I've spent the last week processing the lessons learned at the European Church Planters Network learning community in Portugal.  After having spent approximately 40 hours in a 72 hour stretch in organized interaction with other church planters from Europe -- my brain getting filled up with all kinds of questions and ideas along the way -- I needed some time for myself to sift out the most important elements of of the week's learning... And although I still feel very challenged about things like developing an entrepreneurial culture without our church, the missiological implications of paying full-time ministry workers, and thinking in terms of church-planting-movements instead of simply linear church-planting strategies -- I think my biggest take-away from the week in Portugal was the time that I got to spend with Victor John and Sandy Millar (pictured above).

Both men amazed me with their wisdom and experience, while maintaining a sense of earthiness and genuine warmth.  Both men challenged me with the richness of their prayer life and their commitment to God.  Both men encouraged me by taking a genuine interest in Zolder50's work in Amsterdam and basically coming alongside us as we considered our future as a church.  Both men stood out as role models for me.

Victor John was a full-time pastor in an Indian congregation that had been established by Swedish missionaries during the first half of the 20th Century.  But as the European missionaries were gradually phased out of responsibility for the work of the Church in India (according to government policy), Victor found himself facing a crossroads in his ministry about 15 years ago.  Ultimately, he decided to step out of his role as a full-time pastor for his congregation (which is a very unusual thing to do in India, where the pastor is highly honored), and he helped to establish a rapidly-multiplying network of house-churches which has led to an estimated 3 million people coming to Christ among the Bohjpurri people of northern India.  Among these followers of Christ, approximately 50 former Muslim clerics are now helping to catalyze over 200 house churches among the culturally-Muslim popluations of the region!  Now, they're hoping and praying for another 30 million people to come to Christ in the coming ten years!  It seems crazy!  And yet, it's all accomplished through a very simple (though radical) commitment to prayer, studying the Bible, and empowering others to pass on the things they learn from God throughout their social networks.  As Victor talked with the pastors of the ECPN, he minced no words and threw out some massive challenges -- and yet he maintained a supportive, encouraging tone.  He called us out on the carpet, and yet he let us know that he wanted to help us.  For one whole session, Victor sat with Todd, Gerard, and me -- just the four of us -- helping us to think through the implications of his experiences in India for our church in Holland.  We asked question after question after question, and we soaked up all the wisdom he poured in our direction.

Sandy Millar is a white-haired Scotsman with a warm personality, a genteel manner of conversation, a quick smile, and a witty remark always on his lips.  He gave me an immediate hug when he saw me in Portugal, even though the extent of our acquaintance was basically limited to a paella dinner in Barcelona almost a year ago.  He's a highly-esteemed bishop in the Church of England, and yet when he retired from his ministry with London's Holy Trinity Brompton (the church who started the Alpha Course, under his leadership, no less) -- he took a position as vicar of Tollington Park (one of the poorest parishes in London) for his "retirement."  As we talked with him, he would continually come back to the themes of loyalty and gratitude (particularly toward the Americans -- I was interested to hear -- who other Europeans seem somewhat prone to disdain, even if politely or silently).  And he regularly demonstrated the importance of generosity:  giving away resources from the church, being willing to walk away from "success," giving credit to others, always trying to hand off the microphone to someone else from his team who could explain things better than he could.  He was a beautiful man with a beautiful wife and a beautiful life of ministry -- yet he somehow managed to remain infinitely approachable.  In fact, I continually wanted to rush up to him and give him a big hug!  It was such a privilege to be able to pray with him and talk with him.

These two men -- though representing opposite ends of the ministry spectrum -- were definitely the highlight of my time in Portugal.  I hope that I can be like them, when I "grow up."