First Person with Wayne Shepherd

First Person: Cristian Barbosu

Now the pastor of a growing ministry in Romania, Cristian Barbosu talks about growing up under a dictator's rule and deciding at a young age to follow Christ regardless of the persecution. Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company: FEBC National Processing Center Far East Broadcasting Company P.O. Box 6020 Albert Lea, MN 56007 Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!

Duration:: 23m
Broadcast on:: 14 Jul 2011
Audio Format:: other

Now the pastor of a growing ministry in Romania, Cristian Barbosu talks about growing up under a dictator's rule and deciding at a young age to follow Christ regardless of the persecution.

Send your support for FIRST PERSON to the Far East Broadcasting Company:
FEBC National Processing Center
Far East Broadcasting Company
P.O. Box 6020
Albert Lea, MN 56007

Please mention FIRST PERSON when you give. Thank you!

1989 in December of that year was the Romanian Revolution and yeah we were on the streets I got for the first time in my life I got the machine gone you know in my hand and people were fighting on the streets and just an experience of a life in death. Welcome to this week's edition of First Person I'm Wayne Shepard and today will be the young man who pastors an exciting growing church in the city of Arad Romania. Christian Barboso will tell his personal story of persecution by the communist dictator but also how God used that experience to prepare him for a life of ministry. If you'd like additional information about today's guest and his church please visit our website firstpersoninterview.com where you'll find links and even an extended conversation with Christian which we didn't have time for in today's broadcast. Again that's found at first personinterview.com. I first met today's guest when he arrived in this country fresh from the Romanian Revolution in order to study at the Moody Bible Institute. You can only imagine how intimidated he was to come to America after his experience growing up under communism but God had plans for Christian and his work as a pastor and Christian leader today is remarkable. I've visited Christian and his church in the city of Arad but on a recent visit to the states Christian sat down in my studio for a conversation about life now and then. Well I grew up in communism probably does the major story of my childhood. In a village with two to four hours of electric power a day lots of shortage and waiting in long lines to get that little bread every Saturday checking out for the very restricted products that were rationed throughout that region at that time. Did you accept that as normal? Well you know what did I know of anything else and that that was normal that was normal and you know didn't have anything bad about it because we just didn't know anything better. Yeah so it's has been an interesting experience looking back at it because today you know I think like who in the world is gonna live like this so two years ago we've been to Nepal we have a mission trip and we were like going back you know in my past and like hey I relive this stuff. Yeah people still live live like that today. Oh yeah in many places and yeah. So when when was your awakening so to speak and did it coincide with the revolution in Romania? Well it was very close to the revolution. I came to know the Lord. It was a process 1985 from 1988. My grandfather from my mother's side he was a believer although my parents and the folks around our family didn't want me to really go to church with him or talk about Christ. He's been a quiet I would say strong influence in my life. At the same time my only my roommate in school the person that I was assigned to stay in the same desk with him for four years in high school he was the only repentor or Evangelical believer poke it in our class and I was like there's no way I'm gonna stay with this guy you know. That's what you call Evangelicals Repentors. Well that's right that's how they call us in Romania then and praise God they still call us today. So yeah yeah but you know the testimony of this guy and his relationship with God, his integrity, it just made me rethink all of my presuppositions and you know all the judgments I put upon him. And then in 1988 I went into the mountains. I love to hike and I was just entranced with the great design of God's creation and I just couldn't make sense to me that everything would just come out of a mistake. Sounds like the book of Romans. Well that's basically the verse that stuck to my mind. I met a group of young believers that had a Bible study there running from you know all of the secret police that was following them and one of them was a good friend from the same village and he came to me and I told him my struggles and he clearly saw in me that I was moved by something and he said I'll read Romans 1 19 and 20 you know since the creation of the World God's invisible attributes have been clearly seen and I'm like this thing just speaks to whatever I feel right now. So and to me that was probably the door opener to consider there might be some truth in the scripture and from that time on I start coming closer to the church and you know through the back door of creation coming to the front door of the cross and yeah that was it. So you were a Christian when the revolution happened? Yes yes I was a Christian I actually I was recruited in the army at the age 18th in 20th of January 1989 the same day I remember when George Bush Sr. was elected as president of the United States. I know the same day and you know I ended up was very cold that day I ended up on a huge platform with hundreds of you know new people in their transcripts right? That's right young men who were forcing. Yes well everybody was recruited men of age 18 and I thought I'm going to the Rangers because that's where on my paper was written but they found out that I'm a Christian and as usual in Romania if you're a Christian especially a repentor you always got some type of a twist to your story so meaning they twisted your life so they sent me to a militarized labor camp it's called the Diri Bao, Munch you know many believers have been there so I'm not any here on this but it was a shocking experience for me because you know at the age of 18th to go there I knew what that means because lots of people coming out of years of being there two three four or five years they all came with horrible stories in their life. So you're like a prisoner? Well it wasn't like a gulag or a prison per se was part of the military but instead of treating you as a normal military unit they will just send you to do all kinds of dirty jobs morning free evening all of the disciplined people all of the disciplined officers were there too so you had lots of criminals thieves people with you know record like prison record in their lives others that were caught crossing the frontier the border you know and some Christians too. Did you feel like God had abandoned you? Well I'm telling you what I mean that that was a major experience in just throwing me into the fire a furnace and you know God I mean God was just incredible you know that colleague of mine that shared the same desk with me for four years in high school that was my major I would say young person influence in my life. We were in the 10th grade and we were dreaming you know well Christian we're gonna go into the army we'd be great to be together. So we had no clue absolutely no clue but that day they start calling our names by the first letter of the last name and because I'm Barbosa I was among the first. So after three or four hours staying there just in the same position out in the cold I heard his name being called I'm like oh maybe you're just another guy yeah and that guy was called he was sent to the same battalion to the same company to the same platoon to the same group. I was number two she was he was number three and he slept on the bed on top of my bed in the same room that means in a lot of chores that they will send us to do I remember at night we were you know they had us wash the floor with brick because there's no soap and you know just you know spitting on us and hitting us and all of that and I was crying like Lord where are you I'm a new believer I thought you know life is gonna be different with you and all of that and this guy were there by me Christian you know trust the Lord you know he will just pray over me will go on the stairway nobody will see us he will pray with me I mean you know it will like the guardian angel was by me right there you know so yeah truly I mean in the midst of all of that trial I had this light of mine let it shine you know well besides that and that's a tremendous story but besides that how did you survive that experience and how did God lead you? Well I've been there for about four months I should have been there for the whole track I don't know a year two depends how much they wanted us to be normally was a year and four months but anyhow so after four months in Romania under who's getting on the top and the American Idol Romanian Idol so they even had the guys from our platoon participate and of course you know at that time there are tons of informers in Romania and they had them in file that through my childhood my mother was a music teacher and I played I mean I sang I recited poems for the party I mean most of my life and they said well you you had some experience in this why don't you just go and represent us doing something so I was like well okay you know at least for one day I can get some clean clothes maybe take a shower week we had showers like every two weeks one pair of clothes then I the same deal you know maybe I can eat some food this could be your check it out yeah yeah so at least for a day you know so that's right I went there and I chose a poem a patriotic poem that's about the triple pour at one of the remaining kings I didn't want to praise the dictator because most of the songs will go in that direction and by the grace of God I was able to you know go to the next level and then in the next two weeks they said hey you're gonna be to the next oh that's great another free meal you know good clean you know clothes and I'm okay with this yeah that's right so for about six months by the grace of God I got to the national level I was among the free final you know people in the major final show and that's where some of the guys that were in the leadership in this communist organization realized that hey they cannot just have me there recite this poem and introduce me coming from this militarized labor camp unit because that's where usually you know sure the garbage of society goes you don't ever get anything good out coming out of Nazareth you know so I was like well so suddenly they they start telling me you know we're gonna move you say we're gonna move me we're gonna move you to the Transylvanian ensemble of the army in Oradia at that time in an inclusion I'm like what so they promoted me and made me a sergeant change or my clothes all of this stuff and in the meantime they said well there is about two or three months up to the time that this competition will have the final shot and you know a lot of these communist leaders will be there so I want to train you to make sure that we are not taking any risk so here is my chance I mean to get out and just have a different life God did provide a way out for Christian Barbo so and will continue the conversation coming up in a moment on first person next week on first person our guest will be Odessa settles from Nashville Tennessee you know I grew up in a segregated community and I often wanted to know why this was so just about everything that I choose to do and my musically and socially almost has something to do with it with breaking down barriers you'll meet this unique woman who has much to teach us about the African-American struggle for freedom that's next time on first person let's get back to the conversation with our Romanian pastor friend Christian Barbo so on first person today and I asked Christian about that competition that he once entered well we had the three different things that they had to do I won one of them and on the other two I got second and third place but the major thing for me was not just winning but getting this personal training with this Romanian professional actor from the theater every day the army the communist army will pay for me to go and be trained in public speaking and poems and so on and what I realized three four years later actually when I was here at Moody in Chicago looking back that at that time when I had absolutely no idea whatsoever that I'll be in the ministry that I'll come to Moody and then you'll start the church and be probably know there was such a thing no no and you know at that time I didn't realize that but I it just came to my mind how God used that probably the darkness spirit of my life to really bring some training and some future and got even the communists to pay for a guy to train me in public speaking so so now as you stand in the pulpit as a minister of the gospel you're drawing on that experience that the God me exactly right yep yeah and you know when I was in Moody through the homiletic classes the Dallas seminary everybody was trembling I just loved them because I mean that guy was really tough with me if you can survive the communist yeah so it was a good experience all right but you're still in the in a communist army under a dictator oh yeah at that time yes that's clear yeah was in 1989 that was happening during the summer and the fall and as you know in December of that year was the Romanian Revolution so that was another I was like an intense microwave moment of my life you know everything just comes in one year altogether and yeah we were on the streets I got for the first time in my life I got the machine gone you know in my hand and people were fighting on the streets and I mean it's just a just an experience of a life in death I've stood with you in a rod where people died yeah that's true that's true yep so during the revolution you're in the army and then everything just falls apart what happened to you well I was there to fall apart too because you know I had some plans in my life based on the old system now what should I do with my life is the new freedom you know lots of opportunities so obviously the first thing I joined a church I got baptized I was so excited about ministry but at the same time I wanted to look at the future what do I do with my life and I became a border guard I worked as a border guard for about a year and a half while I was preparing to go and try a law school in Romanian University and while I was at the border that's where got challenged me with what about doing some type of a ministry and I met Romanian pastor from Chicago and I had the talk with him he challenged me on that and with the help of his church I was able to come and get in touch with Moody I didn't speak English at the time I really didn't know anybody here they paid for my first year in school and really I mean I you know I mean I can land it on the moon here well you're this tough really different you're this tough border guard former army member but you're out of your element I mean you're coming to a country that's got to seem just as foreign as anything on earth to you it was I mean I cried that Moody my first two months writing like 30 page letters to my parents and all of that in a way I cried for joy on the other hand I just cried because it was such a strange feeling to me everything when did you really feel that God called you to preach what was interesting that lending and Moody I didn't know about my gifts I don't know anything about what God wants with my life and that's that's the that's the full gray story of my my testimony and aware another and while I was at Moody my first year you know I knew that this church is gonna end up with their sponsorship what I'm gonna do for the next year and in the winter of 1991 I wanted to work I couldn't find any place to work obviously legal in campus and I was just praying Lord probably have to go back home and I was in the cafeteria at Moody and I was talking pretty loud with some friends because I have a loud voice and prof just came to me and said would you see me in my office I like what did I do wrong I went to do the office and was the choir director Mr. Red from Wood Corel he said can you sing I said well you know I can sing well sing some songs for me so I sang some songs and then he says look I'm gonna do something that I never do this guy's a high prof you know you know all the director of the Moody that's right he said you know we have to go in a tour in a week and free of my bases are down they are sick and I need a voice a base voice I said prof you know mr. Red I don't even know English well I don't memorize the songs I don't have a tuxedo I have absolutely no clue you know you just project your voice loud when I look at you so that's what I did I went to to that tour and the first day of the tour he was very agitated and I asked him what's wrong and he said well look we have to have a speaker for the tour and the speaker got sick last night we have no speaker and he said I don't know what to do so I you know I was just sitting by him in the bus going to Michigan and he started talking to me about my life and just asking some questions and then suddenly he turns to me says listen what if tonight I'm gonna ask you the same questions and you just tell me the same answers and we're gonna do it for tonight and maybe for tomorrow night we're gonna find a speaker and be in the trained public speaker that you were well yeah but not in English I don't have the gift of tongues so I I give my broken English just got in there and anyhow so from that time on basically for about two years I was the speaker for the Moody Corel and that thing just lounged my speaking ministry in a way because you know then some this school class is different churches called me up and and other churches came along and actually supported you so you could stay at Moody that's that's exactly right yeah received Bible Church some folks there and then it was just incredible yeah but you went on to Dallas Seminary that's right and when did Anne come into your life at the Moody Bridal Institute of course I was the president of the international students and like only in the American movies you can say this she was my secretary okay so you know I married my secretary too so we have that in common so we spent a lot of time together planning all kinds of activities and having good prayer time and she came from the mission field in Africa for 10 years she's from friends and she really wanted to be a missionary and I mean the Lord just brought her in my life okay the two of you get married yes does she know you're gonna take her back to Romania right from the beginning I had absolutely no no discussion I told her look sister if you want to get serious about this stuff I'm going back to Romania never wavered and then no no no I don't know why because you know I cannot say the time this patriotic type of a guy but for me the call was clear I have to go back to Romania and that's what I did every summer while I was in the States and that's where I'm now all right let's talk about the now metanoia yes yes in 2005 I was at Trinity doing my PhD here in Deerfield and I had a dream to really start a church that will be strong in the world but at the same time relevant to the I call it post-communist post-modern generation in Eastern Europe and really really I was just praying a lot alongside I was planning and in all of these dreams of mine and a group of Romanian believers called me up and they said listen Christian we know about your vision but listen we are just burning to do something like this and why don't you just come and join us I'm like come on guys in the middle my doctorate studies you know I don't have time to get back to me later that's right and so we put five months in fasting and prayer me with on here and they there and after five months was so clear I have to be there so we left in 2005 from here and it took me seven years to finish my PhD but I don't praise God but in the meantime we started this church and in our rod in our city why call it metanoia well because you know that's the heart of the gospel we want to see transform lives change and transform lives come through repentance and in the Greek the word repentance means metanoia the change of mind the change of heart and this is the core value of our church yeah so that's why it's about and God has blessed it it's growing it's an amazing story well in the past five and a half years we grow about 100 people a year this summer only about 40 people came to the Lord about 35 or right now for the fall or listed for baptism yeah we have about 500 members and about another hundred we call them friends and you know lots of prodigals coming back to the church and it's just it's I love it I just love it I've visited the church in a rod on a recent Sunday morning and I've seen how many lives are being radically changed by the power of the gospel proclaimed in that land I also watched a service online just recently where a number of new believers were baptized you know that day when Christian came to the studio we continued talking beyond our allotted radio time and you can hear the rest of the conversation when you come to the website first person interview calm here's a sample as we talk about the church in a rod it's indeed an amazing story because it's a story of grace it's nothing to do with men I never dreamed to see things happening get such a high base and such an intensity you can hear that extended conversation on our website first person interview calm of course we've also placed a link there online for you to follow if you'd like to know more about metanoia church and God's work in Romania it's all at first person interview calm all of our passing reviews are there to listen to as well and by the way we'll put pictures from the church in Romania on our Facebook page you can find that at Facebook calm forward slash first person interview well next week our guest will be Odessa settles from Nashville Tennessee a unique story and a unique talent you'll love meeting Odessa next week here on first person now with thanks to my friend and producer Joe Carlson I'm Wayne Shepherd I hope you join us next week at this same time for first person you you