When I first went to Moscow to teach ministerial students I was completely caught off guard by how thoroughly I could fall in love with a ministry I never dreamed I would ever do. I don't know if it was discovering I had some important experiences that I could pass on to a group of men and women with a dream of serving Christ in a lifetime of ministry or if it was meeting little Olya at the children's home I visited but whatever it was, I was thoroughly devoted. That first trip had some pretty funny moments like when I went into a store and found myself trailed by about three different staff with nothing better to do but watch the American and make sure he didn't steal anything. One time I was walking across the street and one of my students yanked me back to the curb because he knew none of the cars turning right would stop for me as I went across the street. My attempts at figuring out how to navigate the metro system were a total wreck. Everything about Russia was a mystery to me yet my students and the kids at the children's home were dear as family. I came back wanting to adopt Olya without any clue how it could be done and so it was that Russia became home. Over the years I have pondered much the divisions between us, particularly in Christian circles. Why is it that we are bound and determined to have young churches and old churches and White churches and Black churches and Chinese churches and Korean churches and African churches and traditional churches and contemporary churches and Spanish churches and non-alien immersion churches and churches for redheads and churches for tall people and churches for King James only readers? When did we decide we cannot really read the Bible together and sing songs to God as one if we don't look alike or have the same accent? Maybe it was when we discovered that the earth isn't really flat and you can't just push people away to the edge of the world hoping they will fall off if they aren't part of your clan. A round world leads to people of different skin tones and accents eventually coming alongside you if you travel far enough. Martin Luther King's dream is far-fetched. We still have a world that thinks churches are made for separated skin tones and cultures. But if the world thinks that way, should the Kingdom of God see it as so? Barack Obama and his candidacy has at least forced us to rethink this whole issue of difference. We are different but which differences bend our resolve to live together in community? Which ones lead to mistrust and a devil's slide into emotional cutoff? Olya remains the most beautiful Russian girl I know but not because she is Russian...it is because she is family...and it all happened the moment as a little girl she grabbed my hand and led me on a tour of the children's home...without a single intelligible word spoken between us but one...love. Churches without borders would be a beautiful thing!
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