You can't put people in boxes

"Jimmy" Luchev founded the Church of God in Stara Zagora six years ago. He is fluent in English, having done an M. Div. degree at a seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee. The Church of God is a Pentecostal denomination and known in North America for being very conservative. What a surprise to get to know Jimmy.

As well as studying in America, he also spent four years studying in Germany. And he has a deep knowledge of the Orthodox tradition. He told us that he wrote a thesis on the church as an image, or an ikon, of the Trinity. He teaches at a seminary in Stara Zagora and one of his great interests is the mystical Russian philosopher/theologian Nicolae Berdyaev. He is a very bright, very perceptive and deeply spiritual person.

This morning we attended church, which meets in a theatre. There were about 80 people in attendance, not bad for a July Sunday. The music was your standard worship music (in Bulgarian, of course) but the worship leader was the best we have heard yet on this trip. We found out later that he is classically trained, with a position at the National Opera. But he played worship music on the keyboard with drive and energy and deep passion.

We were asked if we would preach. Diane spoke about the adventures we have had on our trip. She said that we have seen so many different kinds of expressions of church, but those that are alive have one thing in common. Jesus is at the centre.

I preached on 2 Corinthians 4:7: "For we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power if from God and not from us." The church comes in many different forms, but those forms are just the vessels in which God is willing to place the treasure of the Gospel. These clay jars are essential, but we should never confuse the container with the contents.

Over dinner last night, Jimmy was enthusing about a Russian Orthodox theologian whose works are just beginning to be translated into English. His last book spoke about the anti-Christ who, he said, will not come from outside the church but from within. The anti-Christ, he said, will take the form of Christianity without Christ. That summed up, for me, what we have learned on this trip.