Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
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 …
Paul Akin, of the Gospel Coalition, writes this. “The most common reason missionaries go home isn’t due to lack of money, illness, terrorism, homesickness, or even a lack of fruit or response to the gospel. Regretfully, the number one reason is a conflict with other …
I was reading through an old journal as I worked on a book I hope to publish one day. I came across this poem. It was written when we were trying to purchase land in India for a widow’s home. Things had been tough. The brokers we were dealing with were greedy, corrupt, and money-hungry.
As I prayed one morning, I wrote this lament. I hope it will encourage you, especially if you are facing a crisis or difficulty today.
Evil men, dishonest men… tell their lies
Demons influence people
Power, greed, control
Filthy streets, unclean hearts
My light feels dim
I feel unable to shine, to bring change
I am threatened, will I become like them?
Will I too be dirty?
Corrupt, vying for power?
Tempted to lie, manipulate, pressurize?
Father, we are here for Your purpose
Protect us from evil, guard our hearts and minds
I wake up early
Disturbed in my spirit
Unable to rest
I seek you, my Lord
You are my shepherd
My Father
My Friend
To whom else would I turn?
Guard me, Lord, not only from them
But from myself
Lest I lose Your Spirit within me
Lest I lose the joy You have purchased for me
Lest I lose my health, my peace within
Teach me to rest
Teach me to trust
Teach me to believe
You are Mighty and Great
No one can withstand Your power or purpose
Your strength flows into me
My source, My hope
Courage…to face today
Strength…to fight for freedom
Peace…to rest in Your embrace
Hope…that what I cannot do, You are doing
If God is for me, who can be against me?
Bring justice to our cause
Force the hand of dishonest men
Show the pathway thru the waters
Part the sea
You are the same God who dealt with Pharoah
You are the same God who humbled kings of old
Can you not deal with land brokers and priests?
I rest in Your promises
I put my faith in Your Word
You will do Your Will and nothing can stop You
You are God and there is no other
The poor will find rest
Widows will dwell in safety
Shelter will be theirs
Children will laugh and play
Community and family
Food and crops
Health and healing
Prayer and honoring
My King lifted high
His name known and worshiped
I wait in expectation
For God to show Himself here
Patient, but anxious
Resting, but pressing in
Loving, serving
Anointed and free
Poems, and particularly what we call laments, are one of the best ways I have found to create space for our feelings of pain, discouragement, or sadness. The Bible is full of them. David often cried out to God in anger, and pain, and even expressed his hatred of his enemies. It is best not to keep these emotions bottled up inside. Pour them out to the Lord. He hears, sees, and understands. Our grief and frustration don’t bother Him. His shoulders are broad enough to carry your sorrow.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a poet or songwriter, why not give it a shot? Write your own lament about whatever you are going through right now. If you want to send it to me, I’d be happy to read it. Or you can post it on the Missionary Life Facebook Page. Your openness and vulnerability can encourage others too.
Sometimes our greatest transformation comes out of the moments of our deepest grief. Recently, YWAM around the world was rocked by the tragic news that eight key leaders were killed in a horrible bus accident. Our hearts go out to the families and staff who …
Is the Sabbath something we need to observe today? Didn’t Jesus ignore the Sabbath and do ministry on that day? Isn’t every day holy now? These questions about the Sabbath run through our thoughts. Why take Sabbath anyhow? Maybe when you think of Sabbath you …
Some flavors go together well. Others just don’t. Like lemongrass and coconut milk in Thai food. They complement each other and are delicious. Or palm butter and rice. Yum! But when you put minced chicken with ice cream it just doesn’t work, right? My husband used to do that as a kid! Yuck! Sometimes the flavors in our mission or disciple-making teams can be a delightful combination. Other times our team can “taste” pretty terrible.
I’ve written several blogs about team dynamics. They have addressed the differences of personality, culture, and spiritual gifts in missionary teams. Click here to see the introduction to this series.
Spiritual gifts are supposed to be just that – gifts. When we value some giftings above others or become overly proud of any particular gift, it spoils the taste. The body of Christ, represented in our missionary team, becomes dysfunctional. When every team member, and the gifts resident within them, feel valuable and important, the team will thrive.
My husband has the gift of hospitality. Unusual for a guy you might be thinking. Maybe, but I don’t see anywhere in the Bible that it says women are the ones with the hospitality gifts and men are the ones with leadership gifts. Do you? You can read more about our journey related to this, if you are interested.
His gift is so valuable to me! I often forget to do the needful, especially in Asian culture, and serve tea or welcome people well. He is so great at this! I am so thankful for him.
The leadership team I am currently on has someone who is very pastoral. Again, his spiritual gift is such a blessing! He has a gentle, loving way of interacting with people. We are different, but it’s a good flavor in our team mix.
As each person on your team discovers their spiritual gifts, the team will be able to function well. Each member will flow in their role as a part of the Body of Christ. They can be who they were created by God to be. There will be no pressure to be someone else or to operate in someone else’s gifting.
There are many different free spiritual gifts tests you can take online. This site has a free downloadable version too. A popular framework related to the five-fold ministry gifts is called APEST (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd, Teacher).
The primary Bible passages where the spiritual gifts are listed are:
1) Romans 12:6-8
2) 1 Cor. 12:8-10,
3) Ephesians 4
4) 1 Peter 4.
Take time to study these individually and together.
As you look at the lists, you will see many areas that overlap. Some gifts combine with others.
Encourage each team member to assess themselves to find out what their gifts are. Then share these with one another. Each person can also give input to the other team members. They can mention how they have seen the other team members functioning in various spiritual gifts. This is greatly encouraging to hear. It also serves as a confirmation to hear others say they also see those gifts in you.
If some team members are still young, encourage them to experiment with all of the spiritual gifts. Avoid labeling. You don’t know what your gifts are until you try something new. You may be surprised what God releases within you as you step out in faith!
I had a friend in college who was extremely introverted. She never talked to anyone and kept to herself. She had a small circle of friends. But when we went out together to do street evangelism she was amazing! She so clearly had the spiritual gift of an evangelist! Don’t just think about personality types here. These are spiritual gifts, meaning they are given to you and empowered by God’s Spirit! They are not limited to your natural gifts.
The area where team conflict can arise is when we are very passionate about the particular ministries we are called to. We naturally place a higher value on the areas of ministry we are gifted in.
Those with the gift of teaching may have a hard time understanding why we don’t require everyone to do Inductive Bible Study. “Why aren’t we doing a better job building Biblical foundations in the disciples we are making?” they may wonder.
Someone with an apostolic gift wants to pioneer in new places and move in the supernatural more. They get bored with things after a few years and want to move on.
The pastor will want to develop and care for people as the top priority.
This is why we are a body. As it says in 1 Corinthians, we must honor and value each member of the body.
The better we understand our spiritual gifts and those of the other team members, the more we can become a healthy functioning team.
Maybe it’s been a while since you thought about your spiritual gifts. Take some time to re-read these Bible passages and pray about them. Ask God to show you what gifts He has placed within you. Commit yourself to using and growing them. Encourage other team members to do the same.
What step will you take this week to discover more about the spiritual gifts in your own life or within your team? Let me know in the comments or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
Sabbath is a day for rest and intake. I try to do things that will refresh and renew my soul. One of these for me is listening to audiobooks. Recently, I’ve been listening to a book called More of God by R.T.Kendall. Something struck me …
A beautiful story is told in the movie Fly Away Home. It is about a young girl who raises a flock of geese. She is there when the goslings hatch. Thinking she is their mother, the growing birds follow her around everywhere she goes. This …
It is so easy to walk right past people, to not even notice them. I almost did that yesterday.
He was standing out in front of his food stall. Looking for customers. About fifty years old, balding, and with a roundish figure to match his age, he seemed a bit down. Behind the counter, was his wife, wearing a head-covering and black hijab. She rolled dough for naan and chapatis. My husband and I almost walked right by, but we were hungry, and Indian food was something I hadn’t had for a while.
We struck up a conversation and I asked how business had been during Covid. “It’s been very hard,” he said. Today, I prayed for this man and his wife, for the brother and little niece who was dancing around in the background of his shop. “Reveal yourself to them, Oh God.”
“Do you want me to return, now that we have some relationship, and talk further about you and the hope you bring to our lives?” I asked the Lord today.
God has already prepared people for us to share His love with. He brings them across our path. The problem is, we often don’t even “see” them. Busy with our lives, we barely look up at those who serve us, or those we pass on the road.
If we want to be powerfully used by God to bring light and salt to those around us, we need to slow down and notice people. It only takes a moment, but may turn into a life-changing spiritual conversation. Or, at the very least, provide encouragement and a bright spot in someone’s day. Adele Calhoun calls it “practicing the presence of people” in her book Invitations of God. It’s one I’ll be putting on my recommended reading list.
These past few weeks, my husband and I have been in Phuket, Thailand in what is called the “Sand Box.” It is Thailand’s effort to make a way for tourism to continue while enforcing quarantine restrictions. Phuket is a beautiful island with gorgeous beaches. It’s been a lovely, restful time for us.
Phuket is also filled with depressed Thais, worried about how they will survive the pandemic. Thais are known around the world as smiley people. Some call Thailand the land of smiles. Underneath the smiles, there is a lot of pain and worry.
A spa receptionist told me last week, “we used to be full of people. Now we get one or two customers a day.” Driving along one of the beaches, we saw shop after shop closed, boarded up.
In the midst of my “forced holiday” here, I’ve been asking God to help me notice those who need encouragement. Sometimes people just need someone to listen, to hear their story. Am I too busy to even pause to do that?
What would Jesus do if He had to be here, under quarantine restrictions? Who would He heal, love, or speak words of life to?
Are there “women at the well” for me here? Maybe “women at the beach”? Perhaps I’m not even noticing them. Could the medical professional giving me that swab test be a Matthew? Waiting for a God encounter, for someone would invite him to follow the Master?
The only way I will know the answer to that is if I actively learn to practice the presence of people. It will only happen if I open my eyes (and heart) to notice those around me.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matt. 9:36 NIV
If we don’t even notice, or see, the people around us, we can’t possibly show God’s love to them. Jesus saw people. He noticed them. In the verse above, it says “he saw the crowds.” This wasn’t a surficial glance, it was looking and allowing His heart to be touched by their need.
Some years ago God challenged me deeply about my response to beggars. In fear, and because I didn’t know what to do, when I saw someone begging, I’d gotten into the habit of never making eye contact. I didn’t want to “see” them. Conviction filled my heart as I reflected on scriptures about God’s heart for the poor. The Father showed me that the greatest gift I could give someone was to recognize their humanity, to see them with eyes of compassion.
This is true not only of beggars or strangers at the grocery store or market.
Do you see your neighbors? Really see them?
What about those at your workplace? It is easy to get so busy working that we don’t take time to notice facial expressions or body language. It only takes a moment to pause to notice when someone is tired, down, or frustrated. A word of encouragement and kindness goes a long way. It’s a first step toward building a bridge to share more about the love of Christ.
Here’s your challenge. Make a point of noticing people around you. See beyond the surface and take genuine notice of their body language and facial expressions. Pray for them, and listen to God’s leading. As you do, you will be following the example of Jesus. This simple change of behavior may open unexpected doors to share Christ’s love.
We’d love to hear from you and have you join our community. Visit us on Missionary Life’s Facebook page or join the Missionary Life Insiders group to interact with others on a similar journey.
We sang the translated song with its complicated chords and transitions. The words were Nepali, but the tune (loi) was not at all Nepali in style. “Prabhu ouchalchu tapaiko nao” (Lord, I lift your name on high)…we sang. The first part isn’t so hard, though …