The Greatest Danger in Christianity

From AW Tozer:

"Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures."
~Luke 24:45

Truth that is not experienced is no better than error and may be fully as dangerous.

Remember that the scribes who sat in Moses’ seat were not the victims of error; they were the victims of failure to experience the truth they taught!

We should see that one of the greatest foes of the Christian is religious complacency. The man who believes that he has “arrived” will not go any further; and the present neat habit of quoting a text to prove we have arrived may be a dangerous one if in truth we have no actual inward experience of the text.

The great saints of the past have all had yearning hearts. Their longing after God all but consumed them; it propelled them onward and upward to heights toward which less ardent Christians look with languid eye and entertain no hope of reaching.

May we offer this word of exhortation: pray on, fight on, sing on! Press on into the deep things of God. Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will!

22 November , 2012

Dear Friends,

On this US Thanksgiving Day, we find ourselves with so much to be thankful for that it is hard to know where to begin!

Growing Family. We write this update to you today from the home of our daughter Nicole, and her husband Eric, in Horseheads, New York. God has blessed them, along with big-brother Asher, and all of us, with a new baby boy. Cayden Robert McCrorey was born a week ago, and he is beautiful! We are so blessed to be able to be here to lend a hand and visit them! This Sunday we will participate in the dedication of Cayden to the Lord, along with Eric's parents.

Growing Church. Converge International Fellowship has officially been open for 7 weeks. It has been a wonderful and exciting time! On October 24, at the Annual Convention Meeting of the International Baptist Convention, we were officially welcomed as an Associate Member Church (see photo). Think about it! Today a church is ministering and growing that did not exist a year ago! God is so good! Each week we see new faces and meet new friends. God continues to bless us with families and students who come to us from countries as diverse as England, Cameroon and China. At one of our LIFE Groups recently a new friend from South Africa joined the group, and an old friend rejoined the group from Denmark via Skype!

God has been making it clear to us that ministry to the International Student population is going to be an even larger component of our mission here than we ever imagined. We continue to meet students in need of everything from language assistance to housing. Please pray for us as we seek His direction to minister to this diverse and open group.

Healing bodies. Bob spent four days in the hospital in Darmstadt last week with a kidney stone. God was so good through it all – if it had been a week later, it would have been on our departure date for the US! God is so good – He even made sure Bob had an aisle seat right in front of the lavatory on the flight over here!

Faithful Friends. While we have been blessed with new friends from all over the world, we know that it is our long-term faithful friends like you who make it all possible. We are blessed by your love, support and prayers for us as we live, work and minister in Darmstadt. Thank you for your participation in our mission! We could not do it without you! Please join us in giving thanks to God for His eternal faithfulness!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

~ Bob & Carol

Anti Christ Revealed?

A friend asked me about a new YOUTUBE video that has gone kind of viral...he asked for my thoughts.

Here's a link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlT9SYR6jq4&feature=share

Here are "my thoughts":

Over the course of my lifetime there have been claims that a prominent personality, generally disliked by conservatives, is the Anti-Christ. John Kennedy, Henry Kissinger, even Ronald Wilson Reagan ("6 letter per name = 666 - obviously it's him!"). I had a pastor when I was a kid who showed us a book that he kept in his office - the title was "100 Reasons why Mussolini is the Anti Christ!" He kept it there because it reminded him of how we can get distracted from the important teaching about the end times when we get focused on the minutia and major on the minors.

There are two things about the end that we need to be concerned about:

1. Be prepared.  Jesus makes it clear that we are to be ready for His return, period.  That means living a life that is faithful.  We are to abide in Him, love God with all our heart, and obey His teachings.
2. Prepare others.  Our orders are clear:  "Go, teach, baptize."  Our focus is to be spreading the gospel to as many as we can, and allow God to open their eyes to see His glory in the face of Christ.

That being said, the Bible uses the word “antichrist” only four times, with one instance in the plural, in the following verses:

• Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1 John 2:18)
• Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22)
• And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. (1 John 4:3)
• For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

As you can see, much of the direct references are to an attitude, or spirit of antichrist, which has certainly been displayed and personified many times in human history.

Paul talks about the "Man of Lawlessness," who is often associated with THE AntiChrist of end times teachings, in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (as is "The Dragon," "The Beast," "The False Prophet," and "The Whore of Babylon," all in Revelation). I think it is clear from Paul's teaching that his identity is not revealed until the end; that the Holy Spirit will hold his power in check until He is removed; then the AC will burst force onto the world scene - until Jesus overthrows and destroys him.

Paul concludes his discussion of that material by saying,

"But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."

• The identity of the AntiChrist is not revealed. 
• The Holy Spirit holds AC at back until He is removed. 
• Jesus defeats AC. 
• We have been chosen and saved by God. 
• We are to focus on standing firm on the Word of God.

That's the bottom line. Those are "my thoughts..."

This kind of stuff (the YouTube post) is always fascinating, but usually questionable in its reliability. You've got a guy translating material from one language to another to another to another. Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek then English. Believe me, there is a lot of room for error just translating from one language to another, let alone 4 times!

As I said, fascinating, but probably not all that reliable. Best to stand firm on the Word that we DO know, than to be distracted by a stretched translation of what MIGHT be possible.

Worthy--Or Unworthy?

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.Ephesians 3:19

From AW Tozer:

The love of Jesus is so inclusive that it knows no boundaries. At the point where we stop loving and caring, Jesus is still there—loving and caring!

The question may be asked: “How does the living Christ feel today about the sinful men and women who walk our streets?”

There is only one answer: He loves them!

We may be righteously indignant about the things they do. We may be disgusted with their actions and their ways. We are often ready to condemn and turn away from them.

But Jesus keeps on loving them! It is His unchanging nature to love and seek the lost. He said many times when He was on earth, “I have come to help the needy. The well do not need a doctor—but the sick need attention and love.”

We are prone to look at the needy and measure them: “Let us determine if they are worthy of our help.” During all of His ministry, I do not think Jesus ever helped a “worthy” person. He only asked, “What is your need? Do you need My help?”

Sent from the Mornings with Tozer, by A. W. Tozer. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at43rdElement.com

“It’s A Church!”

After months of anticipation and prayerful preparation, we are thrilled to announce that on Sunday, October 7, the miracle of birth took place in Darmstadt – and, “It’s a church!”  The birth of Converge International Fellowship was celebrated at a special “Birthday Service” by family and friends from churches in Ramstein, Frankfurt and Oberursel, along with members of our extended family worldwide who prayed and rejoiced with the CIF congregation.

The week leading up to the birth was filled with exciting developments. Three weeks prior to the service, we began placing flyers, signs and posters around the city, particularly in strategic areas with large international populations – the Universities, the European Space Agency, EUMETSAT, (European Meteorological Satelite Operations Center), DAGGER (the final US Military outpost in our area), and of course Burger King!

At the final “Preview Service” on 30 September, nine new friends attended the service, having seen one of those signs ads.  One of those wrote during the week, “We feel this is the church we have been searching for for years.”  A newly-arrived couple in Germany contacted us by email on Tuesday to enquire about the church, and was excited to come on Sunday.  On Thursday, a graduate student at the Technische Universitat came to our door.  He had arrived in Darmstadt just two days earlier and had seen one of our flyers in the Student Services Center.  He found a small map of the city, and walked around until he found our apartment.  Those new friends represented the United States, Malaysia, Germany and India – just a glimpse of how exciting and amazing International Church planting and ministry is!

Members of the CIF congregation met on Saturday night for a “Pre-Launch” evening of prayer – surrendering ourselves, our efforts, and the results to the Lord.  It was a great time of fellowship and intercession.  Just before that meeting ended, one of the women of the group said, “Let’s understand that something unexpected will happen – and be prepared to adapt and work it out.”  We all nodded, agreed that our God is bigger than any hurdle.

Sunday the 7^th happened to be Thanksgiving Day in Germany (kind of appropriate, isn’t it?!).  The German congregation had the worship center beautifully decorated with a wonderful display of fall color, displays of bountiful harvest and God’s blessings.  It was great…but then we realized that the black backdrop and the display were going to prevent us from using the projection system that we have used at each Preview Service, and that is an important part of our service!  It was time to “adapt and work it out”!

After experimenting with a small screen and projector, it was decided that a couple of white table cloths, draped in front of the Harvest Display, would allow us to use the normal projection system.  Our Tech Crew leader made the hasty necessary adjustments, and we were able to continue as planned. 

In the meantime, people were busy preparing the foyer for the celebration of new birth.  Balloons and banners decorated the hall, while birthday cakes, cookies and authentic Lebanese foods were displayed for the festivities (another great blessing of International church ministry!).

Friends began to arrive – everyone excited about the miracle of birth that we were privileged to witness.  Soon the hall was filled with the sound of music, as the Praise Team led us in songs of worship and testimony of God’s faithfulness.  Dr. Jimmy Martin, General Secretary of the International Baptist Convention, offered a prayer of dedication and commissioning.  At his side was Mrs. Siggy Levey, who, along with her late husband Martin, have been praying and trusting God for a new International church in Darmstadt for many years.

Another highlight of the service was the dedication of 8-day-old Eleonora, the newest “member” of the Converge Darmstadt congregation.  She was presented to the Lord along with her 2-year-old “big brother” Luca by their parents Jasper and Becca.  We were privileged to have Becca’s mother with us as well, visiting from Canada!

The message focused on God’s pattern of choosing the least likely, the most improbable, the undeserving and the unexpected for His grace and His work.  John chapter 4 tells us that Jesus “needed” to go to the Samaritan village of Sychar - it is obvious God had a divine appointment awaiting Him in that city.  He chose a broken, sinful, racially oppressed woman for His unique focus, and used her to reach her community.    

In the same way, God has compelled His people, through unworthy and unlikely servants, to reach out to the city of Darmstadt.  The love of God reaches across racial boundaries and sees beyond moral failure.  His grace brings new life to those who feel they will never be worthy of His love.

The celebration of a new little girl born into our community, and the celebration of a new church born in the city were eclipsed by the celebration of nearly a dozen people who expressed a desire to be born into the family of God that night!  We praise God for His incredible faithfulness and amazing grace! 

Pray for us as we follow up with these new believers, helping them to grow and mature in their new life in Christ.  Pray for unity and love in our church family which is made up of people from 17 nations (and counting!) around the globe.  Pray as we continue to reach out to the Darmstadt region – the international students, businesspeople, scientific community and the local German population, too!  Thank you for your prayerful support of our mission in Darmstadt.  May the Lord bless you “from His glorious riches and strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being.” (Eph. 3:16) 

~ Bob & Carol

Hi everyone,

On this Launch Day of our church, I want to share with you today's devotional reading from one of my regular sources - It was something I needed to read today, and I hope it will speak to your hearts as well...

Striving For Numbers

"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest . . . think on these things." Philippians 4:8

In Christian circles today, the church that can show an impressive quantitative growth is frankly envied and imitated by other ambitious churches.

Numbers, size and amounts seem to be very nearly all that matters—with a corresponding lack of emphasis on quality!

This is the age of the Laodiceans. The great goddess, Numbers, is worshiped with fervent devotion, and all things religious are brought before her for examination. Her Old Testament is the financial report, and her New Testament is the membership roll. To these she appeals as the test of spiritual growth and the proof of success or failure in most Christian endeavors.

A little acquaintance with the Bible should show this up for the heresy it is. To judge anything spiritual by statistics is to judge by something other than scriptural judgment. Yet this is being done every day by ministers, church boards and denominational leaders. And hardly anyone seems to notice the deep and dangerous error!

"Lord, I pray this morning for the pastor and elders of my church, that their chief desire will be to invite the Holy Spirit of God into our church to do His refining work in the lives of our people."

Sent from the Mornings with Tozer, by A. W. Tozer. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at43rdElement.com

We are very excited!  This Sunday is our Official Public Launch!

Will you join us in prayer this weekend for the birth of our new church?

• Pray for the Genesis Team, our core group of leaders who are directing the church through the launch
• Pray for the effectiveness of the signs, newspaper article, fliers, leaflets and personal invitations that have been distributed
• Pray for the Harvest!  Our goal is to see transformed lives by the power of the Gospel!
• Pray that the Lord will raise up committed, involved members from those new people attending our services.
• Pray for protection of the unity and love of the church - Satan will do all he can to tear us apart.
• Pray for the follow up to the launch.  Pray for continued interest and inroads into the international and local community of Darmstadt.  

The key to our effectiveness is not a system, a plan or marketing strategy - the essential ingredient is PRAYER!  Will you join us in praying for this weekend's service, and for the work of the church in the weeks and months to come?

Next week we will be sending along our newsletter with updates on how the Lord blessed!

Thanks!

Bob & Carol

Another great article by Mel Lawrence - references a visit to Germany and the nature of post-Christian life here.  Also includes insights on effective leadership and gospel promotion in our age.

THEY    FORGOT  THAT  THEY  FORGOT

This post was written by Mel Lawrenz

I have just returned from Hamburg, Germany, having spoken at a conference sponsored by the Evangelical Free Church of Germany and doing two days of workshops. The interactions were lively and engaged as we looked at faith in a postmodern world.

Hamburg is a beautiful historic city in the north, the second largest port in all of Europe. It is prosperous, cosmopolitan, and influential. The Beatles became a real band in the clubs of Hamburg, setting them up to be discovered in England. Some of the 9/11 terrorists came from a cell based in Hamburg.

The city is 1,200 years old, but a large part of the city was destroyed in bombing in WWII. It is a place of many contrasts.

Here, as in much of Germany, the free churches seek to keep gospel work alive in a society that is post-Christian. As someone told me, for those people who have not had Christian belief for many generations, it is not that “they forgot” faith in Christ. It is that “they forgot that they forgot.”

We talked about the possibilities of vibrant spiritual influence in this kind of world. It seems as though with every group I am with there is one particular idea that gets batted around. This time it was the idea of “partial ideas finding partial ideas.”

From Spiritual Influence: the Hidden Power Behind Leadership

In his book Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson challenges the stereotype of the lone genius in whose mind brilliant ideas arrive full-form. In his study of science, discovery, and innovation, Johnson shows that some of the greatest ideas are the result of mistakes and diversions. He also describes a process he calls the slow hunch in which a great idea, sometimes a revolutionary idea, only gradually emerges and is recognized as a great idea through social connections. Johnson also describes how different people will have partial ideas which, when connected, merge into fully formed concepts. The ongoing information and communication revolutions of the twenty-first century give an opportunity for partially great ideas to find other partial ideas and to coalesce into exciting innovation. The implication for leadership is that we need to keep all networks alive and active so that our partial ideas can combine with other ideas and emerge as truly influential forces. Our ideas are always looking to find mates.However, chaos can break out if we are not careful about the ideas we choose to assimilate and use to influence the lives of others. So we must begin with a core of ideals found in the Bible, which is the framework for rational faith. We must absorb the great narrative arc of Scripture, which goes from creation to fall to redemption to glory. We must champion the great ideals that are rooted in God’s own nature, like justice and love.

We live in a time of incredible flow of ideas—some terrible, and others life-giving. We can stand by passively and assimilate the ideas that flow our way. Or we can work at choosing what we read, what conversations we have, what conferences we attend, and what networks we tie into. Leaders often make the mistake of choosing the conduits of ideas that others impose. If others are “successful” because they read “those” particular authors and attend “that” conference and belong to “those” associations, then perhaps we ought to as well. But a more courageous approach is to make our own choices. Leaders who think outside the boxes other leaders live in will discover truly fresh ideas and introduce them into the flow. They will float the truly innovative concepts, the ones that sound crazy and unrealistic. They will influence because they believe there is gold to be mined, and they are not hesitant about swinging the pick.

If this is correct, that the very best ideas are always the combination of partial ideas by people who find each other, then the question of the day is whether we are fully utilizing our connections with each other, watching for that great new innovation just around the corner.

http://www.thebrooknetwork.org/2012/09/27/discussions-in-hamburg/?utm_source=September+27%2C+2012+Hamburg&utm_campaign=BrookLetter01.26.12&utm_medium=email

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.  Psalm 89:7

Being a Christian does not exempt any of us from the necessity of self-examination, the necessity of dealing with injuries and unworthy mental attitudes.

I speak particularly of the attitudes and habits of many men and women who gather with us regularly as we come into the house of God to worship and pray.

Actually, as Christian men and women, we do have an appointment to meet with the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Just think of the preparations we would make if we suddenly had an invitation to meet the president of the United States in the White House.

But how many of us are lacking in respect and reverence when we come into the Christian church? Among us there are thoughtless tendencies to tell jokes on the way into church; to sit in the pews and let our minds rove about like sparrows; to daydream about where we have been and where we are going.

There is a great need for us to pray for grace that will improve our mental attitudes when we gather to honor our Savior and God!

~Mornings with Tozer, by A. W. Tozer.

Disturbing Trends - but not surprising news...

I ran across this short article and it is a confirmation of what I think most of us suspect is true.  

But it does not have to be true of us!  Let's battle this trend - and be people of the Word!  Develop the habit of spending time in the Word each day - it may be a struggle at first - all new habits are, but as you begin to enjoy the sweetness of the Word of God, you will find your self encouraged, equipped, corrected, rebuked and mature in Christ! 

Here is the article:

Most churchgoers do not read the Bible on a daily basis, according to a study on Bible engagement released Thursday by a Christian research organization.
The Transformational Discipleship study, conducted by LifeWay Research, surveyed 2,390 U.S. Protestants who said they attend church at least once a month, according to the Christian Post.
According to the results, 19 percent of respondents said they read the Bible outside of church services “every day,“ nearly identical to the 18 percent who answered ”rarely or never.”
Slightly more than a quarter said they read the Bible “a few times a week,” while 14 percent said once a week and 22 percent said at least once a month.
LifeWay Research Director Scott McConnell told the Christian Post he attributes the results to modern American culture.
“Regular Bible engagement is both personal and requires discipline. Neither are popular in Western culture today,” McConnell told the Post. “Too many churchgoers want the benefits of salvation without investing in personally knowing Christ and the abundant life he offers.”

From: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/most-churchgoers-do-not-read-the-bible-on-a-daily-basis-study-says/

God's Exhortation

As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. 1 Peter 1:15

What is the Apostle Peter saying to us in relaying to us God’s exhortation: “Be ye holy as I am holy, and because I am holy”?

First is our own responsibility to bring our spiritual lives into line so that God may settle upon us with the Holy Spirit— with that quality of the Wonderful and the Mysterious and the Divine.

This is not something that can be humanly cultivated. This is something that we will not even be conscious we have. It is this quality of humility invaded by the presence of God which the church of our day lacks.

Oh, that we might yearn for the knowledge and presence of God in our lives from moment to moment, so that without human cultivation and without toilsome seeking, there would come upon us this enduement, this sweet and radiant fragrance that gives meaning to our witness!

I am willing to confess in humility that we need this in our day.

Dear Lord, if we seriously desired to be “holy,” the only way we could do so is through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. By our own efforts, this would not be possible, for the Bible says, “No one is righteous” (see Romans 3:10).

Sent from the Mornings with Tozer, by A. W. Tozer. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at43rdElement.com

We are excited to share with you our latest newsletter!

Click here to find out about:

LEGOS & logos - how do you teach forty 5-9-year-olds about church planting?

Previews and Preparations - Getting ready for our Launch in October!











30 Days of Prayer for September - We sincerely need your participation in our mission!












God is doing great things - check it out!

Tozer thought for the day

More Than Consolation

Blessed is the man . . . his delight is in the law of the Lord.Psalm 1:1–2

It is my judgment that too many of us go to church on Sunday for the same reason that a child climbs into its mother’s arms after a fall or a bump or a fright—the child wants consolation!

We have fallen upon times when religion is mostly for consolation—for we are in the grip of the cult of peace. We want to relax and have the great God Almighty pat our heads and comfort us with peace of mind, peace of heart, peace of soul. This has become religion!

According to my Bible, there should be a people of God, a people called of God and subjected to a spiritual experience by God. Then they are to learn to walk in the way of Truth and the way of the Scripture, producing the righteous fruit of the child of God no matter what world conditions may be.

But there is a great misunderstanding among us. Too many tend to think that we get the flower and the fragrance and the fruit of the Spirit by some kind of magical shortcut, instead of by cultivation. Meanwhile, our neighbors are waiting to see the likeness of Christ in our daily lives!

- Mornings with Tozer, by A. W. Tozer. For devotionals like this one for your iPhone, visit us at43rdElement.com

Wonderful, busy Sunday...

We had a great day yesterday!

We were invited to be the guest speaker at Bethel International Church in Frankfurt, Germany for the morning worship service.  Bethel is the second church of the International Baptist Convention established in 1958, and was the first IBC church that Carol and I ever attended.  In the early days, it was a dynamic and large church, reaching hundreds of US military members and their families.  With the draw-down of the military presence in post-Cold War Europe, the church has gone through a difficult but necessary transformation.  They are currently awaiting the arrival of their newest pastor, who reflects the IBC clearly - a Brazilian national, married to a German woman, currently working and studying in London, England!

The church is excited about the future, and we are excited to be able to serve in any way we can.  We've provided "pulpit fill" on several occasions over the last 10 months, and we have grown to cherish the church and its wonderful people.  We attended the service with Maina, a member of our congregation in Darmstadt who is from Kenya.  Maina is a wonderful friend and a delight to spend time with!

Following the service, while enjoying the fellowship time in the church cafeteria, we found ourselves in conversation with Margaret.  Originally from Poland, Margaret moved to Germany before the fall of the Iron Curtain, and is currently a teacher in the German public school system in Literature, English and Philosophy.  As we talked she shared with us that she had been in Wisconsin a couple of years ago on an exchange program with the University of Wisconsin at Appleton.  Margaret invited us to come to her home for dinner.


At their home, we met Dariusz (Derek), Margaret's husband.  Also a native of Poland, Derek is a certified translator of German, English, Polish, Spanish and French.  He's currently completing Law School at the Goethe Universitat.  We had a wonderful discussion about history, religion, and languages.  It was a beautiful afternoon and sat on their sun-soaked patio enjoying freshly prepared food and engaging conversation.

When we returned home, we decided to take advantage of the amazing weather and visit the Orangerie in Darmstadt.  It is a beautiful royal garden originally established in 1714.  It is filled with lovely flowers, lawns, fountains and features tropical fruit and palm trees.  It was a lovely time to walk and enjoy this favorite part of the city.



Upon our return to our apartment, we visited with our friends Orhan and Saladin in their restaurant on the ground floor.  We spent an hour having a great conversation about life, God, the Bible, the Gospel of Christ and His love for us.  A great way to end the day!

Mid July Update

We've had a couple of busy weeks!
  

Breakfast in Interlaken

We attended the International Baptist Convention's "Interlaken Summer Experience" July 7-12 in Interlaken, Switzerland.  This annual gathering of the IBC "family" has taken place every year since 1958.  This gathering is different from the other two annual IBC meetings in that it is meant to be broader in focus - beyond pastors and leaders, this meeting is for the entire community of IBC churches.  There are great workshops each morning, with gifted teachers and relevant topics.  (Bob really enjoyed his class with Dr. Lorin Cranford on the "Life of Paul" and Carol was blessed by Denise Glenn's "Five Priorities of a Woman's Life" class!) The workshops are joined with morning and evening worship services each day - which always feature excellent speakers.

Dr Lindsay Brown

This year's speakers were Dr. Lindsay Brown, a Welsh pastor and scholar, who for the past 4 years has been the International Director of the Lausanne Movement for World Evangelisation.  He was followed each evening by Dr. Billy Hanks, who worked with Dr. Billy Graham for many years, and is now the head of The International Evangelism Association.  With their backgrounds, you can imagine what the topic of their teaching was, right?  Evangelisation!  But more to the point - Effective Evangelisation, which is about Disciple-Making.  It is not enough to have a person agree with the facts about Jesus, or even to say a prayer of commitment.  Biblical Disciple Making, as Jesus commanded His disciples, means that we individually and intentionally help those new believers to "grow up into Him who is the head - that is, Christ."  (Eph. 4:15)

Carol and I were both deeply challenged by the messages and the theme of the conference.  We were reminded, and have been praying for God to grant us the insight and fortitude to be faithful to His call - not to a foreign land, not to church planting, not even to drawing a crowd of people - but to truly making disciples, who will in turn make more disciples...

Pray for us in this effort.

Praise Team - Preview Service 4

Three days after our return from Switzerland we were excited to hold our fourth Preview Service. Despite the number of people who are on "Holiday" at this time of the year, we had a really nice turn-out and a couple of new young families who joined us.   We had a great time together worshiping the Lord.  We joined with the angels in heaven in song and prayer, joined around the Lord's Table for Communion and joined together in His word for learning and growth.

Caring for the young worshipers!

We are learning a lot in these services.  We've worked out many of the details, like how to run the sound and projection systems, where to have people to greet guests,  and even how distribute the bread and cup for Communion!  We have been blessed with many godly people who are gifted and passionate about the ministry of praise - what a great blessing! But we've also discovered new challenges - like a growing number of toddlers & infants. Pray with us that God will equip us with enough willing servants who will assist in that ministry as we move toward our public launch service in September/October.  

The Limits of our Knowledge of God

Today on the front of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Newspaper there was a photo and story about a map that was recently found at a library in Munich.  It is from the 16^th Century, and is the first map to show the New World as its own continent, and is the first to give that continent a name – America, after  the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

The map is interesting because it shows an amazingly accurate depiction of Europe, Africa and Asia – much as we know them today.  But this newly discovered continent of America is shown as a large island, similar in shape to Florida, and is limited to what would now be the north-east potion of South America.

Yet in 1507, this map was the most accurate and complete summation of what was known of the world by the best and brightest of the day.  Certainly we can’t fault the cartographers of the 16^th Century for their limited knowledge and understanding of the nature and breadth of the globe – they were in the midst of learning.  The wisest among them recognized that there was much more to learn, and so exploration and discovery continued.

Perhaps the spiritual parallels are obvious – but I was struck by them nonetheless.  Paul tells us that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him. (I Corinthians 2:9).  Many are familiar with that verse, but Paul was actually quoting the prophet Isaiah, who wrote, in chapter 64, verse 4, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither has the eye seen, O God, besides you, what he has prepared for him that waits for him”

The wisest of Christians realize that they have never fully grasped the heights and depths, the length and breadth of the knowledge of God.  That we will never fully plumb the fullness of God should not discourage us from our pursuit of Him.  May God forbid that we should find ourselves satisfied with our perception of who He is!  His love, His mercy, His holiness, His righteousness – all that make Him God - is worthy of our fullest exploration, our deepest desire, our ceaseless wonder. 

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

O love of God, how rich and pure!

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure

The saints’ and angels’ song.

~The Love Of God

Frederick Martin Lehman 

Lyrics & Composer

1868-1953

July Newsletter

July 3, 2012

For a .pdf of this newsletter, click here.

Dear Friends,

We trust you are enjoying the summer season!  Isn’t it great how God blesses us with seasons of the year, each one special and unique in its own way?  Summer in Germany is much like we are used to in our part of the United States.   The daylight hours get longer – in fact, we are situated so far north that we are able to sit on our balcony until well after 10 p.m. and enjoy reading a book or just watching the world go by.   On the University campus, the students have taken to the parks to play badminton, enjoy a picnic, listen to music, and occasionally give the appearance of studying!  The school age children are thrilled to have their freedom for a couple of months.  The last week of June was the official first week of “holiday” in our state of Hessen.  That means that thousands of people head for vacation spots all across Europe and around the world.

Our “holiday” took place in mid-May.  We headed back to the US for our first visit home since moving last fall.  Each weekend was highlighted by special events that the Lord, in His mercy, brought together in a timely fashion for us!  The first weekend was mother’s day and Bob’s birthday, and we celebrated with our daughter, Nicole, who just recently learned that she is going to be a mother again!  During that week, we also had the opportunity to visit Carol’s dad and extended family in Mt. Lake, MN.

Our son John after his Graduation from UW Madison

The following weekend we made our way from Iowa to Wisconsin, where we celebrated the graduation of our son, John, from UW Madison, with a BS in Philosophy.We are so proud of this fine young man, and with the amazing intellect God has given him.John is spending his third summer working for Vivant Technologies, installing home security systems.We are excited to see how God will lead him in the days ahead!We celebrated John’s graduation with a special meal at his favorite restaurant – the New China in Mayville.

That same weekend, while in Wisconsin, we visited our home church in Mayville. It was such a blessing to worship again with our brothers and sisters there, whom we shared so much of our lives with.We are so grateful to God for the wonderful new pastor and excellent leaders that He has raised up in the congregation, and to see the church continuing to impact the community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Son-in-law Eric completes training.

The next weekend we were blessed to be in attendance at Community Heights Alliance Church in Newton, IA as our son-in-law, Eric completed his studies for the ministry with the Christian and Missionary Alliance.Eric and Nicole are excited to begin applying and interviewing for a youth ministry position. It was very special!

Following that weekend, we took a Family Road Trip – something we have done since the earliest days of our marriage. We packed up 4 adults and a 2 year old and drove from Iowa to Florida –more than 20 hours!God was very good to us – we had no problems at all along the way. The car, the other drivers, Asher, even Bob were all well-behaved (well, Bob was well-behaved most of the time!)

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Marsh!

 We made that trip for the event of the next weekend – the marriage of our son, Andrew to Rachel Edwards of Jacksonville Beach, FL.Rachel’s parents were amazing hosts to us and our family who made the trip, and the entire journey was one blessing after another. We are so grateful to God for the wonderful, godly woman that He has led to our son, and we are enriched as a family to have her.Of course, you can’t take a grandchild to Florida without visiting Disney World, and we had a wonderful day there with Asher, Nicole and Eric.(It seemed Nicole & Carol were more excited than Asher most of the time!)

The Family at Disney World

The final weekend was Nicole and Eric’s fifth wedding anniversary, another great opportunity to recognize God’s incredible blessing on our family.The final days in the US were spent for Bob in Minneapolis, where he served as an assessor at a Church Planter Assessment Center, observing two candidates for church planting in Germany and Sweden, respectively.

On our return, we had some really exciting developments.Just after our return, we spent a day with a young exchange student from Hungary. After finding us via Facebook, she read about our efforts in Darmstadt on our blog.She was particularly intrigued by the concept of a “prayer walk.” She communicated with us via email while we were in the US, and she determined that she wanted to do a short documentary film about our work here, particularly our prayer efforts.She spent a day with us, filming, taking still photos, and interviewing us.She also attended a prayer time that we held at a Darmstadt scenic overlook.The film will be shown at an art show in Budapest after her return.We made sure we gave her information about our International Baptist Church in that city – when she saw the address, she was excited that it was close to her home.

Preview Service 3

Our third Preview Service was held on June 15, and the people of the church did a great job of serving and working to bring everything together.We have seen new people join our church family from Argentina and India in recent weeks, and we are excited to continue toward our “Public Launch,” which we are still planning for September, God willing.  During these summer months, pray for maintained momentum as many will be enjoying their vacations abroad.Pray that we will continue to grow and reach new people in Darmstadt, with the Lord blessing us with a fruitful harvest!

Preview Service 3

Preview Service 3

Preview Service 3

     

May Newsletter

It has been a busy spring here in Darmstadt!  As the city seems to come to life with flowers and leaves appearing, birds singing and bees buzzing, we are having the joy of watching God give live to a new church!
Easter Sunday was a unique day of contrasts for us.  In the morning we attended the worship service at Grace International Baptist Church in Heidelberg.  It was their 50th Anniversary as a church.  They were one of the early churches planted in the International Baptist Convention (IBC), founded with a focus on the American military population in the Heidelberg area, and over their 50 years they ministered to thousands of people.  That city, like many others in Germany, is facing what is called a “Draw-down” of American forces.  By next year all the military people will be relocated to other bases or returned to the States.  As a result, the number of people at the church has fallen off, and the leadership made the difficult decision to “finish well.”  Their 50th Anniversary Sunday was also their last Sunday.  They were able to celebrate what God has done; they released their pastor to future ministry opportunities, and passed on a portion of their legacy by donating several items to the new church that is getting started in Darmstadt. 
Meanwhile, back in Darmstadt, our team had made a decision – we were going to spend our first Easter together!  So in the afternoon we met at the home of one of our members for a wonderful day of fellowship.  We grilled all sorts of wonderful foods, had salads, chips, desserts, topped off with great conversation and lots of fun!  We were blessed to have Dr. Jimmy Martin, the General Secretary of the IBC, and his wife Laurie with us for the day.  The celebration of resurrection people enjoying life fully was terrific – and went well into the evening when we made “S’mores” around a wood fire under a beautiful moon-lit sky.  Easter is a time when what seems like an end, (death on a cross) is actually a beginning (victory over the grave).  We saw both an end, and a beginning this Easter, and we worshiped the God of grace-filled conclusions and hope-filled commencements.
On April 11, we officially received our Resident Visas!  All in all the process was smooth, in good German style.  We went upstairs in the City Hall to get our Driver’s Licenses, which we could not get previously.  Bob’s was handled right away, but the photo of Carol that we brought with us was unusable, so we will have to go back later to get hers.  We are blessed that Germany and Wisconsin have an agreement that allows Wisconsin drivers to submit their license and receive a German replacement without going through the otherwise mandatory driving course, first aid course, and written exam (which can cost as much as $2,000)!

Visiting with Ismail

The weekdays found us at our twice-weekly LIFE Group meetings (Mondays and Thursdays).  Our groups added people this month from Denmark and Argentina, and we had a new friend from India join us at one of our Worship Services.   We also attend community meetings like Kontakt Darmstadt, an American-German friendship club that meets on Tuesdays.  We had a great visit with Ismail, a 16 year old Afghani who we met in language school, and Carol hosted some couples at our apartment to watch Courageous.

Saladin and Orhan - great friends!

One amazing and exciting development has been the connection we have made with a Turkish-language mission work in Darmstadt.  The Southern Baptist Convention has a missionary in Frankfurt named Andy, who has been coming down to Darmstadt weekly to meet with a group of believers he found here.  This month, a couple of SBC missionaries were expelled from Turkey, and they have been relocated to Darmstadt!  We have met with Mike and Paula a few times, and we are excited about what God might do as our two new works team up to reach the city of Darmstadt!  We introduced Andy and Mike to our close friends Orhan and Saladin, who operate the restaurant in our building, and they are now hosting a men’s Bible study there each Wednesday night! 

Speaking at North Sea Baptist, Stravanger, Norway

On April 15 we were at International Christian Fellowship in Oberursel, Germany, where we were privileged to fill the pulpit.  The church is a great mix of German locals and International folk from around the globe.  It is always a joy to worship with them, and an even greater thrill to be asked to preach!  On the 22nd, Bob was invited to attend a Men’s Retreat and to preach at North Sea Baptist Church in Stravenger, Norway.  The men at the retreat were a terrific bunch of guys, and the speaker, Dr. Rodney Woo, was challenging and inspiring.  Sharing on Sunday was a great opportunity to share the vision and challenge of Church Planting – with both of these churches!

First Preview Service

Our first “Preview Service” took place on April 22.  Thirty eight of us met at the Evangelisch-Freikirchliche Gemeinde Baptisten – the local German Baptist Church that is just a few blocks from our flat.  It was a great time of worship. Everybody pitched in to help with ministry – from set up of the sound system and instruments, to greeting people at the door and children’s ministry, it was a great example of the “Whole body, jointly fitted together.”  We sang, prayed, read and studied the Scriptures, celebrated communion and had a great time of fellowship.  Our second service was held on May 6.  It was a joy to apply what we had learned and experienced at the first service, and grow from it.   Preview Services serve two purposes – to “worship” – we want to honor and love the Lord our God.  And secondly, we want to “learn,” to find out what we do well, and what we need to give attention to as we begin to hold services.  We will continue to hold these services through the summer as we build toward our “Public Launch” in September.
As we write this, we are preparing for our first visit back to the US since we moved here last year.  Our son, John, is graduating from the University of Wisconsin on May 19, and Andrew is getting married to Rachel Edwards in Jacksonville, Florida on June 2.  We are so excited about these events in our family, as you can imagine!  We are also excited to be planning to worship and visit with our “church family” in Mayville on Sunday, May 20.  There will be a lunch/reception after the service at Mayville Middle School.  If you are in the area, we would love to see you there! 
Thanks for your prayers and financial support!  Our work here is impossible without your partnership!