Destructive Dynamic

One of the most dangerous and destructive dynamics is the desire on the part of missionaries (short or long term) to feel like they're making a difference. 

Watch out!

Gluttony 2

A few more thoughts on gluttony...

If we compare the consumption of physical food to the consumption of "spiritual food" it is interesting to draw some parallels between our physical and spiritual health.

I didn't get into the whole topic of the kinds of foods we should eat versus the kinds of foods we shouldn't eat in my ramblings on gluttony. It is important, but I didn't go there. One of the points I wanted to make was that, for weight loss, added exercise doesn't usually help us if we don't have a change in our diet.

So it is spiritually. Doing good things, serving and performing other kinds of ministry are good. But they don't really help our spiritual health a whole lot if we are still consuming a steady diet of spiritual junk food: TV smut, pornography, celebrity gossip, soap operas, romance novels, pop psycology books, gossip with other people, music TV, advice from men's/women's magazines, or any other media that convey messages about our worth, value, meaning, or worldview that is different from God's word.

I'm not saying we can't "taste" SOME of these things so we at least know what the world is saying and how people who do eat these things up are affected, but they shouldn't be our "main course." Instead, it would do us well to have a steady diet of God's word and to help us understand God's heart and how to hear/listen to his voice.

Bearing good fruit without being deeply rooted in the Vine is very difficult to do.

Missionary Material 5

So, say you're that missionary wannabe I described in Missionary Material 3. What do you need to do to become a missionary?

Well, even though you might need to hear it, I'm not going to share the nuts and bolts of what probably needs to happen. (But if you really want to know, leave me a comment and I'll be glad to get into that with you.) I'd rather focus on the preparation of you as a person--developing the "material" that will make you an effective missionary.

Now, if you remember from what I wrote in Missionary Material 2, your walk with Christ and your spiritual character are WAY more important than whatever strategy or approach you use. So, even if you might be excited about what I wrote in Missionary Material 4 regarding business and all that--don't get too excited just yet. You need to be discipled, first.

Have you been discipled? Have you ever hung out with a deeply spiritual and Christlike person whose mind was on how he/she could please Christ and serve him? Have you allowed this person to peer into your life, counsel you and coach you? Have you allowed them to suggest to you how you need to change or where you need to grow? Have you spent time in prayer with them? Have you spent time serving alongside of this person in real-life ministry situations? Have you joined this person when he/she has spent time with those outside the faith?

If you have answered "no" to any of these questions, I think you need to find someone like this, first, and ask them to disciple you. Live with them if you can. But whatever you do, don't get someone who is a good talker (can explain anything about God) but never seems to get around to doing any ministry or spending time with anyone outside of the Christian community. If you allow yourself to be discipled by someone like that then you will probably become like that, too.

Allow yourself discipleship time to change into the kind of person God wants you to be. This is primary before any kind of ministry--cross-cultural or not. Of course, you will always be growing and discipleship is ongoing--it will never end. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take time to be discipled, first, before jumping into a situation where you will be tried in ways you've never even imagined before. You need time to deal with the issues deep in your heart. You need time to allow others to help you grow strong where you are weak.

Nobody runs a marathon without first having gone through extensive personal training. It doesn't matter how much academic knowledge you have about running. Nor does it matter how much you have spent on your fancy shoes. You better be in shape when the whistle blows.

Missionary Material 4

I used to think that everyone who majored in business majored in greed. In fact I had a roommate once who was a business major and on one occasion I commented to him that he and all the other business students are majoring in greed. He kind of smirked and said, "For most people--that's about right!"

For many people business and ministry cannot mix. Business exists to make money. Ministry exists to save souls. And money is what those of us in ministry are often fighting against in trying to save all those souls from loving it more than God. So, in many ways, business and ministry are enemies.

Many Christians think the Bible says something to the effect of "Money is the root of all evil."

It does, doesn't it?

Well, no, it doesn't.

Here's the verse you're thinking of:

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Timothy 6:10

Money in and of itself is neutral. The sin is to LOVE money. The sin is to SEEK money before God. The sin is to HOARD money that we have when we could use it to help people in need.

So, business, like money, is neutral. It is no more sinful to do business than it is to have money.

But for many of us... we reject anything from the realm of business because we assume that if your purpose is to make a profit then you must not have pure motives. At the end of the day... we assume... you're in it for the money!

I've written elsewhere about ways we can do business and shield ourselves from the temptations of profits. But as I read through much of the Bible and as I learn more about business I am starting to see that business, in a lot of ways, is a lot like good stewardship. It's a lot like trying to make smart financial decisions. And, if you look at it one way, anyone who has and uses any amount of money is already doing business.

You work at a job and get paid. That is how you make money. You then use this money to buy food and clothes and also pay for your car and your house. When you buy a house, you have to be careful not to spend too much or your salary will not be able to keep up with it. Sometimes things get tight and you have to plan your purchases carefully. At the end of the day, you are selling your services (by doing your job) and then you are managing your expenses the best you can so that you will hopefully end up with a little to save each month. Hey, don't look now, but--You're doing business!

If we manage our expenses poorly we go into debt, are forced to sell assets or we have to live without for a period of time. We probably all have experience at this. So...

Why not learn to do business right? Could learning about good business practices be a matter of good stewardship?

I am reading a very good book now that I think every high-school student should study. That's right--high school! I have gone all of these years (after having majored in science and theology) and have never been taught these things that I believe would be a good idea to include as required high-school or college general education curriculum. The book?

The Complete Idiot's Guide to MBA Basics

It's not rocket science and don't let the "MBA" part fool you--it doesn't take a business whiz to grasp the concepts. Also, don't let the "Idiot" part fool you, either--that just means this book assumes no prior knowledge in the business discipline. Good for guys like me.

So, how about that young missionary wannabe who wants to know how to become an effective missionary in a very unreached part of the world? Well, I'm not saying you HAVE to do BAM, but I think it is a very good option that will allow you to get to and involved in so many places that would never accept someone who just has a Missions degree from a Bible college. And, depending upon the kind of business you do, you will likely need to get training in something else, too, besides missiology.

Missionary Material 3

A young high-school or college-aged student has recently become a Christian and is "on fire" for Christ. While this fire is still burning brightly he goes on a mission trip (to Mexico or Haiti, of course) and then it hits him: He wants to be a missionary! This is indeed what God is calling him to do.

Now what?

Seriously, now what? What does someone do to become a missionary? Where does someone go to find out what it takes to become a missionary?

Perhaps it is his youth pastor? Or maybe his church's senior minister? Maybe he should just google "missionary" online and see what he gets. (Yeah, maybe not!) Or would someone down at the Bible college know about how someone becomes a missionary?

It is frightening the kinds of advice this young man is going to get from all of these different quarters. Many will smile real big and say, "Great!" while inside they are saying, "You'll never make it!" Others will overtly try to talk him out of the idea or question God's calling of him. Some with try to psychoanalyze him and say he is being eccentric because of pent-up angst stemming from being bullied or neglected as a child. There will always be the multitude of people saying that you don't have to be a missionary to be a Christian and that good works do not earn us salvation. (When did that become the issue?) A few will be impressed. Most will assume it is just a phase.

Then some will point this young man to the traditional means by which many people have become missionaries for centuries: Theological training institutions. The young man visits such an institution and meets people who indeed advise him on how he can become a missionary if he's really committed. This includes theological training and graduating with a theological degree, ordination to missionary service and then commissioning to the field through a missionary or denominational agency.

So... what's the problem with all of this, you might ask?

Our world has changed. Traditional ways of doing missions only works in places that allow traditional missions. And you know what? The vast majority of people who are unreached and have never been given the opportunity to follow Christ live in places where traditional missionaries are not welcome.

What's a young missionary wannabe to do?

I'll share some of my thoughts in my next post.

Missionary Material 2

What does it take to be an effective missionary? Well, I've written many things on this topic and you can peruse them by clicking on the label "Effectiveness" in the labels list on the right. It is a bit hard to be generic, though, because there are few generic missionaries. I mean, a missionary is not just one kind of animal. There are doctors, translators, leadership trainers, evangelists, business owners, tentmakers, support, development workers, pilots, mechanics, financial directors, etc. The list goes on and on. So, how do you generalize?

In general, I would say good people make good missionaries. You know, just like good people also make good husbands, good fathers, good wives and good employees. In general, the better a person you are the better you will be at being a missionary, as well as a thousand other roles in life. You will always be better the more loving you are; the more joyful you are; the more peaceful you are; the more patient you are; the kinder you are; the more gentle you are; the more faithful you are; the more self-controlled you are. The more the Holy Spirit has molded you into the likeness of Christ, the more effective you will be at being his witness.

But here are three things you can start with for being an effective missionary:

1. Have a close, abiding walk with Jesus and his Word.
2. Have God's view of the people you're trying to reach.
3. Have a good approach/strategy.

Also, have them in that order, too--not the other way around.

Missionary Material

I love the phrase "missionary material." The only time you ever hear it is when we're judging whether or not someone should be a missionary. Either they're not spiritual enough or they're not tough enough. We say, "I don't think they're missionary material."

I've probably uttered these words once in my life. I don't have a specific memory, but I wouldn't deny it if someone else did. I know I've thought that way before. But this phrase just makes me want to laugh now.

Why?

Because usually we have some pretty uninformed ideas of what kind of person makes a good missionary. Would the following things be on your list?

* Loves adventure.
* Very extroverted.
* Independent.
* Doesn't mind being dirty.
* Enjoys eating strange foods.
* A little on the wild side.
* Has a strong sense of God's calling.
* Loves working with children.
* Doesn't miss home, friends or loved ones when gone.
* Loves mixing and pouring concrete.
* Has MacGyver-like skills at fixing almost anything.
* Confident riding motorcycles.
* Enjoys speaking to large crowds of people.
* Has no need for luxury or convenience.
* Can live on next to nothing.
* Has training in agriculture or machine mechanics.
* Good at initiating conversations with strangers.
* Loves to travel and can't stay in one place (wanderlust).
* Has a pith helmet.

Well, let me tell you that while many missionaries do possess many of these qualities, many of them are actually less effective BECAUSE of these same things.

I once met a person who told me they wouldn't be a good missionary because it would be too difficult to leave relatives, friends and loved ones. They suggested that people who don't miss their families would be better missionaries.

Actually, I think those who know how to form deep relationships with others and then feel like they don't know what they could do without a close connection to those people would actually make very good missionaries. Those who don't have deep relational ties at home usually aren't able to form deep ties with nationals on the field, either.

Those who are "social butterflies" aren't as good at discipling small groups of people.

Those who are very independent often clash with other missionaries on the field (who are also very independent). (You've heard we missionaries don't get along very well, right? And that most of us who return home early do so because of differences with other missionaries on the field. Well, that independent streak has a lot to do with that.)

Those who are good at mechanics, farming or some other skill often get caught up into doing work.

Those who love to work with children often don't know how to relate to the leaders and decision makers in their location and are sometimes seen as deceptive by preying on the little ones to spread their foreign religion.

Those who have wanderlust aren't very good at staying put on the mission field, either, and are always traveling around and not doing consistent ministry in any one location.

Those who can jump in, blend in and live in poverty are often seen as strange and useless in the eyes of nationals who know the missionary has more money than them.

So, don't sell yourself short. You don't have to be a cross between Indiana Jones, MacGyver, Jason Bourne and Mother Teresa in order to be a missionary. God calls people of all shapes and sizes.

Competitive Package

A Bible college I once visited kept postings of open ministry positions on a bulletin board in their Administration building. Bible college students getting ready to graduate could peruse the postings and contact various churches to apply for a job. The postings would normally be divided into categories, such as Senior Minister, Youth Minister, Worship Minister, Children's Minister, etc.

In a posting from a large church (1,000+) for a preaching position was the following description:

We offer a very competitive package of benefits including a comfortable salary, housing allowance and vacation time.

Competitive package? With whom are they competing? Other churches? By offering a higher salary or more benefits does it help this church to attract a more spiritual pastor? Does it help them hire the person God has chosen for them?

For the would-be preacher who applies--Does a more comfortable salary and living situation indicate God's leading to preach at this church?

Taking Job Positions

“If there is an existing position for the work that you want to do then you won’t really be making a difference by taking that job. That is because if you don’t take that job somebody else will.”

What do you think of this quote? Do you agree?

I don't know. A case can be made that you will do the job better than anyone else out there. That is possible. Also, it could be that no one else wants that job and if you don’t take it then your employer will not be able to find anyone else. In that case it is also possible to make a difference by accepting the position offered to you.

However, most people don’t seek or take jobs in order to make a difference. They do it in order to make a living—to make enough money to live, feed and clothe their family and send their children to school. There is nothing wrong with that, either. If our goal is to live and provide for our loved ones, then competing for a desirable job position with a good salary makes sense. It will allow us to live the life we want and to have enough money to do it.

In the long run, most people do their jobs because of one reason: Payday. If it weren’t for the money they wouldn’t be spending all this time doing this job. And there is nothing wrong or dishonorable about working for pay. Earned money is a good thing and nothing to be ashamed of. Many people around the world would love just the opportunity to work and earn a living.

Some people, on the other hand, choose not only to earn a living and provide for a family, but to try to make a difference in our world. They aren’t motivated just by the money (although, that is necessary in order to eat and live) but they are also motivated by the positive impact their work has on society. These may be people like doctors, police men and women, teachers or even lawyers. The majority of these people take positions that were already created for them. And sometimes it is a pretty competitive position.

Just think about job competition for a moment. What is the purpose? From the employer’s perspective it is to find the best candidate out of many who apply for the same position. From the applicant’s perspective it is to get a good job that is hard to find. Some positions are so desirable (high salary, great benefits, convenient location, good hours, light work, etc.) that many people compete to be the lucky one chosen for the job. This is true for both jobs that make a positive impact on society and those that don’t. (Think working in a soft drink company as compared to teaching in a city school.)

But does taking a job that makes a positive impact on society really make a net difference in the world? Maybe. Maybe not. Because even if you don’t take that position someone else probably will. Most likely, the difference is going to be made by one person or another.

A question: If you left your job today, would they hire someone else to take your position?

Another question:

Why would you want to be a doctor in a hospital that already has 100 other doctors and your patients aren’t even really sick? Why wouldn’t you want to be a doctor in a poor country where the lives of hundreds who are dying every day without any doctors would be saved by you?

An answer:

We couldn’t imagine the sacrifice it would take (giving up our lifestyles) to go save their lives. We love our lives the way they are (i.e.: our lifestyles) and feel it is not necessary to change them because, after all, people in our own country get the flu, too.

Okay, don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying you need to go to another country in order to make a difference in the world. I’m just trying to make one simple point. Here is the point:

There aren’t many existing job positions for the kinds of things most needed in our world that you can apply for, receive a salary and make a difference. If you want to make an impact you have to figure out what needs to be done that isn’t being done by anyone, where it needs to be done, and then figure out a way to fund yourself to do it. Most of those things will not have someone waiting to hire/pay you to do it.

In business we call these people entrepreneurs. In charting and settling unknown territory, we call these people pioneers. In ministry, we call them...

Not Impact But Obedience

The following quote is from Skye Jethani author of the book The Divine Commodity. I saw this on another blog and liked it so much that I've posted his quote here.

"What compelled Jesus was not impact but obedience. He was nourished by doing everything his Father commanded. 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me,' he said. Whether amid an adoring crowd entering Jerusalem, or isolated in the wilderness for forty days, Jesus' single-minded obedience to his Father never wavered. His legitimacy did not come from the size of the crowd he impacted, but from the One who declared from heaven, 'This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.' With an identity anchored in his Father rather than his fans, Jesus was able to engage his mission and abandon the outcomes to God."

I don't know if I'm brave enough to "abandon the outcomes to God." You know, I'm here on a mission and there are things I wish to accomplish with the express purpose of making an impact here in The Location. I have goals to be successful in doing these things for God's kingdom and I feel I would be letting all of my supporters down by abandoning such goals and not worrying about whether or not I achieve them.

Do you see my line of thinking? This is what I'm saying:

I'm more concerned about what supporters think than I am about obeying God.

The goals I wish to accomplish for God are more important to me than the activities God might have me to do.

I am doing these things for God rather than with God.

Lord, purify my heart and let my only goal to be obedience to you.

Impressed

If you work with small children you have undoubtedly had the experience where they do or show you something and you respond with, "Wow!"

Why do we do that? Is what the child did really that impressive? No, it is usually not. However, we want to show the child that we are impressed with them. Why? Because it makes them feel good--feel special--feel valuable.

Small children are too young to figure out that we are usually putting on a charade of being impressed. When we become adults we are offended by such pretense. However, that doesn't mean we don't still bask in the praise when we feel it is genuine.

Being "cool" is being impressive. A cool person is someone who impresses people in ways that people admire and aspire to be themselves. (I might impress you with my ability to juggle running chainsaws, but that still doesn't make me cool because chainsaw-juggling mastery is not a quality you would ever desire to attain.) In short, this is what a cool person is:

1. A cool person is someone who is usually good-looking. If they are not naturally good-looking, then they usually do something "stylish" with their hair, clothes or appearance.
2. A cool person is someone who knows what's up. While they might not be the smartest person around, they certainly know about pop culture or what's going on in respect to the community of people they're a part of.
3. A cool person is someone who other people love and want to be around. They usually have a crowd of people around them at most times, usually praising them.
4. A cool person is someone who is funny. They know how to make people laugh.

One more thing about cool people: They aren't impressed with much.

That's right--if you are going to be impressive, it means that you aren't all that impressed with many other people. Only a select few if any.

How "impressed" we are with another person usually indicates how we view them. They aren't the same thing, but they are related. If we have the ability to look at people who aren't impressive to anyone, and see something about which to be impressed, then we are far along the road to loving them.

Now, I know what you're thinking. If you have unconditional "agape" love then you don't need to be impressed by someone before you love them. True. But this can also become a dangerous road to arrogant pity, too, if we don't learn to see the intrinsic value in these "unimpressive people" by considering them better than ourselves. (Please read my post The Arrogance of Agape Love.)

What happens when we have a "cool" Christian preacher, church-planter, worship leader, author or missionary? It usually means that they aren't that impressed with other preachers, planters, leaders, writers or missionaries. It also usually means that they aren't very impressed with the people they're serving but are very interested in making people impressed with them. It usually means that while they would love to sign people up as their supporters or followers, they really don't think these people could do what they're doing half as well. And it shows.

I think it would do us well to take a look at the people around us. Are there people impressed with us? If so, is it because they are worshipping a talented-cool person? Or is it a reflection of the fact that we're impressed with them and they therefore feel valued by us and special in our eyes?

Which do you think is more transformational?

The Ugly Missionary

There is a book I read a couple years back that was recommended to me by a missionary friend. He said this book should be required reading for all new missionary recruits. It is not about missionaries or ministry. It is not even a Christian book. What is it called? Maybe you've heard of it:

The Ugly American

It tells a "fictional" story about American involvement in Asia during the Vietnam war. While the narrative is fictional, it is made up of an amalgamation of true stories, actual personalities (names changed), and some of the real dynamics that existed during the war in Southeast Asia. It is one of those books that makes you angry as you read it when you see how inept and arrogant many of the American Foreign Service people were. And it is this very arrogance and ineptitude that led to failure in the region.

Why is this book appropriate for missionary recruits?

Because it describes the same attitudes and dynamics that make many missionaries ineffective, too.

I am not a perfect missionary. Far from it. I have made many cultural mistakes and have been confronted by my own ignorance and arrogance on multiple occasions. In fact, I don't think there is anything out there that challenges and stretches us more than extended cross-cultural living where we try to accomplish something in that context and have meaningful relationships with the people. And it is perhaps because of these challenges that many missionaries either fall into some certain well-worn ruts or circle the wagons and separate themselves from the community. And when these two things happen it can produce some pretty rancid ugliness.

I have considered writing a similar book and calling it The Ugly Missionary. This would detail (using "fictional" characters who actually exist) some of the dynamics of arrogance and ineptitude that I've witnessed in the missionary community. These are things that many who support missionaries back home never realize. And my purpose in writing would not be pride or to lift myself up as a good example. (Parts of the Ugly Missionary would be myself!) But my purpose would be to warn new missionary recruits of the pitfalls that face them and to educate supporters on what to look for in sending and pastoring the missionaries they choose.

A "missionary" is equivalent to "hero" or "big time spiritual stud" to many people who have never traveled overseas. It doesn't take many qualifications other than going to another country (the more different the better), knowing how to say a few words in the language (if you can tell people your language is "tonal" then they're really impressed), and being able to do the "secret handshake," or whatever the local greeting gesture is. People are mostly impressed because you are doing something they know they couldn't or wouldn't ever do. (And many of them will give you money because of it, too.)

But far too often we fall very short of being effective cross-cultural ambassadors of Christ who demonstrate a genuine love for the people we've come to reach. Far too often we fail to even come close to immersing ourselves in their communities. Instead, we become the Ugly Missionary who spends all of his time around other expats, only eats at foreign restaurants, lives in a gated mansion far removed from the nationals, prohibits his children from playing with the local kids, and only dabbles in the the language, food, and community.

For many missionaries the only contact they have with nationals are the ones they hire as maids, nightwatchmen or as English-speaking managers of their projects. For many, the only knowledge they have of the culture, country and people is what they have read in an English travel guide or heard from other expats. I have found this information to be quite unreliable here in The Location.

So, if you get a chance, pick up The Ugly American. Give it a read. Think about it in terms of ministry--wherever you are. Is it applicable?

Smart Snakes and Holy Birds

What makes us effective--our programs and strategies, or our character and personalities?

I guess that depends on your answer to the following question: Effective at what?

There are plenty of jerks out there running very "cool" programs and people flock to them. If by "effective" we mean we are able to attract a crowd, then character flaws can be covered up.

If by "effective" we mean transforming people by God's grace into the likeness of God--then I don't know if that could happen (except in spite of us) unless we have a godly character and personality. Why is that? Well, Jesus gave us the answer:

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5

Jesus didn't command us to bear fruit. He commanded us to remain (abide) in him. His promise is that we will bear fruit if we do. Bearing fruit for God is not a command to be obeyed, but a promise to be fulfilled by God when we obey the command of staying close to Christ and rooting ourselves in him. So, you could say that the fruit we bear--we are not even the ones who are bearing it. However, it is Christ bearing fruit through us.

So for all the thoughts about strategies, approaches and programs... it is not worth very much if our hearts are far away from God and we have not stayed close to him.

Does that mean we throw away all strategic thinking? No, I don't think so. Jesus also once said...

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16

Unfortunately, we are often only one or the other. Good and naive, or, smart and corrupt. But Jesus would have us to be good and smart; holy and shrewd; pure and wise. Certainly, we will be the most effective if we are pure in heart as we walk closely with Christ and use the wisdom God granted us to do the best we can. Being holy isn't an excuse for being lazy. And being clever will never replace the need to depend on God to make the change we want to see happen.

I have a very good friend who is one of The People here. He is unlike any other I have met. He understands the deep things of God and of this world. And he was encouraging me to stay strong and not be too discouraged--that God himself had called me to serve in The Location.

I told him, "Every day I struggle against two things. One is not being smart enough and the other is not being good enough." And I wasn't talking about salvation or making myself pleasing to God--I was talking about making a difference here in The Location.

Everything is set against us here. No one is rolling out the red carpet for us to do either business or ministry. Certain parties do things against us (steal land, money, assets, or lie and cheat) and we have no recourse. No one is on our side even though the law technically should be. There is corruption. There is a warped view of wealth and people. There is an especially warped view of outsiders and Christians. There is false-teaching. There is jealousy and infighting among those we aim to help. There are harmful approaches being undertaken by other workers that pull many well-intentioned people in the wrong direction. There is injustice. There is spiritual oppression.

So, I told my friend that I cannot waste time complaining about how things aren't the way they should be. I need to accept the fact that they are the way they are. Now it is up to me to figure out, taking the situation into account, how to be effective in spite of it all. It is not an easy task. I'm still learning a whole lot. I need to become smarter and wiser.

But before that, I must be good. I must be Christ-like. I believe I can only be like Jesus when I am seeking him and his ways. When I rely on him he helps me to love as he loved. When I read his Word he shows me how to view people as he views them. When I pray he helps me to quiet my heart and put my trust in him.

I'm a lot more effective when I do that.

An Effective Missionary

An article I wrote a few years ago...

I have been in The Location for a number of years now. It doesn't seem that long. At the same time, it is hard to imagine that all of my experiences have been crammed into this short time. Each day I am becoming more and more accustomed to living here and fitting into the society. There are still times, however, when I feel very “foreign” to the culture here.

I now look back on my first few months here in The Location as a “childhood,” of sorts, when everything was brand new to me. As I have grown in my ability to speak the language and to understand how things work here, I have come to see that some of the assumptions and conclusions I made early on regarding The People and their culture were incorrect. Other early ideas weren’t incorrect, but not as significant as I once thought. And, finally, I am learning many things from first-hand experience that help me to better understand this culture rather than holding to many of the false assumptions and ideas within the foreign community about The Location's culture.

Recently I was reflecting about serving here in The Location as a missionary. What would I do differently to prepare myself to work here now that I’ve been here for a few years?

I decided I wanted to be a missionary when I was a sophomore in college. After graduating and working for a while, I decided I wanted to get some specific missionary training so that I would be prepared to serve on a foreign field. I subsequently enrolled in a particular seminary's Master of Art’s program in Missions. I spent two years there and another two years finishing up my thesis. I greatly value my time at seminary and learned an incredible amount of information and ideas that have been very helpful to me as a missionary.

At the same time, I wish I could have done a few things differently. I prepared myself in some areas that have proved to be helpful and others not so helpful. But I also did not really prepare myself in a number of areas that would have made me much more effective in my ministry.

I studied Cultural Anthropology so that I would know how to approach different cultures and different worldviews, how to understand them and how to communicate with them. That was good. But I know I would be a much more effective missionary if I had learned how to control my anger better. I never thought of myself as an “angry” person. It never really came out until I came over here. I am here to try to help this country and there are so many things that are blatantly not “up to standard.” The people here are not really my “peers” and I am already weird and different in their eyes. Consequently, it is easy for me to show my anger and displeasure in front of them. Showing anger and displeasure, while not a good thing, is still pretty normal for us in America. In The Location it makes you lose respect and discredits you in the minds of people. God’s kingdom could be expanded better by me if I learned how to quiet my heart, be content, and not show my frustration.

I studied Greek and Hebrew a year a piece so that I could understand how to best interpret the Bible. I loved those classes and would never think of going back and not taking them! In the future I hope this knowledge will have more practical application in my ministry, but to date it has really had very little use in my witness here. On the other hand, had I learned the discipline of studying my Bible every day, being in God’s Word and having his Word in my heart I know that I would be a much more effective missionary. Knowing about God’s Word and knowing his Word are as different as knowing about God versus knowing God. If I were the kind of person that had his Word on my mind, in my heart and on my lips by disciplining myself to be immersed in the scriptures every day, I would be much more effective in my witness here.

I studied Leadership and dissected the difference in meaning between leaders and managers, between mission statements and vision statements and between contextualization and syncretism. This was good… but it would have been more helpful had I learned the skill of spending time with people, listening to them, talking with them and getting to know them. Being the busy visionary has not helped me be an effective missionary when taking time to get to know people here would.

I studied Missiology and learned about missionary methods, approaches and strategies for evangelism among unreached peoples in ways that God’s kingdom will subsequently expand rapidly without hindrance. Again, this was very helpful and insightful. But I know that I would be a much better missionary if I had learned the practice of prayer and fasting, depending and calling on God to work miracles that I could never do. My first reaction to a kingdom “barrier” is typically a smart and fancy missiological strategy. But I would be a much more effective instrument of God if I would react and persist in prayer for the spiritual difference I am attempting to make.

I studied Church Growth and how pastors should lead their churches past the “200 barrier” or past the “1,000 barrier.” But I would have done better to address personal issues of over-sensitivity, pride and self-pity. I studied Ministry to Muslims, but would have done better to learn how to really stave off sexual temptation. I studied Linguistics, which has been very helpful and profitable. But I should have spent more time learning to have a close walk with Christ and how to be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I would be a much more effective missionary if I possessed these fruits of the Spirit in greater quantity.

Our effectiveness as servants of God flows out of our relationship with God. That is because our wisdom, strength and riches, in all its measure, could not possibly begin to accomplish what we are attempting, and what only God can accomplish through us. The battle we are fighting is a spiritual one, not a worldly one. The difference we are trying to make is a spiritual difference.

Jeremiah says (9:23-24), “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”

Amen. Please don’t take the above as criticism of those who trained me, or who failed to train me. It is not. Rather, it is a criticism of myself and my way of thinking as I was preparing to become a missionary.

When it comes down to it, if I actually live in relationships with people (and not just make teaching appearances), people will be much more affected by my example than they ever will be by my teaching. What they see in my life will be more powerful than what comes out of my mouth. In fact, how I live my life in the quiet, private and trying moments will prove whether or not people should believe what I say. When I understand and know the Lord, and when I also exercise kindness, justice and righteousness in my life, then I will be an effective missionary.

Five Year Chunks

A couple thoughts about age and effectiveness...

I once heard someone say that we don't really settle into our personalities and who we are as a person until we reach the age of about 30. Really? That is amazing because we make so many life decisions before we reach 30 (well, many of us do): Our majors. Our mates. Our career path. Our decision to follow Jesus. Perhaps this is why so many of us change majors, change mates, change careers, and change in our commitment to Christ. Perhaps.

I also once heard someone say that they felt their most effective ministry years would come when they reach their 40's and 50's. Wow! This same person mentioned that Moses was called back to Egypt at the age of about 80.

Young people might often think of their ministry "prime" coinciding with their physical "prime"--in their mid-twenties. But that is probably NOT going to be the case. At least, we should hope it isn't! Hopefully, we'll all be serving God for many decades after our 20's, and it would be sad to think that our effectiveness would be going downhill the whole time. Unfortunately, we tend to place too much value on two things: 1) The "ability to relate" that young people supposedly have. 2) That the youth in a society are the prime targets for ministry. Perhaps I'll write more on this at another time.

I look at my own ministry here in 5-year chunks. I feel that my first five years on the field (in a different culture) were to learn the language, learn the culture, and begin to form ideas about the ways to increase God's kingdom and make a real impact on this society (rather than just doing a ministry). My second five year period was the process of getting things set up, putting pieces into place and getting ready to really make a Kingdom impact (still, doing ministry concurrently). The third five-year period has been the fruit-bearing period--the time when so many things come to fruition and the impact that I dreamed about before I ever came starts to become a reality.

Now, this teaches us a couple things. First, I think it shows that we cannot imagine or expect young missionary recruits, with no field experience and no fluency in the language, to have their strategy all mapped out before leaving for the field, or before spending enough time to become fluent in the language. Secondly, it shows us that to make a lasting difference we need a long-term approach.

Perhaps a fourth five-year chunk would be the time in which I have successfully worked myself out of a job--when the nationals have been trained and inspired to do everything that I might do myself, thus rendering me unnecessary. This is what we call a success in missions.