Someone Is Always Watching You

Did you know that there is someone out there who is always watching you? This person mocks you every time you trip, every time you are clumsy, or every time you mess something up. Staring at you, laughing at you, jeering at you.

No, you can't get away from this person. Their all-seeing eye remarkably catches all of your embarrassing moments, but always seems to be looking away when you have an accomplishment. This person knows about all of your typos, recognizes all of your flaws, and their opinion of you is plummeting.

This person probably can get you fired, probably can get you audited, probably can get you arrested, can probably ruin your life, or probably get you killed. In fact, they are probably planning every step of your premature demise.

You can't run from this person. When you sleep, get ready, work, relax, or whatever you are doing, you are being watched. A long list of wrongs is growing, but the list of accomplishments is covered in dust.

I'm not talking about God, Google, or Big Brother--though they see a lot too. I'm not talking about your parents, your boss, your best friends, your worst enemies, but someone who knows you deeper in every way.

Stop being your own worst critic.

How To Become A Missionary

Today is Missions Wednesday. I write a new missions post every Wednesday. I don't want you to miss any of these posts! Click here to subscribe.


Whether you're a pastor, evangelist, tech person, teacher, editor, photographer, underwater basket weaver, or counselor, God can use your specific talents in missions. Regardless of what you may think, the job description of a missionary is very broad and can accommodate every kind of background.

If you think God is calling you to missions, it can be an arduous task to fulfill that call. Here's a few steps to help you get started. This procedure I'm describing is written to help those who want to serve in long-term (5+ years) missions, but the process will be fairly similar for short-term missionaries. If you want to serve less than a year, then your process will likely be fairly simple.

Be A Maturing Christian
If you aren't committed to Christ, then you won't be a very effective missionary. You can begin the process as a new Christian, but a lot of organizations will want to see signs of Christian growth in your life. If you aren't sure where to begin, make sure you faithfully attend church, find ministries you can serve with, start a Bible reading plan, and find someone to mentor you in your faith--this process is referred to as discipleship and it's something you should continue your whole Christian life.

Talk To Your Pastor
If you are a mature Christian or a new Christian who has begun the discipleship process, talk to your pastor about your desire to be a missionary. Most importantly, be willing to listen to him/her. They may encourage you to wait, serve longer in the church, take specific classes, go on a missions trip, or gain certain experiences first--don't let this discourage you. Prayerfully trust their discernment.

Get Your Church's Endorsement
It will be very important to have a supporting church working with you. If your church is independent, then it may be as simple as talking to your pastor. If your church is part of a denomination, then you may have to get endorsement on a statewide or national level.

Find Someone To Partner With
This can be a specific missionary that you can begin serving with or a missions-sending organization. Initiate the application process with the organization or begin communication with the missionary. You will likely have to jump through some hoops, but this is one of the most important steps so keep your head up and keep a good attitude during this stage.

Be Flexible, Patient, and Persistent
You'll likely have to submit references, get a background check, and go through interviews. Once you're approved, then you'll have to start finding financial and prayer partners. This whole process from your first call to the time you arrive on the field could take a few years. You will experience discouragement, you will experience frustration, and you will feel like giving up, but once you pass through this process then you will be a missionary.


What preparation do you think candidate missionaries should receive? Anything you'd add/remove from this process? How can you help an applying missionary get to the field.

What's Your Growth Plan?

Today I attended the Chick-Fil-A Leadercast. It was a great day and I heard a lot of great speakers and learned a lot of great stuff. If you have an opportunity to attend next year, I highly recommend it. One thing that really stood out to me was from John Maxwell.

John Maxwell is probably the most famous Christian leadership expert, but he was just a regular guy working a regular job. He had breakfast with a mentor who asked John, "What is your growth plan?" Maxwell had no growth plan--in fact was unsure what a growth plan was--and began to seek out how others were growing and developing in their life.

The difference between the respected leadership author 

and just another guy was a plan for self development.

Planning To Grow

I don't know the secret to growing, but I do have a few ideas:

Take Some Classes. Community colleges offer inexpensive classes, many workplaces offer free learning resources, and there are many inexpensive conferences you can attend. These classes don't have to apply directly toward your intended career, just make sure you broaden your mind, learn new critical thinking skills, learn how to understand things from a different perspective, and, of course, it never hurts to take a class or two that will directly affect your career.

Read Some Books. Books are free at the library, many lesser-known books are very inexpensive or free from the Kindle or Nook store, or you can spend a few dollars at a local bookstore and pick out a good book. Similar to the classes you can take, you don't always have to choose books based on your field, but it never hurts.

Talk To Someone Smarter Than You. One thing that Maxwell said is that you should never be the smartest person in your group. If you are, then you need to find a smarter group. Spend time with people smarter than yourself and do everything you can to learn from them.

How Can You Be The Next John Maxwell?

The difference between the famous Christian author and another Christian professional is a personal growth plan. What can you do to be the next John Maxwell? Do you have a personal growth plan? What other tips can you offer to add to a personal growth plan?

Two Themes of World Missions Work

Today is Missions Wednesday. For an archive of past Missions Wednesday posts, click here.


For nearly any task, there's often more than one way to accomplish it. World missions is another task that also has more than one way to do it. Although I'm sure there are more than two, here are two major themes of world missions work.

Traditional World Missions

This is the theme of worlds missions work that you are probably most familiar with if you have spent any significant time in the church in America. In this model, ministers and professionals are sent around the world to carry out world evangelism. What they do overseas varies widely by the missionary, because there are many different roles that need filled, but their overall purpose is the expand the Kingdom of God in other countries.

Pros: They often have access to top education and resources; they are backed by their home currency, which is sometimes quite strong in their country of ministry; they are backed by their home church, which can be a great source of finances, teams, and prayer; those who become missionaries usually have a unique call of God on their life to do be in missions in a specific country.

Cons: Occasionally their home currency is quite weak when converted to foreign currencies; missionaries need to learn a new language and culture, which delays their ministry by over a year; they are far from their family, home, and church; they are often unable to get jobs if finances are tight; they have to cover the large expenses of travelling internationally.

Empowered National Missionaries

This theme of world missions has been made famous by Gospel for Asia--a missions organization that has been very effective in empowering Indians to reach India. The main premise of this concept is that Christians will be most effective at reaching people in their own country and culture. Instead of sending a missionary to a faraway country, empowered national missionaries are ministers who travel to different parts of their own country to do missions work. In some cases, such as in Latin America, these national missionaries may also go to a nearby country with similar dialects and culture.

Pros: The national missionary is immediately able to begin evangelism in their new home without language or culture training; with international partnerships, they are often backed financially by stronger currencies (for example, Gospel for Asia receives a lot of its financing from America); they do not need to cover the enormous international travel costs; they are closer to family and their home; if funds are tight they won't need any special permits to get a local job.

In Gospel of Asia, for example, their missionaries only need a few hundred dollars a month; whereas, an American missionary sent to India often has to raise several thousand dollars each month.

Cons: People who feel called to minister among a certain people group are discouraged to do ministry outside of their own country; in some countries, the national minister will likely face harsh persecution for abandoning their cultural religion; in some cases they will not have access to the education or resources they need; poorer countries may have a harder time sending their missionaries if they cannot find international partners.

What Do You Think?

As a church goer who occasionally is asked to give to a missionary, who would you feel more comfortable giving to? Which do you think is more effective?

April 2012 in Review

Thank you for following my blog. I have been enjoying writing it, and I hope you have been enjoying reading it.

April was a great month for me. I expanded my blog by one post per week (a missions post every Wednesday) and I have continued to post a Christian life post every weekend (usually Friday evening). I also got the opportunity to write a book review for Jeff Goins, who is kind of a blogging big shot.

Here are my top three posts in April (as determined by several factors, mostly Web traffic).

How Christians Deal With Frustration. This post took me by surprise--it didn't feel like it was very revolutionary or anything, but it quickly became the #2 most-read post on my blog (here's #1).

The Missionary's Job Description. This post is a look at what missionary's do in their ministry--the truth might surprise you. Hint: Not all missionaries are pastors, evangelists, or church planters.

Black Saturday. This is an Easter post inspired by my time in the Philippines.

How did your blog do this April? What were your top posts?

Book Review: You Are A Writer

Jeff Goins is a Christian blogger who blogs about writing, publishing, and building a personal platform for your writing. Additionally, he offers free e-courses to help you get started. If you aren't regularly reading GoinsWriter.com, then you need to go subscribe right now.

I received an advanced copy of his newest book You Are a Writer (So Start ACTING Like One). It's not available yet in the Kindle or Nook store, but check back here next week and I'll provide you a link where you can go check it out. It is now for sale on Amazon (affiliate link) or you can check out special packages at YouAreAWriter.com.

What The Book Is About
Jeff Goins wants to empower writers. Not just bloggers or those who write as a hobby, but he wants to help you get to the place where you can develop a following, publish articles, and even write a book. He walks you step by step through the process of getting started, reaching out to readers, and reaching out to publishing editors. He gives you all the tools you need to get started without blindly getting into the process.

It's not an easy process and can actually be quite intimidating. Fortunately, Jeff is very encouraging and inspiring--several times while I was reading, I could actually imagine Jeff giving a pep talk. Jeff is honest about some of his own struggles he has gone through in his writing journey, and offers insights and advice about what helped him succeed through it.

Also, there are some special features at the end of the book that I'm not allowed to tell you about.

Who The Book Is For
If you are a blogger, writer, aspiring blogger, aspiring writer, or maybe you're just kinda, sorta interested in writing, then this book will be valuable for you. It offers advice that will benefit all writers, no matter what stage of the game you're in.

What part of the writing journey are you on? What about You Are A Writer interests you? What experience do you have in blogging or publishing?

Missions and Giving

Today is Missions Wednesday. You can find an archive of my missions posts here: <robsorbo.com/p/missions-and-me.html>. If you want to receive my Missions Wednesday posts by e-mail, please subscribe by using the form to the right.

Did you know that my name is in the Bible? It's true. However, I hate hearing my name in church, because that means the pastor is doing a series on giving. Here's the passage:

Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How are we robbing you?' "In tithes and offerings.You are under a curse—your whole nation—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 there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:8-10

Giving is always a touchy subject. I'm sure most pastors hate preaching about it and I know most church goers hate hearing about it; however, missionaries rely on financial support to do their ministry. When you consider your financial contribution to church and ministry, there are three kinds of giving you should know about.

Three Kinds of Giving

Tithe = Obedience. The verses above make it clear that our tithe is expected. Other places in the Bible you'll hear this called the "first fruits." This is a farming concept--when you collect your harvest, the first tenth is what was owed to the temple. This is a statement of priority--instead of paying your tithe when you know you're financially able, you pay it before you know if you'll make it or not.

Pledge = Faith. When you commit to make a monthly contribution to a ministry or missionary, that is often called a pledge. The reason it is an act of faith is because people are often challenged to commit to give more than they feel they are able to give. As challenging as it is to make a commitment like this, missionaries, ministries, and non-profits rely on these gifts.

Even though it is an act of faith, you don't immediately have to jump into a huge commitment. Try committing $5 or $10 dollars each month. When you start small, you'll see it takes little sacrifice to fulfill that pledge.

Another situation that comes up is when people feel God touching their hearts to give a large amount. This can be scary, but be obedient. Some of the most exciting stories I've heard in churches are the stories of provision when people give more than they thought they were able to give.

Offering = Personal Priorities. Offerings and pledges are both contributions above and beyond your 10 percent tithe. In cases when a special church offering is being gathered for a special ministry, guest, building program, or project, money given is an offering.

Giving an offering requires you to take money previously budgeted to something else (whether that be a luxury or a essential need) and instead given to that special need. It requires you to assess what you are prioritizing for your spending, and deciding if it's more important than the need at hand--sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. This is between you and God.

Talk To Me
Is giving a challenge or does it come naturally to you? How do you give? What are the best ways for you to plan/budget for it? Has God come through for you in any miraculous ways through your giving?

(Photo credit: Filip Ologeanu)