July 27, 2001
Northern Ireland has to be experienced to be believed. We’ve read about the “Troubles” for years. Persistent reports of bombs, angry clashes on the streets and failed peace talks stir a tired sense of déjà vu. Secretly we’re glad this all happens in a remote corner of Europe separated from most of us by a […]
July 16, 2001
Suppose we had an event where we gathered students from east and west in Europe… Suppose they could be imparted with a vision of Europe’s future in which believers played proactive and vital roles in politics, journalism, business, law and public life… Suppose they could realise they didn’t have to become pastors or missionaries to […]
July 9, 2001
An old friend of YWAM wrote to me in near desperation a while back. He gathers information about mission opportunities from the internet to put on his website www.mfinder.org, and gets several thousand ‘hits’ each month. When he started this almost two years ago, he had fully expected to steer lots of people to YWAM. […]
July 2, 2001
The bodies were black, brown and yellow, with a sprinkling of palefaces, jammed into the conference room at De Poort in Amsterdam last week. On the big screen more black-brown-yellow faces sang, clapped, danced, prayed and communicated from the distance of thousands of miles via a GENESIS link-up with Kona, South Africa, Lausanne, Sweden … […]
June 25, 2001
Help! not just anybody. Help! you know I need some-one. He-ee-elp! Nostalgic strains of classic Beatle songs waft through the house these days as a younger generation discovers the Lennon-McCartney genius. Particularly poignant is this 1965 hit – “when I was younger, so much younger than toda-a-a-y….” – which conjures up from my subconsciousness a […]
June 18, 2001
Nothing special draws attention to the narrow cobblestone Latin Bridge spanning the Miljacka River flowing through Sarajevo. Local Bosnian pedestrians bustle routinely across its four arches to and from the town centre. Trams rattle along the riverside, stopping at the bridge to exchange passengers. Other wider bridges up- and down-stream seem to be much more […]
June 11, 2001
The future of the Church in Europe belongs not to the caretakers (those simply maintaining the status quo), and certainly not to the undertakers (those engaged in ceremonial burials of the dead). No, the future will belong to the risktakers: those daring to challenge the established disorder of things, those willing to make bold efforts […]
June 4, 2001
Despite the collapse of communism, investment in disaster-prone Russia is still a risky venture for most businesses. But after visiting Europe’s eastern-most city, I’ve been reminded of the urgency – in our line of business – to invest in this great land. Perm is a mega-city twice the population of Amsterdam, built on the banks […]
May 21, 2001
Did you hear the one about…? Probably not, because I’m making this up as I go along. You see, there was this imam – a kind of Moslem pastor – who last week dared to say on Dutch TV that homosexuality was a sickness. Poor man. Obviously nobody had told him about political correctness. Suddenly […]
May 7, 2001
… fell mainly on the Costa del Sol this last week, so it seemed. Romkje and I were being hosted by Garry and Anke Tissingh, our North Africa directors, in our annual meeting for the Europe, Middle East and North Africa field leadership, along with Lynn and Marty Green, and Mounir and Ruth Boctor. So […]
April 23, 2001
Today’s BBC World report that unidentified gunmen were holding guests hostage in a hotel in Istanbul arrested my attention as I brushed my teeth this morning. Mention of a number of hostages being held in a 5th floor conference room glued me to the TV. For, just a few days ago, I had joined an […]
April 16, 2001
A spirit of death hangs over our neighbourhood in Holland this easter. Flags fly at half mast from houses and farm buildings. Gloom, fear and anger dominate many domestic conversations. Rumours circulate of farmers going bankrupt. Shoppers horde milk and supplies. Red and white plastic tapes cordon off farms from visitors. Many children are unable […]
