Dear Friends,
PtP celebrated 25 years of ministry in Christian counselling. We had a small group of PtP friends in Hyderabad attend the Thanksgiving Service to mark the occasion. Hopefully, we will have a larger get-together later.
I feel much like St. Paul when he wrote to the church at Corinth pointing them to three important things (1 Cor. 3:5-17). One, that Jesus is the foundation. The salvation work of Jesus Christ set in motion healing of the poor and broken-hearted, freedom to the captives and sight to the blind (Luke 4:18).There is no other foundation to such personal and individual ministry of counselling. This healing work of Christ is the heartbeat of PtP’s training courses. Many who have taken our courses, including Christian psychologists and psychiatrists, have gone away with a conviction that the Spirit of Christ in our curriculumis unique (1 Cor. 10 & 11).
Secondly, if the wonderful Counsellor is our foundation, then how do we build on this foundation? To build on the foundation is first an honour and a fearsome responsibility at the same time. I believe that two points emerge. One, that we must never forget that we are fellow-workers with God (9). So, we build along with all whom the Lord has brought to us – godly board members, competent facilitators, sacrificial donors and volunteers and a committed team. And they are precious stones because love and grace make them into ‘gold’ and‘silver’, and ‘precious stones’ (v12). They are living stones breathing the Spirit of Christ. Each of them lovingly and patiently but competently sows seeds in the field and builds them up. As Paul exhorts, we must take extreme care not to hurt or exploit (defile) those that entrust themselves to our training and counselling.
Lastly, there is no room to take personal credit. God will reward according to our labour, and our labour is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).
I have no idea what the next 25 years are going to be like. But building on the foundation of Christ and with gold, silver and precious stones is a non-negotiable.
Yours in Christ,
Dr. Samson Gandhi
