The Burr in the Burgh

While I shall only be in Moscow (picture left) long enough to catch a jet back to the U.S., I will be spending the next 3 weeks in Russia on a mission trip for the Lutheran Church.

I leave first thing tomorrow to meet my travelling companion, Dr. Timothy Quill from Concordia Theological Seminary. Together we will go to three cities in eastern Russia, aka Siberia.

In each location, we will team up with the local Russian Lutheran pastor, congregation, and/or missionary. Then Dr. Quill and I will lead a series of seminars on Christian topics geared for the public.

My two subjects are: Christian Ethics and A Biblical View of Suffering. I'm not sure what Dr. Quill will present. But in each of three different cities, we will spend 4 days presenting these lectures.

The Russian Lutheran Church has used this strategy both to help educate their own laity and to attract interested newcomers. For ten years, Concordia Theological Seminary (Ft. Wayne, IN) has been partnering with the Siberian Lutheran Church in this way and others. And God has indeed blessed their relationship. Many congregations have been started, clergy have been trained and the good news of Christ is proclaimed far and wide.

So please say a prayer for me and Dr. Quill, that we would enjoy safe travel, that the seminars would be well-attended and beneficial for the hearers. Most of all, pray that the saving message of Jesus Christ will be clearly and accurately presented so that those who come and hear - many perhaps for the first time - will be brought to faith.