The news of Dr. Isaiah’s demise came as a big shock to me on the morning of 23-11-10. He taught me “Homiletics” for two semesters in my first two years in UBS. I remember him as a simple man with a dynamic personality to attract people’s attention. In class he is always animated and keeps us in rapt attention. He remembers all the names of the students and tries to have a personal touch by calling their names in the class.
First time I saw him was in St. Paul’s CNI Church, Pune, when I came for writing my entrance exam for UBS in the beginning of 2007. I meant to go to a Tamil church in the parallel road of where St. Paul’s is. But my auto driver dropped me in front of St.Paul’s. As I didn’t know Hindi, without trying to correct him I got down and went to the Church. The sermon was delivered by Dr. Isaiah that day. I was impressed. The clarity of thought and the way he expressed touched me. Then I heard from someone that he is a faculty in UBS. I was really excited as he was part of UBS where I am going to study.
Then in UBS he taught me “Introduction to Worship and Preaching”. I was astonished by the method of his teaching. His animated way of interacting with the class was admirable. I can say I learnt many things about preaching and expounding the Word of God through his classes.
Personally also he was a good friend. He used to give me the copy of the Bible Study he was going to do in St. Paul’s and ask for my comments. As I was also a part of St. Paul’s weekend ministry team at that time, so I used to enjoy the conversion about the church and whether this message would be appropriate for them or not. In every ways he was a blessing not only to myself but also to many of my classmates. The practical preaching classes used to be a wonderful time where he would be commenting on each of our sermons and telling us its strengths and weaknesses. We learnt a lot.
Last thing I remember about him is our final meeting in his office, before he left UBS, where he gifted me some commentaries, History of Israel by John Bright and Introduction to Christian Doctrine by Millard J. Erickson. I still have them in his remembrance. In few words I can say that he was a sweet man who had a charisma in him. The charisma was not inherent one but the one he developed through hard work . Though a village boy, he strived hard to improve his language, skills and all he had to make him a good teacher and preacher. His story is a success story, a real success story.
