I returned to Sighișoara a few days ago, after spending a week and a half in Lisbon, Portugal. I was there for 2 back-to-back events: the annual Faculty Assembly for European Nazarene College and the quadrennial Manual Translation Summit. Here are a few pictures and reflections from my trip.
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Sunrise over the Tagus River
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Learning Center Coordinators and Administrators
On Monday, January 29, the coordinators and administrators of the 17 EuNC learning centers spread throughout Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East, gathered for informational meetings before the official start of the faculty assembly.
Since 2016, I have been leading the Romania Learning Center (first as administrator and then as coordinator), working closely with both the EuNC Leadership Team and with the Central Europe Field leadership. This collaboration has led to 8 Romanians completing their studies with EuNC in the past 5 years: 6 graduated with the Certificate in Spiritual Formation, 4 with the Diploma in Christian Ministry, 1 with the Advanced Diploma in Applied Theology, not to mention that 5 finished the course of study required for ordination.
When I stepped into the role of district superintendent in 2021, I knew that it would be difficult to balance the responsibilities of both roles. After a lot of prayer, I decided that this would be my final meeting as learning center coordinator for Romania, and that I would officially step away from this role at the conclusion of the faculty assembly. That doesn't mean I'm leaving EuNC, though. I'm continuing to serve as a faculty member, Romania Learning Center committee member, and Romania Learning Center librarian.
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| Learning Center coordinators & administrators |
European Nazarene College
Across the hall from our meetings, the EuNC Board of Trustees was having their first in-person meeting since 2020. I heard afterwards that this was the first time the board was made of (almost) all non-native English speakers. When I heard that, I looked around the room and realized that the faculty of European Nazarene College is also becoming more European and less American (which is a very healthy progression!). When I first went to EuNC as a study-abroad student in 2002, almost all of the faculty were American missionaries. Over the past 2 decades, there has been an increasing number of Europeans joining the faculty. This year, I was one of only two Nazarene missionaries from the US present at the faculty assembly.
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EuNC Faculty
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This trend is reflected in the Romania Learning Center. Ten years ago, the 4 members of our learning center's faculty were entirely North American. Now there are 4 Romanians who serve on the faculty (3 of whom were present at this year's faculty assembly) and a Romanian serving on the Board of Trustees. It's wonderful to see this development.
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Romania Learning Center Faculty Members
& Board of Trustees Member
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Graduates from One School...in Many Nations
The opening service for faculty assembly took place on Monday evening. (You can
click here to watch the video of the service.) During Rector Mária Gusztinné Tulipán's presentation, she remarked that during the current academic year, 31 students will graduate from EuNC. Since graduations occur at different times throughout the school year (usually at a district assembly), at different locations, and often with just 1 or 2 graduates each, it is easy to overlook the fact that EuNC is a single school with over 300 students taking courses in the past year. On the screen behind her, the pictures of the 31 graduates were projected -- including the
recent graduate from the Romania Learning Center.
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| Opening Service |
Faculty Development
The majority of Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in faculty development sessions designed to help us become more effective teachers. As more and more courses are being taught online and/or via videoconferencing, it's important for us as teachers to understand our adult learners, facilitate their learning, and accurately assess their progress. I walked away from these training sessions with a list of very practical ways to improve the courses I teach.
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| Faculty Development Session |
Translating the Changes to the Manual
On Thursday, February 1, the Manual Translation Summit began. Eleven different language committees from across the Eurasia Region gathered with the task of translating the new sections of the Church of the Nazarene's Manual into their respective languages. These new sections were added following the actions of the 30th General Assembly, held in June 2023. (Click here to read more about the release of the 2023 edition of the Manual.)
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| Manual Translation Summit |
A Global Church
On the first day of the summit, we were reminded of the global nature of the process to update the Manual. The Church of the Nazarene is neither episcopal nor congregational, but has a representative form of government. Changes to the Manual don't come "from the top down," but originate with local churches. Local church members from around the world elected delegates to their district assemblies. District assemblies then elected delegates to the General Assembly. Resolutions to update the Manual came from around the world and were approved by the delegates to the General Assembly. Our job in Portugal was to accurately translate the changes that were made by the global church.
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| Manual Summit participants |
Updating the Manual
Someone recently asked me why the Manual needs to be changed every 4 years. The short answer goes something like this: I've heard it said that the Manual contains the collective wisdom of the 115 year history of our denomination. As new situations arise, we add provisions so we don't have to reinvent the wheel every time the same problem occurs (and to prevent it from reoccurring). As we become a more global church, we change language and policies to reflect the reality that, although the denomination was founded in the United States, the majority of church members are now from other world regions. As the world around us changes, we need to update and clarify the language we use to express our theology without altering what we believe.
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Romanian language translation committee
(The 2 other members weren't able to attend the summit
but will contribute to the final translation.) |
Growing in Holiness
Right before the start of the Manual Summit, I was reading a book about John Wesley, spiritual formation, and the holy life. There's a big difference between the idea of "flawless perfection" (which says, "I need to be perfect [i.e. 'flawless'] in order to be holy") and John Wesley's idea of "Christian perfection" (which says, "God has made me holy, therefore, I am being made perfect [i.e. being restored to Christlikeness, becoming 'complete' or 'whole'].") With Wesley's view of holiness fresh in my mind, I found the rewritten statement on "The Christian Life" from the Covenant of Christian Conduct to be quite refreshing. This section, which was once known as the "Special Rules," was long overdue for a rewrite. Even though the name had changed to "Covenant" a few decades ago, it was still just a list of practices to be avoided. The newly-rewritten statement, based in theological statements of God's grace, calls the disciple to embody the new life in Christ and to grow in holiness.
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A post circulating on social media
while I was in Portugal |
The Kingdom of God is Like...
Since the beginning of the year, I've been reading through the Gospels. Jesus would often tell parables to describe what the Kingdom of God is like. I caught a powerful glimpse of what God's Kingdom is like during one of the most fun activities of my entire stay in Portugal. I spent two evenings playing board games with Nazarenes from Russia and from Ukraine. We had fun together. We laughed together. It seemed so normal that I didn't even notice how profound it was until the television news interrupted the game with a report about the latest fighting in Ukraine. In the middle of a war in which these two nations are fighting one another, these brothers and sisters in Christ put their heavenly Kingdom identity above any earthly nation's citizenship. Throughout the time in Portugal, we worshiped together, shared meals together, attended sessions together, and celebrated Holy Communion together. The divided world cannot comprehend this. But this is what the Kingdom of God is like.
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Playing "Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza" in Russian.
If you've never played it, it's hilarious...
especially if you're the only one who doesn't read the Cyrillic alphabet! |
Back to Romania on February 8
I flew back to Romania on Thursday, February 8. This is an important date for me because it's the anniversary of my first arrival in Romania – on Thursday, February 8, 2001. Whenever this time of the year comes around, I find myself reflecting not only on those 6 months I spent in Romania as a college student, but also how I have seen God at work during the past 23 years. What a journey it's been: from study-abroad student to district superintendent! And all the way, God's been faithful!
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Passport stamps entering Romania on February 8, 2001 and 2024:
08.02.01 & 08.02.24 |
Partnering with the Methodists
After landing in Romania on Thursday evening, I stayed overnight with the pastor of the United Methodist Church in Sibiu, Romania. He and his wife teach for EuNC, and both attended the Faculty Assembly. While in Sibiu, we discussed possible ways that the Church of the Nazarene and the United Methodist Church can partner together, especially in the areas of literature development and theological education.
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Romania Learning Center faculty
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Back Home...For Now
I arrived home on Friday afternoon, after 12 days away. The days in Portugal were full, but they were a nice break from my normal day-to-day responsibilities. In a way, this was a refreshing foretaste of my upcoming 3-month sabbatical, which begins in just over a month.
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| Mezi likes to join my Zoom meetings |
Photo credits: EuNC & Paula Creely Facebook
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