Pastor Robert Karthak Has Died

 

(Photo courtesy UMN)

Pastor Robert Karthak has gone to be with Jesus this morning at the age of 95. That is an extraordinary age for Nepal. When I first arrived in Nepal in 1985, Robert was already way past the life expectancy at the time, which was a dismal 45. (That has changed massively - the current life expectancy is 71!)

Robert Karthak was for many years the pastor of Gyaneshwar Church (aka Nepali Isai Mandali) in Kathmandu, which has been called the largest congregation in the country.

I met Robert many times during my first years in Nepal. He was always kind and gracious. He had a lovely sonorous voice that made him easy to listen to and, being from Kalimpong, India (he was ethnically a Lepcha) he had very clear Nepali speech that was easier for learners to follow than some of the more local preachers.

In meetings I became aware of the huge authority he had. A discussion I once hosted had plenty of young men eager to offer their opinions. But then, when Robert cleared his throat, you sensed a hush as people listened intently. And his word carried weight. Once he had spoken, the whole room had a unified opinion!

I count it a privilege to have met this man who worked so hard in the kingdom of God. I appreciated his ministry. But I also had my misgivings. More than any other, I think, Robert defined the culture of the Nepali church. How would I characterise that? It was really the culture of global evangelicalism of the second half of the twentieth century - evangelical, non-denominational and charismatic - with a Nepali twist.

When the Kalimpong band arrived in Kathmandu in 1956, not long after the country had opened up to outsiders, Robert had a clear sense of the way they were to operate. Many of the mistakes that had plagued the churches in India over the preceding century were to be rectified: denominationalism was out, an indigenous approach to leadership, financial support and gospel proclamation was in. All well and good.

But that left so much to be desired. Robert daju went to London Bible College in the 1960 where, among others, he would have had Ernest Kevan as his tutor. I am sure he benefitted hugely from that. But, as with so much preparation for ministry in other contexts there would have been little attempt to help the young pastor to wrestle deeply with Hindu and Buddhist notions and customs, and develop a distinctly Nepali theology.

Consequently, local folk who dropped in to his church to see what was going on (as remains a common feature) would have left with their preconception that the Christian church was 'foreign religion' unchallenged. I could never understand why Robert's wife, who predeceased him by many years, always wore white. White, for Hindus, is the colour of mourning, and typically worn by widows. So imagine the surprise of locals to find she was the pastor's wife!

I think this lack of contextual theologising also left Robert daju open to 'every wind of doctrine': among other innovations, he introduced the Toronto Blessing to Nepal in the 1990s. I don't know how much impact that had. By then I was seeking to identify more thoughtfully with the Hindu and Buddhist community to whom the Lord had led us.

My prayer is that the church in Nepal would honour the legacy of this man of God while seeking to move beyond his limitations.