Archives for July 2014

Greetings from 35,000 feet above the ground! My plane just started its descent in Amsterdam and the “ding-dong” in the cabin woke me up. I am catching up sleep after the last two very short nights in Moscow. As always, the last days were packed with the events that had been postponed and delayed over my three weeks in Russia. This time, I did my last presentation in a youth camp in the forest near the city of Zaraysk (literally, “Behind the Paradise”), 150 km South-East of Moscow last night and was driven from there directly to the airport after a couple of hours of sleep in somebody’s tent. Only half of about seventy young men and women in the camp were believers or from believers’ families and the camp’s leadership was especially interested in giving all of them our material on day one so that they could think about it and discuss it for the rest of the week. They also invited me to come to Zaraysk again in the winter for their regional pastors’ training. “It would be wonderful to have the FSDiscovery presented in all of our camps next summer!” – suggested a youth pastor.

This was exactly what I was doing a day before in Petrozavodsk, Karelia at the National Orthodox Missions School – training church leaders and missionaries from all over the country who to use our materials as an outreach tool for reaching non-believers with the Gospel. That day consisted of three three-hour long sessions with lots of discussion and with a distinct practical application focus. Most of the material already was familiar to my listeners but the “how-to” of our presentation and its clear inner logic definitely caught their attention. “I love digital technology! We can adapt this presentation to any audience, any format and any setting in just a few minutes!” – said one of the participants.

One day and five time-zones back in the Irkutsk, Siberia, I had a chance to introduce our ministry to, at first, a rather reluctant group of Orthodox clergy. When I contacted them about organizing a training in their city their response was: “In the middle of the summer church life usually slows down. It is not a good time for such a thing” (compare it to there reaction of a priest from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia: “In the middle of the summer church life usually slows down. Let us stir it up!”). However, they agreed to have my presentation done even if for a small group right in my apartment. It was, in fact, a cell with a vaulted ceiling in the basement of a beautiful 18^th century “Siberian baroque” church that has been for centuries used to keep bodies before the funeral. It was a bit chilly there but I completely enjoyed my stay in it, especially that the temps outside stayed in the high nineties all week and, of course, because of some very special kind if night dreams I had each night (just kidding). There was, indeed, something special in projecting the presentation of the Gospel with Evidence on a curved surface of my cell ceiling and speaking in a normal, soft, not a lecture-style voice to the people seating only a couple feet away from you. I pray that my trainees will now be proclaiming it out loud throughout the city!

I managed to squeeze a half-a-day trip to Baikal Lake between my other events (in a Baptist youth camp and at an Evangelical church) and to dive into its icy waters (40 F). It was fun!

Well, I am back in MN now after a wonderful four day vacation with my two sons in Germany. Thank you for all your prayers!

Greetings from 35,000 feet above the ground! My plane just started its descent in Amsterdam and the “ding-dong” in the cabin woke me up. I am catching up sleep after the last two very short nights in Moscow. As always, the last days were packed with the events that had been postponed and delayed over my three weeks in Russia. This time, I did my last presentation in a youth camp in the forest near the city of Zaraysk (literally, “Behind the Paradise”), 150 km South-East of Moscow last night and was driven from there directly to the airport after a couple of hours of sleep in somebody’s tent. Only half of about seventy young men and women in the camp were believers or from believers’ families and the camp’s leadership was especially interested in giving all of them our material on day one so that they could think about it and discuss it for the rest of the week. They also invited me to come to Zaraysk again in the winter for their regional pastors’ training. “It would be wonderful to have the FSDiscovery presented in all of our camps next summer!” – suggested a youth pastor.

This was exactly what I was doing a day before in Petrozavodsk, Karelia at the National Orthodox Missions School – training church leaders and missionaries from all over the country who to use our materials as an outreach tool for reaching non-believers with the Gospel. That day consisted of three three-hour long sessions with lots of discussion and with a distinct practical application focus. Most of the material already was familiar to my listeners but the “how-to” of our presentation and its clear inner logic definitely caught their attention. “I love digital technology! We can adapt this presentation to any audience, any format and any setting in just a few minutes!” – said one of the participants.

One day and five time-zones back in the Irkutsk, Siberia, I had a chance to introduce our ministry to, at first, a rather reluctant group of Orthodox clergy. When I contacted them about organizing a training in their city their response was: “In the middle of the summer church life usually slows down. It is not a good time for such a thing” (compare it to there reaction of a priest from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia: “In the middle of the summer church life usually slows down. Let us stir it up!”). However, they agreed to have my presentation done even if for a small group right in my apartment. It was, in fact, a cell with a vaulted ceiling in the basement of a beautiful 18^th century “Siberian baroque” church that has been for centuries used to keep bodies before the funeral. It was a bit chilly there but I completely enjoyed my stay in it, especially that the temps outside stayed in the high nineties all week and, of course, because of some very special kind if night dreams I had each night (just kidding). There was, indeed, something special in projecting the presentation of the Gospel with Evidence on a curved surface of my cell ceiling and speaking in a normal, soft, not a lecture-style voice to the people seating only a couple feet away from you. I pray that my trainees will now be proclaiming it out loud throughout the city!

I managed to squeeze a half-a-day trip to Baikal Lake between my other events (in a Baptist youth camp and at an Evangelical church) and to dive into its icy waters (40 F). It was fun!

Well, I am back in MN now after a wonderful four day vacation with my two sons in Germany. Thank you for all your prayers!

What seemed to be just a little sore throat back in Colorado, quickly developed into a full blown cold in Minnesota further aggravated by hours of sitting in a “flying incubator” on my way to Moscow. With ears plugged, eyes tearing, cough thundering and a killing headache from almost completely sleepless flight (I usually sleep all the way from boarding in MSP and passport control at SVO) I had to quickly recover and get my strength back before my first presentation at the outreach event set up by the Sts. Kosma and Damian Orthodox Church on the next night. I cannot thank enough all of your who were praying for me at that time for an absolutely miraculous healing that took place during that first day in Moscow. I was able to lead a group of tough sceptics through logical steps towards trust in the Bible and faith in Christ that evening. One of them left me with a note on a piece of paper: “I was especially impressed by the fact that you took the most difficult route: not simply appealing to my emotions or my cultural background but addressing the very foundation of my belief system as a scholar and as a researcher. Thank you for freeing me from many prejudices and misconceptions about the Christian faith I somehow took for facts without proper examination and testing.” 

My talk at the Christian Teachers’ Conference on the next day was, of course, a much easier task. I did not have to overcome those barriers of superstition and presuppositions against faith that I faced a night before. My goal was to train them in integrating the FaithSearch Discovery material in their classroom experience and to provide this powerful tool of evangelism for their ministry. “As teachers, we all know how much time and labor, research and talent had to have been put into this material to make it so effective and beautiful.” – said one of the Conference participants. I am happy to pass this compliment to the whole FaithSearch International crew, volunteers and supporters who have made it possible.

A five-hour flight to Krasnoyarsk and then an hour drive deep into Siberian taiga changed the scenery quite dramatically. For three days I was presenting at a Christian Camp to about forty families and young men and women of very different faith experiences and backgrounds – from life-long committed Christians to seeker and very new believers. My events would usually begin after little kids went to bed and continue way over midnight with millions of stars shining and billions of mosquitos buzzing over our heads. There was also plenty of time around the campfire and on the river during the day to ask questions, to discuss difficult issues and to share faith stories.

As it is usually the case in Russia, “life” makes corrections to my teaching schedule. The city of Kansk fell through and was replaced by two extra days in Krasnoyarsk speaking on local and regional radio (twice) and TV as well as giving half a dozen interviews to local newspapers and news agencies. It is not every day that they had a school textbook author (“Intro to Christian Culture”) from Moscow visiting their city! Giving a good word for local churches and Christian ministries to the general public and media was the least I could do to show my gratitude for their hospitality.

What seemed to be just a little sore throat back in Colorado, quickly developed into a full blown cold in Minnesota further aggravated by hours of sitting in a “flying incubator” on my way to Moscow. With ears plugged, eyes tearing, cough thundering and a killing headache from almost completely sleepless flight (I usually sleep all the way from boarding in MSP and passport control at SVO) I had to quickly recover and get my strength back before my first presentation at the outreach event set up by the Sts. Kosma and Damian Orthodox Church on the next night. I cannot thank enough all of your who were praying for me at that time for an absolutely miraculous healing that took place during that first day in Moscow. I was able to lead a group of tough sceptics through logical steps towards trust in the Bible and faith in Christ that evening. One of them left me with a note on a piece of paper: “I was especially impressed by the fact that you took the most difficult route: not simply appealing to my emotions or my cultural background but addressing the very foundation of my belief system as a scholar and as a researcher. Thank you for freeing me from many prejudices and misconceptions about the Christian faith I somehow took for facts without proper examination and testing.” 

My talk at the Christian Teachers’ Conference on the next day was, of course, a much easier task. I did not have to overcome those barriers of superstition and presuppositions against faith that I faced a night before. My goal was to train them in integrating the FaithSearch Discovery material in their classroom experience and to provide this powerful tool of evangelism for their ministry. “As teachers, we all know how much time and labor, research and talent had to have been put into this material to make it so effective and beautiful.” – said one of the Conference participants. I am happy to pass this compliment to the whole FaithSearch International crew, volunteers and supporters who have made it possible.

A five-hour flight to Krasnoyarsk and then an hour drive deep into Siberian taiga changed the scenery quite dramatically. For three days I was presenting at a Christian Camp to about forty families and young men and women of very different faith experiences and backgrounds – from life-long committed Christians to seeker and very new believers. My events would usually begin after little kids went to bed and continue way over midnight with millions of stars shining and billions of mosquitos buzzing over our heads. There was also plenty of time around the campfire and on the river during the day to ask questions, to discuss difficult issues and to share faith stories.

As it is usually the case in Russia, “life” makes corrections to my teaching schedule. The city of Kansk fell through and was replaced by two extra days in Krasnoyarsk speaking on local and regional radio (twice) and TV as well as giving half a dozen interviews to local newspapers and news agencies. It is not every day that they had a school textbook author (“Intro to Christian Culture”) from Moscow visiting their city! Giving a good word for local churches and Christian ministries to the general public and media was the least I could do to show my gratitude for their hospitality.