The Mission Phoenix

       "What do you think of LCMS World Mission?"

       Don't you find that to be a hard question to answer? I know I do. I think that most LCMS missionaries have a love/hate relationship with our denominational mission organization. It goes with the territory.

       The way a missionary feels about their sending agency has a lot to do with the reason why a missionary goes overseas in the first place. Missionaries don't go overseas because they love pain. And it's not that they necessarily love feeling like a "fish out of water", living and operating in a culture that is sometimes incomprehensible. A lot of missionaries don't even love adventure.

       There are two reasons why missionaries go overseas. First, missionaries love Jesus. Second, missionaries love the people whom they are called to serve. That's why we go - so that these people who we love can get introduced to this Jesus who we love.

       That overwhelming love extends to the agency and the people who make overseas service possible. We love LCMS World Mission because without it, we probably would never have had the chance to live among these people, to get to know them, to laugh and cry with them, and to share our Lord Jesus with them. How can you not love the people (LCMS congregations and members included) who make it all possible?

       But then, there are the frustrations. Inexplicable decisions made far away from your place of service. People who only listen to half of the story. A promising work that is ended just as it started to get going. Missionaries removed from their place of service. Peripheral work that ends up consuming too much valuable ministry time. I could go on, but you know what I mean. Those are the kinds of things that make it hard to love our mission program.

       So as a missionary, you are in a tough spot. Every LCMS missionary lives with this same tension - you want to complain, but if you complain too loudly, then you may be removed from the people you love. Then again, you don't really want to complain, because after all, you are doing what you love to do. You would like to vent some frustrations, but if you vent too much, you may jeapordize your future service. But on the other hand, some things just need to change. Period.

       I understand: you just want to stay in the game, and LCMS World Mission is the only game in town. There's only one way to be an LCMS missionary, and that's through LCMS World Mission. The love / hate relationship continues; you put up with the frustrations, and you share the joys, and you pray to God that someone, sometime, will get it right.

       I know this because I've lived it. But I also know it because you've told me. A surprising number of missionaries and former missionaries vent in my direction. Not because I can do anything about it, because I can't, but (I think) because I'll at least listen. And I'll hold you in my heart, and pray for you.

       I get it:  you just want to be a missionary.