From the Fields of Siberia

Missionary News from the Thormodsons

March  2001

Greetings from Novosibirsk,

Seminar on Romans

During Ephiphany, our mission in Novosibirsk hosted a three day seminar on the book of Romans directed by Pastor Dennis Anland who is currently serving in St. Petersburg. The average attendance each day was approximately 14 people. Attendees ranged from those who were familiar with the Christian religion to those who were simply curious. The varied levels of understanding presented an interesting challenge for teaching the Scriptures.

Discussion throughout the weekend consisted of the basic premises on which our Christian faith stands according to Paul’s letter to the Romans. On Friday, the lecture centered on God’s free gift of righteousness through the means of grace. Pastor Dennis described justification in the Christian religion by examining eastern religions. Additionally, the differences between Pentacostalism (a popular sect in Russia) and Lutheranism in relation to justification were examined. On Saturday, the march through Romans carried on with a discussion of Christ’s work on the cross to free us from sin and death. This day involved many questions about faith. How do we get it? How do we know we have it? How do we keep it? Pastor Dennis answered, "Faith is believing the news and walking out the door [of the prison]." On Sunday, the seminar concluded with a discussion of how Paul calls Christians to live in response to God’s love for us and Christ’s sacrifice for us. The lecture examined how we ought to live our lives in relation to love, government, and the spiritual gifts God gives each of His people for the building up of the church.

We were very pleased to see the interest those in attendance showed toward the seminar. There were many valid questions and discussions. The process of teaching the Bible is slow. Time must be allowed for each phrase to be carefully translated into Russian. Translating theological discussions can be challenging. The translators work hard to understand the religious meaning of an English phrase. Often cultural barriers prevent the hearing of the pure Word of God. These challenges only clarify the importance of training Russian men and women to lead the church.  Despite challenges, we thank and praise God for the opportunity to minister to the people of Novosibirsk. We pray He would continue to open the hearts of the people so they might hear His Word and begin new lives in Christ.

Seminar for our congregational bookkeepers

The last two days of February, our mission held a seminar for bookkeepers.  The Russian tax system is very difficult, complicated, and tends to assume dishonesty.  It is a common belief that if a business pays all the taxes required by the government, they would need to pay 110% of their income.  Taxes on employees' salaries are around 60%, taxes on income are around 80%, etc.  A second obstacle is that almost no one knows the laws for non-profit organizations and churches in Russia.  In the United States, the IRS does a good job of informing people about the laws.  In Russia, such a service is non-existent.  Each congregation is responsible for researching the tax laws and showing them to the tax inspectors, if they want to be exempt from certain taxes.  If a congregation has a desire to fulfill the laws of the land, they often feel frustrated and alone, because of the distance between them.

A seminar was organized in our mission center for bookkeepers from our partner church, the Ingrian Lutheran Church in Russia, as well as the German Lutheran Church (ELKRAS).  When the Roman Catholics heard about it, they also attended.  Overall, people came from seven time zones, from Moscow, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Habarosk, and Omsk.  It was a unique opportunity for congregations to work together and to help one another struggle with the many ethical issues involved in trying to do everything in accordance with God's will and in accordance with the laws of the land.  Eleven bookkeepers attended the seminar, which started out with two theological lectures.  The first lecture was on the Lutheran teaching of Church and State, the two kingdoms.  The second lecture surveyed the scriptures for references to money, wealth, and helped lay a spiritual foundation for the correct attitude toward money and taxes.  It was also the first time I used Microsoft Powerpoint for teaching a lecture and it proved to be a very effective teaching tool.  I am very thankful for the gift of a PCMA card, which made it possible.  After the scriptural foundations were laid, a tax consultant from Moscow lead the rest of the course.

The manner in which the church handles money is a wonderful witness to our congregation, as well as to the Russians.  It is my experience that many Christian mission organizations feel the Russian government is totally dishonest and doesn't deserve the support of the church.  They feel that paying taxes is a luxury very few can afford.  Therefore, many congregations look for ways to evade taxes in the name of missions.  For these church leaders, it was a wonderful experience to come together with others sharing the common goal of following the Lord's will in this difficult area of financial accountability.  At the end of the seminar, we asked each member of the group to tell us what they were taking back to their congregations.  To symbolize this, we placed a green box on the floor which represented the foundation upon which the Church rests, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Each member placed a box upon this foundation and shared with the group what they had learned.  Many said they were very thankful to God for such an opportunity to learn and gather with other Christians.  Others had tears in their eyes as they expressed their joy over Christian fellowship and love they had experienced at the seminar. 

Both the Book of Romans and bookkeepers' seminars far exceeded my expectations, as people are growing and learning more and more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and about how to live for Christ in this culture.  Continue to pray for us and those congregations we are supporting, that they would remain faithful to the Lord and would continue to grow and prosper.  Most important right now, pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send workers to labor in the field.  There are more and more opportunities for national church leaders, but there just aren't enough people to meet every opportunity.  We are thankful for what the Lord has given us and look to him in helping us reach out and help the many who still are in need.

 

Your missionaries in Siberia,

Rev. Jeff and Jeanne Thormodson

LMCS missionaries in Novosibirsk, Russia