The last Sunday of each month we have a birthday party where we celebrate the birthdays of that month. Tomorrow night we will be celebrating the birthdays and anniversaries of June. This is a new tradition for us that we just started last month. We look forward to it and hope it becomes something those who attend will look forward to each month. Events like these will build relationships within the church and will unite us more as a church!
14 Years
We are in the middle of a series of posts about preparing for the mission field, but we are going to take a break away from the series because today is a very special day. Leslie and I were married 14 years ago today! I cannot say enough about Leslie, and I don’t really know where to start. I love her, she is my best friend, and she is an incredible mother. But she is much more than that. She is a servant and example of a follower of Jesus. I had some folks helping us fix a few things at our house a few weeks ago. They were at the house the whole day and they commented that she is always doing something, that she never stops. She is holding the baby in one arm and always cooking, cleaning, helping the girls, or doing something else with the other. I am very blessed to have her in my life. These 14 years have been the best years of my life. We have had great days and hard days. We have lived in 4 countries, travelled across the United States on deputation, served in all kinds of different ministries, and we have done it all together.
I would not have ever dreamed that 14 years ago we would be serving Jesus in Argentina, but I did know that as long as God allowed us to live, we would be serving Jesus together. I am a blessed man for sure. I am thankful for such a wonderful wife, best friend, and partner in ministry.
Quick Update: Father’s Day 2018
This is a big Sunday for us. We have passed out hundreds of invitations and will be passing out over 500 more tomorrow. We are excited about the opportunity and are praying God will use this Sunday to work in the hearts of all who attend. Please pray with us for this big day. We look forward to sharing the great love of the greatest Father, our Heavenly Father! Thank you for praying with us!
From the Blog: Preparing for the Field: Read
If you are going to be an astronaut, you have to prepare. If you are going to be a lawyer, you have to prepare. If you are going to be a doctor, computer programmer, designer, chef, and a mountain of others professions, you will have to prepare! Why in the world would anyone think that a missionary does not need to prepare? If you are interested in the mission field, you must prepare yourself for serving in this capacity. I don’t think there is anything better in the world than advancing the Gospel. It is fun, hard, time consuming, and slow, and it is wonderful. I am using the things that I have learned as I have prepared for serving Jesus on the mission field.
With that in mind, one of the ways you can prepare is by reading. I have heard statistics that claim very few read much after they graduate from high school and college. I hope that is not true. We grow by reading. Now the question is what books to read…
Where To Start
Obviously a missionary ought to read the Bible and have read the Bible through many times. How can a man explain the eternal truths of God if he doesn’t read the book that contains the eternal truths? Read the Bible, read it again, read it daily, study it, and apply it in your life. But we also need to be reading other books and there is no shortage. Here are a few categories and recommendations…
- Missionary Biographies: They will burn in your heart and help you dream big! They can be exciting, motivating, heart breaking, and stirring all at the same time. There are all kinds to choose from. I recommend a good biography of Adoniram Judson, Jim Elliot, and William Carrey, but there are many more that are worth reading.
- Books on missions: These books help explain how to serve in another culture. Some great books to start with would be “Cross Cultural Servanthood”, “Ministering Cross Culturally”, and “Planting Churches Cross Culturally”. There are more, but these are good to start with.
- Books on Culture Shock: This topic is for a whole other post (one I might add that will be coming soon). Culture Shock is very real and will beat you up really bad. Identifying it is key to successfully overcoming it. A book I recommend, “Culture Shock” by Myron Loss. Another great book that will help you in another culture is “The Ugly American”. It has nothing to do with missions but it gives you insight of what Americans can look like to nationals. It is an excellent book
- Discipleship: My favorite book in the world is “The Master Plan of Evangelism” by Robert Coleman. Start with this book! It will change your life. There are many more, but this book will build your ministry philosophy with the biblical principles it so clearly explains. Read it, TWICE, then read it a few more times for good measure…
- Motivational books: There are a few great books that will motivate you to get out and do something. Missionaries need drive. A well-liked book is “The Rhinoceros Success” but my favorite is “The 10X Rule”. This book will push you! Get the audible version, it has even more content.
There are many more books that are available that should be read. My mentor has said that after a certain age, we grow by the people we know and the books we read. So go buy a bunch of books and start reading. I am in the middle of a wonderful book right now about leadership. So start reading and never stop. Keep reading!
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