Isolation is paralyzing for MBBs

Today on the Pod, we talk about the messy realities of discipleship. When someone comes to faith on the field, we often think it’s all going to be up and to the right from now on. But in reality, the messiness begins the moment that person places his faith in Jesus. The whole episode today is about discipleship, and I think you’re really going to like it.

Find links to the resources mentioned in the Pod here

"I think what is very problematic and very impairing is when a believer lives in two different worlds. In secret, he’s a believer, and he has fellowship with other believers, but out in the open, he has to play the role of not being a believer or being labeled an atheist be he doesn’t go to the mosque or pray."

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 01:04 How the Devil attacks MBBs 
• 06:52 Taking fear seriously 
• 12:28 Signs of maturity in an MBB
• 20:18 How should MMBs read the Bible? 
• 26:27 Stop over-pressuring MBBs 
• 36:20 Signs of Spiritual drift 
• 48:02 Gospel vs obedience 
• 53:55 Resources and recommendations   

I don’t want missions to be just another program.

Today on the Pod, I talk to a mission’s pastor about how he tries to advocate for missions in the local church. We have a fascinating conversation about how he prioritizes global missions in his church and some of the things that missionaries can do to make his job easier. 

Read more at pmpod.org

"You can make time for missions in your church if it's a priority." 

Timeline 

• 00:00 Introduction 
• 01:55 Leaving the business world 
• 06:00 Priorities of a missions pastor 
• 11:00 Ways to incorporate missions into the church
• 15:10 Incorporating missions into children’s ministry 
• 20:00 Relationship between church and missionary 
• 26:06 What are you looking to hear from missionaries? 
• 24:43 What’s it like when missionaries ask for money? 
• 38:38 How do you prioritize your mission budget? 

We define belonging as no possibility of rejection. 

Today on the Pod, we take a deep dive into what discipleship is and how we can do it better. Ministry and discipleship are more than a service on Sunday mornings. My guest today reminds us that If I don’t know your story, I don’t know you. And if I don’t know you, I can’t love you. He is convinced that the front lines of discipleship are around the dinner table. We also take a really helpful look at ministry and singleness. 

Read more at pmpod.org

Timeline 

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:00 Leaving the pastorate
• 04:15 Ministry as community, not institution
• 07:50 What is discipleship?
• 10:40 How do you form community?
• 15:50 Hospitality is discipleship
• 18:50 The sacrifice of hospitality
• 22:15 Dos and don’ts of hospitality
• 24:55 How do you rest?
• 29:20 Discipling difficult people
• 37:27 Ministering as a single
• 43:42 Dealing with loneliness

Discipling means you spend a lot of time together. It’s not just a Bible study.

Today on the Pod, I talk to a woman who shares her incredible insights into ministering to Arabs and Muslims both in the Arab World and in the West. We cover a lot of ground and she tells a lot of stories, so you are going to want

Read more at pmpod.org  

Timeline 

• 00:00 Introduction 
• 01:02 How to start sharing with a Muslim 
• 09:15 Misconceptions we have about sharing
• 11:06 What Muslims believe about sin
• 13:25 When apologetics is useful 
• 16:30 Discipling people who are semi-illiterate
• 23:10 Teaching non-narrative passage of scripture 
• 29:55 The Gospel and indirect cultures 
• 41:20 Your Host gets coached 
• 49:54 When to give money to locals  

And how money and mess up missions

Today on the Pod, my guest talks to me about his calling to the Middle East, raising his family on the field, the importance for cross-cultural workers to find a good identity, a few thoughts on people of peace, how money messes up missions, and much more.

Read more at pmpod.org

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 Getting started in missions 
• 05:00 Serving Unseen 
• 08:46 Getting a “calling” to the Middle East 
• 11:40 Expectations moving out to the field 
• 16:40 Ministering as a family 
• 21:55 Family rhythms 
• 25:50 Finding rest as a family  
• 29:30 Pitfalls on the field 
• 35:45 Having an identity in missions 
• 39:52 Gaging success in the NGO world? 
• 42:40 Misconceptions about People of Peace 
• 47:00 Money messes up missions 
• 51:30 Money messes up movements 

What we talk about and what we demonstrate by doing are really intertwined

Today on the Pod, I talk to a woman who has spent 14 years working with people with disabilities in some of the most rural settings imaginable. She shares with me some of her thoughts on ministry, life overseas, transition, and maintaining spiritual health in the field.

Read more at pmpod.org 

Timeline 

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:12 Getting started in missions
• 03:47 Pre-field training
• 04:32 How people with disabilities are treated
• 07:12 How is your work understood in light of folk Islam?
• 08:25 How did the locals view you as a Westerner?
• 10:21 What surprised you about your host culture?
• 12:50 How have you changed living on the field?
• 15:10 Dealing with isolation
• 18:03 Where do you get your social support on the field?
• 20:20 Adapting how to share faith
• 23:15 Giving up freedoms as a women
• 26:05 What happens to personal identity on the field?
• 29:13 Transitioning from one people group to another
• 36:25 Maintain spiritual health
• 41:55 Great advice from others
• 43:50 Helpful resources

That was my underlining doubt, did I end up here just by following my own desires?

Today on the pod, my guest shares her powerful story about how she got into missions after 30 years of wondering if it’s too late. She also shares deep insight into what it’s going to take to have a more cohesive field and what it means to have a healthy relationship with God.

Click here to read more at pmpod.org

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:00 Introducing my guest
• 02:00 Blackmailed into missions 
• 06:35 Was it adventure or calling?
• 10:00 Working in Turkey
• 13:30 The next 30 years
• 19:13 Getting over the past
• 20:25 Getting back into missions
• 28:27 Helpful mindsets for missionaries
• 30:48 The measurements we use
• 35:25 What’s frustrating for leaders and laborers on the field?
• 41:10 How can we stay spiritually healthy?

Happy Reformation Day! Today, 505 years ago, Martin Luther unwittingly started the Protestant Reformation by nailing a thesis of 95 things the Church was doing that he felt were unbiblical.  This, in turn, led to the recovery of the Gospel: that we are made right before God, not by our obedience to God's law, but by faith in Christ's obedience for us and in our place.

In this pod, read how Luther himself described his conversation.     

Read the article here 

We need to lead people in relation to how complicated their life and task is.

Today on the Pod, we have a fascinating conversation about leadership in missions.

"Depending on how good we think we are at what we do and depending on how we feel about ourselves, we will need different levels of gentleness in feedback. When things are more complicated and complex, the feedback needs to be more complex."

Check out episode 12, which was my first convention with my guest.

Check out more from this episode here   

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 01:05 Who are you learning from right now? 
• 05:39 What is a healthy leader in missions? 
• 06:17 (1) - Proactive relationship with God  
• 09:08 (2) - Vision for your job 
• 13:54 (3) - Cultural and Emotional Inelegance 
• 17:30 (4) - The Ability to Rest 
• 19:35 What kind of leaders do missions attract? 
• 22:40 Feeling valued by leadership 
• 27:13 What should we be measuring? 
• 29:28 Do we give too much leniency to fruit-line workers? 
• 31:34 Single, Double, Triple Loop Learning 
• 34:27 What is good feedback? 
• 41:13 Why are appraisals so useless? 
• 43:37 Bridging the divide between leadership and people on the ground