The above question has become more relevant to me of late as I have reached the traditional age for retirement in the Philippines, and my wife has reached the traditional age for retirement in the US. Some argue that there is "No retirement in the ministry." That may be motivational, but it is also not …
Continue reading Where Should One “Retire” After Serving as a Missionary in the Field?
A few years ago, one of my daughters was working as a caregiver for a Jewish family. This family treated her very well. But when they found out that her parents were "missionaries" their response was immediate and perhaps best described as "distaste." They gave a verbal response that I don't remember now, but it …
Continue reading If We Don’t Use the Term “Missionary,” What Should We Replace It With?
There is a well-known story of David Livingstone the missionary/explorer, that when he died, locals prepared his body and carried it a great distance, around 1500 kilometers, so that it could be shipped back to England. This was by the request of the British government. However, his heart did not go with the rest of …
Continue reading Should a Missionary Love their Ministry Home More than Their Homeland?
I have been reading a book on Southern Baptist missions history ("Make Disciples of All Nations," edited by Massey, Morris, and Grace. Review will be posted in a few days). In it, they quote from and summarize the characteristics sought for a missionary candidate drawn from the 1944 Annual of the Southern Baptist Convention. I …
Continue reading Character of a Missionary Candidate (In 1944)
Over the night, I feel like there is one more area of praise when it comes to Independent Missionaries. E. Finances. I have seen the budgets set aside for a missionary family to serve overseas through an American mission agency. The numbers can be pretty staggering, at least compared to what many independent missionaries have. …
Continue reading In Tepid Praise of Independent Missionaries (Part 2)
My wife and I are independent missionaries. By this I mean that we are not under a traditional mission agency. We were sent out by a single church... who serves as our primary accountability partner. We also serve in and with a seminary in the Philippines. Neither of these (nor the counseling center or accreditation …
Continue reading In Tepid Praise of Independent Missionaries (Part 1)
I serve as a professor of missions in the Philippines, and administrate a Christian counseling center. Some would say that this makes me a "missionary." Others might say that this makes me a "cross-cultural minister." I don't really care what term one wants to use--- I hardly care about the term that I myself use. …
Continue reading Is It Okay for a Missionary or Minister to Retire?
Continuing from Part 1 I do think that missionaries are better in proportion to their being good listeners. I sometimes have made the mistake of couching the issue in terms of extrovert and introvert. Some mission boards idealize the missionary who is rather loud, chatty and very active socially. However, the key point I think …
Continue reading Nobody Becomes a Missionary Because They Like to Listen (Part 2)
For the first 7 years of my life I could not swim. That wasn't really a problem because I was never really at a place where swimming was needed. One time, however, when I was six years old, I was with my family visiting their friends in Connecticut. We went to a lake to go …
Years ago my mom had a friend who had been a missionary with a major missions agency; but back then retirement was not deemed a big concern. She went into missions as a single person. She eventually met a guy who was also a missionary, and they got married but too late to have children. …