I’ve been podcasting since January 2006 when I launched the first public version of a Podcast for YWAM Townsville – Reef to Outback in January. Podcasting has proven to be an extremely powerful way to communicate God’s truth, which is why we are launching this course.

Recently I found my first published podcast and it was a bit weird to listen to …

To best run the course we are partnering with David Jackson of the School of Podcasting to deliver a 12-week online training course.

At the end of the 12-week course the students will launch their podcast.

Find out more about the new YWAM Podcasting in Missions Course on the YWAM Podcast Web-site.

Back in February a message was shared our local church, Seeds Uniting Church, in the service about fasting. Here are some of the notes that I took during the service…

I don’t know about you, but there are sometimes that I feel like I miss out on the main point of a sermon or teaching, but God uses that time to teach me something else instead…

Like many people do, I use my phone as my alarm clock. This can be “dangerous” since as soon as I pick up my phone to turn off, or snooze, my alarm, I have instant access to social media, news, and email. That can be useful for finding out things like what the weather will be during the day, but it can also be a HUGE distraction…

I am challenged by the fourth point that I wrote down from the service, am I viewing the world through God and the Bible, or am I viewing God and the Bible through the world?

By starting my day with social media and news from the world, how am I setting myself up for the day?

This reality has was a bit of a revelation for me at that time. I know that social media and some news can trigger my anxiety, and distract me during the day. There has to be a better way to start the day…

The last thing that I wrote on that page of notes from the service was this:

Start each day with a Bible verse, not social media / email / etc.

Upon getting home that day I set-up the Bible App on my phone to pop up with the “Verse of the Day” every day at 7:00 am. It doesn’t seem like a big thing, but it is now the first thing I see on the phone in the morning after the alarm. Although small, it helps to put me in a better frame of mind each day.

Hebrews 12:2 Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…

Today on the missionary coach show we’ll be talking about Matthew 5:5:

In full time christian missions since 1999 I am your missionary coach, Bill Hutchison. Thanks for tuning in …

I’ve always taken those verses for granted, and never thought a lot about them. The thing is though, they are quite profound statements. When I think of someone who is “meek” I think of someone cowering in a corner. A “meek” person to me is someone who is trying to hide from the reality that is before him, someone who is a coward.

Jordan Peterson explains it differently than I have thought of it before. His definition of “meek” is someone who chooses to withhold their strength for the sake of peace. Someone who is strong, competent, and armed for the world.

Here is how he describes it …

I like that description! It adds so much more depth and excitement to when Jesus tells us that “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”, and it instills confidence in what he know and have in Christ.

That said, it almost sounds too good to be true, that definition of “meek”, so I decided to do some more research into it. I want it to be true, but is it?

To start with I thought I would compare how the verse is presented in different translations of the Bible. Most stick with the “meek” translation, but there are a few that translate it differently”

If we look at the specific word that is most commonly translated to meek, the word used in the original Greek is ““praus” (prah-oos)”. There are a few different definitions that can be found for that word, including:

The Webster Dictionary defines “meek” as:

Thayer’s Lexicon defines it as:

HELPS Word-studies says:

We can also look at what could be meant by they word by seeing where else it is used:

Now, what can we deduce from those other versus of the same word…

The David Guzik commentary states that:

So after all that I would have to say that Dr Peterson’s assessment of Matthew 5:5 is pretty spot on! We are not called to be weak or cowardly. We are called to strong, confident, competent, and well trained. In addition to those things we are also called to be submitted in Christ, putting His will before our own, and waiting on Him rather than pushing through in our own strength.

Thank you for listening. You can leave comments, subscribe, support my work with Youth With A Mission, and hear other episodes of the podcast at missionarycoach.org.

Now that we have explored all of that, have another listen to Dr. Peterson on an interview with Jo Rogan about being meek …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soIyw8aOzdY

Sources:

A few Sunday’s ago we were encouraged by our pastor during a sermon to approach the new year with gratitude. There are many reasons that it is beneficial for us to do this. I share some of these reasons with you, some ways that you can express gratitude, as well as some of the things that I am thankful for, in this episode of the Missionary Coach Show.

Benefits of Gratitude

According to Psychology Today there are at least 7 scientifically proven benefits of gratitude. (source)

Ways to Express Gratefulness

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

Something else was shared that I had never really thought of before, and that was that:

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and hot opening it.

In addition to looking after others, and ministering to them, we also need to take care or ourselves …

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:4)

We need to look at our own interests, and not dismiss them. In considering what we do, we should first consider others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3), but also we should look at our own interests (Phil 2:4). Too often we do not consider our own interests and needs, often to the detriment of ourselves, others, and our ministry.

Life, and serving Christ and others, needs to be a balance of considering the interests of others and ourselves. If we neglect others, we are being selfish. If we neglect ourselves we will be ineffective in serving others, ineffective in our ministry, and also could burn out …

Committing our plans to God does not guarantee success and blessings. We need to be seeking God to find out what He desires from us, line up our plans with Him, and then commit those plans to Him.

To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

We need to be walking in obedience to what God has for us and into the plans that He has laid before us to achieve success that not only has a earthly impact, but also has an effect in eternity, and in establishing God’s Kingdom.

Current Ministry Works:

Today on episode 1 of The Missionary Coach Show we’ll be talking about overcoming the impostor syndrome.

David Jackson from Feeding My Faith and the School of Podcasting often talks about the need for us to overcome the “Impostor Syndrome”. While he is referring to the need to do it to begin a podcast, we need to overcome the impostor syndrome to step out in our walk with God…

Have you ever been labelled as any of the following:

If so, you need to cast those thoughts aside, and instead, commit yourself to God, and what He has called you to do …

Proverbs 16:3 – Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. (ESV)

Acts 5:29 – But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” (ESV)

Proverbs 3:6 – In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success. (TLB)

1 Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (ESV)

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Revelation 3:15-16 – I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (ESV)

Mark 2:17 – On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (NIV)

Luke 10:2 – He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. (NIV)

International Podcast Day

Check out the International Podcast Day web-site to find out more about Podcasting …

I have recently been reading a book called Espresso for Your Spirit: Hope and Humor for Pooped-Out Parents. I was reminded in a recent chapter of what Paul said in his letter to the  Philippians in Philippians 4:11-13.

I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may be. I know how to live when things are difficult and I know how to live when things are prosperous. In general and in particular I have learned the secret of … facing either plenty or poverty. I am ready for anything through the strength of the One who lives within me. (Philippians 4:11-13)

David Jackson, from the School of Podcasting web-site and podcast, has a segment on his podcast that highlights what people have been able to accomplish because of their podcast. It’s a great part of his show that helps his listeners to hear what can be achieved through podcasting.

While considering what I have been able to achieve through my podcast is that I have been able to share my testimony (episode 6) in 29 different countries! Many, of not most, of those countries are place that I would never have shared in if it were not for technology. Some of the countries that my testimony has been heard in are:

I was blown away by how many countries I have in fact shared in!

Impact of the YWAM Podcasts

I was really encouraged to hear about how God is also using the YWAM Podcasts that I produce. This includes them being downloaded over 110,000 times, and some great feedback about people going into missions because of what has been shared on the podcasts …

My main role as a mobiliser and communicator in the field of missions is to help connect people with opportunities around the world. In Youth With A Mission alone there are over 1250 locations, all engaged in some form of mercy ministries, training, or evangelism.

Then there are many other missions organisations around the world like Act Beyond, Pioneers,  Mission Aviation Fellowship, and many more opportunities around the world for people to be involved in missions.

I believe that everyone is called to minister the Gospel, whether you do it where you are, or into the nations of the world, God has called everyone to minister …

1 Pet 3:15 (KJV) – Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.

This isn’t to say that everyone is meant to be a missionary, rather I believe that everyone is to be God’s hands and feet, and to bring hope and God’s truth where ever you are at.

Not called!’ did you say? ‘Not heard the call,’ I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.” William Booth (source)

I personally believe that being a missionary is a specific call from God into full-time ministry.

I also believe that it is every Christian’s duty to give testimony to God’s love and truth where ever he has called you. God has a plan for all of us, whether it is to be a pilot, teacher, engineer, janitor, or whatever, God has a plan for us, and he wants us to do it to the best of our ability, and with a heart to hear from Him in the midst of it.

Mobilising Others to Missions

This week I had an opportunity to share with an electrical engineer with Porshe in Germany about the YWAM Vision 10810 ministry that is also located in Germany:

To design and build semi-trucks which can provide housing for a 12 person team, a full equipped stage to do evangelism and provide a place to store Bibles. These trucks would be more than just a stage. It would be a mission headquarters on wheels.

You can find out more about the Vision 10810 ministry here.

image from CommuniKty Donosti

One of the main reasons that I have not released a podcast in many months is that I felt I would feel like a hypocrite because I don’t have it all together. I have ideas about what I want to do, how I want to grow, and what I think I “should” do, but I am constantly falling short …

King David – A Man After God’s Own Heart and a Sinner

David’s (major) Sins

A Man after God’s Own Heart (source)

YWAM Value #12 – Do First, Then Teach

YWAM is committed to doing first, then teaching. We believe that first-hand experience gives authority to our words. Godly character and a call from God are more important than an individual’s gifts, abilities and expertise.

Feeding My Faith Podcast

Latest YWAM News Podcast

Image from Facebook Posters under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 licence.