Germany - Week 3 Update

Work is challenging, and at a times a bit slow, but it's coming along. I'm about mid-way through the process of compiling a list of foundations through which we can apply for grants for this new training program. It's tedious to pore over the hundreds of potential grants we could apply for to see if our program's objectives meet their guidelines. I have to remind myself that this slow and often frustrating part of the work is essential to the formation of the program. I have to fix my mind on the end goal, and that is the training and equipping of church leaders to make disciples in their communities, who will in turn make more disciples themselves, and by so doing, they join in as a part of Jesus Christ bringing his kingdom to earth. This is the call and the work of Christ for every believer.

Sometimes I get away from the office to help with a small group for the States that is here for two weeks. They're a singing group, but they're participating in a number of other projects and areas of work. I've been with them to sing at a number of places (including the Cologne Dome, which was awesome!), but one of the most meaningful experiences I had with them was participating in an English conversation group. An American woman hosts this group at her apartment and invites her neighbors, friends, and anyone interested to come and practice their English. She comes up with themes for discussion, and often puts together discussion topics and questions to facilitate discussions among the guests. The cool thing is, it's not just Germans who show up to this. There are several people belonging to other nationalities that have started coming.

So we went on Tuesday night and discussed music--types of music, emotions associated with music, traditions associated with music, dancing, poetry, and style. There were three internationals there--two German and one Cambodian. Regularly they have about six to eight members, but several were out of town, as two German holidays were celebrated week. Never-the-less, we had a lot of fun listening to all kinds of music and then talking about it. Personally, I love music, so it's never hard for me to have a conversation about music with anyone! And I think that a person's musical preference can tell a lot about who they are, because you're not just discussing rhythms, notes, instruments, and voices, you're discussing emotion, art, stories, interpretations, world views. It's meaningful. It gives you insight into how someone else thinks, how they approach the world around them and what conclusions they've come to. That's exactly what we were doing. We were gaining great insight into the lives of one another. At the end of the night, we felt so open and honest with each other. We knew something of importance about one another. This group meets every week, and I think there will be two meetings next week, in fact. So hopefully I will see them again, and I look forward to sharing more of myself with them and hopefully learning more about who they are, too.

This kind of relational ministry is exactly what Germany needs, I think. I've been having conversations with several of the missionaries and seminary students here, and they've all described how much time you have to devote to making disciples among these people. They all expressed how missionaries, pastors, church leaders, and evangelists in the past tried all these crusades, conferences, Bible tracks, in-your-face, hit-them-over-the-head evangelism techniques to minister to people, but it simply wasn't useful in making disciples. God is challenging his people in Germany to get creative in how they minister to their neighbors. They must think differently, try new things, and invest lots of time and hard-work into building friendships in their communities. They are learning that it takes time to share the gospel, and it is essential to remain patient and to prove trustworthy. Only then is the gospel received. I'm reading through the book of Mark in my German Bible, and just yesterday I read this: "Auch füllt niemand neuen Wein, der noch gärt, in alte Schläuche... Nein, neuer Wein gehört in neue Schläuche!" It's Mark 2:22. "Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins... Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins."

Think about it.