jijo (November 7, 2011)
d good side of the incident is something like this will not happen again.

christy (November 4, 2011)
Please be aware that I believe you guys need to check visa norms first before inviting some one tourist visa or getting tourist visa,Its clearly written in government website that "A Tourist Visa can be granted to a foreigner who does not have a residence or ccupation in India and whose sole objective of visiting India is recreation, site seeing, causal visit to meet friends/relatives in India." we must consider this fact before blaming anyone. everybody need to obey rules and regulations no exemptions.God bless

jijo (November 3, 2011)
i feel some pentecostals who dont like pamala church must have played a role in this. or Do you think gov. took action directly on this matter? i feel sorry for W. Lee.

joy chembakasseril, usa. (October 31, 2011)
@ chacko - why did rev:lee 'abscond' from police, when police was searching him-- "old habits never die"! they{some of them}make great speeches, and make great impressions too, giving speeches, but some of them, their private life's and habits are quite different. "old habits never die". somebody closer to him might have told him to run-run and run from police. but rev: william lee, to my understanding and knowledge is a very respectable servant of god, the running or absconding part must have been of somebody else's influence or direction, it could be most probably our local hero's involvement. i also suspect the reason why he went to india on a tourist-visa instead on a missionary-visa, is because of our local hero's influence and direction. they might have told him to come on a tourist-visa rather than a missionary-visa, for fear of not getting a visa as a missionary. i think the local hero's are more responsible for rev: william lee arrest rather than rev:lee himself.

joy chembakasseril, usa. (October 31, 2011)
@ Jijo - Rev Lee was hiding his face from the media was because, this arrest must have been a SUDDEN-BLOW to him, mentally and he didn't know or was not quite prepared to interact with the media in a proper way and when he interacted, he interacted from his nervousness and it turned out to be wrong for a Missionary.

a. s. mathew (October 31, 2011)
CHACKO: Exact question. He was totally confused and somebody might have
misguided him. If he faced the police
without running away, it might have
turned as a real testimony of honesty
and courage in front of his trials.

chacko (October 30, 2011)
Why did Mr Lee abscont when he saw Police? Is that a miracle or something a real christian missionary should do? Is that sign of a Missionary's dedication?

a. s. mathew (October 29, 2011)
In India, we have some of the best
Bible schools-colleges and Seminaries.
Why in the world, the Indian convention season has to be decorated with foreign
preachers?

The orgainzers will tactfully hide the
business factor in these crusades. The vast majority of the preachers who are paying for the crusades or mega
gathering will have to raise money from the U.S. or any other country. They take the pictures and raise money because they are not giving away from their pocket like Warren Buffet or
Bill Gates. If the foreign preachers
are not invited, foreign money will not
land there. There is a big business
mentality behind all these religious
gathering. God is not a respecter of
persons and He can raise many vibrant
speakers in India, if we ardently pray to God. If our underlying motive is to
have dollar inflow, then the organizers
will have to look for foreign preachers
regularl

a. s. mathew (October 29, 2011)
In India, we have some of the best
Bible schools-colleges and Seminaries.
Why in the world, the Indian convention season has to be decorated with foreign
preachers?

The orgainzers will tactfully hide the
business factor in these crusades. The vast majority of the preachers who are paying for the crusades or mega
gathering will have to raise money from the U.S. or any other country. They take the pictures and raise money because they are not giving away from their pocket like Warren Buffet or
Bill Gates. If the foreign preachers
are not invited, foreign money will not
land there. There is a big business
mentality behind all these religious
gathering. God is not a respecter of
persons and He can raise many vibrant
speakers in India, if we ardently pray to God. If our underlying motive is to
have dollar inflow, then the organizers
will have to look for foreign preachers
regularl

thepraize (October 28, 2011)
@eapen daniel,too many question on a single post:)i highly doubt malayalee organisers know the visa regulatory norms in India,cuz to them,they come to USA under visit visa and preach for 6 months and leave,however the dynamics are different in India.This incident should serve as an eye opener to all the christian convention event organisers inviting preachers outside india,to apply or advise the correct visa category. To your first half part of the question,whether foreign preachers should be invited,there is more to what meets the eye.
Bottomline,spiritual commercialization is the order of the day and pastors,and whoever has some elemantary knowledge of the Bible and decent oratory skills have become an organization by themselves and what do you think is the revenue model? apart from the lees and likewise.I would go a step forward and would say all these mega conventions,should be subjected to a thorough audit of the funds, and the tax department should find the source and expe

joy chembakasseril, usa. (October 28, 2011)
i thought several times about inter-cast, inter-religion and inter-regional issues and conflicts as far as india is concerned. india was a country so drowned in factionalism, religionism, regionalism and politics and how they still stick together-- i dont know ! india has been backward for several decades in industrial and economic progress, because of the wrong policies of the central government, and the uncontrolled population out-burst, youngsters have no jobs, they resorted to negativism in life,and now they got stuck on it, because they have no optimism in their lives.the regionalism and religionism has gone so far that they cannot accommodate anything beyond what the are in or believe in. what do you all expect from a country,which is dominated by 85% hindus. this is not simply about an arrest of rev william lee, but that they [hindus] thought that their religion is under attack ! the government and people's mind-set has to change! how we do that pray, pray and pray for india!

thepraize (October 28, 2011)
I completely am in agreement with jijo,there should have been PR activities and diplomatic involvement specially when we have many MPs at the center,seems like the organisers were not well connected,this leaves a very bad idea on the entire activities revolving around Rev Lee, whereas,he is a man of great respect and repute in the United States.

eapen daniel (October 28, 2011)
Indiayil vachanam prasangickan videsikal varenam ennu nirbandham pidickunnath enthinanu? Videsikalekkall nannayi susrooshickuvan kazhivullavar naattil untallo? Athava Videsikal thanne venam ennuntenkil avare niyamaparamayi kontu vannal kuzhappam untakillallo. W. Leeye ippolathe sthithiyil etthichappol untaya naanakkedu marakkan kazhiyumo?

jijo (October 27, 2011)
nobody seen doing PR on this issue or try to speak to the media on behalf of the Man of God. Media kept streaming as if Lee has done a big mistake. People at the most high places have grown cold.

sunny banglore (October 27, 2011)
pamala churchine nassippikkan chilarude kaliyanith.but our god knows every thing is going on. jagrathaiiiiii........

kpmg (October 26, 2011)
Screw Pamala Church....

jijo (October 26, 2011)
i felt bad wen he was trying to hide his face from the media. wat was dat for? he could have behaved cool..

joy chembakasseril, usa. (October 25, 2011)
@raj- i did not mean we have to take revenge on rev william lee, for what happened to us, but there is a racial profiling going on all over in the world and its very high here. i have my sympathies for rev william lee and he is a great man of god. i respect him just the way you respect him. my point is that "just like rev lee is a great man of god we all are great creations of god" and should not be manipulated by others based on one's difference in appearance or profile. i sympathize with you for what happened to rev: lee, but had he had the right papers he would not have been arrested. when you go for missionary work go in a missionary visa and not on a tourist visa. you know the hindu majority there-- they are always on the look out for something with muslims and christians for fear of losing their hindu majority by conversion !

a. s. mathew (October 25, 2011)
LALU: Thank you so deeply for your thoughtfulness. Your comment was far
greater than getting a national award.

Rev. William Lee was invited to speak at the Kerala Churches, and later on he became a famous name in the ministry. He was invited at first in some Malayalee Churches in Tennessee. Somebody has played dirty tricks to create this confusion. Visa restrictions to India for religious work is greatly restricted. So Rev. Lee got the visiting visa and preached which turned as a visa violation. Dr. Billy Graham was not permitted conduct crusades in India after his first visit of 1956, but got special permission in 1971 to speak in Nagaland. The Christian community of India living in the U.S. will have to exert pressure on the government of India for this discrimination of visa issuing for religious work. Above all, pray fervently for changing this situation
and to put the right minded Consular officials at the Indian embassies in the U.S. With God all thin

raj georgia (October 25, 2011)
I think Rev William Lee is great man of God. Who ever behind this it is not a Joke. Our God is good all the time. I believe God will use him more and more around the world

joy chembakasseril, usa. (October 25, 2011)
don't we all recall what happened to our previous indian ambassador mrs meera sankar, when she was travelling on a domestic airliner. tsa had the nerve to check her sari even when her staff told them that,she is an indian official. how funny,even a high ranking official like an indian ambassador is not recognized. i can't even stop laughing when i heard the news that mrs meera sankar's saree was searched for-- these funny guys-- has no knowledge about anything ! same thing happened to an indian citizen like samyukta varma, an artist from india, years ago, when an old american "kelavi" created a turmoil on the plane,complaining to the airliner staff that she suspect somebody on the plane because of their suspicious movements inside the plane. ms samyukta varma was coming to united states for the first time in her life and due to her curiosity she went from side to side to look out from the aircraft. mamootti, an artist, was kept a captive at ny airport because of his muslim name !

lalu (October 25, 2011)
Where's As mathew? we miss him.

jijo (October 25, 2011)
..was waiting to see discussion on this in Beljourn. What went wrong actually? Who is at fault?