Hi Dave,
I have some questions that have been on my mind as I’m
considering my future and where
Feel free to answer
whenever you can. I appreciate ANY insights you can provide. Of course, I am
using this time to prayerfully consider any option and door that God may open.
I trust him completely and am focusing on letting go of ME choosing this and
letting GOD call me. But I am absolutely interested in your own personal
experience. Thanks for taking the time to do so – I do appreciate it!
1.
In doing mission work, what is the most
important thing you’ve learned?
God
is living and active. He is
sovereign. He guides history. As missionaries we must have a sense of
God’s movement and respond to what God is already doing. Some boil this down to “discerning” through
prayer, stillness, and waiting. I think
they make great Biblical points. Yet,
sometimes in the pursuing the mysterious ways of God we miss His practical
whispers.
My missionary mentors taught that we see God’s movement by watching for two
matters.
First, where do we expect to find receptive
fields? Since God is living and
active He prepares fields for harvest.
We should prioritize those fields that are receptive. We can discern receptivity through things
such as cultural transitions, openness to spiritual conversations, churches
that are growing in a location, but also places where there are few vibrant
churches – and thus a need for more missionaries.
Second,
we should be looking for places where “relationship webs” intersect and
multiply. The older generation saw
this as places where friends and family members geographically clustered. Today we’d use the term “social
network.” Facebook and twitter make
this easier to see. It is hard to get a
good Gospel hearing when we are a stranger.
Receptivity increases when we have a community prepared by others’
relationships.
Divine
appointments are where we see receptivity meet with relationship webs. We
realize, “This is God’s.” We respond to
His movements.
2.
The most surprising?
God’s
grace. Missionaries tend to be strong personalities – driven, starter,
entrepreneurial
3.
What does being a “successful” missionary
look like?
To at the end of
this season in eternity hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful
servant.” Until then chasing “success” is sure to be an exercise
in frustration and futility.
4.
How did you feel led – and how do you
continually feel called to be a missionary? What does it feel like?
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| August 1996 - Jana pregnant with Ethan. Me a herniated disc |
I think the most
predominant feelings of being led are ones of deep pain. That probably goes against the grain with
most contemporary American Evangelical pop cultures on being called to be a
missionary.
Let me start with definitions. I
think to be a missionary is one sent by the Holy Spirit to make disciples,
develop churches, and usher in new kingdom possibilities. I think that definition fits well with
Acts. Most English New Testaments don’t
use the word “missionary.” It comes
from “apostolos” in Greek and is transliterated “apostle.” The arrogant missionary thinks he’s got the
spiritual authority of the Apostle Paul.
In reality he may just be psycho.
Yet, I do think if we carefully read the New Testament we’ll find times
where the “apostle” is just an ordinary sent missionary. I
think being a missionary is a specific spiritual gift / call. All Christians are called to speak good words
for the Lord, but not all Christians are
missionaries. Just like we’re not
all worship leaders or church treasurers.
I think a big mistake of contemporary discussions is when everyone
becomes a missionary. In reality if everyone is a missionary no one is a
missionary.
In both the Old
and New Testament we see a general pattern of calling. It starts
with a community in crisis. While
the crisis is brewing God is preparing
one to lead the community through the crisis.
The preparation is painful and humbling. Then God whispers “Leave home. Go. Trust Me.” The called one thinks, “Surely not me, God.” Then
painful wrestling happens.
If you don’t feel
painful preparation and wrestling I don’t think you’re called to be a
missionary.
The process is
ongoing. For instance, a called missionary
must be compassionate. He must grief over his own sin. He must also grief over the effects of sin
in the community to which he is called.
Out of that pain
comes determination and resolve to stay the course.
5.
How can you determine if mission work is a
good fit for you?
Give
it a try as an intern with seasoned missionary mentor. Can you see yourself in their shoes
as time
goes on?
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| Jana with our foster son, Gabriel Mugisha Jacobs |
Don’t fall into the contemporary short-term
missions’ traps of seeing if you can execute a successful project outside of
your cultural context. Most of the
projects are probably irrelevant other than for a power point, blog, and
Facebook photo. The big picture issue will be can you form
relationships outside of your cultural understanding. If so, mission work may be a good fit for
you.
Next, what does the mentor think of you?
Then, what
do the people you are serving think?
Can you adapt quickly? Are you able to pick up new cultural
cues? Do they want you to come back? (But make
sure you’re not hanging out with conmen and opportunists who only want to work
you for money and connections.)
6.
In the field, what would your average day
be like?
 |
| An Average Missionary Day |
I wish there was
such a thing as an “average day.”
There will be some seasons where you establish rhythms and
routines. However, if you need a detailed rhythm and routine
to function well you may not have the personality type of a missionary.
One missionary mentor told me, “What is needed is to know exactly what you want to accomplish, but be
very flexible to get there.” Being
able to be proactive when life is chaotic and ambiguous is a must.
However, here is what an “average” day would look like for me. I’m an early riser so discount the early
morning points if you’re a night owl.
(Give your best times of the day to the Lord.)
I’m usually up an
hour before sunrise. Ideally, I
check email, Facebook, and Twitter to
get a feel for what the day is looking like, read a chapter or so in the Bible,
and then go exercise. I get home,
eat breakfast, and then get the kids to school.
From there it is adjustment. I may be preparing lessons, corresponding,
and catching up on finances. Then I’ll
have lots of visits. I like to keep somewhat of a schedule,
but sickness, death, and crisis are unpredictable. I may
have to drop everything to help a friend.
I liked to wind down my day around 3 to 4 p.m., get the
kids, have dinner as a family, go play with the kids, and then later in the
evening I’d frequently go out visiting in people’s homes, hospitals, or church
meetings.
I like to be home
by 9 p.m. and fall asleep pretty soundly.
Sometimes I get a
season where I have weeks with not much to do. Sometimes I get months of scratching my
head about what is next. In those seasons I try to focus on preparing
my mind, body, and spirit for the next season that goes hard.
Then you may get
a couple of years where the days start at 4:00 a.m. and end at 11:00 p.m., and
you only get a day or two completely off every couple of months.
Ideally, practice
Sabbath, but sometimes Sabbath comes as a year instead of a day.
7.
What kind of things did you do?
I am
a church planter. Yet, the kingdom
required more than just starting and operating a
church in our context. (In
fact, I think in some ways the West has so compartmentalized the church [with
the acceptance of church leaders] that church irrelevance to culture is the
only realistic possibility.) Thus
I taught ethics at universities, coached kids sports, wrote columns, did radio,
ran scholarship programs, and started a school and a library. I had lots of fun, made lots of friends,
and taught about Jesus along the way. I can’t wait to see what is next.
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| Dave and Sophia at Kampala Kids League, 1998 |
8.
How were you able to be supported?
I
was and am a “faith missionary.” I
function with no guaranteed salary. I
largely live on the free will offerings of friends, family, and churches. Occasionally, I’ve had support from
trusts. There have been seasons where the support has been consistent. There have been seasons where the support
has been sporadic. There have been
seasons where we have had money in the bank.
There have been seasons where our credit cards are maxed out and I don’t
know how I’m going to buy groceries.
 |
| Puppies sometimes pay the bills plus bring joy |
I
don’t buy the simple trite phrases about faith and money. Yet, God has been and always will be
faithful. Yet, His people are not
always faithful and sometimes
missionaries suffer because His people make poor choices.
I’ve also sold puppies and cars, lectured
at universities, and picked up consulting fees to pay the bills.
Jana has baby sat and facilitated adoptions
for some financial resources.
I’ve had a few people suggest I use my
insider knowledge of East Africa to make a living, but I find those options to
be ones that would involve betraying pastoral confidence. I pastor first and trust God
to provide.
Support
is an area that weeds out missionaries.
9.
Do missionaries discern which area they
would like to work (for example, mentoring or development for example) and are
placed in a particular church based project?
Good question. It
probably depends a lot on the sending organization. Some give very
detailed plans for
missionaries to execute. Some just
send and the missionary makes it up.
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| Praying for discernment with Joel Wright and Jacob Zikuzooka |
I’m
a strong believer in missions being “field directed.” I think those on the mission field should provide the bulk of the discernment
and leadership. I’m resistant to
missions that are “office directed.”
I think office directed missions frequently miss context and I’ve also
noticed when the office goes through transitions it usually brings great
turmoil for the on field missionaries.
With
my definition of a missionary it would be difficult to be a missionary and not
be in some ways actively engaged in developing local churches.
A
few months ago I heard a Ugandan Catholic nun take issue with church
“projects.” She pointed out a Western
desire to have a start and stop point, measurable results, etc… Yet, the reality is that many issues of
humanity take years to generations to address.
She advocated church “programs” where what is good and true is done over and over again until destructive
cycles are broken and enduring systems built.
Programs take immense time and commitment.
I
think a faith based field driven missionary is probably the most likely
expatriate to discern and endure to reach a point of long term effectiveness.
10.
How does finding the right church/mission
program work?
I’m
still a newbie in this area. We’ve
gone through a few churches, tried to start our own organization, and not found
an enduring fit yet in over 20 years.
To
keep myself from becoming bitter I’ve
gone back to missionary disciplines.
The last 20 years have been one of great turmoil in North American
churches and missions. There is a lot
of blood on the ground. Thus be very
careful in with whom you covenant.
Also, be very gracious. Love
your senders as much as you love those you serve. Both have failings that need Gospel answers.
If you are looking at options I’d look for things like an organization’s
faith statement. I’d dig into their
vision and make sure it was compatible to where I sensed God was leading. I’d look for a proven track record of pastoring missionaries. I’d want to see what missionaries on both
ends of the spectrum thought. How did new missionaries feel mentored and
shepherded by the older ones? How did
the older ones feel respected? Is this
mission capable of maintaining missionary families through a lifetime career?
I’d be very cautious to get involved with a
mission that was office driven. I’d be
tempted if I was offered a missions position where the salary was guaranteed,
but also notice that most of the
guaranteed salary missionaries I’ve known are rarely allowed to be so
entrepreneurial that they make great impacts in the country they serve.
I hope this has been helpful. Thanks for asking. I feel honored that you’ve asked my
thoughts.
Keep praying. God is living and active. He will open a door.
God bless. Feel free to call me if you
want to talk or feel free to stop by Chicago and we could visit face to face.
