on unreached people groups in Pakistan.
As Tim Chester writes the story of the Bible is the story of mission and yet there are gospel opportunities. If we can’t go then we must pray, this is after all not their great commission but ours ‘to go into all the world’ (Mt 28:18-20).
I’ve never thought f building a memorial, not sure who or what I’d build one to but in the centre of Karachi is the Mazar-e-Quaid, the tomb of Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of the nation of Pakistan.
It’s a national monument and a symbol of the respect that Pakistanis continue to have for their founder. It’s guarded and people come from all over to visit the tomb.
It’s a peaceful place, the mausoleum is set in an attractive park, even though the fountains weren’t working and not every pool was full of water. The Mausoleum is simple yet striking and the interior the same.I appreciated the simple beauty of the place especially in a city not known for its beauty.
Interestingly although it’s not a mosque people pray there, whether they pray to Jinnah or seek divine inspiration from praying in this place who knows, but it’s become more than a place of remembrance it’s become a sacred place, a holy place.
The comparison is stark, the founder of my nation (and I’m not talking the United Kingdom but the kingdom of heaven) isn’t dead. There is no tomb, no mausoleum, no place to revere the dead. He is ‘God of the living’ (Luke 20:38), he is alive, we serve the living, risen one.
I can find inspiration anywhere, pray anywhere at anytime, I can come into his presence through the Spirit of God and find relationship with my Father. Don’t neglect that privilege or forget the daily wonder of being made alive in Him who conquered death.
I wish I went to a school with a name like Holy Shepherd Grammar School or for that matter with one with its values and attitudes only I didn’t. I’m now very grateful for the education I’ve received and the more I visit schools in developing countries the more grateful I become.
My friend Dave took me out to visit this school on the outskirts of Karachi, which is supported by Starfish Asia. It’s a bit of a trek into a dusty, dirty, poor edge of the city but oh my goodness was it worth it.
To understand why this school (and so many others like it) is so inspirational, let me give you some background. Christians are a poor minority in this country and education is the way to get jobs in a country where millions struggle to find gainful employment in even the most basic of jobs.
The government schools are often terrible, overcrowded, under resourced with teachers that can’t be bothered. Not so at Holy Shepherd Grammar School.
They charge 50 rupees a month although that’s going up to a 100 rupees. I
magine our shock at the doubling of fees but 100 rupees isn’t even £1. Maybe it’s a dollar. And for the poorest who can’t even afford that, they go free. But they get real value for money. I saw classroom after classroom of happy, smiling, children. I got a round of applause just for visiting. They have a really high retention rate, students come back to work at the school, it’s well run, with caring teachers and visionary leadership.
The school is run by Anser Javed and his wife Kashi and it has 535 pupils aged from 3-18. They run in two shifts with the youngsters in the morning and the older ones in the afternoon. The school has been going about 8 years and is expanding fast. They have a vision to expand to 1000 students and add a vocational training school for 200 so school leavers can get extra skills to help them get jobs. It has growing influence in the community (Christian and Muslim) and teaches with Christian integrity and honesty. It is producing saints as well as scholars.
They’re now giving children milk and a banana free each day, in addition to free places, books, uniforms for the poorest who can’t afford £1 a month to educate their children. But more could be done. They want a bus to get the young women safely home in the evening (it’s not always safe for young girls to walk home on their own) and teachers being paid £50 a month could probably do with a raise.
I don’t think it is exaggerating to say that the education offered here is changing lives. Why not consider helping this great school do more. You can read about the school on its blog and you can give through Starfish Asia (I reviewed this excellent book on Generosity by the founder of Starfish Michael Wakely).
On the way to Hawkes Bay beach (it’s about 45 minute drive outside Karachi) we stopped at a boat yard and it was really impressive. To be honest i’d be surprised if this could be done in the UK on the same scale because we’ve lost both the need and the skills (although very happy to be corrected). We witnessed these huge boats (50m long and at least 10m deep and wide) being constructed by hand, taking at least two years to build.
We had a good clamber around them, inside them, on top of them and were generally awed by the skill of the workers and the size of the construction. It strikes me that to build something of significance requires a number of elements, it doesn’t just happen. You need an order, you need resources, you need a plan, you need dedicated and committed workers, you need patience and you need to work hard. Day in and day out. Given time you’ll build something of great value that can cross distances and carry great loads, that will last for a generation and can weather the storms.
I think you can make the connection between the church and the boat.
So I’ve been in Pakistan a couple of days now. Karachi is a crazy place, no one knows how many people live here for example. 15 million? 18 million? I’ve heard 20 million. Put that into perspective, its more people than live in Australia or its a third of the UK in one city.
It’s quite hot (for the UK) as it’s in the mid-twenties but it’s winter and people are complaining of the cold because the summer is (apparently) stupidly hot and humid. It’s noisy, dusty and the traffic works on rules not known to most westerners. You can drive on either side of the road in either direction and ignore all indicators, cutting up is expected, braking is optional, beeping is obligatory and the larger the vehicle the more rights you have but you’ll still be cut up by a bloke on a motorbike with his helmet on the handlebars.
But here’s w
hat you notice the most about the traffic – the trucks. Quite possibly like nowhere else on earth. This takes bling to
a whole other level. Astonishing. (click to enlarge - really)
Today I’m flying out to Pakistan to visit with some friends of mine who moved with their family to Karachi a couple of years ago. It should be an interesting week.
Karachi is hot and crowded. It’s one of the world’s largest cities both in population and area, it’s a volatile place that doesn’t make the news for good reasons.
But other than that I don’t know very much, I know there are power cuts and traffic jams, common to most large cities developing or otherwise (well the traffic jams anyway). So I’m looking forward to learning, seeing, experiencing something of a new culture. I’m looking forward to seeing my friends who made a big decision to move there.
Sadly, I’m not travelling with my wife and little boy, I’ll miss them. Do pray for them while I’m away and for safe travelling.
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a church pastor, a bookshop owner, a husband, a father, a keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.