17 May 2011
"Risk-averse Christianity is a lifestyle-affirming civil religion"
"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." - Jesus Christ
Alan Hirsch - Are You Stuck In A Rut? from Verge Network on Vimeo.
13 April 2011
01 January 2011
Turkish churches packed for Christmas services
I've talked with various friends around Istanbul and other parts of Turkey and all of them said the same thing about their Christmas services this year: "Our church was packed with people!"
Our church, for example, was so full (over 200 people) that I'm told some left because there was no room, and many church members stayed downstairs to make room for the newcomers. Our church leaders said they have never seen our sanctuary so full of people, ever.
For the first time ever we tried having our own church choir, and although many were expecting it to flop, it actually turned out amazingly well, and I'm told they are now getting requests to perform at other churches in Istanbul ;-)
What made it especially amazing was Yusuf (Turkish for Joseph), a young guy in our church who is learning to play the saz (a traditional turkish instrument). Most of us had never heard him perform before (his dad, however, is a saz player and has written several worship songs that are in the Turkish songbook that all the churches use), but were amazed at how well he played for his age.
They lit candles while singing Silent Night (in Turkish of course).
Our church, for example, was so full (over 200 people) that I'm told some left because there was no room, and many church members stayed downstairs to make room for the newcomers. Our church leaders said they have never seen our sanctuary so full of people, ever.
For the first time ever we tried having our own church choir, and although many were expecting it to flop, it actually turned out amazingly well, and I'm told they are now getting requests to perform at other churches in Istanbul ;-)
What made it especially amazing was Yusuf (Turkish for Joseph), a young guy in our church who is learning to play the saz (a traditional turkish instrument). Most of us had never heard him perform before (his dad, however, is a saz player and has written several worship songs that are in the Turkish songbook that all the churches use), but were amazed at how well he played for his age.
They lit candles while singing Silent Night (in Turkish of course).
Our kids made up half the children's play. Daniel (he played the part of the little manger!) was the big hit, getting lots of applause when he tried to say his part.
Carlos, one of our church's leaders, gave a wonderful message with a clear gospel invitation, and we hope and pray that the seeds sown will produce eternal fruit.
21 December 2010
119 - alef: Blessed are those whose ways are blameless
119 - alef: Blessed are those whose ways are blameless Here's a new song from a friend of mine who works with a church in a nearby city here in Turkey. His site has lots of other great songs--all of them free! :-)
08 November 2010
"You aren't one of those secret Christians, are you?"
Last week while preaching the gospel in the open air in one of the crowded downtown sections of Istanbul, a man stayed to listen and then later told us his story. He had had an interest in our faith ever since he learned that, as a baby, he had been cared for in a orphanage by a Christian lady (in Turkey). He began visiting a traditional church in Istanbul once in a while to light candles and pray, when one day a neighbor of his saw him entering the church. "You aren't one of those secret Christians, are you?" he asked condescendingly, which only made him want to become a Christian even more. Pray for this man, that he'll come to know personally the Savior that he's looking for, turn from his wrong ways, and by believing in Christ find eternal life. Like so many like him, he is fed up with things here, and wants to move to a different country. Pray God will give him a new love for his own people.
29 October 2010
Jesus loves Istanbul
Jesus loves Istanbul
A video I made several months ago but still worth seeing if you haven't already.
Puppet evangelism on Istanbul's busiest pedestrian street
Talk about a contrast...
Praise God for the gospel going out with power to so many!
Family picture
David, Ulrike & (l to r) Johannes, Amy, Daniel, Esther and Rebecca. The one at the bottom has been here for a long time. Here now is a more recent one...
Why we're starting a blog
We used to be using sites.google.com as our family's web presence, but since the authorities here have blocked access to that domain, we can't update our pages there from Turkey. If you're a follower of Jesus living outside Turkey, friend us in Facebook so we can add you to our "newsletter" group of friends in Facebook, or request to join our Facebook prayer team, through which you'll have access to many more stories and prayer requests.
We thank God for the amazing privilege of being his ambassadors here, and the joy and peace that Jesus gives us is something we continue to wish upon all we meet.
We thank God for the amazing privilege of being his ambassadors here, and the joy and peace that Jesus gives us is something we continue to wish upon all we meet.
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