SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #144 ---- 10/16/00
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #144 ---- 10/16/00
TITLE: ?Living In A World Of Contradictions?
My Dear Friend and Partner:
Greetings this week from Tuzla, Federation of Bosnia, just short miles from
the Republika Srpska, the Serbian Republic of Bosnia.
Jo Ann and I are concluding our second full week of ministry in this
extraordinary country. It has been a full week ---- a week of heavy
ministry obligation, physical sickness, exhausting weariness, and thrilling
opportunities filled with blessings and great joy.
During our first week, after arriving in Sarajevo on a Wednesday, we spoke
in churches, home groups and the Kairos Center, teaching seminars on
forgiveness and on personal witnessing, speaking eleven times in seven days
in three cities ---- Sarajevo, Novi Travnik, and Konjic.
Our second week (beginning on Thursday) took us to Tuzla where I have been
leading a seminar on personal witnessing, teaching five sessions in three
days. During this time, Jo Ann has faithfully been by my side, suffering
miserably from a severe sinus infection such as the one I brought with us
from the States to Sarajevo. I am much better, but Jo Ann is very
uncomfortable.
What a personal joy it has been to renew fellowship with missionaries Troy
and Mary Donahoe and many of the people of Tuzla whom we met one and a half
years ago when they came to the Life Center in Croatia as our guests for a
week of relaxation and teaching. To see them grow in the Lord is a thing to
behold. God is doing a great work through the Donahoe?s and other leaders.
We are already examining possible future ministry opportunities together.
It is apparent that God has something special for this group of people
because the entire week-end was a constant uphill battle. Meeting rooms
were excessively hot and sultry, our interpreter had to discontinue because
of severe family problems, then our substitute had to do the same because of
the death of a friend. Our second substitute then had great difficulty
concentrating and going through an inadequate understanding of the English
language.
Jo Ann and I both suffered extensively from the sinus infections I have
mentioned, oppression and confusion raised their ugly heads on numerous
occasions, and it was a general all out battle from beginning to end.
(Even my sending you this letter has been a battle as recently as moments
ago ---- I was nearing its completion when I lost it entirely; it just
disappeared. I had to go back to my original document, copy, and do some
rewriting in areas that needed clarification.)
Yet, through it all the people remained faithful and absorbed the teachings
like sponges soaking up water. There is no doubt that God did a good work
this week-end in many ways, and the Donahoe?s believe firmly that this was
clearly a divine appointment which will enhance their ministry here and the
strength of the church. The people have been released to a large degree
from the fears of witnessing, and have a courageous and confident outlook on
ministering to their friends and faily.
But, boy, was it a battle! We have a ?feel good? tiredness.
A WONDERFUL WEEK:
It has been a very long time since I have seen a group of believers so
anxious to learn about personal witnessing. Out of about 35 to 40 people
who make up this little ?church?, some 70% of them have faithfully attended
the five sessions. And, they have listened intently, taking notes and
searching the scriptures, even though having to endure the process of
listening through an interpreter.
Do you know of a church anywhere that would have 70% of its members attend
if I came there to teach on such a subject? Frankly, I am awed at their
faithfulness. They are people who once were Muslims, Orthodox, Catholic, or
atheists. Nearly all of them have been believers less than six years, many
of them two years or less.
And, it has not been an easy ?typical? seminar on ?How? to witness. It has
been a deep look at the Biblical account of man?s creation, his fall, the
grave consequences of his rebellion, the finished work of Jesus Christ, and
the spiritual command and provision God has given for carrying out the Great
Commission. In content it would perhaps challenge some of the evangelism
classes taught in Bible colleges.
Yet, they came. And I am honored ---- and deeply humbled. God is good.
W have met such wonderful and incredible people within this group.
As an example, let me introduce Vojka, a Serbian woman of the higher echelon
of society in Tuzla before the war ---- a former professor of literature at
one of the numerous universities here. It was she who, several years ago,
translated the book ?Joni? into the former Serbo-Croatian language.
Friday, before we began the seminar, Vojka took us to the floral shop of
one of Bosnia?s most famous floral arrangers and painters ---- a woman who
literally lost everything during the war. She is in constant demand to
arrange great floral displays for major events. She has shown her paintings
to heads of state from around the world. She was recently asked to create a
specially painted dress for Miss Bosnia for the Miss World pagaent to be
held later this year in Sarajevo.
Later in the day Vojka took us to this lady?s home where we visited for
hours amidst scores of oils and water colors. As we sat around the table
eating lunch together, I could not help but notice the aging on her face
that made her look fifteen years older than she really is. And, it was a
special treat to watch and laugh with her young daughter who suffers from
Down?s Syndrome.
We also visited the galleries of some of ex-Yugoslavia?s great artists such
as the world renowned Ismet Mujezinovic. Born in 1907 and dying in 1987,
this man began painting as a child and covered much of World War II with
graphic and dramatic renderings of the suffering of the Yugoslav people
during that era. The stark reality of his paintings drove home the
suffering more clearly than any photograph or film I had ever seen.
We were introduced to the curator of that art museum, Mevludin Ekimecic, an
outstanding artist in his own right. While the Bosnian War was raging, he
was traveling throughout the Balkan lands doing ink and pencil sketches of
the horrors and suffering around him. Many of his works have been printed
in a book which I could not pass up. When you see his drawings, you sit and
stare in silence. It numbs your capacity to communicate.
While with him we also saw some of the most extraordinary color photos of
the Bosnian War I have ever seen ---- pictures probably never seen in the
western press. They told the real story. The man had brilliance in his
hand as he held the camera. I was permitted to take my own pictures of some
of those greatly enlarged photos. I hope they will turn out well.
Then we met a man who had spent 50 years traveling throughout the Balkan
countries photographing the faces and terrain of his homeland, mostly in
black and white. Though he had just concluded a three-day showing at the
Tuzla Arts Center, he graciously kept his paintings out and patiently waited
for our arrival.
He insisted he was not a professional, but his work would stand side by side
with any great photographer from any gallery or magazine in America. I have
never met a more gracious man. He was amazed that anyone from America would
want to see his work. He treated us humbly and in honor as dignitaries.
We were the ones who were humbled; he was the real dignitary ---- he was the
real hero.
Even after all this grand tour through upper society, this woman, Vojka, a
courageous believer in Jesus Christ, stepped in at the last minute on
Saturday to serve as my interpreter for more than three hours of intense
teaching. Unprepared or forewarned, she did it masterfully.
Someday perhaps I can tell you of other beautiful faces of the Balkans. For
the moment, let me honor them by simply saying that this trip has revealed
another dimension of these incredible people, toughened by wars and
conflicts in nearly every century since the Roman Empire. They are a hardy
bunch, strong willed but kind, often feeling hopeless but always trying.
When I remember that Paul and Titus walked somewhere among these mountains
and valleys spreading the Gospel for the very first time, I wonder what
happened that caused this place to be such a place of turmoil. Satan must
certainly want to destroy them for some special reason.
God wants to save them for some special reason . . . . .
He loves them.
And so do we.
INCREDIBLE CONTRADICTIONS:
Nearly every time Jo Ann and come to this part of the world, I go away
emotionally frayed, physically exhausted, and frankly, bewildered. The work
is so intense that when we leave, I am convinced I can?t do it again, and I
vow to never go back. I feel tired ---- and confused.
But then, my heart pulls me toward the mountains again, and we commit
ourselves to another trip, and another, and another.
I don?t know what to do with those contradictions of thought and emotion.
What is it that makes me feel such contradictory upheavals?
Then I realize ---- it is the contradictions I see that create the
contradictory feelings I get.
For example, Jo Ann and I were in Sarajevo?s center last Wednesday. Walking
through the business district we were stunned at the overwhelming number of
young adults walking along the pedestrian street. They were everywhere ----
dressed neatly, expensively. Most carried wireless phones. And then,
standing in the shadows was an old woman, bent over to where she stood less
than four feet tall, shuffling along in her Muslim dress with a load of
sticks on her back. The contradiction of condition was obvious.
While traveling to Tuzla last Thursday by bus, we drove past a house under
repair. Next to it was an old stone shed; the top floor had been nearly
blown away by a mortar several years earlier, the remains collapsing onto
the ceiling of the first floor.
And, sitting underneath it all ---- was a brand new red Porsche sports car!
What a contradiction!
A few miles further up the road I noticed an incredibly beautiful and
immaculately painted home. All around it, however, was refuse and litter
like you would have ordinarily seen in a garbage dump.
I asked one of the missionaries about that when we arrived in Tuzla. She
said that it illustrated a unique philosophy born out of Communism and the
subsequent war. ?Inside my house I am ruler, and I will make it lovely and
liveable. Outside my house, it?s none of my business and not my
responsibility. Somebody else can do it.? What a contradiction!
Dozens of other experiences over the past two weeks have exposed glaring
contradictions in the conditions ---- and the philosophies ---- of this
place.
And I discovered it is the contradictions that make me so uncomfortable that
I want to leave and never return. And, those contradictions are responsible
for creating my own contradictory feeling that I cannot stay away from the
Balkans ---- I must return.
THE REAL CONTRADICTIONS:
It is nearing Midnight as I write, but even though certain my comments will
be incomplete and inadequate, I must share these thoughts before retiring.
It didn't take very long for me to recognize that the real contradictions
were not those I had seen with the visible eye in the scenes before me, but
rather they were the hidden contradictions in the hearts of the people that
caused them to do some of the things I has seen and leave undone things that
should have been done.
What is it that causes a man to allow his yard to be filled with trash and
garbage while he has a sattelite dish on his roof attached to a big screen
tv in his living room barely big enough to seat four people comfortably?
How is it possible to, as we did last Wednesday, sit in a quiet hidden
courtyard restaurant in the center of Sarajevo with Candy and Luciana, two
young missionary friends, and watch a woman at the table next to us shudder
in shock and terror when a land mine unexpectedly explodes several miles
away?
What is it that causes a Muslim woman who does not believe Jesus is God's
Son to attend every session of training on how to witness to others about
Him?
What is it that causes a mission agency that has experienced such phenominal
success in ministering to people through humanitarian aid and relationship
ministries to suddenly change its strategy to something that will be far
less effective?
How can people who love Jesus so much see no connection between their
personal testimony and cultural habits that are offensive and detrimental to
both their health and their witness?
How can a Balkan believer confess his loyalty to and love for the Lord Jesus
Christ and still feel no shame over occasions when he thinks it is necessary
to lie or to bribe an official in order to get something done?
These are indeed confusing contradictions of the Balkans
. . . and they pull me to return.
THE MORE TROUBLING CONTRADICTIONS:
Though all those contradictions puzzle me, there are others that trouble me
more. For example . . . .
How is it that a church in America can come together on Sunday and, with joy
and gusto, sing "I Love To tell the Story" and then insist they hired the
preacher to do that?
How is it that a Christian can teach his Bible class about honesty and
integrity, and then that same day steal God's tithe?
How is it that a preacher can declare he has a word from God for his
congregation when he has spent precious few minutes on his face before God
in prevailing prayer?
How can a church justify spending millions on new buildings when it hardly
gives hundreds to mission causes?
It seems the contradictions don't exist only in the Balkans.
CONSEQUENCES OF CONTRADICTIONS:
One of the more significant lessons I've learned through observing these
contradictions, both at home and in the Balkans, is that they emanate from
some severe causes, and have some dire consequences.
When you have a governmental system that has taken care of you and your
family for generations and it suddenly collapses, what is a person to do
about things that don't pertain to him personally? Ignore them, of course.
When your government, by example and insinuation, sets the pattern of lying
and corruption, what is the logical thing to do when you need something
done? Lie and bribe someone, of course.
When your religion offers you no hope and demands extreme performance, how
should you treat the Gospel when you hear it for the first time? With
suspicion and unbelief, of course.
When your church professes to love Jesus and people and yet does nothing
significant about it, what should you do? Play the game again. It worked
the first time.
When people look through the facade of hypocrisy and see a church that has
nothing to offer but religious "fluff" and hype, what should the church do?
Come up with another gimmick, obviously.
Or . . . . it could repent . . . .
And get serious about the Gospel.
Living in a culture of contradictions pays a heavy toll on one?s life.
For example, when you have been told to keep your distance and not impose
yourself into the affairs of govenment, and then your government collapses,
you are propelled toward potential anarchy. When you see your sources of
security and well being fall apart around you and no one is there to help
you, you lose hope.
When you are raised in a religious culture that tells you God only honors
good performance, you give up on God.
There is no doubt in my mind that some of the most destructive elements that
come against the Kingdom work come as a result of inconsistencies and
contradictions. As a result people are confused, deluded, frustrated, and
bewildered as to how to treat our message.
If you want to continue minimizing your effectiveness, just keep on being
contradictive. It has worked in the Balkans, and it will work anywhere.
However, if you want to see the Gospel spread in effective power, then take
another road ---- a higher road.
FINALLY:
Dear friend! I am convinced that, while the contradictions I see in the
Balkans become wonderful opportunities to share God's grace and the Gospel
message with her people, the contradictions that exist in the average church
become reasons for people who need Jesus to reject Him outright. It really
is true ---- our walk often does not match our talk.
Paul seemed to set the standard for our conduct ---- "This one thing I do.
Forgetting the things behind, and looking toward what's ahead, I press
toward the mark . . . . "
When you become a "this one thing I do" follower of Jesus, you begin to
master the inconsistencies and minimize the contradictions.
That makes Christian ministry a lot more fun ---- and immeasurably more
productive.
If you were to examine your own life right now, would you see any
contradictions? Would there be things that have become hindrances of
hypocrisy before those to whom you minister?
There may be a time, a place, and a reason for the contradictions I found in
the Balkans which troubled me so. There is no such place, time, or reason
for contradictions of conduct in your life or mine.
Their possible existence grieves me deeply . . . .
And grieves our Savior even more.
Let your "yes" be "yes", and your "no" be "no". Get rid of the
contradictions ---- they come out of hypocrisy.
In His Bond of Mercy, Grace, ---- and forgiveness,
Bob Tolliver ---- Rom 1:12
Life Unlimited Ministries
Copyright September, 2000. All rights reserved.
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