Team Expansion Training Update

(Compiled by Glen Gibson - Director of Training)

Many books are being written about leadership. In the world of cross-cultural ministry leadership is important, but we should look first to God’s Word for leadership principles. Here is my attempt at identifying principles of leadership from the Bible.

1. Leaders must be willing to “go out before” their people enduring the same hardships and setting an example. I Samuel 8:20, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Timothy 4:12
2. Leaders must obey the commands of God (the meaning of being “after God’s own heart”). 1 Samuel 13:14
3. Leaders must acknowledge that the real leader is God. They are under His authority and are his stewards. 2 Chronicles 13:12, Luke 1:51-52, Luke 7:8
4. Leaders must be willing to accept correction and profit from it. Proverbs 10:17
5. Leaders must have a servants heart. Matthew 20:25-28, 1 Peter 5:3
6. Leaders must be like Christ. Luke 6:39-40
7. Leaders must be full of the Spirit. Acts 6:3-5
8. Leaders must be full of wisdom. Acts 6:3, 2 Chronicles 1:10
9. Leaders must be full of faith. Acts 6:5
10. Leaders must not be hasty (quick) to judge. Acts 15:6-7
11. Leaders must communicate their plans and decisions effectively. Acts 15:30-31
12. Leaders must handle disagreements constructively – make them a win-win situation. Acts 15:36-41
13. Leaders must empower church members to serve according to their giftedness. Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor. 12, Ephesians 4:11-16
14. Leaders must use their authority wisely for building others up, not for tearing them down. 2 Corinthians 10:7-11, Titus 2:15, 2 Corinthians 13:10, Philemon 8-9
15. Leaders must be willing to suffer for the sake of others. 2 Corinthians 11:22-29, Philippians 1:29-30
16. Leaders should praise their followers. 2 Thessalonians 1
17. Leaders must have a deep love and concern for their followers. 2 Thessalonians 2:17-3:10
18. Leaders must not be motivated by selfish ambition or vain conceit. Philippians 2:3, 1 Peter 5:2
19. Leaders must be blameless/above reproach. 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9
20. Leaders must be diligent, wholly dedicated to their work. 1 Timothy 4:15
21. Leaders must serve according to their giftedness. 1 Timothy 4:14
22. Leaders must accurately teach the Word of God. 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 4:2, Titus 2:7-8
23. Leaders learn to persuade others effectively. Philemon 12-21
24. Leaders must keep watch over their own lives. Acts 20:28, 1 Timothy 4:16
25. Leaders must be shepherds protecting the church from false teaching and other harmful things. Acts 20:29-31, Titus 2:15, 2 Timothy 4:2, 1 Peter 5:2
26. Leaders must pray for those under their leadership. James 5:14, 1 Samuel 12:23
27. Good leaders are worthy of double honor, do not be afraid to insist on it. 1 Timothy 5:17-18
28. Good leaders should be remembered and imitated. Hebrews 13:7
29. Leaders should be submitted to and obeyed. Hebrews 13:17
30. Leaders should enjoy their work. Hebrews 13:7, 1 Pet 5:2

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
My wife recently heard a veteran missionary tell about a woman who use to send her used tea bags to the mission field. Her thought was, “I use tea bags twice so I will send my used ones to the missionary so she can use it the second time.” To us the picture is laughable. We wonder why she doesn’t send new tea bags and use the ones she keeps twice?

While we laugh at this picture I wonder how often we are also guilty of giving second best to God? We give an old worn out sofa, no longer good enough for our home, to the church for use in the lounge. We commit to 5 years worth of payments on a brand new car but refuse to commit a tithe to the church or missions. We buy a big screen TV for the den and complain because the youth minister wants a 27” for the children’s worship room. We spend so much on the luxury vacation that all we have is a $5 to drop in the offering.

By comparison look at some of what God has given us:

God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:5

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 5:5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:3

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Malachi uses some straight forward language and simply asks…. “Will a man rob God?” I think most of us would answer quickly by saying, “No Way!” But look at the rest of the passage.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings.
You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Malachi 3:8-10

The Old Testament Israelites were an agricultural society so they understood the concept of first fruits. Give God the very first or very best of the harvest.

He has given His very best to us and we should do the same. All we have comes from Him. Stop sending Him your used tea bags. Remember Him first. Honor Him first. Love Him first.
Tim Stapleton
Church Mission Consultant
Training Department

The trend in missions in most churches today is short term mission trips. Estimates vary, but most agree that 1.5 – 3 million Americans made a short term mission trip in 2006 and numbers are expected to grow. It is also believed that 25 – 40 % of all moneys given to missions were used to fund short term trips.

Since the phenomena will likely be with us for many years to come, I have been asked to look into the effects of short term trips on long term missions and missionaries on the field. Especially how they effect Team Expansion projects.

It is assumed that short term trips have a positive effect on long term missions and missionaries. Most proponents of short term trips readily claim that participants give more to missions and increase the number of long term missionaries by joining their ranks.

However a recent series of articles in Missiology Magazine (volume 34 number 4 American Society of Missiology) point out that the claim may not be valid. Their research concludes that participants in short term trips do not give more to missions. Their primary means of contribution are towards their own trip. The research shows that only station of life makes a difference in what a person gives. Further, the surveys show that participants in short term trips do indeed return with enthusiasm for missions and often plan to become full time missionaries, but soon back away as the enthusiasm wanes and the reality of fund raising sets in. In fact, many express a difficulty in raising funds because of the competition with short term trips for church resources.

It appears that the benefit of short term mission trips is more for the participant than the long term missionary or the indigenous people visited. There is certainly nothing wrong with this special spiritual experience and we definitely need a greater spirituality in our American churches. But the question must be asked, “Is this mission and is it the best use of our mission resources?”

Much more research will have to be conducted and mission leaders and agencies are only now catching up to the trend. In the mean time, since short term trips will continue, we must find a way to make them effective for participants, long term missionaries and the people visited. Special care must be taken that we do good and not harm in the name of Jesus. And materials to help prepare and leaders and participants must continue to be developed. May God’s kingdom be advanced and enlarged.

Tim Stapleton
Church Mission Consultant
Team Expansion Training Dept.

As humans we communicate in 12 signal systems. When our “signals” are misread or interpreted through another cultures eyes, tension often arises. We need to know our signals and the host cultures signals so we can give grace to those around who might have accidently offended us or to prevent us from offending others. In the book, Creating Understanding, Donald K. Smith list the twelve signal systems:

Verbal
Written
Numeric
Pictorial
Artifactual
Audio
Kinesics
Optical
Tactile
Temporal
Spatial
Olfactory

Let us be more sensitive to each other so we can glorify God together as the apostle Paul instructs us in Col. 3:17: “Let every detail in you lives- words, actions, whatever- be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the father every step of the way.” (The Message)

Communicate well! Wendy Gibson

Team Expansion was birthed from a prayer meeting. Prayer has always been a high priority in the organization. A year ago, our prayer coordinator, Betty Byrd, joined the team. She has done a wonderful job of making pray an intentional part of all we do at Team Expansion.
Recently Betty led our International Services staff in a training exercise to strengthen our own prayer support. Using the prayer model of Jesus, Betty recommends each missionary to send our general prayer letters and requests to what will be called THE MASSES. She then recommends the recruitment of 200 prayer warriors called THE EIGHT. Missionaries should then gather a small group of close mentors and confidants called THE THREE. These prayer partners along with the missionaries own personal time alone with God will build a solid spiritual foundation so the work of God can be accomplished.

Are you a prayer warrior for a missionary? Contact Betty to join a growing number of prayer warriors called the Prayer Force. You will receive daily emails with prayer requests so you can uphold our front line workers in prayer.

Side Thought: Getting along on a team does not mean you are a team.

Like any good relationship you need to work on the relationship to make it great. Communication is key. At a recent personel conference I went to a workshop called ‘Communication, Cultural Values & Team Building’ taught by John H.Orme Th.D. I will be writing over the next few months on the concepts I learned at this workshop.

Let’s begin with Conversational Patterns:

Americans tend to talk directly from point A to B. This is why they are often told they are too frank.

Britains talk very much like Americans but they put in slight loops or side ideas to not be as frank.

Near Easterners use parallels in their conversations to make a point/idea.

Germans tend to talk like they think- dialectically. They have many forks in communication and they follow the many paths each fork may take.

An Asian prefers to talk in concentric circles beginning with talking about the big picture and slowly circling down to the main point.

Africans like to use parables proverbs, and stories to make their points as they talk.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU ADJUST AND GIVE GRACE TO YOUR TEAMMATES WAY OF COMMUNICATION!

Submitted by Wendy Gibson

Not long ago a report came out concerning the results of a four-year, twenty-two country study regarding missionary retention. One of the trends that emerged was that an increasing number of people are leaving the field for reasons that are potentially preventable. The Summer 2006 issue of Paraclete Perspective used this trend as the backdrop of a study of the difference between high retention organizations and low retention organizations. Three observations have a direct bearing on the ministry of the Training Department.
First, high retention organizations require more pre-field training than low retention ones. One of the reasons missionaries return from the field is that they are not properly equipped to deal with the challenges of living cross-culturally before they arrive in the country they will serve. The Training Department is passionate about making sure our missionaries are equipped to handle the pressures of living in a different culture and planting churches.
Second, high retention organizations do a good job of providing opportunities for the development of personnel. One of the first things we do when a new missionary comes to LAUNCH is a training assessment. Later in the week, based on our assessment, we give each candidate a personal development plan. After LAUNCH we continue to track the candidate so that their personal development plan is updated. The goal is to keep our missionaries up-to-date regarding the issues they deal with.
Third, in high retention organizations, more emphasis is given to growth in a person’s spiritual life, the importance of an annual vacation, re-entry programs and formal debriefings during home assignments. Spiritual formation and ministry reflection are vital for missionaries. We are working to improve in this area so that we offer our missionaries quality periods for processing and growth.
Pray for the Training Department as we labor in these three areas. Pray also for our missionaries that they will have strength as they serve in places that stretch them, sometimes to the breaking point.

Because the opening words of Team Expansion’s purpose statement are, “To partner with churches to send and sustain missionaries…” the Training Department has a desire to become more proactive in our relationship with local congregations. We are in the process of developing several training modules that can be used in the local church. Two are available now and we’d love to bring them to your congregation.
Module 1 is titled “The Glory of God.” It is a condensed version of the first three weeks of Perspectives. It is a biblical study of the pre-eminence of God.
Module 2 is titled “On Missions.” It is a look at how the theme of the Great Commission flows through the entire bible.
Future modules will include Strategies for Mission Teams, Recruiting and Sustaining Mission Personnel and more.

If you’d like to have one of these modules presented to your church, mission team or elders or if you’d like us to develop a different subject just contact our Church Mission Consultant, Tim Stapleton.

In his new book, Cross-Cultural Servanthood, Duane Elmer asserts that portraying a servant spirit is key being seen and valued by the people we as cross-cultural ministers are trying to reach with the good news (p.14). At the heart of the book is Elmer’s elaboration on seven attitudes that need to be exhibited in the life of a missionary in order to portray this servant spirit. These seven attitudes build upon one another and are, in order, humility (the posture of a servant), openness (welcoming others into your presence), acceptance (communicating respect for others), trust (building confidence in relationships), learning (seeking information that changes you and Biblical foundations for change), understanding (seeing through the other’s eyes), and serving (becoming like Christ to other). This book will be extremely helpful to anyone living cross-culturally. It is well worth the couple of hours needed to read it.

The recent Launch was really enjoyed by the staff at least.  What a group!  The scavenger hunt to meet International Staff was fun and a more interactive way to meet the staff. 

Tim Stapelton along with Daphne provided great food.  The Emerald Hills experience is something you will have to ask the participants about. No way I was going!

The reports back have been fantastic.  Two Launchees have already received pledges of support. Two others are already on the field, one for a visit and one Quester. 

We would like to make Launch a two week event–it is so much fun!  Any comments from previous “Candidate Lab” attendees?