connected

I finally arrived at a place with an internet connection. I have so much to say but want to share depth rather than breath. I visited today Resurrection United Methodist Church in Voronezh, Russia. Voronezh is a city of about 900,000. There are three United Methodist churches. Rev. Irina Mitina started a new congregation 12 years ago as a Bible study in rented space. They grew and were able to buy an old building in very bad condition. Through much hard work from the parishioners and from partner churches from the United States sending volunteers, Resurrection UMC converted an old building into a beautiful place for worship and small groups. I really was surprised to see what they have been able to accomplish.

But I was surprised by more than that. I was asked to preach at a Thursday night worship service at Resurrection. I had about 20 minutes to tuck away with a pen and paper and write a sermon the old fashioned way. When I get home, I want to re-preach it and record it for the web. It was such an honor to be asked to preach (apparently last minute invitations are quite common)...and intimidating. It was the first time I preached with a translator, I couldn't great the people without help, I found that I had to use shorter phrases and avoid slang that doesn't interpret well. I had to preach to a people in a much different context, where life is different and unfamiliar to me. And I had to prepare it all in 20 minutes.

But I will tell you that preaching that worship service was one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. I understood in that moment, not how different we were, but how connected we are. The songs were many of the same ones we sing (only in Russian), scripture the same, foundational questions of meaning, pain and purpose, the same. As I shared conversation with Rev. Irina at Resurrection, we talked about our churches. Certainly there were things that are different. The Gathering has more money, more people, more freedom of expression, more openness in the city to our message. But more than our differences, we discovered how much we have in common. We both have people bombarded with advertisements (Mama Mia the Russian version and iphones were my favorites), people trying to make ends meet financially, people in pain looking for forgiveness, people looking for depth of purpose in life. Students, older adults, poor, wealthy - our churches share so much. We also share many of the same obstacles, crime in the city, meth and crack destroying lives of people in our cities, educational systems in need of help and people that are so busy that time with God is often an after thought. At the end of our time together, Rev. Irina pulled me aside and thanked me. She then said, "Matt if you take anything back, remember to tell your people that the world is more connected than they think, we are more connected than you think. The decisions that individuals make in America have a profound effect on what happens here. The decisions that Christians make, that churches make in America, have an impact on us and our ministry. We are more connected than you think."

After being here, I believe her. We are more connected than you think. And for that reason each of us needs to remember the power we possess. You, your decisions, your choices, your commitments, your words, your lives have a power that effects the world! During our baptism ritual, after the water I make the sign of the cross on the person's forehead and say, "Just as Christ was anointed priest , prophet and king, so I anoint you to remember the power of your faith to impact lives, the power of your voice to change reality, and the power of your decisions to transform the world." I know now, that those are not empty words.