Prayer for Last Day of the Year

As we approach the end of 2007, we are often prompted to reflect over the past year. Almost without exception, we are filled with thankfulness for the Lord's protection and grace in the face of dangerous situations and/or other challenges. From Operation World I found a different approach for ending the year -- one with a heartbeat for missions.

The last prayer in the Bible is "Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). Peter tells us that we should be "looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God" (2 Peter 3:12). How better can we do it than by praying for the fulfillment of Genesis 12:3, Revelation 7:9-10 and Matthew 24:14? Pray for:

1 The speediest possible evangelization of the world — of every unreached people group, area, city and nation.

2 The Great Commission to be restored to its rightful centrality in the ministry of the Church worldwide.

3 Your part in achieving this. What is God's will for your life? In the coming year are you willing to do whatever He commands regarding the needs of the world? Is it possible God is calling you to a specific ministry in praying, supporting, or going to the ends of the earth for your Master?

4 Your local church's part. Pray that your fellowship may grow in missionary zeal and commitment in the coming year.

Christmas Eve in Germany

Christmas traditions differ from country to country. And things are a bit different here in Germany than back in the States.

• In contrast to the States, all stores close in the early afternoon (2 pm). There's no mid-night shopping at Walmart for Santa's gifts.
• Church service at 5 pm. Many Germans regard the Christmas Eve service as the most special in the year. Even though they never attend church throughout the year, they will probably still attend on Christmas Eve. (Easter services, on the other hand, are poorly attended).
  
• Families gather for dinner and the opening of gifts. The Weihnachstman (Santa Claus) arrives during the evening of the 24th, giving the kids plenty of time to play with their gifts before going to bed.
  

Our family had our Christmas dinner before church. As I mentioned in our previous post, our church rented the community auditorium for tonight's service. I'm guessing that we had about 200 in attendance.

Then we came home, read the Christmas narrative, and Brianna handed out the gifts. This year was special because both Claudia's parents and my parents were with us for Christmas. (Yep, my parents made the trip to Germany for the holidays.)

Royal Rangers in Germany

Today, our church in Germany held its annual Royal Ranger worship service. It is an opportunity for the Rangers to lead the service and invite their parents and other family members to come to church. After the service, we held our church's Christmas dinner -- albeit in German Ranger fashion with Saitenwürstchen, Spätzle and Lentils.

As was the case last year, our church had to rent the local community auditorium and we estimate that 240 people came to the service -- which is no small feat for our young congregation. And as our goal, many people from the community came to the service who normally would never enter a church. And then many stayed on for the dinner afterwards.

Tomorrow we will hold our Christmas Eve services also in the community hall -- since everything is already set up. So...I'll have a report later this week.

Mason Taylor

It may be old hat to our friends in the States, but this video and the clips of Mason Taylor are simply hilarious. Enjoy!

A Slice of Americana

Yesterday I spent the day traveling to US Consulate in Frankfurt in order to renew a passport. Although it is always a hassle to make the trip (125 miles one-way) and work through bureaucratic forms and procedures, I always enjoy the chance to experience a little bit of America. Not only is there the Consulate in Frankfurt, but there used to be a sizable US military presence in the city; and Frankfurt is the economic center of the German economy.

Some impressions from the day

• I take the train from Rudersberg to Frankfurt. The stretch between Stuttgart and Frankfurt was on the ICE (InterCity Express). We traveled at a meager 250 km/h (ca 155 mph).
• The consulate personnel was professional, yet friendly and warm. (This is not always the case with German governmental offices). I was finished within an hour, which is pretty fast for this sort of thing.
• For lunch I found Kentucky Friend Chicken - complete with coleslaw and Pepsi
• Went back to the train station and waited at the local Starbucks - vanilla bean frappuccino and NYC cheese cake.

Okay, I probably spent more than I should have at Starbucks. But something like this comes only once a year or so. When did you last go to Starbucks?

The Politically Correct 12 Days of Cxxxxxmas

I got this beauty in an email today. Enjoy.

On the 12th day of the Eurocentrically-imposed midwinter festival, my potential acquaintance gave to me,

TWELVE males reclaiming their inner warrior through ritual drumming.

ELEVEN pipers piping (plus the 18 member pit orchestra made up of members in good standing of the Musicians Equity Union as called for in their union contract even though they will not be asked to play a note...)

TEN melanin-deprived, testosterone-poisoned scions of the patriarchal ruling class system leaping,

NINE persons engaged in rhythmic self-expression,

EIGHT economically-disadvantaged female persons stealing milk products from enslaved Bovine Americans,

SEVEN endangered swans swimming on federally-protected wetlands,

SIX enslaved fowl-Americans producing stolen, nonhuman animal products,

FIVE golden symbols of culturally-sanctioned enforced domestic incarceration, (NOTE: after a member of the Animal Liberation Front threatened to throw red paint at my computer, the calling birds, French hens and partridge have been reintroduced to their native habitat. To avoid further animal American enslavement, the remaining gift package has been revised.)

FOUR hours of recorded whale songs,

THREE deconstructionist poets,

TWO Sierra Club calendars printed on recycled, processed tree carcasses,

and a Spotted Owl activist chained to an old-growth pear tree.

What is Spiritual Health?

Paul Pruyser argues that a healthy spiritual life consist of seven components. All seven dimensions combined provide us with a snapshot of a leader’s spiritual life.

1. Calling. Calling has to do with the sense of purpose. Calling, also known as vocation, has to do with the sense of purpose. In a spiritual context, vocation is not just a person’s career choice or occupation. There is a sense of calling that prompts leaders to make sure that all of their work aligns with their values, no matter how lowly the task may seem. A sense of vocation helps effective leaders put their talents to work as participants in the process that moves the universe toward increasing integrity.
   
   
2. Communion. Communion is has to do with one’s sense of belonging to a greater community. If there is any one bottom line found in all leaders, it is in changing lives. By being involved in social projects and building relationships with one’s neighbors, leaders begin to understand the real needs facing their communities. By virtue of their skills and connections, leaders can partner with civic and social groups to bring about change in their community.
   
   
3. Awareness of the Holy. The definition of holy is something that is “completely other.” What, if anything, is sacred to you? Can you love something / someone outside of yourself? Is there anything you consider as untouchable or unfathomable? Do you perceive yourself as a dependent creature, or are you preoccupied with yourself? If pushed by calamity, for what would you be willing to make any sacrifice? Ultimately the question is, “Is there anything or anyone whom you revere more than yourself?”
   
   
4. Providence. Do you believe that your life fits within a greater scheme of life? A sense of providence may be expressed by your desire for God's guidance. Providence is critically related to the ability to trust (and hope). Without trust, there is no sense of supernatural guidance. Instead, everything in life is happenstance, without rhyme or reason. In times of crisis, do you as a leader possess a calmness in knowing that your life and work fits in a larger scheme of things?
   
   
5. Faith. Faith relates to the leader’s stance in life. Do you embrace the ideals and general pattern of reality? Or do you tend to be a cautious pessimist, full of ifs, buts, and howevers? The question is not only to what a leader commits himself or herself, but whether the leader can commit at all. Faith impacts a leader’s perspective by opening the horizons to new opportunities. In other words, the leader's faith determines his/her view of the future, which in turn is an important factor in planning and vision casting.
   
   
6. Grace or gratefulness. Effective leaders have a sense of grace that finds expression in their kindness and generosity. Graceful leaders appreciate the beauty of giving and receiving, and “getting something for nothing.” People who acknowledge that their talents and abilities, including their physical health, are truly a gift of life – not something to be taken for granted – express their gratefulness by being good stewards of their endowments. They develop and build upon their “giftedness.”
   
   Related to the concept of grace and gratefulness is forgiveness. Effective leaders know when and how to forgive people who have disappointed them. Sometimes leaders focus on their own faults and consider themselves unworthy of forgiveness. As a result, they may work under a full load of guilt feelings. Subsequently, these leaders try to compensate by over performing in hopes of negating their past “sins.” Other leaders who insist on their own self-rejection may wallow in self-pity – almost to the point of narcissism.
   
   The result of this form of narcissism is the lack of feeling any need for grace or having any gratefulness whatsoever. “Who me? I don’t need anyone’s forgiveness.” Or “Well, yes, I have had much success, but I worked hard for every bit of it.” Not surprisingly, these people find it difficult to forgive others. Arrogance then drives the leader into a purely transactional understanding of relationships. Everything is a matter of rights or exchanging wares.
   
   
7. Repentance. Repentence refers to a process of changing one’s behavior. It is more than just feeling sorry and having feelings of regret. Rather, it is what Robert Quinn refers to as "deep change" – a turning away from an ineffective attitude, a shift of mind. Effective leaders know how to turn away from actions and attitudes that treat others unfairly and cause them harm. As a result, we change our ways and commit to a new actions and attitudes that builds and develops others, and ultimately our organizations/ministries. There is a direct relationship between repentance and the ability to learn something new.
   

Newsletter Now Available

The long awaited, not-to-be-forgotten Rosson family newsletter is now available for downloading. In order to view the newsletter, you will need the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader. To save to your computer, right mouse click on the following link. Feel free to print and distribute this among your friends and in your church.

http://www.cog-europe.de/rosson/dec2007.pdf

Divorce and Remarriage

I don't know why it always, but it happens. We have a team of five preachers at our church. But somehow I (along with the pastor) get the more "sensitive" topics. My next sermon will be no different: Divorce. I can't say that I speak from personal experience. But unfortunately it is a major problem in Germany, just as it is in America.

In my research, I came across a book (and subsequently an article based on the book) by David Instone-Brewer. His article, which appeared in Christianity Today's website, has caused quite a stir in some evangelical circles. Indeed, if Instone-Brewer's conclusions are correct, it should cause many of our churches to reconsider their stance on divorce / remarriage -- particularly for those who later desire ministerial credentials.

Below is a snippet of Instone-Brewer's article.

One of my most dramatic findings concerns a question the Pharisees asked Jesus: "Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?" (Matt. 19:3). This question reminded me that a few decades before Jesus, some rabbis (the Hillelites) had invented a new form of divorce called the "any cause" divorce. By the time of Jesus, this "any cause" divorce had become so popular that almost no one relied on the literal Old Testament grounds for divorce.

The "any cause" divorce was invented from a single word in Deuteronomy 24:1. Moses allowed divorce for "a cause of immorality," or, more literally, "a thing of nakedness." Most Jews recognized that this unusual phrase was talking about adultery. But the Hillelite rabbis wondered why Moses had added the word "thing" or "cause" when he only needed to use the word "immorality." They decided this extra word implied another ground for divorce—divorce for "a cause." They argued that anything, including a burnt meal or wrinkles not there when you married your wife, could be a cause! The text, they said, taught that divorce was allowed both for adultery and for "any cause."

Another group of rabbis (the Shammaites) disagreed with this interpretation. They said Moses' words were a single phrase that referred to no type of divorce "except immorality"—and therefore the new "any cause" divorces were invalid. These opposing views were well known to all first-century Jews. And the Pharisees wanted to know where Jesus stood. "Is it lawful to divorce your wife for any cause?" they asked. In other words: "Is it lawful for us to use the 'any cause' divorce?"

When Jesus answered with a resounding no, he wasn't condemning "divorce for any cause," but rather the newly invented "any cause" divorce. Jesus agreed firmly with the second group that the phrase didn't mean divorce was allowable for "immorality" and for "any cause," but that Deutermonomy 24:1 referred to no type of divorce "except immorality."

This was a shocking statement for the crowd and for the disciples. It meant they couldn't get a divorce whenever they wanted it—there had to be a lawful cause. It also meant that virtually every divorced man or women was not really divorced, because most of them had "any cause" divorces. Luke and Matthew summarized the whole debate in one sentence: Any divorced person who remarried was committing adultery (Matt. 5:32; Luke 16:18), because they were still married. The fact that they said "any divorced person" instead of "virtually all divorced people" is typical Jewish hyperbole—like Mark saying that "everyone" in Jerusalem came to be baptized by John (Mark 1:5). It may not be obvious to us, but their first readers understood clearly what they meant.

Within a few decades, however, no one understood these terms any more. Language often changes quickly (as I found out when my children first heard the Flintstones sing about "a gay old time"). The early church, and even Jewish rabbis, forgot what the "any cause" divorce was, because soon after the days of Jesus, it became the only type of divorce on offer. It was simply called divorce. This meant that when Jesus condemned "divorce for 'any cause,' " later generations thought he meant "divorce for any cause."

Germany: One in Five Protestant Worshippers Charismatic or Pentecostal

The following is an article from Idee:spektrum, the German equivalent of Christianity Today.

Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians are among Germany’s keenest churchgoers.

Although they make up only slightly more than one percent of all 26 million Protestants, they account for 20 percent of the worshippers on an average Sunday.

These figures were released during the annual gathering of the “Circle of Charismatic Leaders” meeting December 3 – 5 in Kassel. The 35 leaders represent approximately 300,000 Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians from main line, evangelical and independent churches.

The main line Protestant Churches have 25 million members on their rolls. About four percent worship on a regular Sunday.

Catholics in Luther’s home country attend church in greater numbers. 14 percent of the 26.6 million Catholics go to mass on Sunday.

Three Signs of a Miserable Job

I finished reading Patrick Lencioni's latest, Three Signs of a miserable job. As the title suggests, Lencioni presents a model for developing worker satisfaction, which in turn leads to lower worker turnover and improved organizational performance. Although written for the business environment, Lencioni's principles are just as valid in church ministry. What follows below is a summary of Lencioni's model (pp. 221-222). He also gives a visual summary that can been seen here (and scroll down to the video).

Anonymity
People cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known. All humans need to be understood and appreciated for their unique qualities by someone in a position of authority. People who see themselves as invisible, generic or anonymous cannot love their jobs, no matter what they are doing.

Irrelevance
Everyone needs to know that their job matters to someone. Anyone. Without seeing a connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group of people, an employee simply will not find lasting fulfillment. Even the most cynical employees need to know that their work matters to someone, even if it's just the boss.

Immeasurement
Employees need to be able to gauge their progress and level of contribution for themselves. They cannot be fulled in their work if their success depends on the opinions or whims of another person, no matter how benevolent that person may be. Without tangibe means of assessing success or failure, motivation eventually deteriorates as people see themselves as unable to control their own fate.

Do I have a miserable job? No.... Mine's fine. But what about those who serve under my leadership? Well, it's time to do some reflecting.

He Reigns

I stumbled across this video recently from the Newsboys. Great song! Somehow I got to get our praise team to do this in church. Enjoy!

Short Update from the Rossons in Rudersberg

Sorry that I haven't written much in the last 10 days. We've been very busy of late. The school in Moscow is going smoothly, but we're still in the crunch of getting the paperwork finished for the licensing process. I've been very busy negotiating with some local churches who are interested in using our facilities for their weekly worship services. And we're also looking for ways to expand space and offerings to our Eurasian church family.

In Germany, today our village holds its annual Christmas market. It's an event where the entire community comes together and shops, eats, and talks. As is our tradition, our church is represented by our Royal Rangers troupe. Colin, Kevin and Brianna are all active in the activities. Claudia, in the meantime gets to prepare the snacks for tomorrow's kids' program (at the church).

Colin the Champion

This past weekend, Colin participated in his very first skateboard competition. Both of the twins were looking forward to the event. But Kevin injured his right knee (complete with fluid build-up, xrays, and knee brace) about a week before the competition.

Colin entered into the beginners' catagory, but there were 15 years also in his group. (The twins are 11.) Round after round, Colin kept advancing towards the finals. Finally he won the first place trophy and a new deck as a prize. Way to go, Colin!

Guests from Canada

This weekend at the seminary in Moscow, we had guests from Vancouver, BC. Phil Jeske and Dave Hensman from International Christian Ministries - Canada, along with pastor Dean Richmond (and Travis the piano man0 from The Bridge Christian Fellowship in Abbotsford. The folks from ICM were passing through Moscow on their way to do some leadership / mentoring seminars in the Ural region of Russia.

Phil (whose picture is shown) is a veteran missionary to Africa and Germany. I got to know Phil through one of our pastors in East Germany, Karl Schneider. And since Phil brought a group from his local church, it was easy to see how they respect one another and work together. Phil does most of the teaching, Dave does most of the music. But in their seriousness for God, there is plenty of room for humor. (Hey, if you can't enjoy what you're doing and with whom you're doing it, then it's just that much harder.)

New Restrictions for Missionaries in Russia

On October 4, 2007, proposed changes were introduced for the procedures for obtaining and maintaining long-term visas (that go beyond the term of a tourist visa). The new regulations are not yet finalized, and the interpretation of the decree is yet to be set. But here is the summary.

The current "religious workers" visa, as well as the business multi-entry visa, is valid for one-year. However, over a period of 180 days, all visa-subject foreign nationals will be limited to stays of 90 days over a 180 day period. This means that an American missionary church planter or Bible school teacher could spend only about half of his time (90 days of 180; six months of the year) in Russia.

In my case, I've never tried to stay more than two weeks at a time in Moscow; I continuously commute in / out of Russia without trying to take up residence. But for some this regulation would apply to our former missionary teachers at the seminary who, for all intents and purposes, taken up residence in Russia.

In a more subtle change, in order to renew the visa the Westerner would have to apply for the visa in a country of his permanent residence. That is to say, a missionary in Russian cannot simply go to Finland or any neighboring country of his choice to apply for a new visa. More than likely, he'll have to go back to his home country.

In my case, I have the German "green card". I could apply for the visa in both America or Germany. But most missionaries who have been lived in Russia have not set up residence in a nearby European country.

Eastern Germany – the Most Atheistic Region in Europe

In idea Spektrum (the German equivalent of Christianity Today), there was an article about the status of evangelicalism in the former communist country of East Germany. Here is an excerpt.

Martin Luther’s homeland has turned into a pre-Christian mission field, according to the Lutheran theologian and journalist Uwe Siemon-Netto, director of the Institute on Lay Vocation at the Concordia Seminary of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod in St. Louis (Missouri).

At the recent event Siemon-Netto – born in Leipzig in 1936 - gave a lecture on the religious situation in East Germany. Less than a quarter of the population in Luther’s homeland is still Christian. Luther’s town, Wittenberg, counts about 15 percent church members, Protestant or Catholic. The same is true for Eisleben, where Luther was born in 1483 and where he died in 1546.

The former East Germany is the only European territory with an overwhelming majority of atheists – 65 percent of the population. In 1950, the Protestant churches in the Soviet occupied German Democratic Republic had 16 million members. Today, there are 3.4 million left.

This decline is partly due to a Christian brain drain. The swiftest and most competent East Germans – including disproportionately many Christians – have left the East for the more prosperous West. Among the core of the Protestant establishment used to be the educated and wealthy, the landowners, industrialists and craftsmen.

But, says Siemon-Netto, there is a ray of hope: “While it is true that the Eastern German society is the most atheistic in Europe, it is also true that the tiny and courageous Christian minority in Eastern Germany also tends to be the most faithful in the nation.”

For the complete article, click here.

Drugs kill 80,000 Russians a year

It was posted by Reuters and later other news outlets that drugs kill 80,000 Russians a year. This is a significant number anytime, but especially in light of Russia's population is only 140 million. (To put this in American figures, our population is roughly 300 million and we were to lost 170,000 a year to drugs).

Thus it is not too surprising that many of our churches in throughout the former Soviet Union have started their own drug rehabilitation centers. I have had the occasion to visit some of these. Many times these centers are nothing more than a safe house led by a married couple who accompany the addicts as they go cold turkey which is followed up by weeks of biblical teaching and occupational therapy while living at the rehab center.

As is stated in the article, the Russian medical system also does have programs for drug addicts, but rates of reoccurrence are very high noting that counseling is highly ineffective while patients are sedated.

Detoxification centers are widespread, but since they don't combine with rehabilitation programs, their effectiveness is "negligible," the report said.

Russian law also bans the opiate substitute methadone from being prescribed to heroin users, despite its successful use in many countries, HRW said.

"The lack of effective drug addiction treatment in Russia means that drug users who want to break their addiction cannot, and are condemned to a life of continued drug use," said Diederik Lohman.

Many of our students and pastors were former drug addicts. And it is not surprising they they have a heart to help others were have been held in bonds of drug abuse. More than any other country in Europe that I've seen, working with drug addicts is a vital ministry of the church in its effort to reach and change society.

Life in Germany - Diesel $ 7.52 per gallon

I've just written about it last week, so I won't belabor the point. The raising oil price, the declining dollar just simply makes for some interesting prices for life in Germany.

• Diesel (which we have) costs today $7.52 per gallon
• A gallon of regular gasoline costs $8.18.
• A gallon of milk is $4.06 (generic name brand); most common name brand - $5.29
• A pound of Elstar apples costs $6.44 (but who buys them by the pound?)
• We paid $4.43 for a package of sliced ham (10.15 oz) at the discount retailer Lidl (like Aldi's)

And for us missionaries who get paid in US dollars, we can only say ouch!

Near Disaster Averted in Moscow

It is with much gratitude that I can share that a major fire at the seminary has been averted. During the past two weeks, several students had noticed an odor in one room of the seminary. Over the past weekend, a couple of girls had even noticed a discolorization (or a darkening) of the wallpaper. By Monday afternoon, we realized that a faulty electrical connection was the problem.

When we called on the electrician, we learned that the insulation around three electrical connections had melted; it was just a matter of time before the faulty connections would set the walls on fire.

Through the early spring, ETSM had a new smoke digress system installed. The firm that installed the unit had cut three wires. Not being electrical engineers, they simply re-connected the wires without giving attention to the type of wire (copper or aluminum) or the diameter size (which varies according to the electrical load). As a result of the cross matching and wrong size, the insulation surrounding the electrical connectors had melted, leaving it open to direct contact with flammable materials (wall-paper, try wall, etc.).

Our non-Christian electrician even stated, "It's a miracle that the whole building didn't burn down." Our response, "Are you saying God spared us?" Well, I guess He did."

Much Ado About Nothing

Having compassion with our American friends who now must live with reruns of Leno and Letterman, I would like to share an article that I found. I assure you that this is a legitimate news item. Perhaps you've heard, "to err is human, but to really mess things up you need a computer." Well, I'm not sure if that is always true. The article is available with the Daily Mirror and Ananova.

An energy company threatened to take a Manchester man to court - over an "unpaid" bill for £0.00p.Dave Abrams, of Wythenshawe, was astonished when he received the letter from Powergen, reports The Daily Mirror.

Mr Abrams, who is in his 50s and lives alone, switched energy providers from Powergen to npower several months ago.He heard nothing from Powergen until the legal warning notice came through the door.

The letter, dated October 19, warned Mr Abrams he owed the company £0.00 for gas and electricity and said if he did not pay up he would be visited by a debt collection agency.It added that he could also be taken to court and, as a result, may find it difficult to obtain credit in future.

Mr Abrams said: "I was a bit nonplussed when I received the letter. I couldn't understand why they'd sent it, as I was on a pre-pay meter."

Powergen later confirmed the letter was sent in error. But it then told Dave, in his 50s, he owed £502 after paying too little when prices went up. Dave protested he was on prepay and Powergen admitted his meter should have been recalibrated. To reflect the blunder, his bill was cut to £300 to be paid within two years. But furious Dave had had enough.

Dave said: "I couldn't believe it when they phoned to apologise for the original bill, then told me I owed £500. I said I'd see them in court. I'm astonished they're so hopeless."

Great Book to Promote Missions in Your Church

Recently I got an offer from Church of God missiologists, Dr. Grant McClung on his mission book "Globalbeliever.com". He has asked me if I could pass this offer along to Church of God pastors, mission leaders, and our supporters. So, here is the offer from Dr. McClung:

Seminaries, Bible colleges, and especially local pastors and local church missions leaders have made use of this as an easy-to-read training text on world missions. Some are using it as a Sunday School or Family Training Hour elective course textbook. Some pastors and leaders have also used the book as an appreciation gift for missions giving.

For a limited time, the publishers have arranged with me a special author discount of $1.50 per book (on orders of 25 or more). It is my hope that we can finish up the remaining stock of the recent edition and work toward another printing in 2008.

In the meantime, please let me know if you would like to place an order with me. An order of 50 books, for example, at $1.50 each would cost $75 plus some basic shipping costs within the U.S.A. (approximately $25 average). For an investment of $100, you can have a basic missions training resource to put into the hands of 50 trainistudents, members, and ministry colleagues.

I have known Dr. McClung for over 20 years. (And my wife has known them for almost 30 years due to their missionary service in Germany. I have several of his books in my library. If you are interested in making an order. Please contact Dr. McClung at gmeuro@earthlink.net and tell him you heard of the offer from me.

Dollar Slides and Its Impact in Europe and Russia

In the U.S. the American economy is showing rapid growth. According to The Townhall, America's GDP came in at a "breathtaking 3.9 percent annual rate for the third quarter."

At the same time the dollar is taking a nosedive after a cut by the Federal Reserve in the leading interest rates. Currency buyers are dumping their dollars and it is causing the value of the U.S. dollar to decline. Perhaps that is not felt by the average consumer back in the States but we're feeling the crunch here in Germany and Russia. We get our income from our partnering church in the US. That means we're paid in dollars.

The Euro is up to $1.4503 against the dollar. Combine the low dollar with the high price of oil, and you can imagine what it means for missionaries in Europe. Monday we drove to the German national assembly (for our denomination), that morning I filled up our VW with diesel (which is much cheaper than gasoline) and paid just over $100. When I filled up again yesterday, my tank wasn't quite as empty, but we still paid $87.

Simultaneously, the Russian Ruble is down to 24.6918 to the dollar. Consider the prices in Moscow (with its 9% inflation rate last year) and it is an uncomfortable combination. According to an article in the Moscow Times recently, gas prices in Moscow have surged past U.S. averages. It's not usual to see gas sold for $4 per gallon. On my last trip to Moscow, I paid over a dollar (28 rubles) for a liter of milk.

Will the dollar rebound? Well...my experience says, "Only time will tell." Talk about Russian roulette.....

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Today is a special day in history. 490 years ago, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. This led to a Diet of Worms in 1521. No....this wasn't cruel and unusual punishment for vandalism. But a church court that debated his "heretical" statements. Fortunately, Luther was kidnapped and imprisoned by one of his friends, Freddy "the Wise Guy" (okay, it was Elector Frederick the Wise). And before you get too angry, this "kidnapping" actually saved Luther's life from the wrath of Emperor Charles V and, ultimately, from the Pope.

While in exile, Luther was brought to Wartburg near Eisenach. He remained here for 11 months - and it was here that he began to translate the New Testament into the German language -- much to the disagreement of the Catholic hierarchy, for the Bible had always restricted to "trained" priests who could read Latin.

So...what did the Rossons do on Reformationstag? We visited the Wartburg castle and saw the room from which Luther changed the nature of Christianity and brought the Scriptures much closer to everyday people. Wartburg is only an hour away from where we were attending a conference.

Wartburg is a fortress on top of a mountain overlooking Eisenach. It is easy to picture what Luther meant when he penned the words to the hymn: "A mighty fortress is our God; a bulwark never failing." For him, the fortress in Wartburg was a sanctuary where he deeply encountered God through the Word.

Update from Moscow - from a different perspective

Below is the report from my close associate in Moscow, Ilya Okhotnikov. As many of our supporters might remember, Ilya serves as our provost. I spent the last 9 days in Moscow, working closely with Ilya. So his report resembles what I would write. So...this is his report. Please also feel free to visit his blog by clicking here. And please note his prayer request for his daughter, Daniella.

Greetings! It has been a tense Fall! The Lord God is good in any circumstance! 2 months ago ETSM enrolled 11 new students. They are from all over Russia: from Kaliningrad region – the most Western point of Russia all the way to Siberian Russian territory of Tuva. Tuva is on the border with Mongolia. Excellent students! Dedicated and eager to learn and study for ministry!

1. Just last Friday – Oct. 26, 07 – students have completed a block session on Synoptic Gospels (Mt., Mk., Lk). A Russian teacher, Pastor Leonid Vasilkov, taught the class. ETSM’s extension program students arrived to study all together. A teaching, which is given by a pastor, is always different from that of a Bible school teacher. For good. It was some 50 students in the class. As always, coming together to ETSM form different places of Russia pastors not just hear the Word and study material, but also celebrate some free of pastoral ministry time together in sharing and talking, laughing and enjoying pastoral community setting.

2. Another major even at ETSM was a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Seminary. Members of the Board have arrived from Latvia, Ukraine, Moscow, Germany, Siberian part of Russia. They have approved the work of ETSM’s administration and set up some goals for the future growth of training. As the time goes by more and more national pastors and Bishops receive their education. They become teachers of the Bible Schools. They share knowledge, skills and experience with the learners of the schools of ministry. Praise God for His ways and plans, which are above ours!

3. Licensing process continues: the goal is to pray for the process of registration of Seminary’s documents in appropriate Governmental offices before applying for the license. Please pray these changes will be processed quickly: not for 4 weeks, not for 3 weeks and not for 2, but sooner, so that ETSM could file the licensing paper work in the first part of November, so that expert committee would come before the end of the calendar year. We have all the papers ready and well, with exception of 3 items. We all in Moscow need your prayers for licensing. Please, keep on praying: educational license is the governmental permission to train ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the official way. I hope we don’t need to go underground again to equip laborers for the Harvest, like it used to be some 20 years ago (1987 was a beginning year of warming: PERESTROIKA did start, but I went to the military service: officer candidate traning, rturned in Dec. 1990 and in August 1991 have been gloriously saved!).

4. Seminary students left for their Missionary Week to different churches in Russia and Ukraine. Usually they go with 3 purposes for the mission work: One is to give and to receive from a pastor or a church. They can minister or receive from experienced pastor. Goal number 2 is to get to know the family of Church of God: students have a unique opportunity to make friends with other churches of Church of God in Russia and Ukraine (Armenia, *….stan, Moldova, Mongolia etc.). And the 3^rd goal is to give a word of a testimony: HOW did the Lord God helped them to live up to this day? Why did they come to ETSM? What and how does the Seminary help them in their formation\preparation for ministry? Some have been in the ministry already. We expect to hear many exciting stories of this week of ministry.

5. Please, pray for Daniella, our daughter: she can not get over a cough for 4 weeks. A pediatrician we have (socialized medicine assigns us only 1 pediatrician, only 1 option) has been not quite attentive in the process of analyzing Daniella’s case, which turned to be from a cold all the way down to suspected pneumonia\bronchitis. Thank you for your care for prayer for us. We need it. Please, keep requesting God on our behalf so that Daniella would get healed quicker with no negative consequences.

THANK YOU MUCH!

Why Muslims Decide to Follow Christ

Today in Christianity Today’s website, there was an interesting article about a study done by Dr. J. Dudley Woodberry from Fuller Seminary. Between 1991 and 2007, about 750 Muslims who have decided to follow Christ filled out an extensive questionnaire on that basic question. The respondents—from 30 countries and 50 ethnic groups—represent every major region of the Muslim world. Below is a redacted version of the complete article.

First, respondents ranked the lifestyle of Christians as the most important influence in their decision to follow Christ.

The next most important influence was the power of God in answered prayers and healing. Like most of the factors that former Muslims list, experiences of God's supernatural intervention often increase after Muslims decide to follow Christ.

Closely related was the finding that some noted deliverance from demonic power as another reason they were attracted to Jesus. After all, he is the healing prophet in the Qur'an and has power over demons in the Gospels. In northern Nigeria, a malam (what some might call a witchdoctor) used sorcery against a man who was considering following Jesus. The seeker became insane, and his extended family left him. But then he prayed that Christ would free him, and he was healed.

The third biggest influence listed by respondents was dissatisfaction with the type of Islam they had experienced. They expressed unhappiness with the Qur'an, which they perceive as emphasizing God's punishment more than his love (although the Qur'an says he loves those who love him [3:31]). ….

Some respondents decried Islamic militancy and the imposition of Islamic law, which they said is not able to transform hearts and society. This disillusionment is broad in the Muslim world. Many Iranians became interested in the gospel after the Khomeini revolution of 1979 brought in rule by clergy. Pakistanis became more receptive after President Zia ul-Haq (1977-1988) tried to implement Islamic law. And Afghans became more open after Islamist Taliban conquest and rule (1994-2001).

As with Paul and Cornelius in Acts, visions and dreams played a role in the conversion of many. More than one in four respondents, 27 percent, noted dreams and visions before their decision for Christ, 40 percent at the time of conversion, and 45 percent afterward.

Next in attraction for Muslims is the spiritual truth in the Bible. The Qur'an attests that the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel (commonly understood as the New Testament) are from God. Even though Muslims are generally taught that these writings became corrupted, they often find them compelling reading and discover truth that they conclude must be from God. The Bible helped one Egyptian understand "the true character of God." The Sermon on the Mount helped convince a Lebanese Muslim that he should follow the one who taught and exemplified these values.

Respondents were also attracted by the Bible's teaching about the love of God. In the Qur'an, although God loves those who love him, his love is conditional. He does not love those who reject faith (3:31-32). There is nothing in the Qur'an like, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10), or, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).

Particularly attractive to Muslims is the love expressed through the life and teachings of Jesus. The Qur'an already calls him faultless (19:19). Many Muslims are attracted to him by his depiction in the Qur'an and then go to the Gospels to find out more.

When Christ's love transforms committed Christians into a loving community, many Muslims listed a desire to join such a fellowship as next in importance.

More News from ETSM Moscow

Well, I (Tom) am still in Moscow and in the middle of meetings. The first meeting was with the faculty and staff as we began the process of identifying our seminary's core values. 2 1/2 hours later, and we have about 30 suggestions - literally all over the board. But it was fun to begin this process. Eventually, the identification of our core values will play a role in shaping our curriculum and content.

We then held our school board meeting yesterday and today. Most of our time was spent reviewing the school's licensing process and considering the needed changes to the school's charter (constitution), financial structure, and academic program offerings. We hope to have all of our paperwork submitted to the proper officials by the beginning of December. Receiving our license will give us government recognition of doing bachelor's level training - a major milestone in Russia.

And finally I am participating in a meeting with our national executive committee in Russia. Although we have the perfunctory meeting points (setting schedules and goals for the coming year), it has also been a time of bearing each others burdens. For example, our national overseer just received word this afternoon that his congregation's lease for their main weekly service is being canceled effective immediate. In other words, his congregation has been kicked out without prior notice of the building where they held church services. That means that they have only a few days to find a meeting place for this weekend. So...obviously this is a matter of prayer.

Evangelicals are Traitors?

This recent article in Christianity today caught my attention about Kazakhstan, one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. Although the amount of opposition to evangelicalism varies from area to area, through the CIS countries, one often hears the argument that belonging to an evangelical church is denying part of the native culture. For example, to be Russian (or you fill in the nationality) is to be Russian Orthodox (or fill in the predominant religion). Often the fear of losing "cultural identity" has been an excuse to harass many evangelical Churches, including many Pentecostal/charismatic congregation throughout the former Soviet Union.

Below is a small excerpt of the Christianity Today article. For the full article, click here.

Following a 15-hour church raid in late August, Kazakhstan's secret police (the KNB) placed two pastors and two members of Grace Presbyterian Church in Karaganda under investigation for high treason. Senior pastor Igor Kim, his sister, and the church administrator—all Kazakhstani citizens—as well as Aleksei Kim, the pastor of a sister church, face sentences of up to 10 to 15 years, according to Forum 18, a news service that tracks religious-rights violations.

Government leaders in Kazakhstan, the ninth-largest country in the world, increasingly view adherents of minority religions as unpatriotic. Religion in the oil-rich republic is traditionally tied to race: Kazakhs are expected to be nominal Muslims; Russians are expected to be Orthodox....

Political pressures have also converged to create a worsening situation for religious rights. The Beslan school siege and the 2004 and 2005 color revolutions, which toppled nearby regimes, reinforced government suspicions that earnest belief is dangerous....

Despite the government's unfair treatment of evangelicals, Rukhbayeva said she believes Kazakhstanis are more receptive than ever to Christianity's message. "People are more open to religion [than in early post-Soviet days]," she said.

Rosson Family Update

Just a quick update on the family and our happenings. I (Tom) left Germany yesterday and arrived in Moscow early this morning. I crawled into my bed at the seminary at 4 am. My trip came on the day after nothing but headaches from computers (my laptop bit the dust) and cars (a routine oil job led to bad news about brakes, tires, shock absorbers and V-ribbed belt).

The flights went well. However, while catching my connecting flight in Moscow, I received word that Brianna been injured as a neighbor accidentally drove over her foot. Fortunately, our niece and nephew are staying with us, witnessed the accident, and notified Claudia immediately. After inspecting her Brianna's foot, Claudia opted not to run immediately to the hospital, but to observe it overnight. This morning, Brianna was able to walk to school.

Claudia and I had a good laugh about it. For whatever reasons, things types of things (Brianna's foot, or Kevin's breaking two teeth, etc.) always seem to happen when I'm away from home. And if I stay home....just stay holed up in my home office....nothing bad ever happens to the kids ;-\

Colin and Kevin are doing well. although each have their challenges in school. Colin had an English test on Monday. (Keep in mind that they attend German schools, but he started school in the States and we speak English at home). Getting an "A" on an English test has proved to be elusive. Sometimes it's because of the British English that is taught here. But sometimes it's ill-fated logic.

Monday's banal example: "What is the opposite of 'to learn'?" Flustered, Colin gave no answer and then asked the teacher after the test. What to hear the answer? 'To teach." (The logical conclusion is that Colin's teacher has stopped learning. Right?)

Kevin , who speaks better English than his twin brother, also has his problems with his class, but for a different reason. Kevin is simply frustrated that the English language isn't flexible enough for multiple spellings based on the way the word sounds. ;-)

Lencioni - Temptations of a CEO

I've mentioned in earlier entries that I'm a fan of Patrick Lencioni. His first book is called "The Five Temptations of a CEO". The title of the book pretty much sums up the Lencioni's thesis: The difference between mediocre and excellent leaders depends on whether or not a leader falls for one (or more) of five temptations.

Temptation 1: Choosing status over results

• Do you personally consider it a professional failure when your organization fails to meet its objectives?
• Would it bother you greatly if your company exceeded its objectives but you remained somewhat anonymous relative to your peers in the industry?

Temptation 2: Choosing popularity over accountability

• Does it bother you to the point of distraction if they are unhappy with you?
• Do you often find yourself reluctant to give negative feedback to your direct reports? Do you water down negative feedback to make it more palatable?

Temptation 3: Choosing certainty over clarity

• Do you pride yourself on being intellectually precise?
• Do you enjoy debating details with your direct reports during meetings?

Temptation 4: Choosing harmony over productive conflict

• Do you prefer your meetings to be pleasant and enjoyable?
• Are your meetings often boring?
• Do you get uncomfortable at meetings if your direct reports argue?

Temptation 5: Choosing invulnerability over trust

• Do you have a hard time admitting when you're wrong?
• Do you fear that your direct reports want your job?
• Do you try to keep your greatest weaknesses secret from your direct reports?
  

Temptations for Leaders

Seven Personal Fronts of Attack (notes from Carson Pue's, Mentoring Leaders)

1. The inclination to pride
1. Leaders can hide the inclination toward pride quite well. The most obvious manifestation appears among those who hold themselves in too high esteem. Others often know what they are doing, but their presumption is so powerful that it is seldom challenged -- no one is close enough to do so.
2. Another sign of pride is when leaders talk about the things of the spiritual life rather than actually training and mentoring others in how to put into practice these lessons themselves. The shadow side of this leaning is to condemn those who challenge or question their approach to spirituality.
3. Leaders who have slipped to the inclination of pride cannot stand rivalry. Once pride has entered into their lives and leadership, if a rival or challenger appears, they will find ways to condemn and belittle that person until the threat is reduced or removed.
4. A distracting strategy is to have prideful leaders season their talk and lifestyle with expressions of their own contributions. They tell the same stories repeatedly about their good works and their success. when you listen to them, you are not sure if they are trying to convince themselves and seeking your approval to boost their sense of security, or if they are so full of themselves that this is all that can flow from their mouths.
5. From pride springs envy, which betrays itself by the amount of displeasure they take in learning of the spiritual good others are doing -- especially in ministry areas closely related to the ones they are called to.
   
2. Sensuality
1. The demands of ministry may offer fertile ground for compensatory "feel good" behaviors that meet emotional needs. These may include misusing food for comfort, altering mood by alcohol or other drugs, sexual escapism in pornography, or seeking satisfaction through inappropriate relationships.
2. An "emotional buzz" from a relationship may be experienced positively, but is nonetheless seductive by meeting non-conscious emotional needs without being considered "sexual" in the same way that overt sexual contact is judged negatively. This is often the start of a slide down the slippery slope toward serious relational and ministry betrayals.
   
3. Leaders disguise this sensual lust by cloaking it in spiritual overtones and words.
4. One outward appearance is a leader seeking either sentimental or sensual friendship with another person (most frequently of the opposite gender) under the pretext of ministry - either ministering together or the leader ministering to the one from whom the relationship is sought. These leaders speak of the relationship as something that is intended to evoke the respect and admiration of others. Often they talk about it as publicly as they can to diffuse their own sense of concern or worry about being caught - or of someone being able to look through them or "read their mail".
   
3. Spiritual excess
1. Spiritual excess is usually exemplified in one of two ways: (1) an excessive craving for consolation, or (2) the constant need to confess something.
   
2. Leaders never confess the sin that is at the core of their problem but rather they confess something that is an attempt to draw themselves close to you without revealing the innermost thoughts of their sinful behavior.
3. Leaders in this state make extra efforts to appear spiritual and do so by sharing something they say they are learning currently.
4. Their souls are more attached to the attention they get from the consolations and the support of others than from God himself.
   
4. Spiritualized lust
1. This is craving after spiritual things because of the feelings attached to it. This spiritualized lust is nurtured while doing "good things" like attending prayer meetings and while ministering with someone at church or in the ministry organization.
2. At times of prayer, sensual feelings can be produced. Prayer is an intimate experience and the feeling of intimacy is akin to the feelings of sexual intimacy.
   
5. Tiredness and sloth
1. Symptoms of these are weariness in performing even the most elementary of the spiritual disciplines. Reading God's Word, prayer, devotional meditation, and even public worship are not relished.
   
6. Surrounding with abundance (of resources and opportunities)
1. This includes an abundance of spiritual books, readings, and research that consume all of the leader's time and energy and leave nothing for personal interior work.
   
2. This is particularly appealing distraction to the more scholarly leaders who have been trained in and are drawn toward academic study rather than introspection of their own soul life.
3. Another abundance - taking on too many duties and responsibilities.
4. Another variation - when talented leaders are surrounded by opportunities and end up quitting one thing for another, changing, exchanging, arranging, and rearranging until finally settling on something that is usually expensive financially and in terms of human resource costs -- and often not as effective in the long run.
5. Technology - time on computers, Internet, etc
   
7. Lukewarmness - Anemia - The Symptoms
1. Gradual weakening of your ministry energy and spiritual desire
2. A blinding of your conscience - judgment becomes warped.
3. Gradual weakening of the will - making concessions that were once unheard of.
4. No desire to work hard at repairing - dodging and avoiding restorations attempts
5. Letting yourself slide in every respect - often this appears with changes in physical appearance

Spiritual Danger Zones in Leadership

• reliance on own gifts
• fear of humankind (people pleasing)
• perfectionism
• lack of conflict resolution skills or avoidance of conflict
• lack of accountability
• ignoring evil or lack of understanding how evil works
• unawareness of how to guard against sexual misconduct
• empire building
• need for recognition
• need to control
• lack of trust / intimacy with God (solitude, etc.)
• inability to set boundaries (to say no)
• inability to delegate
• lack of discernment
  

Mentoring Leaders

I just finished Carson Pue's Mentoring leaders: Wisdom for developing character, calling and competency. Pue presides over Arrow Leadership Ministries, an international ministry founded by Leighton Ford based in Canada.

Pue's emphasis has been on mentoring individual leaders through their consulting ministry. But his insights can be helpful for any local church, or for that matter, any seminary whose sole purpose is to train church leaders.

Here are some of my notes from the book.

Five Phases of the Mentoring Matrix

1. Self-awareness - deep-seated understanding of who we are as children of God though Jesus Christ
2. Freeing Up - disentangling ourselves from those things that hold us back and having our needs fully met by Jesus
3. Visioneering - discovering God's purpose for our lives
4. Implementing - beginning purposeful in how we live and lead
5. Sustaining - learning how to realize our purpose and maintain zeal for ministry

Starting with Self-Awareness
"The most significant thing in navigation - the very most important piece of information - is knowing exactly where you are."

Daniel Goleman places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of being able to recognize feelings and sees this as central to his measurement of what he calls emotional intelligence. "Self-awareness - recognizing a feeling as it happens - is the keystone of emotional intelligence ... the ability to monitor feelings from moment to moment is crucial to psychological insight and self-understanding. An inability to notice our true feelings leaves us at their mercy. People with greater certainty about their feelings are better pilots of their lives, having a surer sense of how they really feel about personal decisions from whom they marry to what job they to take."

What keeps leaders from Self-Awareness?

• Lack of feedback. It seems that the higher one rises up the ladder of leadership, the less feedback one receives. The battles of being a leader cause us to become isolated.
• Seminaries have not historically been strong in the feedback area themselves. They are caught between their deep desire to provide foundational content and doing anything that might cause a student to withdraw from school.
• Insecurity. Insecurity breeds misleadership. It erodes confidence within leaders and makes it very difficult for them to leader others. It can also surface during times of great success, not just in negative times.
  
• Busyness. Most leaders function at high rpm. Problem: We can actually get addicted to the adrenaline rush of our leadership. When this happens, we do whatever we can, unconsciously, to feed our need for adrenaline. It actually feels good! Problem: no time for reflection.

How at peace are you?
Once leaders have a clear understanding of their place as a child of God, there is a new peace or shalom that embodies their life and their leadership. Anxiety and drivenness decrease as we mature in our spiritual walk, while at the same time, there is an increase of that inner sense of peace. When leaders lead out of peace rather than frenetic activity, fewer people are hurt and the work of the Lord is multiplied in ways unimaginable.

Ukraine - New Ministerial Training Initiative Begins

After one year's planning and preparation, today we begin a new training program for ministers in Ukraine. Using a combination of intensive courses and distance education modules (textbooks, workbooks and DVD), the new program will offer ten courses in two years. Additionally, the courses are coordinated with the extension program of the seminary in Moscow.

The Ukrainian program is an pilot program that, if successful, will be implement in other regions of the Russian speaking world - especially Moscow, Siberia, Belarus, and St. Petersburg.

The Ukrainian program begins this week with an intensive seminar on church growth and evangelism with Nick Park, senior pastor of Solid Rock Ministries in Ireland. Following the intensive course, an extended course on "Living the Faith" will be facilitated by our national education director, Ebi Dudzsus.

Krehwinkel Church of God Has a New Pastor

Today it was formally announced that Frank Wetzel will become the new pastor in Krehwinkel. Krehwinkel, one of the oldest Church of God congregations in Germany, is the hometown of Herman Lauster (the pioneer, who brought the message of Pentecost to this part of Germany). The church in Krehwinkel happens to be Claudia's home church. (Her parents still attend there and we were married there.) Krehwinkel has been without a pastor since Heinrich Scherz retired last summer and moved to South Carolina.

Frank and Anja Wetzel comes to Krehwinkel from Hamburg (Elim Gemeinde Hamburg - Mitglied des Bundes freier Pfingstgemeinden) in northern Germany. Yesterday, his credentials were formally accepted into the Church of God. The local congregation had already voted for Wetzel last month. And today he was formally introduced to the congregation.

However, things go more slowly in Germany. Frank and Anja will first move here in January and begin his pastorate in February. As is customary in Germany, one must give employers and landlords three months notice. And one doesn't "give notice" until they have a secure job/apartment in their hands. And in their transition, they will first live in our apartment building here in Rudersberg.

Izhevsk, Russia Church Celebrates 12 Years

This weekend, the Church of God in Izhevsk celebrates 12th Anniversary of its ministry in Izhevsk, the capital of Udmurtia Republic. As you can see by the previous sentence, the ICOG was among the first generation of churches planted by the Church of God in Russia after the fall of the communist regime.

Most of us Americans have probably never heard of Izhevsk; but it the home region of the AK-47 machine gun. Our provost in Moscow, Ilya Okhotnikov, hails from this region. Representing the seminary, Ilya has gone to his home church for the celebration and he gives this report.

In 1995 I was there in Izhevsk as well as the whole team of 7 men and women and wonderful missionaries of the Church of God: Dr. Jack R. Buskey and Jeanette L. Chesser at the very establishment of the church. The legal incorporation with the government was part of the ministry the Lord allowed me to have there and also I served as Assistant Pastor, Church administrator, translator, home group leader etc.

Some facts and statistics:

• 250 and up to 360 during special events in attendance are currently at the Izhevsk Church of God.
• 2 services during the week with Sunday service.
• 6 branch churches in towns and villages of the Republic (Kilmez church, Sarapul church, S.Zyatsi home group, Lukshudya home group, Izh-zabegalovo home group, Kambarka home group) have been established by the mother church.
• 5 ministers have been trained at Eurasian Seminary in Moscow.
• One branch church already sent their own minister to be trained at Eurasian Seminary in Moscow.

Pastor Peter Ovechkin as well as his first Assistant Albert Shakirov are graduates of the Eurasian Seminary with a Bachelor of Pastoral Ministry degree. The church trains it ministers in a church Bible School and also sent 5 ministers to be trained at the Seminary.

Also the Izhevsk Church of God has 10 ministries of its own that are actively functioning at the church on a regular basis:

1. Youth Ministry (30 members)
2. Children's Ministry (60 children)
3. Men's Ministry (15 members)
4. Home group (7 groups) ministry
5. Prayer Ministry and Co-dependant Ministry
6. Golden Age ministry (for those with rich life experience) 12 strong grand mothers.
7. Drama Ministry with Professional Theater artists (12 members of the church)
8. Social Ministry via a non-profit organization established by the church, called "Spring" fully supported by the church with the annual budget of $4,200.00:
1. Bread and cloths and food distribution to homeless (for 25 people every Sunday, once in 3 months financial support of widows and large families).
1. Rehab center support (financial support).
1. Children's home ministry (camp meetings for kids, assistance to the homes in repairs, financial contributions, assistance to grown up kids in finding employment, housing, etc.)
   
9. Missionary ministry among villages of the Udmurtia Republic (evangelistic outreach teams traveled via 10 villages for the last Spring-Summer 2007).
10. Church Bible School ministry.

Europe: Creationism is a Threat to Human Rights?

The following is an excerpt out of an article from Reuters News Agency. For the entire story, click here. It's one thing to dismiss Christian beliefs as "superstitious." But when governments or International bodies start labeling basic beliefs as threats to human rights.... Well, you can figure out the rest.

Europe's main human rights body voted on Thursday to urge schools across the continent to firmly oppose the teaching of creationist and "intelligent design" views in their science classes.

The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly approved a resolution saying attacks on the theory of evolution were rooted "in forms of religious extremism" and amounted to a dangerous assault on science and human rights.

The text said European schools should "resist presentation of creationist ideas in any discipline other than religion." It said the "intelligent design" view defended by some United States conservatives was an updated version of creationism.

The Council, based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, oversees human rights standards in member states and enforces decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The resolution, which passed 48 votes to 25 with 3 abstentions, is not binding on the Council's 47 member states but reflects widespread opposition among politicians to teaching creationism in science class.

Just Walk Across the Room

My latest book on my reading list is Bill Hybels' Just Walk Across the Room. I've read several of Hybels' books such as Descending into Greatness, and Courageous Leadership. But I would rank this book as perhaps his best motivational book - motivation for each Christ-follower to share the story of Christ with his/her non-believing friends.

I wouldn't categorize this book as a textbook on how to "do" personal evangelism. Hybels and Mark Mittelberg already wrote a book on that topic - Courageous Christianity. But Just a Walk gives a better insight into Hybels' way of thinking through the process of sharing his testimony with none believers. Along the way, there are a couple of exercises plus the reflection questions at the end of each chapter that easily helps the individual reader as well as small groups who use this material as a study.

Update from Moscow

ETSM began its new school year with 11 new students. This is a relatively high enrollment. (In fact, the only time we had more than 11 new students was with the initial group of students ten years ago). Altogether with the returning students and interns, we have an enrollment of 36. We have an additional 36 students enrolled in the Moscow “extension.” The new students come from various parts of Russia, including Caucasus, Urals, Samara, Siberia, and Moscow proper.

The school still has several hurdles to jump in the licensing process, so please keep it and also us in your prayers. Today our provost met with officials from the Federal Registration Services, a division of what used to be the KGB, to discuss the needed changes to the seminary’s constitution in the licensing process. Apparently we need to make some minor changes before our new constitution can be accepted by the FRS. But our provost (Ilya Okhotnikov) stated that the overall tone from this government office was constructive.

A Happy Song

Well, today is Monday and the first of the month. That means most of the bills are due this week (e.g., rent, car payment, etc.).

So... I found a video that will help brighten almost anyone's day. Chevy Chase teaming up with Paul Simon. Enjoy!

Here's to Harold Bare in Charlottesville

Yesterday morning, I had a lengthy conversation with the pastor of a local Protestant (evangelisch) church. He had invited me to his office to share with him the insights from my dissertation which centers on the growth of evangelicalism in 49 countries. He had read a small sample of my literature review; recognizing a few names (e.g., Fink, Stark, Weber).

In many places in Germany, local Protestant congregations are getting smaller and older. Subsequently many of their pastors (and those in our circles, too) are looking for ways to reinvent their parishes. I mentioned the leadership conferences from Willow Creek in which they have brought top business executives and consultants to Germany. (This year's line up includes Bill Hybels, Jimmy Carter , Carly Fiorina [former CEO of Hewlitt-Packard], and Patrick Lencioni (author and consultant.) The pastor stated that he objected to marketing approaches to church ministry; rather one should begin with Jesus. And I have no objections to a Christo-centric approach to ministry.

Then my mind went back to our pastor in Charlottesville, Virginia - Harold Bare. "Pastor Bare" had finished his dissertation at UVA on "The Evolution of a Sacred Bureaucracy". We have spoken several times at length with each other about his study. He begins by using the premise from Max Weber that sacred and secular organizations operate on consistent sociological principles, i.e., sacred organizations are bureaucratically no different than secular organizations. Using my conversations with Bare, I was able to encourage the local pastor (here in Germany) to think differently about the situations he is facing in his own parish.

The twins are back at it again.

Since returning to Germany, Colin and Kevin have spent much of their free time learning new tricks on the Skateboard. This is a video that the twins recorded themselves and then Colin did all the editing by himself. I simply did the uploading to YouTube. Enjoy!

Visit from Charlottesville

This past weekend, we had the unusual pleasure of hosting some friends from the States. Rob and Jeanne Kantas were our neighbors and co-workers from Charlottesville, Virginia. Their kids are also the age of our guys. It was not uncommon for us to Rob and Jeanne let our kids stay at their place. We even stayed with them during our last family visit to Charlottesville.

The Kantas' have since moved to Houston, but we've maintained some contact over the past few years. In celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, they embarked on a European tour that started in London, Paris and Strasbourg and will take them still through Germany, Austria and Italy. Over the weekend, we showed them a few of the sites near Stuttgart including the Mercedes-Benz museum where this photo was taken.