Thursday, December 15, 2011

Why Missionaries Fail Part 16

Timeout for a commercial. My friend Bob Murillo graduated from the same college as me, and he started the Independent Baptist Church of Guadalajara. Last Sunday they had 495 in attendance. Not all missionaries fail.

One reason that missionaries can't get along should be obvious. The normal stresses of life are magnified when you have to live with people seven days a week. Not all Christians obey the Biblical command to be "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." But at least you can get away from those people after church.

Which brings up two good illustrations of Church Kitchen Komedy...

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Why Missionaries Fail Part 15

In 1977, Bill Gothard's Basic Youth Conflicts drew 24,000 people to hear him. He explained that less than half of all missionaries returned to the field after their first two years. He then explained that the biggest single reason they didn't return was that they couldn't get along with the other missionaries.

Gothard explained that he was going to start giving missionaries seminars on how to get along with each other. Despite his usual success, Gothard failed miserably in this endeavor. If missionaries didn't know how to get along with other Christians, how did they raise support?

So why do missionaries have so much trouble getting along with each other?