In Late July, my son, Bro. Jesse, and I attended the Eastern European Bible school held at Tuchkovo, Russia, about 70 km outside Moscow. For Jesse this was the culmination of a month-long service and adventure, beginning with the Israel Bible School and progressing through Egypt, Latvia, and Lithuania. For me, however, I hoped that my attendance at the Bible school would serve several purposes.
First and foremost, I wanted to meet and get to know my brothers and sisters from the former USSR nations who would be present. I’ve been reading about them in the Gospel News for the past 12 months, and I felt it would be good to be able to connect faces and memories of shared moments with the names on the pages.
Additionally, I wanted to see for myself the results of the preaching work in these nations as there have been so many baptisms, so many new brethren, from nations which were under totalitarian regimes until very recently. Inevitably there were questions in my mind: did these new brethren really know and understand the true doctrines of the gospel? Do they understand the differences between our doctrines and our stands on behavioral issues and those of other Christian groups? How did they study Bible principles and with whom? How did they prepare for baptism, and were they really adequately instructed beforehand? I wanted to be sure that no corners were being cut in order to increase numbers, no pressure was put on family members, no standards were being relaxed. I hoped that by being among these brethren, talking with them, asking questions, and observing closely what went on, I could answer some of these questions and put any doubts to rest.
Also, I wondered if there might be things to learn from the eastern European preaching effort that might be applied to the U.S. There is just the beginnings of an avid interest in serious, concerted preaching in our own backyard and in the states in which there are no ecclesias. Perhaps we could learn from the methods used in the former USSR.
There were 220 people in attendance at the school, from Russia, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, and probably other eastern nations, as well as a handful of us from English-speaking countries. About 25 were people who had been specially invited to attend the school because they had been studying the gospel by correspondence for some time and had each requested baptism.
Bre. Mark Whitaker of UK and Mike Mc Allister of Texas and several local brethren taught classes during the morning and early afternoon, as well as giving some presentations in the evening. Most of the day was devoted to Bible study, with but a few hours free in the afternoon. After hours, however, there was much time spent talking and singing together. During the evening and late into the night I had considerable conversation about every conceivable aspect of daily living in the east versus west, including life in the Lord, ongoing preaching efforts and group organizational work, reading and understanding the Bible and Christadelphian books, military service, education and employment, and much more. Most of the young people spoke English, some with great fluency, and I was able to avail myself of those willing to translate in order to have conversation with a wide variety of people.
About two hours a day were devoted to reading and discussing the daily Bible readings, in Russian in the first place but with translation into English. I found that the discussion was very much what I am accustomed to in North America, with the questions raised and discussion developed quite similar to what I experience in western Bible classes and Bible schools. It was readily apparent that these brethren are well read and have a good understanding of the Scripture and true doctrine, and a strong desire to increase their knowledge base. They seemed like a parallel cross-section of brethren at any U.S. Bible school in terms of knowledge, sincerity, wisdom, and love for the Lord and each other. They may be a bit lacking in those with years of experience sifting through the finer points of prophecy and the nitty details surrounding our traditional controversies, due to the relative newness of everything, but I have no doubt that will come.
As for those who traveled to the school for baptism, I spoke with several of them. Some were family members or friends of brethren, and some were unrelated contacts. Bro. Duncan Heaster and other brethren correspond with them via email and post, teaching them via Bible Basics and other literature and direct written instruction. This works well, as the distances are vast, and it’s not feasible to do repeated personal visits and Bible study classes with those widely scattered throughout the former USSR. Those who appeared to be ready for baptism came to the school (some traveling up to 4 days by train) and participated in Bible school activities for several days. They were then interviewed separately by a variety of brethren. Those who were ready for baptism, 22 in number, were baptized in the Moscow River. There were a few others who were asked to continue their studies and wait a few months before the next interview, possibly at the next Bible school in the winter.
There was certainly no significant group momentum or spur of the moment factor in the baptisms, as each of the candidates knew beforehand that they were going to the Bible school with the expectation and hope of being baptized. I saw nothing to suggest arbitrary standards, and no hint of charismatic persuasion. I say this despite my maintaining a healthy skepticism, with my ears and eyes kept ever open, and having the benefit of my son’s keen powers of observation and assessment. My conclusion is that these are legitimate baptisms of convicted persons who have prepared as well as any of our western candidates for their baptisms.
In respect to the question, “are they really ready?”, we might well ask: Are any of us truly, fully “ready” at the time of baptism, and how does anyone know for certain? Baptism is a beginning; we say “yes” in obedience and get started on the path. Some of us do a lot of circling around in addition to the straight marching, and then hopefully through prayer and study and desire, the straight walking becomes more of a pattern. Certainly some of those baptized in the U.S. fall away, as in all the western countries. There will be those among the eastern European brethren who fall away. We shouldn’t expect otherwise, as the parable of the sower points out.
My perception of the body of Christ has been expanded by this trip. In prayer this Sunday morning, it was good to think back on and ask for blessing on my eastern European brethren, many of whom are now friends whom I love and miss. The preaching work in eastern Europe has added immeasurably to our body. There are now 500-600 brethren in the former Soviet nations, brethren praying and studying God’s word and preaching to their friends and family. A lot of hard work and dedication and self-sacrifice has been required to bring this to fruition. Having now had the experience of seeing the work firsthand, I am overwhelmed by what I’ve seen. This is an amazing labor of love, blessed and prospered by the Lord, and an example to us in the U.S. of what can be done in our own country if we get to work and pray for His blessing.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One