Theology with Meat

Friends, This blog started as a hobby when I was living in Germany back in 2006. Trixi and I had gotten married the year before, ... now look at us: 11 years later we are back in Germany!!! And there's three of us now:  God has given us a beautiful daughter -- Albulena -- now 16 months old and she is simply a joy! I am babysitting her these days, and it is absolutely wonderful!  Obviously before my sabbatical there was no realistic prospect to keep the blog going as I was working full-time in pastoral ministry, church planting and administration. I don't know whether I will be able to get back to regular blogging, but I will at least try to publish some quality posts in the future... Hope that all of you are doing well and I hope I will be able to make some updates in the weeks /months ahead... God bless!  Julian 

[Nov. 30th, 2016, Neu-Ulm, Germany] After a long, prayerful consideration, Beatrice and I have decided to end the (unpaid) Leave of Absence (LOA) from the Albanian Mission. We have opted not to return to denominational employment in Albania at this time, but rather remain in Germany for family reasons as well as professional development and personal fulfilment. While Albania will always be in our hearts, it is time to move on. Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers!  🇦🇱   🇩🇪

It was a privilege to preach this sermon in the largest Adventist church in Croatia! Pastor Dario (my interpreter) is doing a great job as local pastor of this important congregation.

[EN---AL] Dear friends, As we wish you all the best for the New Year, some of you might not be aware that after almost 9 intensive but blessed and rewarding years of service in Albania, Beatrice and I are no longer serving with the Albanian Mission and ADRA Albania since the birth of our daughter Albulena in late Sept 2015. FYI, we are officially on maternity leave (Beatrice) and leave of absence without pay (Julian). As we pray continually for our Church/ADRA family and  friends in Albania, we are living near Neu-Ulm in South Germany and delighted to worship with fellow-Adventist brothers and sisters in the area as well as voluntarily support them in exciting church-planting endeavours. We thank you in anticipation for your prayers. Have a blessed 2016! --- Të dashur miq, ndërsa ju urojmë të gjithëve gjithë të mirat për Vitin e Ri, disa prej jush mund të mos e dinë ende se pas pothuajse 9 vitesh intensivë por bekimsjellës dhe shpërblyes, shërbese në Shqipëri, Triksi dhe unë...

There is a sense of expectation in the air around San Antonio, Texas. For some, it is literally 'in the air' as over the past couple of days 2,566 delegates along with exhibitors, administrative support teams, media, and thousands of interested Seventh-day Adventists have crowded airport terminals, queued for taxis or taken road-trips across the United States to make it to the sixtieth General Conference Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Sitting on a delayed flight from Houston to San Antonio I found myself in conversation with Ennedy Muchula, Women's and Children's Ministries director for the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division. She was nearing the end of almost two days of flying from Johannesburg to Frankfurt, London and Houston before reaching San Antonio. Visas had been complicating her life but, she told me, she was excited, particularly by the women's ordination debate, but also by the music, the worships, the women's meetings, and sim...

17 June 2015  |  Belgrade, Serbia [Sonja Kovačević/ ted NEWS] On Sunday, 7 June 2015, 160 guests from home and abroad attended the opening ceremony of the newly-founded DREAMEDIA studio in Nova Pazova, Serbia. Although dreaming can be difficult and dreams coming true even more so, this event is historical, an accomplished dream. The DREAMEDIA studio truly drove away every doubt in the promise of God: “Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 NLT) The South-East European Union’s (SEEUC) idea was to found a media centre that would cooperate with the printing house and be used within the EURODREAM concept; a house that would make a positive spiritual impact, not only on church members, but also non-Adventists whom God wants to reach through this ministry. Through the generosity of brother Kinder from Austria, who donated the building, this dream became a reality. The ‘word’ as the primary means of communication has always been present. ...

A special privilege to be interviewed by the Adventist world Church Director of Adventist Mission, Pr Gary Krause! I had the opportunity to share with him some of the unique history of Adventism in Albania, successes of the present and dreams of the future! 

28 November 2013 | Tirana, Albania [Beatrice C. Kastrati,  ted NEWS]  On Tuesday, November 5 th , ADRA Albania launched the regional project ‘Love Your Heart: Adriatic Cardiovascular Diseases Prevention Network’ with the financial support of IPA (Instruments for Pre-Accession to EU) – Adriatic Cross Border Cooperation Programme. The ‘Love Your Heart’ Centre aims to decrease and to prevent the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in Albania.  To achieve this objective, the project aims to develop cardiovascular prevention programmes which are suitable to the local culture of Albania. The activity was hosted by ADRA Albania at the ADRA Health Centre, which was inaugurated in 1997 by the famous British actor, Sir Norman Wisdom, and was re-opened in 2010.  In the upcoming months, the ADRA Albania Health Centre will offer free trainings, seminars and courses for all citizens in Tirana about healthy lifestyle, stress relief, weight reduction, and...

11 October 2013 Tirana, Albania [Julian Kastrati,  ted NEWS]  There was great anticipation in Albania leading up to the weekend of 4-6 October 2013 as many people looked forward to the follow-up of the ‘Connect to Escape’ series, featuring Dr. Miroslav Pujic, Trans-European Division Ministry to Postmoderns Director and the leader of LIFEconnect (LC) Social Media Evangelism. Following its hugely successful  launch back in March 2013  the LC STREAM event had 130 people attend its reprise. Pastors and church members from Central Albania (Tirana, Durrës and Elbasan) invited their unchurched friends, who outnumbered church members in the packed auditorium at Hotel Tirana International. Under the theme ‘Connect to Escape’, the three evenings covered the following topics: “When the world is collapsing, what to do?’ (Faith), ‘How to escape corruption’ (Integrity) and ‘Being wrong isn’t that bad’ (Choices). “I was very impressed by the practicality and usefulness o...

05 March 2013 Tirana, Albania [Julian Kastrati,  ted NEWS]  The weekend of 1-3 March was indeed unique and had an immense impact on the Adventist Church in Albania. For three evenings, "Connect to Escape", a LIFEconnect Stream event featuring Dr Miroslav Pujic, Trans-European Division (TED) Internet Ministries Director, was launched very successfully in downtown Tirana. This type of evangelistic outreach was notably the first of its kind in Albania but also in the TED territory. The format proved very impressive, innovative and engaging, both for the hall audience as well as for online viewers. The three evenings of broadcasts were themed  "Connect to Escape"  ("Is There Any Hope for Us?"). They focused on  Trust  ("Is God Doing His Job?"),  Forgiveness  ("Should I Forgive Someone Who Hurt Me?") and  Hope ("End of the World. Really?") and have since been uploaded on  YouTube . The church in Tirana as well as the LIFEcon...