August 15, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Author: Ken Guenther

Director of SEND U
New Missionaries

The Least of These

Matthew 25:37–40 (NIV) 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Although many, including Mother Teresa, have understood Jesus’ reference to “brothers” to include all the poor and oppressed in the world, I don’t believe that fits the context or the way that Jesus uses the term “brother” in the Gospel of Matthew.  Instead, I believe that Jesus is referring specifically to those who are his disciples and are suffering deprivation because… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Character, Lifelong Learning, Spiritual Formation, Christ

Who Are the Best Students When God is the Teacher?

In the past month, I have been meditating on the idea of awe and reverence.   A spiritual audit I took in early November asked the question, “Have I maintained a genuine awe of God?”   I realized that this was a weak area of mine, and I decided to take a month to reflect on different Bible verses that spoke about awe of God. One of my last meditations was on the passage from Hebrews 5:7-10 which speaks of Jesus’ reverence for his Heavenly Father. Yes, Jesus, though he was God Himself, had a deep reverence for his Father in heaven, a reverence that enabled him to be a great student.  Hebrews 5:7–10 (NIV) During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. … Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Stress Management, Training

Stress: Too Much and Too Little – Part Two

In a previous post, I talked about the importance of maintaining margin.    Too much stress for too long a period is unhelpful and destructive. But as I also demonstrated from the life of Paul, we must not avoid all stress at all costs.   I am afraid that far too often I have said “no” to an opportunity simply because it would have stretched me beyond my comfort zone.   But I need to be stretched if I am to grow. I see many parallels to physical training.   When I started running (again) in 2009 after knee surgery, I was not able to run more than a kilometer before being totally exhausted.  Over the period of a couple of months, I was able to extend that to almost 5 km, a distance with which I was quite satisfied.   After all, I was not a serious runner, and already in my late 40’s,… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Stress Management, Training

Stress: Too Much and Too Little – Part One

Is stress, even cross-cultural stress, always a bad thing? Too much stress is not good.   More than 4 years ago on this blog, I mentioned a book by Dr. Richard Swenson on the topic of “Margin” – Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives.   I had read the book and was recommending it because I recognized that many of our missionaries were subject to overload and consequent burn-out.   (See another recommendation on our SEND U wiki.)… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Confrontation

Choose to Believe the Voice of Truth

I am finishing my read-through-the-Bible-in-2-years plan at the end of this month, and so these days, I am reading through the book of Revelation in the New Testament and the last of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. Yesterday in reading Revelation 20, I noted in my journal that a single angel from heaven can seize (arrest) Satan and throw him into the bottomless pit and keep him there (Rev 20:1-3).  It seems so simple and matter of fact.   God simply sends one of his angels who immediately finds Satan and arrests him without any extended battle or resistance.  Satan is prevented from deceiving the nations any longer until his prison term is over.    In Daniel 10, we read that of a battle between the angels and the demonic forces, and the prince of the kingdom of Persia is able to withstand the angels of God for 21 days… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther3 mins read
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