European Leadership Forum

I have arrived in Eger – a town in Hungary about two and a half hours’ drive from Budapest. I’m here for The European Leadership Forum, which is a conference for Christian Leaders from all over Europe, run by a coalition of a number of Evangelical movements throughout Europe and much support from the USA. This is my second year at the conference, and arriving was very much like the tribes of Israel coming up to Jerusalem. At Heathrow I met others on their way, and eventually there were 22 coming here on the same plane. In Budapest we were put on a bus with a similar number from a previous flight, and after the long drive to Eger, we entered the hotel to find other familiar faces from last year’s conference, and many new ones. I’m sharing a room with a brother who spent many years in Vienna, and then in Slovakia, serving the church in Eastern Europe. I caught up with an Irish Presbyterian, who I shared a room with last year. I went to look for food last night with a student from Cambridge who is doing a phd in Chemistry, and a young man who works for Navigators in Edinburgh. I breakfasted this morning with one of the main people from Friends International – a society which works to reach foreign students in the uk with the gospel, and with one of the leaders of the church in Bulgaria, before having time with John, the brother from Northern Ireland, Michael Ramsden who works for the Zacharias Trust, and another brother from the USA who work with the Charles Colson Foundation. So we’re a pretty diverse group of people.

This afternoon I attended a workshop on Developing Elders, led by Tom Streeter, a brother from the USA who had planted a number of churches, and has over forty years’ experience in the ministry. I will try to set out some of the helpful points in my next blog. This evening we will be listening to Nick Nedelchev, with whom I had breakfast. He used to lead the European Evangelical Alliance and ministered in Bulgaria for many years. He is now retired, but busy as ever. He will be speaking on Fear and its Power to Paralyse People. He lived through years under communism, and has seen many changes. I’m confident that he will inspire us.

I'm off to take care of a number for a meal, and will try to get back to this later this evening.