European Theological Conference

I'm currently sitting in the Rome airport with Titus, preparing to catch a flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  We have our first opportunity to attend the biennial European Theological Conference hosted by the German Church of God.  This year's theme, "Go Make Disciples."

We have heard of this wonderful conference that offers fellowship, encouragement and rest to servants from throughout the region.  We are excited to have our first chance to attend, but the honor is heightened further as we have been asked to participate, too.  Many of our 3W Team will be attending, including Kelley Philips (XZ Berlin), the Kihms (Netherlands), the Simpsons (Bulgaria) & the Langford's (U.K.).  Together we will share the leadership of the Friday night session, on the sub theme of "relationships between disciples," allowing us to further share how 3W is here to serve the region and facilitate greater relationship together.

And, I have been asked to share a session on "healthy practices in making disciples."  I am very excited for this theme and opportunity to share these thoughts with leaders from so many countries at one time!

At the conclusion of the conference, we have been invited to worship with the Biebesheim congregation near Frankfurt. This congregation is pastored by German national leader Hans Linke.  Pastor Hans married a Lebanese believer and they have a wonderful family, including a teenage daughter who is organizing a youth gathering so Titus can meet some of the German teens.  Pastor Hans has often travelled to teach and encourage the pastors and leaders in Egypt.  It is another great invitation to preach in their worship service on Sunday.

But the best part is that I have the opportunity to share this experience with my son Titus.  We love our kids and we know that as they head into these teenage years, our time draws shorter with opportunity to appreciate them as children and invest into the adults they are quickly becoming.  We've always hoped to take one of our kids on trips like this, and since both Zeke and Grace have each already had an extra school trip this year, Titus got the opportunity.  He has previously travelled with me to Hungary a few years ago.

Pray for this event and our team opportunities to network, encourage, inspire, rejoice and even mourn with the brothers and sisters we will meet this weekend.

(Catching a 3:00 AM flight does not make us very photogenic!)