Madhya Pradesh Churches urged not to poach members

(December 14, 2009) Christian Churches in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state have agreed not to poach each other's members, saying it threatens Christian unity in a state where Christians already face sporadic violence. The practice of what they termed "sheep stealing" also confuses Christians and helps groups hostile toward them carry out their designs easily, concluded some 100 leaders of various Churches who met in the state capital, Bhopal, on Saturday. Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal, who chaired the meeting organized by the archdiocese's commission for ecumenism and dialogue, also appealed to all denominations to refrain from badmouthing one another or other religious communities, especially during preaching, since this violates Christ's teaching of love, harmony and peace. Archbishop Cornelio told UCA News that there is no official survey on poaching each other’s members, but said the problem was very visible and threatening to Church unity. He said there is also a worrying trend of small Christian sects suddenly appearing in the state, who preach against other groups and then disappear quickly, leaving "enough fodder for trouble." He said the main victims of these groups are the mainstream Churches. Participants in Saturday’s meeting agreed to set up a four-member committee to formulate measures to end interdenominational conversions and strengthen ecumenical harmony.