Archive for the ‘Evangelism’ Category

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The fall of the wall

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Yes, as you have heard, 20 years ago today the guards opened the passage ways and allowed free access to West Berlin to those who were under communist rule.

My cousin was in Berlin that day with a group of Pepperdine Heidelberg students. The timing was right. They danced on the wall and got their picture in the paper.

She brought us back a bit of stone, concrete knocked off the wall. A whisper of graffiti on it. Genuine, 100%, Berlin cement.

In 1989, Wife’s dad’s ministry to Ukraine, Slavic World for Christ, received over 4000 letters, 3000 asking for Bibles. 5 years before, he received about 150 letters a year. Almost none from Ukraine.

3 months later he’d find himself in Kiev. He’d meet with family and folks he hadn’t seen in 47 years. Brothers and sisters who were now grandparents.

Walls fall. Sometimes it leads to freedom. Other times not so much. But I thought all day Sunday about freedom, and the words of Paul:

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

Posted in Evangelism, Ukraine | 3 Comments »

International evangelism

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Lausanne counts about 35% foreigners (we are part of that number too!), Geneva counts even a bigger percentage, and our outreach touches a large number of folks who come from all around the globe. 

I was put into contact with a young man from Bolivia who is studying in Geneva. One of his housemates had invited him to church and he had enjoyed it. We studied together, shared stories and cultures, he continued to come on Sundays, all before going back to Bolivia for a 6 week break (from university studies, not from me). As soon as he got back, he asked to be baptized, so we celebrated that event a couple of weeks ago.

There’s a retired guy in the USA who has started sending out French Bible courses to folks who ask for them. I was reading his newsletter and saw that he had a contact in Switzerland. The retired guy sent out an email and I started writing to the student finding out he was from Burkina Faso and studying in a Bible institute in Bienne, about 60 minutes away. My colleague in Geneva invited over to his home for a 24 hour stay and, surprise!, when I arrived for Geneva’s Tuesday evening Bible Study, the baptistery was full and the student (he’s 40 with a family in Burkina) wanted to be baptized into Jesus. It was done, and he has gone on his way with joy.

Posted in Evangelism | 3 Comments »

Harding students

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

We had 7 Harding University students in our home, along with their French professor and his family. Total of 12, like the tribes or the apostles. Sons 1 and 2 welcomed the tribes, I mean the 12, because Wife and I were out of town. They all did the worship time at the nearby retirement home (and were invited back).

Early Monday morning we went to the nearby high school to visit English classes. Over two days 9 of the group participated in 5 classes, leading discussions and talking with the high school sophomores and juniors about life in Arkansas and life in Switzerland (really a lot alike, except we speak much more French). The teachers were thrilled and it was a great way for their Lausanne students to finish out the year. Next time they want to schedule an outing, BBQ, volleyball match and yodeling tournament. That’s how excited the profs were about the whole thing.

On Tuesday morning, 6 golden-aged women from the neighborhood came over and shared tea with the students, and later in the afternoon they visited the retirement home again, singing with the residents and spreading joy.

This kind of evangelism I really love.

Posted in Evangelism | 3 Comments »

Chorale Harmonie rap-up

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

It was a small group who came to hear the Harmonie Chorale sing, but 25 of those folks were visitors and the evening of song and witness was energizing. Daughter did great. (BTW, check out an excellent picture of her running right here in 1997, and see Wife’s posts on memories concerning this weekend’s race right here.)

The afternoon at the retirement home was amazing. The 65 residents loved the songs and basked in the contact with the singers. Such a good moment.

Several families from church housed the chorale members (who had sung 3 times that day). Do you remember keeping visiting singers at your place? I’ve always found that time uplifted.

All arrived on time for the Tuesday morning drive… Another 7 hours to Cologne, Germany.

Fortunately, they’ll be back for a concert in Geneva on Friday night.

Posted in Chrétiens en Mission, Daughter, Evangelism, Singing | 2 Comments »

Changing times

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

I don’t know if you heard about it, but it seems the financial world is in crisis. It’s all the talk here.

The money woes of the world make the front page and the opening stories of the Swiss news, and the radio continues to explain the situation, inviting ministers of finance to share their opinions and bank executives to give their take. I don’t understand much of it, though I’m not a neophyte to world markets. But I have enjoyed the illustrations that have been used:

"The bad debt was like a hot potato that got passed around. The important thing was not to be holding it in your hands when the alarm went off…"

"There used to be investment companies, banks, savings and loans, insurance companies… And they were all sealed off from one another. All you had to do was close the hatch, like in a wounded ship…"

The best comment came a bit ago when I asked a Christian, and a partner in a private bank, how he was doing. He said: You know, it’s not much fun. But shake ups like this get people to look at what’s really important. Some people will turn to God. So if that’s what it takes, I’m ready for it."

No one likes to lose money or see the value of their home or their retirement dwindle, but I was appreciative for the perspective.

Posted in Evangelism, Faith | 2 Comments »

New webpage day

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

Today is “new webpage day”. With each seekers’ conference in Geneva, with the new flyer and the distributions that we do, we also prepare a new web page/site. Actually, I plan it, design it, write up the text and ask for suggestions. It’s not a bad process, and it allows me to learn something new and be relatively creative.

I’ve worked on sites with titles like: whatareyoulookingfor and whathaveyoufound (in French, of course). There was one called ibelieve and another called 3encounterswithjesus (also in French). I buy (or is it rent?) the domain names for a year, and when the year is over, the site goes on to dead domain heaven (Google archives, I think).

This year Robert Mc–, French professor from Harding, will speak the first evening on buildingyourlife and the second evening on choosingyourarchitect (both in French). I’m going to use the program Sandvox webpage builder. It’s got some nice templates and is easier to export than iWeb which is not very flexible when trying to publish.

I hope the webpage is more exciting than this post. Sorry.

Posted in Evangelism, Ministry | 2 Comments »

Chorale Harmonie

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Last night, the Chorale Harmonie from Marseilles sang in the nearby mountain village of Leysin. It’s a good group, especially the tenors, and not just because one of them is Son 2 (of course, that helps). The accappella chorus sang gospels and hymns, praise and spirituals, in French and in English. The audience at the local Catholic church was very responsive and the three short messages on resurrection were well received.

10 of the group are coming down from the mountains this morning. The other 7 were at our place. This afternoon they will give a concert at the local retirement home in Lausanne, just up the street. Later this evening, they will be in Geneva for a concert at the Church of Christ.

This gives us a chance to spend some time with Son 2, but even more importantly, to reach out to a not-yet-believing world with a message communicated through song. A powerful message. A powerful means.  

Posted in Evangelism, Singing | 5 Comments »

What’s real?

Friday, November 30th, 2007

Here’s a quote from page 723 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, after Harry’s long, plot-explaining conversation with his old mentor, Dumbledore:

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” (emphasis mine).

What’s real? Is real what goes on inside your head (especially after having been smacked with a killing curse)? Is it as real as your family, as real as your love for them, as real as the past you’ve shared? Is it as real as your God, as his sacrifice, as your hope?

I remember speaking with a young lady about hope. I mentioned the resurrection of Jesus and that hope was based on this past event. I asked her: Do you believe that event happened? And she replied: I believe that, for you, it happened. But for me, it didn’t happen.

Wow. There were two ways of seeing history: For me the tomb was empty. For her, it wasn’t. The same event. Two realities, and reality inside the head trumps the truth of the actual event.

Posted in Evangelism, Faith | 5 Comments »

What is the role of immigrant populations in European “mission” churches?

Sunday, October 28th, 2007
Immigrant populations can often be open to Gospel while “Europeans” are not. The churches of Christ in Paris are essentially focused on the “changing France”, that is, one of the churches is largely made up of French citizens from the Caribbean (blacks) while the other is made up of French-speaking Christians from sub-Sahara Africa. Of course, many African immigrant children will become European citizens, possibly opening the door to new missions.

The Marseilles church is in a rather poor area of the city. Their members come, for the most part, from the neighborhood. On any given Sunday, you will find North Africans, native Marseillais, several European French who are retired people who cannot afford to leave the neighborhood. The church there is a reflection of the neighborhood.

The same is true in Lausanne and Geneva. There are ethnic Swiss, French, other Europeans, South/North Americans, and Africans all worshipping together. The church is a reflection of the city and the neighborhood. As long as this is the case, local churches appeal to all ethnic groups.

In general, it has proven difficult, for example, for predominantly African or Caribbean churches to attract “white” Europeans. As a church reaches out to specific ethnic groups and its identity is partially defined by that ethnicity, it may be “stuck” in that ethnicity until popular thought changes and that specific ethnic group is no longer marginalized.

Posted in Evangelism, Missions | 2 Comments »

What are some challenges you’re facing? II

Friday, October 26th, 2007

People are evolving in the way they approach truth. It must be experienced, tactile, self-authenticated, rather than revealed through some outside authority. This is challenging to those of us who believe that faith comes through revelation (the light came into darkness), through God’s incarnation, through living and telling God’s story, through the Son who is Way, Truth and Life.

I’m not saying that Christianity shouldn’t be existential. The Relationship must be lived and the Will carried out. But the new creation in Christ calls us to pour our experience through the filter of the Message, rather than the Message through the filter of experience. 

Most Europeans believe that they have already heard the story and are not open to hearing it again. We tackle that problem through the formation of youth who experience the story as new. They are already capable of reaching their peers (who do not think in the same way as we older folks). What we strive to do is to form the mind, not by the means of today’s thought, but through the transformation of thinking that comes about through Gospel. Postmodernism will pass away. The Message, and its transforming power, will not.

Posted in Evangelism, Missions | 4 Comments »

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