Mission is

A Short Answer

Rick Meigs

"Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but many churches today have inadvertently changed the "go and be" command to a "come and see" appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.

"Missional is a helpful term used to describe what happens when you and I replace the "come to us" invitations with a "go to them" life. A life where "the way of Jesus" informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture. It speaks of the very nature of the Jesus follower."

Rick Meigs

Source: Friends of Missions

What God has done for me

by Bruce

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

In moments of exasperation, people will often make the comment, "What has God done for me?" There is the insinuation that God has done nothing for them. That God merely resides in Heaven, unwilling to come to those who call upon Him.

Without God, I am a rushing river without water. Without God, I am a bright ray of sunshine without the sun. Without God, I am a book without words. Without God, I am a son without a father. Without God, I am a student without a teacher. Without God, I am a cloud without a sky. Without God, I am a path without direction. Without God, I am nothing.

What has God done for me? My grandmother was the wife of a farmer, who would have most likely been considered poor by the standards of the world. My grandmother endured a life of physical pain and illness. If enduring countless episodes of illness was not enough for one person to bear, towards the end of her life, my grandmother was stricken with a disease that caused her to become confined to bed, with the disease also causing her to lose the ability to speak. While I remember many things about my grandmother, like the way she would make chicken and noodles for lunch, the single thing I remember the most is that she was a Christian.

Towards the end of my grandmother's life, when I would enter my grandmother's bedroom and see her lying in bed, unable to speak and obviously in a great deal of pain, I would never see a frown on her face; I would see a glow upon her face, the glow of her love for God. In order to communicate, my grandmother would be required to write on a piece of paper. She never wrote the words, "What has God done for me?" She never wrote, "Why has God done this to me?"

Even in the throes of pain and pending death, my grandmother bore the
countenance of a true Christian; her love and faith in God were undaunted. My grandmother knew that without God, without Him, she was nothing. With God, she was something; she was a child of the King, who had received the promise of eternal life. By enduring the pain with an unerring faith in God, my grandmother's life served as testimony to her love of God, a love that was witnessed by those who saw the glow of my grandmother's countenance. By never leaving my grandmother's side, God showed the glory of His love for a faithful child; my grandmother. Even in unrelenting pain, there was the testimony of God's love and goodness.

Sometimes, it is through the sufferings of a Christian, not the miraculous healing, that brings glory to God. When my grandmother died, she did not leave me with earthly riches; she set for me the example of Christian living and dying. For my grandmother in both life and death, God's love was enough.

While the journey to Heaven for my grandmother was long and painful, there is no doubt that the glory of Heaven was worth the trip. Remembering the love that my grandmother showed for God, there is also no doubt that He was with her during the entirety of her trip, as He is with her now. My grandmother's undying faith in God saw her to the end of her journey and the beginning of an eternity without pain, without tears, and an eternity with a loving God.

What has God done for me? People will often testify to the goodness of God by proclaiming that God has healed their illness, God has provided their material needs, God has healed their broken relationships, God has eased their financial burdens, and in essence, God has done something good for them. God is indeed good to His children. Yet, there are also those occasions when pain and sorrow comes into the lives of God's children.

While God did not heal my grandmother's illness, His goodness, His greatness, His faithfulness, His love, and His comfort were enough for my grandmother. Without Him, my grandmother would not have been able to smile in the face of physical pain, and ultimately, the death of her physical body.

Without Him, how could anyone face the uncertainty of this life? Without Him, how could anyone face the certainty of physical death?

What has God done for me? When I begin to ponder what God has done for me, I consider the example of my grandmother. God did not heal her illness. God did not make her rich. God did not ease her pain. God did not her give fame. Why should my grandmother have given such glory to God? Love. As great as my grandmother's love for God, God's love for her was greater.

While faith may be the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1), love is most certainly the spark that causes faith to burn brightly. My grandmother's love for God gave her the unfaltering faith that God would be faithful to her and that His love would be sufficient for all things.

Faith. Faith that God's perfect will is always fulfilled, whatever the struggle. Faith that God's love will never falter, whatever the struggle. Faith that God will never leave our side, whatever the size of the opponent. Faith that God is omnipotent, whatever the strength of the opponent. Faith in the love of God for us, whatever befalls us. With God in our lives, faith is undying. Without Him, faith dies.

What has God done for me? God has loved me and, like my grandmother, it is enough.

By Bruce - http://blessingsforlife.com/blessings/doneforme.htm

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16)

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University of Kerala - India

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY

The University of Travancore which eventually became the University of Kerala was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University. Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan of the State, was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the sixteenth University to be set up in India and ten Colleges within the State of Travancore which were affiliated to the Madras University became the affiliated colleges of the University of Travancore.

In 1957, the Kerala University Act, Act 14 of 1957, was brought into force and the University of Travancore was renamed University of Kerala. The University had three campuses located in three different parts of the State viz. Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In 1968, the University Centre at Kozhikode became a full -fledged University covering the Colleges and Departments located in Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur Districts of Kerala. The Cochin University of Science and Technology and the Kerala Agricultural University were set up in 1971 and in 1983, the Mahatma Gandhi University was established. With the establishment of these Universities, the area of the jurisdiction of the University of Kerala has been limited to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha Districts and some parts of Pathanamthitta District.

At present, the University has sixteen faculties and 41 departments of teaching and research. There are 157 affiliated colleges. Of these, 46 are aided Arts and Science colleges and 14 are unaided . There are two Law colleges, 17 Engineering colleges (of which 14 are unaided), four Medical Colleges (two are self financing) seven aided Teachers’ Training colleges, 30 unaided Teacher Training Colleges, four Ayurveda colleges, two Homeopathy colleges, one Sidha Medical College, two Fine Arts Colleges, one Music College, three Dental colleges (of which two are unaided), four unaided Pharmacy colleges and one college of Physical Education. Besides these, there are four affiliated institutions conducting two year full time MBA course, five colleges offering MCA and ten Nursing colleges, all in the unaided sector. The University’s Engineering College in Kariavattom campus offers courses like Information Technology, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication etc...

The University Departments offer a wide range of teaching and research at post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels. The courses in the Departments are conducted in the Credit and Semester System . The University has also extended the Semester System to all the Post Graduate courses from 2001. At present, about 32 colleges offer post graduate teaching programmes. Some of the affiliated colleges offer

M. Phil. courses and some colleges have been recognised as research centres. The University has also recognised a number of other institutions as research centres. All these institutions conform to the aims and objectives of the University and its programme of teaching and research.

The University’s colleges of Teacher Education (launched in 1990-91), offer B.Ed. with an intake of 180 students in each of the ten centres. The eight University Institutes of Technology offer courses like Computer Science, Electronics, Business Administration etc., Two centres conduct M. Sc. Computer Science and one UIT offers MBA.

The Institute of Distance Education caters to the needs of thousands who wish to enroll for different courses. In addition to the traditional degree and post - graduate courses, the Institute now runs degree courses like Computer Science and Computer Application. With the abolition of Private Registration in the post-graduate level, the Institute of Distance Education now offers all the PG courses which were once offered privately. As a result, the enrolment in the institute has grown threefold.

In addition to the Departments of teaching, the University also has several centres for studies and research in special areas. The International Centre for Kerala Studies, the Centre for Canadian Studies, the Centre for Australian Studies, the Centre for Comparative Literature, Sree Narayana Study Centre, Centre for English Language Teaching, Centre for Vedanta Studies, V.K. Krishna Menon Study Centre, Christian Study Centre for Cultural and Social Change and Centre for Gandhian Studies are functioning under the University. It has also been decided to start an Ambedkar Study Centre.

The Academic Staff College set up with UGC aid, offers orientation and refresher courses to the teachers in affiliated colleges. It has been rated as the best in the country.

The Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, which has an invaluable collection of rare and precious manuscripts, has been made the State Nodal Agency for the preservation and documentation of manuscripts. A Digital Heritage Archiving Centre also functions in the Library.

The Department of Publications, one of the oldest Departments of the University, has brought out a series of glossaries in science subjects, popular science books and translations of classics. The five volume Kerala Sahitya Charithram written by Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Ayyar and the series Sahithya Nayakanmar (Men of Letters) are some of the most prestigious publications of the Department. The Chitra Ramayana, based on palm - leaf manuscripts, is another notable publication. The University has also published the first ever complete English translation of Hortus Malabaricus, the classical treatise on the plant wealth of Asia and the tropics, in 2003.

The seven volumes of the proposed eleven-volume Malayalam Lexicon have been released so far. The University has been publishing since 1946 the Journal of Indian History, a significant publication on historical studies and research. A quarterly newsletter entitled The University Herald is also published.

The Observatory, founded by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in 1837, opens a world of celestial wonders to the students, through the computer-aided lectures and the facilities for star-gazing.

The University of Kerala has the honour of being the first University in India to ensure participation of students in the University Syndicate. The Academic Council and the Senate also have student members.

University Study Centres have been set up with UGC assistance, at Kollam, Alappuzha and Pandalam. These Centres cater to the needs of the students outside Thiruvananthapuram. Besides these, there are 13 Taluk Information Centres. The University also supplies information to students through the Helpdesks in affiliated colleges.

The Co-ordinator of the N.S.S programme and the Director of the Student Services organize youth welfare activities at the University level with the active co-operation of the University Students’ Union. The University Students’ Union has been very active since 1939 and has taken the initiative to offer to the students many community based and popular co-curricular activities. The University bagged the Indira Gandhi National Award for the best NSS activities in 2005

Department of Physical Education has gifted to the country outstanding sportsmen and women. The University is now planning to renovate the synthetic track of the University Stadium with Governmental assistance. The establishment of the Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education at Kariavattom, managed by the Government of India, is another land mark in the history of the University. Another significant development is the starting of several short term courses like TV News reading, Functional English, etc... in the Centre for Adult Continuing Education and Extension. This has enabled the University to realise the dream of ‘further education of the educated’. The CACEE received the UNESCO- NLM award for literacy in 2005.

During 1997, the University celebrated its Diamond Jubilee. The celebration involved the starting of new teaching Departments and setting up of new buildings like the International Youth Hostel at Thiruvananthapuram.

On 28th December 2000, the University conferred the Honorary Degree of D. Litt. on Nobel Laureate Prof. Amartya Sen. The other scholars honoured recently through the conferment of D. Litt. are Dr. K. J. Yesudas and Dr. Laurie Baker (2003).

The University’s Web site www.keralauniveristy.edu launched in January 2000, offers several services like downloadable application forms, question papers of past examinations, free resource links, subject gateway, etc,... The daily press releases and results of examinations are published on the site. The University also issues Degree Certificates with Hologram and over 112 security features. The Interactive Voice Response System helps students to get information over telephone.

The University of Kerala has widened its horizons by entering into academic cooperation with some foreign Universities like Valladolid of Spain and Claremont of the United States of America. The UGC has identified the University as one of the 26 institutions selected for promotion of India Studies by foreign students. The National Assessment and Accreditation Committee has placed the University at the B++ grade

Note: this post is a tribute to Aby Mammen, a friend and great brother in Christ from the State of Kerala, India.