Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
When we go on dates, I like my husband to open the door for me. When he walks around and opens the car door, I feel special, loved, and valued. For some people that doesn’t matter much. I guess I am a bit of an …
A week ago today, my mother-in-law, Sylvia Anderson, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you approach middle age, you know your parents will not live forever. That doesn’t make it any easier when the time comes for them to go. …
“I don’t have connections and contacts with people I could raise support from. I don’t know any __________________.” Fill in the blank. Some would say I don’t know pastors. Others would say I don’t know many foreigners. Some would say all my friends are fellow missionaries, I don’t know any rich people interested in missions.
These “I don’t” statements are a major hindrance to being fully funded as a Christian worker living on gift income.
If you assume people won’t want to support you, they will not. You may need to change your mindset. Shift from thinking you are asking them to give you money, toward understanding you are extending an invitation to be part of what God is calling you to do. It makes all the difference.
I listened to a podcast a few weeks ago. It’s an excellent one I highly recommend called “Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership” with Ruth Haley Barton. She was talking with Adele Calhoun, the author of Invitations from God. They talked about the name of the book and why Adele chose the word invitation.
“An invitation is something you have a choice about. It’s not something you are being forced to do,” she said. It’s a great book that talks about how God invites us to rest, weep, etc…
Billy Graham wrote about the Invitations of Christ. In evangelism, he liked to use the language of invitation. Invitation removes coercion or manipulation from the equation.
It got me thinking about the word. When someone asks me to do something, it can feel awkward. Especially if I want to say no, but have a close relationship with this person. It’s a bit different if I am invited. I feel freer to choose.
Steve Shadrach has an excellent book on ministry partner development called The God Ask. It’s particularly written for Christian workers in the United States. I wonder if a better title would be “Inviting People to Join in God’s Dreams.” Not as catchy, but you get my point.
I find it easier to think of inviting people into something than to think of asking people to be financial donors. Maybe you do too.
Okay, that was a slight tangent. Let’s go back to the idea of how I don’t have thinking impacts us.
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2 Peter 1:3
The above scripture says that God has given you everything you need to live for Him. If He has called you to live on gifts from others, He has already provided the people who will partner with you. You just need to identify them.
How do you do that?
First, you must pray with an open mind.
There are primarily two types of people likely to become financial partners. Whether they give one-time gifts or whether they support you and your work monthly.
Sometimes these people will give even when they don’t understand or believe in your ministry’s vision. That’s okay, invite them to partner. They will be blessed and grow to understand more over time.
Are names floating up into your mind, even as you read that? “Yes, but…” your mind is saying. “They don’t have much money themselves.” This can be a big hindrance.
When does the Bible say that those with only a little money couldn’t or shouldn’t give to His Kingdom? Those with little money can be some of the most generous people on the planet. And as they give to God, He blesses them back.
You believe that right? We can not out-give God? That when people give to His work, He will reward them? Stop thinking you can’t invite those without much money to partner with you. They may really want to give to the vision you’ve been entrusted with by God!
It’s a strong word, but we need to use it. Repentance acknowledges a wrong belief and decides to think differently. Your incorrect thoughts about this could be preventing you from living the life of freedom God intends. Ask God’s forgiveness and go forward with His help.
You don’t have to show this to anyone, but make your list before the Lord.
Crafting your presentation of the vision is important. You will need to be able to share clearly what it is that God has called you to do and why it matters. Then practice saying it and at the end of your sharing invite people to be a part of it through joining your ministry partner team.
It will take discipline. As you start making appointments with people to share, those thoughts will rise up and try to keep you from progress. I find it helpful to choose a statement I will say to myself when this happens. Here is an example. “Jesus invited everyone. When I invite people to partner with a Kingdom vision, I’m being like Jesus. There is no shame or compulsion in that.”
Let me know in the comments if you can identify with the above. Have you struggled with the “I Don’t Haves” when it comes to personal support raising? Join the Missionary Life Facebook Group and we can chat further.
What is one action step you will take this week to move beyond the “I don’t haves”?
“Jesus is not looking for converts to Christianity; he’s looking for apprentices in the Kingdom of God,” writes John Mark Comer in his book Practicing the Way. This book is a refreshing and insightful encouragement to 1) Be with Jesus, 2) Become like Him, and …
Looking to our own resources and abilities can be discouraging. The task seems so big. We seem small. When I was young, I thought I could take on the world. As I’ve grown older, life’s experiences have taught me how fallible I am. Apart from …
“Jesus can do anything,” we say. Except for when He can’t. “What? Are there things Jesus can’t do? Isn’t He the God of the impossible,” you might be thinking. Yes, there are some things He cannot do. And there are many things we cannot do. The Lord of the Universe said He could not do anything by Himself. He only does what He sees the Father doing. If the Father isn’t doing it, Jesus can’t or won’t either. As His followers, we can pursue an only what I see Him doing kind of life.
What does it mean for us to follow His example in this area?
I have been in pursuit of an only what I see Him doing life for many years. It isn’t easy. Challenges to this philosophy assail me daily. Sometimes I feel like a little girl, chasing pigeons and never catching one. Yet I can’t give up. I know this is the life I am supposed to live.
There are so many things I want to do. Mindlessly, I often forget to consult with the Father. Are those things I want to do, or what my Papa God is doing?
Passions and interests drive me to engage in activities that aren’t necessarily where He is working. Sometimes I simply hope God will join me in what I do. This is a crazy way to think, but that is often my reality! At other times, my sense of duty causes me to put my hand to things that aren’t what God has called me to.
A final challenge to living this kind of life is when I’m heavily invested in something. I’ve put a lot of time and energy into a project, system, or relationship that was God’s leading originally. I fail to check in with Him about it. Is this still where you are working, Father?
How incredibly foolish it is for me to think that if Jesus couldn’t do anything apart from the Father… I can! I’m pretty sure I am not alone in this struggle, however. Oh…you too?
We often need realignment. Tragedy, crisis, pandemics, and many other events knock us off course. Mission drift is also common for agencies, not only individuals. Let’s recommit ourselves to only do what we know the Father is doing. It is there we will find joy, fruitfulness, and walk in a beautiful partnership with Him.
Facing the Pressure to Participate
The pressure to do things you aren’t sure the Father is doing can come from your community. This can be a strong pull on us. Especially if you are a people pleaser or from a highly community-oriented culture. Let me be clear. Community is important in our lives. We need people. But, we must choose each day to please the One, not the many.
An example in my organization is the multitude of meetings and conferences. There are so many meetings that “good members” are expected to attend. They are not required but attendance is a strong expectation. If you want to rise in influence within the mission, you must be there and actively take part. The more you participate in these organizational meetings, the more status you gain.
One day, I stared at my computer screen. I read the email announcement for the conference. Pastors and leaders would be gathering in a city near me. The speaker looked interesting and it had been a while since I’d been to one of these meetings. I knew people were wondering why I hadn’t been showing up. “Should I go?” I wondered.
“Hmm. Maybe I can squeeze it in. It would be good to see those people again.”
Then, a gentle voice spoke to me through a thought that floated across my mind. “Is this God’s assignment for you next week?”
Immediately, I knew the answer. No. It was not. God’s assignment was clear. I needed to focus on what I knew He called me to do…reach the lost. If I got busy running here and there to organizational or church meetings, I’d not have time to do what God wanted me to do.
“Lord, I’m sure it will be a good meeting. And I’m sure there are those you are calling to be there. But I want to partner with You in what You are doing here, in my neighborhood. If I go there, I won’t have time to keep connecting with people at the local tea shop, or on my evening neighborhood walks.”
I made my decision. My index finger stretched forward and hit the delete button to remove the conference invitation email. I would not go. Staying focused on my God assignment was what I needed to do. My decision would disappoint some, maybe even make them think I was a rebel or didn’t care about my organization much. That was okay. I needed to please God, not men.
I would choose to focus on His assignment for me.
So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
John 5:19 NLT
Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will but Yours be done.” This is a prayer of surrender we need to repeat often. Our interests, passions, and desires don’t always match God’s will for us. Laying down our rights and personal desires should be a daily practice for a disciple of Jesus.
“I must obey God, not man,” declared Peter facing possible imprisonment (Acts 5:29). We live to please only Him. Yet our need to keep everyone happy around us, our conflict avoidance can keep us from following His will for us. We want to be liked. That means doing what people want us to do. In our search for acceptance and love from others, we may let go of our destiny.
In our busyness, we can stop noticing what God is up to. We go about our work and ministries without pausing to listen, to notice that God might be doing something new. One of the greatest keys to effective ministry is finding out where He is working. By joining Him in that, we see fruit. This is so much better than doing our own thing, stuck in a rut or old mindset when God has moved on to new things!
What will it take to realign and pursue an only what He is doing lifestyle? I invite you to join me in this grand pursuit. If it was how Jesus lived, it’s how I want to live too.
Will you run after this?
I’d love to know what you struggle with or the keys you’ve discovered to living this way. Please comment below or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
It’s been described in various ways. Sometimes it’s called a dark night of the soul. Sometimes it’s called burn-out or depression. Mid-life crisis is another name that is used. These are times when we seem caught in an unending period of transition. God is mostly …
Join me on an imagination exercise. Think of that day when you first see Jesus face to face. What an incredible moment that will be! Just gazing at His incredible beauty. My heart longs to see Him! I wonder, will He say to me – …
The last few weeks I’ve been falling in love again. It’s a wonderful feeling! Has my husband been extra romantic lately, you might be wondering? No, not really. I’m talking about my love affair with the Word of God.
The Bible has been a foundation for my life for a long, long time. I grew up in a missionary family so was taught the Word from childhood. As a kid, I memorized many scripture verses and passages. My mother read me Bible stories while I sat on her lap. We had regular devotions as a family.
But, if I am honest, I’d have to say that at times in my life, my relationship with the Word of God has grown a bit cold. Not that I didn’t still value it as truth. I did. I just wasn’t in love, not like I am today.
What changed? How do you fall in love with God’s Word again?
There are no formulas. I won’t pretend there are, or try to give you one. I’ll simply share my experience and a few suggestions to help.
God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are revealed to us in the Word. The Bible is not only a place to gain wisdom and information. It’s to be a place of encounter, a place of fellowship with the lover of our souls. God wants us to fall in love with Him as we read, contemplate, and study the Book.
With romantic relationships, when you are stuck in a rut, it kills the feeling of being in love. When you always do the same things, over and over every week, month after month, year after year, it can lose its luster. Date nights feel boring if you never do anything new or creative! (This article isn’t about marriage, but we have other blogs on that topic.)
Our relationship with God and His Word needs fresh ways of interacting from time to time.
I love the You Version app and often read the Bible on my phone. Sometimes though, I like to hold a physical Bible in my hands and read.
For the past few years, I’ve focused on reading the Word contemplatively. This involves focusing on only a few verses and letting them sink deep into my heart (more details below).
Recently, I knew I needed a change. Praying about it, my longing poured out to the Lord, “God I want to be saturated in Your Word! I want it to be on my lips, and in my thoughts, and in my mind so it flows out of me like a wet sponge.“
The Father then placed a thought in my heart. Why not read the entire Bible in two months, reading an hour a day? I did that and it was amazing! New life came from that Scripture saturation period.
I fell in love…even as I read through Old Testament books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy. New perspectives on who He is jumped out at me each day. Each day I journaled and asked myself at the end of my one-hour reading of 20 chapters…what was I learning about God?
New insights and fresh ways of seeing His character spilled off the pages. How beautiful and amazing is our Lord!
If you want to follow this plan on You Version, here is the link. Saturate yourself in the Word for a season and see how it changes you!
But that isn’t my point. As I said above, there aren’t formulas in a love relationship.
John starts his gospel account with this verse. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1 NIV. The Word is alive. It’s not a book to be read to increase our knowledge. It’s a book where we meet God. Do you read it that way?
Before I start my time with God in His Word, I pause to pray. “Papa, I want to meet with
You on these pages today. Reveal Yourself to me. I am listening.”
Then, as you read, allow Him to do that.
When something I’ve read or listened to (sometimes I use the audio Bible as well), stands out, I pause to write it down. Sometimes I write the verse in my journal. Other times, I follow that up with reflections or prayers, responding back to God, or jotting down and asking Him questions that the passage raises within.
After I finish reading, I often write out a prayer, or an action step…something God is saying I must obey Him and apply. Then I thank Him for meeting with me as I’ve read or studied.
If you haven’t done this for a while, or have only read short passages, let me recommend a change. Try reading a whole book of the Bible in one sitting. Or on some of the longer books, read 15 to 20 chapters at one time. This brings things to life in new ways and the big picture of what God is doing comes through. We can get lost in the details and sometimes need that aerial view.
A friend of mine recently did a YWAM training called Word by Heart. In that school, they memorize long passages of scripture but not in a rote memorization style. They read it dramatically, acting it out as they commit it to memory.
Away on a retreat together last week, she told me that for part of her retreat, she recited an entire gospel book- I think it was Luke. This was part of her meditation on scripture.
This year, I’m choosing five or six key stories to memorize and learn to share with others. I hope one day to be able to memorize and say these in Thai! As I do this, again, it’s not about knowledge but about my wonderful Savior – revealed through His Word.
If Bible reading plans have you feeling worn out, switch over for a while to a more contemplative reading approach. I love the Psalms for this! Sometimes I’ve even spent a whole month reading and meditating on one chapter, taking one verse each day. Or on verses that are particularly speaking to me, I may even consider and deeply think about one verse for a whole week.
Don’t be stuck in a pattern of legalistic routine where you have to read those three chapters each day. Love is free and exciting. Gaze upon His beauty and feel free to sit there for a time.
Another helpful tool I’ve enjoyed is putting myself into the story I’m reading. I imagine I am there as a particular character in the Biblical narrative. What would I feel? Hear? Taste? Smell?
For example, when I read the story of Moses and the Pharoah in Exodus, I might imagine I am there in the court. I’m one of Pharoah’s servants watching Moses throw down his staff. I see it turn into a serpent. I feel shocked and in awe. Could Moses who grew up in this palace truly be a holy man? I’m disappointed when Pharoah rejects him and refuses to listen. What will happen next, I wonder…
See what I mean? This can be a refreshing way to read and think about scripture.
Duty-based relationships are rarely intimate. As you turn to God’s Word this week, let go of your “I should read the Bible daily.” Instead, ask Jesus to help you fall in love again. Come to His Word with a longing for that. He will meet you there. You can be sure of it!
Got anything to add to this list? Let us know in the comments, or on Missionary Life’s Facebook group.
What will you do to keep your love relationship with the Word of God growing and alive?
It is easy to get busy with life. Where do you buy cooking gas? In some countries, it can be quite a process. First, you need a special government-issued card, which you wait in line for hours to get. Then you have to find the …