Call me Paul: Meet Sir/Rev/Dr Negrut

My 5 yr old boy wanted to know where the knight’s armor was. I wanted know, do I call him Sir Paul, Rev. Dr. Negrut, or Mr. President? Though he has served as president of the Romanian Baptist Union, is the president of a university, has been knighted, ordained, and holds a doctorate the favorite of Paul Negrut’s many titles is “pastor,” though he insisted that I at least try to call him Paul. It reminds me that “Son of Man” was our Creator’s favorite self-designation.

He must have read “What’s Up Doc? Titles in the Church.”

I met pastor Negrut when he preached a stunning sermon on “glorifying God through a life in the pit” at our church on Sunday (sermon audio will be made available later this week at BaptistChurchHillcrest.com).

Yesterday I was privileged to share a meal with him. His coffee and food grew colder as I lobbed question after question at him with the tenacious perseverance of a yapping poodle. He eagerly obliged with fascinating and insightful musings about seminary, ministry, and Romania. His answers were profound and stirring, and will be the subject of a few future posts here at the Café. But today I simply want to introduce him to you.

In the first Century church Paul Negrut would have been awarded another addition to his plethora of titles. He would be called a Confessor. These were men and women who survived the torture under the persecution of Emperor Decius and remained faithful to Christ. Under the heavy iron fist of Communist persecution, Paul Negrut was imprisoned for his faith, and was subsequently used mightily by God in the explosive growth in the Romanian church.

He served as the president of the Baptist Union for 8 years, and has planted and presided over the only accredited, conservative, evangelical seminary on the continent of Europe.

I can hardly wait to share with you the copious notes I took during our lunch today. This is a man worth listening to and learning from. Though he doesn’t speak much of himself, I learned from his friends about his daily 4 hour prayer time, his endurance in prison, and his mountain-moving faith.

In the meantime, here is a news article about his speaking engagements in South Africa this month: “Romanian Pastor who resisted Communism…”