August 15, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

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Leadership, Mission Leadership

Shepherding or Herding?

The Shepherd-leader I have often heard the remark that leading missionaries is like herding cats. Yet are we in the herding business? As followers of the Good Shepherd we are to shepherd, not herd those in our care. Even if we shift the imagery from herding to shepherding, we can still go astray because of our cultural perception of shepherding. Last year, my pastor was preaching on the Good Shepherd from John 10. He told a story of watching a sheep dog demonstration at the state fair. The dogs would circle the sheep barking and nipping at their heels to get them to go in the desired direction. If we look at shepherding from this cultural perspective, we lead by threatening and scolding (barking and biting). This is not the model of shepherding from a Middle Eastern perspective in biblical times or today and not at all what Christ was… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Book Reviews

The Missionary Family – A Review

Review of The Missionary Family: Witness, Concerns, Care, Dwight P. Baker and Robert J. Priest, eds. No. 22 of the Evangelical Missiological Society Series was published by the William Carey Library in the fall of 2014. It “points to a feature – the missionary family – often considered to be a distinctive of the Protestant missionary movement” (xi). The book is divided into three main sections:… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
Training, Team Leadership

Leading a Team Takes Time

Over the past few weeks, I have had a number of conversations with both new missionaries and team leaders in a few different countries.   An observation that I have made in the past has been reinforced: leading a team takes time and more time that the team leader expected.  In these conversations, I have noticed a common theme among new missionaries – leaders don’t have time for them.   Leaders are so busy with their own ministry that they directly say or inadvertently give the impression that helping a younger, less experienced team mate is a distraction from their “real ministry”.   A few months ago, we featured in this blog the testimony of one of our area directors who had learned the importance of mentoring new missionaries.  But unfortunately, for many of us, we learn this lesson slowly. As team leaders, we often make two simple assumptions when we invite and… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Cross-Cultural Living, Book Reviews, Multicultural Teams

Mapping Your Cultural Values

  I have just finished reading a great book on cultural differences as it applies to working with multicultural teams. The book: The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business is filled with fascinating real-life stories of how cultural differences impact relationships between people working together.  The author, Erin Meyer, is an American living in Paris and a professor at INSEAD, the “Business School for the World”.  She trains leaders from many different cultures of the world.   No, the book is not written specifically for missionaries, but is nevertheless a very valuable resource for anyone working in a cross-cultural environment, and particularly those who serve on multicultural teams. Based on extensive research and experience, Meyer has come to realize that you cannot simply categorize cultures into two camps on a particular issue.  For example, cultures are not simply time-oriented or event-oriented.  The English see the French as… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Cross-Cultural Living, Book Reviews

Effective Intercultural Communication – A Review

The latest book in Baker’s Encountering Missions series, Effective Intercultural Communication: A Christian Perspective by A. Scott Moreau, Evvy Hay Campbell and Susan Greener, became available at the end of 2014. The authors state their “task is to walk you through the critical elements that comprise an introduction to intercultural communications for Christian workers of all types” (p3). The book is divided into four major parts. Part one is an introduction to intercultural communications providing “an overview of the historical development (both secular and Christian) of intercultural communication and deal with implications that are important for people who cross cultures to communicate Christ.” (p3) Chapter 1 defines terminology of culture and communication theory briefly. Chapter 2 touches on secular and Christian development of the discipline. Chapter 3 notes theoretical and methodological approaches to intercultural communications along with a discussion of the purpose of communication from a Christian perspective.… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley1 min read
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