« Word to Your Mother | Main | Back from Moldova »
July 04, 2005
Going to Moldova
I leave today for Chisinau, Moldova, in Eastern Europe, where I'll be reporting on BGEA ministry activities during and surrounding a Crusade with Franklin Graham—including an "Institute for Emerging Evangelists" from Russia and some of the former Soviet republics.
Operation World says this about Molodova:
- [Moldova is] the poorest country in Europe due to unresolved internal political problems, lack of industry and trade, and economic dependence on Russia.
- A peaceful and prosperous Moldovan future remains uncertain and tenuous. ... About 80% of men are unemployed and 60% of men have a serious alcohol problem.
- Evangelical Christians have multiplied, but materially they lack so much—meeting places, discipleship materials and funds. Many are very poor. Pray that God may provide their needs. ... The strong conservatism of the Communist era remains, and suspicion and resentment hinders unity between Protestant groups. ... Pray that believers may develop a broader, dynamic view of the body of Christ.
Until then, have a happy 4th of July—but be on guard against the spirit of USAmerican exceptionalism that is so prevalent in our country today.
Also I encourage everyone to check out my friend Jared Neher's "Children of Romania" photographic exhibit. Please consider buying one (or more) of his framed prints, sales of which go to benefit a ministry to Romanian orphans called For God's Children International.
BTW—My wife loves it when I post announcements like this. For some reason, she always asks me to include the fact that our house is guarded by two large ferocious dogs. I'm not sure why ... Maybe pray for my family while I'm away. They'll be missing me, and I'll sure as hell be missing them.
Posted by Steve K. at July 4, 2005 10:14 PM
Comments
Have a great trip, man!
Posted by: orangejack ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.knightopia.com/journal//nav-commenters.gif)
at July 4, 2005 11:50 AM
If your wife (name withheld to protect the innocent) hates these types of announcements, don't tell her that Nica and I got robbed a few weeks ago while away on a HappyFunTime tour. That would only cause her to worry.
... And what is the Steiger Challenge! I'm dying over here!
Blessings on your trip. It sounds incredible. Please fill us in with lots of details upon your return.
Posted by: HFT Wes at July 5, 2005 02:58 AM
Hi Steve, I'm back from Ukraine.
I'm looking into whether John Yoder's DISCIPLESHIP AS POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY has been translated into Russian and might be a suitable book to copy and distribute throughout the former SUnion as a means of fostering peaceful OR-style political changes and of attracting people to Xty, which is what the OR did.
Maybe your organization might like to help support this effort? As you've noted, a good deal of the poverty of Moldova is due to political problems. As such, they will take political solutions stemming from the native peoples. If we can show that Jesus was political for his day then we can show native Xtns that there are ways they can and should be political and that can foster political changes and open up opportunities for them to share about their faith(as well as opportunities to suffer based on their faith).
Let me know what you think. I really liked Yoder's Politics of Jesus because of how it took a lot of critical biblical scholarship and showed that Jesus was what we call today political in his time. I think that something like that but written for a more popular audience may help foster more Orange Revolutions or bolster local Xtns to do more to hold their politicians accountable for their actions.
dlw
Posted by: dlw at August 9, 2005 11:48 AM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)