We said "I do" on a February 26, 26 years ago.
Second best decision of my life.
Love you, Wife. J’attends avec hâte la suite…
Archive for February, 2009
26 years
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Clandestine supper
Friday, February 20th, 2009I came back to the house late on Wednesday. I miss Wife. She is off in Germany at a series of advanced Bible studies and it has been ten day since I last saw her. She should be back today. Son 1 was home, ready to greet me. He makes me feel welcome. I do not like coming home to an empty house.
I was trying to read Pillars of the Earth by what’s his name (you know the international best-selling N.Y. Times author), about the building of a cathedral in England. Or maybe it’s about sex. All I really know is that they can probably build a cathedral faster than I’m getting through this book. I do not recommend it.
One of the highlights of my Ukraine trip was taking the Lord’s Supper with S. and D. They are very good buddies, but after S. was baptized, his father told him he could never come to church again. D. had S. over for tea, invited me, and we shared bread and wine. S. will be 18 soon, and it may be an opportunity for him to exercise his freedom without getting kicked out of the house. But for that to happen, God must continue to be at work.
Preaching every night
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009I was asked to speak about the C/church of Christ while in T., Ukraine. It seems that some brothers, at least I think they are brothers—though they never called me brother, come to think of it—had visited the T. church around Christmastime and had tried to point out a more excellent way to the church there.
I had the privilege of meeting these two Ukrainian Christians who had raised the questions. I cannot express how sincerely happy I was to encounter Ukrainian Christians working full time to plant a church in another Western Ukrainian city. The dedication that is required to do this is mind blowing, I guarantee you. Anyway, I digress.
The question came up about THE DENOMINATIONS. Now, those of you who know me, know how much I hate drawing lines. I strongly believe that spiritual maturity brings discernment and, God knows how much our churches feel it, we need discerning leaders. Yet I do not do a good job neither at drawing lines in hyperbolic doctrinal sand or in follow-this-or-you’re-out teaching. I have come to the conclusion that I am either a very big chicken or extremely wise, that either I have a perceptive intellect or have never had an original thought, tending to parrot the last person I’ve talked to.
To make a long post shorter, and to ask for your prayers, if not your insights, I spent 3 hours talking about what it means to be “in Christ†and how, as the N.T. expresses it, that takes place. I lament the separation of those who are in Christ. I am also saddened by the lack of obedience of those of us who wear the name of Christ. And I have come to believe that those among us who are the most concerned about the denominations are those who, sadly, have a denominational view of the church.
Of course, I’m not sure about that. It’s just what the last guy I talked to said.
Exchange student
Monday, February 16th, 2009We’ve got a second exchange student, but only for 2 weeks. Alex is here from Zurich and he’s working with a Christian book editor just to see what it’s like. It is a mini-apprenticeship where he’ll get a taste of life on the other side of studies. Joel, our Basel exchange student, has been bouncing off the walls, so excited, for now he has a chance to use his German, and not just French and English.
All that to say: Come on over and practice your English with us. A couple week stay will do you good. And us to.
Ternopil
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
Yes, I am in Ukraine. Don’t know how much I’ll be able to get online (not that time online has affected my blogging). My bags were limited out (20 kilos for the checked bag and 12 for the carry-on). Here it is mornings free… Late lunches with fellow Christians… Meetings in the afternoon… Teaching Bible study every evening… Finishing up before 8 PM so everyone can get home in the cold… I feel like a monk! Time for studying, reading, singing (alone), making tea for guests. I like it, but I’m always ready to get back home.
Consulting in Gruyères
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009We got to hang out in one of the most beautiful places in Switzerland a couple of weeks ago: Gruyère. Wife and I took a small assignment with a nearby consultant and worked with students graduating with a BA in the Hospitality Management. I did a short seminar on interviews and work styles, then interviewed 18 students. Wife corrected reports that outlined students’ strong points, suggested where to focus their energies and where they would make the greatest impact.
It was the first time in over 8 sessions that I’ve done these interviews with future graduates that one of the students mentioned he was a Christian. (He said he wasn’t a very good one.) In his 3 years of studies, he had never tied into a spiritual family. He had never prayed or worshiped with brothers and sisters.
No happy ending, really. It’s just something that he let happen. And it had darkened his heart.