I want to apologize to everyone for the delay in this post. Unfortunately, my trip was interrupted due to a medical emergency back home and this was the only blog post I was able to get written during the trip. So, let’s pretend we’ve jumped into the Tardis, traveled back in time to October 12, and you’re reading this right after I wrote it.
After arriving midday Saturday, meeting up with Dragan, Daniella, and Rodja, and finally getting some much needed sleep, I had the privilege of preaching in two different churches on Sunday. In the morning, I spoke at the International Christian Fellowship (ICF) church in Belgrade. They requested that I speak from Romans 6, a chapter that reminds us as Christians that we are dead to sin, because our old way of life was buried with Christ the moment we gave ourselves to Him.
I originally thought that I would be preaching through an interpreter, so I was pleasantly surprised when I walked through the door of the church and heard the praise team practicing the worship songs . . . in ENGLISH! I was so excited to get to worship with believers from Serbia, Great Britain, South Africa, and probably a few other countries in my heart language. While I was singing along with them, I was reminded of two things. First, God is redeeming people from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 5:9; 7:9). His story of salvation is much bigger than mine, and I love being able to play my part in His grand meta-narrative.
Second, I was reminded how wonderful it is for each person to be able to read the Scriptures and worship in their own language. It’s not that I don’t love it when I have the chance to worship with my brothers and sisters in Christ from Serbia who sing with passion in Serbian and Romani. On the contrary, I am almost always moved to tears when I get to participate with them in singing praises to our Savior who understands every dialect. Yet, when I sing in my own language, I can understand what I am saying and express my heart to Christ in a way that connects me directly to Him.
I think this is one of the reasons that having Bible translations in every language is such an important task. For far too long, people have been kept from studying the Scriptures, because they don’t have access to them in their language. I applaud those who have paved the way to putting the Scriptures in the hands of every person, men such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, and William Tyndale who dared to take a stand against the status quo and translate the Bible into a language easily understood by their people.
After the service was over, we had some refreshments together, and then the real fun began. Dragan had previously told me that he and Daniela were a pretty fierce foosball team. There was a foosball table in the church, and it didn’t take long for a game to get started.
In the afternoon, I had the privilege of sharing a message on biblical stewardship from Malachi 3:6-12 to the Roma church in Belgrade where Dragan is the pastor. I was able to share with them the truths of how we can find joy and receive some amazing blessings when we share what doesn’t belong to us in the first place. I reminded them that stewardship is a much greater subject than how we handle our money or whether or not we tithe. On the contrary, a faithful steward understands the truth that everything we have and everything we are belongs to God, and when we stand before Him on the Day of Judgement, we will all be asked to give an account to Him for how we leveraged everything He entrusted to us for the furtherance of His Kingdom.
The goal of stewardship is not simply more money in the offering plate at our churches, although that is certainly one aspect of it. More money really does mean more ministry (Thanks, Ben Stroup, for that terminology!) No, the goal of stewardship is that at the end of our lives, because of how each of us manages and leverages our time, talent, and treasure for God’s glory, there will be more people in Heaven and fewer people in hell (Thank you Dr. Turner for that terminology!)
After the service was over, many people thanked me for the challenge and promised to consider what implications it had for them. I am praying that the seeds that were planted will grow into amazing fruit for the Roma community in Belgrade and beyond!
Next, it was off to Novi Sad, where I stayed on Monday and most of Tuesday. On Monday, Rodja took me on a tour of the city, and we met with other leaders to discuss strategy for our upcoming meetings with Serbian business leaders and other church leaders from around the country. Unfortunately, only the Tuesday meeting with Bizniznova leaders actually happened due to my being called home unexpectedly Tuesday evening and emergency flight home on Wednesday.
I want to take a moment to say thank you to all who supported this trip both financially and with their prayers. It is my prayer that God will allow me to return soon and continue this work.
