The Practical Missions Podcast
Missions is a great calling, but a very hard job
I’m not an expert. I don’t have all the answers. And I’m not interviewing authors, conference speakers or experts on the subjects, just normal people learning from one another.
Safety feels like the obvious goal until you hear what it can quietly replace. Today on the Pod, I sit down with a long-term Middle East worker and mother who has lived through war, economic collapse, and years of instability and still chooses to stay, not out of recklessness, but out of discernment, community responsibility, and a deep confidence that God’s presence is worth following as a family.
We talk honestly about what daily life is like in the Arab world: the joy, the hospitality, the “vibe”, and also the grinding stress of lawlessness and unreliable systems. My guest shares how learning Arabic and reading cultural cues changes everything for a Western woman, from being heard in a room to navigating respect, boundaries, and leadership. We talk about what it’s like confronting polygamy and the stories of jealousy and pain that make working with women in the Arab World so unique. Throughout, we keep coming back to a core idea for cross-cultural workers: discipleship is not separate from family systems, it collides with them and transforms them from the inside out.
If you care about parenting overseas, third culture kids, and raising resilient children in cross-cultural ministry, this conversation gets specific. My guest’s kids attend a school that is 95% Muslim, which creates daily opportunities and daily friction, especially around forgiveness, humility, conflict, and the normalization of yelling and threats. My guest explains how her family makes stay-or-go decisions during wartime, what their safety “red lines” are, and why they pursue outside help, like TCK counseling when needed. We also explore why crisis often produces unprecedented spiritual hunger, why many women respond powerfully to Jesus, and how simple tools like audio Scripture in spoken Arabic can unlock discipleship for women facing illiteracy and dialect barriers.
If you’ve ever wrestled with calling versus comfort, or wondered what “counting the cost” looks like with kids in the picture, this episode is for you.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 First Impressions and Real Arab Women
- 02:52 The Joy and Stress of Lawlessness
- 04:53 Language, Culture, And Earned Respect
- 06:16 Marriage, Kids, And Social Authority
- 08:32 Polygamy and the Real Struggles of Women
- 11:27 Women’s Power Inside Family Systems
- 14:34 Discipleship That Changes Social Patterns
- 16:56 Teaching Forgiveness In A No Forgiveness Culture
- 19:27 Figuring out Education on the Field
- 27:44 Raising Third Culture Kids
- 32:35 Deciding Whether To Stay During War
- 39:48 Crisis Creates Hunger And Open Doors
- 42:15 Why Women Respond Powerfully To Jesus
- 47:59 Discipling Illiterate Women
- 52:28 Barriers In Discipling Women Long Term
- 56:45 The Power of Endurance
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
I get the question all the time from well-meaning people. But I like to turn the question on its head. I think in the West our kids have become our idols. I think in the West we over-protect our kids. My kids live in a country torn apart by sectarianism and war, but they get to see miracles. They get to live in the book Acts.
Safety feels like the obvious goal until you hear what it can quietly replace. Today on the Pod, I sit down with a long-term Middle East worker and mother who has lived through war, economic collapse, and years of instability and still chooses to stay, not out of recklessness, but out of discernment, community responsibility, and a deep confidence that God’s presence is worth following as a family.
We talk honestly about what daily life is like in the Arab world: the joy, the hospitality, the “vibe”, and also the grinding stress of lawlessness and unreliable systems. My guest shares how learning Arabic and reading cultural cues changes everything for a Western woman, from being heard in a room to navigating respect, boundaries, and leadership. We talk about what it’s like confronting polygamy and the stories of jealousy and pain that make working with women in the Arab World so unique. Throughout, we keep coming back to a core idea for cross-cultural workers: discipleship is not separate from family systems, it collides with them and transforms them from the inside out.
If you care about parenting overseas, third culture kids, and raising resilient children in cross-cultural ministry, this conversation gets specific. My guest’s kids attend a school that is 95% Muslim, which creates daily opportunities and daily friction, especially around forgiveness, humility, conflict, and the normalization of yelling and threats. My guest explains how her family makes stay-or-go decisions during wartime, what their safety “red lines” are, and why they pursue outside help, like TCK counseling when needed. We also explore why crisis often produces unprecedented spiritual hunger, why many women respond powerfully to Jesus, and how simple tools like audio Scripture in spoken Arabic can unlock discipleship for women facing illiteracy and dialect barriers.
If you’ve ever wrestled with calling versus comfort, or wondered what “counting the cost” looks like with kids in the picture, this episode is for you.
“I get the question all the time from well-meaning people. But I like to turn the question on its head. I think in the West our kids have become our idols. I think in the West we over-protect our kids. My kids live in a country torn apart by sectarianism and war, but they get to see miracles. They get to live in the book Acts.”
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 First Impressions and Real Arab Women
- 02:52 The Joy and Stress of Lawlessness
- 04:53 Language, Culture, And Earned Respect
- 06:16 Marriage, Kids, And Social Authority
- 08:32 Polygamy and the Real Struggles of Women
- 11:27 Women’s Power Inside Family Systems
- 14:34 Discipleship That Changes Social Patterns
- 16:56 Teaching Forgiveness In A No-Forgiveness Culture
- 19:27 Figuring out Education on the Field
- 27:44 Raising Third Culture Kids
- 32:35 Deciding Whether To Stay During War
- 39:48 Crisis Creates Hunger And Open Doors
- 42:15 Why Women Respond Powerfully To Jesus
- 47:59 Discipling Illiterate Women
- 52:28 Barriers In Discipling Women Long Term
- 56:45 The Power of Endurance
A single decision at 14 can set a direction you only understand years later. We sit down with my guest to trace how a teenage “all in” moment, a world atlas opened during exam prep, and a summer camp prayer meeting with George’s inflatable globe became the quiet beginnings of a lifelong call to cross-cultural missions. Along the way, we talk about how God often guides through “means” like mentors, biographies, teams, and the simple pull of a burden that won’t go away.
We also get honest about the interior battle many cross-cultural workers face: the pressure to prove you’re worth the investment. My guest shares what it was like to feel ineffective overseas while learning language and culture, and why that season taught him a deeper priority: God cares more about relationship and character than output. We unpack 1 Corinthians 3, the freedom of “God gives the growth”, and the daily practice of preaching the gospel of grace to yourself so pride and despair don’t run your life.
From there, we zoom out into leadership on the field and mission strategy. We explore how missions has changed since the early 1990s, what has stayed the same. We talk about what healthy leadership looks like in a diverse global organisation: character over charisma, leaders who are still walking with Jesus, and leaders who develop successors.
Finally, we trace the bigger story of mission innovation from William Carey to people group thinking, church planting movements, and disciple making movements, then ask what comes next as AI, migration, urbanization, and a post-Western global church reshape the mission landscape. If you care about missions, church planting, discipleship, contextualization, and resilient leadership, this one is for you.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 At 16 years old, asking God where to serve
- 06:12 Resting in God and working hard are not opposites
- 9:44 Feeling weak and useless is the path to trusting God
- 14:00 How missions has changed since the 1990s
- 21:28 What makes a trustworthy leader?
- 30:34 How to avoid cynicism
- 34:53 The History of Missions and Innovations Cycles
- 41:50 Understanding where we came from helps us address the challenges we face now
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
The greatest amongst you will not be the most successful, or the most fruitful, or the most strategic, or the most exciting, or the most articulate. The greatest amongst you will be the servants of all.
A single decision at 14 can set a direction you only understand years later. We sit down with my guest to trace how a teenage “all in” moment, a world atlas opened during exam prep, and a summer camp prayer meeting with George’s inflatable globe became the quiet beginnings of a lifelong call to cross-cultural missions. Along the way, we talk about how God often guides through “means” like mentors, biographies, teams, and the simple pull of a burden that won’t go away.
We also get honest about the interior battle many cross-cultural workers face: the pressure to prove you’re worth the investment. My guest shares what it was like to feel ineffective overseas while learning language and culture, and why that season taught him a deeper priority: God cares more about relationship and character than output. We unpack 1 Corinthians 3, the freedom of “God gives the growth”, and the daily practice of preaching the gospel of grace to yourself so pride and despair don’t run your life.
From there, we zoom out into leadership on the field and mission strategy. We explore how missions has changed since the early 1990s, what has stayed the same. We talk about what healthy leadership looks like in a diverse global organisation: character over charisma, leaders who are still walking with Jesus, and leaders who develop successors.
Finally, we trace the bigger story of mission innovation from William Carey to people group thinking, church planting movements, and disciple making movements, then ask what comes next as AI, migration, urbanization, and a post-Western global church reshape the mission landscape. If you care about missions, church planting, discipleship, contextualization, and resilient leadership, this one is for you.
“The greatest amongst you will not be the most successful, or the most fruitful, or the most strategic, or the most exciting, or the most articulate. The greatest amongst you will be the servants of all.”
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 At 16 years old, asking God where to serve
- 06:12 Resting in God and working hard are not opposites
- 9:44 Feeling weak and useless is the path to trusting God
- 14:00 How missions has changed since the 1990s
- 21:28 What makes a trustworthy leader?
- 30:34 How to avoid cynicism
- 34:53 The History of Missions and Innovations Cycles
- 41:50 Understanding where we came from helps us address the challenges we face now
When someone you poured your life into goes quiet spiritually, it doesn’t just hurt them; it hits you. We sit down with a long-term worker in the Middle East to talk about the disappointment that quietly fuels burnout, cynicism, and that sneaky identity trap where other people’s discipleship becomes our scoreboard. We name the emotions most missionaries and ministry leaders feel but rarely admit: embarrassment, shame, pressure to “fix it”, and the fear that if we stop pushing, everything will fall apart.
From there, we move into a different kind of resilience: contemplative spirituality. We talk about silence, solitude, centering prayer, and why “turning up the Christian noise” works for a season until it doesn’t. My guest explains why silence feels like death to our need for control, and why Sabbath is more than rest. It’s a weekly sign that God is the one who sanctifies, not our output, our intensity, or our method. If you’re leading, planting, discipling, or serving cross-culturally, this thread alone can change how you carry the weight.
Then we pivot into disciple-making movements (DMM) and discovery Bible study (DBS): how DMM became ubiquitous in missions, what problems it tries to solve, and what people often misunderstand. We define DMM simply, highlight the empowerment of ordinary believers, and challenge the idea that a DBS seed is the whole tree. If you care about church planting movements, obedience-based discipleship, and healthy multiplication that also matures, this conversation gives you language and clarity without hype.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Impassioned by the Kingdom of God
- 03:26 The reality of disappointment
- 08:54 The invitation to go deeper with God
- 15:22 Falling in love with missions
- 20:50 How DBS/DMM became so popular
- 26:55 What is a DMM?
- 31:00 Empowering ordinary people
- 37:21 Misconceptions of DMM
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
DMM is the idea that the discipleship process produces the church and not the other way around. The fruit of discipleship is the church. In the West, we tend to think of discipleship as a church program. In a DMM, the expectation is that everyone is an active student of Scripture, competent to reflect and share what they are learning; everyone is a doer of the Word. Everyone is thinking, God is speaking to me, how does this impact my life?
When someone you poured your life into goes quiet spiritually, it doesn’t just hurt them; it hits you. We sit down with a long-term worker in the Middle East to talk about the disappointment that quietly fuels burnout, cynicism, and that sneaky identity trap where other people’s discipleship becomes our scoreboard. We name the emotions most missionaries and ministry leaders feel but rarely admit: embarrassment, shame, pressure to “fix it”, and the fear that if we stop pushing, everything will fall apart.
From there, we move into a different kind of resilience: contemplative spirituality. We talk about silence, solitude, centering prayer, and why “turning up the Christian noise” works for a season until it doesn’t. My guest explains why silence feels like death to our need for control, and why Sabbath is more than rest. It’s a weekly sign that God is the one who sanctifies, not our output, our intensity, or our method. If you’re leading, planting, discipling, or serving cross-culturally, this thread alone can change how you carry the weight.
Then we pivot into disciple-making movements (DMM) and discovery Bible study (DBS): how DMM became ubiquitous in missions, what problems it tries to solve, and what people often misunderstand. We define DMM simply, highlight the empowerment of ordinary believers, and challenge the idea that a DBS seed is the whole tree. If you care about church planting movements, obedience-based discipleship, and healthy multiplication that also matures, this conversation gives you language and clarity without hype.
DMM is the idea that the discipleship process produces the church and not the other way around. The fruit of discipleship is the church. In the West, we tend to think of discipleship as a church program. In a DMM, the expectation is that everyone is an active student of Scripture, competent to reflect and share what they are learning; everyone is a doer of the Word. Everyone is thinking, God is speaking to me, how does this impact my life?
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Impassioned by the Kingdom of God
- 03:26 The reality of disappointment
- 08:54 The invitation to go deeper with God
- 15:22 Falling in love with missions
- 20:50 How DBS/DMM became so popular
- 26:55 What is a DMM?
- 31:00 Empowering ordinary people
- 37:21 Misconceptions of DMM
In today’s episode, we take a fresh look at compassion fatigue and ask whether a change in perspective could actually prevent us from ever experiencing it. My guest says it’s possible to not only grow in our capacity for compassion, but also to find that our capacity itself is endless. It is a fascinating conversation that I’m sure will challenge and strengthen you.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Being Compelled to Reach the Unreached
- 06:03 Changing Gears from Evangelism to Carrying for Missionaries
- 08:56 The Difference Between Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
- 12:08 The Famous Compassion Fatigue
- 17:50 My Experience with Compassion Fatigue
- 24:25 Does Compassion Really Run Out?
- 35:08 Growing your Compassion Muscles
- 39:50 Learning to Have Compassion for Others and Yourself
Resources mentioned in the Pod
Compassion: A renewable resource
FROM DOCTOR TO PATIENT: A PHYSICIAN’S JOURNEY WITH COMPASSION
IS “COMPASSION FATIGUE” REAL? GET THE TRUTH FROM A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN
Turn Empathy Into Compassion Without the Empathic Distress
Example of a Compassion Meditation
Anne Hofmeyer. Contesting the term ‘compassion fatigue’
From Empathy to Compassion in a Neuroscience Laboratory
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
After I read the article, I said, If this is true, we have the power to avoid compassion fatigue. If this is true, then we can change something about how we look at compassion fatigue and escape or recover from it. And that shifted my perspective.
In today’s episode, we take a fresh look at compassion fatigue and ask whether a change in perspective could actually prevent us from ever experiencing it. My guest says it’s possible to not only grow in our capacity for compassion, but also to find that our capacity itself is endless. It is a fascinating conversation that I’m sure will challenge and strengthen you.
After I read the article, I said, If this is true, we have the power to avoid compassion fatigue. If this is true, then we can change something about how we look at compassion fatigue and escape or recover from it. And that shifted my perspective.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Resources mentioned in the Pod
Compassion: A renewable resource
FROM DOCTOR TO PATIENT: A PHYSICIAN’S JOURNEY WITH COMPASSION
IS “COMPASSION FATIGUE” REAL? GET THE TRUTH FROM A PRACTICING PHYSICIAN
Turn Empathy Into Compassion Without the Empathic Distress
Example of a Compassion Meditation
Anne Hofmeyer. Contesting the term ‘compassion fatigue’
From Empathy to Compassion in a Neuroscience Laboratory
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Being Compelled to Reach the Unreached
- 06:03 Changing Gears from Evangelism to Carrying for Missionaries
- 08:56 The Difference Between Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
- 12:08 The Famous Compassion Fatigue
- 17:50 My Experience with Compassion Fatigue
- 24:25 Does Compassion Really Run Out?
- 35:08 Growing your Compassion Muscles
- 39:50 Learning to Have Compassion for Others and Yourself
In this episode, we cover three main themes: 1) the importance of collaboration in the field, 2) the importance of healthy marriages and families, and 3) overcoming the siren call of technology in your life.
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Being discipled by George Verwer
- 08:00 The power of collaboration
- 15:42 The results of collaboration
- 21:26 Passion for healthy families
- 25:57 Family Habits
- 32:08 Building character in the home
- 41:40 Technologies eroding effects on the soul
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
I would sit with George around the table with leaders from all over the world, and many of them had major heartbreak around family issues. There were people passionate about the mission and getting the Gospel to the ends of the earth, but they all had major family regrets.
In this episode, we cover three main themes: 1) the importance of collaboration in the field, 2) the importance of healthy marriages and families, and 3) overcoming the siren call of technology in your life.
I would sit with George around the table with leaders from all over the world, and many of them had major heartbreak around family issues. There were people passionate about the mission and getting the Gospel to the ends of the earth, but they all had major family regrets.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Being discipled by George Verwer
- 08:00 The power of collaboration
- 15:42 The results of collaboration
- 21:26 Passion for healthy families
- 25:57 Family Habits
- 32:08 Building character in the home
- 41:40 Technologies eroding effects on the soul
On today’s pod, we take a biblical look at Compassion Fatigue, one of the biggest issues that cross-cultural workers face daily. My guest helps us understand why we experience this kind of helping fatigue, and what we can do to drink deeply from the source of our compassion strength.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Settling into Missions
- 03:34 The Need for Biblical Counseling
- 08:47 My Story of Compassion Fatigue
- 12:15 What is Compassion Fatigue?
- 15:49 What Happens When You Flip the Great Commandments?
- 18:50 How do I know if I’m loving my Neighbor before God?
- 24:45 Being Exhausted from Helping People
- 30:10 How Elijah Can Teach Us About Compassion Fatigue
- 41:04 Saints, Sinners, and Suffering
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Don’t get lost in this identity of being a healer. That’s not your identity. Your identity is a saint in Christ. Keep coming back to that. Keep grounded in the Gospel. That gives you the capacity to love, and that gives you the capacity to care for others.
On today’s pod, we take a biblical look at Compassion Fatigue, one of the biggest issues that cross-cultural workers face daily. My guest helps us understand why we experience this kind of helping fatigue, and what we can do to drink deeply from the source of our compassion strength.
Don’t get lost in this identity of being a healer. That’s not your identity. Your identity is a saint in Christ. Keep coming back to that. Keep grounded in the Gospel. That gives you the capacity to love, and that gives you the capacity to care for others.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Settling into Missions
- 03:34 The Need for Biblical Counseling
- 08:47 My Story of Compassion Fatigue
- 12:15 What is Compassion Fatigue?
- 15:49 What Happens When You Flip the Great Commandments?
- 18:50 How do I know if I’m loving my Neighbor before God?
- 24:45 Being Exhausted from Helping People
- 30:10 How Elijah Can Teach Us About Compassion Fatigue
- 41:04 Saints, Sinners, and Suffering
On today’s pod, I took a few topics from the last two episodes and did a deeper dive into them. I really enjoyed thinking through these topics and hope they can be of some benefit to you.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:05 Loneliness on the Field
- 04:14 Realistic Expectations in Low-Grow Environments
- 09:02 Living the Double Life
- 13:00 Discipling in Low-Trust Societies
- 19:39 Know Your Limits
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
But sometimes I can be too hard on people who have come to faith in Jesus and demand too much from them. Sometimes I judge them in my heart because they are not willing to “lose everything” for the sake of the Gospel. But my guest in episode 95 reminded me that there is a place for the underground church. Being underground means that, to some extent, you are living secretly as a believer because it is dangerous if people know.
On today’s pod, I took a few topics from the last two episodes and delved deeper into them. I really enjoyed thinking through these topics and hope they can be of some benefit to you.
But sometimes I can be too hard on people who have come to faith in Jesus and demand too much from them. Sometimes I judge them in my heart because they are not willing to “lose everything” for the sake of the Gospel. But my guest in episode 95 reminded me that there is a place for the underground church. Being underground means that, to some extent, you are living secretly as a believer because it is dangerous if people know.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:05 Loneliness on the Field
- 04:14 Realistic Expectations in Low-Grow Environments
- 09:02 Living the Double Life
- 13:00 Discipling in Low-Trust Societies
- 19:39 Know Your Limits
Today’s pod is a deep, personal look at burnout on the field. If you have listened to this podcast for any length of time, you will have noticed the volume of people who said they burned out or are close to burnout. It’s a real problem for cross-cultural Kingdom workers. My guest not only describes his burnout but also gives us practical advice to prevent it.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 It’s just what you do
- 02:51 Motivated for the long-term
- 12:09 The sacrifices of long-term missions
- 19:39 Burnout on the field
- 30:26 Making the needed changes
- 35:35 A warning and advice
- 38:22 The lies we believe
More Quotes
It’s just what you do
My parents’ generation taught them to “Keep your head down. Be silent. Be faithful. It’s not about you. Have a very industrious work ethic.”
It wasn’t about the individual. It was about doing the right thing.
It’s just what you do. You do the right thing.
Motivated for the long-term
I’m motivated by my calling. God called me to go where there is no church. And doing that is what I find strength and joy in.
Jesus said, He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom. So just keep going.
It’s not about if this is “aligned with who I am.” Who I am is a child of God who follows Him and does what He wants. It’s not about me. In the current physiology, that’s a negative thing because people don’t have a strong root in their identity, so they really need to “find” that. Whereas the stronger you are in your identity in Christ, the more you can say, “What does God want me to do, and I’ll do that.” There are no other options. That’s who I am, therefore that’s what I do.
How do I keep going over the long haul? Because I know it’s what he’s called me to do, and I delight in doing what he wants. And I’m in him, and until he tells me to do something else, this is what I’m doing.
We don’t want to be doing something just because of momentum. We want to ask, Lord, what do you want us to do? We want our ears to be open to that.
For men, a career change is a frightening thing. Especially a married man. If you shift your career and it fails, what are you going to do? Become a janitor? That can lull you into doing the same thing until the bills are paid and the kids are out of college. How are you gonna get hired when you’re in your 50s and 60s? Those are the kinds of things that are in the back of men’s minds. They don’t necessarily say it, but that’s something that can skew their ability to listen to God and follow him.
What is realistic? How can I find a sense of peace and contentment in what I’m doing?
You have to find contentment. You’re going to have a lot of things in life that you don’t like. It’s not about whether you like it or not; you have to do them.
The sacrifices of long-term missions
God is sovereign, and he redeems the bad things that happen to us.
One of the sacrifices of long-term cross- cultural work is loneliness, especially for men.
I remember my kids saying to me, dad you need friends.
Was I intentional about building relationships that weren’t strictly contingent on worker ministry?
Sometimes we feel like if we’re just hanging out with friends it’s not “intentional,” it’s not “ministry.”
Think about the things that really do impact your ministry, how you treat people, your connectedness to the Lord, loving him, and loving people.
You’re gonna have people in your life for a short period of time, so just go all in. Make the most of what you have.
Burnout on the field
Burnout is Chronic stress over time, from which you can’t recharge; your recovery time is not enough. Over time, you have a gradual depletion until it reaches burnout. You’ve crashed.
Over a two or three-year period, I found what I was doing was stewing on things, and that adds to the chronic stress. Because you’re stewing you don’t have a break you can stew on it 24/7.
You’re not taking it to the Lord in prayer. You’re not saying, look, this is an untenable position to stay in. You have to find equilibrium; life is up and down. It’s not about life balance. That’s not realistic.
I kept taking on more and more things, and at some point, I realized I was burning out.
One of the vicious cycles of burnout is that you take on things to compensate for the areas you’re failing in. It’s like a coping mechanism.
You take something new on to have a success in that to compensate for the failure in this other thing. But the reason why you’re failing is because you’re taking on too much. But then you take on more.
You get to a point where your judgment is wrecked.
People’s experience of you is dropping the ball, disappointment, not following through on your word, and it just piles up, and it becomes a monster.
It’s not just, oh, I’m tired because last week was tough, or I have this one thing that’s really nagging me. No, there’s a lot of stuff that’s been piling up over time.
My dad knew that was what needed to be done and that it was the best thing for the family. Whatever he was feeling was going to result in the family losing faith, being anxious, you can imagine.
You’re going to need to express your feelings more often if your identity isn’t grounded in Christ. Being solid in your identity in Christ can abate the need for having to get so much affirmation all the time about everything.
Our identity in Christ strengthens our resilience in the face of challenges. And as a byproduct, you don’t necessarily need to say everything you’re feeling if you’re not feeling that great, because you fall back on, who am I in Christ.
Making the needed changes
I was concerned about really losing it, being down for the count. This wasn’t just burnout, like I need to take a break, this is like, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to mentally recover. It’s that bad.
You can get a physical injury, and you limp for life; it was that kind of thing, mentally and emotionally. My capacity in energy level would be truncated. It would be shot. It’d be taken down, and I wouldn’t be able to recover.
When COVID hit, I was sitting in the backyard. Thanking God that I don’t have to do anything. I’m just watching the weeds grow. Literally watching the weeds grow. I’m not having the ability to think or think too much of anything.
For the next three summers of going back to my home country, I intentionally did a home assignment in a way that gave me margin during my week.
Every year, there was a progressive increase in my capacity to think better. But it took a solid three years to feel like I was back.
My knee-jerk reaction is to help, which is fine, but not when you’re burning out.
A warning and advice
If it’s a man, I scare them. I said look, dude, if you do this, you’re going to be out. You’re not gonna be able to be here doing what you want to do. It can damage your health to the point where your ram level is no longer 100% it’s like 70% and it stays like that for the rest of your life.
You need to think long and hard, are you gonna take this seriously and get healthy, or not?
If your spouse is burning out, you need to make sure you’re making choices that help them. You make the sacrifice, so your spouse can get what’s needed.
The lies we believe
Statistically, the stress level for cross-cultural workers is way higher than for the average person.
“The original 1967-1970 study found that if a person reached a level of 200 on the scale in a single year, the cumulative stress would have long-term implications. In fact, they discovered that fifty percent of individuals who reached this level were hospitalized within two years. The consequences included heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, and other serious illnesses. If a person reached a level of 300, they were almost sure to end up in the hospital. In 1999, Christian doctors Lois and Larry Dodds of Heartstream Resources began to study the levels of stress on the mission field using a modified version of the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale. First-term missionaries were found to have scores peaking at a whopping 900, while veterans maintained 600-plus year after year. Remember, according to the research, people with a score above 200 were likely to have severe, long-term health problems within two years. The evidence clearly demonstrated that the “normalcy” of the missionary lifestyle is three times higher than the average “danger level” of stress.” – The Mind of a Missionary page 292
Spiritually, in the background, there’s the grace of God to enable us to do what we are called to do.
Things that are in our control are whether we are aware, whether we are trying to overcompensate for our feelings of failure or inadequacy, or whether we are not fulfilling our calling? And are we taking on other things to make us feel better about ourselves, without really being conscious of that?
Are we dealing with the cognitive dissonance of the underlying failure feeling because I’m not fulfilling my calling? Does that just sit in the back of your mind unconsciously and nag?
We have no idea the level of cortisol shooting through our bodies because of the level of stress we have on the field. And it’s not just the amount of stress, but it’s the inability to recover from that stress that is the problem.
If you’re really struggling and you feel like you’re burning out, you need to talk to somebody who has responsibility in your life who you will listen to, so you can make some changes to help you get better.
Whatever I’m anxious or worried about to make sure I’m taking that thing specifically to the Lord in prayer. Be really honest with God about what you’re stressed about and how you need help, what change you need, and bring that to the Lord.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
We have no idea the level of cortisol shooting through our bodies because of the level of stress we have on the field. And it’s not just the amount of stress, but it’s the inability to recover from that stress that is the problem.
Today’s pod is a deep, personal look at burnout on the field. If you have listened to this podcast for any length of time, you will have noticed the volume of people who said they burned out or are close to burnout. It’s a real problem for cross-cultural Kingdom workers. My guest not only describes his burnout but also gives us practical advice to prevent it.
We have no idea the level of cortisol shooting through our bodies because of the level of stress we have on the field. And it’s not just the amount of stress, but it’s the inability to recover from that stress that is the problem.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 It’s just what you do
- 02:51 Motivated for the long-term
- 12:09 The sacrifices of long-term missions
- 19:39 Burnout on the field
- 30:26 Making the needed changes
- 35:35 A warning and advice
- 38:22 The lies we believe
More Quotes
It’s just what you do
My parents’ generation taught them to “Keep your head down. Be silent. Be faithful. It’s not about you. Have a very industrious work ethic.”
It wasn’t about the individual. It was about doing the right thing.
It’s just what you do. You do the right thing.
Motivated for the long-term
I’m motivated by my calling. God called me to go where there is no church. And doing that is what I find strength and joy in.
Jesus said, He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom. So just keep going.
It’s not about if this is “aligned with who I am.” Who I am is a child of God who follows Him and does what He wants. It’s not about me. In the current physiology, that’s a negative thing because people don’t have a strong root in their identity, so they really need to “find” that. Whereas the stronger you are in your identity in Christ, the more you can say, “What does God want me to do, and I’ll do that.” There are no other options. That’s who I am, therefore that’s what I do.
How do I keep going over the long haul? Because I know it’s what he’s called me to do, and I delight in doing what he wants. And I’m in him, and until he tells me to do something else, this is what I’m doing.
We don’t want to be doing something just because of momentum. We want to ask, Lord, what do you want us to do? We want our ears to be open to that.
For men, a career change is a frightening thing. Especially a married man. If you shift your career and it fails, what are you going to do? Become a janitor? That can lull you into doing the same thing until the bills are paid and the kids are out of college. How are you gonna get hired when you’re in your 50s and 60s? Those are the kinds of things that are in the back of men’s minds. They don’t necessarily say it, but that’s something that can skew their ability to listen to God and follow him.
What is realistic? How can I find a sense of peace and contentment in what I’m doing?
You have to find contentment. You’re going to have a lot of things in life that you don’t like. It’s not about whether you like it or not; you have to do them.
The sacrifices of long-term missions
God is sovereign, and he redeems the bad things that happen to us.
One of the sacrifices of long-term cross- cultural work is loneliness, especially for men.
I remember my kids saying to me, dad you need friends.
Was I intentional about building relationships that weren’t strictly contingent on worker ministry?
Sometimes we feel like if we’re just hanging out with friends it’s not “intentional,” it’s not “ministry.”
Think about the things that really do impact your ministry, how you treat people, your connectedness to the Lord, loving him, and loving people.
You’re gonna have people in your life for a short period of time, so just go all in. Make the most of what you have.
Burnout on the field
Burnout is Chronic stress over time, from which you can’t recharge; your recovery time is not enough. Over time, you have a gradual depletion until it reaches burnout. You’ve crashed.
Over a two or three-year period, I found what I was doing was stewing on things, and that adds to the chronic stress. Because you’re stewing you don’t have a break you can stew on it 24/7.
You’re not taking it to the Lord in prayer. You’re not saying, look, this is an untenable position to stay in. You have to find equilibrium; life is up and down. It’s not about life balance. That’s not realistic.
I kept taking on more and more things, and at some point, I realized I was burning out.
One of the vicious cycles of burnout is that you take on things to compensate for the areas you’re failing in. It’s like a coping mechanism.
You take something new on to have a success in that to compensate for the failure in this other thing. But the reason why you’re failing is because you’re taking on too much. But then you take on more.
You get to a point where your judgment is wrecked.
People’s experience of you is dropping the ball, disappointment, not following through on your word, and it just piles up, and it becomes a monster.
It’s not just, oh, I’m tired because last week was tough, or I have this one thing that’s really nagging me. No, there’s a lot of stuff that’s been piling up over time.
My dad knew that was what needed to be done and that it was the best thing for the family. Whatever he was feeling was going to result in the family losing faith, being anxious, you can imagine.
You’re going to need to express your feelings more often if your identity isn’t grounded in Christ. Being solid in your identity in Christ can abate the need for having to get so much affirmation all the time about everything.
Our identity in Christ strengthens our resilience in the face of challenges. And as a byproduct, you don’t necessarily need to say everything you’re feeling if you’re not feeling that great, because you fall back on, who am I in Christ.
Making the needed changes
I was concerned about really losing it, being down for the count. This wasn’t just burnout, like I need to take a break, this is like, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to mentally recover. It’s that bad.
You can get a physical injury, and you limp for life; it was that kind of thing, mentally and emotionally. My capacity in energy level would be truncated. It would be shot. It’d be taken down, and I wouldn’t be able to recover.
When COVID hit, I was sitting in the backyard. Thanking God that I don’t have to do anything. I’m just watching the weeds grow. Literally watching the weeds grow. I’m not having the ability to think or think too much of anything.
For the next three summers of going back to my home country, I intentionally did a home assignment in a way that gave me margin during my week.
Every year, there was a progressive increase in my capacity to think better. But it took a solid three years to feel like I was back.
My knee-jerk reaction is to help, which is fine, but not when you’re burning out.
A warning and advice
If it’s a man, I scare them. I said look, dude, if you do this, you’re going to be out. You’re not gonna be able to be here doing what you want to do. It can damage your health to the point where your ram level is no longer 100% it’s like 70% and it stays like that for the rest of your life.
You need to think long and hard, are you gonna take this seriously and get healthy, or not?
If your spouse is burning out, you need to make sure you’re making choices that help them. You make the sacrifice, so your spouse can get what’s needed.
The lies we believe
Statistically, the stress level for cross-cultural workers is way higher than for the average person.
“The original 1967-1970 study found that if a person reached a level of 200 on the scale in a single year, the cumulative stress would have long-term implications. In fact, they discovered that fifty percent of individuals who reached this level were hospitalized within two years. The consequences included heart attacks, diabetes, cancer, and other serious illnesses. If a person reached a level of 300, they were almost sure to end up in the hospital. In 1999, Christian doctors Lois and Larry Dodds of Heartstream Resources began to study the levels of stress on the mission field using a modified version of the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale. First-term missionaries were found to have scores peaking at a whopping 900, while veterans maintained 600-plus year after year. Remember, according to the research, people with a score above 200 were likely to have severe, long-term health problems within two years. The evidence clearly demonstrated that the “normalcy” of the missionary lifestyle is three times higher than the average “danger level” of stress.” – The Mind of a Missionary page 292
Spiritually, in the background, there’s the grace of God to enable us to do what we are called to do.
Things that are in our control are whether we are aware, whether we are trying to overcompensate for our feelings of failure or inadequacy, or whether we are not fulfilling our calling? And are we taking on other things to make us feel better about ourselves, without really being conscious of that?
Are we dealing with the cognitive dissonance of the underlying failure feeling because I’m not fulfilling my calling? Does that just sit in the back of your mind unconsciously and nag?
We have no idea the level of cortisol shooting through our bodies because of the level of stress we have on the field. And it’s not just the amount of stress, but it’s the inability to recover from that stress that is the problem.
If you’re really struggling and you feel like you’re burning out, you need to talk to somebody who has responsibility in your life who you will listen to, so you can make some changes to help you get better.
Whatever I’m anxious or worried about to make sure I’m taking that thing specifically to the Lord in prayer. Be really honest with God about what you’re stressed about and how you need help, what change you need, and bring that to the Lord.
Today’s pod is a bit different from the usual interviews I do. You know, sometimes I think that missions started with me, and it’s very easy to forget that there have been generations of people giving their lives for the sake of the Gospel all over the world before I was even born, and that my ministry sits on their shoulders. In this conversation, I talk with a man who has been in missions for 55 years, and got his start smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. I was surprised at how much overlap there is between ministry in the Muslim World today and smuggling Bibles in Eastern Europe back in the 70s and 80s. My guest’s depth of experience is humbling, and I am so glad I got to learn from him and that I can share this conversation with you. I particularly like what he said about the problem we are facing with pragmatism in missions right now. I have the perfect guest for you today, so stay with us.
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Hearing about missions
- 07:55 Missions in the 1970s communism
- 15:00 When Communism fell
- 18:44 When prayers are answered
- 23:42 The lack of awareness today
- 32:04 Longevity on the field
- 38:24 Building resilienc
- 42:00 Confirming your calling
More Quotes
Hearing about missions
I’ll never forget George Verwer talking about the word “dichotomy,” how there is a dichotomy between what we say we believe and how we actually live it out. And then he challenged us all to go out and get involved in missions.
At the end of the summer of 1969, there were five of us left, and we went out one last time distributing Bibles. And we were arrested one time. That summer, I was arrested 11 times. And that last time we were given a five-year sentence in prison.
In our cell was a big, burly man we called “the bear” who, in a fit of rage, had killed five people with an ax. As we shared the Gospel with him, he wept for his sin. I’ll never forget him saying that in Islam, there is no forgiveness for sin; there is only the weighing of your good deeds against your bad deeds. He said, “I know going to hell. I have no hope.” As we shared the Gospel about Jesus dying for our sin, and that there is forgiveness before God, he wept for his sin.
Six months later, that city was struck by a massive earthquake, and that prison was flattened. I’ve never forgotten his tears and God’s sense of timing.
For ten years, I worked in Vienna building smuggling vehicles to smuggle Bibles behind the Iron Curtain.
Our team gave my wife and I a double sleeping bag as our wedding gift.
Missions in 1970 communism
It was all a very confrontational time between the West and the Communist countries.
We didn’t talk politics; we talked Jesus.
The evil one is out to destroy. And when you think of the communist countries, it was all about the Church, and the Bible was seen as enemy number two; number one would be America and the West.
The Bible and the Church; anything Christian was seen as the primary enemy.
It was illegal to educate a child under 18 years old about anything from the Bible or the Christian faith.
Christians learned to live a double life: the public life and their private life. There was no trust.
There were Christians and pastors who were prepared to live secretly and preach the Gospel secretly.
Most of the leaders of the Reformed Baptists had been in prison for eight to 20 years. Many of the leaders would live in total secrecy. They had no public identity at all and would live in hiding their whole life so they could lead their church.
Sunday school material was illegal.
When Communism Fell
When governments began to loosen up, we went out with our teams and began preaching the Gospel openly on the streets.
We had done a lot of work in Romania. We said, “Now there is openness. We are going to go out and take Bibles openly and preach the Gospel.” So we sent team after team there.
As I look back on that, I didn’t realize what I was sending people into at the time.
We always said, “When is it time to preach the Gospel?” It’s time to preach the Gospel when things are breaking open. You need to strike while the iron is hot.
When prayers are answered
We had been praying for what all that God would do over all those years. We were fasting and praying regularly for the believers in Eastern Europe. When everything broke open, we said, Ok, are going to trust the Lord?
It was an amazing time. It was a book of Acts time.
It’s a time when you have to watch what the Holy Spirit is doing and be prepared to get involved, even when it means some danger.
From 1983 to 1989, we were smuggling 40 to 60 thousand Bibles at one time.
We wanted to see the Lord moving.
God was moving. God was giving us opportunities that were just mind-boggling. When everything broke open, we needed to be prepared to move.
1989 was the first Love Europe campaign. We bought five old buses for next to nothing and sent teams all over Eastern Europe. It was a book of Acts time.
Albania had been declared a fully atheist country.
We were out distributing Bibles, and people were flocking in to get them.
The Lack of Awareness Today
There is so little awareness of what God is doing around the world. There is such self-centeredness in the church.
What we are doing in our mission organizations around the world is super, but I don’t understand why there isn’t a bigger impact on the church.
It’s our responsibility to share with our churches back home what God is doing around the world. What God is doing in China, Iran, or North Africa. We need to know that and be prepared to get involved to send our young people to get involved in what God is doing around the world.
There is too much superficiality in the church today. There is a huge need for discipleship, which takes people beneath the surface and looks at what God is doing around the world.
We need to be reminded that we are not living in a nice, comfortable world where everything is going great. We are living in a war.
The fall of the communist governments did not mean that Satan is not vanquished.
Some of those very churches we used to smuggle Bibles into are now becoming complacent.
We have very little understanding of what God is doing around the world, and no sense of responsibility.
The church in the West is consumed with pragmatism. Pragmatism says that the value of a thing is seen in its results. It’s a results-oriented approach to see what God is doing.
The problem with long-term commitment is pragmatism, which measures everything by its results. Well, if there are no results, what’s the value of it?
We were smuggling Bibles for 25 years and never had the opportunity to share the Gospel except for the few times when we were arrested.
You have to look at what God is doing in the long-term. You can’t be preoccupied with the immediate issue at hand. You have to be faithful to what God is doing in the long-term.
You have to be prepared to get involved where it’s taught.
**Polycarp was the pastor of Smyrna, not Ephesus
St Ignatius’ advice to Polycarp in 110 AD
“Focus on unity, for there is nothing better. Bear with all people, even as the Lord bears with you; endure all in love, just as you now do. Devote yourselves to unceasing prayers; ask for greater understanding than you have. Keep alert with an unresting spirit. Speak to the people individually, in accordance with God’s example. Bear the diseases of all, as a perfect athlete. Where there is more work, there is much gain. If you love good disciples, it is no credit to you; rather with gentleness bring the more troublesome ones into submission. Not every wound is healed by the same treatment…the time needs you (as pilots need winds and as a storms-tossed sailor needs a harbor) in order to reach God. Be sober, as God’s athlete; the praise is incorruptibility and eternal life.”
**The Great Persecution from 249-251, under Emperor Decius, created the Lapsarian Controversy over whether or not followers of Jesus who denied their faith in order to preserve their lives should be welcomed back into full fellowship with the church.
The problem with friendship evangelism is, when do you actually share the Gospel? You spend all your time building relationships, but you never actually get to the point of sharing the Gospel.
What we need is people who are willing to suffer for the Gospel.
Longevity on the field
To stay long-term in the field, you need perseverance and endurance.
We need to learn how to persevere through the tough times. I went through depression. I went through burnout. I went through a major division in our mission team. I went through all kinds of problems with our children. One of our adopted girls was selling herself out of the back of a car in Germany. What takes you through to perseverance in those times? You need to know your calling, and you need to know you are in a battle.
The call to a particular ministry might end, but not God’s call on my life to minister.
Over the years, you need to learn how to increasingly move back into your primary calling.
There is little follow-through to help leaders know what to do next after they no longer have their leadership positions.
Sometimes, once leaders lose their position, they feel like they have been abandoned.
Building resilience
The key to resilience is having the attitude of a growing, developing person.
One problem we face in missions is that we can squeeze our people dry like a sponge.
You have to have a long-term attitude. Who do I want to be in five years? What do I want to do in ten years’ time? How do I need to develop? Develop myself. Develop my giftings. Develop my calling.
If you believe God has called you to long-term missions, you need to develop your gifts and calling.
You need to ask, How is God moving me? And if you’re married, you also need to ask, “How is God moving my wife?”
Confirming your calling
In my church in the West, there is no sense of the need.
Part of knowing your calling is knowing how God has gifted you.
Calling also means confirmation from your leaders and the people around you. People see that your calling is being confirmed.
There were some people whom we felt God was calling them to leave. But there were far more people left who we felt could have had a valuable ministry.
I would appeal to them and say, “This is not the time to leave. This is the time to move and get involved.”
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
We need to learn how to persevere through the tough times. I went through depression. I went through burnout. I went througha major division in our mission team. I went through all kinds of problems with our children. One of our adopted girls was selling herself out of the back of a car in Germany. What takes you through to perseverance in those times? You need to know your calling, and you need to know you are in a battle.
Today’s pod is a bit different from the usual interviews I do. You know, sometimes I think that missions started with me, and it’s very easy to forget that there have been generations of people giving their lives for the sake of the Gospel all over the world before I was even born, and that my ministry sits on their shoulders. In this conversation, I talk with a man who has been in missions for 55 years, and got his start smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. I was surprised at how much overlap there is between ministry in the Muslim World today and smuggling Bibles in Eastern Europe back in the 70s and 80s. My guest’s depth of experience is humbling, and I am so glad I got to learn from him and that I can share this conversation with you. I particularly like what he said about the problem we are facing with pragmatism in missions right now. I have the perfect guest for you today, so stay with us.
We need to learn how to persevere through the tough times. I went through depression. I went through burnout. I went througha major division in our mission team. I went through all kinds of problems with our children. One of our adopted girls was selling herself out of the back of a car in Germany. What takes you through to perseverance in those times? You need to know your calling, and you need to know you are in a battle.
Listen on: Apple Podcast | Spotify
Timeline
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:00 Hearing about missions
- 07:55 Missions in the 1970s communism
- 15:00 When Communism fell
- 18:44 When prayers are answered
- 23:42 The lack of awareness today
- 32:04 Longevity on the field
- 38:24 Building resilienc
- 42:00 Confirming your calling
More Quotes
Hearing about missions
I’ll never forget George Verwer talking about the word “dichotomy,” how there is a dichotomy between what we say we believe and how we actually live it out. And then he challenged us all to go out and get involved in missions.
At the end of the summer of 1969, there were five of us left, and we went out one last time distributing Bibles. And we were arrested one time. That summer, I was arrested 11 times. And that last time we were given a five-year sentence in prison.
In our cell was a big, burly man we called “the bear” who, in a fit of rage, had killed five people with an ax. As we shared the Gospel with him, he wept for his sin. I’ll never forget him saying that in Islam, there is no forgiveness for sin; there is only the weighing of your good deeds against your bad deeds. He said, “I know going to hell. I have no hope.” As we shared the Gospel about Jesus dying for our sin, and that there is forgiveness before God, he wept for his sin.
Six months later, that city was struck by a massive earthquake, and that prison was flattened. I’ve never forgotten his tears and God’s sense of timing.
For ten years, I worked in Vienna building smuggling vehicles to smuggle Bibles behind the Iron Curtain.
Our team gave my wife and I a double sleeping bag as our wedding gift.
Missions in 1970 communism
It was all a very confrontational time between the West and the Communist countries.
We didn’t talk politics; we talked Jesus.
The evil one is out to destroy. And when you think of the communist countries, it was all about the Church, and the Bible was seen as enemy number two; number one would be America and the West.
The Bible and the Church; anything Christian was seen as the primary enemy.
It was illegal to educate a child under 18 years old about anything from the Bible or the Christian faith.
Christians learned to live a double life: the public life and their private life. There was no trust.
There were Christians and pastors who were prepared to live secretly and preach the Gospel secretly.
Most of the leaders of the Reformed Baptists had been in prison for eight to 20 years. Many of the leaders would live in total secrecy. They had no public identity at all and would live in hiding their whole life so they could lead their church.
Sunday school material was illegal.
When Communism Fell
When governments began to loosen up, we went out with our teams and began preaching the Gospel openly on the streets.
We had done a lot of work in Romania. We said, “Now there is openness. We are going to go out and take Bibles openly and preach the Gospel.” So we sent team after team there.
As I look back on that, I didn’t realize what I was sending people into at the time.
We always said, “When is it time to preach the Gospel?” It’s time to preach the Gospel when things are breaking open. You need to strike while the iron is hot.
When prayers are answered
We had been praying for what all that God would do over all those years. We were fasting and praying regularly for the believers in Eastern Europe. When everything broke open, we said, Ok, are going to trust the Lord?
It was an amazing time. It was a book of Acts time.
It’s a time when you have to watch what the Holy Spirit is doing and be prepared to get involved, even when it means some danger.
From 1983 to 1989, we were smuggling 40 to 60 thousand Bibles at one time.
We wanted to see the Lord moving.
God was moving. God was giving us opportunities that were just mind-boggling. When everything broke open, we needed to be prepared to move.
1989 was the first Love Europe campaign. We bought five old buses for next to nothing and sent teams all over Eastern Europe. It was a book of Acts time.
Albania had been declared a fully atheist country.
We were out distributing Bibles, and people were flocking in to get them.
The Lack of Awareness Today
There is so little awareness of what God is doing around the world. There is such self-centeredness in the church.
What we are doing in our mission organizations around the world is super, but I don’t understand why there isn’t a bigger impact on the church.
It’s our responsibility to share with our churches back home what God is doing around the world. What God is doing in China, Iran, or North Africa. We need to know that and be prepared to get involved to send our young people to get involved in what God is doing around the world.
There is too much superficiality in the church today. There is a huge need for discipleship, which takes people beneath the surface and looks at what God is doing around the world.
We need to be reminded that we are not living in a nice, comfortable world where everything is going great. We are living in a war.
The fall of the communist governments did not mean that Satan is not vanquished.
Some of those very churches we used to smuggle Bibles into are now becoming complacent.
We have very little understanding of what God is doing around the world, and no sense of responsibility.
The church in the West is consumed with pragmatism. Pragmatism says that the value of a thing is seen in its results. It’s a results-oriented approach to see what God is doing.
The problem with long-term commitment is pragmatism, which measures everything by its results. Well, if there are no results, what’s the value of it?
We were smuggling Bibles for 25 years and never had the opportunity to share the Gospel except for the few times when we were arrested.
You have to look at what God is doing in the long-term. You can’t be preoccupied with the immediate issue at hand. You have to be faithful to what God is doing in the long-term.
You have to be prepared to get involved where it’s taught.
**Polycarp was the pastor of Smyrna, not Ephesus
St Ignatius’ advice to Polycarp in 110 AD
“Focus on unity, for there is nothing better. Bear with all people, even as the Lord bears with you; endure all in love, just as you now do. Devote yourselves to unceasing prayers; ask for greater understanding than you have. Keep alert with an unresting spirit. Speak to the people individually, in accordance with God’s example. Bear the diseases of all, as a perfect athlete. Where there is more work, there is much gain. If you love good disciples, it is no credit to you; rather with gentleness bring the more troublesome ones into submission. Not every wound is healed by the same treatment…the time needs you (as pilots need winds and as a storms-tossed sailor needs a harbor) in order to reach God. Be sober, as God’s athlete; the praise is incorruptibility and eternal life.”
**The Great Persecution from 249-251, under Emperor Decius, created the Lapsarian Controversy over whether or not followers of Jesus who denied their faith in order to preserve their lives should be welcomed back into full fellowship with the church.
The problem with friendship evangelism is, when do you actually share the Gospel? You spend all your time building relationships, but you never actually get to the point of sharing the Gospel.
What we need is people who are willing to suffer for the Gospel.
Longevity on the field
To stay long-term in the field, you need perseverance and endurance.
We need to learn how to persevere through the tough times. I went through depression. I went through burnout. I went through a major division in our mission team. I went through all kinds of problems with our children. One of our adopted girls was selling herself out of the back of a car in Germany. What takes you through to perseverance in those times? You need to know your calling, and you need to know you are in a battle.
The call to a particular ministry might end, but not God’s call on my life to minister.
Over the years, you need to learn how to increasingly move back into your primary calling.
There is little follow-through to help leaders know what to do next after they no longer have their leadership positions.
Sometimes, once leaders lose their position, they feel like they have been abandoned.
Building resilience
The key to resilience is having the attitude of a growing, developing person.
One problem we face in missions is that we can squeeze our people dry like a sponge.
You have to have a long-term attitude. Who do I want to be in five years? What do I want to do in ten years’ time? How do I need to develop? Develop myself. Develop my giftings. Develop my calling.
If you believe God has called you to long-term missions, you need to develop your gifts and calling.
You need to ask, How is God moving me? And if you’re married, you also need to ask, “How is God moving my wife?”
Confirming your calling
In my church in the West, there is no sense of the need.
Part of knowing your calling is knowing how God has gifted you.
Calling also means confirmation from your leaders and the people around you. People see that your calling is being confirmed.
There were some people whom we felt God was calling them to leave. But there were far more people left who we felt could have had a valuable ministry.
I would appeal to them and say, “This is not the time to leave. This is the time to move and get involved.”
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