NATA Journal Released at NLC!

The National Association for Theological Accreditation (NATA) held its second journal release event at the  New Life College on December 10, 2012. This event was attended by the Executive Members of NATA and NLC faculty and students.

Dr. Siga Arles, the current Chairman of NATA as well as the Editor of the NATA Journal, briefly outlined the mission and updates from NATA and then invited Dr. John Thannickal, the Principal of NLC and also the Founding Secretary of NATA (ex-officio) to do the honor of releasing the Journal. Dr. Thannickal applauded the efforts of the NATA Team, released the second issue of the Journal and handed the copies to Dr. Siga Arles (NATA Chairman), Dr. Joy Panickar (NATA Secretary) and Dr. Stanley Choi (NATA Treasurer). Along with that, Journal of Contemporary Christian, a Journal from CFCC also saw its release today.  

Since its reestablishment in May earlier this year, the resurgent NATA is on a fast track of promoting excellence in theological education, particularly among its member institutions. The goal of the NATA Journal is to complement the efforts by creating awareness about the trends and issues in Indian TE. This journal can be subscribed by contacting the Secretary of NATA: secretary.nata@gmail.com 

NLC congratulates Team NATA for their determination to see TE in India improve through such noble efforts. And, we assure NATA of our continued support and partnership in the work of 'teaching disciples who will be able to teach others also' - 2 Tim 2:2, the core vision of NLC. To God be the glory!

Blood Donation Camp at NLC

In Bangalore city, there is a daily requirement of 2000 to 2500 units of blood. Recent outburst in Dengu fever in the city has increased the blood demand sharply. Also, the rise in accidents also contributes to this spiraling blood demand. With blood requirement surging on one side, the alarming drop in the number of donors is looming to be a major concern.  “Only 60% of the demand is met in the city,” says a doctor from Lions Blood Bank.

New Life College hosted a blood drive in partnership with Lions Blood Bank on August 3, 2012 from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.  Rev. Biren Kumar Nayak offered the opening prayer to signal the start of the camp. The prospective donors filled up ‘Form of Consent.’ Their blood pressure, hemoglobin count, blood group was first tested. Those found fit were then allowed for blood donation. Many of our Students and faculty actively participated and donated blood towards this noble cause. Refreshments were generously served to the donors both before and after the blood donation. 43 units of blood were collected at the end of the camp. Lions Blood Bank presented a plaque of thanks to NLC for organizing the camp.

NLC thanks all the volunteers and donors for making this event a success. We also thank Mr. Deepak and Team from Lions Blood Bank for making the camp possible. Earlier, Lions Blood Bank hosted a camp in December 2010 at NLC and 31 units of blood were mobilized.

To see the photos, Click Here

Righteous Suffering: Faculty Seminar for July 2012

The inaugural presentation of Rev. Gnanaraj (Department of Old Testament) on the suffering of the righteous signaled the beginning of the faculty seminars at NLC for the academic year 2012-13. It was held at the Conference Hall on 25^th July 2012, 3.15 p.m. – 5 p.m. This insightful paper sparked off intense time of discussion and responses from the audience, which included NLC faculty and students from B.Th 3, M.Div 2 and M.Div 3.

The stage was set with the opening introduction by Rev. Muthu Kumar, Dean of Academics. Rev. Gnanaraj began his presentation with a note on the presence of suffering, often undeserved on the part of those suffer. He pointed the reality of neighboring Sri Lanka where the minority Tamils recently went through extreme suffering, etc. Then, he went on to present his paper titled: “The Legend of Harichandra and Job: An Indian Reflection on the Suffering of the Righteous.” The focus of the presentation was how ancient Indians tackled the issue of undeserved suffering in comparison to the suffering of Biblical Job.

 

Rev. Wilson Cherian responded to the presentation and critiqued the paper on various points. This was later clarified by the presenter. Then, our faculty – Rev. Muthu Kumar, Rev. Biren Kumar Nayak – also added few more thoughtful questions to the discussion. Dr. Ashish Chrispal pointed out the glaring difference in the Indian Legend where one attribute of God (“Truth”) becomes God; and related the culmination of righteous suffering in Jesus Christ, the suffering son of God. Students also actively participated in the discussion and enjoyed interaction. This seminar concluded with few closing remarks from Dr. John Thannickal and a prayer by Dr. Chrispal.

This paper was earlier distributed among the faculty and students; and was submitted to the respondent too. Faculty seminars at NLC are conducted regularly every month with the intension to encourage learning and critical thinking. Also, the presentations of the past year was compiled and published as a part of “New Life Review,” an inter-disciplinary theological journal from New Life College. 

New Android App for NLC



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NLC Android App



NLC is glad to announce the release of a brand new Android App for New Life College. This app can be downloaded to phones and tablets, if run on Android platforms.This app will aid in circulating latest news and updates from NLC. 

New Life College has recently added a News Blog as well as a YouTube Page. NLC YouTube page features video-clippings from the college activities and few selected sermons from the Chapel. NLC also publishes a Bi-Annual Newsletter, An Annual Year Book, that report the life and activities at NLC.


NLC app is currently available for Android Phone users. Currently 60% of the smart phones use the Android platform, with users ranging 400 million globally. Android, owned by Google Inc, continues to expand its market among the smartphone users as well as has a vibrant Tablets market. 


To download the NLC Android App, Click Here
Or download from here: http://app.appsgeyser.com/NLC%20News

NLC Faculty Attends a Seminar by Dr. Timothy Tennent at SAIACS

A five members faculty team from New Life College attended a Seminar by Dr. Timothy Tennent at CEO Center in SAIACS, Bangalore, in the afternoon of 6th July 2012.


Dr. Tennent presented a paper on "Global Christianity and its impact on Theological Education in India." He began with a historical review of theological education from the early church through reformation to the 21st century, where multiple centers of Christianity is emerging.  

He listed seven possible emerging global trends in theological education:
1. Emergence of global accreditation body with high standards
2. Many new two way partnership: shared expertise and resources
3. Explosion of demand for higher theological education.
4. Rise of hybrid education: residential and online
5. Inter-denominational program.
6. Array of new kind of church relationships.
7. Palieo-orthodoxy: Rebirth of interest in ancient Christianity; reintegration of disciplines.

He also perceived seven hindrances to theological education in India:
1. Socio-ethnic diversity in India. 6000 people groups in India is the cause for slow growth.
2. Lack of collaboration within missions due to lack of trust.
3. Indigenous language development. Christian discourse in India is much English dominated. Usual underestimation of the importance of local languages.
4. Lack of Christian conversation with contextual challenges and government: lack of public theology and marketplace theology.
5. Improper understanding of gospel and culture. Christianity in South India is both a religious and cultural movements, but Christianity looks much different in North
6. The issue of authority: Autocratic, heavy-handed leadership.
7. Disconnection of seminaries with the local churches and mission agencies.

Following the presentation was a Q&A session, where the participants raised several questions. This highly-insightful seminar ended with refreshments, organized by SAIACS staff. We extend our special thanks to Dr. Ian Payne, Principal of SAIACS, for extending the invitation to New Life College. 

Dr. Timothy C. Tennent is currently the President of Asbury Theological Seminary, one of the prominent seminaries in USA. He has been associated with New Theological Seminary, Dehradun since its inception. 

Report on NLC Freshers' Night 2012

An evening of July 5th, 2012, Freshers Night, a special event was held in order to welcome the Freshers' into the NLC community by the Returning Students as well as showcase the talents of the new students. It was a time of great excitement and celebration. 65 New students who joined NLC into its B.Th and M.Div programs had the opportunity to showcase their skills and talents before the entire Ashram community. Likewise, Seniors reciprocated kind welcome to all the freshers with gifts of love.

It started with the opening march of the Freshers into the chapel with the generous applause from the returning students as well as the faculty-staff. Rev. Wilson Cherian began the program with opening welcome and prayer. All the Freshers were presented on the stage and a welcome speech was given by Samuel from B.Th 3, insisting the significance of brotherhood and unity among the student body. Freshers were given a book mark and a book-let, prepared by the Seniors, as a welcome gift.  Then the stage was given fully to the Freshers to perform and thrill the audience.

Freshers' from M.Div began with a powerful musical presentation, ended with a highly-skillful display of guitar and keyboard performance which received a standing ovation from the crowd, including Dr. Vinita Henson, Director of Music Department. The girls team from M.Div followed it with a elegant cultural dance performance. B.Th class also performed a group song as well as a skit that explained the redemptive love of God. 

Rev. Gnanaraj, NLC Administrator, appreciated both the Freshers and the Seniors for their enthusiastic participation in the program, and acknowledged the presence of Mrs. Lovely Thannickal and Prem, who were visiting New Life College from USA. Dr. John Thannickal released the NLC Newsletter and concluded the program with prayer of thanksgiving. This was followed by a special family dinner.


To view Freshers' Night Photos, click here.

New Generator for NLC Community!

In the recent years, the frequency of power-cuts in Bangalore is on the steady rise. Often our students are affected due to this unpredictable power-cuts at night. Currently, there are more than 100 students staying at the main Ashram Campus and the Bangalore Conservatory, a Music School directed by Rev. Ken Henson also runs here. The power-cuts were looming to be a major concern. The older generator was small and unable to provide power supply for longer period. And so, it was decided to buy a new generator to cater to the needs of the entire campus.

Recently a new 30 KVA Kirloskar Generator was installed at NLC. Dr. John Thannickal dedicated it for the service of NLC community on July 4, 2012. This generator would provide uninterrupted power supply to the entire Ashram campus. We praise God for this wonderful gift to the Ashram community.