Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
“Unlock your phone and show it to us or we won’t let you enter our country,” the immigration official demanded. Seizing his phone, the officers checked the emails, Facebook, WhatsApp and other private messages of the nervous missionary. Though they allowed him to enter the …
The education of children on the mission field is a major concern. This is especially true when they have special needs. God loves missionary kids and knows how to provide for them. Their destiny matters to God as much as it does to us, their …
Missionary burn-out is very real. We missionaries are a deeply committed people. We are willing to lay down our lives, do whatever it takes, to see people come to Christ. God regularly asks us, His people, to do things far beyond our own capacity. He never expects us though, to do those things in our own strength! We can only do God-sized tasks with God’s mighty strength.
One of my favorite childhood stories was “The Little Engine that Could.” Published in 1906, it was part of a sermon by Rev. Charles S. Wing. It’s a story about a small train engine that is trying to get to the top of a mountain. As it chugs along, climbing upward, it says to itself, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” The story encourages a “CAN DO” mindset and an optimistic spirit. It’s a good story, beloved by children and teachers around the world.
The problem is this. Sometimes we think we can…but we can’t. The tasks we’ve been given by God require Him to show up and do something far, far beyond us! Optimism and determination are wonderful things. But they are a poor substitute for dependency on God.
The Bible is full of passages about God’s ability to strengthen His people. One of my favorite Old Testament characters is David. David learned how to strengthen himself in the Lord.
“But David found strength in the Lord His God.”1 Samuel 30:6
He did impossible things…things no one believed could be done. He killed a giant, defeated the Philistines, conquered territory and through his son Solomon, build a great temple. He also took things into his own hands at times and paid a high price for it. We can learn from both his success and failures.
What? Is that a danger? Yes, it is. Success can be a grave danger. Sometimes, God allows us to do things in our own ways and in our own strength. Though He longs for us to rely on Him and let His power flow through us, He does not interfere. When we succeed, it is easy to become proud. We worked hard, we worked smart, and look what we did! Time to wave a red flag – major danger approaching. Our success will be short-lived. King Saul took the glory for himself, became proud, and lost the kingdom.
Failure is also a danger. Stepping out in faith to do something beyond ourselves is a risk. God longs to meet us in that place. He wants to show up and do the impossible. He will not take over and lead though unless we give it to Him. The Lord waits for us to surrender, to call out to Him, to lean on Him.
When we strive in our own power, failure is very often the outcome. We then can find ourselves disappointed in ourselves… and also in God. Humans have a natural tendency (all the way back to the Garden of Eden) to blame others for failure. Often, God is the one we condemn. This can cause a distance in our relationship with God. It stunts our spiritual growth and destroys our missionary effectiveness as well.
If you push yourself too hard, striving in your own strength, the result could be burn-out. There are seasons when we work extra hard, seasons of harvest or times of birthing new ministries. pioneering efforts require much of us. They have to only be seasons though. Continually working long hours without rest is never God’s plan. Weekly sabbaths are vital and show that we are depending on God, not ourselves.
Burn out isn’t worth it. It is costly in so many ways. We must learn instead, to allow His strength to flow into us as we let go and let God.
Are you leaning on Him? As you chug up that mountain?
The little engine in the story said, “I think I can…I think I can.” Maybe a better mantra to repeat as we climb is, “I know God can, I know God can.”
With our hope firmly in the Lord, we will reach the top. We will see Father God do what He has promised. All the glory will go to Him alone for we will know it was Him who has accomplished it.
I regularly host a FREE Online Training called “Keys to Having a Kingdom Impact.” God is calling all of us to see greater fruit in His Kingdom. Join me to find out more about how God is using ordinary people to have an extraordinary impact on their regions.
Burnout signs – they are relatively easy to spot. Low energy. Reduced passion for ministry. Not getting things done that normally are quite easy to do. One way of addressing these issues is to consider taking a sabbatical. To make it a success, you need …
John Chau’s recent death in the Indian Ocean prompted many tweets, posts and news articles this past week. Murdered by Sentinelese tribesmen, John was a fairly young missionary. He went to a remote and unreached tribe with a passion to share the gospel with them. …
Ego-centric, direct, domineering, controlling, independent, critical…that list sounded down-right nasty to me. I didn’t want to be a “D” personality! I promptly decided I disliked personality tests. No one was going to put a label on me as to what personality type I had. Decision made.
Have you ever felt that way when taking a personality test?
We tend to notice all the negative words and characteristics more than the positive ones. At least I did! I had an aversion to personality tests from the time we took the Myers-Briggs test as a couple. We took it when we were applying to our denomination’s missions department.
After a year-long process, they determined that we were not fit for the field. Part of the reason was the dramatic difference in our personality types. Hmmm. We have now been on the field for more than twenty-five years.
So is there any value to these tests? Can they help with team unity and understanding? Or are they a waste of time?
In spite of my negative experiences with them, I have to say they are very helpful if approached in the right way. They shine a light on the differences between team members. Understanding personality types for various team members can bring a much better understanding.
In last week’s blog, I introduced three areas where teams have misunderstandings. Let’s go into a bit more detail now on personality types and temperaments.
Differences in personality and temperament can drive us apart. Or, they can make us into a strong and effective team.
Much depends on whether we decide to celebrate and affirm our differences. In contrast, we might be tempted to do the opposite. We can secretly want everyone to behave, value and think about things the same as we do. When we allow ourselves to have that internal perspective, we end up critical and angry.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Gal 5:13-15 NIV
There are many good tools for learning about your personality type and temperament. Take a look at my free download of the various tools I have used. Choose one that you will use as a team. I personally like the DISC test. (In spite of not liking the initial results for my own personality!) I like it because it is quite easy to understand. But there are many good options you can use.
Make time in your normal work schedule to do this test and receive your individual results.
After taking the tests, set aside a time to share these results with one another. If you are the team leader, ask permission to have a copy of the results from each person. You will need to study these. Be serious about learning who each person on the team is and how they best function.
If you can, go on a short retreat away and spend a day together. Do some fun things and also reviewing the results of your personality tests.
Have each person share their results and then receive feedback from the others on the team. It is important that you take time to affirm the positive aspects of that person’s personality as they share. Some may feel insecure or threatened by the test’s results.
Then, pray for one another. Ask God to help each of you to be fully free to be yourselves within the team. Pray that each person would feel valued in who they individually are.
There will be some negative things that come up in the tests as well. Take note of these things, but do not focus on them. Instead, think of them as areas where help and encouragement from other team members are needed.
Particularly if you are the team leader, the information you gain from these tests is extremely valuable. Study and learn from it.
Use this understanding of the personality types within your team to guide you. It will help you as you assign various roles and tasks. You want people to be in their “sweet spot” – the place where they function with excellence and joy. You don’t want them to struggle to do things that are not a good fit for their personality type. That won’t serve them or the team well.
Also, keep personality types in mind as you consider the needs of people in the team. Some of your team members need detailed information provided before they can “buy in” to a plan. (The S and C’s on DISC for example).
Others need the freedom to innovate and create or they will feel controlled.
Questions to Consider:
Personality types and temperaments are not the only thing that can cause disunity in a team. They are certainly one of the major issues to consider though. It is worth putting in time and effort to understand one another in this area.
Have you tried this in your team yet? If so, how did it go? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
Pretending to ride a horse on his back, traveling on motorcycles to distant villages and sharing the good news of Jesus with others…these are a few of my memories of dad. The love, affirmation, and acceptance of our fathers is a powerful force in our …
Have you ever needed money for a ministry project and not had it? Maybe you’ve struggled with daily needs like food, housing, or paying for your kid’s schooling. Financial challenges drain energy and affect fruitfulness on the mission field. They are common to most of …
I am a very goal oriented person. When I don’t achieve my goals or continually hit barriers, I can feel discouraged. The temptation to give up and throw out the goal is huge. Language learning goals are some of the easiest in our lives to let go of.
“Maybe I already speak well enough?” we think to ourselves. “I have enough to get by. After all, I’ve been here for several years now and it’s time I started producing something!”
We let go of our original dream of speaking with local people about the deeper things of God. It is easy to settle for market fluency. You can get around, buy stuff, take public transport, etc. We lower our standards…and our hopes.
Sadly, we often give up when we are really not that far from fluency.
The biggest danger in language learning is when we quit learning. The temptation is strong after you’ve been at it (language learning) for a few months or years. The pull is there to be okay with not speaking the language well. After all, many others around you can’t speak the language well!
We reach a certain language level and stop pressing forward. It begins to feel okay to use translators, rather than continuing to put in the effort. No longer do we push forward toward fluency. Does this sound like you or someone you know?
I am not saying we should be performance oriented, or beat ourselves up if we are making slow progress. I am saying – you can’t afford to give up!
Learning a new language is a long process. It requires consistent ongoing effort. Small steady steps forward and good habits will take you to your destination of fluency, even if it is a long road. Don’t settle for less than that.
Today, I am pulling out my language learning books and recordings…once again. I am looking at my schedule and making sure that there is a slot in my life for studying Thai. I’ve had a season with an intense schedule and have been sick. Habits (in more areas than this one) got a bit off track. It is time to review my goals and get started again.
Inside me, I feel the tug of a temptation to not include this in my life. There are so many other things that feel more fulfilling and productive.
Experience has taught me one thing though. It is worth it to consistently plod forward with language learning. One day, when I share the gospel in this language and introduce someone to Jesus, it will feel worth it! So today, I’m writing to you, but I am reminding myself of this as well! I can’t afford to give up and neither can you.
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:4 NIV
These are the things I recommend when you start to get off track or want to give up on your language learning goals.
It is so tempting at this point to stop trying altogether. We face language learning weariness. It takes energy to attempt to speak. Not everyone wants to hear your bad Thai (or whatever language you are learning).
“Sawatdee ka. Sabaidee mai ka?” I ask.
“I’m fine. How are you?” they respond.
Arggh! Once again my attempt to speak with someone ended up in English. Does this ever happen to you? You try, but the person you are speaking to acts like it’s too painful to try to talk to you in your new language? They want to put you out of your misery.
Refuse to give in. Keep using what you know even if they respond in English (or French or Portuguese).
The longer you live in the country, the more you are expected to produce something in ministry. You expect more of yourself as well. You may no longer have the luxury of doing language study full-time (if you ever did.)
Make language study and practice part of your schedule and daily routine. Taking even 10-15 minutes a day will carry you forward. Giving no time for language learning will not.
Consistent daily habits of study work better than studying for a long time every few weeks.
You might also consider where else you could add language learning to your life. I like to listen to my new recorded vocabulary words when I am driving or gardening.
Keep a notebook handy to record new words you hear spoken. Routinely ask, “What is this word or phrase in ______?” Many find it helpful to quickly record those words on their smartphones.
Stay in a learning mindset. It will take you far. After you have learned the first few thousand words in a language, it is much easier to add new vocabulary. Whenever possible, begin to immediately use those new words in daily life.
It’s time for action. Which one of these three things will you do this week? Let me know in the comments below.
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