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Spiritual Survival Handbook

For Cross-Cultural Workers

 

Dr. Robert S. Miller

BottomLine Media (Pioneers), 2010, 111 pp.  ISBN 978-0-9759997-3-8

Robert Miller is the pastor of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in West Chester, PA.  This little book concisely covers a broad scope, laying the groundwork to help you get beyond surviving to thriving in ministry.

 

Prologue

“Radical obedience to the Great Commission brings with it certain dangers. …in ministry the spiritual dynamics are so persistent and intense that one mistake can be lethal.”  (5) 

 

1. Know Your God

Success requires a commitment of the heart and a renewing of the mind.  A life-giving river that waters your thirsty life flows from fellowship with the Spirit. Without that river of life there is desert, no living, vital ministry.  Everything is about your walk with the Lord.  Youmust begin your day by being alone with God.  Linger in the morning with Him.  This time is about relationship, friendship.  Practice listening and ask Him to speak into your heart.  Fight through the distractions. Practice solitude, if possible, in the wilderness.  Take a personal 24-hour retreat at least once a quarter.  Prepare for these retreats.  Write down the purpose.  Renew your mind. 

 

2.  Know Yourself

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the deep script written in the fabric of your heart.  Learn how to be self-identified, withstand betrayal and rejection, disagree with a co-work and remain friends, receive correction without being offended.  Are you teachable?  Jesus’ secret was that His identity was grounded in the way the Father looked at him, not in the way others saw him.  Learn to see yourself through His eyes.  Use spiritual mirrors that reflect your inner character and condition: His Word, prayer, the faith community, circumstances, and people. 

 

“There is a script hidden deep in every person’s heart; it is one’s life story told from a personal perspective.  It is composed of vows, fears and survival tactics–words that we have written on our own hearts with tears and dreams.  The writing of this script began the first day of our lives and continues to this present moment.  It is a concise expression of our deepest groaning.  This script is our modus operandi; it governs our lives in ways we cannot fully understand.” (27) 

 

God’s script is your identity and destiny in Christ.  We must exchange the one for the other.  Our script is like tethers attached to us.  We must detach from others’ opinions, money, longstanding alliances, criticism, success, failure, appearance, etc.  Remember who you are in Christ.

 

3.  Know Your Enemy

Some of Satan’s strategies do not seem spiritual because they are very subtle, such as weariness, discouragement, and isolation.  Do not be casual regarding this battlefield.  Spiritual warfare is daily and ongoing.  The enemy plans to wear you down and out.  He also wants to create distance between you and the Lord so you can’t hear his voice as clearly.  Separation provides the enemy leverage.  Don’t give it to him.  Don’t pull away from your accountability, prayer coverage, and fellowship.  Seek the Lord to discover any lies planted in your heart.  Confess and repent.  Declare the promises of God over those lies.  Cling to Jesus. 

 

“The key to victory resides in the principles of confession, repentance and complete surrender to Jesus.” (41)

 

4.  Know the Terrain

Watch your step; watch your heart!  Be alert to the snares, including anger, resentment and bitterness.  You will encounter mistreatment and various forms of persecution as you minister.  You will be attacked at the core of your personhood and identity.  Learn how to avoid allowing emotional pain to govern your actions.  Proceed with the conversations that are necessary and then forgive and release people.  “He who cannot forgive another breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself.” (45, quoting George Herbert). 

 

Do not underestimate the power of lust. (I John 2:16).  Establish accountability with two or three others concerning your thought life and struggles with any unholy patterns.  Be ever on alert.  Strengthen your self-control by abstaining from different things, if only to exercise your ability to combat the craving for comfort.  Learn to say no.  “You can be victorious only in His strength.  However, you must use yourwillpower to choose His strength.” (46)  Discover your natural limits and stretch them.  “Satan will discover any attitude in you that resonates with the spirit of carnality.”  (48) 

   

Are there emotional echoes from past hurts or associations that are controlling?  Be proactive in dealing with them.  Are you thirsty for affirmation and approval?  Are you susceptible to pride, insecurity, complaining, discouragement, fear, depression, gossip, or anxiety?  The enemy will capitalize on such needs.  Any sinful attitude is a giant bull’s eye to the enemy.  Put on the belt of truth.  Create a ’fresh air’ environment of learning and acceptance. 

 

5. Know Your Boundaries

Boundaries are walls, fences, doors and gates in the physical, emotional, relational and spiritual realms.  Ask God frequently for appropriate boundaries. Sabbath-keeping is non-negotiable.  Guard your family.  Create a rigid boundary around family times, excluding the cell phone, emails, etc.  Create boundaries for your time with the Lord, times for study, times with your spouse, and times for rest and recreation.  Speed and balance are admirable but balance is critical.  Be careful whom you trust.  Men, don’t be alone with women.  Respect the power of touch, both physical and emotional.   Emotional connection is like an adrenalin injection.  Be very careful.  Anyone can be tempted.  Watch out for the baggage of wounded people who do not know the extent of the danger they carry.  At some point in your ministry someone may deliberately try to destroy you.  Never meet alone with them.  Be very careful what you put in emails.  Never promise to keep secrets lest you get trapped with things that must be exposed. 

 

6.  Know How to Lead

Every missionary is a leader.  Others are called to follow your example.  Your only agenda is to hear from God and obey His direction. 

 

7.  Know Your Mission

Beware of fruitlessness, fruitless vines that look healthy but produce no fruit, fruitless meetings, fruitless words, associations, partnerships and friendships. 

 

“A few years ago, I believe the Lord gave me the following picture:

 

I envisioned a field being farmed.  A small portion of the field was being fertilized and watered–it was like a garden.  The larger portion of the field was ignored.

 

Even though there were many workers in the small garden, it seemed as if they were laboring in vain.  Ten people were gathered around two or three plants, not just for minutes, but for days at a time.  I continued to watch the work of these people even though I was disturbed by what I saw.

 

The Lord asked me to lift up my eyes and look around.  I looked up and saw the expanse of land surrounding this small garden plot.  There were acres and acres of farmland, most of it uncultivated.  From this new perspective, the work in the garden seemed strangely ingrown and myopic.

 

I asked one of the workers why this small garden was receiving so much attention when the fields surrounding it were receiving none.  He answered, ’Every time we pass by this plot, the plants scream and cry out for more food, water and attention.  They seem so full of pain and misery that all of us become deeply concerned for their welfare.  We work to quench their thirst and desire to see them grow.  Before long, the sun is setting and we realize that we’ve spent another full day in the garden. …’”  (84-5) 

 

“We need to have big picture vision for the completion of the Great Commission and not just for one portion of it.”  (86) 

 

Appendix I.  A Survival Kit for the Desert

Build this kit and keep it in a file box or somewhere where you will know where it is.  Add to it as God gives you wisdom.  It could be a welcome friend.  Include:

• The name of a reliable confidant with contact information
• A retreat option
• A declaration paper that speaks to your identity and destiny
• Two or three letters that bless you and confirm your call 
• Your life verses
• Procedural commitments – how you will make decisions while in the desert.  For example:
• “I will pray before acting.
• I will seek counsel from two to three different sources.
• I will not act independently.  I will walk in community.
• I will fast.
• I will wait on the Lord and be careful to hear what He’s saying to me.
• I will journal.”

 

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