Missionary Mistakes

Over the time, I see more and more how I have done things as a missionary that looking back was not wise. I plan to share a few with you in these next few blogs

The say “hind sight is always 20/20″ - and that works in the Lord’s work as well. I have made many, many mistakes and thru these few posts would like to share a few with you so that you may avoid making the same ones. You will find both mistakes and warnings. I hope they can be of help.

Missionary Mistakes #1

The last week I have re-thought what my responsability as a missionary truly is. Of course many may know the general answer, but I found it easy to get sidetracked. We came to Argentina with a desire to plant churches by way of training young men who desired to learn and preach the Word. When we arrived to Argentina, the desire was fresh and pursued with all of our strength. The Lord blessed and we even saw young men who are today serving the Lord in the churches. But I found out that as time went by, I began to look more towards building the church instead of building the men. Bro. Austin Gardner, who is my spiritual father and friend, taught me and even warned me of getting off focused, yet I still took my eye off of the mark. Just recently I was challenged to re-think my goals and therefore I did.

Just yesterday, I was reading a book (Disciples are Made not Born by Walter A. Henrichsen) that will help get my point across. To give you an idea of what it taught, it spoke about 2 deer hunters that went to the woods. One with a 30.06 (which is a rifle) and the other with a 20-gauge shotgun. When they arrived to a clearing, they saw 30-40 deer. Because of the excitement of one hunter, he told his friend, lets use the shotgun and maybe we can hit almost every deer in the clearing. The other hunter said, “but we won’t kill any of them that way … let’s use the 30.06 for then we can at least get one, maybe even two.” The other said, “yes, but if you use the 30.06, all the rest of them will get away.” The dilema is, do we want the satisfaction of knowing we hit every deer in the clearing even though it means that all of them get away, or do we want the satisfaction of bringing home one or possibly two deer, knowing that in so doing we left the rest untouched? I am sure that we would be unanimous in our decision to use the 30.06 rather than the shotgun. (page 71).

Wow, that really hit me. I can either try to do all the work myself trying to hit as many as possible, or I can assure to at least get one or two. Therefore my conclusion is … don’t get off target of the real responsibility. Jesus trained 12 and they impacted the world. Moses raised up Joshua and he carried on the work. Elijah prepared Elisha and he made a great impact for our Lord. And the list goes on. The point … the great crowds look good, but after there is no more food for the multitude, will they leave … or will there still be men trained and left behind to carry on the work? Don’t make a missionary mistake in this area!

Missionary Mistakes #2

Yesterday I shared about the main goal of a missionary and how many times I have neglected it. The second Missionary Mistake I would like to share, is the mistake of always giving and never receiving.

When we first arrived to Argentina, we had just came from missionary training in Arequipa, Peru. Our heads and hearts were full with passion and desire and we immediately began to use what God had taught us. I began to realize that in a short time I had given out all the information I knew through preaching, teaching, and the helping of others. I was now empty and what was I going to do. I had heard of missionaries leaving the field to go continue their studies, but that was not the solution for me.

I began to see that at my reach, I had good books, tapes and friends that were willing to help me … I had just neglected the tools that were within reach. Just recently I renewed my commitment to read more, keep up to date with others, and grow in my own life.

God has given us great young men in our churches that are desirous of serving the Lord. But as a growing child needs good, substantial food to grow, so does a new Christian. But how were they going to grow if I myself was not growing. So my dilemma was not the lack of desirous Christians, rather the lack of my own personal growth. I had given, but quit receiving.

I once heard that in 5 years, you will be made of the books you read and the people you meet. I began to see that the years go by, but I am still the same person. I have decided that from now on, the years will not pass without me growing and maturing. Don’t let the years pass in your ministry and life by being the same person as last year.

Ephesians 4:11 shares with us that God has placed the spiritual leaders (you and I) and vs. 12 tell us that the reason is “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry”. They are going to do the work of the ministry, but how are they going to do it if I do not teach them how … therefore I must grow.

How many times have I found myself so busy in the “ministry” that I have neglected growth in my own life. And if I don’t grow, they don’t grow. So my challenge … that you will commit to pick up those books and tools to grow. Don’t let the years go by without growing. Not only will you grow, but those that follow you will too.

Missionary Mistakes #3

Missionary Mistakes #4

The fourth Missionary Mistake I have made and would like to present is concerning Self Discipline.

It did not take me long to realize that when I arrived on the mission field, I was my own boss. No one was there to tell me what time I had to wake up, no one told me I had to work a certain amount of hours, check in or check out, visit, study, etc. The truth is, I could really live it up and make up stories in my prayer letters …. or I could practice some simple steps in self discipline.

As being my own boss, I must realize a few things. I personally have family members, friends and churches that support my family and I here on the field. I could get away with many things, … but is it really right of me to “live it up” and not do my job. Of course we have people praying for us, churches sacrificing for us, Argentines depending on us, etc, but the biggest reality point for me is Proverbs 15:3 - “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” I can look at what I want on the internet, spend my time how I want during the day, be lazy, etc, … but the eyes of the Lord are watching me.

There are moments I would like to “head to the house” and lock the door … but I wonder, if everyone had my work ethic, would things get done? Would the ministry go forward, would the young men grow, would things die when I left? If I do not discipline myself, the ministry and myself will become stagnant (truly meaning, “having no current or flow and often having an unpleasant smell as a consequence”).

Since I am my own boss, I must begin with self discipline, I must begin to place some rules. Just as a person that is self-employed, I must work late if it is required, work longer, or work harder to get things off the ground. As a missionary, that means that the men I am helping have access whatever the hour may be. I have woken up early, I have left late at night after being in bed, I have wiped a mans tears in his bed after his wife dies, I have picked them up late at night when needed, I have given them groceries, …. I have learned to love them whatever hour of the day. Although I have been blessed to help many times, I see how many other times I have failed. I have failed because the pillow felt good, I have failed because I did not study, I have failed … because I was not self disciplined in my own life.

Therefore I challenge you with ideas that have helped me. If you are married, make sure that your wife understands what your responsibility is and agrees with you, then sit down and tell the Lord and yourself that you will take your job seriously. Think about it, who else gets paid for getting to preach and teach others. Who else gets to see new converts baptized, grow and begin to preach … and I am paid to do so. If I have such a great privilege, how much greater is my responsibility. So join me sitting down and renewing your commitment to do what it takes as a servant for the Lord.

Missionary Mistakes #5

The 5th of many Missionary Mistakes I have made, is that of believing Hiring is easier than Raising.

I used to think, with the American dollar having more value than the peso, I could hire someone to help me do much more of the work and get twice as much done. Although this could be very true and used correctly, it has both its pros and cons. The simple thought that I can hire someone and avoid having to spend time raising and maturing new Christians, many times is easier than, but ends up costing much more in the end.

God has been very gracious to us, and compared to many horror stories, we have not faced as great of difficulties. But I do want to say that we have had more problems with outsiders that have come from other ministries than we have had in the people that come from our own ministry that the Lord has given us.

Without a doubt the ministry is in need of much work and more laborers. But I also believe that if we are not careful, we might think we can skip the raising up leaders for the fact that we can just hire leaders. God has called my family to specifically raise up leaders. The truth of Matthew 9:37 is still true - “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few”. Cutting the corners by hiring instead of raising up is not only painful in the end result when the person hired leaves, but also many times is problematic when he/she is still with you.

I have made so many mistakes, it would be hard to mention them all. Without a doubt, I have not learned to treat correctly those that have been through our ministry (men who have come from other ministries and with other ideas), yet the fact still remains that it is easier and less painful raising up men with the Bible and ministerial goals we have, rather than bringing them in from other areas with different goals and ideas. My desire is to see God raise up men and workers through the work He is doing here. Not only will they continue when I am not here, but it will be easier working together while we remain together.

So truly raising is better than hiring.

Missionary Mistakes #6

As a missionary, it is a humbling thing many times for me to realize that I may be a spiritual leader to many people, but I do not have every answer. In many circumstances I would be wise to heed to advice from men and others in the church.

I work in Argentina and love Argentina as well as the people, but I have not learned everything about the culture. It almost is hard for me to say, but I am not Argentine. In those words, I believe it means that I should ask for simple advice before I make little decisions in the church. Of course I will make the decisions about what to preach, who leads, etc, but on cultural items, I should ask for opinions.

Just recently I made a church directory. Thinking that everyone would be happy and comparing my great idea to churches in the U.S., I grabbed the idea and ran with it. Come to find out, I upset a good number of people because, “we don’t want other people to have our personal information”. What …. I thought it was a great idea, but the American side of me was thinking and I acted without getting advice on what the Argentine culture does. I have done this mistake time over time, … and every time I look like an idiot.

My advice to my own self, and especially to anyone who does not want to make this mistake, is don’t be too proud to ask questions. One of the best things I learned from my spiritual father as a new missionary, was that I need to ask questions or I will never learn. I now don’t fear many times to ask questions although I may look silly, but I know that if I want to better myself and grow, I need to ask questions.

In I Timothy 5:1-2, Paul tells Timothy (the young new preacher) how to treat the people - the older men as fathers, the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters. I personally believe that he is instructing him not to be a young, “know-it-all” preacher, rather how to respect the older as well as the younger people. It is easy to say, “God has called me”, but just because God has called or lead me does not mean that I know everything. To be very honest, we have many older and more mature people in our church than myself and I am sure that at times they want to help, but for respect don’t say anything. I should be mature enough to ask for help … and especially when it is cultural.

May we as missionaries all be wise enough to ask for help and not proud enough to think we know it all. Asking questions is a smart thing to do!

Missionary Mistakes #7

More than once have we seen God do a miraculous work on a Sunday morning service and then come back on Sunday night only to feel that the message was a “flop”. It hurts to say, but I have bombed my share of messages. Not only do I believe it is a sin to take the worlds most wonderful Book and make it dry, but I also believe it is the messenger’s poor giving of the message that is the problem.

As a missionary, God has placed many good people under my care to feed spiritually until the next man takes over. If I give a lousy delivery, I am not only telling the people that I did not study, but I am showing with my actions that God’s Word is NOT interesting. Shame on me, shame on us if we do not prepare well enough!

I am definitely not the appropriate person to tell what kind of method of preaching is the best, but I do know that whatever is going to be used must first be studied. Almost every message that I have not delivered well came as a direct result of my lack of preparation.

The Bible teaches me in II Timothy 2:15 - “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” If I don’t want to be ashamed, I clearly must do the first part - study! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that good delivery usually comes because of good preparation. When I studied Homiletics in college, I was told that preaching has two births: one in the study and the other in the delivery. If nothing happens in the study, nothing happens in the delivery!

My desire as a missionary is to not only teach the people, but to teach future pastors, preachers and missionaries. But if I can not start with the simple step of studying for my sermon, not only will I never progress in the ministry, but future candidates never will be prepared to take the Good News.

I challenge all of us to pick up the most beautiful and interesting Book and promise to deliver it with the due respect deserved to its Author. Many will never heed to the Message because of the failure of the messenger to do his part. I determine to always give God’s Word with all my strength - only after much prayer and study preparation!

Missionary Mistakes #8

The next Missionary Mistake I would like to share is the mistake of forgetting the Transition Rule. I am a missionary, and it is my belief that if I say I am a church planter, than I must …. start churches. I personally have churches in the US that support me as a missionary, not just a pastor. If I stay content with one church all my ministerial life, am I being fare to churches in the states? Would I even be being fare to the people on my field?

I was taught by my spiritual father a principle that is very important in the missionary life - the Transition Rule. I begin as the soul winner, pastor, door-opener, song leader, floor cleaner, etc, but my goal is to move out of those positions so that other leaders can be raised up. The goal is that the people of Argentina can take the lead and one day have an Argentine pastor. But how can they unless I practice the Transition Rule.

I will be honest that it is very easy to find a comfort zone and stay there. Although this may be applied in many aspects in life, it is especially true with a missionary.

God has allowed us to start and work in two churches. We have been blessed to see people saved, baptized, become members, become Sunday School teachers, lead music, become soul winners, begin to preach and much more. But I have found that it is easy for me to keep everyone below me and for me to stay as the pastor. I followed the Transition Rule from me leading music to them leading music. We followed the Transition Rule from my wife teaching everyone under 12 and me teaching 13 and up, to now having many Sunday School teachers. But I have stopped. I have been happy with that and have found an easy stage - me the pastor and in control while everyone else is below me. While it is not wrong to pastor a church, that is not what God has called me personally to do. I am to send out others to start churches, I am to train men to take the Gospel forward, I am to prepare preachers, pastors and men of God.

Allow me to quote something I recently received, “Everything we are doing, should be based upon if it could continue if we were driven to go underground and had to meet in the catacombs.”

Lord forbid, but if we were kicked out of the country tomorrow, shut down by communism or religious persecution, … would the work continue on? Would everything die when I as the missionary had to leave, or would it be able to carry on? If I died, would the work die? If I was absent from the services, would the church still function? These questions have made me ask myself if I am truly doing my job right. I think I have become satisfied in being the pastor and forgetting that one day I might have to move on. Can God’s work only be done by Americans, or can it be done by any nationality and in any country. Yet I have been guilty of carrying much of the work load, visitation, preaching, etc and not moving making the transition.

I would like to make a public cry to all missionaries and church planters - work on the Transition Rule. We can not be a “ball hog” and not let anyone else work. We can not be selfish, for truly our goal is to make them a success. We must decrease and they must increase.

The furtherance of the Gospel is depending on if we can make the transition. I believe God is preparing men, but we must be ready for God to place those men in our positions when the time comes. May many, many churches be started, men raised and people saved because we have learned to put the Transition Rule into practice.

Missionary Mistakes #9

Missionary Mistakes #9 is a common problem seen amongst many missionaries. I both want to say thank the Lord for what He has taught me, along with a caution to all to not make this mistake. This Missionary Mistake concerns Preparation.

To be a missionary, there are many important steps to take. Without going into depth, I would like to mention some of those areas where we cannot afford to take the step without preparation.

Language

If you go to a non-speaking English country, it is of upmost importance to learn the language of the people. A missionary that can not speak the language of the people will have many disadvantages as well as hindrances in his ministry. We all want to jump in and begin preaching, but if we do not take the discipline of going to language school, we may never be accepted by the people or possibly never be used as greatly for our Lord. We must not be fooled by the idea that everyone knows “some” English.

May we learn the language and learn it well to be affective in the Lord’s work!

Ministry Preparation

Of course college is very important, but after college it is important to get hands-on training. My close friend Brother Aaron who is a missionary in North Africa says, “we must train for the field on the field”. Not only will we get the culture, language and practice, but when the time comes that we are leading a ministry, we will be ready. It is often looked at a waste of time to work under a veteran missionary before going out alone, but I believe it is a wise man that learns all he can before going into battle.

Know Your New Field

Once the Lord has placed a field on your heart, it would be unwise to just sit still and wait until you arrive. During the time of college, deputation or language school, take advantage of library books on your country. The internet will provide a large amount of information and pictures that will help you know your country better. Write missionaries via e-mail and ask questions. Pray for the people, the area you will work in. Do your homework and you will later be glad that you did.

Raising Funds

The Deputation Manual by Austin Gardner and Tony Howeth is a great resource of ideas and helps for raising funds to get to the field. Not only is it a great source, but also a proven source by many missionaries that have used it and finished deputation in less than 2 years. You can order it online at www.bcwe.org

There are many areas of life that come by surprise, but we can and should be ready for the mission field. If God is leading you to the mission field, begin to prepare now ….. you will not regret it when you arrive to the mission field.

Missionary Mistakes #10

Missionary Mistakes #11