Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be one of the very first followers of Christ? To be a member of the Early Church? The churches started by John, Peter, and the other apostles? The churches that received letters from Paul, met in homes, were persecuted for their faith, revolutionized religion, and changed the course of history in their regions? …well I have.
This week, in one of the more remote places on earth, I believe I caught a glimpse of the Early Church.
We left Egypt on March 2nd and flew to Istanbul, Turkey, then Tbilisi, Georgia. From there we took an overnight train to Baku, Azerbaijan. After a few days in a hostel we boarded a cargo ship and made the 30 hour trip across the Caspian Sea to Aktau, Kazakhstan. Next was the two day train ride across the Kazakh Desert to a small Russian village in the northernmost reaches of Kazakhstan.
Side note: It is cold here. It did not get above 0o Fahrenheit for the first three days.
Anyway, back to the church. We arrived at our first destination around 6am. The pastor picked us up at the train station and drove us to where we would be staying. I was traveling with a team made up of 7 women and my coleader Emily, so the pastor took us to separate housing locations. The ladies shared a one room apartment and I would sleep on the floor at the church. Upon dropping us off the pastor said, “Try to get some rest, I will pick you up in an hour so we can prepare for church.”
Church in other parts of the world is not the same as it is in America. We ate breakfast with some of the elders, then began worshiping God in many different ways. Our team led some music in English, others led music in Russian, we spoke, and others spoke, people prayed aloud. This continued on for several hours. People were in and out. It was also “Women’s Day” internationally, so there was tea and snacks for the women and they were celebrated throughout the day.
1 Corinthians 14:26 “What then shall we say, brothers! When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”
We would later gather and make a plan for the week. Each day we would do two things: serve lunch at a soup kitchen, and go to a men’s drug and alcohol rehab center to visit with and pray over the men staying there. The soup kitchen was at the church, and each day 8 to 10 homeless people would come in to get food. They would also hear worship music, prayer, and the gospel message given by one or two of our women each day. Members of the church came each morning to prepare the meals and to help serve. This was also one of my first opportunities to speak and share the message of salvation in my own words. (Not my first opportunity, but one of the first times when I have stepped into this role without hesitation.)
2 Corinthians 9:12-15 “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
The men’s rehab center was a small house about 30 minutes from town. The men there are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts who are trying to take back control of their lives. Their ages ranged from late twenties to men in their sixties. Each had a unique story, but all were learning that a life dedicated to Christ could overcome any addiction. A few men had lost their families, wives, and children to their struggle with alcohol. One man, a welder, had a great job in town. His boss knew about the rehab center and contacted the pastor. He said that he had a welder who does great work, until payday, when he spends his entire paycheck on alcohol and does not show up for the next several days. The pastor agreed to take the man in, and on the last day that we were there, after many months of rehabilitation, the man was moved back into town where his job had been held for him. To raise money for the rehab center, the men tend to animals in a barn. There are several milking cows, many sheep and goats, and a few dogs (which the pastor offered to cook up for us if we were hungry). Each day we would meet with the men, worship together, and share testimonies and a quick message of encouragement. Then the men would treat us to tea and snacks, always.
Titus 3:3-8 “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Christ Jesus our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
1 Peter 1:13-15 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.”
1 Peter 1:22-23 “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
I had another experience here that was reminiscent of the Early Church. This experience was a bit uncomfortable for me, and will probably sound very strange to many of my readers, but for honesty’s sake, I will share it with you. Thursday was a planned rest day, however, since I was staying at the church, I would have to be involved in whatever activities were being held there. It just so happened that on Thursday mornings at 6am the church holds a prayer meeting. Alright, I can do that. Oh also it is a prayer meeting for those who pray in tongues…out loud…together. Eeeooigghhhhww (that is the sound I make when I am uncomfortable with what is about to happen. It comes from the back of the throat and is a bit drawn out.)
Well, I set my alarm for 5:30 in the morning, and I attended the prayer meeting. I do not speak Russian, so I am not really sure what was tongues and what was not, but we prayed for an hour. The pastor translated for me now and then, “now we are praying for this region…now we are praying for this lady’s son…now we are praying to be on fire for Christ…” it was definitely an interesting experience. After prayer we had a time of silent scripture reading. After a while the pastor asked if anyone had anything they wanted to share from the scriptures they read. Then he turned to me, “Matt can you share a message from what you read?” I was reading Psalm 104 which is from a study I am doing on God and nature. I shared that every living thing on earth was created by God for His delight and therefore we should be taking better care of our planet. I am not sure how well that message went over in a town where the main source of income is iron mining and factory work…but you never know.
This was not the first time that praying in tongues has been brought to my attention in the last few months (and as it turns out it would not be the last either). As a man brought up in a Baptist church, I have been confident in my knowledge of scripture; and I was certain that praying in tongues was not clearly addressed, or that it was a thing of the past, or that it was not really what people say, or…or maybe it is something that I do not know much about and so I just tell myself I want no part of it… But being that I am not one to argue with good research, I will share some scriptures that have been brought to my attention regarding this controversial topic. I am not going to type them all out, but if you are interested in learning more about it, this is a good place to start. If you would rather not know, I do not blame you, I would have rather not either, but as I am trying to keep an open mind and not put a limit on God just because it does not make sense in my mortal brain, I am doing research of my own:
Acts 1:4-8 Acts 2:1-4 Acts 8:9-25 (on receiving the Holy Spirit) Acts 9:10-19 Acts 10:44-46 Acts 19:1-6 John 14:15-17 Romans 8:26-27 Jude 20 Isaiah 28:11-12 Joel 2:28-32 Romans 8:14-17 pretty much all of 1st Corinthians 14 (reading 12 and 13 would not hurt either)
I have read and prayed over these verses and others, and have only come to the conclusion that I am quick to dismiss those parts of God that I do not understand. I have been searching for deeper levels of intimacy with the Lord, however I often scoff at others when they suggest that I may be missing the path. I am not saying that I am going to begin praying in tongues or anything, but I will admit that there is a lot that I need to learn in my pursuit of life in Christ Jesus. I suppose I could use a little wisdom from Solomon:
Proverbs 3:3-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”
Also I got a new hat! It was a gift from one of our hosts.
In Kazakhstan it is illegal for foreigners to come in and preach the Gospel, however we have been able to make connections with several churches and help out with the work they are doing. The government keeps a close eye on churches, especially if they begin increasing their numbers. They are allowed to preach the message of Christianity as long as it is behind closed doors. The government is also working on passing laws forbidding children under the age of 18 from attending church without a chaperone, and also forbidding pastors without specialized education from working at all. These laws would be detrimental to almost all of the churches in the country. Be in prayer for the churches in this part of the world. You might also consider prayers of thanksgiving for the religious freedoms we have in the United States of America.
