Authentic Leadership in the Contexts of Global Christianity:
Pandita Ramabai Saraswati (India), Archbishop Óscar Romero (El Salvador) and
Revd Han Kyung-Chik (South Korea)
Sebastian C.H. Kim
Introduction
An effective way to explore Christian leadership is to examine Christian leaders themselves
so that practical lessons can be drawn for our own engagements of the topic. Here I have
chosen three prominent figures from global Christianity for our reflections. Three is a very
limited selection, but I believe it is a representative one: a lay Indian woman, a Latin
American Catholic priest and an East Asian Protestant minister. Of course, these three each
deserves much more time and consideration, but within the constraints of one lecture, I will
focus mainly on the public engagement of these three, discuss some reflections on their lives
and works, and as a result, draw some lessons we could learn.
Pandita Ramabai Saraswati
Pandita Ramabai Saraswati (1858-1922)1 made a deep impact on the lives of many in
Maharashtra, and beyond, during her lifetime. Moreover, her legacy as social reformer,
educator and pioneer of emancipation through the work of the Mukti Mission for those who
are neglected in society has continued to inspire generations of people. She was also the first
woman to speak before the Indian National Congress (1889) and the one who suggested
adopting Hindi as the national language. She was indeed, as Max Müller commented, a ‘truly
heroic Hindu lady, in appearance small, delicate, and timid, but in reality strong and bold as a
lioness’,2 a ‘champion of women’s rights’ and ‘a pioneer in the fields of women’s education
and social reform’.3 Throughout her life, she was constantly seeking for something beyond
her boundaries and searching for religious and social transformation.
Although teaching the sacred language of Sanskrit to women is prohibited, her father, a
Brahmin pandit, taught her Sanskrit and she was well acquainted with the sacred Hindu
literature at a young age. Ramabai had traumatic experiences in her early life.At the age of 16,
she lost her parents and older sister of starvation in a severe famine. Only she and her older
brother survived. They together made a pilgrimage to various parts of India for six years and
eventually came to Calcutta in 1878. There she gained fame as pandita and also Saraswati,
which means ‘Goddess of Learning’, as she exhibited a remarkable knowledge of Sanskrit
and ability to recite and teach the Hindu scriptures. She became a national sensation, a
1
For the study on her life and works, see Padmini Sengupta, Pandita Ramabai Saraswati: Her Life and Work
(London: Asia Publishing House, 1970), 106-52; Meera Kosambi,Pandita Ramabai Through Her Own
Words: Selected Works (New Delhi: OUP, 2000); Pandita Ramabai’s Feminist and Christian Conversions
(Bombay: Research Centre for Women’s Studies, 1995); Robert E. Frykenberg, ‘A Biographical
Introduction’ in Robert E. Frykenberg (ed), Pandita Ramabai’s America: Conditions of Life in the United
States (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2003); Ram Bapat, ‘Pandita Ramabai: Faith and Reason in
the Shadow of the East and West’ in Vasudha Dalmia& Heinrich von Stietencron (eds), Representing
Hinduism: The Construction of Religious Traditions and National Identity (New Delhi & London: Sage
Publications, 1995); Gauri Viswanathan, Outside the Fold: Conversion, Modernity, and Belief (Princeton
University Press, 1998); Roger E. Hedlund, Sebastian Kim, andRajkumar Boaz Johnson (eds), Indian &
Christian: The Life and Legacy of Pandita Ramabai (New Delhi: ISPCK, 2011).
2
Max Müller, Auld Lang Syne: My Indian Friends (London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1899), 122.
3
A. B. Shah (ed), ‘Introduction’ in The Letters and Correspondence of Pandita Ramabai (Bombay: Maharashtra
State Board for Literature and Culture, Bombay, 1977), xi.
2
‘symbol of rising national pride’.4However, her brother died in 1880 and soon after that she
got married to Babu Bepin Behari Das Medhavi of the Shudra caste, which was significantly
lower than hers, as she had no one else to rely on. But the marriage lasted only 19 months
before her husband died of cholera and she was left with a daughter, Manorama. She then
moved to Pune in 1882 and became acquainted with the Prarthana Samaj. Her initial contact
with Christianity was mainly through missionaries and high caste Hindu converts in Calcutta
and Pune.
In Pune, she became acquainted with Arya Mahila Samaj (a women’s association dedicated
to promoting social awareness) and soon after that she published her first book, Stree
Dharma-Neeti (Morals for Women) in Marathi, which urged high caste Hindu women to take
charge of their lives and criticised Brahmin men. She also gave testimony to the Hunter
Commission on Education in September 1882, emphasizing the importance of female
education. Dr W.W. Hunter, president of the Commission ordered her testimony to be
translated and published. Through her acquaintance with St Mary’s Home, a mission of
Community of St Mary the Virgin, she eventually decided to go to England to study medicine
with a view to serving her people in India. Ramabai and her daughter, together with her
companion, Anandibai Bhagat arrived in England on 17 May 1883 and stayed at the
Community of St. Mary the Virgin (CSMV), Wantage.
On 29th September 1883 in the age of 25, Ramabai and her daughter got baptized.5 However,
during the following three years, she experienced serious difficulties with accepting the
Christian doctrine of Trinity and also church hierarchy, and in some cases engaged in sharp
dispute with senior members of her Christian community. Due to her hearing problems,
Ramabai had to change her study from medicine to other subjects such as science,
mathematics and English literature, and it was decided that she should study at Cheltenham
Ladies’ College. After two years of study, in the early 1886, Ramabai accepted an invitation
to attend the graduation of her friend at the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia, USA.
The trip was highly successful as Ramabai drew huge publicity and was asked to speak at
numerous meetings. She published a collection of her speeches as The High-Caste Hindu
Women in 1887. She particularly described the situation of an Indian high caste widow,
which she called the ‘worst and most dreaded period of a high-caste woman’s life’, including
the rite of sati or widow-burning.6 She concluded that the chief needs of these woman are:
self-reliance, education and native women teachers7 and appealed for financial support.8 As a
result of her fund-raising campaign, the Ramabai Association was formed in the same year to
support her work in India.
Ramabai returned to India in February 1889 and, as a result of her vision and determination,
the Sharada Sadan (Home of Learning) was opened for high caste women in Bombay in 11
March 1889. However, though Ramabai made it religiously neutral, this work was not
positively received by Hindu leaders who were deeply suspicious that the place was part of
proselytising activities. Controversy erupted when people heard a report of the conversion of
Frykenberg, ‘A Biographical Introduction’, 8.
See Pandita Ramabai, A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasure (Pune: Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission,
2001); Sebastian C.H. Kim, ‘Pandita Ramabai’s Conversion Toward Mukti: In Search of Companionship,
Integrity and Faith’ in Roger E. Hedlund, Sebastian Kim, and Rajkumar Boaz Johnson (eds), Indian &
Christian: The Life and Legacy of Pandita Ramabai (New Delhi: ISPCK, 2011), 3-29.
6
Pandita Ramabai, ‘The High-Caste Hindu Women’ in Kosambi, Pandita Ramabai Through Her Own Words
129-80, at 159.
7
Ramabai, ‘The High-Caste Hindu Women’, 171-74.
8
Ramabai, ‘The High-Caste Hindu Women’, 174-79.
4
5
3
some girls in January 1890 and Ramabai was accused as being one of ‘the enemies of our
society, of Hinduism and even female education’.9 Eventually Ramabai decided to move her
work to another location and also to make it an explicitly Christian organisation. The Mukti
Mission was established in its present location in Kedgaon near Pune in 1895 for relief work
for women (especially widows) and girls; it provided shelter and education. As a result of
famine in Madhya Pradesh in 1896-97, about 300 girls were rescued and sheltered at the
Mukti Mission, and during the famine in Gujarat in 1900-1901 almost 2,000 women and girls
took temporary shelter.
The work has grown over the years and now Mukti Mission occupies 200 acres of land and
operates over 2,000 projects including schools, hospitals, homes for the destitute, nurseries,
medical care, community development, and facilities for physically and mentally
handicapped and elderly people. In latter 20 years of her life Ramabai devoted her efforts to
translate the entire Bible into the local Marathi language from the Hebrew and Greek texts.10
She died on 5th April 1922, a few days before her sixty-fourth birthday. Ramabai exhibited
throughout her life a great spirit of independence and integrity as was described by her
companion: ‘She is a woman, tender with feeling, as tender as a flower, timid as can be, and
impatient of pain, but her courage has outweighed that of the sternest and bravest warrior’.11
Throughout her ministry, her struggle was to respond to the cry of Indian women. As a
historian points out, ‘in her own day, it was Ramabai, even before Gandhi, who heard and
heeded this cry’.12 But faced much opposition from Hindu leaders for being a Christian
convert and for having the determination for reform against the cultural norms of the day, on
which the ‘right to act was reserved to men’.13 She was a threat to the Hindu hierarchy and
even to Hindu reformers, who have been both ‘unwilling to remember her and unable to
forget’.14
Archbishop Óscar Romero
Out of the three figures, Archbishop Romero is perhaps the best known to this audience. The
significance of his work is found during the three short years of his role as Archbishop of San
Salvador (1977-1980). He was regarded as ‘voice of the voiceless’ and ‘martyr’.15 Some
commentators even compare his with Jesus’ public ministry.16 El Salvador is the smallest
republic in the Americas and at that time fourteen ruling families owned 60 percent of the
arable land and there was constant tension and violence during the best part of the twentieth
century.17 Mary Craig claims that, ever since the Spanish conquest, the churches have been
divided into those who defended the rights of Indians and those who sided with the
9
Kosambi, Feminist and Christian Conversion, 161-62.
See Rajkumar Boaz Johnson, ‘The Biblical Theological Contribution of Pandita Ramabai: A Neglected
Pioneer indian Christian Feminist Theologian’ in Hedlund, et. al., (eds), Indian & Christian, 195-223.
11
In Life of Dr Anandabai, pp128-9.
12
Frykenberg, ‘A Biographical Introduction’, xii.
13
M.D. David, ‘Pandita Ramabai: the First Champion of Empowerment of Indian Women’ in Hedlund, et. al.,
(eds), Indian & Christian, 53.
14
Kosambi,Pandita Ramabai Through Her Own Words, 30.
15
See Ignacio Martín-Baró, ‘Oscar romaro: Voice of the Downtrodden’ in Oscar Romero, Voice of the Voiceless:
The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1985), 1-21; Jon Sabrino,
‘A Theologian’s View of Oscar Romero’ in Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 22-51.
16
Julian Filochowski, ‘Oscar Romero, Bishop-Martyr and Model of Church’ in Austen Ivereigh, Unfinished
Journey: The Church 40 Years after Vatican II (New York: Continnum, 2003), 272-84, at 272.
17
Marie Dennis, Renny Golden and Scott Wright, Oscar Romero: Reflections on His Life and Writings
(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000), 26.
10
4
authorities, and that there was no third way.18 Catholic priests were often threatened by local
militia if they were involved in protests against the exploitation of the poor. Romero was
regarded as ‘bookish, timid and naturally inclined to the preservation of order’,19 and as an
‘ecclesiastic at the pinnacle of church power, a man of circumspection, diplomacy, filial
obedience, and orthodoxy’.20 When he took office as archbishop of San Salvador on 22
February 1977, the government and oligarchy was jubilant as they saw him as the ideal
person for the position who would take a conservative line, but the progressive priests were
‘bitterly upset’ by the appointment21 as they thought they were facing ‘a very bleak future’.22
All this changed less than one month after his taking the office. Most of commentators agree
that Romero had a ‘conversion’ experience when he faced the murder of his friend and Jesuit
priest Fr Rutilio Grandeand and his two companions on 12 March 1977.23 In response to the
murder, Romero excommunicated those who were held responsible, set up a committee to
monitor human right violations, closed all Catholic schools and colleges for three days and
cancelled all religious services on 20 March while he conducted a single mass in front of the
Cathedral attended by over 100,000 people. From that time on, for his three years of public
ministry, he took up his calling to side with the poor and oppressed and to stand against
exploitation and violence. In his second pastoral letter, delivered soon after the inauguration
of General Romero as the President, which he did not attend, he emphasized the need for
‘profound conversion’, which is both turning toward God and turning toward those who are
weak, poor and lowly.24 He stated that the church’s position in this time of turbulence was
‘neither hatred nor subversion’25 and called for ‘sincere cooperation’ between the government
and the church for peace and justice.26 It was said that the ‘timid man had “overnight”
become a prophet’.27
However, violence engulfed the nation in the following year so that by the end of 1978, 1,063
persons had been arrested on political charges and 147 had been murdered, including a
number of priests. In 1979, the number of people murdered was 580, all by the government
and the right-wing groups in the name of ‘national security’. In the midst of increasing
violence, Archbishop Romero sent his ‘fourth pastoral letter’ in which he on the one hand
condemned ‘structural violence’ and the ‘arbitrary and repressive violence of the state’ and
on the other hand endorsed ‘violence of legitimate defence’ against unjust aggression. He
made his position clear: the ‘church is peaceful, but not passive’.28 In the year 1980, the
violence intensified as in the first three months the death toll reached 1,000 due to systematic
killings of members of politico-military groups. The intensification of violence led the
Archbishop on 17th February 1980 to take a more active step. He wrote an open letter to US
President Jimmy Carter asking him not to send armaments or support any kind of repressive
18
Mary Craig, Candles in the Dark: Seven Modern Martyrs (London: Hodder& Stoughton, 1984), 193.
Filochowski, ‘Oscar Romero…’,272.
20
Dennis, et.al.,Oscar Romero, 31.
21
Craig, Candles in the Dark, 190. He was a known admire of the Opus Dei organisation.
22
Jon Sobrino in Craig, Candles in the Dark, 25.
23
Dennis, et.al.,Oscar Romero, 26-27; Jon Sobrino, Archbishop Romero: Memories and Reflections (Maryknoll,
NY: Orbis Books, 1990), 28; JK, 275.
24
Oscar Romero, Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements (Maryknoll, NY:
Orbis Books, 1985), 63-84.
25
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 76.
26
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 82-83.
27
Dennis, et.al.,Oscar Romero, 32.
28
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 144-45.
19
5
actions,29 which received a significant worldwide publicity, but also clearly annoyed not only
the both governments but also the Vatican.30 In his broadcast homily on 23 March, he
appealedto those under the authority of the government that ‘no soldier is obliged to obey an
order’ and strongly urged ‘I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the
repression!’31 The following day he was assassinated as he was delivering a homily in church.
His funeral was attended by some 150,000 people but even this was seriously disturbed by
bombs and shootings, leaving thirty dead.
Romero was regarded as a ‘humble, gentle and straightforward man’ but through his actions,
he became an ‘icon, a symbol of holiness, a source of hope for the poor and oppressed’.32 His
contributions to the people of El Salvador could be summarized as three-fold: first, he was a
spokesman against violence; second, he was a champion for the cause for the poor; and third,
he lived the life of a martyr. Tod Swanson, examining the Archbishop’s public engagement,
argues that his voice was effective, first, because his ‘moral reasoning resonated with
Salvadoran identity’, which motivated the public to action. Second, his moral judgements
were timely. And third, he had integrity as a public figure since he ‘became an exemplary
embodiment of the larger religious narrative that both grounded his ethics and gave meaning
to the nation’.33 In other words, in the time of crisis, as the people made him their leader and
spokesman,34 he took the challenge and not only stood firm in his calling but also carried it
out in an effective manner to the point of death. As the most senior member of the Catholic
Church in the country, he utilized his homilies, pastoral letters, radio broadcasting and other
means to be a ‘voice for the voiceless’ in the midst of threat and intimidation. He also drew
attention both from within and outside the country as was exhibited by the fact that in 1978
118 members of the British Parliament nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Second, he demonstrated his concern for the poor both in his writings and through the
example of his own humble life style. He interpreted the true meaning of conversion as
converting oneself toward the poor35 and argued that ‘the face of the Christ is in the poor who
ask the church for their voice to be heard’36 and the church is persecuted as it tries to
‘incarnate itself in the interest of the poor’. He often mentioned his concern for the poor in his
teaching, and in all his four pastoral letters. He called for the ‘conversion to the poor’37 and
emphasized Christ’s preference for the poor,38 very much of the language of the Latin
American Bishops’ Conferences in Medellín and Puebla which are regarded as the beginning
of liberation theology. In his own life, he put this into practice on his sixtieth birthday when
he left the episcopal palace and moved to a small humble house within the compound of the
Divine Providence Cancer Hospital.
Third, though he did not seek martyrdom, he lived the life of a martyr in that he stood firm in
what he believed and committed his life for the cause. Salvadorans and the poor in Latin
See the text of the letter: ‘Letter to President Carter’ in Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 188-90.
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless,18.
31
James R. Brockman, Romero: A Life (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books), 242.
32
Filochowski, ‘Oscar Romero…’, 273-6.
33
Tod Swanson, ‘A Civil Art: The Persuasive Moral Voice of Oscar Romero’, Journal of Religious Ethics 29/1
(2001), 127-44, at 127.
34
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 9.
35
Dennis, et.al.,Oscar Romero, 28.
36
Dennis, et.al.,Oscar Romero, 35.
37
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless,68-69.
38
Romero, Voice of the Voiceless, 71.
29
30
6
America pray to ‘San Romero’ for he is already a saint in their hearts39 and in February 1992
when the people of El Salvador celebrated the ending of twenty years of civil war, which had
cost 75,000 lives, they held up a banner which said, ‘Archbishop Romero, you have risen in
your people’.40 In fact, two weeks before his death, he told a reporter during an interview:
I must tell you, as a Christian, I do not believe in death without resurrection. If I am
killed, I shall arise in the Salvadoran people…. Martyrdom is a grace of God that I do not
believe I deserve. But if God accepts the sacrifice of my life, let my blood be a seed of
freedom and the sign that hope will soon be reality. Let my death, if it is accepted by
God, be for my people’s liberation and as a witness of hope in the future…. A bishop
will die, but God’s church, which is the people, will never perish.41
As Romero’s life ‘embodies the deaths of the Salvadoran poor’42 so his death made concrete
demonstration of his condemnation of the oppressive violence visited upon the weak and of
his deep concern for the poor.
Revd Han Kyung-Chik
Our third figure is Rev. Han Kyung-Chik who was the founder and the Senior Pastor of
Youngnak Presbyterian Church, which currently has over 60,000 members. He chose ‘Love
to Bring World Peace’ as the title of his acceptance speech for the award of the Templeton
Prize in Berlin in 1992. The prize was awarded as the recognition of his life-long dedication
to the people of Korea, especially for the ‘rice of love’ campaign he initiated among South
Korean Christians to send rice to the people of the North. As Youngnak Presbyterian Church
marked the tenth anniversary of the passing of Han last year, York St John University and the
church co-hosted a major peace and reconciliation conference in Seoul. Han is one of the
most respected religious leaders in South Korean history and made significant contributions
to improving the relationship between the people of North and South Korea. His life and
ministry is characterised as Bible-centred evangelical piety, a Puritan lifestyle, active
participation in ecumenism, and embodiment of the church’s conscience toward society.43
Han was born in a small farming village in present day North Korea in 1902 and lived for
ninety eight years covering what was the most turbulent time in Korean modern history.
Japan occupied Korea for thirty-six years between 1910 and 1945. Then the Korean War
broke out in 1950 and lasted for three years, ending with the partition of the country. After
that South Korea endured a series of military-backed governments until 1988 and there have
been constant conflicts and tensions between the North and the South. Han grew up as a
Christian and entered Osan technical school in 1917, which was founded by Ahn Chang Ho,
who was a nationalist leader and a Christian, and then Soongshil College, which was
established and mainly run by Western missionaries. He was encouraged and supported by
them to study at Princeton Seminary in the USA but as he prepared for a PhD degree at Yale
University, he was diagnosed as having tuberculosis of the lung. As he stayed at a treatment
Filochowski, ‘Oscar Romero…’, 283.
Dennis, et.al.,Oscar Romero, 113.
41
Brockman, Romero: A Life, 248. The article in the Excelsior has been reproduced in Orientación, 13 April
1980.
42
Brockman, Romero: A Life, 141.
43
Chul-Shin Lee, ‘Rev. Kyung-Chik Han’s Life and Thought’ in Eun-seop Kim (ed), Kyung-hik Han Colletion:
Theses 1 (Seoul: Kyung-Chik Han Foundation, 2010), 9-35, at 31-34.
39
40
7
centre, he earnestly prayed to God to grant him three more years so that he could serve his
country.44
In 1932 he came back to Korea and started to minister in the North-West province of Korea
but the pressure from the communist government of the North became unbearable, and he
escaped to the south, together with few church members. ‘Bethany Church’ was started in
Seoul with 27 members in December 1945 and later renamed Youngnak Church, following
the name of the location, but also meaning ‘eternal joy’. They were granted land and church
members themselves built a church. When it was completed in May 1950, it was the largest
church building in the country. After the turbulent years of the Korean War, Han reestablished the congregation, mainly with the refugees from the North, and soon the church
became the most prominent among the Protestant churches in South Korea. He led large
nation-wide evangelistic campaigns and was also involved in ecumenical movements among
the divided denominations of Korean churches. He started ministries for the poor and
marginalised both through the church and through cooperative work with various Christian
organisations. For example, together with Rev Bob Pierce, he played a key role in
establishing World Vision in Korea in the 1950s to help poor children and orphans.It has now
become one of the largest Christian relief organisations in the world. Han was the first
Chairman of the Board.45 The most significantpart of his work was the establishment in 1989
of the nation-wide ‘rice of love’ campaign, which was led by Christians but soon joined by
other religious groups and non-religious individuals. This movement expanded to become
‘The South-North Sharing Campaign’, founded in 1993, which has gained increasing support
from the Korean church as a whole, from both conservative and liberal circles. Revd Han
died on 19 April 2000 at the age of ninety-eight. Throughout his life, he lived simply, leaving
behind only his wheelchair, walking stick and winter hat.
Revd Han was uncompromisingly anti-communist in his politics and was sometimes accused
of keeping silent in the face of the human rights violations of military-backed governments
during the 1960s and 1970s.46 When he was asked regarding this, his response was that even
a military-backed government is better than anarchy, showing he regarded national security
as of foremost importance.47 He held the firm conviction that the church’s main role in the
society was to care for the poor and the needy rather than being involved in politics. However,
his refusal to sign a protest against unjust constitutional change and the fact that he delivered
a sermon in a televised breakfast prayer meeting with military and government officials right
after the brutal military suppression in the Kwangju incident (in which an estimated 600
civilians were killed) were heavily criticised by many, even by the members of his own
church.48 He maintained what he regarded as a ‘neutral’ position in Korean politics, but of
course, by doing so, he was seen as on the side of the government. Examining Han’s political
ideology, Hyae-jeong Yi, concludes that ‘all may not agree with the specifics of his faith, but
few would gainsay the consistency with which he lived out his faith’.49
44
Won-Sul Lee, Seung-Joon Lee and Joong-Sik Han, Just Three More Years to Live! The Story of Rev. KyungChik Han (Seoul: Rev. Kyung-Chik Han Foundation, 2005).
45
See Yun-Gu Lee, ‘The Influence of Rev. Kyung-Chik Han on Korean Sciety’ in Eun-seop Kim (ed), Kyunghik Han Colletion: Theses 2, 98-102.
46
See Seungjun Lee, ‘Rev. Kyung-Chik Han and the Korean War’ in Eun-seop Kim (ed), Kyung-hik Han
Colletion: Theses 1, 197-227.
47
Man-yeol Lee, ‘Meeting Rev. Kyung-Chik Han’, Christianity and History in Korea (July 1991), 134-162.
48
Jang-Choon Yoo, ‘Social Service of Rev. Han who served Korean Society beyond Youngnak Church’ in Eunseop Kim (ed), Kyung-hik Han Colletion: Theses 2, 181-249, at 230-34.
49
Hyae-jeong Yi, ‘Kyung-Chik Han’s Christian Ideology of Founding a Nation: In the Light of His
Understanding of the Gospels’ in Eun-seop Kim (ed), Kyung-hik Han Colletion: Theses 1, 167-96.
8
His theology was strictly evangelical. His sermons were bible-centred and often very simple
but touched many ordinary people in Korea as he spoke on many public occasions. Yet he
practiced a social gospel through his life and work by maintaining a great passion to serve the
poor and weak in society, and he started numerous projects and institutions around the
country. He was also the main protagonist for promoting church unity in the context of
numerous divisions among Protestant denominations over issues of theology and leadership.
His contribution to the ecumenical movement in Korea was so remarkable that he was
actively involved in almost all major nation-wide ecumenical projects and organisations. As
Lee Man Yeol points out, as an ‘open conservative’ himself, Han was bringing both liberal
and conservative evangelicals together. ‘[A]s such he helped Korean Protestants negotiate the
treacherous waters of the twentieth century’.50
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Han’s life was his humble and simple life style. He
never owned a bank account or a house, and lived in a very simple life. He donated his
Templeton award of one million dollar on the following day to Youngnak Church for the
support for the churches in North Korea, jokingly saying that he was a ‘one-day millionaire’.
During the celebratory meeting in Seoul after receiving the Templeton prize, he surprised
everyone by confessing that he had sinned against God by participating in Shinto worship
under Japanese pressure. His simple life, influenced by Puritan theology and his humble
attitude toward others are an exceptional and shining example among Korean Protestant
ministers, who are often accused of seeking higher position, fame and wealth. With all his
weakness and shortcomings, Han is regarded as a ‘minister-saint’ and a ‘true image of a
shepherd’ by South Koreans.51
Some common features from the ministries of Ramabai, Romero and Han
As a way to conclude this paper, and with the danger of over-simplification, I would like to
suggest some common features from the ministries of Ramabai, Romero and Han. Here I am
not suggesting that through these examples, we can draw principles for leadership – I simply
try to identify some lessons for our purpose. First, all three fulfilled their calling for the sake
of the wider society. The three leaders were facing different challenges from their own
contexts: injustice and oppressive customs for Ramabai, violence and poverty for Romero,
and post-war conflicts and reconstruction for Han. Their concern was not limited to their
immediate Christian communities but encompassed the general public. Jürgen Moltmann, in
his book, God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology, asserts that theology
must publicly maintain the universal concerns of God’s coming kingdom because ‘there is no
Christian identity without public relevance, and no public relevance without theology’s
Christian identity’, and ‘as the theology of God’s kingdom, theology has to be public
theology’ in the mode of ‘public, critical and prophetic complaint to God – public, critical
and prophetic hope in God’.52 According to Moltmann, theology is critical, prophetic,
reflective and reasoned engagement of the church in society for the sake of the poor and
marginalized to bring the kingdom of God. This mode of public engagement was carried out
by these three leaders as their lives demonstrated that authentic church leadership is exercised
Manyeol Lee, ‘Rev. Kyung-Chik Han’s Place in Korean Church History’ in Eun-seop Kim (ed), Kyung-hik
Han Colletion: Theses 1, 36-105, at 104-105.
51
See Gol Rim, ‘Kyung-Chik Han (1902-2000)’s Faith Theory of Church’ in Eun-seop Kim (ed), Kyung-hik
Han Colletion: Theses 1, 265-314, at 266.
52
Jürgen Moltmann, God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology (London: SCM Press, 1999),
5–23.
50
9
in affairs beyondthe immediate concerns of the Christian church and community. In Britain,
during the controversy caused by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s lecture on Sharia law,
questions were raised about whether the Archbishop, a religious leader, should discuss
matters related to the legal system of the country, and whether it is appropriate for a Christian
leader to discuss a matter that does not concern his own constituency and speak on behalf of
Muslims. In response to this, during his Presidential Speech at the General Synod a few days
later, the Archbishop gave a strong defence convincingly arguing that it is entirely
appropriate for a bishop of the Church of England ‘to address issues around the perceived
concerns of other religious communities, and to try and bring them into better public focus’.53
I believe this firm conviction comes from an understanding of the public nature of Christian
leadership. It should not be confined within a narrowly defined community but should
embrace the transcendent nature of Christian values and Christ-like concern for others.
Second, the three leaders went through a ‘conversion’ experience and once they set their aims,
they maintained the focus of their ministry with determination. When it comes to their actual
works, however, they did not achieve all they set out to do and, for some, their ministry was
unsatisfactory. You may ask why Ramabai campaigned only for high caste Hindu women and
not for justice for Dalits or outcastes. Or why Han did not actively protest against unjust
governments. Or why Romero did not mobilise Catholics to respond to violence. These
questions are legitimate and need to be explored in closer examination of their ministries, but
they were people of their time, and they chose what they could do and did it well in their
limited capacity. They responded to the needs presented to them and they did what they
believed was right and what they were gifted at. Rather than having a grand ambitious plan,
they were serving faithfully their immediate communities with diligence and care. They
exhibited remarkable determination and courage in carrying out their tasks, and because of
that their legacies continue to inspire us. Having established themselves, they did not retire
but moved on to further ministry. Furthermore, having set up the Mukti Mission, Ramabai
embarked on the task of Bible translation for the next twenty years until the end of her life,
while Han, after his retirement, dedicated his life for wider ecumenical work for the
betterment of society, and Romero, the Archbishop, put his whole public life into fighting
against injustice and violence.
Third, all three leaders exhibited lives of simplicity. They not only talked or wrote about the
poor and marginalised, but they lived at the margins with the poor and embraced them as they
were. They were each heading up large organisations: a mission centre, a mega-church or, in
the case of Romero, the whole Catholic Church in the nation, and yet their personal lives
were exceptionally simple, and this was admired not only by Christian believers but also by
the general public. It is not surprising that their lives stood above others since we hear rather
too many stories of corruption, mismanagement of church property, empire-building and
abuse of power in the churches. It is perhaps not an exaggeration to say that humility and
simplicity are vital hallmarks of authentic religious leadership. The three leaders were
consistent in their calling and also in their words and deeds; they were faithful to God and to
the people they served. The respect they gained through simple and humble lives was key for
the inspiration and impact of their lives on to so many in their own countries – and perhaps
applicable to economically affluent Western churches as well. They deliberately moved out
from comfortable places and lived lives of simplicity. Although the lifestyle they chose need
not be copied simply as a matter of rule or as a criterion for Christian leadership, lessons can
be drawn for all of us.
53
‘Presidential Address’, Church Times, 15 February 2008.
10
Fourth, they were deeply religious as well as open to social and political activities – the
integration of their faith and actions was a significant common feature among the three
leaders. Often they were seen as conservative in their faith, and emphasizing the scriptures
and prayers, for example, but they were also concerned for the wider society and there was no
conflict in this: their lives were integrated. They were willing to get involved in the practical
dimensions of fund-raising, dealing with officials and also getting involved in politics and yet,
their spiritualities were firmly anchored in their Christian faith. The historian Philip Jenkins
observes that the churches in the global South are ‘not just a transplanted version of the
familiar religion of the older Christian states: the new Christendom is no mirror image of the
Old. It is a truly new and developing entity’.54 He identifies the distinctive characteristics of
southern Christianity as traditional (not liberal) on social issues, conservative on beliefs and
moral issues, and interested in supernatural and personal salvation rather than radical politics.
While this is quite fair observation on the religious aspects of southern Christianity, he
neglected to point out that these ‘conservative’ Christians also indeed actively involved in
social and political issues. All three figures we have looked at refused to follow social and
cultural norms and challenged the status quo within and outside the church when it came to
responding to socio-political and economic issues.
From these three leaders we have distilled four common characteristics: first, engagement in
public life beyond the bounds of the church; second, determination to carry out what they
were gifted and called for; third, simple and humble lifestyle; and fourth, integration of faith
and active involvement in social issues. Perhaps we could draw more lessons from their lives
but for now I must leave it here.
***
54
Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity (New York: OUP, 2002), 214.