I’m finishing up my amazing whirlwind visit to Germany to see Angelika and Gerd Brunnquell, the landlords of our second Capitol Hill property. I spent Tuesday, October 28, mostly sleeping off the red-eye flight across the Atlantic. (I got very sick during the layover in Amsterdam, but recovered quickly, Praise God!) After checking in at Frankfurt’s Hotel InterContinental on Wilhelm Leuschner Strasse, I took a quick night-time “Joshua-Caleb tour” of downtown and went to bed early to re-set my body clock. In the morning I went for a short walk along the nearby Main River (that’s pronounced MY’-EHN), then grabbed a cab to meet up with Elisabeth Heim, a mutual friend to the Brunquells, who was herself visiting Frankfurt and offered me a ride to Hassfurt, where she and the Brunnquells live. (Her presence in Frankfurt was no coincidence–read on!)

I’ll interrupt the narrative to say that I would normally not accept a ride alone with a strange woman, especially in a foreign country. In fact, I tried to decline and told the Brunnquells of my plans to take the train, but my hosts would not hear of it. In deference to them, I reluctantly accepted. It violated the rules I’ve assiduously adhered to for 30 years of traveling ministry, but this exception turned out to be a great blessing. Elisabeth is a “salt-of-earth” Christian with a fascinatingly eclectic history. Raised in a Catholic home, she drifted far from her childhood faith, lived a wild life as a secularist content with her successful career and night-time partying life. By her mid-forties she had burned out and her soul was empty. She cried out to the Lord who “saved” her, found her way to a predominantly African and African-American English-language Evangelical church near Frankfurt, and was eventually ordained a deaconess there. She spent several years as the de-facto administrator of the church until circumstances led her back to her native Franconian village of Hassfurt. She got to know the Brunnquells after she returned to the Catholic church there.

Elisabeth was an answer to prayer for more than one reason. First, she simply offered Christian fellowship and that’s blessing enough, but more than that, she offered refreshingly honest Christian fellowship. She’s a down-to-earth Christian–a raw work of grace who still smokes, in spite of the scoldings she routinely gets from holiness-minded brothers and sisters! She told me she often would sneak behind her former Baptist church to have a cig, sometimes after she had just finished preaching! Anyway, Elisabeth also gave me a good overview of church life and the larger Christian community in Germany, something I had on my mind as I walked and prayed earlier.

Once in Hassfurt, I was quickly settled into the Brunnquell’s delightful home in this picturesque hamlet. Angelika (whose late mother, Irmgard Romer, had occupied the house in Washington we now lease from Angelika) was a delightful host even though she’s recovering from a badly broken leg! Her husband Gerd helped a great deal in offering hospitality, but Angelika still did way too much for me on her two canes! In any case, they made me feel immediately like family, beginning with a sensational home-cooked German lunch. (I LOVE German food–and there was a lot there to love! At night they took me to a classic German restaurant, called a Guest House or “Gasthaus.”) But, I digress . . .

It was later, just before we went to dinner, that I explained the totality of our vision to build a vigorous Christian ministry on Capitol Hill, extending throughout the United States and around the world, and how I see the Brunnquells and their property fitting into it. (They own the second of our buildings at 113 2nd Street, NE.) Not only did I find them completely sympathetic, but, in fact, passionately appreciative of how God has moved in and through our work to date. I also discovered that Angelika and Gerd are people of extraordinary prayer. They hold regular prayer meetings in homes and periodic prayer retreats for hundreds of people from their region. They are founding members of the Charismatic Catholic community in Germany and also possess a remarkably “ecumenical” perspective on Christianity. I did not feel at all a stranger among them, even though I was the only “Protestant” at the table. (See my photo of our long talking session at the dining room table.)

After I shared our vision, answered their questions and heard their affirmation of our work and more than keen interest in its success, we prayed together. It was a beautiful time. Another of their friends and a faithful member of their prayer community, Thomas Rambacher, gave me two Bible passages to mediate on and Gerd gave me a third. It was all very encouraging. Angelika and Gerd did not completely embrace the specifics of my proposal to them, including our intention to make an offer on the purchase of their Washington property, but they assured me of their continued prayer for and with us, and their complete and ongoing support for our work. I believe in those moments our relationship was really solidified. That, more than anything else, is what I prayed would be accomplished here by the grace of God.

What I’ve come away with after this time with the Brunnquells is a sense of Christian family, friendship and mutual support. I also have a promise that before they do anything else with the house on 2nd Street, they will talk in detail with us and allow us to first make a purchase offer to them. That’s all they committed to at this stage, but they promised to keep the matter in prayer. Still, it’s a work in progress, and they join me in being sincerely open to whatever God may say to us about the future. For now, we’ve got something worth far more than a deed–we have a relationship with each other forged in Heaven!

Thanks for your prayers for this trip. The answers went far beyond my expectations!

More will follow . . .

Rob +_

I’m traveling to Frankfurt, Germany to meet with friends and talk about working more closely together in various ministry endeavors. Please pray for our good success. I recorded this video while passing through Amsterdam. Haven’t been here since 1985. Still a very friendly place!

A reporter recently asked me, “What will you do if Obama is elected?” I said, “The same thing I will do if McCain is elected.” As a missionary to government officials in Washington, my ministry is neither Republican nor Democrat. In fact, it has nothing to do with political parties, politicians or personalities. Democrats and Republicans, Independents, Greens, Constitutionalists, Libertarians and everyone else need the same thing: First and foremost a witness of the Gospel; second to that, a constructive engagement with the Christian moral conscience–and I and my cohorts intend, with God’s help, to deliver both. Given what I now know about Barack Obama and the people that surround him, I believe he will be open to hearing it. Whether he acts on it or not is not so predictable, but then, neither is that certain with a President McCain.

While Obama and Company have talked up their version of “Hope,” I have seen my own angle on it, and it’s expressed in the above photo. What a beautiful image it is. Ministers surrounding the Senator and laying hands on him in prayer. This is not an uncommon scene. In fact, reports are that it happens before nearly every Obama campaign event. Add to it the profile of Obama’s two top religious advisors, the Reverends Leah Daughtry (YOU GOTTA READ THE NY TIMES STORY ON HER!) and E. Terri LaVelle, both ordained Pentecostal (read that PEN-TEE-COS’-TAL) preachers. Yes, I’m saying these two women are by their own descriptions, “Holy Ghost,” “Bible thumping,” Yelling-Shouting, Pacing, Dancing, “Tongues-talking,” Stem-winding, Sweat-beaded-brow, Salvation-centered, Hammond-organ-accompanied “Revivalists.”

Having said that, I would have a lot of serious differences with them. Notwithstanding those differences, we share a common “supra-culture.” I, too, was ordained Pentecostal. I preach in lots of Pentecostal churches. Culture–especially church culture–in many ways supersedes theological impediments. It builds bridges where people with opposite opinions can meet and at least talk. Should Barack Obama and Company win the White House, I am praying that will be the case. Moreover, I “Hope” that the ministers in this photo, and the thousands of others who have laid hands on Senator Obama, have imparted something to his soul and conscience. I know the Black church well enough to know the vast majority of these preachers are in their heart-of-hearts pro-life and pro-traditional family. They love God, they love His Word and they love people, especially the weak, the powerless and the defenseless.

Now, I’ve been stood-up by the Obama religious advisers twice. Once when E. Terri LaVelle broke a commitment to participate in our Reese Round table discussion, canceling without explanation only hours before the event (and that, by text message.) Later, I was treated to the same by Leah Daughtry, when she (again at the last minute) canceled a lunch appointment with me and Pastor Kenneth Barney of the enormous New Antioch Baptist Church of Randallstown, Maryland. I’m not going to bear a grudge, though. I know that when the focus is on winning an election, building relationships, which was our intent, take second (Or, third, or fourth, or fifth!) position. In any case, I’m sure someone said, “What’s that meeting going to do to win us votes?” It’s the way politics is done–and it’s done by both sides. I must give McCain some points, here, though. His top advisor did show up at the Reese RoundTable, even though there was no strategic advantage in doing so.

Back to HOPE. Here’s my hope in the photo: These preachers are “saved.” They are men and women of “The Book,” the Bible. They may not be pro-life activists in the full sense of the Word, but neither would the majority of them be pro-choice activists. They may not have their doctrine solid, but they’ve got enough to bring a witness to the possible new president, and I hope and pray they will. I, for one, am committing myself to work with them, and under them, and behind them, to encourage them to do so.

Obama-the-politician will owe the Black church much. He will routinely entertain Black church leaders. That means people like me will need to look to them, learn from them, support them and encourage them to say and do the right things at the right moment of opportunity. Should Obama be elected, it will be time for us white preachers to let black preachers lead us and put our HOPE in those who will have the access to deliver the prophetic witness of Truth.

White just won’t cut it any more. When it comes to the “White” House, “Black” will be in–and it will be powerful. I’m already making ready for a necessary color change in our ministry.

More to follow . . .

Rob +

Last night I had quite the challenge to my conscience. I got a last-minute call from a friend asking if I would participate in a formal roundtable discussion on religion and government corruption. Given the current financial crisis in our own country and what I know from missionaries I have visited with in the foreign fields about their struggles with this question, I thought I’d go. It proved to be a fascinating and provocative evening.

The colloquy, entitled Governance and Faith: Consultation on Issues and Next Step, was sponsored by the Berkley Institute for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University. Around me at the big board table were representatives of the World Bank, international business, NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations, aka, non-profit religious / charitable / humanitarian groups) and academics. The purpose of the exercise was to help shape a report that will be submitted to the upcoming International Anti-Corruption Conference in Athens, October 30-November 2.

This was the main question of the night: “Faith leaders and institutions play myriad roles in social fields but broad and sustained engagement on public anti-corruption and good governance issues has been somewhat muted. Why is this? And how might faith leaders mobilize to play a greater role in these areas globally?”

Wow, that sent my mind reeling. First, I have participated in corruption by paying bribes. OK, now that you have gulped, let me explain:”Back in the 80’s and 90’s, I worked in Mexico City with Operation Serve. We were reaching out to the people of the garbage dumps, Los Pepenadores, one of the poorest population groups on the planet.”One thing we tried to do was bring in clean water as water-borne disease was one of the great threats to public health there. We needed permission from local government officials who demanded bribes. At first I refused, but when it meant that these people would continue to get sick, I capitulated. I made a morally relevant judgment: better to pay a bribe than to not help people become healthy. That reasoning was challenged at the table by Ariane Kirtley, Program Director of Amman Imman, an NGO that provides permanent sources of water in the Azawak of West Africa. She scolded groups that do what my organization did; that is, facilitate or even cause corruption by paying bribes. Ouch! That stung.

The other side of this question is what I contributed (positively) at the table: That local population groups often feel threatened by the “noble” (and sometimes, arguably, sanctimonious) challenge to corruption by foreign missionaries and others. I told the table guests that foreigners are usually protected from retribution, while nationals are not. Indigenous people often ask us to leave well enough alone so they can survive or at least go relatively unmolested. Safety and security are top priorities when it comes to exposing and calling corrupt officials to account.

There are so many other dimensions to this issue that space doesn’t allow its full consideration here. Certainly some religious groups consciously cooperate and perhaps even contribute to corruption. Other groups unwittingly or naively facilitate it. Most, though, quietly refuse to cooperate with corruption, challenge it or even, sometimes, help eradicate it. We don’t often learn about that, however, because survival most often requires these heroes to stay silent.

What do you think? I’d love to know before I submit my advisory memo to the report’s working group. Thanks in advance for any input you may have on this thorny but enormously consequential concern.

Rob +

Few things are sadder than the death of a child. Thank God, Cheryl and I had the joy of raising our kids into adulthood. In fact, there hasn’t yet been a death of a child anywhere in our immediate family—again, thank God. (Though some have experienced the equal agony of miscarriages.) Every morning I get a lot of notices on my Blackberry. They come from a variety of sources. I ignore most of them, but today one of my regular Google Alerts caught my attention. It announced, “ A Worldwide Candle Lighting to Memorialize Children Gone Too Soon,” to take place Sunday, December 14. It’s sponsored by The Compassionate Friends. (I haven’t googled them yet, so if they turn out to be some bizarre death cult, please ignore the reference and deal with the principle at question!)

A Candle Lighting for children who have passed on–what a noble exercise! What a thoughtful, compassionate and healthy thing for our society to do. Children not only have the same innate value as every other human being, but there is something more to them. As my 79-year old father recently observed, everyone fusses over babies—even gushes over them—because they represent something of enormous value to us: our own perpetuity. They are the next generation, the continuation of the species, the fulfillment of God’s edict to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”

And there’s still more to kids. Jesus Christ said, “Of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” Why would heaven be populated with “child-like” occupants? Because childhood has universally represented innocence. Except in the most unusual of circumstances, children are, at their core, good. (OK, I can hear my Evangelical, Fundamentalist—and especially Reformed–friends preparing a challenge to me based on original sin, the sinful nature and total depravity—but hold on just a moment longer before you launch it!)

I’m not speaking here of our theoretical status, vis-à-vis, God’s holiness and our sinfulness. Nor am I suggesting children are in no need of the Savior—they most certainly are—as are all humans. I’m talking about what they represent to us: Innocence, nievety, trust, dependence, and goodness. In children there is an absence of guile, cynicism and suspicion. Only in the most exceptional and unthinkable of situations is this not the case, and when it is, it is so much sadder.

Remember how Christ brought children to his lap to teach one of the greatest lessons on salvation. Unless we become like them, he admonished, we will never see Heaven. Children illustrate simple faith to us—and faith is the key to the salvation of our souls.

If everything with “The Compassionate Friends” turns out to what it appears to be, I’ll join in this Candle Lighting on December 14. But I’ll be lighting my candle for the most forgotten “children gone too soon,” those who never took their first breath—the aborted. Aborted children are twice lost: They are certainly gone too soon, but they are also rarely mourned. Most are unceremoniously discarded like so much trash. Their death certificates are anonymously inscribed, “Baby Doe,” or “no name,” or something worse, like “n/a.”

Almost never does anyone gather around a tiny casket or carry a teddy bear to their gravesides. Many of these lost children are bagged-up and tossed into dumpsters or incinerators. With the morning-after pill and RU486, children are more and more simply flushed away.

Oh, I’ll light a candle on December 14—for the precious cherubs taken by diseases; taken by accidents; taken by war; taken by starvation; taken by murder and taken by abortion. I will mourn their loss because it is as much ours as it is theirs.

To find out more about Worldwide Candle Lighting Sunday, go to www.compassionatefriends.org.

To watch my appearance on Larry King Live to reflect on the tragic shooting deaths of the Amish children in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse, click here.

To learn about our upcoming National Memorial for the Pre-born and their Mothers and Fathers—a sacred remembrance of children lost to abortion and a celebration of God’s gift of life, click here.