I’ve just returned from my mission trip to Berlin, Germany. It was a fascinating trip made all the more interesting by the fact that the last time I was in Germany, West Berlin was an oasis of democracy and East Berlin was really the city living within the walls of Communism (yes, it was that long ago). This time, however, I discovered Berlin to be an open city. Unfortunately, it’s a city open to every kind of idealism known to man except Christianity.

Christians account for less that 1% of all Berliners. You will see homosexuals engaging in very open acts of PDA on the train. You will find neo-Nazis and bellicose Muslims on street corners. But, I challenge you to find a professing Christian. When, and if, you find one, they nearly weep for joy at the prospect of a common bond, a twinkle of hope, in the darkness that surrounds them.

As we talked to various Germans and internationals in the city, we heard a common theme. They are not so much against God but indifferent toward Him. When asked, one young man responded that he hadn’t really thought about spiritual matters at all. When we pressed the issue and asked the reason for his indifference, his answer rang with a frightening hollowness. He hadn’t thought about spirituality because his parents did not. Instead, he said, the national football (soccer) team was real and worthy of his attention at the moment.

On Friday, we walked the streets of Wittenburg. I got to see many of the landmarks of the early Reformation. I got to lead a devotional in Martin Luther’s home church. And, I got to feel the spiritual deadness of a town that had moved past its past to a future without the God of Luther. Wittenburg, the birthplace of the Reformation, stands as a memorial to the new dark ages that have settled over Berlin, Germany, and most of Europe. It’s not that they have rejected God thoughtfully so much as they just don’t bother to think about Him anymore.

Please pray for Berlin. Pray for the few Christians that are there that God would send the compassionate pastors and passionate preachers. Pray that they would find the fellowship of believers they so desperately crave. Pray that they will be a light unto their nation. Pray that God will bring Europe out of the dark and into the light. Pray that God would send others, perhaps yourself, to launch a new reformation in the heart of that very dark continent.

This entry is filed under The Believer.

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