Germany: 2010, Days 10-11
DAY 10
Our last day in Bochum was a fabulous combination of conversations, culminating in the evening with a leaders’ meeting for Volker’s church. He kept telling me all day that he didn’t know how many people would show up, and I figured it would be 12-20 or so. But apparently, word got out from the night before, and people kept coming. More and more people. Until nearly 50 people were crammed into the small fireside room (complete with a fire that nearly melted the young ladies who had been forced to sit on the hearth because there were no chairs.
The air was electric with anticipation. People were smiling and laughing even before I got started teaching. Volker had a look on his face that said (to me, at least), “Who are you people, and what have you done with my normal congregation?” I had been telling Volker, over the previous 36 hours, that I did not believe it was true that people were “too busy” with life to be engaged much in ministry, volunteering and serving. He said to me, “Alright, Daniel, you’re right.”
Every time God put a scripture in my mind, I spoke about it, and it was amazing how everything tied together by the time the evening was done two hours later. The only “down” moments of the night came when a very religious man tried to ask questions to scuttle the basic premise of my teaching—that God can and does use anyone who is willing. I cheerfully deflected his stern religiosity by thanking him for his questions, then answering in exactly the opposite manner he had hoped for. I was careful to salt my answers with an abundance of scripture—and humor.
That always knocks religious thinkers back on their heels…
DAY 11
In some ways, this was the most stressful of all our days thus far. It wasn’t anything that anyone did or said. It was simply the tight schedule for the three trains we had to take in order to reach our next destination. The lag-time we had—for disembarking one train, running along the platform, down stairs through a small tunnel, up stairs to the correct platform to get on the next train—was 8 minutes, 6 minutes and 10 minutes. It made the “Amazingt Race” on TV look like child’s play!
Pamela did her best, and we made all our connections, but the toll on her body was unfortunately high. The irony was that this was the first day of the trip when she didn’t wake up with a massive headache. She had some energy, and we hoped it was a turning point for her health. But no…
Nevertheless, we arrived in the nearest city (with a train station) to where Jurgen and Gudrun live in Engstingen—on a plateau of the Swabian Alps (Google that!). We’ve known them since 1995 (I think) when they were living in Switzerland, attending Matthias Nowak’s (Delta) church. They have been attempting to introduce (into Germany) the kind of church they experienced in Switzerland. It has not necessarily been an easy assignment. Pamela and I feel like we know them as friends, so it’s especially enjoyable to be visiting them in their town.
Pastor Todd came here on a mission team over three years ago, and we’ve sent mission teams to their church, but this is my first visit. I’ve actually wanted to visit before, but it never worked out. Due to a rearrangement of our schedule/itinerary, the seminar I’m doing here has ended up being attended primarily by leaders from their church. A few church planters and potential planters have come from nearby Baden-Baden, but I’m free to speak more about the nature/philosophy of church—and how our cultural definition and form of church so often leaves pastors and members frustrated.
Why, for instance, do so few people volunteer to help? Why don’t most churches produce even enough leaders to handle needs in the local church—much less, be able to export leaders to other churches? So, I explored these and other such topics all afternoon and on into the evening. More than once the translator had a difficult time translating what I said because she was laughing so hard she couldn’t get the words out.
Oh, by the way, as I sit here at breakfast typing this journal, it’s snowing lightly outside—on March 12…
