We are very excited to be launching The Gospel Coalition India website. A few of us from around the country have been working on this project for more than two years and are glad to finally see it become a reality. We hope this website, the associated resources, and the accompanying network of relationships will be a blessing and help for the church in India for many years to come.
Along with the launch of TGC India comes the launch of a few blogs, including this one. My goal here is to edify Christians in India through gospel-centered reflections and insights that I am gaining on this journey as a believer and pastor in India. To this end let me begin by telling you more about myself and how I plan to use this space going forward.
I am the lead pastor of Delhi Bible Fellowship (Gurgaon), which is a cluster of four churches in Gurgaon, a city just outside of the capital, New Delhi. I have been in the Delhi region since 2005 and have been a pastor in DBF since 2007. I met my wife Karisa when I first joined our church here and we have been married since 2009. We have four kids aged 2-10 years, named Kiran, Akshay, Prakash, and Priya.
I originally studied Civil Engineering in Canada, before going into full-time ministry. I was first on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, then taught in a Bible college, and now I serve as a pastor. I completed my MDiv. at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States. More recently, I completed my DMin from South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies in Bangalore.
I am also involved in leadership and teaching with the Delhi School of Theology, which is a small seminary that a few of us started in Delhi in 2013.
My main passion in life is to study and to teach the Bible. I love to see people understand the gospel, know God’s love personally, experience it tangibly, and live sacrificial lives on mission for God’s kingdom in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I enjoy reading books—mainly about theology, ministry, and Indian history. I love spending time with friends, and have coffee with my wife. I used to love playing sports, but unfortunately I do not get to do that much anymore. I suppose running in the gym is an adequate substitute for that these days.
The main influences in my Christian journey so far have been the many pastors, teachers, mentors, and friends who have invested in my life at different stages. They have been tremendous up-close examples and encouragements to me over the years. A few of the better-known people who have influenced me from a distance, mostly through books and sermons, have been the late John Stott, John Piper, and Tim Keller, among many others.
Through this blog, I mainly hope to share about things God is teaching me as I walk with Christ and minister in India. I also plan to share resources I come across that I find helpful, in the hope they might be helpful to others as well.
Over time I would also like to write on issues I think are important for the Indian church, like the prosperity gospel, fruitful contextualisation, the work of the Holy Spirit, marriage, and parenting.
Before I close, let me explain why I chose to call this blog “Faith Not Sight.”
In 2 Corinthians 5:7, the Apostle Paul says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” As I have reflected on my spiritual life over the years, I think my greatest practical struggle has been to remind myself God is really there; that there is a universe beyond what I see with my two eyes, which in fact is much more important than what we see physically (2 Cor 4:18).
I want to live continuously with an awareness of this unseen realm, and to help others see and live in this realm as well. Only by faith can we “see” the invisible (Heb. 11:1). I pray this blog is a means that God uses to help us live by faith, not by sight.
