Today marks the two year anniversary of my return to Hungary; in two weeks it will be the two year anniversary of my moving to Kecskemét. My trials, my schemes, my hopes, my fears, my opened and closed doors I think have been well documented over this time. My February newsletter pointed forward; there are more trials but no schemes, there are more hopes but no fears, there are still doors to open and close. “…not that I have attained…but this one thing I do….I press towards the mark…Jesus Christ.”
We (Viktor from CC Tompa & me) are starting a bible study on Thursday nights here in the Kecs. Phenomenal interest has been shown which usually means one or two will show up…whadaya do with that…press on. I keep running into people as I go about my daily business and being lead into conversations; today it was Annette. I did not seek her out. God sent her to me to talk, answer questions to just assure the He is talking to her. Please pray for her, a mother of one who seems to have a very discerning spirit having been approached by the gambit of faiths here.
Last Wednesday I drove to Vajta to hope to meet with my friends Jim King and Kurt Kula before heading on to Budapest. My friend Tamas had called Monday night asking me to teach in Vac on Thursday. So I figured pop into Vajta in the afternoon to see Jim, head to Budi to assist with worship and meet up with Kurt Wednesday night (who was teaching there), crash at a friends then teach Thursday night in Vac – aren’t plans great.
Jim had left campus and gone to lunch with some pastors when I showed up. I visited with some students and friends as I usually do hearing that he would be back soon. I missed his return as he retired to his room before teaching that night. OK. I’ll stay the night so I can speak with Jim. We met just before he was to teach that night.
Our conversation was exactly as I thought it would be; direct, insightful, prophetic. I told him a little about what had been happening in the Kecs, future thoughts and hopes to which he replied, “Mark. What are you so fearful about? You’ve been in this country for a while; you know the word of God…what’s stopping you? You need to put down roots here, a pastor stays, the sheep may wander, but a pastor stays. Forget the past, forget any fears. Start a church.”
If you read February’s newsletter you know this landed as that proverbial ton of bricks. Before leaving for Vajta I had been preparing my study for this week in Majsa – on fear. Saul hid among the stuff when God told him he would be king…some say out of humility I think out of fear. So there I am – checkmate!
The next morning I started reading Ezekiel. I had slowed my reading the last couple of months. Jeremiah dragged out over three months. Lamentations about a week; I stopped again. Jim had been talking to me about everything that had been going on in my head for the last month. I read the first six chapters of Ezekiel…wheels turning inside of wheels, creatures, faces, wings, scrolls…but kinda spacin’ on my conversation with Jim. I got to hang with Kurt which was so good for my heart. I listened to Jim teach that morning, grabbed lunch and a shower and left to teach in Vac.
Vac was a total blessing. The pastor, Tamas, has been my friend since I first came to Hungary as we worked together in Vajta. I used Saul’s calling as an analogy for our Christian walk, how we wander looking for things, God speaks to us and like Moses we ask, ‘what have I got’; yet God still anoints us, gives us the best seat in the house for the world to see, He kisses us….is it not because we are His chosen? I drove the two+ hours home praying and thinking, thinking and praying…
Tamas sent me an SMS at 5:30 this morning thanking me for coming to teach. Everything came rushing back in my brain…God’s called us, what have I got, “Mark. What are you fearful of… put down roots here…a pastor stays, the sheep may wander, but a pastor stays...forget, forget…start a church.” I read Ezekiel again and stopped at 3:15, “Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.” I read a small commentary that talked about just that; don’t begin by talking; begin by listening and observing. That’s what I’ve been doing for these two years – listening and observing. Then I went to the coffee shop to read the word. I met Annette there.
On the way to teaching last Sunday my friend Joszef who translates often for me asked, “So when is your two year commitment up? What are you going to do?” “I think I’m staying for at least another two years…we’ll see, I’m praying about it.” “Good”, he said. Joszef, Bill and I drove to Kecskemét three years ago and prayed that the Lord would give us direction about this city. Joszef specifically prayed that a Golgota (CC) would be planted. The time of listening and observing is over. I remain here… astonished. …oh yeah…that verse reads,“…this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind…” I keep forgetting. We start our study this coming Thursday, 3/20/08. … Please pray for us…
Tuesday
...just a thought...
Before leaving for Vienna to teach for the weekend I received an e-mail from a friend, a missionary who serves in India and the Far East. It was about the passing of a friend. I wanted to stop and write down thoughts of this friend but had to rush off to Austria. Upon my return I found another e-mail waiting for me about this friend. Larry Norman had passed away in Oregon.
For many people, “Larry who?” is most likely the response. For others the rushes of fond memories of times and places remembered as important revelations. For others still disdain for what they couldn’t or wouldn’t understand. For me it was sad that I never got to spend time with him again, never got to tell him how much I appreciated his faith in Jesus, his willingness to stand for Christ and not some pop idea of Him.
Larry wore long hair, dressed like a hippie (sic), wrote songs of deep longings, social relevancy and fun questioning – ‘Why should the devil have all the Good Music?’, an anthem that spoke to many people about the freedom we have in Jesus as bespoke in the gospel of John (8:36). Larry didn’t look like a preacher; he was more than that, like a teacher who asked us to see Jesus in each other, to be Jesus for each other. A pretty radical idea for most of us – me included as I examine myself.
He felt the sting from those inside and outside the church that chose the side they wished to criticize. He was part of the Jesus movement in the sixties and seventies and seen as part of the fluff by those that could not see, i.e., the press, Life magazine, et al what God was doing in a generation. Later he was part of the rejection of these same masses whether the editorial deities or those in the movement who could not see this freedom. Sad but packaging has always been the problem with Christianity. He walked away from the pop culture it became.
I knew Larry for but three days. He graciously came for free to preach/sing/preach at the 1st Pearl in the Park in San Francisco in 2001 the year he officially retired. I remember vividly many walking away as he stopped singing to preach the gospel. I got his phone number from a friend who gave her life to the Lord after talking with him. He answered my call, “I’ll come if we’re going to share the gospel.” Before, during and after the concert we talked about many things but mostly about the Lord. He asked me to come along to do some concerts over the next two days as we continued our talks. He had a passion for the truth. He had a passion for the Lord, for telling people about the Lord and His church. He was passionate about authenticity and integrity.
Donald Miller wrote in Blue Like Jazz, “Passion is a tricky thing…it can point to nothing as easily as it points to something. What people believe is important…more important than how they look, what their skills are, or their degree of passion. Passion about nothing is like pouring gasoline into a car without wheels. It isn’t going to lead anybody anywhere.” Larry could have written that. We are in danger of losing what we are passionate about. Again Miller, “If the supposed new church believes in trendy music and cool web pages, then it is not relevant to culture either. It is just another tool of Satan to get people to be passionate about nothing.”
Two years later I picked up Randy Stonehill from SFO and drove with him for the next two hours to an outreach in the central valley. When I told him about Larry doing our concert his eyes lit up and he regaled me with story after story about Larry the highlight of which was being saved in Larry’s kitchen in Long Beach. They had grown apart. Satan had spoken lies – passionately. He had come between them. Randy told me then and there that he would like to do a reunion concert with Larry and maybe for us in The City. That didn’t happen but Randy told me that soon after they got together again. I felt part of it after hearing the news.
“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that I liked jazz music. Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened.” – Miller
All the press and all the churches could never have shown me the authenticity and integrity of Larry Norman as much as my time with him, as much as a friend remembering him…it backed up everything I thought about Larry. Larry’s heart finally gave out in the end; his passion never did. …just a thought…
“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” Romans 10:2
[See Larry’s farewell message @ www.larrynorman.com/]
PS...I was reminded by a friend that Larry also led Keith Green to the Lord...
For many people, “Larry who?” is most likely the response. For others the rushes of fond memories of times and places remembered as important revelations. For others still disdain for what they couldn’t or wouldn’t understand. For me it was sad that I never got to spend time with him again, never got to tell him how much I appreciated his faith in Jesus, his willingness to stand for Christ and not some pop idea of Him.
Larry wore long hair, dressed like a hippie (sic), wrote songs of deep longings, social relevancy and fun questioning – ‘Why should the devil have all the Good Music?’, an anthem that spoke to many people about the freedom we have in Jesus as bespoke in the gospel of John (8:36). Larry didn’t look like a preacher; he was more than that, like a teacher who asked us to see Jesus in each other, to be Jesus for each other. A pretty radical idea for most of us – me included as I examine myself.
He felt the sting from those inside and outside the church that chose the side they wished to criticize. He was part of the Jesus movement in the sixties and seventies and seen as part of the fluff by those that could not see, i.e., the press, Life magazine, et al what God was doing in a generation. Later he was part of the rejection of these same masses whether the editorial deities or those in the movement who could not see this freedom. Sad but packaging has always been the problem with Christianity. He walked away from the pop culture it became.
I knew Larry for but three days. He graciously came for free to preach/sing/preach at the 1st Pearl in the Park in San Francisco in 2001 the year he officially retired. I remember vividly many walking away as he stopped singing to preach the gospel. I got his phone number from a friend who gave her life to the Lord after talking with him. He answered my call, “I’ll come if we’re going to share the gospel.” Before, during and after the concert we talked about many things but mostly about the Lord. He asked me to come along to do some concerts over the next two days as we continued our talks. He had a passion for the truth. He had a passion for the Lord, for telling people about the Lord and His church. He was passionate about authenticity and integrity.
Donald Miller wrote in Blue Like Jazz, “Passion is a tricky thing…it can point to nothing as easily as it points to something. What people believe is important…more important than how they look, what their skills are, or their degree of passion. Passion about nothing is like pouring gasoline into a car without wheels. It isn’t going to lead anybody anywhere.” Larry could have written that. We are in danger of losing what we are passionate about. Again Miller, “If the supposed new church believes in trendy music and cool web pages, then it is not relevant to culture either. It is just another tool of Satan to get people to be passionate about nothing.”
Two years later I picked up Randy Stonehill from SFO and drove with him for the next two hours to an outreach in the central valley. When I told him about Larry doing our concert his eyes lit up and he regaled me with story after story about Larry the highlight of which was being saved in Larry’s kitchen in Long Beach. They had grown apart. Satan had spoken lies – passionately. He had come between them. Randy told me then and there that he would like to do a reunion concert with Larry and maybe for us in The City. That didn’t happen but Randy told me that soon after they got together again. I felt part of it after hearing the news.
“I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes. After that I liked jazz music. Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way. I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened.” – Miller
All the press and all the churches could never have shown me the authenticity and integrity of Larry Norman as much as my time with him, as much as a friend remembering him…it backed up everything I thought about Larry. Larry’s heart finally gave out in the end; his passion never did. …just a thought…
“For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” Romans 10:2
[See Larry’s farewell message @ www.larrynorman.com/]
PS...I was reminded by a friend that Larry also led Keith Green to the Lord...
Monday
Ketchin' Rays, February 2008
Do I make a difference or do I make a wave…
or even a ripple across the deep still.
Did I really hear from the Lord or did I imagine a call…or is it a push of my own free will.
Has living a life with the best of purpose and hopes spoken…
or even been noticed at the end of the days?
Mr. Markey once told me until you hear to move – don’t…or simply
just keep going, keep on ketchin’ rays.
Dear B,
I just got back from a four day trip to Vienna teaching and evangelizing in the subways. I quickly checked my mail and found the CDs for the 2008 missions’ conference then ran to the monthly meeting I attend with several pastors and priests here in the Kecs. A friend of mine called me in January from the states just after you had spoken telling me to get the CD, “Brian shared about what you are doing in Kecskemét by encouraging churches to focus on the word, to teach the word to awaken their congregations.” I have been looking forward to listening to this conference for quite a while.
At this meeting here we share what God is doing or what we think God wants to do. Their biggest complaint or topic of discussion always seems to be ‘why is my church so dead.’ After listening to several pastors/priests speak, I quickly went over my weekend and then began to share my heart. I always begin by thanking them for inviting me and allowing me to speak to them as I am not a pastor. This time I told them I am getting a clearer picture of why I am in Kecskemét. I told them that it is clearer and clearer to me that I am to continue to encourage, exhort, teach and rebuke here just as Paul told Timothy whether to the church or unbelievers, that I am to be about the Father’s business. Their faces light up when I talk about the Bible.
After me was a succession of priests and a headmaster; in between was a Lutheran pastor. The priests said they wanted to further their education, one wanted to go from being a priest to a monk. The headmaster (he is a Catholic) had some admirable plans to help priests in crisis as it seems the churches are seeing the burn out/confused factor here quite strongly (four Reformed priests have recently committed suicide). I was sad to see the focus on themselves for so many attending and not on the people of this city. The Lord brought to mind James 4:13~17 which I had read by my translator. I don’t know if it meant anything to anyone but God’s word was again addressed (some great contacts were made afterward).
This morning I listened to your message. It was an encouragement but more so a confirmation in what I am doing. I have just been planted here sowing as opposed to planting a church. I have sometimes felt that this is ‘unbiblical’ that this is somehow not worthy of notice nor able to be a furtherance of the gospel. It has been very lonely and seemingly ignored by the many Christians I know in Hungary – but then I heard your message. Your message has confirmed a calling that has taken me to Arabia and in that desert to look for those ‘wells’ that could and will produce again if only dug again. I have always thought that I should be observed doing however that stumbling along may appear.
When I first set out to move here it was no small coincidence that Nick was in Vajta that almost two years ago when I returned to Hungary. I was still unsure of the city but sure of the calling. The Lord cleared up the ‘target’ city. I sought out and sat and talked with Nick. I knew of his coming over and just praying telling him that was my ‘brilliant idea’ for the Kecs – just go and pray and see what happens. He thought it was a pretty good idea. Much has happened in these almost two that is too much for this letter but I have begun to pray (about two months) about starting a church even though I’m not sure if this is the right direction when I see the need of the church here…it is a direction not my main focus.
Just before leaving for Vienna I went to my weekly meeting with my friend Samuel who pastors the Baptist church. I had just prayed that morning again about starting a church and Samuel opens our meeting with a big grin on his face and says, “Mark, you should start a Calvary Chapel here.” Pretty flooring but even more so when he tells me what he has been talking to his elders about. He wants to make a change in the way they ‘do’ church – he wants to do away with the group meetings that turn Sunday into a three plus hour ordeal and strip things down to just worship and teaching the word. The Lord has really great ways of encouraging and confirming me here.
All this to say please continue to encourage missionaries that it isn’t about the planting but the sowing and watering; if God has called you wait where He has you. We need to ‘dig out the wells’ here in Europe because God has called us back to this wilderness. I never feel like I’m doing anything. I feel ignored and useless, uneducated, faceless and unworthy – but as you so eloquently put it that was where I needed to get. The Lord showed me several months ago that Kecskemét was my Arabia. It may also become an old well re-dug producing fresh water again. Oh yeah…that Lutheran pastor said he had turn down a promotion within the church in this country because the Lord has called him to be a pastor and nothing more. I believe we’re being observed. The Spirit is moving….get your swim trunks on!
the organic arm, kosh
or even a ripple across the deep still.
Did I really hear from the Lord or did I imagine a call…or is it a push of my own free will.
Has living a life with the best of purpose and hopes spoken…
or even been noticed at the end of the days?
Mr. Markey once told me until you hear to move – don’t…or simply
just keep going, keep on ketchin’ rays.
Dear B,
I just got back from a four day trip to Vienna teaching and evangelizing in the subways. I quickly checked my mail and found the CDs for the 2008 missions’ conference then ran to the monthly meeting I attend with several pastors and priests here in the Kecs. A friend of mine called me in January from the states just after you had spoken telling me to get the CD, “Brian shared about what you are doing in Kecskemét by encouraging churches to focus on the word, to teach the word to awaken their congregations.” I have been looking forward to listening to this conference for quite a while.
At this meeting here we share what God is doing or what we think God wants to do. Their biggest complaint or topic of discussion always seems to be ‘why is my church so dead.’ After listening to several pastors/priests speak, I quickly went over my weekend and then began to share my heart. I always begin by thanking them for inviting me and allowing me to speak to them as I am not a pastor. This time I told them I am getting a clearer picture of why I am in Kecskemét. I told them that it is clearer and clearer to me that I am to continue to encourage, exhort, teach and rebuke here just as Paul told Timothy whether to the church or unbelievers, that I am to be about the Father’s business. Their faces light up when I talk about the Bible.
After me was a succession of priests and a headmaster; in between was a Lutheran pastor. The priests said they wanted to further their education, one wanted to go from being a priest to a monk. The headmaster (he is a Catholic) had some admirable plans to help priests in crisis as it seems the churches are seeing the burn out/confused factor here quite strongly (four Reformed priests have recently committed suicide). I was sad to see the focus on themselves for so many attending and not on the people of this city. The Lord brought to mind James 4:13~17 which I had read by my translator. I don’t know if it meant anything to anyone but God’s word was again addressed (some great contacts were made afterward).
This morning I listened to your message. It was an encouragement but more so a confirmation in what I am doing. I have just been planted here sowing as opposed to planting a church. I have sometimes felt that this is ‘unbiblical’ that this is somehow not worthy of notice nor able to be a furtherance of the gospel. It has been very lonely and seemingly ignored by the many Christians I know in Hungary – but then I heard your message. Your message has confirmed a calling that has taken me to Arabia and in that desert to look for those ‘wells’ that could and will produce again if only dug again. I have always thought that I should be observed doing however that stumbling along may appear.
When I first set out to move here it was no small coincidence that Nick was in Vajta that almost two years ago when I returned to Hungary. I was still unsure of the city but sure of the calling. The Lord cleared up the ‘target’ city. I sought out and sat and talked with Nick. I knew of his coming over and just praying telling him that was my ‘brilliant idea’ for the Kecs – just go and pray and see what happens. He thought it was a pretty good idea. Much has happened in these almost two that is too much for this letter but I have begun to pray (about two months) about starting a church even though I’m not sure if this is the right direction when I see the need of the church here…it is a direction not my main focus.
Just before leaving for Vienna I went to my weekly meeting with my friend Samuel who pastors the Baptist church. I had just prayed that morning again about starting a church and Samuel opens our meeting with a big grin on his face and says, “Mark, you should start a Calvary Chapel here.” Pretty flooring but even more so when he tells me what he has been talking to his elders about. He wants to make a change in the way they ‘do’ church – he wants to do away with the group meetings that turn Sunday into a three plus hour ordeal and strip things down to just worship and teaching the word. The Lord has really great ways of encouraging and confirming me here.
All this to say please continue to encourage missionaries that it isn’t about the planting but the sowing and watering; if God has called you wait where He has you. We need to ‘dig out the wells’ here in Europe because God has called us back to this wilderness. I never feel like I’m doing anything. I feel ignored and useless, uneducated, faceless and unworthy – but as you so eloquently put it that was where I needed to get. The Lord showed me several months ago that Kecskemét was my Arabia. It may also become an old well re-dug producing fresh water again. Oh yeah…that Lutheran pastor said he had turn down a promotion within the church in this country because the Lord has called him to be a pastor and nothing more. I believe we’re being observed. The Spirit is moving….get your swim trunks on!
the organic arm, kosh
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