EBCC Delhi had a special guest Rev. Dino L. Touthang as the speaker at the afternoon Youth-Centric Worship Service who spoke on the theme ‘Dare to be Different’. The Service was graced also by the solo performances of Ms Siambiakkim and Mr Muansiam Naulak. The Worship Team led the congregation in praise and worship of the Lord. Upa Thangkhosiam performed the consecration of offertories. Pastor H Biakson conducted the monthly Pastoral Prayer, and at the closing of the Service, Upa Damsomthang said the benediction.
Rev. Dino Touthang, accompanied by his wife Dr Dari, was introduced by Pastor H Biakson as a man of God, a retired social worker who had served for over 30 years in different capacities in different organisations in different parts of the world. The Reverend was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2010, and today he lives a retired life with his family in Dwarka, New Delhi.
Dare to be different - Lessons from the life of Daniel
Rev. Dino Touthang recalled in his introductory remarks the late 70s and early 80s when he and three other young boys formed the ‘Dare To Be Different Band’, drawing inspiration from the life of Daniel, and going round presenting their testimonies. He revealed that it was during those times that he had in an amusing turn of events got the name Dino!
The Reverend presented three questions that one must ponder in order to be different:“Who am I?”, “Who are the people impacting my life?”, and “What is the purpose of my life?” By looking at the life of Daniel, the Reverend brought out how the three questions could best be answered by the youth of today. Many people today are caught in an identity crisis in respect of gender, title, talent, ethnicity, etc. The Olympic gold-medallist swimmer Mr Michael Phelps suffered a crisis of identity and even considered ending his life. While in rehab, he came across Rick Warren’s book ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ that gave him hope and helped him recover. Daniel was sure of who he was: a Jew, God’s chosen people. Daniel resolved in his mind to dare to be different, and not defile himself with the wine and the delicacies offered to him in the King’s palace [Daniel 1:8]. “A man is known by the company he keeps,” the Reverend continued. How important it is to look to Daniel who had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as company, people who he can share his deepest concerns and pray together with when asked to interpret the King’s dreams [Daniel 2:17-18]. And one must not forget that Daniel remembered his friends at the time when the King rewarded him generously for the interpretation! [Daniel 2:48-49]
“There are people who simply exist without a focus in life,” the Reverend went on, “while some are achievement-driven, some are self-focused, and some are focused on God.” The purpose of one’s life should be to stay committed to live for the glory of God [Daniel 1:8; Daniel 2:19-24], to try and live a consistent life, a life of integrity [Daniel 6:4-6], and of a courageous life [Daniel 3:16-18]. The speaker talked about his days in Bastar, Chattisgarh, where he spent over four years living out of a small hut with his wife and his first-born child. He remembered how difficult those days were, but looking back, he said that those were the days when he was at the height of his spiritual journey! “One’s life is a result of choices one makes - if one doesn’t like one’s life it’s time to start making better choices,” he quoted, “Getting knocked down in life is a given; getting up and moving forward is a choice.” Rev. Dino, in conclusion, put forward a challenge for the youth: “Put God before Gold!”
Kamlianmung, Content Writer, EBCC Delhi
