PIK Must Die!

My theory is that while living amongst Muslims in another country, having a blog was a good thing for family and friends and other interested parties.

On June 11, we'll be moving back to the USA.

Another theory of mine is that reading a blog written by an ordinary preacher living in the Midwest won't be very interesting.

Ergo this blog will die.

I'll keep it here till I actually find a ministry (for the sake of pulpit committees who might want to read more about us). Once employed, "Preachers in Kosovo" will be deleted.

The End Of An Era

I've been preaching on a regular basis since 1986. I've missed some Sundays due to weather, guest speakers, vacations, and cantatas. Those of you who are from my former churches probably remember how the elders had to pry the pulpit from my fingers before I'd let someone else speak. I was always territorial and possessive (and proud of it).

But I never, ever missed a sermon due to illness. I was like one of those nerdy kids in school with perfect attendance awards. I could brag what I may have lacked in quality, I made up for in dependability.

I can no longer make that claim.

Suffice it to say a 24 hr. virus hit at the wrong time, and our usual weekend trip to Prizren and Suhareka was cut to just one day. Sunday was just a blur, and I started feeling better on Monday.

Gayle Sayers being carried off the field was an end of an era. So was Walter Payton's retirement. Michael Jordan quitting to play baseball, and then retiring again after coming back to win a few more championships ended an era too. And now me. Are these just coincidences? I wonder......

Prizren Castle

metamorphosis

Things are changing, and so must the complexion of this blog. No longer can it be "Preachers in Kosova." Here's the scoop...

First of all, Wes has moved to Abilene (prettiest town I've ever seen) Texas, the home of Abilene Christian University. He and Vjollca and their children will be living there as Wes pursues an advanced degree Missions (or ministry or theology, or whatever). The Dingmans will return to Kosovo in three or four years.

So instead of being "Preachers in Kosovo," it really should be renamed "A Preacher in Kosovo." But wait; there's more!

Enise and I are moving back to the USA in June. Coming to Kosovo may have been the first time in our married lives that we made a deliberate, long range plan that actually worked. As many of you know, we decided to move over here for two academic years so that I could strengthen the churches here while Enise taught at the new Prishtina High School. The goal was for me to work myself out of a job. Our philosophy at Comenserv is for our congregations to be led by indigenous leaders as soon as possible. I was discouraged about a year ago, thinking there's just no way this would work out. Once again, I underestimated the power of God. He has brought much to our ministry very recently. Over the past few weeks, things have ripened. Comenserv will have strengthened one church, began another, helped a very successful tutoring program, and laid the foundation for a High School and University ministry. There's even an additional church plant in the works for later this year!

For the sake of accuracy, this really should be called something like "A Preacher Who Formerly Lived In Kosovo, But Will Still Visit Once A Year To See How Things Are Going,” but I don't know if Google is up to the task.

Facebook may be the Beast!!

I'm not given to prognostication, but I've had a glimpse of the future. Facebook is the shape of things to come. I say this with sadness and fear.

Facebook has been nice to me. Facebook is advantageous; Facebook is powerful; Facebook is free. Doing what I do, it's wonderful to network, post images & video, and meet friends both old and new. What used to take hours of preparation and effort now takes minutes. I can tell bunches of people about our mission, and an announcement of everything I mention is automatically sent to my circle of friends. It's a handy weapon in a preacher's arsenal.

But there's a dark cloud within the sliver lining. In the same way that others see everything I post, I can see what all my acquaintances post too. Therein lies the ominous omen.

I'm afraid some of my Facebook friends use it as their primary source of social intercourse. They post when they're tired or going to bed, or if they're running low on milk, or if a character in their favorite TV show is facing a terrible dilemma. I know when some of my friends are going to work, or facing housekeeping chores, or feeling a little down.

It doesn't bother me that others let us glimpse into their everyday life. What does bother me is this nagging feeling that Facebooking is a shadow of what life will be in a generation or two. Instead of face to face, we'll be screen to screen. Our interaction will be electronic rather than human. We'll all end-up being geeky dweebs hunched over our keyboards instead of genuine people.

It might even change who we are. In cyberspace, no one needs to be bald, old, or poor (though, as it turns out, it's real hard to hide "stupid"). We can make great claims and proclaim great deeds. We can become what we've always wanted to be. The sky is the limit, except that the "sky" is no more than our fingertips tapping on keys.

What is in store for the plugged-in generation of tomorrow? Who will be their friends? Will they meet and speak to flesh and blood, or will they only know properly configured electric impulses? Or, to be pithy, will their friends be persons or persona? It makes me sad...

They Who Must Remane Nameless

I've gotten one inquiry about this, and others might be wondering. If you follow us on the internet, you may have noticed a complete lack of reference to our Executive Director and his wife on our homepage. They've been deleted because of security issues. This is a temporary, and you'll soon see their smiling faces again. I can’t even use there names here, because of how powerful Google can be.

Since our newsletter is sent to American churches and individuals, we don't have to worry so much, but there are forces in the world who seek to do harm, and our Executive Director is an easy target. Please keep all of Comenserv in your prayers.

If you haven't visited us on the internet, our URL is "http://www.comenserv.org". Feel free to write me (mike@comenserv.org). We love to get letters, questions, and comments.

Assuming you're reeeeally bored...

OK Folks,

As we planned when we first moved here, Enise and I are returning to the USA in June to live. I've worked myself out of job, and the churches will get along just fine without me. I'll continue, as always, to be one of the Directors of Comenserv. We will miss our friends here, but we're anxious to get back to family and friends in the States.

I said all that to explain a new experience. Finding a new church to preach at is a ritual that's only made more complicated being overseas. One of the steps, of course, is making a trial sermon available. Luckily, we live in an electronic age. If you'd like to listen to a sermon of mine, click here. Depending on your settings, it'll either start playing automatically, or you'll be able to download it to your computer.

It's still winter.

I'm posting this on the 20th, and it hasn't been out of the 30's for a week.

Independence Day!

Kosovo's Fourth of July comes in February.

Facebook

I've become what I've ridiculed. I joined Facebook, thinking it to be a convenient way to safely store our photos, but people from the past keep finding Enise and I. My page is here...
"http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1143596268&ref=profile"