Unity News

November, 2004

Lessons from the Ukraine

by

Blake Coffee

It was with much anticipation that I boarded the plane from San Antonio destined for Detroit and then Amsterdam and then Kiev, Ukraine.   I was anxious to teach and to be used by God and to observe.   I knew that God would teach me a great deal more than I taught anyone else.   So, I went with eyes wide open to whatever God wanted me to see.   I rather suspected to see some amazing things in the Ukraine and to learn a few things about the church there.

As is so often the case, God had something else in mind.   Oh, He showed me plenty of wonderful things about the church in the Ukraine.   I wish you could see the expectation in their eyes as they gather to hear God’s Word taught.   I am so grateful God gave me the privilege of seeing that!   But upon reflection, I wonder if what He really wanted me to see more clearly is the church here in America?   I wonder if the fresh, child-like approach of the Ukrainian Christians to hearing the Word of God stands in such contrast to the American church as to say more about us than about them?

The church in the Ukraine has had the freedom to worship publicly, as it pleases, for only a short time now.   We in this country have had that freedom for more than two centuries.   Just 20 years ago, while Ukrainian Christians were sneaking into the river after midnight for their baptisms, being careful not to make splashes or sounds, lest they be caught and imprisoned, we were yawning at the multitude of church services from which we could choose. While they were digging in their gardens to retrieve their Bibles for one more quick glance at scripture for the week, we were collecting dust on our Bibles sitting on our well-stocked bookshelves.   While they were quietly gathering in secret places to hear the only teacher of God’s Word in their village, we were flipping our radio dials between sermons of great preachers like Chuck Swindoll, Max Lucado, and John MacArthur, and wondering why our preacher couldn't preach like that.

I think you can see where this is going.   I am afraid we are in danger of losing a critical attitude here in our churches.   We are losing the will to be truly changed by God’s Word.   The Bible, it seems to me, has taken a place on our bookshelves right next to Chicken Soup for the Soul, never quite becoming an instrument of true change in our lives.   We sometimes listen to our preachers with a discerning ear toward polish and presentation, and perhaps have an emotional moment or two, but not with any expectation of being transformed—not with any intention of going home that day to make real changes in our thought lives or our routines as a result of what God said to us.   That, it seems to me, is what we are losing.   I can’t help but wonder if, once we lose it, we won’t have lost the very essence of Christian discipleship?   May it never be!   God, teach us these lessons from our Ukrainian brothers.

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