Refugee News

Part of our work in Sofia is to minister to refugees here.  Recently this ministry was featured in an online news article.  To read the article, click here.

Missing America Moment.

I have been in Bulgaria for over three years.  Yesterday Sasha and I figured out that I have been away from my birth country longer than she has ever been away from hers.  It has been 37 months since I was last in America.

I've grown quite comfortable here.  I love America, but I have no strong desire to go back.  I miss Chicago style pizza and good Tex Mex, but one can survive without these things.  If I were back in America I would probably miss Shepard's Salad made with fresh Bulgarian vegetables and smothered with feta cheese.

Yesterday however, I did have a bit of a missing America moment.  I was driving through construction and down narrow roads.  I pointed out to Sasha that in America this narrow road would be wider and have shoulders with ample parking.  We would not have the fear of knocking off someone's rear view mirror as we drive to the mall.

Sasha agreed that indeed none of these things would happen in America.  If we were back in the mid-west the roads would be wider.  However, she was quick to point out that in the mid-west driving would not be any less stressful.  The roads are currently covered in snow and ice.  At least other cars and people theoretically avoid being hit.  When was the last time a snow drift jumped out of your way?

Every country has its good and bad aspects.  The secret to enjoy life in different countries it to focus on all the good things and ignore the bad.

Why Bulgaria?

From a missions perspective, Bulgaria may seem to not be a very strategic country.  It is in the corner of Europe at the very southernmost part of the former communist block, and as every news article on Bulgaria will point out, it is the poorest European Union country.  Why would God possibly use this country to do anything great?

I could not disagree more.  Before moving here, I made the argument that starting a ReachGlobal team in Sofia is not only a good way to reach Bulgaria with the Gospel, but to reach the world as well.  My superiors in our organization agreed and sent us here.  We are beginning to see our vision become a reality.

This morning I met with a man from Liberia who I am training to teach the Bible to others.  This evening I lead a Bible study that had in attendance citizens of North America, South America, Africa, and Europe.  Tomorrow I will lead another Bible study with people from America, Africa, and Asia.  On Sunday we have a small group meet at our house.  In attendance are people from Europe and America.  Bulgaria is a great place to meet people from around the world.  It is also a great place to train people from around the world.

If you want to tell the world about Jesus, consider coming to Bulgaria.  Great things are happening in this so called poor, out of the way, little European country.

If You Can't Say Something Nice . . .

Last year, while climbing one of Bulgaria’s many beautiful mountains, Sasha and I came across a man sunbathing next to a lake.  We asked him for directions and he kindly obliged.  After hearing my accent, he asked where I was from.  I told him I was from America, and he began a rant about how terrible America was.  We thanked him for the directions, and we continued along our way thinking he must be a little crazy.

Every day, I am surrounded by Bulgarians.  I live as a guest in Bulgaria.  Like everywhere in the world, Bulgaria has some good aspects and some bad ones.  When I am asked what I think about Bulgaria, I tell my Bulgarian friends the good things.  I would never go on an anti-Bulgaria rant about the things I dislike here because that would be unkind.  (Besides, Bulgaria has so much good in it that I can easily overlook the bad.)

When Sasha was in America, there were things she liked and things she disliked, yet she would never openly declare her dislikes before others because it is rude to insult someone’s culture.  This is common courtesy.  Only rude people would act in such a manner.  Like the man on the mountain, such people seem a little nuts.

What seems rude in face to face conversations, often becomes acceptable in the world of social media.  Far too often, I have seen comments by immigrants to other countries insulting their host country on Facebook.  If you have even one Facebook friend who is from the host culture, this is dangerous territory.  You are openly insulting their nation and culture.  How would you like it if they went on an anti-wherever-you- are-from rant?  It is one thing to criticize your own country and culture.  It is another thing to criticize someone else’s.

As a guest in Bulgaria, I try to stay positive in my posts about my current home.  This is a country of beauty, and the people here are generally kind and welcoming.  Do they have flaws?  Of course they do.  But it is not my job to point them out.

To all my expat friends, I make this request.  Keep it nice on social media.  By only sharing the good things you will keep more friends, and you may just find that the bad things are not so bad.

Why I'm Still a Christian

Years ago I was invited to speak at a church about our ministry in Europe.  Before the service began, the kindly and somewhat nervous middle-aged pastor took me aside and asked me what I was going to speak about.  After I briefly shared my key points with him, he told me that he approved my outline, but he would prefer that I not use the word Christian while speaking to congregation.  He explained to me that he used the phrase Christ follower so as to not offend anyone.  I complied with his desire, but I have long since thought about this conversation.

The term Christ follower is perhaps the most popular of several phrases that people use to replace the word Christian.  Though Christian is used in the Bible to describe followers of Jesus, it is not the only word that is used.  The early Church was also called The Way and The Sect of the Nazarene among other names.  There is nothing sacred about the word Christian, and there is nothing wrong with going by another name.  In fact, the word Christian actually means Christ follower.

Yet I have to wonder; why do Christ followers reject the nearly 2000 year old name Christian?  Though I cannot state the reasons for everyone who has switched terms, it seems to me that the overwhelming majority do so out of fear.

In the case of church leadership, the name is often changed out of fear of lowering attendance numbers.  A church with empty seats tends to close, and there is little that pastors fear more than seeing their specific church shut-down.  The name change is intended to give the impression that this particular church is different from the universal Church that others find so offensive.  It makes them appear relevant (unlike their brothers and sisters in other churches).  I have to wonder if such leaders honestly think, “People will come to our church because we are not Christians.”

How many times has anyone walked into a church and been surprised or offended to find Christians there?  Were they expecting Hindus?  In your fear of failure you have distanced yourself from your brothers and sisters in other congregations by proudly proclaiming that you are not like them.

Church leaders are not the only ones who have changed the term.  Individual believers do the same thing.  The belief is that people are more open and less offended by Christ followers than by Christians.

If using the term Christ follower opens the door to share the Gospel, then I’m all for it.  Yet, I would seriously question how often this happens.  More often, I have seen Christ follower used as a means to distance ourselves from our fellow believers and present ourselves in a good light to our non-Christian friends.

Coworker 1:  Bill in accounting is talking about Jesus again.  You aren’t one of those crazy Christians are you?

Coworker 2:  I prefer the term Christ follower.  I’m nothing like Bill.

Coworker 1:  What’s the difference?

Coworker 2:  We are not so extreme.

Coworker 1:  Oh that’s cool.  I like you then.

Coworker 2:  Great!

(Opportunity to share the Gospel missed.)

Non-Christians are not stupid.  They know what you are.  They also know that you are too afraid to talk about what you believe and you are ashamed of your fellow believers.  Is this really the message you what to convey.  Are you not just changing the name out of a fear of unpopularity?

The message of the Gospel is offensive to most who hear it.  Jesus predicted persecution to those who follow Him (John 15:20).  Paul implied that the Gospel will make you look like a fool (I Cor. 1:18).

If you are truly a Christ follower, persecution and dishonor await you regardless of what you call yourself.

If you are not, then perhaps you should change your name.

The Importance of Breathing

If you have ever spent time in a weight room, you may have noticed that many novice weight lifters hold their breath as they strain against gravity.  It is a common practice that I have caught myself doing from time to time.  It is also a stupid practice.  Human muscles need oxygen.  Holding our breath deprives them of oxygen and makes them weaker.  We need to breathe.

A similar phenomenon can sometimes be noticed when watching someone jog.  It is not uncommon to see an unexperienced runner taking rapid shallow breaths while pressing forward on the trail.  This was a mistake I made when I first started jogging a few years ago.  I still find myself making this basic mistake from time to time.  It is an inefficient way to run.  My body is big.  It needs a lot of air.  My lungs are big too.  I am a fool if I do not use as much of them as possible.  Deep breaths make for a less painful run.

It seems strange that when our bodies strain we tend to deprive them of the thing they need most.  It does us no good to do so.  We need air.  We need lots of air.  Without it we get week and become unable to do anything.  Last year, when I was climbing a mountain, I pushed too hard for too long.  At the top of the mountain I could not stand because my body needed more air than it was taking in.  Without air, we put ourselves in danger.

When we need to breathe the most, we tend to not take the time to breathe.  This can be true in our physical lives, but it tends to be true more often in our spiritual lives.

When we are straining against the busyness of life we tend to not have time to pray.  When we are running hard trying to get everything done that we deem important, we forget to spend time in the Bible.  We are too busy to spend time in worship.  We are too busy to sit and listen to God.  We are too busy to just breathe.  We then wonder why we are so tired and week.  We wonder why our walk with God seems to tire us out.  It is because we are too busy to breathe.

Michael W. Smith wrote the lyrics, “This is the air I breathe, Your holy presence living in me.”  The Holy Spirit, who lives in all believers, is our breath.  The Greek word used in the Bible for “spirit” can also be translated as “breath.”

In our physical lives, we are always breathing.  Breath is always in us unless we consciously keep it out by holding our breath.  In the same way, the Holy Spirit is always in us as Christians.  Yet, our breathing can become shallow.  In the busyness of life, we can forget where the breath of life comes from.  The results are a spiritual life that is weak, painful, and not able to stand.

The good news is, we can train ourselves to breath better.  Weight lifters train themselves to breathe when they lift.  Runners train themselves to take deep breaths when they run.  Mountain climbers train themselves to walk strong in places where the air is thin.  Christians can train themselves to breathe better spiritually as well.

Here are some practical ways to train your spirit to take deep breaths.

1)      Spend time in the Bible every day.

2)      Spend time praying every day.

3)      Apply what you read to your life.

4)      Keep doing it.

Remember, like breathing, this is not meant to be hard.  Also, like breathing, you have to do it in a way that works best for you.  The important thing is to breathe on a regular basis.  Never be too busy that you forget to stop and take a breath.

Don’t forget to breathe.

Book Premier

Last night, Sasha and I had the privilege of attending the premier of Sofia Papazova’s newest book Seven Olive Blossoms.  Sofia is the mother of one of Veronica’s classmates.  Their family has become friends with our family over the past two years.

Sasha read her first book and was impressed by her amazing use of descriptive language.  Last night at the premier, several excerpts from here newest book were read.  The one that impressed me the most was a section that described the making of a salad.  You would not think salad construction would make for good reading, but the way it was described was fascinating.  The book critic who spoke last night was very impressed with Sofia’s ability to describe in detail places in Italy that she has never been.  She certainly did her research, which, in my opinion, separates the good writers from the great ones.

At just 35 with two books already written, Mrs. Papazova has a promising career as a novelist ahead of her.  We appreciate being invited to her big night.

Sofia Papazova signing a book for one of her many fans.

Sofia's two books.  The newest one is on the right.

A discussion of the book with the author.