In a recent open letter to ministry parents (especially missionary parents), my friend Bret Taylor issued a warning against losing sight of your children amid the tasks of ministry. Here is my open response. Dear Bret, I want to thank you for writing your open letter to Ministry Parents. I have vivid memories of sitting in my living room talking about this very thing. You had come at my invitation to speak at the youth camp of the MK Youth Group I led in Costa Rica. We talked long into the night, and not without tears. Your letter takes me back to that room. These two things I took away from the letter: when the mission becomes more important than the family, it has become an idol; and the way to gauge if this is happening is “not because you said it – but because they felt it.” In this open letter, I’d like to address each of these, both as a friend and as a recipient, being a "ministry parent" myself. First, the matter of ministry being more important than family...
It is the regular experience for TCKs/ATCKs. It is, in a sense, what makes the TCK. It brings confusion and tears, mixed loyalties and overcommitment. It is the wish, the desire, to belong. To belong is a profound and human need. But those things that heigten this need in the TCK practically define largelly shape what a TCK is. Many TCKs spend enough time in their formative years to conform significantly, in thought patterns and values, to a society that is visibly, politically, culturally, and linguistically different from them and their forefathers. What are the odds of their really belonging there - in one generation. And yet, the experience shapes both their mind and affections, and (as many know), the TCK may feel more at home in their host country than in their passport country. But in significant ways they still do not belong, for belonging is more than an internal identification - it involves the acceptance among the people that is unlikely to happen in such a short ...
Subject: From 2020 Dear Jonathan, Don’t freak out – I am writing to you from the future. This week you will graduate from college! That’s quite an achievement! Ok, the truth? (You should hear it from me) It isn't that much of an achievement. Over the next ten years you’ll find that it was one of the easier things you did in life. Trust me, in about 9 months you’ll be in the hospital encouraging Maggie while she is having your first... never mind. You’ll cross that bridge when you get to it. That is not why I’m writing. Look, the year is 2020, we’re in the middle of a… thing… and it sparked a bit of introspection. I know you are excited to really get to work and start the path towards full-time vocational ministry. Before you start, there are some things that I really wish I had known in 2010. I know you hate reading right now, so here are the top three: 1. Talk less, listen more. First, when you start talking, you stop listening. I know you hol...
Comments
Post a Comment