Of all the lessons that foreign missions ministry has taught me (and continues to do so), the top of the list has to be that we are shaped by our location and culture more than we realise.  Most anyone who has lived in a foreign country for a decent stretch of time would probably recognise how true this is.

When you meet a fellow Christian from another country, there are some great similarities and kinship that’s experienced through our Family in Christ.  It’s difficult to describe to others, but there is an understanding of what it’s like to press on with life as a Christian in this fallen world.  They know what you’ve seen, and usually understand how fellow Christians experience life.

Then there’s the point that you realise that their Christian experience has differed than yours.  Their “favourite songs” are ones you’ve never heard, or methodology in worship services is, well, just different.  Nothing wrong or sacrilegious, but jarringly different to your exposure.

Who and what you are surrounded by is bound to influence your perception and choices.  Even when I’ve worked with missionaries who are firmly resolved to not lose one bit of their “American” accent, actions or attitude, over time even they begin to start using phrases here that wouldn’t ever be used “back home”.  They don’t notice it, and can become alarmed when informed of this, yet for all their determination to resist, the phrase or action creeps back in.  Bear in mind that these are things that are completely inoffensive both here and to Americans, nor would they be anything wrong in God’s view at all.  They hear it used over and over again, or perhaps people here understand them better when they say that phrase.  It just happens, even if they purposely try to stop.

The anger and fear that I’ve witnessed when a missionary realises that they’ve changed is striking.  It appears to them as if they’ve lost a part of their identity, a part of what defines them, and, to put it bluntly, the change freaks them out.  I know that we personally act and speak differently since being in the field, and not a few of our friends and family have politely (sometimes sternly) reminded us that we’re “still American” or should “act/talk more American”.  All this has done is reinforce in me that first and foremost, my identity is in Christ and my citizenship is in Heaven.

As Christians, Christ and His ways, His laws, His thoughts are to be our starting point.  This knowledge I’ve always believed, but now in the situation of changing cultures this wisdom is moving from my head to my heart.  The more we’re around someone or something, the more we become like them.  We humans can’t help it.  I believe it’s why the potter/clay analogy is used; we are impressionable beings, able to take shape according to the influence of another.

Once Jesus is established as our example, all other identities are up to where He places us.  Those identities may alter according to our circumstances, but it doesn’t negate our place in Christ.  Whether I act more or less “American” doesn’t diminish the fact of where I was born or lived most of my life.  It doesn’t mean any ill will towards my American family or friends, either.  It just means that I live somewhere else now that differently shapes my experience of life.

You’ve probably already guessed that I would invoke Paul’s entreaty to “become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).  But it’s the phrase that summarises Chapter 9 in my Bible that says it all: Paul Surrenders His Rights.  If I need to change language, actions or appearance (within God’s law and direction in the Bible) to reach people in another culture for Christ, so be it.  I only need to be concerned with God’s direction in my life, and nothing more.

Related posts:

1. The “Just Be Yourself” Paradox
2. The Search Terms I Get…
3. Doing Ministry at Arm’s Distance

One of the things I’ve learned since being in the mission field is that the word “missionary” carries a significant amount of baggage for both Christians and non-Christians alike.  Some of it is well-intentioned and respectful, other reactions are more telling about people’s perception of missionaries.  But it was this post on another blog that suggested working a secular job internationally with a missional intent (and the subsequent comments) that made me ponder if it is possible to have an authentic relationship with both Christians and non-Christians in your mission field as an identified missionary.  Does the perception by others of our assigned “agenda” to convert (or at least proclaim) discourage people from accepting our interest as an authentic relationship?

In the referenced post, I asked the author, Grady Bauer, to clarify his statements about a “truly authentic set of relationships in a different culture”:

“I think one of things those of us in full-time ministry, regardless of location, struggle with is relationships. If I’m a full-time missionary in a country…who do I connect with along natural lines? Very few people. Work can lead to relationships that are created authentically, not me targeting them with the gospel. Hobbies and mutual interests also serve this purpose as do volunteering with a public organization. It helps us to connect with people in ways that make sense and seem more authentic.”

I’ve let these thoughts sit in the back of my mind for a while, but what prompted me to explore further was this recent search term here at my blog:

“Do the missionaries really like me?”

While I realise this could just be the question of an insecure person in a very specific circumstance, it immediately brought all these thoughts back.

In no way am I implying that missionaries themselves cannot be authentic, nor do I feel that we’re all just “agenda” driven.  On the contrary, I’ve met quite a number that have genuine love and concern for the nation and people of their calling.  But for some reason there seems to be a perception amongst the people I’m sent to minister that, because my main job here is a missionary, witnessing and conversion is my only reason for getting to know anyone.  My interest, in their minds, cannot be genuine.

Do I want to share the Gospel with every new person I meet?  Definitely, with discernment and timeliness as God provides.  But the way I see it, I had this exact same motivation when I was working a secular job in the States.  I’m just in a different country with a different funding source; nothing else has really changed.

When you’re working full-time in ministry regardless of title or location, more often than not you’re surrounded during your day by only Christians.  If a concerted effort is not made to “branch out” of the comfort zone to interact with the general population, it’s easy to see why the outsider perception is that we Christians only emerge from the “Holy Huddle” to proselytise a few new people into our camp.  And it’s even easier to understand why people in your mission field might be more dismissive of someone’s motives who is not appearing to live like they do (i.e., clocking into a “regular” job as opposed to the missionary being paid from afar via fundraising).

This video from Tim Keller is actually addressing the definition of the “missional” church (and I feel it’s the clearest, best definition yet), but what he says around 1:25 is crucial to even us missionaries:  “When non-Christians come in [to a missional church], they see that we inhabit the same world.  We read the same magazines.  We’re struggling with the same issues in the neighbourhood.  They see that we’re really being Christians in the same world that they live.”

I’m certainly not calling for compromise of the Gospel, nor for adapting too far culturally by breaking God’s laws and commands.  I’m not even advocating being “trendy”,  “hip”, or “attractional”.  And as Christians, I realise we are still set apart for God.  We will always in certain ways be very, very different.  However, I do wonder if our starting point with new acquaintances were on a more even level (as in co-worker), would it help us to bridge faster that reluctance and suspicion gap?

No related posts.

As much as I try to plan ahead with my writing and to focus on certain topics, I’m still surprised how often a germ of an idea for a blog post seems to come out of nowhere.  I’ve mentioned before about the search terms used that direct people here, and as usual I was taking a peek at the recent ones.  While I seriously considered asking the readers of this blog the “best job for a missionary leaving the field” (yes, an actual search term in the last few days), another search term caught my attention.

So, considering all the recent discussion about the definition of “missional”, I present you with a search term that I posit as a question and look forward to your answers in the comments:

“What is the difference between ‘missionary’ and ‘missional’?”

Related posts:

1. Pastor v. Missionary: What’s The Difference?

Somedays I think that I don’t see missions like a lot of other people do.  Consider the following:

In an email update I received from one of our supporters, the writer mentioned that her current reading was all missionary biographies, so she quoted Hudson Taylor with the implication that I must also be familiar with it.  It was a nice quote.  I had not heard it before, nor have I read missionary biographies.
When meeting a Christian here in the field, she assumed that we grew up, like herself, hearing stories at bedtime of the noble and heroic Christian missionaries in the heart of Africa.  Surely this is what prompted our missionary call?  Surely not.
Through this blog, I was contacted by a man interested in becoming a missionary.  One of his questions was: “Where in the world would you like to share the Gospel where you haven’t been able to yet?”  It’s a good question, but I honestly drew a blank.  I’d never thought of that before.
On our initial fundraising tour, people meeting us afterwards usually opened their greeting with. “You were missionary kids, right?” or “Your parents were missionaries, of course?”  Without divulging personal details, quite the opposite is our reality.  Not only were our parents only somewhat involved in their local church during our respective childhoods, they are now infrequent attenders at best, and all hold deep disappointment at our choice to be full-time foreign missionaries.

My whole life I’ve never fit into the pigeonholes people have tried to place me.  It shouldn’t surprise me that I don’t fit the missionary stereotype, either, and on the surface seem like less of a missionary.

Perhaps it’s because I don’t come with the fuzzy, feel-good past that everyone seems to think encourages the desire to become a missionary.  It’s not a sordid, law-breaking history, but it’s pretty dysfunctional considering my parents are Christians.  And I made some bad choices on my own along the way.  Maybe it’s because church was a stable source of constancy in my young life, but I wouldn’t say anyone ever personally encouraged me to become a missionary.

Perhaps it’s my tendency to try not to over-think things in the short term future (please don’t read that as not being prepared or lacking strategy; there is a difference).  Because I see my life as mission, whether in a foreign land or not, I expect to share the Gospel wherever God has planted me and whenever that chance may come.  I don’t yet have a burning desire to witness in Uruguay, but in no way does it mean I’m reluctant to do so if God put me there.

And, despite my voracious reading appetite, I’ve never had a specific interest in reading the life stories of other missionaries.  I think nothing wrong of reading such things, it just doesn’t register as something I’d like to read.  As someone raised Southern Baptist, I know that Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong were missionaries a long time ago, and we took an annual collection in each of their names for missions.  That’s about it.

I’m doing what I’m doing because God wants me here right now, though I could have, as a pastor friend of mine says, “written my ticket” to anywhere within or outside of ministry in the States.  I’m here despite the rejection, not acceptance, of my family and some friends.  Though I don’t have a massive familiarity with historical missions work, I know the country I’m in desperately needs to know born-again Christianity, and God is blessing our consistency with the gradual building of trust amongst the nationals.

So, am I less of a missionary because I don’t fit a profile?  Perhaps, yet I really enjoy where I work and what I do.  I’m so grateful that God can use a broken person like me.

Related posts:

1. Missionary? Not My Kid: When Your Parents Don’t Approve
2. How Effective Are Short-Term Mission Trips?

As I’ve mentioned before, “short-term missions” continues to be one of the most popular search terms that Missionary Confidential receives. And further evidence are the sheer number of inquiries we receive at our personal blog. 97% ask about mission possibilities spanning from one week to a year and are usually to take place in between college breaks or as a filler while the person “figures things out”.

I’ve already stated my feelings in “How Effective Are Short-Term Mission Trips?”, more from the perspective of the long-termer dealing with the short-termer, but I recently stumbled upon an article that put into words something that I hadn’t quite put my finger on yet. While the article is mainly about how missionaries choose their field (another topic for another time), I was very interested to read the very last section which dealt with the assertion that short-term mission mentality is a huge deterrent to people becoming long-term missionaries.

While it sounded a bit shocking at first, especially the section on “Anti-Long-Term Sentiment”, I started to replay what many other Christians said to us as we were preparing a few years ago for full-time mission work. “What will you do when you come back?” came up a lot, usually wanting a detailed agenda of work and living circumstances in the States. We hadn’t even gone to the field at that point! “You’re only going for a year or two, right?” or “You will come back because America needs you to serve here,” also were stated frequently.

Since living in our field for a few years now without returning for a visit, some Christians have even said, “When are you coming back so you can be a normal Christian?” The attitude has definitely been that we’d “get this out of our system” in a year or two and return; when this has not happened, we’ve sensed more fear in people’s voices when we hear the questions. Quite frankly, I can think of very few people that have encouraged us to remain long-term. In our experience only other long-term missionaries seem to “get it”.

The references to back up such claims helped to underscore that perhaps the over-focus on short-term missions as a way to encourage long-term service is not working. In my limited experience, I do not personally know anyone for whom a short-term mission converted them to a long-term missionary; I’m sure there are isolated cases you might know, but I suspect it is not a huge majority. Statements like, “Involvement in and spending on missions trips is seeing an unprecedented increase, while recruitment for full time mission service is flat,” and “A generation is coming of age familiar with the long-term goal but only thinking about short-term options,” really make you think.

This section is actually a short read, so scroll down about 3/4 to “SIDEBAR: The Spinning Out of Control Short-Term Missions Explosion”. I’d be interested in your comments on this one.

Related posts:

1. Interested in Short-Term Missions? Some Good Thoughts
2. How Effective Are Short-Term Mission Trips?
3. Short-Term Missions Done Right

If you write a blog, run a website or are some form of IT professional, then you already know that you have access to a staggering amount of statistics about your website. While these can vary, nowadays you usually can view how many people viewed your blog or site from certain countries or see which search engines (such as Google) they used to find you. Additionally, you can also see what search term or phrase they used right before they clicked on your site address.

You can probably figure out what most of the search terms/phrases would be for Missionary Confidential, but as I reviewed the list from the entire life of this blog thus far, I started noticing trends. Some are good points, some are confusing, some cause concern, and a few even made me laugh, though I doubt they were meant that way.

I’ve grouped the most interesting ones for your review:

Curiosity
People want to know these things, evidently. Some of these may be answered in future posts.

Doubts About Continuing
I was heartbroken over how many and how often these terms showed up. There are obviously a lot of missionaries that are conflicted about their next step. Or some missionaries are trying to avoid leaving.

Financial Issues Are Popular
The only answer I can give is, “depends on the situation and the missionary.”

When Things Start Getting Serious
I appreciate the candour of these search terms.

There Are Some Problems
It appears these are from people who had unfortunate interactions with a missionary. Or it’s missionaries trying to understand the bad reputation in some circles.

Made Me Laugh, Mostly
Some of these I’m just not sure what they were thinking.

Questions That Should Be Asked More
I hope in future that more Christians start seriously asking these questions amongst themselves and in their churches.

Related posts:

1. When Missionaries Leave on Bad Terms
2. What is the Difference Between Missionary and Missional?
3. The Best of Intentions: Missionary Superhero

Last one for Question Week:

Is a re-education necessary in churches and amongst evangelical Christians about modern missions?

I say this because of all the odd statements I’ve received over the years in missions ministry. If you’ve read even half of this blog so far, you’ll understand what I mean. From statements I’ve heard about missions only being valid in the 10/40 window, or enforced prayer at Christian schools for missionaries, peoples’ perceptions that the missionary actually does very little, to thoughts conveyed to me that missionary living equals impoverished, yet our pastor can’t be seen to live like that—I just wonder if churches are missing the boat when explaining the concept of being a missionary, especially what that means in today’s world.

Related posts:

1. Question Week: Tentmaking v. Fundraising?
2. Question Week: How Much (or What) Should You Communicate Back Home?
3. Question Week: Sent By a Mission Agency or By Your Home Church?

Next up in Question Week:

Are you completely fundraised or are you a “tentmaker” (do you support yourself with an income or form of work outside of ministry or missions)?

We’re an odd breed on this one, as we are actually both. Sometimes the mix of each changes, but it’s been this way the whole time here. A huge part of why we need the income from our business back in the States is the exchange rate from the Dollar is brutal, so we’re shaving a third to one-half of our value when we use it over here, hence the need for a huge amount of money despite living modestly. However, because we rely on the fundraised part of our income as well, we still get to do all the communication, interaction, and “dog and pony” show to supporting churches.

Related posts:

1. Question Week: How Much Should You Divulge During Fundraising?
2. Question Week: Sent By a Mission Agency or By Your Home Church?
3. Question Week: Is a Re-education Necessary About Missions Today?

This week is Question Week.

Are you sent by a mission agency or by your home church?

I ask this purely out of curiosity.  We are sent by our home church, but in our mission field we find that most missionaries are sent by a mission agency.  What’s interesting to me is that when we were doing our research and trying to figure out how we’d get to Western Europe, we had an almost impossible time finding mission organisations that were willing to send anyone (not just us) to our field, claiming that the “lack of return” on the money needed to live in one of the most expensive countries in Europe was the issue.

Related posts:

1. Question Week: How Much (or What) Should You Communicate Back Home?
2. Question Week: Do We Obsess Too Much About Details in Ministry?
3. Question Week: Tentmaking v. Fundraising?

One of the more popular search terms that this blog receives is “short-term missions”. I recently stumbled across a very well-written article in the online publication Wrecked For The Ordinary that candidly addresses some of the reasons that issues arise during short-term missions, diplomatically terming it “missions mismatch”.  The article also offers three steps that one should review, including questions to honestly answer.

Selecting a Short-Term Missions Experience

Related posts:

1. Are Short-Term Missions Sabotaging the Conversion to Long-Term Missionaries?
2. Short-Term Missions Done Right
3. How Effective Are Short-Term Mission Trips?