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Leawood Pastor and Church Embrace German Exchange Student At his school in Germany, Timon Traub is not just the only Baptist in his grade but also the only Christian. "In Germany, church is sooooo uncool," exclaims Traub. "Here, I see quite a few kids wearing Christian tees and such. Whether that means they actually believe is a whole different ballgame." As a 16-year old foreign exchange student, Traub is classified as a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in suburban Kansas City. Mike McKinney, who is pastor of Leawood Baptist Church, and his wife Brenda serve as Timon’s host family. "Our journey with Timon began when the representative for AIFS student exchange contacted our church stating that they had a student – a Baptist – approved to come to the United States from Germany who did not have a host family," recalls McKinney. "We published the need in our Sunday newsletter, and on Monday I received a phone call from a lady in the church expressing interest. That lady happened to be my wife, Brenda." One week later, Timon was part of their family. Leawood Baptist quickly fell in love with Timon, and he with them. In addition to playing drums in worship, he has served in many missions activities. He even encouraged the church’s youth to sponsor a clothing drive for the City Rescue Mission as an outgrowth of working in the mission and seeing a need for clothing. "Timon loves Christ, loves the church, and loves life," McKinney states. "He is vibrant and exciting to be around, abounding in energy and enthusiasm and brings a smile to everyone." McKinney and Traub recently attended the showing of Theologians Under Hitler at the CBF of Missouri General Assembly. The film looks at prominent German theologians’ reaction to the Nazi regime and the German church’s view of Hitler’s rise in 1933 as an act of God’s blessing. The showing was sponsored by the Centrist Christian Network (CCN) and facilitated by John Baker, pastor of First Baptist Columbia and a founding member of CCN. According to the Steve Martin, the movie’s producer and a United Methodist pastor, the purpose of the film is to find historical connections that are pertinent to us today. As a German Christian, Timon had a unique perspective on the film. "The movie talked a lot about ‘Volk’ and such issues," he observes. "But all the time I had a feeling that it avoided the heart of the issue - that there was a struggle in Germany between many powers/entities: Nazis, Deutsche Christen, as well as patriotic Christians who loved their country but didn’t like the Nazis." For Traub, authentic faith is more important than easy answers. "Most of my friends would categorize themselves as either agnostic or atheist, so we often get into discussions about faith fundamentals and theosophical issues." He adds, "In the United States, people are a lot more careful not to upset or offend anyone. I think that has more disadvantages than advantages because if my friends wouldn’t sometimes offend me with their comments, I’d have to think less about my faith." |
Giving to CBF of
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