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 

The point of people care is to reflect the shepherd heart of God and help our people thrive personally and in their ministry.

Today on the Pod, we talk about all things People Care; burnout, depression, addiction, limits, rest, and internet use. You are going to hear the word “community” and how important it is a lot in this pod. You are really going to like today’s conversation. 

"It takes a long time for people actually to get to the field. There is a lot of preparation that goes into that – finances, prayer, hopes, dreams, vision – and then it makes no sense to send people off and to send people to difficult places and then to leave them on their own."

Read more at pmpod.org 

Timeline 

• 00:00 Introduction 
• 01:00 My first experience with people care 
• 02:34 What is People Care
• 05:25 Is People Care proactive or reactive? 
• 08:23 How has People Care developed over the years 
• 12:10 What are the recurring issues faced in people care? 
• 16:05 Dealing with the distracted life on the field 
• 25:00 Find a good hobby!
• 30:40 Rest is a call to creativity 
• 35:40 Is home assignment a vacation? 
• 40:00 Good practices for people care people 
• 45:20 What do we do with our limits? 

It’s a very child-loving culture but not a very child-friendly environment.

On today’s pod, I talk to a married mother of four, serving in a hard place. We talk about sexual harassment, feelings of overwhelm, staying spiritually healthy, and finding times of rest. It’s a fascinating and helpful conversation that I know you will benefit from.

"For a woman, the most prized possession you hold is your honor. Your honor can be easily lost but never regained."

Read more at pmpod.org

Timeline: 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 01:00 What are the challenges for Western women in the Arab World? 
• 02:40 Restrictions and cultural values 
• 04:00 How do Arabs view Western women 
• 07:15 What did you have to give up to come to the Middle East? 
• 10:55 Is it hard to raise your kids on the field? 
• 12:20 What kind of schools did you choose for your kids? 
• 14:30 Sexual harassment on the field 
• 20:25 Staying spiritual healthy 
• 28:32 How do you cast your cares on God? 
• 31:30 Dealing with overwhelm 
• 36:35 Finding rest on the field 
• 39:40 How to avoid isolation on the field 
• 41:47 Going from single, to married, to a mother 

One of the strongest tools we have is to invite people into our home

"These people we are discipling are not products. They are humans. And God loves them just as he loves us. And he is calling them just as he is calling us. And if he wants to use me in the process, it’s a big honor. But it’s God’s time. And my priority is to look after myself and see where I can grow."

On today’s Pod, I talk to a man who loves his family, loves the ministry, and loves God. It’s clear he has not lost sight of the reason we serve on the field. We talk about family, hospitality, team life, discipling locals, dealing with local needs, and much more. 

Read more at pmpod.org

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 01:02 What’s your main Emphasis on the field? 
• 02:00 Focus on the family 
• 05:45 How do you have accountability on the field as a couple? 
• 08:00 Hospitality on the field as a family 
• 11:40 Hosting men and women in the Arab World 
• 15:00 The responsibility of being a family on the field 
• 18:13 I loved the village life; my wife didn’t 
• 22:35 Team life was harder than the culture 
• 23:55 How do you rest on the field? 
• 28:12 Do married and single people rest differently? 
• 30:50 Discipleship on the field is more than what you think it is
• 36:30 Are we trying to make Arabs into our image was westerners? 
• 39:00 Dealing with money and locals 
• 46:15 Churches and MBBs 

Today on the Pod, I talk to a guy who’s been in missions for over 15 years and has an obvious love for what he does. My guest today reminds us that there is a lot more to missions than church planting in hard places. We also take a deep and helpful dive into transition on and off the field. 

Explore more at Pmpod.org

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 02:25 Leaving the corporate world for missions  
• 07:00 Using your administrative skills in missions 
• 09:00 Leaving the corporate world and raising support 
• 11:00 Was it hard raising support for an administrative job? 
• 12:55 What did missions look like for your wife? 
• 16:30 The challenges of transition
• 22:30 Deciding to homeschool on the field 
• 23:30 The losses of being overseas 
• 29:05 The losses your kids experience 
• 23:06 Reentry back to the home country 
• 33:40 The effects of being missionary kids 
• 37:27 Things that changed and things that didn’t 
• 45:54 Did you ever want to give up? 
• 49:00 What characteristics create longevity in ministry? 
• 52:50 Developing and maintaining ministry partners 
• 1:01:00 Missions, administration, and measuring 

In this Pmpod Mini episode, I read a quote from Martin Luther who is trying to comfort a fellow minister who has fallen into sin and spiritual depression. Luther tells him he did indeed sin but does indeed have a great Savior! 

Check out more at Pmpod.org 

"I long to see the body of Christ have a very high view of marriage and a very high view of singleness."

Today on the Pod, I have a powerful conversation with the co-author of the book Sacred Siblings. We cover the theology of singleness, the value of singles and marrieds on the field, assumptions, and expectations, and many more issues singles and marrieds face in cross-cultural missions.

To order Sacred Siblings with that 25% discount, follow this link

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 02:00 The book in a nutshell  
• 11:00 The survey respondents 
• 15:00 Single and not second class 
• 24:00 The beauty of working together as married and single 
• 35:00 The perceived threats of single women on the field
• 38:00 Needs for community between married and single 
• 46:00 Singles taking the initiative 
• 54:00 Burnout rates among singles 
• 1:00:00 Advice for singles who need rest 

"I could see the stress having a real wear on his health. Six months before he passed away, I said to him, “If you don’t slow down, I sense that you won’t be here next year.” He prayed about it and said to me, “I don’t sense the Lord telling me to change anything.” And I wept. I just wept."

Today I talk to a woman who shares her incredible and heart-wrenching story about ministry abuse, losing her husband to a massive and sudden heart attack, and how, by God's grace, she managed to overcome all these hardships and move back to the Middle East as a widow at age 61. 

Check out our website for more information pmpod.org

Timeline 

• 00:00 Intro 
• 01:15 Called to Missions at age 8 
• 04:00 Moving to the Middle East 
• 06:30 Choosing boarding school 
• 09:00 Overworked  
• 12:00 The heart attack 
• 15:00 Finding support after widowhood 
• 20:00 Going back to work 
• 22:30 What did recovery look like? 
• 30:00 Setting boundaries 
• 32:30 Moving back to the Middle East at 61 years old 
• 36:20 Finding your place in missions as a widow