Church of God Theological College in Stara Zagora
The recent developments within the Bulgarian Church of God have resulted in a reassessment of the role of the Church of God Theological College in Stara Zagora beyond its educational scope as a faculty department of the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute (BETI). This realization has become even more perplexed with the ongoing accreditation process of the Evangelical Institute with the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, as it remains unclear if the school in Stara Zagora will be included in the final registration as a theological institution of the Bulgarian Church of God or if it will be forced to follow an alternative registration. This lack of transparency leaves the Bulgarian Church of God in jeopardy of its educational representation within the Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance and the Bulgarian Ministry of Education.
Meanwhile, it has been generally noted by other theological institutions in Bulgaria that the number of Bible students has gradually decreased in the past years. This process has been dictated by a number of internal and external factors, as the main one among them is that some two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the evangelical denominations in Bulgaria are unable to implement an adequate process of professional placement within their structures for graduates with religious education. The Assemblies of God in Bulgaria realized this trend and moved their training center from the Danube river town of Russe to the capital Sofia early in their educational endeavor. The Church of God College in Stara Zagora is yet to initiate such action, although it is becoming clearer that this move is simply inevitable. The timing for repositioning also remains under question.
It is unfortunate to notice that the school, as it operates today, is neither a leading theological center nor a provision of ministers for the denomination with which it is affiliated. This status raises the valid question of why, after a decade of operation through a substantial investment on the part of the denomination, the Church of God Theological College in Stara Zagora was unable to become a theological center. Not merely a school or educational institution, but a place where theology is envisioned, born and practiced. The reasons for this inability can be found in three major factors: location, people and communication.
The location of the Church of God Theological College in the Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora has proven to be insufficient for the global mission of the school. However, the location of the school on the territory of Bulgaria still remains one of its strongest characteristics. In the early part of its history, the Church of God Theological College was the only operational Church of God affiliated educational institution in the former Communist Block, including the vast territory of Russia. It was placed in the superb geographical location of the Balkan Peninsula with open access to three world continents, three world religions and over one hundred ethnic groups. It was the only Church of God School operating in an Eastern Orthodox country, thus monopolizing the opportunity to research the theological relationship between Eastern mysticism and the Pentecostal experience. And finally, based on the gateway between Europe and the Middle East, the school had an opportunity to effectively engage in the on-going international dialogue between Christianity and Islam. But for a decade of fully sponsored denominational existence, the college has not offered, within the perimeter of its educational strategy, any major research conferences, international round tables, global seminars, public discussions, publication of research papers or books to involve the international scholastic community within the theological trends offered by its unique context of ministry.
Besides its location, the people of the school have also played a major role within its development. Since the early strategy to provide scholarship for students was difficult to maintain, the interest toward the college decreased, as many students preferred the more convenient and prominent location of other schools within the Evangelical Institute operating in the capital Sofia. A similar trend took place among the faculty members, as many relocated only a few years after the school began operating. This was only natural as the initial faculty selection ignored a number of leading Bulgarian theologians with Pentecostal background and degrees from Harvard, Yale, Princeton Columbia, Regent, Fuller, Dallas and Duke who had a clearly expressed interest in Bulgarian religious education. Naturally, the theologians participating in the educational process of the Stara Zagora school were never able to embrace the school as their alma-matter of theological thought and their context of ministry.
This lack of communication between identity and practice remained a constant struggle for the school not only in the context of its location and people, but in its realization as a ministry training school for the Bulgarian Church of God. The denomination was press to accommodate the strife toward educational excellence on part of the college, on one hand and the plan for a ministry training center on part of the Church of God, on the other. Unfortunately, these two visions, as common as they may be portrayed, never reached a point of merge thus dictating the eventual, if not immediate, separation of the school from the mainline movement. In this context the Bulgarian Church of God was both unprepared and unable to embrace the school as its own. Regardless of its support before government authorities and representation with board of directors of BETI the denomination fell short to fully embrace the college in Stara Zagora and to communicate this relationship clearly to members and ministers seeking higher education. In this context, it can be understood why majority of the school graduates never return to minister in their home churches after completing the educational program at the Church of God Theological College in Stara Zagora.
Today, the separation of church and school remains a leading source of tensions, while the Church of God Theological College in Stara Zagora is in the process of receiving its official accreditation with the Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education as a Department of BETI. The unresolved tensions within the denominations contribute further to the dilemma leaving members, ministries as well as the Bulgarian Ministry of Education with one open question: Will the Theological College in Stara Zagora continue to be the ministry training center for the Bulgarian Church of God when it is granted official government accreditation.
The Albert H. Lybyer Papers
As we have reported through the years, a good number of our research publications on Bulgarian Protestant history come from the great treasure of knowledge stored at the library center of the University of Illinois in Urbana. Through this research, our teams have been able to discover documents, books and personal archives related directly to the early period of Protestant presence on the Balkans.
Our last trip to Urbana revealed the personal papers of Albert H. Lybyer who taught at Robert’s College in Istanbul as well as the Missionary School in Samokov. The University of Illinois Archives hold several boxes containing his personal papers among which we were able to identify his diary with records of his arrival on the Balkans, trips taken through Bulgaria, Serbia and Turkey from the early 1940s, his grade book and a number of authentic official documents related to the school’s educational program, social activities and financial status. We are in the process of reproducing these papers in a digital format in order to make them available to the Bulgarian researches in the field, as part of our ministry’s endeavor to tell the story of Bulgarian Protestantism.
Visiting Patten University
Our visit to Patten University was not accidental as we reacquainted with professors and pastors affiliated with the school. We were also able to participate in the planning of the Summerfest 2008 which will be held by the Church of God in the heart of San Francisco. As the ministry context of our X Youth Events in Bulgaria is very similar, we were able to sharpen our understanding for inner-city missions and learn new paradigms for urban missions which will help us in the organizing of future youth events in Bulgaria.
From Elsinore to Sacramento
We are thankful to the Lord for opening another door for ministry in the United States in the state of California. Our visit there, both long-waited and unexpected, took our ministry from Elsinore to Sacramento. We visited with the Living Waters Church at Orange County, had meetings at Simi Valley, ministered at Fresno, met with ministers at Patten College, reestablished connections in San Francisco and had two great services with Pastor Duncan and the New Life Christian Center of Rio Linda. We are looking forward to return to California and minister there again soon.
My First Free Easter
I remember my First Free Easter. It was in the spring of 1991 immediately after the Fall of the Berlin Wall. The Bulgarian Church of God had just emerged from its underground status taking its respectful place in the Bulgarian social life. As a powerful transformational force, literally over night, the denomination rapidly grew from 800 to some 8,000 members. The First Free Easter was to be held in the largest auditorium in Bulgaria, the National Palace of Culture and Rev. Floyd Louhan traveled all the way from the United States to deliver the Easter message. Read more
East Coast Bible College Alumni Reunion August 29–31, 2008 Charlotte NC
For over twenty years, East Coast Bible College was a place which left a great legacy of training as well as wonderful memories for many students, staff, local pastors, and denominational leaders. It was a place where students and faculty grew in a deeply intimate relationship with our Great Father. It was a place where we were trained and prepared to step out into places of ministry that still continues throughout the world. It was also a place where many were able to see God move with great demonstration in spiritual gifts, miracles and forthright testimonies of God’s power. Through these faculty and students, East Coast Bible College still lives today! Read more
Doing Missions in the Spirit
This message is not even 30 minutes long, but I challenge you to take the time and listen to it today. If you do not sense the Spirit of God in the first five minutes, feel free to turn it off. I truly believe that this is a message from God that every minister, missionary and church must hear. It was preached at the annual mission’s conference organized by the Good Shepard Church of God in Pahokee, Florida under the title “Doing Missions in the Spirit.” What are you going to do when governments, organizations or finances do not permit you to do missions? What are you going to do when people and problems send you to the periphery of ministry, while God has called you to the epicenter of missions? All these questions and many others are answered in “Doing Missions in the Spirit.”
Click on the link to download and listen to the message https://cupandcross.com/mp3s/missioninspirit.mp3
Building Bridges to People while Doing Urban Missions in the Spirit
My longtime friend, mentor and colleague, Sean O’Neal, who serves as the the Director of Evangelism and Youth Ministries for the Church of God California/Nevada State Executive Office, has published his dissertation work under the title “Bridges to People.” The book is one of a few, if not the only published academic research on urban missions from a Pentecostal perspective.
But the text is much more than just a dissertation project. It is a practical application emerging from over two decades of urban missions work across America, which is intended to be used as a training tool for pastors and congregations who are involved in cross-cultural urban ministry.
Sean’s ministry begins in Indiana and moves to Chicago metro where the church he pastors transforms into a multicultural center ministering to Bulgarian, Romanians, Hungarians and Mexicans and building bridges between ethnic groups within the Kingdom of God. The practical experience, which becomes the basis and the heart of the publication redefines the philosophy of modern day urban ministry in the 21st century. The claim that the book defends over and over is simple: the effectiveness of urban ministry depends on its origin in the praxis of ministry. And this is a truly Pentecostal claim, as it places the practical experience of faith within the multicultural context of ministry before all theological and philosophical presuppositions.
I know that by now, most of you who are involved in any type of urban ministry are already asking the question: “Will this work for me?” It worked for Sean and the ministers whom he trained to recognize the need and provide the needed ministry. The principles which he defines and describes come directly from his experience within the multicultural ethnic context of Chicago (1990-1998), New Jersey and New York (1998-2002), Urbana (2002-2004) and California, where he currently teaches and ministers.
“Bridges to People” is intended to be used exactly the way it was developed: in a practical self-growing, self-testing and self-accountable ministry. It is a cross-cultural training manual for ministries and churches through redefining the ethnic reality of your community. Its objective to build a multi-facet cross cultural ministry makes it applicable not only for American based organizations, but for international ones as well. And last, but not least: it is written from a Pentecostal perspective, giving a central place of the work of the Holy Spirit building bridges between people across cultures and redefining doing missions in, from, by and with the Spirit of God.
“Bridges to People” can be purchased at Amazon.com by clicking on the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Bridges-People-Sean-S-ONeal/dp/1602662681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205607996&sr=8-1
Cup & Cross Ministries with a New Website
Since 1999, the website of Cup & Cross Ministries has become an international media center for evangelical churches in Eastern Europe. It has served as a reliable source of information for the ministry and developments of the Bulgarian Church of God publishing official statistics, interviews with church leaders, in-depth research and much more. Through this efforts, the website has become an information bank for Bulgarian Pentecostalism used by denominational medias, research centers, Bulgarian and foreign government and non-government organizations including the U.S. Department of State.
The new design and functionality of the website offers a large spectrum of text, audio and video materials which inform of the scope of our ministry. The renovating technologies implemented in the new web center allow visitors to receive regular news updates via email or text message on their cell phone. The audio streaming allows the live delivery of sermons and audio content, while the video option will allow us to broadcast live ministry events from Bulgaria, hold video conferences with team members and provide an opportunity for churches to publish broadcast information about their ministry in video format.
Recently, the national overseer of the Bulgarian Church of God asked our team to assist with the PR of the denomination while informing and promoting the ministry of the church via the internet and other medias. This new media strategy will include broadening the coverage through regular ministry reports of the dynamics and activities of the denomination, introduction of churches and ministers, interviews, statistics and analysis. Having received this great responsibility, Cup & Cross Ministries is committed to continue the mission of bringing up to date reliable information about the Bulgarian Church of God and to serve toward the broadening of its media ministry strategy in the 21st century.
A New Website for Pastors Released
Two years ago Cup & Cross Ministries released the first Bulgarian website dedicated to the ministry of the pastor. The website was built to accommodate the needs of the Bulgarian fellowship for pastors and to promote the pastoral ministry as a whole. Recently, we decided to broaden the perimeter of this ministry and offer a new website for pastors (http://www.Pastir.org) which will provide news, sermons, music, video presentations, round tables and so forth. This effort promotes the establishment of a nationwide web community of pastors that encourages interaction between clergy, church members and unchurched people, and provides a platform for discussion of vital issues within the realm of ministry.
