Every Saturday I teach at a local Lutheran (SELK) church in Hamburg: first, a new member class for a German baptismal candidate and then three hours of German for Persian migrants. And every Saturday I find the fellowship hall spotlessly clean, with the table set with various kinds of sparkling water and snacks. During each … Continue reading The Lord’s Work
There are more Iranians and Afghans living here in Hamburg than in any other city in Germany–and many of them are converting to Christianity. I live in a part of town that is predominantly Persian. In fact, walk down one street and you will not hear any German whatsoever. Practically every shop there sells Iranian … Continue reading The Persian Copy Shop
You may recall how I recently shared about my Iranian language teacher with whom I have been going over the Lord’s Prayer and various Biblical texts in our Zoom classes—in Farsi. Would the Holy Spirit, I wondered, who inspired the prophets and writers of Holy Scripture, also knock on the door of her heart? Last … Continue reading The Word Never Returns Void
In the dining car. A young soldier sits down across from me. I nod and thank him for his service, noting the three stripes on his sleeve. We’re both in “uniform” (camo/clerical). Finishing my meal, I get up to leave. “Blessings on your journey,” he offers. “Hauptgefreiter…,” I note (Petty Officer, Third Class). “I used … Continue reading No Match for Nature
In 2015 Germany opened its borders to take in Syrian refugees fleeing from the civil war in their homeland. Countless Syrians arrived, but so did many others, with over one million people—most of them from various Muslim countries—arriving within months. While the German population initially had welcomed the refugees, popular sentiment changed. This caused the … Continue reading Refuge
Yesterday I took the train back to Lula and Lilly after a wonderful weekend of Persian ministry in Hamburg (more on that next week). The man sitting next to me was an African-American civilian from Virginia, working here in Germany. I said that I am a Lutheran pastor and asked him whether he is a … Continue reading Another Martin Luther
It was raining cats and dogs on a recent Sunday morning, so I decided to call a taxi rather than walk. The beige Mercedes pulled up. I opened the rear passenger door, threw my backpack in, and settled in the back seat. “Lousy weather,” I remarked. The cabbie looked in the rearview mirror and spotted … Continue reading Do You Eat Regularly?
In the Land of Luther, where today only some 6% of the population have an active Christian faith, how would you go about connecting people with the centrality of Christianity? You could hardly do better than what the Liebfrauen-Überwasser church in Münster has done in their temporary LUX3 exhibition. For starters, this 800-year-old church is … Continue reading The Light of the World
As Lula’s, Lillian’s, and my first year as missionaries draws to a close, we are so grateful for all of you who continue to pray for us and support us as we share the Gospel here in the Old World—in German and Persian (Farsi). But we have even more to be thankful for: While we … Continue reading My Heart for Very Joy must Leap
Have you ever concealed the fact that you are Christian? Perhaps because at your place of work or in your social circles being a follower of Christ is “not cool”? Some people are not afraid to stick their neck out for Jesus—or their arm. I recently met a young man who hails from a Muslim … Continue reading The Cost of Discipleship
The Tiews in Germany 