When my elders asked me to come on staff at Christus Gemeinde Wien as an intern, they saw three primary areas that I needed work in. 1) Serving in various ministries around the church for the sake of observation and feedback. 2) Finishing my seminary degree. And 3) Dedicating time to raising support for long-term local church work in Austria.

Now, the time has come to dedicate a few months to support raising. It is hard to leave Vienna for so long, and this will be the longest that I have been outside of the country since 2012. From October 14th to January 4th, I'll be in the States meeting with churches and individuals who might support the work of building healthy churches in Austria. Obviously, if you know a church or a Christian who might fit that bill, I'd be very thankful for the reference!

To this end, my elders also very kindly helped me to produce this video below. It is a good introduction for anyone to my ministry, and a great introduction to the need for healthy churches in Austria. Please feel free to share the video on social media.

I am always thankful for your prayers and financial support. Please write me an email if you have any questions regarding donations. The button below will direct you to my donation page and my associate designation is ML3774.

A big part of the reason for coming to Christus Gemeinde Wien was my desire to submit myself to gospel-centered and like-minded elders who could help me to discern my aspiration for pastoral ministry. That meant that I had to lay all my cards on the table, and be willing to hear a "no" or a "not yet". For anyone who has gone through this crucible, they can tell you that it is a fearful mixture of fear of man and fear of God -- a desire to thought well of in the eyes of my elders and a correcting conviction that I must be disciplined by the Lord.

Therefore, at the risk of sharing something slightly prematurely, I wanted to let you all know where the elders currently perceive my role to be developing. At the moment, I am a pastoral intern at Christus Gemeinde Wien. As I wrote above, this a supervised role of some measure of service in the church as well as finishing seminary and support raising. Come 2022, when I return from the US, the prayer is that the church will vote to take me on as a Pastoral Assistant and Trainee for Eldership. 2022 will then have me serve in some autonomous capacities with the church observing my teaching and way of life. Assuming all goes well, the church will call me as its third Elder in early 2023. This measured process is designed to protect the flock of God, first and foremost, but also to carefully lay ministerial burdens upon my back so that I can adjust to the responsibility. I am very satisfied with how Kai and Bobby continue to labor for both my soul and my longevity in future pastoral ministry - either in Christus Gemeinde or in future church plants. :)

A big part of my service to the church in 2022 will be the exposition of the book of James. I am planning roughly 13 sermons (about one Sunday a month) to cover the book. It is an exciting book and a good complement for our other ongoing series from the elders (Ezra, Mark, Titus). Martin Luther called James a "right strawy Epistle", but I hope to dissuade my hearers from that characterization. I have already delivered an introductory sermon on the book and will be preaching the first text on October 10th.

Please pray for

First of all, Lina and I are excited to announce that she is pregnant. We expect that our second child Will be born sometime in early April. We are very happy and excited about the pregnancy. Please pray that Lina and the baby's health would be protected in the coming months. I have also had some minor but frustrating health concerns lately which have hindered me from being much assistance to Lina, so please join us in asking the Lord to strengthen me.

Secondly, part of the reason for our need for additional financial support is to satisfy the Austrian government's requirements for foreign residents. Because Lina is concluding her time as a student, we will need to demonstrate more income. So please pray that our time in the States would be fruitful and that many would be moved by the Holy Spirit to give to the work of the ministry.