The Evangelical Theological Seminary had the opportunity to host Dr. Jerry Root from April 25th to 29th, 2024. This was his twentieth country where he had taught, and our seminary was the 82nd in the series.
Dr. Root’s first lecture was on the topic “C.S. Lewis and the Use of Imagination.” The lecture took place in the seminary’s library. “Authors like C.S. Lewis teach us that when we gain the first clarity of insight about God, we must know that this is not the full truth, but the beginning of our knowledge of God. Beyond that first clarity, deeper clarity follows, and then even deeper… As we age, we come to know God more. Our faith grows with us because theology is not a one-time knowledge but a proximity to the knowledge of God,” said Dr. Root.
The next day, Friday (April 26), his activities in Zagreb were of a mentoring nature, with private mentoring meetings. In the afternoon, we went to the Baptist Church in Zagreb, where Dr. Jerry Root met with pastors Ivica Horvat and Filip Grujić. There, he spoke at a leadership seminar on the topic of evangelism (Philemon 6) and intimacy with God. “No one can grow in intimacy with God until they understand the importance of evangelizing and spreading the good news of Christ.”
On Saturday, Dr. Jerry Root gave a lecture at the International Theological Conference – Discipleship in the Churches of the Reformation Heritage: Biblical, Historical, and Contemporary Perspectives, on the topic “How to Continue Making Disciples After Their Conversion to Christ” and participated in a panel discussion. In the evening, the EPC “Rock of Salvation” hosted an event on the topic “C.S. Lewis and the Problem of Evil,” where Jerry introduced Lewis’s apologetics, the issue of evil, and the strengths and weaknesses of C.S. Lewis’s analysis of theodicy.
On Sunday morning (April 28), we had the honor of listening to Dr. Jerry Root as he preached at the local Evangelical Church of Good News on the topic “Intimacy with God and Evangelism (Philemon 6).” The church was encouraged and touched. In the afternoon, Jerry had the opportunity to minister at a gathering of brothers on two topics: “The Discipline of Prayer” and “How to Love God More.” The brothers were touched by the awareness of God’s love for them. The meeting ended with a meal of “chobanac” and fellowship.
On Monday (April 29), Jerry’s task was to encourage and inspire the community at the Evangelical Theological Seminary. He held another seminar on Spiritual Formation and Growth in God, and Relationships Built on Authenticity and Humility. The seminar lasted a full 4 hours, and no one felt it – time flew quickly as we received “crumbs” of wisdom and walking with God from Dr. Root, woven into pastoral experience and incredible knowledge from philosophy, literature, natural sciences, and above all, the Bible!
“Jesus repairs, manages, builds, and frees us. […] Pain that is not transformed is carried forward, perpetuated. When we are in pain, we forget about God’s love and how perfect and present that love is. […] We are more than tasks: we are shaped by calling, gifts, knowledge of God – we must never stop learning about Him and, in doing so, be aware that everything we think we know about God, sometimes we must ‘un-know,’ say ‘I don’t know…’ so we can know more, because He is so much more. […] This attitude of humility keeps us from arrogance and hard hearts and leads to forgiveness, done in love and from love…”
Jerry’s activities continued during the day with mentoring meetings with the seminary’s brothers, and we said goodbye to him until our next meeting at the ELF.
Dr. Root is an emeritus professor at Wheaton College in the USA, author of several books, and an international speaker. His focus is on the Christian writer C.S. Lewis and his thoughts, as well as discipleship, evangelism, and spiritual formation.
We thank ELF (European Leadership Forum) for the opportunity to host Dr. Root in Osijek, Đakovo, and Zagreb. We had a wonderful and blessed time with him, filled with sincerity, Christ’s love, and new friendships, which will be the foundation for future cooperation.
Jerry “greatly … truly rejoiced and comforted us with his love … and refreshed the hearts of the saints.” (Philemon 7)
