PMPod

In this Pod, my guest has some amazing things to say about discipleship and what to do with a new believer. He also shares some interesting details about how his family is part of his ministry. Then we get down into the weeds of spiritual practices like solitude, fasting, and rest. Every word is worth listening to.

"We shouldn’t assume that every worker has a genuine, deep walk with Christ, that they are people of prayer, that they themselves are actually living by the word of God, feeding on it and being obedient to it."

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Timeline

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:50 What is the main emphasis of your ministry? 
• 01:29 How do you disciple someone when they first come to faith? 
• 09:48 What do you read with new believers? 
• 11:47 What are some things we absolutely need to know about discipleship?
• 17:31 What do you want locals to experience when they come to your house?
• Spiritual Practices  
• 23:14 Sabbath 
• 29:07 Fasting 
• 32:51 Solitude 
• 35:29 Prayer 
• 45:57 Memorizing Scripture 
• 53:48 Self-Denial (Surrender) 
• 1:01:21 Helpful Resources  

In this Pod, my guest tells me about getting kicked out of the country he was serving in, which led to meeting his wife. He also shares the differences between being single and married in missions, homeschooling their kids, and what it’s like in a massively cross-cultural marriage. At the end of our talk, he shares the driving passion that motivates his ministry.
 
"We felt super spiritual. But there were things, as I looked back, and I think, oh, why did I do this, or why didn’t I do that."

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Timeline

• 00:00 Introduction 
• 00:45 What it's like getting kicked out of a country
• 13:54 The massive differences going from single to married on the field 
• 19:33 How did you decide to homeschool your kids? 
• 22:19 Challenges of a cross-cultural marriage
• 30:30 What are the motivating passions that propel your ministry? 

In this Pod, I talk with a guy who approaches missions from a Reformed Baptist perspective. We have a fascinating conversation about what the church is and isn’t, the role of the local church in missions, what he thinks about CPMs and DMMs, how loneliness is a part of his experience, and much more.

"People think working with the local church is a waste of time. But I want to see the local church become a model of what a biblical church could be."

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Timeline

• 0:00 Introduction 
• 1:01 From Police to Missionary  
• 5:27 Why the Middle East and not somewhere else? 
• 8:07 Did your wife feel called to the Middle East? 
• 8:53 What are the Reformed Baptist distinctions of missions and church? 
• 13:21 Is the Reformed Baptist model too slow and heavy to be practical? 
• 17:06 What does a church in the Middle East look like for you? 
• 19:11 What is the importance of the Church for the spread of the Gospel? 
• 21:31 What is your involvement in the church? 
• 22:21 What role do international churches in missions? 
• 23:45 Do you think there are healthy, biblical churches in the Arab World? 
• 25:26 Why doesn’t the Reformed crowd talk about discipleship very much? 
• 33:21 What are some “Silver Bullet” traps workers fall into? 
• 36:51 What is your Gospel hope in Missions? 
• 37:50 Was it hard to go from “secular” work to missions?
• 39:20 Was it hard on your family to move to the Middle East?
• 44:09 Do you do ministry with your wife? 
• 45:26 Is there something from God’s Word that gives you hope, and what resources have been helpful for you? 

In this Pod, we talk about the increase of Arabs reaching Arabs, changes in training in missions, defining what discipleship is and why it’s so messy. We talked about inconsistencies in our emphasis, sticking close to the Gospel, and some lies workers believe. We also talked about storytelling and why it’s so hard for us to do it.

"In the Arab culture, there is an amazing amount of distrust, and it is really hard for them to love one another and forgive one another. As expatriates, as Christians coming from cultures where we have already learned that we can actually live that out with them, and help people really love one another, and be in fellowship with each other."

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Timeline

• 1:00 The changing nature of missions in the Arab world.  
• 2:26 What kind of changes is training going through in missions? 
• 5:01 Is there still a need for cross-cultural workers in the Arab world? 
• 7:45 Are the Arabs you train mostly MBBs or CBBs? 
• 9:01 What kind of training are Arab believers looking for? 
• 10:18 What is discipleship? 
• 12:34 Modeling the Gospel when discipleship is messy?
• 17:01 The challenge of connectivity
• 19:33 A lie workers believe is “I have to stay connected to everyone back home” 
• 20:35 Lies Workers Believe #1 Language will come by just being on the field 
• 22:47 Advice for people who have plateaued in language learning 
• 23:34 Lies Workers Believe #2 If I just become like the culture I’ll see fruit 
• 27:55 Lies Workers Believe #3 The “If I just had...” lie 
• 32:28 Lies Workers Believe #4 The Work/Rest lie. I need to watch more Netflix because I’m so tired. Or, I can’t rest or take a break because I’m supported by other people. 
• 40:16 The snare of compare 
• 42:28 Story Telling: Why is it so hard for Westerners to tell stories? 
• 48:29 Tips and tricks for telling stories to Arabs 
• 53:02 What mistakes do we make when we tell stories? 

Here’s what people never tell you; it is hard

In this Pod, I talk to a woman who will blow your mind. We talk about the dangers of social media in missions, as well as the positive impact it’s having. We talked about suffering and the cost of discipleship for Arabs, the challenges DBS leaves us with, the value of coaching for workers ministering in hard places, finding purpose and meaning in missions when not much is going on. And so much more.

"They’ve started to do some really good work; they’ve opened up a great English center, maybe they’re running kids clubs, a sports center. But they’ve lost the edge of the Gospel. The CP coach’s goal is to keep the edge of the gospel sharp. We need platforms; we need ways to meet people. But if we lose our intentionality in sharing the Gospel and discipling people, we might as well just call ourselves English teachers or sports coaches."

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Timeline

• 1:00 Is Netflix destroying missions? 
• 7:09 What is the positive side of media in missions? 
• 11:46 The challenges to online discipleship  
• 14:53 Do we overlook the cost of following Jesus in our discipleship? 
• 18:46 Do we pursue rapid growth at the cost of good discipleship? 
• 24:17 What is coaching for missionaries? 
• 28:30 Common issues workers face when they seek out a coach
• 33:46 Discipling influencers vs marginalized people 
• 37:26 Does our longing to see a movement harm our ability to see individuals? 
• 38:18 What are the trends shaping missions today? 
• 39:26 How do you stay long-term without getting bored or burning out? 
• 50:19 Why do missionaries find it easier to share the Gospel than to experience it? 

I talk about God who can completely lift my shame 

In this Pod, I talk to someone who clearly knows a lot about doing missions in the Arab World. We talked about forgiveness in the Arab context, seeing groups of people come to faith, some keys to longevity, and bringing the Gospel to the least reach women in the region. We also take an important look at raising children on the field.

"We both have a very strong sense that we’re not leaving unless God calls us to something else. We don’t have the attitude that, well, we’re staying here until we feel like it’s not fun anymore, and then we go on to something new."

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Timeline

• 1:00 Twenty three  years of on-field learning 
• 2:14 What are your gauges for success? 
• 5:56 What stirs your heart, and what are the mundane parts of missions? 
• 11:13 What struggles do you face bringing the Good News to women in rural villages 
• 16:01 How hard is it for a woman in a rural Arab setting to come to faith? 
• 20:00 How do you last long-term without becoming cynical? 
• 23:00 What character qualities are you looking for in people coming out to the Middle East? 
• 26:58 What does Islam look like in rural communities? 
• 30:33 How much superstition do you see in the villages? 
• 32:34 What does the Gospel look like for women in rural settings? 
• 34:19 Making the switch from Guilt/Innocence to Honor/Shame  
• 37:32 The Story of the Parodical Son for an Arab 
• 43:41 Raising Children in the Middle East 
• 48:12 Thinking through education for your children on the field 
• 53:55 Dealing with children becoming young adults on the field 

In this Pod, we talked about the lack of women leadership in missions, as well as the lack of resources and strategies that take women’s issues in mind. We also take a deep dive into surviving reentry, as well as a very honest conversation about sexual harassment on the field.

 "A lot of the language is so gendered, and I struggled to see myself in that whole methodology. How do I work in that – in a way that is reproducible and values indigenous leadership and those things that are really great, how do you do that if you’re a single woman?"

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Timeline 

• 1:00 Working with vulnerable people groups 
• 3:27 The lack of resources for women in missions  
• 6:41 Recommendations for those working with women or vulnerable peoples.
• 11:33 Is it easy to undervalue strategy on the field? 
• 12:53 What was reentry like for you? 
• 18:03 Are there ways to mitigate reentry struggles? 
• 21:07 Dealing with the highs and lows of reentry   
• 25:06 Re-understanding identity after reentry 
• 29:20 Trying to re-contextualize the Gospel after leaving the field 
• 31:53 What was your organization’s role in re-entry? 
• 33:13 Why do workers find it hard to go to church after leaving the field? 
• 34:18 When should someone start to think about serving again after they leave the field?
• 37:36 What’s it like being a single woman in the Middle East?  
• 40:23 Dealing with harassment on the field  
• 47:56 Dealing with loneliness on the field 
• 51:01 Dealing with the blurry lines of ministry, friendships, and time off
• 52:55 Sharing the Gospel in an Honor and Shame context 

In this Pod, I have a great conversation with a man who knows God well and knows Him personally. He talked with me about dealing with anxiety on the field, the feeling of lack of identity after reentry, his dramatic conversion to Christ, his desire for the lost to be saved, and so much more.

 "My biggest problem was that my objective was to do things for the people around me. But I realized that God is not requiring you to do things. He’s requiring you as a person, not what you are doing."

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Timeline

• 1:00 How did you come to faith and end up in the Middle East? 
• 14:43 The gap between expectations and reality on the field. 
• 17:32 What are some characteristics of a healthy cross-cultural worker?
• 22:00 How do the values of the West differ from the Middle East? 
• 27:01 Anxiety on the field 
• 33:00 How did you measure success and deal with comparison?
• 36:25 Were you able to find a healthy rest/work rhythm on the field? 
• 41:23 What did reentry look like for you? 
• 47:35 Was your faith shaken during reentry? 
• 52:57 Did you struggle as you moved back into a secular context? 

I thought by ignoring the challenges of re-entry, they wouldn’t show up

In this interview, I talk to a good friend of mine who left the field several years ago. He speaks very vulnerably and honestly about his post re-entry doubts, anxiety, and depression, and how he managed to hold on to his faith. Re-entry is an underdeveloped area in most organizations and churches. This interview helps to give us a clearer picture of what it’s like. 

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Timeline 

• 1:00-5:40 Being an introvert in missions 
• 5:41-7:10 Dealing with comparison on the field 
• 7:11-11:59 Re-entry: 100% chance you will struggle 
• 12:00-14:14 Re-entry: Its header going back home than going to the field. 
• 14:15-17:20 Re-entry: I hit a wall of anxiety, doubt, and depression
• 17:21-20:15 Re-entry: What was causing the doubts and anxiety? 
• 20:16-23:18 Re-entry: What did your depression look like for you? 
• 23:18-32:09 Re-entry: Turning the corner and getting healthy 
• 32:10-40:50 Re-entry: The challenges of moving from a Muslim context to a secular one  
• 40:51-53:25 Re-entry: What advice would you give to the person struggling in re-entry?

"We want to be a catalyst for church planting"

In this interview, I talk to a man with over 20 years’ of experience in four different countries in the Middle East. I asked him about doing ministry as a couple, how the church in the ME has been shaped by the culture around it, and what are some helpful trends he sees in missions right now. We also talk about leading MMBs, being catalysts for organic growth, and the relationship between MBBs and CBBs.

Check out more on the website pmpod.org 

Timeline 

• 1:00-39:00 How my guest got into missions. 20 years experience. Kicked out of three countries. Serving the last 13 years in one place.  
• 39:15-46:50 What's it like getting married after you’ve been on the field for years?  
• 46:51-52:00 Doing ministry with your wife 
• 52:00-57:00 How the history of the Middle East shaped the church 
• 57:40-62:30 How different is it for MBBs vs CBBs to reach muslims? 
• 62:31-64:00 Do CBBs and MBBs mix well? 
• 64:00-68:30 Helpful trends in missions right now 
• 68:30-1:11:014 What does it look like to empower local believers? 
• 1:11:15-1:14:50 How to move an MBB from consumer to leader