Dear reader, welcome!

I've been writing on the church, mostly in Eastern Europe, since the mid-1970's, in fact, I've been living in Russia since 2002. I'll want to post all of my current articles on this site while using the older years as a kind of archive. If you would look through the older items, you will see a transition in topics. From 2007 until about 2014, I wrote heavily on the affairs of the Russian Baptist Union. The topics are now more general and broader; I do at times still write on and for the Russian Evangelical Alliance.

Very important for me is the fact that I attempt to write what I see and experience. I'm not trying to raise funding for others. I can be wrong in my observations, but they truly are mine, and they reflect my opinion. Objectivity is never total, but it is a goal to which one aspires. Yes, a few of these articles are not from me.

Let me explain what I mean with the term "2/3 world": It originates from the Cold War terms "Second World" (the Communist one) and the "Third World" (the Developing one). If you combine the two, you have "2/3". At the same time, one could say these two worlds make up 2/3 of the globe's population. But actually, it's higher than 3/4. The still-wealthy Western world located mostly in Europe and North America makes up less than 1/4 of the world's population. So it's time for the "First World" to pay more attention to that which is occurring among the vast majority.

I'm happy to publish serious commentary on my articles, be they positive or negative. Something unusual under "Education, Writing" in English and "2010-2019" in Russian is an article on how to write as a journalist.

As of 2024, I’m hard at work putting older articles on this site. In the years from 1989-1994 I wrote a great deal in English on the process of German reunification – see them under the heading “Germany”. Note also the large article from 4 October 2010. You will find more of them under the heading “Deutschland” on the German-language page. A report from 18 July 1983 under the heading of “Germany” reports on East German commemoration of the Luther-Year. That was an unforgettable year for the East German church.

I reported extensively from 1991-95 in English on church issues during the Yugoslav war. And did you know that a Soviet ship brought Bibles to North Vietnam during that Asian war? You’ll find this under the heading of “Asia”, dated 6 July 1981.

Newest Articles as of September 2024:

1. Historic Meeting of Chinese and Russian Protestants in Shanghai" under "Asia"

2. "Lvov into NATO!" under "Ukraine, Moldova"

3. "Tinned Fish at the Polling Station" under "RU Interconfessional"

4. "Who Can Help in Donbass?" under "UA Non-Political"

5. Meditation: "A Homeland is for the Choosing" under "Mennonites anywhere"

6. "The Past and Future Friendship of the Ukrainian and Russian Peoples" under "Ukraine, Moldova"

I was born in 1950. In the years from 1975 to 1990, my topic was the church in the German Democratic Republic. My Ph.D. in Berlin in 1991 was on the Lutheran church in the GDR during the period of the Cold War. But when the Wall fell, I had essentially lost my topic, for I did not want to write largely about the past. Moving to Russia from Berlin in 2002 was the prolongation of that interest. My goal is to report on the weaker, the less-flashy, the "also-rans", at least so in the estimation of the mainstream West. The less-polished are interesting too, and they outnumber by far the small, flashy crowd of the wealthy Western elite.

As some can tell from my last name: I am of Amish and Mennonite background, born in Ohio/USA. I first came to Germany and Europe in 1971 and never really left. My Russian spouse, Galina, and I are now living in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, 30 km south of that city. But we have a German address, too. I'm a citizen of the USA and since 11-2021, also of Russia.