Will we survive western missionaries. [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

Dan Drápal: Will we survive Western Missionaries? Published by Sborový dopis, Družstevní ochoz 23,1400 00 Prague, Czech Republic 1. Edition, 36 pages © Sborový dopis, 1996 2

Will we Survive?

I. INTRODUCTION The aftermath of the Velvet Revolution was a special time. Suddenly it did not matter that the tiny meeting room of our congregation was bugged.

It did not matter that my flat was bugged. It did not matter that my phone was bugged. Even in the days of the velvet revolution (November 17 -27,1989) we were invited to schools (which were on strike) to speak about Jesus. We could openly evangelize in the streets. We could photocopy our materials without prior approval of the "district secretary of church affairs" - a Communist official supervising the life of the churches in each district. Soon we could start publishing books. We could hold public meetings without asking permission and without risking punishment. Finally, we could meet with our brothers and sisters from the West without jeopardizing the life of the congregation. Or, could we really? II. THE SCENE Under communism, I, as a pastor of a state-recognized church, was supposed to report any time I met with any foreigner coming from outside the "socialist camp", i.e. from outside of the Communist world. How did I cope with that? First it must be stated that "the Communist world" was not by any means as monolithic as many people in the West, and especially in America, thought. Though religion was persecuted to some extent in all the Communist countries, the level of supression varied a lot - from mild harassment to violent torture. And even in individual countries there might be vast differences between various regions of the same country. The situation in former Czechoslovakia was not by any means as bad as in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, and, worst of all, Albania, which was declared "an atheist state" and where no religion in any form was tolerated. In the seventies and eighties, Czechoslo­ vakia, together with East Germany, Poland and Hungary professed to have "freedom of religion", and though life was definitely not made easy for the Christians, arrests and torture were rare, and death exceptional. So when I was sometimes praised for "having suffered" under Communism, I always felt rather uneasy and compelled to make it clear that what I experienced was a very, very mild form of suffering, if you can call it suffering at all. I have never experienced that kind of persecution which was "normal" in Russia or Romania. I do not want in any way steal the glory which belongs to them, not to us. 3

Will we Survive?

What were the "mild forms of harrassment", to which we were exposed? I was bom again in winter 1978-1979 while serving as a pastor of the "Evangelical church of Czech Brethren"1. At that time I was a vicar in the smallest of the 21 congregations of this the largest Protestant denomination in the city of Prague2.1 became a vicar in the church after working for several years as a stoker at different heating plants. I studied theology at the Comenius Theological Faculty in Prague, but I could not be employed in the church, because each pastor had to have a "state permit". I was denied that permit for my political activities in the "Prague spring" of 1968 and immediately after. In fact, in 1969 I had to give up my passport and until 1975 I could not travel even within the Communist bloc. At the beginning of 1977, the permit was unexpectedly granted. I must say I was really perplexed, because I got the permit to be a pastor in Prague, though I was denied the permit for even the smallest villages just three years before that. (The permit was not valid for the pastoral ministry in general, but was issued only for a specific congregation.) In 1977 I actually did not expect to get the permit at all, and I was quite satisfied with being a stoker. I could read books - and even write books - at the furnaces where I worked. At that time I was qualified to work at high-pressure furnaces, which meant a relatively good salary, and in my spare time I could visit my intellectual friends and participate in the life of the "ghetto", as some called the dissident community. One day in January 1977 the permit - rather unexpectedly - arrived, and on March 1,1977 I started my ministry. It was a very tiny congregation without any building of its own. We met in a former grocery store and the average Sunday attendance in the first year of my ministry was 29. The vast majority of the people attending the church were women over sixty. There were only four people attending with some regularity who were under sixty. It did not take long before I discovered why the Communist administration gave me the permit to become a pastor of this congregation. They knew very well, of course, the real state of things. They knew the congregation had no chance of survival anyway. They knew the social setting. They knew that my precedessor, who served the church for 17 years and who had retired at the age of 73, more or less scared all young people away. In addition to that, they knew that one third of the parish would be tom down in the immediate future due to reconstruction of that part of Prague. A new railway station and two new subway stations were going to be built in place of old, dilapidated houses. Simply stated, the congregation would cease to exist. The people would either die or move.

’) "Evangelical" in this name does not mean "evangelical" in the Anglo-Saxon usage. It means the same as the German "evangelisch", i.e. simply "protestant".

z) The population of Prague is approximately 1.2 million. 4

Will we Survive?

During my theological studies, I was a strong exponent of theological liberalism. I studied Rudolf Bultmann and other liberal theologians diligently. I was an admirer of American "theologian" (now I somehow cannot omit the quotation marks) Harvey Cox, whom I briefly met at my first visit of United States in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in October 1968. At this time I participated in a "travel seminar on the Christian - Marxist dialogue"*I3. During the fourth year of my studies I came to conclusion that the resurrection is a myth and I finished my studies only to postpone the compulsory military service - and not to trouble my parents, who would not have been pleased if I had quit my studies. Nevertheless, I was regarded as a good and diligent student. And in a way I was one. I read a lot of books, I was generally well prepared for exams, I published articles in the liberal "Christian Review". No one challenged my views. The faculty was liberal: we did not pray much. There was no common goal - and if there was one, it was to survive the Communist pressure, not to reach the country for Jesus. Well, now I was a vicar of the church, supposed to stand every Sunday behind the pulpit. In the late sixties or early seventies, if you would have asked me any question, I would readily give you my opinion. But now it was 1977, and I had the experience of two years of harrassment in the army, three years of stoking a furnace, and I was in my second marriage, which was slowly breaking down4.

*) Four Czechs were invited from Czechoslovakia. Two were supposed to be Marxists - author Vladimir Gardavsky and Julius Tomin were the Marxists. Gardavsky died soon after the "normali­ zation" period in the early seventies. Tomin later became a professor at the University Hawaii for a year, returned to Czechoslovakia and became a dissident. He stoked furnaces for many years as I did, and eventually, after several attempts on his life and the life of his wife, went into exile to Britain. The purged Communist party ofdie seventies was not interested even in internal dialogue how could it be in any way interested in a dialogue with Christians! The other "Christian", besides me, was Lubomlr Mifejovsky, who later became a secretary general of the "Christian Peace Conference", an institution collaborating with the government and praising the "achievements of socialism" which was so shameless as to welcome the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1978! I believe my participation at this "travel seminar", which visited 14 different campuses in the U.S., where we spoke openly about the Russian invasion, added many negative points to my account on the part of the score of the secret police. Following such a time, one either had to become a dissident or to go the way of Mr. Mifejovsky.

4) My first marriage, which we entered after few weeks of knowing each other, ended during my military service, when my first wife left me to live with an actor. She later fled to Austria and eventually to San Francisco. From this marriage I have one daughter, Nicole, who still is an unbeliever. I have two children from my second marriage: Simon and Daniela. Both are Christians 5

Will we Survive?

I was at the end. I was empty. And I knew it. I started to pray. I did not really know God. I did not pray about my desperate situation. My first serious prayers were: "God, I want to preach what is in the Bible". I was empty anyway. In contrast to a time just few years prior I had no opinions. I did not think the world made much sense. Why not try to preach what is in the Bible? In the last months of my "stoker years" I was translating the "Apostolic Fathers". I was good at Greek and this was a sort of hobby5. In the early months of my ministry, I was happy that there is no dust in my church office and that I do not have to work the night shifts. I continued my "hobby" of Greek translation. But after being three months in my office, I had a strange feeling. My ministry was not very demanding. I prepared a sermon for Sunday and a Bible study for Tuesday evening. Apart from these two meetings, I was supposed to have a Bible study for children, but very few were coming. So, there was plenty of time for the translation. Nevertheless, somehow I started to feel that I was not there to translate books from Greek. I was there for people! But where were the people? Officially, the church had over 600 members. At least there was a list of members with 600 names, and official church materials stated that the congregation in Prague 7 (Holešovice) had these members. I decided to find them. I found that many ofthe houses - and even streets - did not exist any more. They were demolished - or they were being demolished to give place to new construction. But, I also found many people still living in their houses. Some of them were genuinely surprised that they were members of a church. Some of them knew that they were members, but they had no intention at all of visiting "their" congregation. Very few were interested in spiritual matters. But now, looking back, I see how humorous it must have been! I did not know God and they did not know God. And, for those who were interested, I did not know what to tell them! And, gradually it dawned on me that I did not know. In some cases, when I visited, they simply threw me out. And even in these cases, I had a strong feeling that these people desperately needed something - but, at that time I could not yet state it simply (They needed God). I prayed to God to let me preach what was in the Bible. And I wrote each sermon word by word veiy diligently. I studied the Scriptures. I used commentaries. And somehow (it is very difficult to describe it or explain it) I had a feeling - when preaching that I was sitting in the second row of chairs, close to the door, listening to a sermon.

now and both are involved in the life of our congregation, Prague Christian Fellowship.

5) The translation was later published by the Comenius Theological Faculty. After I was bom again, I had little time to complete it. It was my friend Jan Sokol, who became a Vice President of the Federal Parliament in 1990, who urged me to complete it and who actually finished the parts I left undone. 6

Will we Survive?

When I read those sermons after I was bom again, I found there was much there. God heard my sincere prayers, and He in His infinite mercy gave me as much as I could take and bear in my condition. I preached to myself. In late 1978, I once prayed in the regular church service for the spiritual charismata which are enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12.1 had no experience with them whatever. At the Comenius Theological Faculty, we learned that there are people who are called "evangelicals". Well, I was not interested at that time. We were even told about the "pentecostals", but I was interested even less. My impression was that these people are some fringe fanatics from wild parts of the third world6. At the beginning of my ministry I had decided to preach what was in the Bible. At the time, it was not from deep conviction. It was from deep emptiness. But I was sincere - to the extent I was able to be sincere then. And on that particular Sunday I prayed for what was in the Bible. Since I had no experience with "spiritual gifts"7,1 had no specific expectations. And nothing happened in immediate connection with the prayer. However, within few days I had a strange visit. Two boys, members of the neighbouring congregation of the same denomination visited me and told me about a conversion experience and baptism in the Holy Spirit. They also told me about two elderly ladies, who were members of yet another congregation of the same denomination, and encouraged me to visit them. It took me several weeks to act on their urging. But one winter day (I believe it was December 1978, but I am not quite sure) the two boys mentioned, I and two other young people, rang the bell at these two older ladies.

6) At this point, I should probably describe a special encounter with (a sort of) American Evangelicals. It happened at Princeton. We were invited to meet several professors and staff of the University. About thirty people were present. After we were introduced, one man stood up and announced lhat I am no real Christian, but a puppet of the Communists who poses for a Christian. Then he got in rage and even threw his Bible violently on Mr. Tomin. Mr. Tomin calmly answered by taking out his Greek New Testament, which he usually carried with him. The scene was really ugly and at that time I did not understand it at all. That zealous "evangelical" man was correct in saying that I am not a real Christian. At that time, I wasn't. I wasn't bom again. But he was totally wrong of accusing me of being a Communist puppet None of us were. Even Mr. Tomin, who at that time professed to ba a Marxist, was definitely not a puppet. He proved it in later years by his suffering, which some of the Christians avoided. If was the "Christian" Mr. Mitejovsky, who became a puppet. The scene was weiy eloquent It spoke about the sad state of some sections of American evangelicalism and about total lack of understanding of the spiritual situation behind the iron curtain.

7) To be theologically correct, I believe we should use the expression "spiritual manifestations" instead of "spiritual gifts" when referring to 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. 7

Will we Survive?

Shortly after the introductions one of the ladies asked me: "Brother vicar, are you a child of God?" I felt some anger arousing in me. "Well, you can't talk with me like that. I have studied theology!" "Hm, and are you a child of God?" She was gentle, but insistent. "Well, you cannot simplify it like that!" "Are you married?" "Yes, I am." I answered without hesitation, but I was on alert, because at that time my second marriage was already seriously troubled. "And how do you know that you are married?" "Well, we had a wedding, and we live together in the same household". Inside, my anger was on the increase. "Well, you can have the same assurance about being or not being a child of God!" I do not remember the rest of the conversation in detail. But I remember very well that I was definitely not cooperative. The two ladies soon turned to talk to others, but I interrupted them often with my ironical remarks. What surprised me (and I realized most ofthat only later) was that the two ladies remained patient and forthcoming in spite of my animosity which I did not try to conceal. In the following days and weeks, I often returned in my thoughts back to this conversation. What was so different about these ladies? I was raised in the same denomina­ tion, but I did not remember ever meeting such people there before. They said they believed in God. So did I. They said that we are sinful. Well, I knew that very well, both about myself and others. They said that the wages of sin is death. Yes, I have seen that in the army - on all levels, spiritual, psychological and physical. They said that Jesus came to die for our sins. Well, that sounded pretty medieval, but I thought I could accept it. And they said that we have to receive Jesus as our personal Saviour and Lord. I was not sure about this point. Did I ever do that? I really was not sure. But I was sure they had something I did not have. I reasoned, if I had never received Jesus as my personal Saviour, it was probably high time to do it. And, if I ever did it and forgot about it, I presumed I could ask Him again and He wouldn't be offended. And I would have the same assurance as they had. That was, roughly, my line of reasoning. All this lasted several weeks. And, I do not remember, to what extent, or when and how it became as conscious as I have described it above. But, I remember that one day (though I do not remember the exact date) I knelt down in our kitchen and asked Jesus to enter my life and change it. It was not a dramatic experience - outwardly. It was not an emotional experience. There were no witnesses - it was just between Jesus and me. And I did not experience any strong emotion in the following minutes or hours. Nevertheless, within three weeks I was very much sure that he did come into my life. 8

Will we Survive?

Half a year later I met the "Navigators". I will describe this meeting soon, but at this point I want to mention that they brought us small booklets for bible studies - the first one entitled "Lessons on Assurance": The first lesson dealt with the assurance of salvation. At the end of this lesson there is a question: "What changes have you experienced (after receiving salvation in Christ)?" And there are several options: new consciousness of sin, joy of forgiveness, new love for God, new desire to read the Bible... I got this booklet only half a year after I received salvation, but I could sincerely say from what I remembered, I experienced all of them! Maybe in different intensity, but all of them! That confirmed to me that the experience of salvation was real, that it had to be something objective, because people I did not know at all had had the same experience. What else changed after I was saved? Well, my sermons and my talking with people became much more simple. Now, I had a message. It all seemed so complicated before I was saved; now it seemed simple. It was simple. That does not mean that we - as children of God - could not experience complicated situations, and I have had a fair share of them. But the basic Christian message is simple. It does not require a high I.Q. It does not require years of studies. I had years of studies, but I did not have Jesus through them. Soon, a nucleus of born-again people was formed in our congregation. God sent us different people in his grace and providence. (One of them was a sister who was of Czech origin, but who spent ten years in Britain. After her marriage to an English actor ended in divorce, she was saved while attending a charismatic Anglican congregation where she was taught James Kennedy's "Evangelism Explosion" method of conducting evangelistic visits. She was a tremendous boost in our beginning.) Soon we had a few converts. They started coming to our regular (and traditional) Sunday morning services, but I had an uneasy and unexplained feeling that something was missing. I was soon to discover what it was. 1. Meeting the Navigators

I do not actually remember how it started. As I wrote earlier, in Communist times, I, as a pastor (and a "state employee") was supposed to report any meeting with any foreigner coming from the West. I knew very well that as a pastor I was closely watched by the StB (abbreviation for State Security - the Czech version of Soviet KGB, the secret police). This surveillance had several forms. First, my phone was bugged. Second, my office was bugged. Third, there

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were some people in the vicinity, who reported on me. Sometimes they did it deliberately, sometimes unknowingly8. There were meetings I felt I had to report If a foreigner visited me in my office, I was sure that the secret police would know it anyway. Not reporting it would be a sign that you have something to conceal. After such a meeting, as I came out of my office with the visitor, I told him it was not wise to visit me in my office, I told him also that I have to report the meeting, and proposed a meeting at a different location where we could really "talk business". There were some Christians in the West who knew the game. The Navigators, who visited us, were of this sort. So in summer 1980 we had a clandestine seminar with two brothers from United States who taught us the basics of evangelism, and the basics of small groups. The seminar lasted a whole week, it was attended by 10 people from our church, most of them new Christians. We were enthusiastic. This was exactly the stuff we needed! It was excellent teaching by excellent brothers. I do not remember their names. Under Communism, we had a simple rule: "What you do not need to know, you must not know." They knew the rule. They gave us names, but those names were usually pseudonyms. It was not a matter of mistrust. It was a matter of protection. What you did not know, you could not reveal under pressure. Only later did I discover that the Navigators (at least those ones who visited us) were more an exception than the rule among those who worked, or tried to work, behind the Iron Curtain. They did their best to avoid everything which might endanger us - or them9. I give them credit for training young people with no prior experience of

8) You might find it strange that someone would report on me (or anybody) without knowing it. But if you would have experienced the Communist rule, you would not find it that strange. In the late seventies and eighties, the Czechoslovak secret police already had decades of experience and it became very sophisticated. E.g., you got an invitation to the Transportation Department of the (normal uniformed) police. There you were questioned about some accident you were supposed to have witnessed. You were interrogated (very politely, without any threats), and you were asked many "side-questions" the relevance of which you did not understand. But some names were mentioned - and the police discovered who you knew and who you did not know. They discovered where you were on a particular day and with whom, etc. ”) The threat these brothers from abroad faced was expulsion from the country and denial of the entrance visa in the case that they would like to come back to our country. As far as I know, only David Hathaway from Great Britain was tried, sentenced and jailed. The threat to Czechoslovak pastors was immediate loss of the "state permit" to be a pastor. People ofother occupations could lose their job (if it was a white-collar job). If you already were a stoker or a janitor or did a similar "menial" work, you were relatively safe. But all involved would face hours or even days of very unpleasant interrogation by the secret police. Maybe the 10

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Communism whatever to behave in the most reasonable way under the given circum­ stances. After this initial clandestine seminar we agreed that a Bible study group would be formed and that this group would be monitored by the Navigators who would come at regular intervals. I translated the booklets, and my attitude at first was that I was doing this to help the others. But as I translated the materials, I discovered that I myself was helped. Since then, I have become acquainted with many other teaching materials for new believers. I still regard the "Lessons on Assurance" and "Lessons on Christian Living" as probably the best I have ever worked with. As I remember, the original group consisted of 13 people. In the first year after my conversion, we had some new converts, but in addition to that our newly formed youth group was visited by many other young people, mostly from our own denomina­ tion. Most of them were seeking real spiritual life, something which our liberal denomination offered only as the exception. We could describe most of them as "seekers". To many of them, we explained the way of salvation, sometimes using "The Bridge Illustration". Many of them invited Jesus Christ into their lives. Some of them stayed permanently, and our youth group started to grow. The contacts with the Navigators lasted for at least a year and a half. (I am not sure of this; for security reasons we kept no diaries. At a certain point in time, when there was a threat of home-searches, I even removed the originals of the Navigators' booklets from my home. And I never got them back, which I regret until this day.) But very soon the contacts were limited to just me and one or two of the Navigator people, because as soon as our youth group started to grow, the surveillance by the StB increased. It would be too dangerous to meet with the whole group. But for me, these contacts meant very much. Though I had finished the Comenius Theological Faculty with excellent marks, I learned virtually nothing which would help me to run a home group Bible study, or even to lead people to Jesus Christ. I knew something about hermeneutics and a lot about demythologization ofthe New Testament, but I had no idea how to run a growing church. The Navigators originally did not intend to teach me that. But most of them had been members of a Bible-believing congregation, and, in addition to that, they were sincere, godly people. They helped me tremendously by listening to me, and praying for me and with me. And, there was another important area where they helped me a lot.

2. Divorce. The church started to experience a renewal, but my personal situation became more and more difficult. At first, my second wife visited our congregation with me. But

worst thing was the uncertainty. We knew we probably would not be jailed, but we also knew that we could be jailed. And, it did not depend on what we actually did, but on the political situation at the moment. 11

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our marriage was in worse shape month to month. Sunday mornings were probably the most difficult times of the week. After I received Jesus Christ, I started to see how much I hurt her in previous years. It was a slow process. I cannot say that I repented of all immediately - not at all! But slowly the Holy Spirit convinced me of sin, of wrong attitudes, and started to teach me to react in a different way. During a period of months (possibly up to two years), my attitudes and behavior had undergone temendous change. Nevertheless, it seemed to me that the more I tried and the better I was, the worse the situation got. One of the first effects of my conversion was that I spoke openly about our marital problems with the core group of the church. They tried their best to help us. We met on Sunday evening for prayer, and we were very, very open. I took for granted that such an openess was not only normal, but that it is vital for Christians. Only later I discovered that is was something very exceptional. But at that time, I suffered. My brothers and sisters pointed to my faults, urged me to change in this and that, and sometimes I wept. Some of them had more grace, some of them had less grace. They all tried to help me. Sometimes they hurt me instead of helping. But through this very, very painful process, we learnt what fellowship actually means. It was no empty term for us. It was someting very, very real. It was something very costly. It cost me many tears. God really dealt with me. In 1980, my wife sued for divorce. I decided to resign. At that point, the people who attended the Sunday evening prayer group, and who - it seemed to me - sometimes battered me heavily - unanimously rallied behind me and asked me not to resign. I spoke with the Navigators about this problem, too. The leader of the Navigators for Eastern Europe, Paul Wykov, arranged a week stay for his and my family in Hungary in summer 1981. He himself had four children; we had two. But he brought a baby-sitter so that he and his wife could spend several hours a day with me and my wife. He nearly apologized for not being a marriage-counselling specialist. But he did his best and I could not imagine anyone doing anything better. The result was that my wife decided to try again. The attempt lasted for about three months. In spring 1982 my wife asked for divorce again. I prayed fervently. I tried harder. But she had made a decision. God (at least I still believe it was Him) miraculously cancelled some of the court proceedings. Once the judge fell ill. At another time a member of the jury announced that he knew us (actually he was a member of our congregation for some time) and was therefore not able to decide in our case). But in spite of all factors which prolonged the process, in spring 1983 I was divorced. My wife stated at court that she wanted to remarry, that she had a "serious acquaintance" (though she actually never remarried). Since she sometimes left me at home overnight with our two children, even when they were sick, I had good reason to believe her. I cannot say that I did not make any mistakes after my conversion. But I am sure the conversion made a difference. I knew that I hurt my wife in my old life. But I also know that I tried my best to save the marriage. 12

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I did not receive any pastoral help whatsoever from my former denomination. Most of my former colleagues were not interested in my situation, some of them followed the whole thing from a safe distance, and the two who were of an evangelical orientation and with whom I used to pray regularly, did not want to be involved even when I asked them. At the same time, the people in our congregation tried to help me as much as they could. So the early phase of the development of our church was outwardly marred by a catastrophy: divorce of the pastor, but inwardly we learned one of the most precious lessons of the Christian walk: we learned to walk in light. We learned to walk in openness. We learned to live in fellowship - and fellowship was not just another Christian word. Sometimes in the fall of 1981 we had to sever the contacts with the Navigators. For security reasons, I used to meet with the Navigators in the countryside. Once we drove back to Prague after a time of praying and sharing in the woods. The brother who drove the car committed a minor traffic violation and was stopped by the police. They wanted to see his passport - and my identity card. I said I was just hitchhiking. It worked but we had no time to arrange another appointment. By that time we knew that our contacts were very dangerous anyway. After 1981, my doctrinal position on marriage was very strict. Once more, I seriously thought ofresignation. I had already found a new "stoking" job. I believed I was disqualified frm ministry by 1 Timothy 3:1. Actually, even Paul Wykov was of the same opinion. But at the meeting of the board of elders, they unanimously opposed my resignation. I wavered. In the end my reasoning was as follows: I did not call myself into this position, I was - outwardly - called by the board of elders, so, I should submit to them. I stayed. I know that some people would think that it would still be proper to resign. This is not a book about file theology of marriage, neither about a theology of ministry. Later, my opinions, and my understanding of the Bible, underwent some development. I will mention some ofthat on the following pages. But if you are dissatisfied with me, you can quit reading. Otherwise, you have to take me as I am. I have said that my position was very strict. I was convinced that I could not remarry. I pledged to pray until my former wife would be converted. I also would not perform a marriage for a divorced person. I continued to hold this position until 1985.1 must say that sometimes I had bad nights. Sometimes I dreamed about a sister in the congregation, and in the morning I felt shame and confessed the sin - the sin of unfaithfulness to my former wife. It was unfaithfulness only in thoughts, but I regarded it as sin anyway. Profound change came in 1985. At that time, we organised a clandestine seminar with Dr Wolfhard Margies, pastor of a big charismatic church in what at that time was West Berlin. I already knew his excellent book "Healed by His Word" where there is a chapter on marriage problems. I liked his writings very much and tried to follow the advice contained in it. I arranged it so that I could spend two hours with this 13

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pastor alone. And I told him my story as openly as I could, because I had hoped that he might point out to me what mistakes I was still making which were causing my wife not to want to return to me. After relating my story, Wolfhard shocked me: "Dan, maybe I will surprise you. But, seen biblically, there is no reason why you could not remarry. The Bible is full of promises, which are unconditional. 'Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame’10. 'Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’11 These promises - and many others - are unequivocal. But in your situation the Bible is very reserved.... how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?'"2 He really did surprise me. And, at first, he did not convince me. But he sent me a book titled "Divorce and Remarriage" by an American author Guy Duty. This book's argumentation was convincing on the matter.13 After I got this book, I spent several hours reading it and finished well after midnight. It convinced me fully. In the early hours of the morning, I lifted up the phone receiver and called one of my friends, a born-again pastor of the Hussite Church, who was in the same situation as me and who had considered re-marriage. I apologized to him for condemning him and for trying to talk him out of that marriage. The book came at the right moment. But with regard to myself, I was still decided not to consider remarriage. I thought it would be better for my ministry, which was by that time in full swing and flourishing. But very soon after I changed my doctrinal position on this matter, people approached me asking me to marry them, and I knew they were divorced. Now I had good biblical teaching on divorce and remarriage. If they would have called on me just two months earlier, I would have refused them. And I would have sinned against them.

3. Baptism in the Spirit. Our denomination was not anti-charismatic. The doctrine of regeneration was not taught, and people were not led to a decision for Jesus. I find it hard even now to describe what we were expected to believe. The Bible was not considered to be an infallible Word of God,but only a human testimony about a Word of God (what that was

10)Rom 10:7 ’*) James 4:7.

12)1 Cor. 7:16. 13) Later I discovered another book with the same title by a more reknowned author, Jay Adams. The argumentation and the conclusions are basically the same. 14

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supposed to be always eluded my understanding). That denomination, not being evangelical, could not be anti-charismatic. The tension was not even understood. There were other denominations which at that time were staunchly opposed to the doctrine of the Baptism in the Spirit. But, at that time we had little contact with them. I was always very rationalistic and unemotional. One of the brothers who brought me to the ladies who explained the way of salvation to me was baptised in the Spirit and valued highly both prophecy and speaking in tongues. At the same time, he was rather emotional. Since I was very intellectual and rational, I did not particularly like his ways, though I was firmly convinced about the purity of his motives and intentions. He tried to promote baptism in the Spirit in the nascent youth group, and I always felt a certain uneasiness about it. God dealt with me in His very gentle way. In a short span of time, three different people visited our congregation and all three of them testified about the baptism in the Spirit. They did not know each other. One of them was a black student from Ghana with a German name (Gottfried), who studied chemistry in Prague. By the time we met him, he was fluent in Czech and he meant a lot to us in the early months of our own spiritual development. But if I would have met only him, I could have regarded baptism in the Spirit as an African peculiarity, even a sort of a folklore. But roughly at the same time (I do not remember which of the three encounters came first) we met another man. He was a Czech who emigrated to Austria a few years before. At a certain point in time the Czechoslovak government made it possible for the émigrés to "legalize" their emigration. The government was short of western hard currencies, so those people were a potential source of income. For a fee they could "legalize" the fact that they left the country without permission of the Communist government. This not only provided the government a rich source of income from the fee, but they also brought additional hard currency while visiting their relatives in Czechoslovakia. The man I am writing about was a brother-inlaw of one rather lukewarm and traditional member of our congregation. He was baptised in the Spirit in a charismatic Lutheran congregation in Austria (later I learned that there are very, very few Lutheran charismatics in Austria). His testimony about the baptism in the Spirit was very similar to Gottfried's. God sealed this testimony through an encounter with a third man. That man later became quite reknowned in our country. He, too, was formerly a Czech citizen. His name is Pavel Neústupný and for many years he was one of the pastors of the largest charismatic congregation in Berlin led by Dr Wolfhard Margies14. Pavel, too, legalized his emmigration and came back to Prague to lead his family to Jesus. Since this German congregation was only slightly older than ours, we could - from a distance - follow its

l4) The original name of the church was Philadelphia-Gemeinde; later this name was changed to "Gemeinde auf dem Weg", which means "Church on the Way". 15

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growth and development15. Since my acquaintance with Pavel still lasts, I presume to say that his testimony was the most one. The concurrence ofthese three testimonies by three different men, who did not know each other, was most important to me. Not one of them seemed to be a highly emotional person. All three of them were well-educated. That is not as important to me now as it used to be, because I have learned that intellect in itself is no proof of a good standing with God, but at that time it was certainly an advantage for those who would try to convince me of anything. Then "D Day" came for me. I was alone in our flat in Praha - Holešovice, because my former wife had taken our two children for a few weeks of vacation in the countryside. In the morning I painted our bathroom, and was prepared to put the finishing layer on it in the evening when got back home. As 6 p.m. I had an appointment with Pavel - the brother who was baptised in the Spirit and who testified about it in the church. We agreed that we would visit some "paper members" of the church together. I came to our church office shortly after 4. p. m. I had a new Japanese typewriter. And, I loved typing. At that time, I was translating "Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis. I was looking forward to a nice hour-and-a-half of translating and typing on that lovely Japanese typewriter. But soon after I sat down to type, the door burst open and Pavel appeared, an hour and a half earlier than scheduled. I was (well, I still am) a very punctual man, and this irregularity rather upset me. In addition to that, he explained: "Dan, I prayed for you today and I receive an assurance that today you will be baptised in the Spirit!" At his word, my heart sunk. Inside, I was rather angry, but he was so well-meaning and pure that I felt it would be a gross sin to offend him. We started to pray. I prayed mainly that the Lord would bless our encounters with the people we were about to visit, and he prayed that God would baptise me in His Spirit. Some time later, we left the office and rung the doorbells of several "paper members" of the church. We had some interesting encounters that day. At roughly 9. p. m. we parted at a tram stop - me going in one direction and him in the other. His last words were said with a certain dissapointment: "Dan, please, pray once more about the baptism in the Spirit -1 had such an assurance today!" I came back home and painted the bathroom once again. It took much longer than I had expected. Then I cleaned the bathroom, took a good bath, and went to bed. I prayed shortly before going to sleep and to that short prayer for protection for me and my

15) For history's sake I want to mention that this church helped us a lot in many different ways. Though I now do not share all aspects of their theology, I owe them a lot. I already mentioned pastoral help of Dr Wolfhard Margies. Without him I would not be what I am now, though I undestand that he was just an instrument of God. But we received also substantial material help. For example, our first computer was a gift from that church. They offered us their hospitability at the pastoral conferences in Berlin and helped us in many other ways. 16

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family I added: "Lord, you know how Pavel presses me about the baptism in the Spirit. I don't understand it, but I do not want to oppose anything what comes from you and what you want to give me." I went to sleep without any specific expectations. I did not even think that God might do something specific very soon, or even that very night. I simply and sincerely committed to God my feelings about the whole matter. In spite of being physically tired I could not fall asleep. To my own astonish­ ment, after about twenty minutes I crept out of my bed, knelt again at it as I was used to when praying before going to bed... and I started to speak in tongues. I was alone in the flat. It was probably shortly before or after midnight. But I am sure I blushed. Such a thing simply did not happen to vicars in the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren! After several minutes I stopped and tried to sleep again. But I could not help trying to evaluate what happened. After yet another few minutes I rose up again, knelt again at my bed and started to pray in tongues again. This time I conceded that it is quite pleasant. Soon I fell asleep. I was unusually happy. When I woke up in the morning, I knew something changed, though I did not know exactly what it implied. Somehow, I did not want Pavel to know. Now I know that it was not very nice of me. But I phoned another brother, who himself (unlike his wife) was very reserved about all the charismatic phenomena. I told him that I was probably baptized in the Spirit, and that I spoke in tongues. He was quite amused. He - in turn phoned his wife, who was at work, and she phoned Pavel. At 10. a.m. the phone rang and when I lifted up the receiver, Pavel shouted "Hallelujah!" 4. Growth In previous chapters, I tried to describe some of the most important factors in the setting of our congregation. Since the aim of this book is not to write a complete history, I have to press on. What was written was necessary for the understanding of our future development, and for the understanding of our encounter with Christians from the West. Since 1979, our congregation grew steadily until 1995. That was the first year of stagnation. The Sunday service attendance did not rise sharply in the early years (19791982). It rose a little, but not very much. What changed was the composition of those who attended. While at the beginning of that period old people prevailed, at the end of this period the younger ones were in majority. I have to stress that no revolution took place. I do not remember any really serious negative reaction on the part of the "old ones" against the "young ones". Looking back in retrospect, and knowing the history of several other congregations, I believe we had special grace. The older people were happy to see 17

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the young ones coming. In some respects they went out of their way to accomodate them. But within a period of one year about one third of those who made up the regular attendance died. New converts replaced them. As I look back, it seems to me that God kept the older believers alive until the new ones arrived. That that year we were relatively unconspicuous; the numbers alone did not tell much. But God had prepared the stage for our future growth. In 1984 the secret police made the last serious attempt to stop our activities. I was summoned to be interrogated several times, and I will not conceal that I was scared all the time. It was not a pleasant experience. But in one particular week of 1984 things seemed to be really ugly. In the early hours of Monday, Dec 2, the secret police agents visited several members of our congregation and took them for interrogation. Others told me they were summoned by letters to report for interrogation later that week. On Wednesday, two secret police visited our small office and took my secretary away. You cannot imagine how terrible it was: they took her and left me! And there was nothing I could do. Except pray. My secretary was tough. While they tried to interrogate her, she tried to give her testimony. At one point, one of the interrogators put his fingers into his ears and shouted: "You won't make me a Christian!" Fortunately, they released her the same day. They summonned me - by registered letter - to be questioned Friday afternoon. I remember it was St. Nicolas Day - the 6th of December. The weather was beautiful. I had to report at the secret police headquarters at the dreaded Bartolomějská street at 2 p.m. I was pretty sure that they would keep me there. I decided to walk there from our flat at Dukelských hrdinů 24. It was about forty minutes walk. The walk took me through the beautiful Letná park, which is on a hill over Prague, then, down to the Vltava river, and after crossing the river through the beautiful Old Town of Prague. I was bom a neurasthenic. That meant that in my childhood, I had psychiatric problems with fears and phobias. These slowly dissapeared in adolescence, but reappeared after August 21,1969. It was the first anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and there were numerous clashes in downtown Prague. I was arrested early in the morning, together with several of my colleagues from the Comenius Theological Faculty. We were attempting to cross Venceslas Square on our way to lay flowers to the grave of Jan Palach, a student who in January 1969 burnt himself to death in protest of the Russian invasion. After being arrested we spent several very, very unpleasant hours at a police station in Krakovská street in the center of Prague. We were beaten, though not as severely as some others who actively fought the police. But standing motionless and in complete silence with our heads to the wall for several hours, listening to the crying of beaten people and shouting of the police was an experience which brought all the phobias to the surface again. Yet on the 6 of December, 1984,1 was marching down the Letná hill, and I felt like singing. I was pretty sure I would be arrested within an hour, but I felt free. At that time, I did not know the now popular term "inner healing". But the phobias were gone. 18

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Jesus healed me. It would be a lie to say that I was not afraid. In a way I was afraid, yet I was full of anticipation. I do not think it is possible to explain or even describe those feelings, but I believe that all those who have passed through such an experience will understand. To my surprise, the interrogation was relatively brief - much shorter than other ones which I had had experienced. I was made to sign a statement that I will keep the Czechoslovak laws. I was given no explanation of the ways which I was supposed to have violated them. And I was told that I would be reprimanded by the Regional Secretary for Church Affairs for my activities. As I left Bartolomejská street about two or three hours later, I even had a feeling of disappointment. That short encounter was the end. In the end, not only was no one arrested, but the secret police did not trouble us again. This does not mean that we were not followed. I remember a Sunday in 1988, when a young boy received Christ at our Sunday afternoon service. He happened to be the son of a high-ranking secret police officer. He returned home at about midnight. His father told him very precisely what happened in the church on that particular Sunday, and what the sermon was about. This experience was one of many. We knew that they followed us, and we were pretty sure that they have a secret agent at the level of a home-cell leader in our congregation. We did not know who it was - and we did not try to find out. We were sure we were obeying God and doing the right thing. If they wanted to arrest us - let it happen. But we wouldn't be intimidated and forced into suspecting each other or even into hating the secret police agents. At this point it will be important to mention that my mother was an employee of the Associated Press. For many years she was their foreign correspondent. It gave our family a sort of special status. In a way, she was a liability to me, and I was a liability to her. On the other hand, she was also a sort of protection: the secret police probably understood that the media in the West would know within hours if I was arrested. I believe that God's hand was in this. In spite of all the harrassment in the early eighties, the church grew, and the growth accelerated in mid-eighties. Not all of the born-again people remained in our congregation. Many came for the experience from other congregations in Prague and outside of Prague. And, we sent out some people to become pastors in other parts of the country.

III. ENCOUNTERS

All what I have written until now was a sort of introduction. I think that this lengthy introduction is necessary to understand our reactions to the Western missionaries. When an evangelist from Canada, Peter Younggren, held his campaign in Prague in summer 1991, he wrote into his newsletter: "God had opened us a mighty door 19

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in Eastern Europe, and we will not fail to march in." In the newsletter there was nothing about God's orders for this particular troop to march - but of course I did not know how much Peter Younggren chose to share. But, it should be pointed out that it is also written that if the Lord opens the door, no one can shut it (cf. Rev 3:8), not even the Communists. So it happened that most of the quality people who helped us, who ministered to us, were ministering in Czechoslovakia already before the fall of Communism16.1 have already mentioned the Navigators. I mentioned Pavel Neustupny. Another man should be mentioned: his name is John Howarton. He is from Texas. John Howarton used to come with regularity. He was very sophisticated in regards to security. There was no correspondence, no phone calls. His next arrival was usually arranged at his last visit - or through messengers. He held clandestine seminars in flats. I attended only some of them, but elders in the church were encouraged to go. My absence was a matter of security: My presence would make things much worse in case of a surprise police action. Only I (and not the elders) held a state permit, which could be revoked. Losing the state permit would mean that our congregation would lose its official status and we could no longer meet openly. Nevertheless, I risked attending at least some of the seminars. In 1988 I took a double risk. I had a visitor from England, pastor John Hall from United Reformed Church, visiting on his sabbatical. His thesis was "The Charismatic Movement in Eastern Europe". John Hall was in Prague at the time of one of John Howarton's visits. I tooked him to a packed flat where John Howarton taught. John Hall listened for an hour, than he leaned to me and said: "Dan, that's really excellent stuff you have here!" He was right. I should mention that at that particular time I preached for several weeks on Psalm 149 (which is a good psalm if you want to study spiritual warfare). John Howarton did not know that. When he started his teaching, he said: "I want to teach on spiritual warfare. Originally I wanted to speak on Psalm 149, but God hindered me. I will speak on Deuteronomy 20 instead." John did not know that I was preaching on Psalm 149. What he taught on spiritual warfare from Dt 20, was not only folly compatible with my teaching, but it filled the gaps which I had left. I was sure the Holy Spirit knew. And I had a very, very good reason to believe that John Howarton was led by the Holy Spirit. These are just a few examples of positive and helpfol contacts with Westerners.

1 .Flooded by missionaries

Already in the first half of 1990, we were flooded by missionaries. This influx lasted for nearly two years. I believe that in 1990 and 1991 I had one visit a day on average. Of course, there were days when no one came, but there were also days when

16) Please not carefolly that I wrote most, not all ofthem. 20

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I had three or four visitors. Since I will write many critical remarks, I want to make it plain that occasionally there were some real jewels among them. Sometimes we were visited by people with excellent teaching, with humble attitudes, and with viable proposals. We still cooperate with some of them. On the other hand, we had some very, very bad experiences. Why do I write about it? There are still people who want to work in our country. And, help is welcome. I hope this book will help these people to understand the situation - and our reactions. I also believe that it is good if we have an opportunity to hear or read about how others perceive us. And I believe that our experience with Western missionaries in a way reflects the state of the church in the West17. After these explanations and caveats, I will now go to the matter matter at hand. Parts of what I am going to write will be unpleasant. But though the truth about God is predominantly pleasant, because He is Holy, Just, Pure and Loving, the truth about us is not always pleasant. But, the truth liberates.

2. Tremendous waste of money From my perspective much of God's financial blessing was mismanaged by the people who visited us. I will try to be conservative in my estimates. As I wrote, in 1990 and 1991 we had one visit a day on average. Usually, people came of teams of two or more. For the purpose of calculation we will use an avera of two visitors per day. (Sometimes there were more people - up to five). Let me estimate conservtively that we were visited by 750 people in one year. Some ofthem came from Europe, some of them from Australia, most of them from North America. Let us estimate that they stayed for only two days in the country. Czechoslovak prices were (and now, Czech prices still are) moderate by Western standards. So let us estimate that the two days here cost 100 USD per person. And let us suppose that each visitor spent 500 USD for airfare and ground transportation. One visit by one person would cost 700 USD. So the total price tag of these "fact-finding missions" and other trips (real ministry trips not included!) would be 525 000 USD in one year. My salary at that time was about 130 USD per month, that is about 1560 USD a year. You can easily calculate that the money spent on visits to Czechoslovakia in one year would cover salaries for 336 pastors in that year. I do not think that all the evangelical churches combined have that many pastors even now. And please note that I calculated only those who visited me and/or our congregation. And, of course, there are others, though I admit we had many more visitors than most, because our congregation was relatively large and located in the capital.

17) By "West" I do not necessarily mean geographical West. I mean Western culture. So e.g. Australia and Sweden is included, though if does not belong to the "West" geographically from the point of Czech Republic. 21

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I suppose that those 525 000 USD (in reality, it was probably much more) was either directly paid by churches, or, more probably, collected from individual sponsors. Of course, there were some who invested their own money. In any case, it was God's money. Was this wise stewardship of God's money? Why so much waste? There are probably many different reasons. But one of them is obvious. There was a complete lack of coordination. Those who sincerely believed that "God now opened the door" most probably did not even try to contact the people who already were working here in the Communist years. Nearly everyone wanted to do his own thing, on pretext of fulfilling the Great Commandment. If we have the best doctrine, if we have the most powerfill annointing, why bother about coordination with others! Let's go! I do not believe we were flooded by God's army. In the experience with John Howarton I described, I learned that God is Commander of His Army, and is a good coordinator. The waste of means, the waste of time and energy (not only theirs, but also ours) was horrendous. In many cases, no ministry for the Lord was accomplished. It was a costly way how to get a feeling that one does something for the Lord. It was not God's army, but a bunch of free-lancers, most of whom professed to believe in spiritual warfare. But from the point of view of warfare, the whole thing did not make sense. At least some of these people, and, I am afraid, the majority of them, were misled.

3. Bad conscience Many visitors (not all of them) were of course aware of the difference in the standard of living. They were, or became conscious of the fact that they live in far better conditions than vast majority of people here, and especially better than the Christians, who usually did not belong to the local upper class. And they looked for a way how to address this. There is a Czech proverb "poverty does not lose honor". And before I continue to write further, I want to make it clear that according to my understanding affluence in itself does not lose honor either. My comments are motivated neither by greed nor by envy. I do not believe that rich Christians should feel bad just because they are rich. (Of course, the situation is completely different if the wealth was acquired by illegal or dishonest means, but I hope this would not apply to Christians.) Many "richer" Christians who came to Czechoslovakia were motivated by genuine love. Thank God for all the help they have brought! Zet, I am afraid that some were motivated by bad conscience about being more affluent. Some sincerely tried to do something about the financial disparity. The obvious thing to do was to bring some gifts to the pastor. But the obvious is not always the best. The reasoning, in many cases perhaps subconscious, might have been as follows: "My standard of living is shamefiilly high in comparison with these people. I

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should share the gifts God gave me. I cannot help all; let me at least help the pastor. He is entitled to some help. And he will share with the others." It sounds logical, doesn't it? And in many cases this obvious solution probably was the right one. But the visitors were not always conscious of the possible traps. My experience with needy people is as follows: There is a certain group of people who feeds on the naiveté of Christians. Several times a year someone rings my bell with a story that he was robbed and he needs money to get to his home town. Will I "lend" him some money and he will send it back immediately. Usually this story is accompanied by hints to how many other leading Christians he is friendly with (of course, he tried the same trick with them.) I confess that I am very cynical with these people. That does not mean that I do not give them any money. Actually, I usually do. But I tell them outrightly that I do not believe them, but it is advantageous for me to give them the money, because that gives me assurance that I will not see them in next two years. Of course, if they want to return the money, they can. (No one ever did.) The "trouble" is that the really needy people never ask for help. Maybe your experience is different, but this is the conclusion I have made. I believe that the church should actively seek those who need help instead of being pressured into help by unworthy people. Not long ago, we sent out our first missionaries. In spite of not having a building of our own. And we do help other churches - although on a much more limited scale than many Christians from the West. We try to help according to our means. But we do not help those who ask for help. We help those we watch for some time. We try to help those who look to God for provision, not to their wealthy Western brothers and sisters. Some Christians from poorer countries are masters in asking and not asking for help at the same time. I know a Czech pastor who can very passionately explain to visitors how much more he could do "for the Lord" if he would have a better car, a stronger computer, a higher salary... A direct request is never made. Unsollicited hints are plentiful. There is a European country where there is only one pastor who is paid by local money as far as I know18. Most of the pastors have sponsors in the West and their income is four to five times higher than the average salary in the country. To keep their sponsors, they have to spend few weeks, in some cases even up to two months, travelling in the West and speaking about "the mighty things the Lord is doing in their church". You can imagine the pressure to make things look better than they really are. And who would muster the courage to tell the sponsors the harsh truth in case things don't go well at all?

18) I will not say there are not others paid by the local money, but we could not find about them and we tried to be as diligent in our fact-finding as possible. 23

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But who would refuse to help when he is able to help? How many times must the story of Naaman and Gehazi be repeated (2 Kings 5)? In that case, the story of Gehazi seemed quite trustworthy. It does not surprise me that many churches in our part of the world are contaminated by spiritual leprosy.

4. Vanity

It was obvious from talks with some of the people that they would like to be important. I remember a conversation with one of these visitors: "How big is your church?" "Well, about five hundred adults." "And how big is the largest church in Prague?" "I presume we are the largest." "So would you be considered one of the leaders in your nation?" "I suppose I would." "Oh, we speak to an important leader!" said the female visitor, turning to her companion. From the tone of the voice and from the whole conversation it was obvious that "talking to a leader" is the important thing. Dear sister, what did Jesus want? Could you imagine that His will might have been not to rob "the leader" of his precious time, but to be helping maybe the last person in the congregation, or, more possibly, talking to some unbeliever? I personally do not give a damn about "being a leader". I know perfectly well that from God's point of view I am not necessarily that important at all. Perhaps some unknown intercessor is. God lookes to the heart, not to what the world honours. And not only the world. Some Christians, too. It was very common that some people coming from the West wanted to perform some drama, or hold a meeting. They turned to us to arrange it. We were supposed to organize all the permits, to rent a hall, to arrange and distribute the leaflets - they generously paid for it, performed their act - and went back home. Then we received their newsletter about how they "did a mission campaign" in Eastern Europe. They did not bother to consider if their activity is really worthwhile, what its real impact was if it was really the thing we need, and if we would not have been able to do the same thing better if we had the money. Why didn't they bother? Because, after all, it was their well-meant activity for God, not something God really revealed. Not doing God's will can be very tiresome - in this case, it was very tiresome for us. Well, we learnt our lesson. Now we are very, very careful in what we do and with whom. We do not believe that God only wants us to help someone have his photograph in his newsletter, embracing us and saying how they "helped" or "instructed" us.

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5. Coming to teach People who came to work here for a shorter or for a longer time could be divided roughly into two groups. The first group consists of people who really came to help. They are humble, and before they start working here, they try to contact local Christians and they ask about their opinion. It does not necessarily mean that they adopt it.I know it is not only possible, but it is probable that the Lord will bring in someone who will be able to help us in areas where we are lacking. It is not only possible, it is even probable that someone coming from a distance can see our shortcomings better than we ourselves. It is a not matter of adopting our views, but a matter of attitude. The other group consists of people who come to do their own thing. But beware: These people do not have it written on their foreheads that they are coming with this attitude. Many of them look humble and they say things like "we know we can learn from you", "we really came to help you", "we know you have suffered a lot for the Lord"... Yes, but do they really mean it? After a few years of experience, I am not misled by these phrases. I know it might be true, but it also might be only a clichd, or a smoke­ screen. Or, they really think this should be their attitude, but if you watch them for some time you discover that after all they are subconsciously convinced they came to give and we are here to receive. The discrepancy between their outward attitude and their deep subconscious conviction makes things harder/worse for us, not easier. Of course, some are very outspoken about why they came. I remember the arrival of one of the exponents of the Faith Movement. Actually he was driven from the airport to the city by the American pastor of our English region19. He asked our pastor about the best way to start a ministry here. "Well, the best way would be to present yourselfto the leaders and tell them you came here to serve," answered our English pastor, Larry Winnes. "I will not submit to anyone but Jesus Christ and ... (he named one of the great "faith" teachers)". "Well, it depends on what you mean by submission. Being submitted does not necessarily mean being manipulated". But that brother definitely would not be manipulated. Neither would he submit. He was conscious of what he came to do. "I came here to preach the full gospel."

w) Our congregation is divided into subcongregations which we call "regions", because all of them except one operate in different regions of the capital Prague. The one which is the exception is the so-called "English region" because it serves the English-speaking members of our congregation from the whole of the city. 25

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"Well, don't you think that Dan or Evald^the full gospel, too?" "They think they do." Well, his attitude was straightforward. Though we had a quite a lot of people coming to do their own thing (though always proclaiming they are coming to do the work of Christ) who had this "straightfor­ ward" attitude, it will be perhaps good to reflect more on those who proclaim, and who themselves believe, that they came not only to teach, but also to learn. How can we recognize that this attitude is genuine? How can they recognize it? Well, if you come to learn, first you must observe if there is anything to learn. At the first encounter, neither side knows the quality and depth of the Christian walk of the other - unless there is a special supernatural revelation. Because I am aware of this, I never made the decision not to meet with foreigners again - though at times I was so frustrated by meetings with self-righteous and naive bothers and sisters that I was not far away from this fatal decision. "Our life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col 3:3). Neither our visitors, nor we can be judged easily by outward appearance only. You have to spend some time with the other party, not only talking to them, but also visiting them in their homes, observing how they behave with each other as husband and wife; how they treat their children etc. You should observe the attitude of the elders among themselves. Are they friendly to each other? Do they enjoy each other's company? Or, are their relationships cold? Are they wary of each other? What is the attitude of the flock to their pastor? Do they love him or merely fear him? Maybe the best way to learn about a congregation is to go with them for a summer holiday camp - though it may be frustrating if you do not know the language. You can observe a lot; do they have a lot of fun together? Or do they have merely fun together? How do they pray? Or is fun completely prohibited? How do they treat people with different opinions i.e.Christians from other denominations? Only after spending some time together can you know if you have anything to learn or if you have anything to teach. From what was said above it is clear that "fact-finding missions" lasting one or two days are of no great value. Of course, you can learn if people share your doctrinal views. And if they don't, you might conclude that they need your help. But, you might not be aware of the fact that though they have never heard of some of your fancy doctrines, they are sincere Christians with a pure heart who are after integrity. Are the relationships in your home church at least as good as in the church you are visiting? You should sincerely ask yourself this question before trying to teach anything. It would be good to be aware of one problem. If your stardard of living is higher, you might subconsciously conclude that your spiritual life is better, too. You might be concesdending and paternalistic without being aware of it.

20) Evald Rucky, pastor of the largest congregation of the Moravian church in Liberec, North Bohemia, where that faith teacher once preached. 26

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Since the Czech Republic belongs neither to the richest nations nor the poorest nations, we can make experience both ways. I realized that I can easily become condescending when meeting Christians from the Ukraine or Albania - especially when I see they make mistakes or hold erroneous views which we dealt with a long time ago. But don't they have something positive which I do not even see?

6. Buying a church? One of the most amusing encounters with another "Faith man" was as follows: I was interviewed by a man from a big congregation in Canada. After I described the life of our church he asked me about our needs. I told him that we would need a building and that I needed a car. He said, "Well, we might build you a building, we already built a building for a congregation in Trinidad. And we would buy you a car, but you would have to change your name. You would have to call yourself"... church of Canada". (I omit the first name.) You know, we would need it for our tax-deductions. I believe we have to be ready to lose our name for Jesus. We were never instructed to sell our name. IV. PRINCIPLES

1. Christian Finances It seems to me that the way a church handles money tells us a lot about its real state. I would like to describe two possible models of financing the church, and I would like to point out their pros and cons and their consequences. We believe that we belong to God with everything we have. God redeemed us, and we are His. Practically, we make decisions about our income, our work, our property. We are supposed to support the work of the Kingdom with our resources - be it time, energy, finances. God teaches us some priorities. E.g., a wife is not supposed to engage in ministry at the expense of raising the children. A husband is not supposed to engage in ministry at the expense of his marriage. We all know we could argue about how to apply these truths to each circumstance, but at this point we speak about priorities, not about specific decisions. We (by "we" I mean the Christian Fellowship Prague) have decided to tithe. We do not teach that New Testament Christians must tithe - we try to avoid the pitfalls of arguing about it. We say it is our decision, not duty. But anyone who joins the congrega­ tion is told that he is supposed to tithe. And, he is taught why. Of course, everyone can give more. We do not inquire about specific people to see if they tithe or not. Generally, if we calculate the average income and the number of bread-winning people in the church, we can see if the church as a whole tithes or not. (It does.) Of course, there may be some people concealed behind the fact that some others give more than a tithe. But we are not 27

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after a "spiritual concentration camp" - it is up to the conscience of the individual if they tithe or not. We are convinced that the money collected in the church should be used for people in full-time ministry, for the expenses of the church, for spreading the gospel, and charities. The ministry salaries are decided upon by a special elected commission21. No one who is a recipient of a salary from the church can be a member of this commission. Then we have a special "charities commission". This commission is also elected. The task of its members is to enquire about the credibility of different organizations who ask for our support and - primarily - to pray about it. Though the "salaries commission" actually decides about the salaries of the pastors, secretaries and others, the "charities commission" makes recommendations to the board of elders22. We do not prohibit, but we do not encourage individual members to support different organizations or ministries on their own. Of course, we cannot - and do not want to - control their benevolence exceeding the tithe which they pledged to pay when they joined the congregation. The New Testament clearly leaves space for support on an individual basis. But we do not conceal the fact that it is our opinion that it is good to support only that which is trustworthy. As I said, we also want to support missions. We are convinced that no one can send himself. If someone is commissioned by Christ to go to other countries to spread the Kingdom, he should go there with the blessing of the home church. We firmly believe that inner calling should be confirmed by official sending-out by a mother church. If that is so, then the missionary23 should be fully backed by the church - in prayer, in practical help, and in financial support. We never want our "sent-outs" to be dependent on individual sponsors. If we have sent them out as a church, we are fully responsible for them. We are responsible for their spiritual activities, and we are responsible for their general welfare.

21) We do not believe in electing elders, but - in line with Act 6 - we believe that stewards of money should be people who are trusted by the whole congregation. **) E.g. recently we got a request for financial support from an organization in Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine) which tries to help local orphanages. Since we knew nothing about this organization, we sent one of the leaders of board members to Dnepropetrovsk to try to find out what local Christians think about this organization. In this specific case, the report was very positive and if possible, we will support this organization.

I know that the term "missionary" itself is not the best. It is not a biblical term. Correctly, we should speak of itinerant ministers (apostles, prophets, teachers or evangelists) and we should make it clear in a recommending letter in what position (and with which commission) the person is sent out. 28

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I have a good friend, an American living in Austria. His situation, described below is an illustration of a shortcoming of „sent-outs“ being depedent on individual sponsors. Several years ago our contact was quite close for a certain period of time, and I owe him much. I value his friendship. At the time we were meeting regularly, we shared our prayer requests. He was in constant trouble with his finances, because he was dependent on individual sponsors, some of whom were rather unreliable. He lived in a nice house; we lived in a small apartment. His standard of living definitely exceeded ours. But though I lived on a relatively small salary, I did not have to pray much about our family finances. Our salary at that time was slightly above the average salary in our country - his income was maybe equal to the average income for the country in which he was living in. But I knew my church would not let me fall - whereas he was dependent on unreliable people. I really loved him, but after some time I found it rather amusing that I was praying fervently for inner peace in the area of finances for someone who lives on a much higher stardard than me. But I would not exchange my situation for his. I was after the Kingdom of God, not after a higher standard of living. So was he. But I had no worries, he had plenty of them. We are currently supporting our first missionary couple abroad. They live in a country where the cost of living is much more expensive than ours. For the money we spend on them we could maintain at least two pastors with good salaries in the Czech Republic. But we are convinced that it is the will of God that they be there, and it is our task to keep them there. Of course, they will not have the same standard of living as Western missionaries in that country. But,their standard of living will not differ much from their standard of living back here, and,from the standard of living of the average person around them. What I find rather amusing - if not abhorrent - is constant writing of letters to sponsors, which in many cases is a sort of begging for money, and which is called "living by faith". For me, examples of real living by faith are George Mftller or Hudson Taylor, who both headed mighty works of God [which cost a lot of money] and they never asked for money. If someone has to aimounce a second offering at the same meeting saying that he "has faith" for more money to be collected, it seems to me a bad joke. It is not faith, it is flesh. To be even more direct, it seems to me that some fellowships who preach faith and prosperity are themselves under a strong oppression of the spirit of poverty, though they do not realize it at all. This spirit of poverty drives them to be preocuppied with money, prosperity and finances constantly. I know that it is necessary to teach about tithing. And,it is necessary to teach about sacrificial giving, and it is necessary to help people to sort out their finances if they are in trouble. But I am also convinced that you should spend about as much time teaching and talking about money as the Bible does. Bible, of course, speaks about money, and it contains all the necessary principles for financial aspects of life. It is enough to simply keep finances in the proper balance and place. The fact that many Christian workers abroad are not paid by a specific local church which commissioned them to the field, but by individual sponsors, usually also 29

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means that these workers are not accountable to any local church. I even harbor a certain suspiscion that some congregations get rid of some "problem people" in their ranks by encouraging them to go abroad. We would not let anyone preach in our church unless we see the recommenda­ tion of his home church, and unless we have some independent corroboration of this recommendation. But the way itinerant ministers are financed has something to do with an even deeper problem of Western churches. I will try to describe it in the next paragraph. 2. Parachurch organizations and local churches A lot of Christian work in the world is done through what is now call "parachurch organizations". The fact that the Bible does not know any similar term should already make us alert. Though I do not think that everything necessarily has to have its precedent in the Bible, I am convinced that if something hasn't, we have to double-check to see if it is really of God. It has already been mentioned that we ourselves have been helped tremendously by the Navigators. And I know of many other parachurch organizations who do a lot of good. I could name Youth with a Mission, Campus Crusade for Christ, the Gideons, the Scripture Union and dozens of others. I want to make it clear that I in no way underesti­ mate the contribution and significance of these organizations. On the other hand, we can observe something very important: If the life of the local church is rather dull, and there are some people who want to give expression to their zeal for the Lord, who simply want to serve Him more, who love Him more fervently, they sometimes find no outlet for their healthy zeal in the local church, especially if they are expected simply to sit in the pews and faithfully tithe. And they naturally seek an outlet. They hear about, let us say, Youth with a Mission, or they see it in operation, and they (rightly) feel that that is a place where they could express their love to the Lord and desire to serve Him. And they leave the local church. And so a vicious circle begins. The „best people“ leave the local church.The local church becomes even more dull. And,that means that all who become alert and zealous for the Lord Jesus will be even more inclined to leave the local church. But, this means even more than the loss of the „best people“ in the local church. They take their zeal and energy, their time and their money. And, not only their income (if they have any), but also the money of people who sponsor them. That money would at least partly go to support the local church. So, we see the „best people“ leaving the local church, taking with them a lot of money, making the parachurch organizations stronger and stronger and leaving the local church impoverished. I am aware of the fact that this model is rather simplified. There are many wonderful local churches who are full of life and meaningful Christian activities. On the other hand, I am convinced that the described model is not oversimplified. An underlying principle is at work in many parts of the world that is very strong. I also know that most 30

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ofthese parachurch organizations proclaim that they want to serve local churches. And usually there is no reason to doubt incerity of these proclamations. And, after all, it is not their fault that people leave the local churches. They merely tried to create an environ­ ment for meaningful ministry. In many cases, these attempts were undoubtedly successful. Nevertheless, I believe that all sides should be at least aware that there is a problem. I believe that local church is of central significance. Since the vicious circle which I tried to describe now affects such a large portion of Christian life in the Western culture, I have no hope it can be reformed, or undone. Maybe the Lord can do that, but I have no confidence it can be changed by human decision and effort only. On the other hand, in the Czech Republic the local churches still play quite a vital role. After the fall of communism, many of the parachurch organizations came to the country. I hope that we will not have to succumb to this vicious circle. I hope the local church will remain the center of Christian life; that young and zealous Christians will not have to leave it to find "real" life. Much depends on the wisdom and vitality of the leadership of local churches and of the parachurch organizations. Why did this problem emerge in the first place? Again, it seems to me that this problem has very, very deep roots. I confess that I share Derek Princes's views on the church in this respect. That means I believe that the church has two main forms: the local church and the mobile church. And I believe that these two forms are meant to complement and to serve each other. Itinerant ministries help to start and build new local churches, and local churches send out and monitor the itinerant ministries. Outwardly, it seems that everything is O.K. in American and West European churches. It seems to work just like that. The trouble is that there is not much coordination, and not enough accountability. Everyone does what seems right in his eyes. The underlying problem is lack offellowship, and lack of willingness to submit to each other in love (cf. Eph 5:21). Everyone tries to do his own thing, and everyone sees his own ministry as the most important. Basically, it seems to me that much of Christian life in the West reflects the freemarket economy. The free market economy is good for the economics of the country. Only the fittest companies survive. Bad products do not find buyers and their production must be stopped. Everything is geared to increase productivity and efficiency. Quick solutions and instant products sell well. After spending the longer part of my life nder communist rule, I myself know only too well that socialism stifles an economy, whereas a free-market economy enhances the standard of living. However, applying the same in the spiritual realm might not be the best thing. Similarly, I believe that it can be concluded that democracy is the best way of government in the world. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the church is, or should be, a democracy. In a free-market economy you must advertise your product. And,advertising is usually connected with the obvious or hidden belittling of other similar products. It is quite often connected with exaggerations and boasting. And, that is precisely what we can 31

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see with many "ministries", especially, though not exclusively, in the area of healing. We can hear or read many uncorroborated claims and many empty promises of what mighty things God will do through this or that minister. What a contradiction of the New Testament pattern! There, Jesus ordered people not to speak about what He did, and in spite of that the word/news about him spread like fire. In our days, in spite of so much self-promotion on the part of some of the "Christian ministers", the world is unimpressed. Why? In the spiritual realm, exaggeration is counter-productive. Self-promotion is abhorrent to God. Yet we can read so often: "This conference is going to be different than any other you have attended. It will be of special significance for you". One U.S. based group working now in the Czech Republic likes to announce that their activity (e.g., a drama performance) will be the "peak event of Christian life in the country this year" or something similar. The world is disgusted by these extravagant and empty claims. I have to confess that in this case I side with the world. Self-promotion, boasting,selfexaltastion! Is this the spirit of Jesus? What is behind this? There is an underlying feeling that we will not be successful if we do use techniques that are successful in the world. Admittedly, those who adopt these techniques are different than the world in some respects. They do not condone adultery. We do not use dirty words. And they speak about Jesus. But do they really reveal Him? What a contrast with the great vessels of the Lord in history! People like John Wesley, John Whitefield, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor or Evan Roberts would never use self-promotion. They did not need an organization which would prepare their meetings. They did not even need a music group to accompany them. And, still the Lord used them mightily! I am still looking for the great deeds of the Lord, and I am not content with human self-promoted substitutes! For a time, I was afraid that this superficial form of Christianity, backed by a lot of money, would sweep us away. And it still can happen. But in 1996 I am more at ease than three or four years ago. I see that these churches have double effect: They take away some sheep from the existing churches, and they function in a way like a "revolving door". They can make themselves visible and audible because of strong advertising which they can afford, being backed by wealthy groups abroad, and by their show that they gain some "converts". But the turnover is great. I am aware of the fact that each healthy church has some turnover. And I do not profess that I know the limit of a healthy turnover. But,I suspect that if you visit a church one year and visit it again the next year, and you find only ten or twenty familiar faces out of more then one hundred, then something is wrong. Nearly every group (though even here there are exceptions) which begins a work here professes that they do not want to take away sheep from existing congrega­ tions. But, they usually do take away sheep. In part this probably cannot, and should not be avoided. But if after three years of existence the "new" church has a membership consisting primarily of people who were formerly members elsewhere, then something

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is very, very wrong with the whole of Christendom in that given area, or something is wrong with the new church. We have a term "runner on the Zion". We use this to describe people who have personal problems and who move from one new thing in the city to the next. They pass from one congregation to the another, they leave each as soon as they are called to repentance. Of course, the pastor of the "new" church can keep such a person for some time by telling him that he did not get enough "love" in the churches he visited earlier, but, in most cases his own church will be just another in the row. I confess, that I make my judgement about the „new“ churches by observing how they handle this perennial problem. Do they simply accept these people, or do they try to contact their previous "spiritual home" and find out what is behind their "switch"? If they have an attitude of superiority (described above),why would they even attempt to contact the former pastor? We also accept - at least from time to time - people who were formerly members elsewhere. But we inquire why they left. Were they disciplined? For what reason? Was it legitimate? To know the answer to these questions, you simply have to contact the other church. This does not imply that you have to accept their opinion, their doctrine or their decisions. But, we would consider it irresponsible to accept as a member someone who fled from problems in their other church without talking to the leadership of that church. We believe we would, in the end, act against the interests of the person who wants to make the switch. We skip this sometimes unpleasant procedure only in the case that we know that the person was a member of a church which was run as a sort of spiritual concentration camp: with indoctrination that all other churches are wrong, and that not yielding to the leadership of that particular church is rebellion against God. I admit that in these cases we accept fugitives from such churches. But, there always was some contact with that group in the beginning - otherwise, how would we know that it is run like a spiritual concentration camp? Surely not only on the hearsay of one or two fugitives!

3. Fellowship between churches The problems described cannot be solved if there is no fellowship between churches and lack of this fellowship is also the root of the lack of coordination and problems resulting from this, like the waste of resources,etc. In our country, several charismatic Christian leaders sought such a fellowship as early as the mid-eighties, (while Czechoslovakia was still a communist country). At that time, we had to be very, very carefill, because the secret police were very wary about all contacts between different churches and denominations. If they wanted to have anything under their control, it was this. Obviously, we can conclude from this that Satan is at times much more aware of the role of the unity of the body than the Christians themselves.

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Only a week after the "Velvet revolution" we started an organization called "Christian Missionary Society". This organization now plays a vital role in the Czech Republic. The word "Missionary" does not imply that its main task is "missions". In 1989, we tried to make this organisation open to everybody, from the Roman Catholics on the one side to the Pentecostals and Charismatics on the other. And Roman Catholics would find it difficult to accept it if there would be anything "evangelical" in the name. In addition to that, the Catholics did not use the term "evangelism" or similar terms; instead of "evangelism" they spoke of "apostolate". Missions was something on which all could unite. But initially, the Roman Catholics participated in C.M.S. Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic representative soon resigned after pressure from the Catholic hierarchy, and extreme charismatics (especially the Faith Movement people) did not want to participate either. In spite of this, C.M.S. grew in significance and now it provides a platform for many groups in the country. It publishes a monthly "Life of Faith", which is the only Christian periodical in the country which is not subsidized from abroad and can "feed" itself. The aim of the C.M.S. is to facilitate meetings of pastors across denominational lines and to co-ordinate our activities. One of the important achievements was the translation and publishing of the New Testament. (We have already started work on the Old Testament. Our first missionary couple has been sent out through C.M.S. This was accomplished due to our united effort. It was above the means of individual, isolated congregations. In spite of relative poverty in the country (in comparison to U.S. or Western Europe, not to Ukraine or the Third World) we are doing something. C.M.S. can be supported by individuals, but the bulk of support comes from individual congregations of different denominations. There is complete transparency in finances. C.M.S. can - and will - exist only as long as individual churches want it and are willing to support it. In spite ofthe worthwhile projects mentioned I see the greatest significance of C.M.S. is not in the projects, but in facilitating fellowhip between pastors and churches. In many areas of the country you would find smaller groups of pastors from different denominations who meet with some regularity for prayer and who concentrate their efforts in prayer initiatives and evangelism. It is more difficult (though it is of course still possible) now to fall into the trap of regarding yourself as the best, as the most-important, as the most "progressive", or as the most fruitful Christian in the neighborhood. We can also avoid to a large extent the overlapping of worthwhile activities. The atmosphere in the Czech Republic is very anti-Christian. The world does not distinguish between nominal and real Christians. Sometimes sincere people and healthy congregations are attacked. Our reaction should be joy, not embarrassment. On the other hand, we should unite as much as possible in defense of those, who were unjustly attacked. C.M.S. can be a platform where these cases are registered and properly investigated. If a statement is issued by an organisation respected by many, it can help those under attack. This does not mean that C.M.S. is the final solution. Our shield and 34

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our castle is God himself, not C.M.S. On the other hand, I believe there is a cultural and political mandate in the church. This is a way how this mandate can be fulfilled.

V. DO WE NEED ANYTHING? I believe in the unity of the body of Christ. I believe that we need each other. I have written some critical remarks, but I want to stress that I owe much to our brothers and sisters abroad. I was taught by foreigners. I owe much to the Navigators, to Grace Korean church from Norwalk, Ca., to Wolfhard Margies and Pavel Neustupny, to Derek and Ruth Prince, to John MacFarlane, to John Howarton, Don Prokop, Sarah Cross, Liz Spruell, Jim Goll and Rick Olmstead, to mention at least some among many others... Our church is thankful for the ministry of Larry Winnes and David Snell, who are both supported by individual sponsors. We could not pay them. But I mustered the courage to speak about problems which are real, and which are sometimes swept under the carpet. If we are after integrity and really deep relationships, we should speak about these matters. In no case do I want to sound that we are self-sufficient. We still have no building - and we need one. But I am convinced that the best help consists in deep, long­ term relationships. For me, to sit down with Rick Olmstead or Jim Goll means probably even more than to hear them preach. Hints about good books - or the good books themselves - are more important than chocolates and candy. Critical friendship is possibly of the greatest value for us. I prefer being told what I am doing wrong more than being praised for past achievements.

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I.

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 3

II.

THE SCENE.............................................................................................................. 1. Meeting the Navigators ............................................................................ 2. Divorce....................................................................................................... 3. Baptism in the Spirit................................................................................ 4. Growth ........................................................................................

3 9 11 14 17

III.

ENCOUNTERS ................................................................................................... 1. Flooded by missionaries......................................................................... 2. Tremendous waste of money................................................................. 3. Bad conscience........................................................................................ 4. Vanity....................................................................................................... 5. Coming to teach ...................................................................................... 6. Buying a church? ....................................................................................

19 20 21 22 24 25 27

IV.

PRINCIPLES ....................................................................................................... 1. Christian Finances .................................................................................. 2. Parachurch organizations and local churches....................................... 3. Fellowship between churches.................................................................

27 27 30 33

V.

DO WE NEED ANYTHING?.............................................................................. 35

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