This weekend we are having our 10th 3W Seminar; this one in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.  Never would I have thought we would have done so many of these in the first year, but they are really filling a need.  One of the things I love about the 3W Seminars is that they cut right to the heart of the issues that churches struggle with–the common tripwires.  But another thing I like is how they connect people from outside Europe and the Middle East with this great region.  We have our first 3W Seminars outside of the Church of God this summer in Almeria, Spain.

We will also be visiting Serbia (first time) as well as the Church of God congregations in Hungary.  This is one of the most exciting stories of our region as two young pastors have emerged to lead the country: Peter Kiss and Laszlo Debrecini.  You will be hearing all about those two guys in the very near future.  The churches are healthy, the leadership is healthy, and we have a lot of laughs when we are together.  Peter is hands down the funniest guy in the CHOG worldwide.  So you’re in for quite the ride if you spend a few minutes with him.  Think Robin Williams on speed!  Yeah….I know.

So off to the Balkans and Eastern Europe. I’ll get some great, blurry photos to share with you all.

Hello everyone.  Sorry for the silence lately.  I returned from Lebanon and I’m down to my last few days in Berlin.  I’ll be in and out over the next few months, but I really only have a few days when I will actually be in Berlin–so I am busy trying to prepare talks for visits to Bulgaria, Hungary, Florida, Indiana, and Ukraine.  It’s all coming up very quickly.

I’m also trying to spend as much time with the family as possible as I will be gone almost all of June and 1 week in July—my longest trip away for the year.  What a drag.  From the 2nd week of July to September, I should be with the family uninterrupted–I hope.

Anyway, I’ll update a bit when I get a chance over the next couple of days.  Thanks for your patience.

We now turn to Chapter 7 in our continuing discussion of Philip Jenkins’ book “The Next Christendom.”  This chapter is probably one of the most complex chapters in the book and could be expanded into a book itself.  It deals with the nexus between Christianity and politics.

In Europe Christianity has become politically irrelevant after the disasterous mix of Christianity and politics which led to Christendom.  Europe’s experience with “Christian Kings, armies, Popes, and governments has left a permanent mark on this continent.  Meanwhile, the United States was established to force a separation of church and state in order to preserve religious freedom (and dynamism).

In the Global South where non-Western Christianity is exploding, there is more of an integration of faith and politics (within Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism).  This chapter fleshes out examples.

Church and State have been merged in the Global South as well.  The Roman Catholic Church has wielded a lot of influence in many countries, particularly in Latin America.  In many cases, the Catholic Church sided with repressive governments which led to an opening for theological and political resistance movements to form.

The “Liberation Theology” movements that emerged in the late 1960′s encouraged believers to wage political struggles against oppressive regimes.  This often meant going up against Western-backed dictatorships and consequently, much of Liberation theology was infused with Marxist critiques.

In Africa, many of the anti-colonialism activists of the 1960′s were educated in mission schools and many of these nationalist and revolutionary figures (including Nelson Mandela) started movements.  This created the paradoxical situation that while the Roman Catholic Church often supported corrupt, oppressive regimes, the church itself educated many of the people who would rise up against those regimes.  So much so that Political Scientist Samuel Huntington identified the Catholic Church as one of the principal engines for progress as it relates to democratization.

Sometimes the oppression of an outside force allows Christianity to emerge as a political force as it did in South Korea under Japanese repression–and in Chile under Pinochet.

In some cases, the rise of Christianity or Christian parties can have negative consequences or be used as a tool of oppression itself–as is the case in Fiji where a majority Christian population attempts to subjugate the Hindu minority

Page 154 is key:  ”Submission to a ‘Christian State’ can easily turn into a willful refusal to acknowledge the flaws of that regime, and to connive at official corruption and violence….In addition, there is a real temptation for churches hat have led or participated in revolutions to provide uncritical support for the new regimes, and to judge them by different standards from those applied to the old order.   Acknowledging this temptation in the newly democratized South Africa, Archbishop Tutu shrewdly observed that ‘It is easy to be against.  It is not nearly so easy to be clear about what we are for.”

Another form of “political activism” which is not so overtly tied to political parties but which takes up social causes and assists the poor.  And that is Pentecostalism, surprisingly enough.  In places like Brazil, Pentecostal churches make their presence known in places where the police and social services dare not enter.

Jenkins seems to worry that the politicization of Christianity (and religion in general) can lead to a new Christendom.  Whereas the West has largely realized that a close fusion of politics and religion can be highly detrimental (particularly toward religion), the non-Western parts of the world may be in the pre-Christendom phase.

***Patrick’s thoughts***

It’s not true that Christianity only expands through the needs of oppressed minority groups–however, this is certainly a great part of Christian expansion.  Samuel Huntington in his politically incorrect (but I think prescient book) forecast an era in which there would be a “Clash of Civilizations” between different religious worldviews.  Fault-lines opening up between Christians and Muslims, Hindus and Muslims, Eastern Orthodox Christians and Muslims etc.  It was a very politically incorrect thing to say in 1993, but what was often missed by the critiques was this key point:  even in the modern world, religion matters.  A world of technology doesn’t make deeply held religious beliefs disappear.  If anything, modern progress can lead to explosive situations where ancient religions are viewed as the tool by which to attack all the socio-political changes and the modern world in general.  It’s hard to remember what a bold and insightful critique this was 7 years before 9/11.

Nevertheless, Jenkins belief (which he has since walked back or disavowed) that new Christendoms may emerge in the non-Western world has not been borne out yet.  For the most part, the expansion of Christianity (and it has been explosive over the past 50 years) has gone on with remarkably little political conflict compared to Christendom’s expansion (330AD-1750AD).  In other words, Christians in new Christian territories are far less militaristic than Europeans were.

Why would this be the case?  My guess is because 20th and 21st Century Christians outside of the West have had to live in very pluralistic environments.  Where life cannot really be lived without interacting with people of other faiths.

In 2009, I was in Mumbai, India and got stuck there after my flight left without me.  I had a fantastic time being stuck in Mumbai.  I was in a neighborhood full of Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, and Christians.  It was impossible to do anything in that neighborhood without interacting with people of radically different faiths.  It was fantastic.  ”This,” —I thought to myself, “is how so many of the world’s Christians live.”  The idea that religion constantly breeds religious conflict is a very Western one, really.  It comes from Christendom (Europe’s) negative experience with religion.  It also probably comes from Christianity’s absolutist nature, which Westerners think must mean there’s religious conflict all over the place when Christians and Muslims are involved (both religions being very absolutist).  But that is simply not the case.  Throughout the world, both Muslims and Christians can co-exist side by side peacefully.  It is actually the norm.

The media and certain flashpoints constantly in the news:  Israel, Sudan, and Sri Lanka come to mind—make people think that pluralistic religious societies always result in war.  They don’t.

The flipside of this, however, is that when governments seek to use one religion to dominate a country (a return to Christendom), those countries and that regime get discredited over time.  Live by the sword, die by the sword…  And see religious influence and belief decline rapidly.

There’s no doubt that overall–religious conflict will increase in the near future.  It is an irresistible way of attacking new ideas and foreigners.  But there will be lots of places of peaceful expansion, and there will also be places of rapid secularization.  There will be multiple tracks that the world takes in the first part of the 21st Century.

This account by a missionary family in Paraguay regarding the Memorial Service for Julie and Timmy–which they attended– is amazing and well-worth reading in full.

****

“What a beautiful time we had this past Saturday night in the home church of the Kurrles–the Obligado, PY Church of God.  I have to confess that a part of me dreaded going, not really wanting to believe that this could be real, not wanting to see the dark cloud of grief hovering over our friend Norberto, not wanting to see pictures and videos of Julie and Timmy that I’d been able to avoid for the most part.  But what a surprise God had in store for us!

How I got to the memorial service is a story all in itself, but one for another day.  I arrived with dear friends Jamie and Marion Lee, British missionaries living in Ciudad del Este.  We’d had the benefit of a 3-hour ride to process the horror and shock of this situation, and prepare mentally for trying to encourage Norberto and the community.  But when we arrived, we found we were the ones encouraged and blessed.

We got there an hour early, despite Jamie’s very cautious, slower than normal driving.  (I think this has been a wake-up call to the entire ex-pat community, who already struggles with driving on these Paraguayan roads with few rules and even fewer people who observe them.)  We found our seats in the church, then were greeted by a gracious gentleman who welcomed us to his home congregation.  He seemed genuinely surprised to find that we were friends of Julie who had traveled just for the service, and thanked us several times for coming.  It was only after we came out and asked him that he told us he was Norberto’s father, the man who had just lost his precious daughter-in-law and his energetic grandson.  It was clear that he was not here to receive pity or to draw attention to himself.  This was a night to support Norberto and to give glory to God for the lives of two missionaries who devoted themselves to Him.  As we met Norberto’s mother, his brother, and his two sisters, they echoed this same humility and acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God.

Expecting that we’d not be able to speak to Norberto because he’d probably arrive just before the service started, we were shocked to see him come in early.  He had work to do and was here to make this night perfect.  We spoke with him for a moment and despite the questions in his eyes, the loss in his voice, the cut between his eyes and bruises around the right one, we were in awe over the peace exuding from this man who’d just witnessed horrors I can’t begin to fathom and was walking through a valley I hope I never know.  We were looking at a man whose home had been destroyed but his foundation was solid, built on the Rock that is the only true refuge.

Across the front of the altar, someone placed photos of Julie and Timmy playing, of Norberto and Julie in their wedding, of the whole family together, of little Timmy doing those things that boys do.  To the side was a table with various things Norberto had chosen to display–Timmy’s baseball and glove, his favorite pajamas, one of Julie’s simple white dresses, the books she’d been reading most recently (she did love to read!), her well-used Bible.  A photo show was projected on the screen with a mix of candid shots and videos, a vivid reminder of just how close to each other this family was.

Various people came forward to share how they’d been impacted.  A man from the neighborhood whose son was Timmy’s best friend, always hanging out at the Kurrle home.  The scout troop in full uniform with a flag they’d painted for Timmy in his favorite colors.  A young lady who’d come last year to the training institute the Kurrle’s started and been taken under Julie’s wing.  Timmy’s teacher who said she’d felt the difference in the school in the time Timmy was a student there and knew it was because Norberto and Julie were covering it in prayer.  Marion who shared of dying from a double brain hemorrhage, getting to heaven’s gates, and asking to come back if she could make a difference in the salvation of her family (to which Julie replied, when Marion told her that story, “I don’t think I’d have had the self-control to turn back!  I’d have run through those gates!”–and I’m sure she did.)

I shared about how she’d helped me learn so much about Paraguay and being a missionary mom/wife here, and how I was nervous to meet her in person because I didn’t think she could live up to being the person she seemed to be online, but she was all that and more.  I told Norberto what she’d told me at a conference we attended recently, about how blessed she was to have a Godly husband who treated her like a princess and took good care of their family, adoring their kids and leading them all in the ways of the Lord.  I told him what a blessing it was to be able to look back on his life with them without regrets, knowing he’d given his all for his family and devoted himself to them as God had directed him to do.

Mixed in with the testimonies were various songs, such as Julie’s favorite (Amazing Grace), the one Timmy sang at his last birthday (a German praise song), and a few others with special meaning.  These were sung by Norberto and his brother and sisters.  His parents also shared how they were trusting in God, how they were thankful for the lives of Norberto and Anahi, and how much they loved Julie and Timmy.

And when everyone felt they’d said what needed to be said, Norberto went forward.  I imagined he’d never be able to finish the speech he’d prepared, but he stood in the strength of the Lord and shared his heart.  A real missionary, this man recognized the opportunity before him and spoke of God’s plan for family.  He encouraged those parents in attendance to love their children, to spend time with them.  He told the story of his last evening with Timmy, how they’d built some homemade bomb gadget and Timmy wanted to light little explosions for the next two hours.  Norberto was tired and they’d be traveling early, but he lit and re-lit and re-lit that thing until Timmy was worn out and ready for bed.  In his pajamas, he wrapped his arms around his daddy’s neck, thanked him for staying up late to play with him, and told him he loved him.  Then, taking advantage of his daddy’s softened heart, he asked if he could sleep in the bed with mommy and daddy that night.  I’m sure Norberto will always be grateful for saying yes to that request.

Julie had gotten up early that morning to fix a ton of sandwiches for their road-trip, because, well, she was just that sort of Proverbs 31 woman.  She took care of her household.  As Norberto picked up the books to show us, one was about pregnancy.  I took a deep breath as I remembered all the conversations and blog posts and emails and tears over trying to get pregnant despite what the doctors had deemed as almost impossible.  The odds were certainly against it.  But then Norberto shared that Julie was, in fact, six weeks pregnant.  And so we learned that one more of Norberto’s children than we’d thought, is in heaven with his or her mother.  Heartbreaking, but I think of the joy my friend must have felt at realizing the miracle that had taken place in her body.  The moment she must have shared with her husband when she was able to tell him of his little child she carried.  And I thanked God that she was given that moment, that miracle.  The answer to many prayers.

He told of how Julie, an organized, very intelligent, very business-minded woman, had big plans of climbing the corporate ladder and being a rich lady.  Then God turned her life around, and she went after Him and His plan full-force.  He ended by saying he’d need a little time to find out what God is saying to him in all this, what He has in mind for him, how he’s to get through this.  I was amazed that he was even able to think clearly enough to understand and reconcile this so soon, but as I said, this man is grounded in the Lord and surrounded by a natural and church family who are holding his hands as Aaron and Hur did for Moses in Exodus 17.  And he’s bolstered by the prayers of people all over the world.

As the service came to a close, we watched video of Timmy at about 3 years old, plunking the keys of a piano and singing over and over, “Yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me…” and I thought, “Yes, Timmy, He sure does, and now you and Mommy can love Him back, in person.”

This week, like many of you, we are in deep mourning over the loss of missionary colleagues.  On Wednesday April 18th, The Kurrle Family–missionaries in Paraguay were involved in a devastating car accident.  They were on their way home at 5:00AM after having picked up their newly adopted daughter’s birth certificate and passport.  In the accident, Julie and her 6 year old son Timothy were killed.  Norberto and their daughter Esther Anahi survived the crash.

A few hours later, my Uncle Tom White had a heart attack and died at his office.  He was one of the leading figures in the Christian world leading the charge against persecuted Christians around the world.  He was scheduled to go to India the next day. He leaves behind his wife Ofelia, their daughter Dorothy, and son Daniel as well as a few grandkids.

I never got to know Julie Kurrle very well.  Norberto and I are the same age and went to college together.  Anyone who knows Norberto is aware of what a humble, selfless, inspiring person he is.  He is a ray of sunshine and was a wonderful father and husband.  When he married Julie, they returned to his homeland of Paraguay to become missionaries.  Since so few people my age have chosen to go into missionary service, I was very excited to see Norberto and Julie head off to the mission-field–knowing that they would bring health and love to everything they touched.  They are exactly the kind of Christian missionaries the world needs.   They drove to their mission-field: from the United States all the way down to Paraguay and stopped off at my Dad’s house when they passed through Costa Rica.  Of course he was thoroughly charmed.  Norberto’s aunt Nilah has been a family friend of ours my entire life–and one of the great friends of my parents.

They touched many lives, and I’m sorry I never really got to spend time with Julie.  The stories about her are amazing.  She was brave, sincere, and deeply committed to her mission-field.  She was also a fantastic writer and I enjoyed following their ministry through their blog: Passion for Paraguay.  It was not long ago that Julie was attacked in her home at knife-point and bound.  As she was being attacked (with Timothy in the other room), she prayed for her attacker in Spanish so the attacker could hear her–instinctively following the Bible’s command: (Romans 12:14: Bless those who persecute you).  Timothy was unaware of what happened.  This is one of many stories that showed her remarkable character.

We can’t even begin to imagine how Norberto and little 1 1/2 year old Anahi must be feeling.  We do know that now is the time for the church to rally around them and give them all the love and support they need.  Anderson University is collecting funds to help Norberto and Anahi here.  To Norberto: Like so many others, we grieve deeply with you and are here to help in any way possible. We love you.

(This part of the post has been altered):  We are also deeply mourning the passing of Uncle Tom who died on the same day.

****Post Continued Below****

The Cathedral of Pisa

A few days ago in Pisa, Italy, I took this picture that I wasn’t planning on sharing with anyone.  As anyone who follows this blog/diary knows, I love Cathedrals.  I am not Roman Catholic nor am I Eastern Orthodox.  But I have an inexplicable pull to these buildings where the presence of God always seems very real to me, yet also distant and inexplainable.

As I sat down and took to this picture, I had these thoughts:

“In the same way I cannot explain this deep pull to Cathedrals, I cannot explain the presence of God, nor can I explain my faith. And perhaps it is not always needed–to explain every single feeling.”   It is often not in the “Christian” things and activities that God feels present.  That feeling can come from a 14th century building, the guitar lick on a particular song, the sound of my child laughing, the view of a mountain, or the feeling of wearing shorts and a t-shirt on the first Spring day.  Rarely are those moments truly explainable:    It is mystical, inexplainable, and odd. Yet a connection to God remains.

But there are just as many moments of distance.  Big, long moments of doubt, anger, disillusionment, and disappointment.  The horror of a tragedy, the breaking of a relationship, a deep disappointment in my own actions.  And in those moments, neither God nor I  are clearly understandable.  Nor does the world seem beautiful and fair.  There are a million-and-one cliches we can fall-back on to tell us everything is alright.  Evangelical Christians certainly are the masters of this–needing to define and explain every single spiritual feeling.  We can cite scripture, sing songs, and even peer pressure our fellow Christians into never admitting doubt, anger, or disconnection.  Yet some disconnection to God and his ways always remains.

So we have a paradox:  The connection is real, but so is the disconnection.

If Christianity is about anything, it is about paradox.  God as a homeless infant in a manger, a guilty thief on a cross next to Jesus forgiven and given eternal life, a faith movement of 2 billion started by 12 disciples, 10 martyred and one that committed suicide , the teaching that “the last shall be first and the first shall be last,” and the hardest of all:  that out of the fall of humankind, all of creation is being redeemed.

As Christians, we do not believe like the Hindus that what happened this week was the result of Karma–previous actions coming back to institute karmic justice.

As Christians, we do not believe like the Buddhists that life is an illusion and the sooner we detach from the things of this world, the quicker we ease our pain by embracing meaninglessness.

Instead, we believe that our lives are but “a vapor,” but that we are a part of creation and are part of God’s unknowable but absolute plan to redeem his creation.  Our belief in resurrection is not so much to re-assure ourselves that we will never die (although many perhaps use it as such as an antidote to the fear of the unknown regarding our earthly mortality), but rather for a more profound reason:

Because death itself is not natural–hence the pain, the mourning, the jarring separation when it happens.  We are created for eternity.  We can feel it deep in our bones.  We love and attach ourselves as if we are wired to be loved and attached forever.  From infancy on,–from the moment the human child is conceived, our body (our spirit) longs for a deep, profound, and permanent intimacy. To mourn is to feel the present stain on creation.  It is the other half of that Christian paradox: the feeling of deep disconnection.

Genesis in the Bible is about that intimacy all of human creation is imbued with and how it was tragically broken.  The cartoon characters of Adam and Eve (and they are about the most simplistic characters in the Bible, followed by much more three dimensional ones) set the stage by showing that primal, human longing for intimacy and the high cost of brokenness in the God/human relationship.  But even with God’s protection of Cain after he kills his brother Abel, God begins to set the stage for this disorder and chaos in the universe to be made right.  By the end of Genesis (long before Jesus shows up), Joseph turns his sufferings into grace–a foreshadow of what is coming with Christ.  Evil and death will not win out.

In the above picture, Jesus Christ sits upon the throne.  At the bottom, barely visible in my usual blurry photo is that same Jesus Christ on the Cross.  Paradox filling the Cathedral.  Paradox filling our universe and our lives.

The truth is there are no good answers right now.  And this feeling we all have is not natural. It goes against our deep sense that we all feel that we will love these three people forever.  Our pain, our shock, our horror is a testament to the fact that we are created for eternity.  We are created for beauty.  We are created for permanence.

Until this full act of redemption is complete, we will wander into Cathedrals or relationships, or songs, or sunsets that fill us with a sense of connection to something eternal.

And until this full act of redemption is complete, we will have that sense of disconnection and violation in an abandonment, a betrayal, an unhealthy body, a death, a loss of friendship.

We Christians are the people of the paradox.  Jesus preached paradox, he lived paradox, he died paradox.  Our churches are adorned with an instrument of torture as a reminder of eternal salvation.  That’s intentional.  Jesus said: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16:25).

Julie and Timmy were people of the paradox.

I believe we will see Julie and Timmy  again.  Not as a simple statement to ease our pain in a dark moment.

But because the one thing that is not paradoxical in God’s order is that beauty like that is not meant to go away.

It is eternal.

I’m writing from the German Alps tonight.  We are one day away from the conclusion of our first ever 3W Care-a-Van.  Tomorrow we make the short drive into Munich, drop-off the monster-mobile we’ve been trekking around in, and prepare to return to our respective homes.  It’s been a a great experience, and I can’t say enough about Aaron and Nicole’s organization and planning throughout all of this.  It really has been amazing.  Considering all the places we’ve been and all the things we’ve done–really 2 people alone have had to make sure it has all worked.  A and N.  So on behalf of all the Care-a-Vaners and Jamie and Marco too, let me say “Thank you Aaron and Nicole.”  All that time planning really paid off in a big way.  You made it so incredibly easy for all of us to cover so much ground.  We were well-rested, well-fed, and had great church experiences while seeing some of the world’s most stunning places.  On Thursday Aaron, Nicole, and I will fly back to Berlin.  Not much rest time for them as they have even more groups to host in the coming weeks.  Here are some final blurry photos:

Larry Deacon of Troutdale, Oregon preaches at the Rome CHOG while Francesco does the interpreting.

Some of the Care-a-Vaners put their feet in the Mediterranean Sea just outside Rome.

Always hear Gilbert and Sullivan music in my head when I see the Gondoliers of Venice.

A freeway in Venice

My best personal memory of the Care-a-Van: Seeing Marco and Jamie take in Venice for the first time.

My favorite picture from the trip.

Music time in the Lovaglio's home in Treviso, Italy.

The Clawsons and Varners in beautiful Lerici, Italy in the Northwest.

Driving toward the Italian Alps on the way to Austria.

The view from my window in Innsbruck, Austria.

Downtown Anderson, Indiana....I mean Innsbruck, Austria.

The best hot chocolate in the world--in a particular cafe in Venice, Italy, and I can take you there. Doesn't it look amazing?

Back in Germany, high in the German Alps.

The Care-a-Vaners 2012

The 3 of us at the Roman Coliseum.

And then there were 9.  Jamie and Marco flew back to Berlin today. I drove them to the airport here in Rome for their flight out.  Spring Break is over and Marco needs to get ready for school on Monday.  He greatly enjoyed the Care-a-Van and being with the Care-a-Vaners.  Spring Break flew by fast.

Yesterday we took the Care-a-Vaners around to some of the sights of Rome.  The rain finally caught up with us on the trip.  It was a race to get through all the sights before the late afternoon downpour kicked in.  Fortunately, we were back under a dry roof by about 2PM after taking in all the key sights.  Tonight we meet up with the Ostia Church for Italian dinner.  Tomorrow will be church with Care-a-Vaner Larry Deacon preaching.

I’ll be counting the days until I can see J and M again. On Monday, we drive to Innsbruck, Austria in the heart of the Alps, and then Tuesday will be in the German Alps, before Wednesday in Munich.  Thursday Aaron, Nicole, and I will fly back to Berlin and the Care-a-Vaners will return to the zoos from which they came.

The Care-a-Van continues as we drive past more beauty than one can possibly describe.

The day started very cloudy and rainy as we headed to Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, but it started to clear up as we arrived to the most scenic spots.  By the end of the day, it was just gorgeous.  The breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea were all around us–with the cliffs dropping off 3,000 feet into the ocean below. I didn’t get any good pictures of those cliff-drop offs, since I was driving the van along the narrow road.  Then today we drove to Rome by way of Pisa.  I love the drive from Northwestern Italy to Rome along the coast.

The weather started out a bit overcast...

Even Ted Kaczinski--the Unibomber was worried. He's part of our Care-a-Van.

..but the weather soon cleared up.

..and then the views were magnificent.

..some Care-a-Vaners enjoyed the vistas and took pictures...

..others made out because Italy is so romantic!

...Others just looked cute because they look exactly like their Dad.

Even the streets are charming.

Then today we drove to Pisa. The first view of the old town is always breathtaking!

Patty Deacon (bottom of picture) tried to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It fell on her and she was killed instantly.

..but the rest of Pisa was delightful despite the mishap.

The headquarters of the Church of God, Anderson, Indiana.

Jesus looking down on us as we Care-a-van around Europe.

Beautiful Tuscany as we drive along Italy's West Coast toward Rome (2 hours north of Rome).

Aaron and Nicole at the Italian Riviera (Care-a-Van)

The Care-a-Van continues!  After spending time in Venice and with the Lovaglio family in Treviso, we drove from one side of Italy to the other.  From the Adriatic Sea to the Ligurian Sea and the Italian Riviera.  We stopped off in Verona to see the beautiful old downtown, the fully functional Roman Arena (no lions though), and the famous balcony where Juliet was hit on by Romeo.  From there, we drove across the increasingly mountainous terrain into Tuscany and now are within striking distance of Cinque Terre.

Aaron and Nicole continue to do an amazing job leading the Care-a-Van.  Leading groups is NOT easy.  There are so many things that go into it:  Arranging meetings, booking reservations, dealing with people’s eating issues, dealing with health issues, collecting deposits, managing the funds, convincing waiters to let a group of your size into the restaurant, driving in foreign countries, –sometimes dealing with people’s strange demands.  One time I was leading a group and upon arrival at the airport, the person I picked up immediately demanded that I take him for a haircut!!  Immediately!!  There’s a lot more than that that goes into organizing something like the Care-a-Van.  Your mind is constantly planning, thinking—-trying to figure out the shortest walking route on the spot, making sure no one gets lost, finding landmarks that are easy for people to follow–going on a hunt to find the only functional toilet for a bathroom break.  Helping people buy souvenirs, interpreting into another language, helping people be culturally sensitive, public speaking, arranging the public speaking, etc. etc. etc.  In other words, it’s a massive job.

Aaron and Nicole have just done such an excellent job on the Care-A-Van and everyone has been having a great time.  The churches we have visited have been blessed, and the Care-a-Vaners have really enjoyed their time with the churches, and of course the gorgeous scenery.

Today, the Varners made their official announcement!  No they are not pregnant!:……yet.  Aaron and Nicole are winding down his 3 year contract with Global Missions and will be finishing their time in Germany in the summer.  They would like to begin thinking about starting a family and living close to the future grandparents.  We have been supportive of this decision all along since they were signed up for 3 years.

The Varners still have the Care-a-Van to finish, as well as two different Urban Missions experiences to host in Berlin for Anderson University and Warner Pacific College.  Then they will be heading to the USA in July to close-out and to prepare the way for the next group of team members we are planning to add to the 3W Team.

We can’t imagine the last 18 months of starting-up Three Worlds without Aaron and Nicole’s help.  They have been dispatched to various countries throughout Europe to help Jamie and I as we introduced 3W, they worked with young people in the region, they were part of XZ Berlin, they helped get the XZ and 3W internships off the ground, led and organized the first 3W Care-a-Van, and were the great money-managers of the team.  We will miss them greatly.  But we are quite sure that we will continue to interact with them and we may be leading groups across Europe together in the future anyway. They are always welcome and we are very proud of them.

We wish them the best as they move back to the USA and have a little baby Patrick or Patrickella.  And we’re sure we will see them over in the USA and over here in Europe again in the future.  We love you guys!

Oh, and they look better than in my blurry photo above!  But it wouldn’t be a Patrick photo if it wasn’t awful.

Where Aaron and Nicole took us to dinner last night!

Lerici, Italy

Hello everyone!  Greetings from one of my favorite places in the world, Lago di Garda, Italy.  The Care-a-Van is on day 3, and what a beautiful day it was.  It is so gorgeous around here.  But back to the beginning.

Aaron and Nicole Varner and the 3 of us landed in Munich on Wednesday.  By Thursday morning, the six Americans on the Care-a-Vaners were on the ground with us and we started off with a 4 hour drive in grey and rainy weather to Haiterbach, Germany.  Despite the grey skies, the town itself is charming and the church people were great.  We had a really fun evening event on Thursday night which included a dinner and then a time of sharing where we learned about the German Church and they learned a little bit about the United States, Africa, and Three Worlds.

We had a great time staying in the home of Ricard and Meta who are Germans that were born in Uzbekistan.  They have a very charming family and invited us to come back for a conference or 3W Seminar.  So hopefully we can do that in 2013.  We really enjoyed our time with them.

The next morning we had an Eastern morning service which included the Lord’s supper and footwashing.  Jesus, just before he was captured and taken to the cross, washed his disciples feet. It was a sign of deep humility as feet were considered very dirty (and were very dirty) in the ancient Near East.  In the Church of God, many of us engage in this ritual where we wash a person’s feet.  I washed the feet of a young man that I know from Fritzlar Bible College.  (at Heiterbach, you wash the feet of the person next to you). This is done on Maunday Thursday–the day before Good Friday when Jesus was Crucified.

After lunch, we started our 7 hour drive to Arco, Italy.  Luckily the weather cleared up as we drove along the Swiss border and into Austria.  The Alps were looking gorgeous as always as we climbed up on our way to the Italian border.  Sharp mountains and rocks with castles on them dot the landscape.  This is a spectacular area of Europe.  I’m sure the Care-a-Vaners were amazed.

One of them said, “What more could we possibly see?” And the trip is only about 1/5 over!  Another said, “I’m going to run out of photos by the third day.”  That’s the kind of scenery around here. It’s just stunning.

Today we spent the day in the Lago di Garda area looking at the cliffs that surround the lake 4000 ft straight up.  We took them into the mountains for lunch and then met with the Pastor and his wife in the evening.  We also spent a lot of time sharing about the challenge of Secularism in Europe and the Three Worlds of Christianity.  Throughout the trip we will have these mini-lectures that give people a full overview of 3W.

Tomorrow we will attend church in Arco before making the 2 hour drive to Venice.  I’ll be speaking in Spanish both in Arco and in Treviso and it will be interpreted into Italian.   Then Monday we will hit Venice.

It would be nice if I posted some pictures but I’m busy being the tour guide along with Aaron and Nicole and Jamie and Marco—and I’m really tired.  So maybe at the next stop?  You know me. They will be blurry and useless anyway.

Well, the time has arrived.  The first 3W Care-a-van in which we will take a small group of people on a tour of Church of God congregations in Europe.  The trip has 3 objectives:

1) To connect European churches to North America.  Many of them are quite isolated and could use encouragement.  This will include the 2 new church-plants in Northern Italy.

2) To share with our visitors about the Three Worlds vision, how we operate, what are goals and strategies are, and how Christian cross-cultural ministry is changing in the 21st Century.

3) To show our visitors some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  This continent is absolutely amazing.  I always say, “pound for pound” it’s the most beautiful continent.  And this particular route will be going through some of it’s most scenic areas.

We will be visiting the following places:

Heiterbach, Germany (Black Forest)

Austrian Alps

Lago di Garda, Italy (Dolomites/Alps)

Venice, IT

Treviso, IT

Verona, IT

Cinque terre, IT

Rome, IT

Insbruck, Austria

Oberammergau, Germany

German Alps

Munich, Germany

Hopefully, by the end of the trip, everyone on the trip is an expert on all things Three-Worlds.  And hopefully, we will have encouraged these churches that we are visiting and started connections that will last a lifetime.  And hopefully, there will be no car trouble or accidents.

Nicole and Aaron Varner have been working on the Care-a-Van for months.  It’s occupied much of their time and they have been very busy doing everything from room reservations to calculating parking fees.  They have been very meticulous and have completely taken this on themselves.

Jamie and I have been to all of these places, so we’ll be sharing tour guide duties, but the actual legwork for all of this has been done by A and N.  Great job guys.

Well, we’re off to lovely Munich where we will meet up with our 6 Care-a-Vaners.

Let the adventure begin.  I’m sure we will all be posting from the road.

I’ll also be updating on twizzle and BookFace.

Twitter:  3WCHOG

BookFace:  Three Worlds

We talk a lot about the growth of the Non-Western church in Europe and the important part that plays for the church as a whole.  Immigrant churches are all over this continent, including in the Church of God.

This is a great video sent to me by my friend Juan Carlos in Spain.  It’s about the Chinese Evangelicals in Spain.  A perfect subject for Three Worlds.  Link here:  http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/buenas-noticias-tv/buenas-noticias-tv-iglesia-china/1358325/ but it’s in Spanish.

Today we look at Chapter 6 of our ongoing discussion on “The Next Christendom.”

Chapter 6 focuses on how the growth of Christianity in the “Southern” world (Brazil, China, countries in Africa, South Korea, etc.), are bringing new levels of diversity to Christianity.  It also means that Western (European/American) views of Christianity are being openly challenged.  The title chapter, “Coming to Terms” suggests that Western Christians must come to terms with this new Christianity, which in my book Passport of Faith (2006) I referred to as a spicier version of Christianity.

It is a non-Western faith more comfortable with the supernatural, prophecy, visions, ecstatic utterances, and healing.  It raises the question of how much of their Christianity is really just adopting cultural values.  Jenkins points out the obvious that Western Christianity has itself borrowed and been formed by Western and pagan culture.  He points out that St. Paul’s Cathedral in London “almost certainly stands on the site of an ancient pagan structure. ” There are many other examples one could go through such as this (p.111).

Inevitably local culture changes and adds flavor to Christianity.  He refers to the work of my former professor Lamin Sanneh at Yale who argues “that the simple decision to translate the scripture into local languages was in itself a key concession to native cultures, and one made by even the  most obtuse Northern missionaries (p. 113).

An example of a local tradition entering into Christian practice comes from Zaire/Congo.  Distinguished visitors were to be greeted by spear-bearers, and accordingly spears were added to the liturgical procession as a means of acknowledging the presence of God.”  (p. 115).

Theology is equally formed by culture.  He points to African Christian theology being concerned about Jesus the healer (in a context of so much suffering) , and Latin American theology being concerned with the rights of the oppressed due to the history of oligarchy and oppression in that region.  I would suggest American theology is very interested in victory and growth/power.

The challenge becomes when the theology or traditions become more local than Christian/Biblical.  This is referred to as syncretism. He gives the example of a female Korean theologian who mixed Confucian/shaman ideas with Christianity (p.120).

While the Non-Western church can often be accused of the Western church as being accommodating to paganism (or syncretistic), the West can also do this. He gives a great examle on page 130 regarding an Anglican archbishop of Southeast Asia who traveled to Vancouver, BC and saw the totem poles on display in the city and viewed them as pagan idols which needed to be exorcised.  This alarmed the the Canadian Anglicans who were trying to cultivate a strong relationship with the Native American population and just viewed the totem poles as tourist objects.  But in reality, the non-Western archbishop was actually giving them the spiritual credence that they deserve as objects of veneration.

The chapter concludes by referring to the work of sociologists Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch.  They categorize institutional Christianity as “church” and refer to the kind of movements we see in the non-Western world as “sects.” Sects are more authoritarian and have a high level of commitment.  Churches are more institutional–like an organization (one of many) that people belong to.  Do sects become more like churches over the long run?  Sure.

Patrick’s comments***

This is a very important chapter—perhaps one of the most important in the whole book.  It raises very important issues that Westerners need to be aware of.

The impact of culture on Christianity is the subject of my next book if I ever get around to writing it.  American Christianity is uniquely imbued with all sorts of values that are more American than Christian, or at least which come from an American slant.  As I wrote “Mosaic,” the Church of God certainly is full of cultural values that can be easily traced to the 19th Century values of the American Midwest–particularly it’s peculiar obsession with “autonomy”–a word not even mentioned in the Bible, but which is certainly an enormous part of the foundation of the United States beginning with its independence from Britain.  ”Don’t Tread on Me” certainly resonates with the American mind in a way it would not with, say , the Japanese mind (it is quite the opposite in fact–group first).

As for syncretism, it seems pretty clear that there is a scale to this.  All cultures deal with it to some extent, but I actually think the New Testament is quite clear on what is not appropriate.  The diversity of the faith as seen in Acts 2, is reigned in quite a bit by the New Testament accounts of disharmony and violations that upset the church.  You don’t hear that too often.  Once again, I think that’s why Three World exists—to identify that Biblical center that exists within the Three different worlds of Christianity–amidst a sea of cultural differences.

What a great time in London!  Do I ever not have a great time there?  Aside from being my favorite place in the world, I love the church.  It’s always great to be with the good folks at Tottenham, and I was extremely pleased with the 3W Seminar response.  Our goal is to just help churches process and be a resource to them.  They are free to take or reject anything they want.  The overall desire is to just keep increasing the sense of inner-connectivity in our region.  It’s good to go on the journey together.

We covered an immense amount of subjects–it was a dense presentation.  But I think everyone tracked it very well and the response was very positive.  I’ll be sending them notes later today.  Should have thought to do that prior to meeting.

I’m so glad the meeting went off without any problems.  This time around, I actually stayed out by Heathrow airport because I had a very early flight to catch on Monday.  Consequently, it was a 90 minute tube journey to the church.  The trains stopped running on the Victoria line just as I got off at the church stop.  It’s a good thing I was on that last train. It would have been a shame to have been stuck far away.

This was a short trip, but I did find time to make it to my favorite travel bookstore Stanford’s near Covent Garden as well as the bookstores in the area.  There are no good English bookstores in Berlin so it is my trips to Paris and London that give me an opportunity to browse the bookstores.  This time I only purchased one book; Philip Norman’s new biography on John Lennon.  It’s been a while since I’ve read a book about the Beatles.  I’ve read quite a few, but this will be the first since 1992 or so.

On Sunday night I attended Hillsong church on my way back to Heathrow.  We’re always trying to keep an eye out on the various kinds of churches that are being planted in Europe as we prep the way for what we will be doing next with the Church of God.  This was their fourth service of the day which is held at a theatre in the West End that 6 days a week is where “We Will Rock You” plays.  So pictures of Freddie Mercury are absolutely everywhere.  I wonder what it costs to rent that place?  They have interpreters for a multitude of languages.  Very impressive.  And the average age of the church seemed to be about 25.  I sat next to a young Chinese-Australian girl from Melbourne, Australia who just moved to London for work.

So many of you have written in to say:  ”Please, Patrick.  Enough about ministry talk.  Can you please talk more about airplanes and airports.”  Yes, yes, I know that this is what you really want to hear about.  Well, okay, if I must:

Flew over on British Airways–an A320.  This small two-jet aircraft is used a lot in Europe for these short hauls.  It’s a safe plane, but not nearly as nice as a Boeing (Boeing rules).  The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow (as I tweedled over at twizzle, or twicker, or twitter–whatever-it’s-called” is a horrible scandalous monstrosity.  It looks nice, but it is is almost entirely duty free shopping with few options of places to eat and few places to lounge around or entertain kids.  It was constructed PRIMARILY as a duty-free shopping center as opposed to an airport terminal–and it shows.  I don’t understand why people can’t duplicate the Hong Kong International Airport or Singapore Changi design.  Those two airports–along with Seoul’s Incheon really set the standard.  Ironically, HKIA was designed by a British firm.  It’s genius.

Here is a  picture of a British Airways 747-400 taken from the tarmac–which just landed from somewhere exotic.  At around 7AM (when this was taken) there are a ton of 747′s landing at heathrow every minute or so.  That’s when the Asian, African, and North American 747′s and 777′s of British Airways arrive before they head out again in the afternoon and evening.  It’s the best time for airplane watching.  I had a Virgin Airways Airbus 340-600 fly right over my head before landing on the runway.  SO AWESOME!!!!!  Good thing it didn’t land on my head before flying over to the runway.

My next British Airways flight will be in June when I head to the USA for Regional Coordinator Meetings and visit some churches.  It will be a 747-400 from London to Miami.  Looking forward to that flight, and immediately going to the closest Olive Garden in Miami.

Jamie’s off to Greece tomorrow.  Marco and I will be on the starvation diet.  Pray.

By overwhelming popular demand, a picture of a 747-400 having just landed at Heathrow in London. Headed for the new, hideous Terminal 5.

I’m off to London for a 3W Seminar at the Tottenham Church of God on “Becoming a Missionary Church.” This is the second 3W Seminar in London, but the first time that this particular topic is being done.  I always enjoy my time at the Tottenham church and they are always such gracious hosts.  This is the 2nd 3W Seminar in the UK in the last 3 weeks.  Dave and Kathy Simpson just did one in Liverpool/Birkenhead.

And of course it’s always great to be in my favorite place on planet earth: London, England.  It’s always a happy day when I’m boarding a plane that is bound for London.  Total heaven.

Here is the description of this 3W Seminar.

3W Seminar:  Becoming a Missionary Church

Part 1:  Obstacles to Mission
Description:  There are many issues in the life of the church that can block our efforts to become an effective missionary church.  Some of these can be read about in the New Testament and others are challenges we face in the 21st Century context.

Part 2:  The Life-Cycle of a Church
Description:  Like all organisms, the church has a natural life-cycle from birth to death.  It is important to understand where your church is on the life-cycle and how to re-vitalize the life of your church so that it can be effective missionary church.

Part 3:  Solutions: Removing the Obstacles to Becoming a Missionary Church:  The obstacles to healthy, mission-minded church life can be very significant.  We look at ways to clear the path for effective ministry.

Part 4:  Ideas for Mission & Analyzing Your Church’s Potential: We look at 4 different ways to mobilize your church for effective mission and discuss how the church can analyze its strengths and weaknesses.

Our region (Europe/Middle East) is mourning the loss of Pastor Franco Santonocito of the Church of God in Italy.  Franco was one of the great leaders of the Church of God worldwide and did much for the Europe/Middle East.  He planted churches in Italy, did interpretation for Billy Graham, and served as a missionary in Egypt–the country he loved so deeply.  He was a strong preacher and a great teacher.  He had a deep love of Church of God theology and was an expert on issues such as eschatology from the Wesleyan-Holiness perspective.

Most recently, Franco along with his wife Bea had served for about 10 years in Egypt prior to the arrival of the Oldhams.  About a year and a half ago, the Santonocito’s retired from the mission-field and ministry.  We had a special celebration for them at the Church of God villas in which they were celebrated, given some gifts, and given a plaque for their many years of service to the Church of God signed by General Director Ron Duncan.

The last time we saw Franco was at last year’s Easter Service where he interpreted for my Easter message.  He did a fantastic job as his English was so good.  He looked and sounded the same as always.  For Jamie, they go way back and were always known as “Uncle Franco” and “Auntie Bea.”

A few weeks ago, we were in Rome for the 3W Seminar and Franco did not make it. The last few months have been difficult and then this week he took a turn for the worse.  The funeral will be tomorrow in Rome (Ostia).  I am headed to London for the 3W Seminar this weekend, but our 3W Team will be sending Kelley Philips to represent all of us.  Kelley, as Regional Coordinator for Europe/Middle East worked closely with Franco over the years and this will be a special time for him.

Say a prayer for the Santonocito family this week as they grieve their patriarch.

Dave Simpson is out of the hospital in Berlin tonight and back in our home.  They will be staying with us for at least a week, if not two.  The doctors did further tests and still believe that he is suffering from Myesthemia Gravis.  Their plan is to head back to Bulgaria within a week or two, and then they will most likely need to return to Berlin for a further check-up.

Kathy has been spending all day at the hospital with Dave.  I’m sure they are both exhausted, and it will be nice to have them around the house for the coming days and weeks.  Plenty of time to visit and de-brief about a number of things in Buglaria and other parts of Europe.

Thank you for all your prayers.  We’re so glad that all of this happened here in Berlin, that the doctors were good, and that it was not some of the things the doctors first mentioned.

Dave spent his first night and first full day at the hospital.  Kathy was by his side all day and he received visits from all the Berlin-based 3W Team members.  The chief neurologist thinks he has identified the problem.  We are still in a holding pattern as more tests are done, but it seems that it was not any of the three possibilities that were given to us yesterday.  This is very, very, good news!  If ever we needed a misdiagnosis, this was it.

However, right now it is looking like Dave has a disease called Myesthemia Gravis.  It is not curable, but it can be managed in ways today that were not possible in the recent past. It is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease that can weaken the body in a number of ways.  For Dave, right now it is the eyes.  We will learn more tomorrow, but it seems like this might be manageable.

Tomorrow Dave will get a scan to see if there is a tumor that needs to be surgically removed.  Regardless, he is in the hospital for at least one to two more days—and he will stay with us here in Berlin at least through Monday.  Of course a lot will hinge on the information we get in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Dave is in great spirits.  He listened to a lot of Christian music and felt a great sense of peace last night as he faced today’s pending diagnosis.  These are the times when you find out what you really believe and how much you believe it.  Dave passed with flying colors.  Kathy has been at his side all day.  These two belong together…and with us.

Thanks for your prayers.  We know a lot of you have been seriously praying and we rejoice that this is not something far worse.  Although whatever it is, is not easy on Dave’s body.  His health is our number one priority and we will all be making sure they take care of themselves.  More updates to come.

Well, I thought I would be writing today about what an amazing job David and Kathy Simpson did in Liverpool (Birkenhead) this past week.  We sent them there to do a 3W Seminar and meet with the church to plan for future ministry endeavors together.  I knew Dave and Kathy would do the job exactly right and be a huge encouragement up in Northern England.  On the way back, they were scheduled to stop off in Berlin for 2 days of de-briefing and meeting with the rest of the 3W gang based in Berlin.  But on Sunday Dave began having double vision.  I picked Dave and Kathy up at the airport on Monday afternoon and they are in our home as guests.

Today Jamie, Kathy, and I took Dave to the emergency room.  They deemed it to be serious enough that he is now in a Berlin hospital where he will have to be tested for some pretty serious things.  We’re so thankful this happened here in Germany where our team is and not in Bulgaria where they live.  Medical care there is not adequate for anything this serious.  We are hoping that the doctors’ suspicions are really wrong.  If not, Dave may end up here in Germany a while longer or will need to return immediately to the USA.

Please say a prayer for Dave.

One of the great things about the Three Worlds team approach is that our skill-sets get utilized on a regional scale as opposed to just a local or national scale.  From time to time, Jamie and I dispatch our team to various parts of the Europe/Middle East regions with specific assignments.

Often, no one location on the mission-field utilizes our full skill-sets.  We have quite a bit to offer other places as well.  Our team is excellent for teaching, leading seminars, speaking, running camps, serving in an advisory role, putting on events, –and many other things.  So our team has gotten used to getting the call from us to go get dispatched to some other location to support another 3W missionary or a church or country in our region.

Currently Kelley and Rhonda Philips have been dispatched to Chelyabinsk, Russia to serve on an advisory board and lead some seminars.  Kelley recently went to Lebanon as well.

As we speak, Dave and Kathy Simpson are in Liverpool offering strategic support for the Birkenhead congregation.  They will be meeting with the board, speaking, and discussing future partnership with 3W.  They’re doing a lot of the work that Jamie and I need to do–but this way, we cover a lot more ground, and they can do it just as well as we can.  Two weeks ago they were in Greece.

Aaron and Nicole have been dispatched all over the place for a variety of reasons: Paris, London, Rome, Budapest.  Right now they are spending much of their time preparing to lead the Care-a-Van trip in April which will take our North American visitors across the most gorgeous part of Europe to visit 4 very different churches in Germany and Italy.  A and N are the point people on that trip and doing a ton of work on the logistical end.

And the Oldhams will be helping out in Lebanon this summer…the first of many times we will dispatch them around the region to add-value to all that we do.

We’ve been doing this long enough that we can get feedback from both the churches and our 3W team members in the region.  And I think it’s safe to say that everyone loves it.  We find ourselves utilized a lot more in ways that are personally enriching but also helpful to the whole region, our partners love it because it creates a lot of connectivity and they enjoy the time we spend them.  And we as Regional Coordinators love seeing our team flourish in a variety of settings and cultures.

As the team changes and we add people, we will be always looking for catalytic people that create catalytic moments.  We’re proud of everyone on our team.  They’ve done a tremendous job in this first year and a half.

Downtown Liverpool, England

Pastor George Lutzer (R) pictured with Gary and Belinda Kendall in the Coliseum in Rome.

This January, our latest featured 3W emerging leader Pastor George Lutzer of Edmonton, Canada joined us in Berlin and Rome.  Pastor Lutzer helped us co-lead a 3W Seminar on “Organizing the Church.”  Pastor George’s congregation has flourished under his leadership.  It is the Church of God’s fastest growing congregation in Canada.  Gracepoint is a congregation of 500 people and is located in the suburbs of Edmonton, Canada that has an extremely healthy organizational approach.

3W: Your church has experienced quite a bit of growth over the past few years.  How important has good organization been to that growth process?

Staying organized has been critical to our growth.  Ensuring that our teams are all on the same page, pursuing the same goal as a unified whole, has been a challenge.  But, we believe alignment is essential to being healthy and focused and we invest a good amount of effort to that end.  Much like the various systems of our bodies work together, we endeavor to organize the various ministries of our church family to work in harmony. Clear communication within our teams and to those joining us on the journey is vital in this regard.

3W: How has your ministry team been able to develop such a strong sense of teamwork?

We meet weekly as a staff for Bible study, prayer, training and planning.  A good portion of these weekly meetings is dedicated to sharing stories from our personal / family lives along with what we see God doing around us and in our respective ministries.  We value openness, authenticity and diversity of perspective and opinion, and look forward to hearing from one another as we share the journey together.

3W: Your church built a beautiful new building and managed to do it without a church split or major resignation.  That’s unusual.  How did you make that work?

We never let building the facility become the mission.  Regularly communicating to our church family that we were simply building a new “nest” because we had outgrown our previous one was key.  We intentionally emphasized that it was because we were focused on reaching people for Christ that we needed to build – the building was entirely secondary to our mandate of making more and better Christ-followers.  Additionally, the leadership of the church had the wisdom and foresight to create and empower a Building Steering Committee – they were responsible for research, design and development, raising funds, communication, and overseeing the construction process – as Lead Pastor, I consulted with them as needed, but invested my time and energy in equipping our people and preparing them for growth.

3W: How was your experience with Three Worlds and how do you think the Post-Christendom issues relate to Canada?

The experience with 3W was encouraging and enriching!  Teaming up by way of sharing resources and experiences with the hope of blessing one another is a joy of mine, and working together with 3W afforded me that opportunity.  I appreciate the vision, values and strategy of the 3W team as it dovetails nicely with our congregation’s journey.  I hope to be able to continue to support 3W in its future endeavors.

In terms of post-Christendom: The city in which I live and serve is largely post-Christendom in its essence.  There is very little Christian memory in our society not to mention that world has arrived at our doorstep as a result of our growing economy.  Graciously and effectively re-presenting Christ and the hope He holds for all is at the heart of what we do as the church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

3W: What were your impressions of the Church of God in Rome?

What a joy to get to know the church in Rome! The people were warm and loving with a real passion for Christ and worshipping Him.  I feel that this highly relational community of faith is on the verge of experiencing something extraordinary as they focus their energies under Pastor Daniele Santoncito’s leadership.

3W: I thought you and the Kendalls made a great pairing for the 3W Seminar.  What did you think?

Teaming up with the Kendalls was great – it was an honor and pleasure to be able to serve with them, learn from them and share the journey with them for a few days.  Of all those who participated in the 3W seminar in Rome, I’m pretty certain I benefitted most.  Getting to know Gary and Belinda while enjoying a cup of coffee or a plate of pasta was a real encouragement for me, and I’m hoping to stay in touch with them.

3W: You’ve been to Rome before, but did you have a favorite sightseeing moment this time around?

Strolling through old Rome and taking few moments to pause in the various piazzas again was enjoyable, but what really impacted me this time around was the time we spent in the Coliseum.  Taking a closer look at the construction of this marvel of engineering and then stopping to reflect on some of the events that took place in the Coliseum was really moving.  (My other favorite moment, though not a sightseeing moment, came when Patrick decided to go shopping for a pullover at a store located a stone’s throw from the Vatican during a rare snowstorm.  It was a welcome relief from the slush we were marching through that afternoon – it hadn’t snowed in Rome since 1985 and we were right in the middle of it and quite ill-prepared for it!  I’m glad Patrick got himself a lovely blue pull-over and can now, in his words, “Dress a little more like an adult.”

Gracepoint Church in Edmonton, AB Canada.

This week we took a small team to Athens, Greece to meet with the Church of God there.  It was an important trip as we get to know each other and begin preparing for the kind of work we can do jointly.  We had a lot of great fellowship, a fantastic get-together on Saturday, and then I spoke on Sunday.

We also had a wonderful time visiting a particular ministry outside of Athens.  I really don’t want to write about it on the web since I don’t have permission to do so and I want to respect the privacy of the group.   Perhaps in time and on future visits we will be able to talk more openly and possibly even encourage or even assist the work in the future.

Thank you to the Church of God people in Athens for their gracious welcome as well as all of those who helped us out during our time there.

Marco Climbing the Acropolis. The Ampitheatre was below. Ted Nugent is playing on Friday with Opening Act Peter Frampton. Just kidding people. Do I have to be serious every single day?

Atop the Parthenon with my best buddy.

Check out that awesome lighting

The Simpsons, the Nachtigalls and the Hatches.

In a couple of hours, Jamie, Marco and I will be going to Athens, Greece.  We are joined by Ken and Millie Hatch and expect to meet up with 3W teammates Dave and Kathy Simpson tomorrow morning.  They are flying in from Bulgaria.

You have probably seen on the news that things are very chaotic in Greece.  Despite the European Union bail-out packages which keep getting approved, Greece is in serious trouble.  Even the best-case scenarios are pretty terrible.  Already many are trying to flee the country, unemployment is extremely high, and more benefits will be cut in the near future.  People that were middle-class a year ago, now suddenly are not.  Greece has a very long road ahead even if it does manage to stick with the Euro (which I am not convinced it will).

We are hoping that while we are there, we don’t have any riots or violence break out–since we are staying close to the area where those things often happen and we are taking Marco.  Unfortunately, we have no choice as both Jamie and I need to go on this one.  We’re all looking forward to spending time with Uncle Dave and Aunt Kathy though.  We’re so grateful that they are on this team and they are such a blessing to Marco.  We’ll keep you posted and I will do my best to take some of my world famous, blurry, useless photos for all to groan about.  The lighting should be bad and the angles terrible.  We’ll keep in touch so you be in touch, m-kay?

Pastor Jacque Zola

We would like to welcome our the Congolese Church in Geleen, Holland to the Church of God Family.  The Congolese church became a part of the fellowship of the Church of God in Holland (the Netherlands) last year and is being pastored by Jacque Zola.  Jacque and his family moved to Holland nearly a decade ago.  Their French-speaking congregation has up to 100 in attendance on some Sundays.  I had the honor of speaking there last Sunday.

African churches in Europe play a very important role.  They are filled with enthusiasm and a strong belief in the power of God to act in this world.  It is very exciting to have one of these congregations with us.

As I wrote over in BookFace:  ”I can’t get Whitney Houston songs out of my head this week. She had the most beautiful female voice I’ve ever heard. Silky, resonate, powerful. Not nasal like Streisand, more resonant than Celine Dion, and not airy like Mariah and Beyonce. It was the most perfect voice. So sad.”

I listen to a lot of music and I just don’t think there’s a voice that compares to Whitney in her prime.  Here are my favorite top 10 Whitney songs because absolutely none of you asked:

1. Star Spangled Banner: To me, there is no better version of the Star Spangled Banner than the one that Whitney did during Desert Storm 1 in Tampa Bay–(but which Youtube has removed so here’s another one).  No one else comes close to knocking this song out of the park like she did that day.  This is the way the song was made to be sung.

2. I Wanna Dance With Somebody:  This is really my favorite “Whitney song.”  Just fun and light-hearted.

3. So Emotional:  This one is so 80′s in its sound, how could I NOT love it.

4. You Give Good Love:  The first time I ever saw Whitney was for this first video.  She looked so elegant, classy, and old.  I think she was just a teenager, but her voice was so mature and full that it was hard to believe she was so young.  I thought she was close to 30.

5. Saving All My Love For You: Nobody can even cover a Whitney song without sounding hollow and light-weight.

6.  Exhale: The Shoop Song: This song is so under-stated.  But Whitney’s voice was so full and beautiful that she didn’t need to always be screaming at the top of her lungs or doing the Mariah Carey dog-whistle.  I love this quiet performance.

7. I Have Nothing:  From the Bodyguard soundtrack.  That big voice!

8. Where Do Broken Hearts Go: Get out your hankies on this one.

9. How Will I Know? Whitney being cheeky.  This was a great single back in the mid-80′s.

10. Take Good Care of My Heart (with Jermaine Jackson): This is where I first heard Whitney Houston.  She did a duet with Jermaine Jackson on his album “Dynamite.”  That album, by the way is totally underrated.  It’s very, very good and came out  just after Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Anyway, it was Arista Records and that’s how Clive Davis introduced Whitney.  He put her on that song.

I wasn’t even really a fan, but I just thought her voice was amazing.

I just got back from Holland 30 minutes ago.  Yeah, you might not have known I was in Holland since I was just in Italy.  Actually I was home for 3 days before it was time to go to Holland.  Does it all sound crazy to you diary followers?  Well, yes it is–and this week I just kind of finally hit the wall.

The missionary life can be stressful.  It is a life filled with unique blessings and unique challenges.  There is the odd, and often unpredictable schedule, there is the added factor of cultural adjustments and the unique issues of raising kids overseas.  As  Regional Coordinators, it means that the journeys of our missionaries become our journey too.  And on top of all of that—we are trying something very different in this region:  Three Worlds.  It’s a new system and strategy for doing ministry and working cross-culturally and it has been working marvelously.

I’m happy with the great teamwork and synergy.

I’m happy with the team unity.

I’m happy with the response of the countries throughout our region who have graciously embraced 3W.

I’m happy with the systems of transparency that we have set up and are setting up in this region.

I’m happy about our de-centralized approach which is allowing our missionaries to add more value not just to their assigned country but to the whole region.

And I’m happy and thankful for all the supporters and friends of Three Worlds out there making it all possible.

But all of this success has come at a cost.  It’s been an exhausting 18 months.  We’ve had a pretty crazy travel schedule.  We’ve added a new family to the team and are receiving more requests for personnel and internships than we can possibly process.  That’s all good.  But I realized a few weeks ago, I work 30 out of 31 days.  A “day off” usually involves a plane trip from location A, B, or C, back to Berlin.  

This past weekend was our first 3W Seminar in Holland.  I love visiting Holland and I’ve known a lot of the Holland friends since 2005 (long before becoming RC).  It is always great to see them.  Unlike other 3W Seminars, this one I did completely alone–and on 3 topics that are very easy for me to speak about.  The turn out was great and enthusiasm was high.  But…

I did a lousy job.   The subjects were so important, but I wasn’t able to pull it together.  This is not like me.  A few things happened here:  1) I’m just exhausted.  2) We continue to struggle with issues relating to Marco’s school and this was probably the worst week we’ve had in that regard. 3) I dealt with laryngitis while in Italy and have been taking some medication that makes me completely loopy (I can be pretty sensitive to medicine). I wasn’t thinking straight at all.

So it was–in my mind–a truly disappointing experience.  I know we all make mistakes, but this felt like multiple mistakes on multiple levels and I was really furious at myself for dropping the ball this badly.  On Sunday I preached at our new Congolese church in Holland and that went well.  And then I came home. 

And so the moment has arrived to re-group and regain some equilibrium.  It’s been exciting to see Three Worlds flourish and be accepted across the region and back in North America–but it has been exhausting.  It’s been like starting a business with myriad things to think about, prepare, present, and promote. It really has been a start-up.

Jamie and I work really hard, but neither of us are the kind of people that are workaholics or people who let family life disappear in favor of work.  We both grew up in hard working families that still made family time a very important part of life. We schedule family time, we take breaks, and we know that our kids shouldn’t pay the price for our work. But it seems like, at the very least, the next 18 months can’t be like the last 18 months.

We made some changes when we took this job:

-No emails after 6PM (that’s a hard one considering we deal with people in multiple time-zones).

-Take regular vacations instead of feeling guilty and avoiding them.

-Make sure to really take a sabbath day off in the week (I’ve been bad about this one).

-Be available for family time, reading, games etc.

All of that has been helpful, but we’re going to have to add more to the list.  Like:

Lessening the schedule: Every Feb/March we have a very important meeting in Russia, but I’ve decided to cancel my attendance to it this year.  Thank you to our friends in Russia for being so understanding and thank you to 3W teammates Kelley and Rhonda for attending it.  We have a mandatory trip to Greece coming up that all 3 of us have to go on, but at least we will all go together (hopefully there won’t be violent riots like this week).  My next “long” trip without Marco and Jamie is not until May–which is very good.

Overall, 3W Year 2 has had a lot more time set aside for being at home than year 1. I managed to work in two separate times of being at home with Marco 6 weeks in a row during this year.  But with other things going on, it’s still not enough.

My hope is that as we add to the team, more and more of what I do will be done by the incoming team members.  This is very likely, but getting there can’t just be done overnight.  People have to be carefully selected, they have to raise funds, and then they have to be integrated.  It all takes time.   It’s been great having the Oldhams join the team and they are already doing so much that makes things easier for us.

Saying “No”: I also feel such guilt turning down offers to speak, but I’ll have to start doing that more.

Taking a break from Diary More: The last 2 years, I’ve taken a 4 week holiday from the Three Worlds Diary.  That’s a regular thing I am doing now and I think it’s a good idea once or twice a year. I’d like to have a guest diary writer in this upcoming year–someone who will keep the diary going with lots of interesting things while I’m away.

Delegating more: The 3W team was made for delegation and de-centralization and already we have been able to pass things off to teammates to assist us since they are just as competent if not more so than we are.  The Simpsons, for instance, will soon be going to Liverpool, England.  A trip I would otherwise have to make. The Philips are already our 3W reps to Russia, and the Varners are busy doing all the massive, logistical things for the 3W Care-a-Van which is our big event in April.  Thanks guys.

“More Prayer/Meditation:” I tried having solid blocks of silence and meditation recently (Marco joined me) and it was amazing the relaxing power it has on the brain.  There have now been a lot of studies that show the brain expects and really wants a minimum of 30 uninterrupted minutes of relaxation without analyzing or computing—just relaxing. Interesting that the brain is being proven to be hardwired for prayer.

“Less News/More Fiction: I’m a non-fiction junkie and a news junkie.  But I recently read how fiction relaxes the mind considerably more than non-fiction because it provides escapism and the story is not written by your mind–but rather your mind follows someone else’s thinking into a story where you don’t know the ending. That kind of interactive, yet passive mode of thinking is very good for the brain.  I’ve changed the kind of books I read this year (on a test run) and it’s been nice.  Reading a novel is more relaxing than reading non-fiction projections for world-wide environmental water table damage, as it turns out.

“More Excercise:  This one is the hardest one for me.  I’ve lost a lot of weight this year because I eat better, but the excercise stuff is hard for me.  I like team sports, and really don’t feel like being cremated in football by a bunch of Germans.  When I am not on the road, I just want to be in my house with my family.  Even going to the corner store feels like a huge chore.  So an exercise machine is in the near future.

“More Board Games:”  Marco is now at a great age for playing board games and they are apparently a great idea for relaxation and for families.  He’s ruthless at Monopoly.  These games always include a lot of laughter and the whole family faces each other the whole time–instead of the TV or something.

Well sometimes it takes hitting a wall in order to get our attention.  I’m disappointed that the church in Holland had to feel the effects of my crash.  They were very gracious and patient with me.  But hopefully I can take some time in the next 2 to 3 weeks and really gain some equillibrium.

And now,  to find that equilibrium….

Belinda, Gary and George at the Coliseum at in Rome

The first Rome 3W Seminar is in the books!  I just got back Monday from a wonderful week in Rome where we did our first 3W Seminar at the Church of God in Ostia.  The subject of this 3W Seminar was “How to Organize Your Church.”  Time and time again, I’ve seen that poor organization is one of the things that most holds back a church’s potential.  For this seminar we had Gary and Belinda Kendall—founders of the mega-church Indian Creek Community Church in Olathe (Kansas City), Kansas, which not only has 2 campuses but has planted other churches.  Gary is an absolute wealth of knowledge on church structures  and organization and a mentor to many.

Joining us was George Lutzer who is the Senior Pastor of GracePoint Church in Edmonton, AB (Canada)–the fastest growing church in Western Canada. But what makes these churches so great is not their size, but rather their leadership and the impact that a well-led church can have on a community.

Pastor Gary taught us about the Vision Ladder–and the way a church goes about identifying the particular mission and gifts that it has.  Pastor George taught us about the excellent leadership structure which keeps GracePoint so healthy.  Both churches show the kind of balanced leadership that really produces great results:  strong, empowered leadership that can set the tone combined with a de-centralized but accountable structure which allows people to be creative and innovative.  Too much one way or the other can easily be a disaster.  And poor management leads to stagnation and death for the organization.

I had 2 days to show George, Gary and Belinda around Rome.  I always enjoy being the tour guide–especially in these awesome European cities.  Shockingly, on our 2nd day of sightseeing, it snowed for the first time in at least 35 years in Rome.  It was absolutely wild.  The city shut down and no one was fed to the Lions that day.  The snowflakes were huge, and because we were on the Mediterranean, the air was wet–making it feel much colder than 30 degrees F.  While it made for frigid sightseeing, it was amazing to see the city in snow.

We also had plenty of time to visit with Pastor Daniele Santonocito of the Ostia Church.  He was a great host taking us for cappucino just about every day.  And we also made lots of new friends and saw some old ones.  Thank you to Marco, Timos, Maria, Francesco, Albert, Eleanora, David, Jessika, and everyone else for welcoming us in your homes and giving us great food.  You guys are a great church!

Thank you for turning out despite the snow and the big Roma football match!  We were amazed!

Hopefully this will be the first of many Rome 3W Seminars.