An observation from my trip to Romania

I just returned last night from an eight day trip to Europe. The purpose of my trip was to present several financial seminars to Romanian families and business people. It was an unbelievable opportunity to share both Biblical and practical financial truth.

I just returned last night from an eight day trip to Europe. The purpose of my trip was to present several financial seminars to Romanian families and business people. It was an unbelievable opportunity to share both Biblical and practical financial truth.

My Romanian host was a gentleman whom I met in March of 2010 while speaking at an International Fathering Forum held in Poland. He was so encouraged by my workshop that he kept in contact. He contacted me again five weeks ago and told me he wanted to come to Bucharest, Romania.

I enjoyed speaking but I want to tell you about one of the things that stood out the most which was my experience in the Romanian Orthodox church we visited. On Saturday and Sunday, we visited his mother, who lives just outside of Bucharest. The church was in a very small village next door to the mother’s home. I had never been to an orthodox service, so I truly enjoyed watching and participating. Ok, I could not understand anything, because I do not speak Romanian, but I could still watch the people and observe their emotion during the liturgy.

I did not need a university degree to see that most in attendance had experienced a very difficult life. For those who do not know, Romania was behind the Iron Curtain until 1990. Most of these people had worked in manual labor for a majority of their lives.

As the service closed, my host asked me if I would say something to those in attendance. The thoughts racing through my head were something like this: “I have not prepared anything, I don’t know what to say, I don’t feel worthy.” I responded by telling my host that I was not prepared but at the end of the service, the priest motioned at me to come to the front of the church.

Obviously, my response was not communicated! As I walked to the front, I thought, “Ok, Lord what do you want me to say?” As my friend moved beside me to translate my words, I became very calm. I greeted them, thanked them for their wonderful hospitality and told them I was in Romania to help fathers.

When I mentioned fathers, their faces glowed! The Romanian church struggles with one of the same issues as we do in the American church. How to get men involved. I purposefully did not mention, to this point, the attendance which was 80% women and 20% men. After the service concluded, I stayed to meet the priest. As we spoke(through translation), I was asked for ideas to help draw men to their church. We spoke about the importance of fathers and parted ways.

I have continued to think about this experience and how different cultures can have some unique similarities. Fathers have such a huge influence on their children but most dads fail to realize their potential. Are you leading your family or are you just along for the ride? Your answer will impact your children for generations to come!