August 15, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Lifelong Learning

A lot more preparation required
Training, Learning Attitude, Pre-field Training

A lot more preparation required

My wife loves to host people.  She is a great cook, and will often spend most of the day preparing a meal for our dinner guests. My participation in the preparations is decidedly less.  Maybe all the guests are thankful for that.  Admittedly, I don’t know much about how to prepare a great meal for guests.  But I have watched someone who does! In a parable-like format, Proverbs 9 presents two different women inviting people to a meal.  The same invitation rings out in both Prov. 9:4 and Prov. 9:16: Let all who are simple come to my house!… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Finishing Well, Lifelong Learning, Success in ministry

Achieving Everything You Desire by Mid-career – Not a Recipe for Finishing Well

A month ago, SEND U conducted a mid-career retreat for those missionaries who had served at least 15 years with our organization.   This week, as I was reading about Solomon in 1 Kings, I was struck by how much this leader accomplished by the time he hit “mid-career.” When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.  (1 Kings 9:1–2)… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Lifelong Learning, Growth Plans

When Personal Development Became Exciting for Me

I remember the minute personal development became exciting for me. I was sitting in a training room in Singapore listening to the introductory session on Christian coaching. I showed up to the training kind of on accident. I didn’t know the first thing about coaching but a few months earlier someone had asked me to consider going. He also volunteered to pay for the training and to watch my 3- and 7-year-old for a week. So, I said yes. At the end of that first session, we were directed to a document called “Personal Development Worksheet.” It had about 15 different headings and we were instructed to brainstorm as many goals as we could under these headings. We didn’t have to figure out how to accomplish them, just list some areas we wanted to grow in or things we wanted to accomplish. We headed back to our room and I… Read the whole post
Beth Eckstein2 mins read
Christ, Character, Lifelong Learning, Spiritual Formation

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
Training, Growth Plans

Crucibles Develop Our Capacity

These days, I am following a training plan to prepare for a half marathon that I would like to run in September.  The training plan is progressive.  You start with running 4.8 km, then after a few weeks, you move up to 6.4 km.  When running 6.4 km is no longer a big challenge, then the training plan asks you to run 8 km.   A few weeks later, when 8 km becomes relatively easy, then you are asked to run 10 km, and so on. There are no shortcuts. This is a 20-week plan and slowly builds capacity up to 21.1 km as you faithfully follow the plan.   Other training plans for half marathons may be shorter, but they all follow the same principle. You run longer and longer distances as your capacity increases over time. I have also been reading the book of James these days and reflecting on… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
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