July 26, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Character

Hardship, Leadership, Spiritual Formation, Leadership Training

Crucibles

When God prepares a person to serve him in a leadership or other significant ministry role, he often chooses to use crucibles. Crucibles are small pots used in chemistry labs in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature. In the middle ages, alchemists used crucibles in their various attempts to forge gold out of base metals and various strange ingredients. But Webster also defines a crucible as a difficult test or challenge or a place or situation that forces people to change or make difficult decisions. The Scriptures speak of the crucible as an instrument for purifying silver, but always in the context of some type of testing for the purpose of refining.  … Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Character, Spiritual Formation

Indirect Training?

In the past few days, I have once more recognized how pervasive the problem of pornography is – even among missionaries. A heart-wrenching conversation a week ago, a courageous email this week – all remind me of what J.D. Payne refers to as the pornification of society in Pressure Points: Twelve Global Issues Shaping the Face of the Church. Payne writes, “I was surprised to hear they felt that pornography is now a major issue in the church as well as among potential missionary candidates. Many are now assuming—especially among men—that missionary candidates have used pornography unless told otherwise. When such an expectation—particularly within the church—is commonplace, we find ourselves living in a pornified society.”… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Finishing Well, Training

Think Finish

A final post on the topic of life as a marathon from Philip Jackson, a colleague and friend of mine from Macedonia. Phil serves as the field leader and church planting team leader in the city of Skopje.   Phil also runs marathons, and his first full marathon was the Athens Classic Marathon.  Lastly, and appropriately, the final message that hit home from the whole marathon experience was the powerful encouragement provided by imagining the actual finish. While running the weekend-long runs in training for the Athens race, invariably I would imagine myself running into the classic stadium and running under that finish line banner. And invariably my eyes would tear up and powerful emotions would come over me. Note that this was while I was training at a place (along the Vardar River in Skopje) where other runners were running along the same path, and there I was with tears… Read the whole post
Philip Jackson2 mins read
Stress Management

Questioning the Validity of “The 4 Stages of Cultural Adjustment”

Cultural adjustment is a topic of great interest among missionaries, especially those who are preparing for ministry in another culture, or are already in the throes of the stress that comes with living and working in a culture previously unfamiliar to them. It is a topic that most missions, including SEND, address in pre-field training to help prepare our new missionaries for transition into effective ministry in a different culture.… Read the whole post
Darlene Jovellanos1 min read
Character, Hardship, Training

Don’t Try, Train!

This post comes from Philip Jackson, a colleague and friend of mine from Macedonia. Phil serves as the field leader and church planting team leader in the city of Skopje. Phil also runs marathons, and his enthusiasm for running has inspired me to keep running, maybe not to run marathons but at least to keep physically fit. Phil’s love for God and transparency in his walk with the Lord has encouraged me many times in my pursuit of godliness. I recently took some time to write down the lessons that God has been teaching and re-teaching me through running and particularly through running marathons.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
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