Serving at Black Forest Academy: Neuenburg International Church: Neuenburg, Germany

It has always been instilled in my growing up years, that it is important for Christians to be a part of a healthy, Bible believing church. Moving to another country can have its challenges with finding a local church that fits the main criteria with a different language, culture, etc. When I returned from my Home Assignment year, I began attending the Neuenburg International Church in Neuenburg, Germany which is about a 30 minute drive. My friend, Christian and Becky pick me up Sunday morning then bring me back home again when the service is over. Becky had shared some of the teaching she had received from the church in the past and I was interested in finding out more. Since, that day, I have been a regular attender and continue to learn and grow under solid Biblical teaching. In this blogpost, I wanted to take the time to share a little more of the NIC (Neuenburg International Church).

NIC believes in the certain fundamentals of the Christian faith; the existence of the triune God, the deity of Jesus Christ, the virgin birth and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and more. Click here for the full list. The NIC has set up their service in the order that includes a call to worship, confession of sin, Gospel, sermon then a final send off. Here is an example of an NIC service from today's Sunday worship. NIC services are in English and German with Pastor Stephen usually speaking in English (he also speaks fluent German) and several individuals from the congregation taking turns to translate into German.

We typically begin with announcements yet there are few of those these days because of Corona. Pastor Stephen asks for prayer requests so that we can pray as a congregation at the end of our service. We then move on to the call to worship which today came from Colossians 3:1-4 and was read in English, then German.

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4

After our first scripture reading, we sing a song that relates to what was just read. We sing a total of four songs on a Sunday morning; two are in English and two are in German. The order changes depending on the Sunday. This morning, our first song was in German entitled, "Du Grosser Gott." English speakers would know this as "How Great Thou Art." I have added links to a German version and an English version for your listening pleasure!

Next, Pastor Stephen reads a passage that has us searching our hearts and repenting of our sins before God. This mornings passage was 1 Corinthians 6:7-11 and was read in English only. After reading, Pastor Stephen will typically share for a few minutes how this passage applies to our lives and pray.

"To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be offended? but you yourselves wrong and defraud - even your own brothers! Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor theives, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:7-11

We then sang another German song; "Jesus, zu dir kann ich so kommen."

Next in our service order comes the Gospel. We begin by reading another passage and this morning, we read Philippians 3:2-11 in German only.

"Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. for we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh - though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."

Philippians 3:2-11

Following this passage was the song, "Arise my soul arise" sung in English. I found a version which has a different tune than we sang this morning.

After the Gospel, we read the sermon passage which is read in English and German. We recently began a sermon series in 1 Corinthians. Today's passage was 1 Corinthians 1:10-16.

"I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no division among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgement. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. "I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 1 Corinthians 1:10-16

Here are some highlights:

In the sermon, we looked at divisions within this first century church and how that relates to our church. The church does not belong to the pastor, but to the Lord. Pastors come and go, Jesus remains the same. The church needs to be united around Jesus and not the pastor. Pastor Stephen posed a few questions. Is Paul suggesting that we actually don't need preachers? If he is not saying that, how do we have unity when teachers don't agree? Do we even need teachers at all? Since we have Jesus, His Word, His spirit; isn't that enough? Men just bring division. You just need yourself and your Bible. Pastor Stephen gave an extreme example of Quakers. When they worship, they will sit around until someone gets a word from the Spirit then shares with the group.

The Bible and the Holy Spirit are all you need to be saved. This is naïve at best and in the worst case scenario, arrogant to believe you don't need help from Christian brothers who are older in the faith. Paul said, "imitate me (Paul) and follow them (other leaders)." Is Paul contradicting himself? Philippians 1:1 says "Be imitators of me as I am of Christ." It's not about Paul. Join Paul in following Christ. That's the purpose of Christian teachers, theologians, etc. They make us better followers of Jesus. Pastor Stephen gave an illustration of driving to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, following signposts along way. When reaching a signpost that says the Grand Canyon is a mile away, we stop the car, get out to take pictures, then get back in the car and go home! We are not supposed to get distracted by the signposts. Solid Christian leaders are signposts pointing to Jesus. They help us to not get lost. Their purpose is to bring us to our destination. Don't stop to look at them, go where they are pointing.

The problem with this first century church was that they were giving too much attention to the signposts rather than where they were pointing - Jesus. God calls some to be teachers. We are to put teachers in their right place, as signposts and not destinations. Teachers will make mistakes - our responsibility is to check that what they are saying lines up with the Word of God.

How can we maintain unity in the church when our leaders don't always agree? How do we have unity in the non-essentials? In this church (NIC), we have a wide variety of backgrounds. How can we maintain unity with a wide diversity?

First, Pastor Stephen gave a few non-helpful answers; the brick and the marshmallow. A brick is a person has his teachers and theological views and has no willingness to change those views even when confronted with the Bible. This person knows everything already and comes to church to evaluate the sermon. Anyone who does not agree with this person is a heretic.

The marshmallow is the exact opposite; squishy, has no theological convictions. "There are smart people on both sides of the debate, so I don't think anyone can know the truth." This person is open to all views and believes we cannot arrive at the truth. Neither are helpful. They both stop the discussion. Neither care ultimately about the truth.

On the one hand, we need to be eager to grow, learn, and maturing in our faith. We also need to go back to the Bible to test what is being taught and said. We need to test what we are hearing by God's Word. We disagree on some non-essentials, but know we are equally committed to seeking God's truth in the Bible. We see God's Word as our authority. In closing, Pastor Stephen is praying for two things. May the Lord continue to guide us in our passion for the truth. And that He will continue to give us unity in our non-essential diversity.

At this point, Pastor Stephen opened us up to prayer. He invited those in the congregation to pray in their mother tongues if so inclined.

After prayer, we sang "All in All" in English.

After the song, Pastor Stephen gave a blessing in German then we sang the Doxology together in English.

If you made it this far, thank you for joining me in sharing about my church here in Germany! May your day be blessed by the One who created you and remains the same forever and forever!

I almost forgot!! I also took pictures this morning to share with you!

The NIC is in a kid's clothing store. The store is on the bottom level and the church is on the top floor. Hence, the orange carrot. :)

When going up the stairs, at the top, on the right is the kid's room (nursery and/or Sunday School). Straight ahead is a bathroom of which I didn't take a photo. ;)