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| Slovakian Catholic Church |
James 1:26 describes a man who is deceived and has vain religion. The "religious" were those who crucified our Savior. They are those today who display the ornaments of pomp and formality while ignoring the needs of the soul. In February of 2019, Tim Pledger, sent out from Calvary Baptist Church in Middleburg, Floirda, traveled 2500 miles throughout Central Europe and was able to see the far reaching disaster of of what hundreds of years of "religion" can do to a region. When Christ is replaced by spires and truth is sacrificed by liturgy, the damage is catastrophic on a culture. This trip to would be a testament to the harms and bondage of corruptible "fig leaves" contrasted by the freedom from sin one finds in Christ.
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| Klatovy, Czech Republic |
He arrived into Milan, Italy, the third week of February and was greeted by the members of the Bethany Baptist Church.This young but vibrant group of Filipino believers was led by Pastor Omar Monte. The people showed a passion to go to the streets with Brother Tim and meet people in their environment and present Christ. Over a period of 3 days, the souls of men were gathered from areas in Milan's Center. It was a beautiful city filled were castles, bustling business, and diverse people groups. What was more noticeable, however, were the large pockets of immigrants struggling to survive in an expensive European metropolis, many who had come here illegally. These groups of refugees did not seem impressed with the medieval structures of a thousand years, but had a gaze that was bent on personal survival. They were attempting to navigate themselves through a system of uncommon economics and an uncertain status. The fact that the streets were cobblestones and the bells of churches rang beautifully in the background, seemed to do little to inspire them.
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| Worms, Germany Steeple |
During the few days in Milan, one-by-one, people from Senegal, Romania, Ghana, Nigeria, Peru and elsewhere came to Christ. Over the next 13 days, Brother Tim would travel to the cities of Zurich, Switzerland - Ingolstadt and Kassel, Germany - Klatovy, Czech Republic - Bratislava, Slovakia - Innsbruck, Austria. He would find the same circumstances in these large and becoming towns and cities along the way. The leftover religious tatters of a r\Reformation 500 years earlier offering little hope for a present generation in spiritual ruin.
One example would be the critical state of the Czech people in the town of Klatovy. Tim was met with warmth by a dear pastor, Pavel Flalka. Pastor Pavel had grown up in this beautiful and quaint town. He had been pastor of a small congregation of about 40 members for some years. He had a wonderful wife and three precious teenagers. When Pavel was seventeen and attending high school here, a friend had given him a gospel tract to read that contained the gospel. He carried it to his home and hid it in his bedroom widow for fear his parents would find him with it. You see, they like many Czechs were hard-nosed atheists. They had grown up with disdain for Catholicism and influenced by Communism and had no desire for anything concerning the Bible, or would even acknowledge a creator.
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| Pastor Pavel Flalka, Czech Republic |
Pavel kept the gospel tract hidden for some days, and finally one evening pulled it from his window and begin to read it. He had an emptiness as a young boy that he longed to have filled by something greater than what this world had to offer. The gospel tract contained the "Lord's Prayer". As Pavel came to the first words, "Our Father", his heart broke and his eyes became filled with tears. The God who created him and had given us the Bible wanted to be his Father. Pavel pursued the young man who had given this gospel tract to him earlier and after some discussion, accepted Christ as his Savior, His mother and father were unhappy when they found out about his decision to become a Christian. They discouraged him for many years to leave the faith. His mother would die in her unbelief and his father, while critically ill even today, has chosen to reject Christ and maintain his atheism.
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| Worms where Luther stood trial |
Thirty--nine percent of Czechs claim to be atheists and seventy-five percent of the nation do not affiliate with any religion. It is a sad state of affairs in a nation that formerly produced the like of John Huss. Huss was one of the great stalwarts of the Christian faith. Huss, a converted Catholic priest, would cry against the sell of indulgences in the Catholic Church and the authority of the Pope over the Scriptures. He would preach to the common people from his pulpit in Prague in the early 1400's until he began to draw the attention of Rome. He was seen as a rebel and divider. Huss preached salvation by grace alone and wanted his people to be free from religious bondage. In 1415, he was called to appear before the Council of Constance and give account of charges of heresy laid against him. He stood before church authority and only defended himself with Scripture. On July 6th, he was stripped naked and burnt at the stake. However, his cause would not die in the flames of Constance. Though his ashes were spread by his executioner on the Rhine River, the gospel which Huss preached would spread throughout the hamlets and villages of Czech (former Bohemia). The Hussites as they were called would become the revivalists that would keep a passion for truth and souls burning in this region for the next 200-plus years. The Moravian movement would be influenced by the Hussites and would carry the gospel across Europe.
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| Blue Cathedral, Bratislava |
The thirteen day trek across six nations of Europe would finish for Brother Tim Pledger in March. He would see seventy-one souls saved from among fifteen different nationalities. The Lord would bless his preaching and street evangelism, not because of any unique talent of approach, but because of the power of the Scriptures. The gospel saves men. Regardless of their color or culture, the Word of God can meet men in their present condition. It is not a belfry or the sounds of a church choir that can change the depravity of unregenerate men. It is Jesus that saves the fallen soul. The spires of Europe have left her focused upon on the pageantry of man-made religion, while ignoring the wayward sinner languishing in the shadow of her steeples. Jesus died for those hidden beneath the shadow of our steeples.
