• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

Navigating Transition(s)

Posted on March 30, 2026 by wtdavid

All of us face transition at different moments in our lives and ministries. And there are numerous articles and books which provide helpful input on how to navigate well these transitions.

Assistant

In my mind, there are a few elements which are crucial to navigating well any transition: keep your eyes on the larger objective; seek counsel from others in your community; and build a flexible process

When transition occurs, don’t allow all the details that might be involved to cause us to lose sight of the larger objective. It’s the “why” question of transition that will give us the strength to work the “how” questions. I went to see my doctor trying to find a way out of a marathon run with one of our children three weeks before the event: “So, why are you doing all this running and preparation?” he asked. I replied: “I want to run a marathon with one of our children.” His words refocused my heart and mind: “Then that’s why you are out there and need to be out there training for the next three weeks. Focus on that larger objective.”  When we focus on God’s larger objective for our lives (even if at times unseen) we will be enabled to address all those details, preparations and at times tedious work to navigate that transition.

Seek good counsel. Seek that input from people who know us or who have journeyed with us. They can see the pieces in our history that the Lord is using to move us further in our journey.  And they can see where the Lord might be leading us in this transition. Their wisdom is invaluable in large part because they know us and stand with us. Outside input is also helpful.  Mentors, a coach, and your personal community are all places where you can find needed counsel.

Finally, build a flexible process. I’m not talking about a strategic plan, but the framework that will move you from one spot to another. There will be some action steps (some “to dos”), but there also will be the identification of large categories that need to be addressed, to be thought through and planned for. And that process needs to be flexible because as you “move” some important things will change and give way to other things that will need to be addressed.

We all like the comfort of the “known” – where we live, what we do, and where our friends live. Transition can feel like chaos. That’s another reason why we must hold on tight to our Saviour’s sovereign hand and trust His heart that He knows what He is working in us and through us in this transition.

Many of you have followed me in this journey. Now a transition must be made to allow our new International Director to share his heart and journey. However, if you are interested in continuing to journey with me as a fellow pilgrim, know that this blog will migrate to a new domain: TATJourney.com as of April 1st. All existing content will still be available on the site.

You will automatically be subscribed to this new blog. But you can also unsubscribe yourself if this is one too many blogs for you (:

Filed under: Transition | Leave a comment »

Hearing from Others

Posted on July 22, 2025 by wtdavid

Many of us have quoted this verse from Proverbs: “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Good counselors provide the needed input and wisdom we need. However, I find that I will often seek the counsel of those who will agree with me and avoid the counsel that may raise questions about the direction or decision I am considering.

In the book, Thanks for the Feedback, the authors state that the problem with feedback comes not from the one giving it but from the one receiving it.  Simply because the receiver is not sure what to do with, or how to sift, the feedback that is given. Learning to sift feedback to discover the kernel of truth embedded in what was said is an essential component of learning to really ‘hear’ others. What others share with us, and even those with whom we may disagree, can contain elements of truth that are essential for whatever we may be in the process of deciding.

Add in the element of cultural difference(s) and the process becomes a bit more complex. The principle, however, remains the same. If we can learn to sift the feedback that is given, by expending added effort to understand the context from which it is given, we can benefit from this new angle of insight. An insight that we perhaps would not have received from those within our own cultural context.

In the long run, and in a changing global context, we need feedback from people close to us, farther away from us culturally, and from those who see things differently than we do.

Now all that is easy to say in theoretical terms.  Seeking feedback (input) from others will mean going out and asking for it, so that we can practice the skill of hearing others well.

Filed under: Crossing cultures, Feedback, Listening | Leave a comment »

An online meal together

Posted on June 17, 2025 by wtdavid

A fellow church planter, from another culture, once said: “I have yet to participate in an American Thanksgiving online.”  His point was well taken. The Internet is great for communicating across the time zones of the world. But, when it comes to experiencing incarnationally an event, another culture, or another person, it is woefully lacking.  

One of our guiding principles as a WT community is “incarnational” or “incarnational living”. That is where we surrender “our rights to our home culture, language, and ways and embrace those of the host culture.” To do this online is near nigh impossible, because you will miss a certain number of “cultural cues” that could help you understand and embrace this new culture. That’s probably why at the start talking on the phone is one of the more difficult aspects of cross-cultural living. Without facial expressions and other gestures, you only have the voice to go on. And you often miss what the other is actually trying to say.

I’m grateful to a member of our local French church who recently wrote an article on the challenges youth workers could face with the next generation: Generation Alpha.  This will be the first generation raised primarily on the Internet. There will be strengths and weaknesses from this context. One of the challenges though will be the non-incarnational, non-interactive nature of their spiritual development. They will be trying to “share a Thanksgiving meal without being physically in the same room.”

Now I’m not picking on the next generation as we still don’t know how they will “enter” the global missions movement.  I’m just trying to underscore how the coming generation, as well as ourselves, may be pulled, without even realizing it, into a world of strictly online relationships and virtual cultural experiences.

Zoom, Teams, and other platforms are good. However, to really understand the culture and viewpoint of another, you need to “see” and experience their world with them in person, incarnationally.

Filed under: Cultural intelligence, Incarnational living, WT Ministry Framework | 2 Comments »

Learning to adapt

Posted on June 10, 2025 by wtdavid

A most pressing struggle when one “crosses into” or enters a culture different from one’s passport culture is learning to adapt.  What was natural, “normal” or innate for us in our own culture, now stands out as very different in another culture. For example, in North American culture, we are taught, when at the table, to hold the fork in our right hand and the knife in our left hand.  In France (and perhaps other European contexts), it is the opposite.  Changing what is “normal” from one’s own culture and adapting to one’s new adopted culture is not easy. And with this example, we are just scratching the surface of the kind of adaptation one is called upon to make when crossing cultures.

As more and more workers are launched and sent from the Global South – places such as Cameroon, Guatemala, Senegal and Indonesia , for example – the work of learning to adapt to one another will significantly increase. How do others, with whom we are called to work, make decisions, hold crucial conversations, or express agreement to mutually shared guiding principles?

Having crossed from one culture to another certainly gives tools for learning to adapt. However, that does not mean working from one’s home or passport culture excludes one from being able to learn to adapt. Either way, it will take time, effort, and gospel humility to learn.

And there is the key word for all of us: taking the stance of a “learner”. Rather than being a teller or a doer, we must work with others from a learning posture. Taking the stance of a “learner” will go against the grain of our nature.  We would prefer to be the one helping others rather than asking for help from others. In our heart of hearts, we often think we just know better what to do.

There is a good deal of difference between saying: “This is what we should do and the decision that needs to be made. What do you think?” And saying: “What would the decision-making process look like in your context?  And what will we need to do to best adapt to that process?”

Taking the stance of a “learner” is to be willing to ask others for help. It sounds so simple, but it takes humility infused by the Gospel to allow us to honestly ask and listen to help from others.

Filed under: Crossing cultures, Humility, Lifelong learning, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Poly what?

Posted on May 20, 2025 by wtdavid

I’m sure if you are like me, when you heard the expression: “polycentric mission”, you said to yourself: “poly what?”  I mean, what idea or thought is this expression meant to convey?

Polycentric simply means, “having more than one centre”. In other words, in our global missions context there are now many poles or centres from which mission is being launched. In the 20th century, mission was primarily from the Western world. However, in the 21st century, mission is being launched from Ethiopia Chile, Brazil and Indonesia. This is what is called the Global South.

There are several practical implications or effects from this shift. In this blog post, let’s focus on just two of the many implications. 

For one, responsibility for the task of global missions is now a shared work.  This is always easy to say, but difficult to practice.  For many of us, we are used to directing, leading, or running global mission outreach from our perspective, our centre of gravity.  This shift causes us to recognize the importance of active listening to others, as well as gospel humility, by which we will understand more and more our need for others more than their need us perhaps. This shared work of global missions may take more “time” and “energy” than in the past. However, joining hands in this shared task is a tangible mark of God’s universal church.

Another practical effect or outcome is seeing the need of cross-cultural intelligence.  It will be difficult to effectively work with others from the Global South if we from the West do not seek to understand the cultural background, cues and dynamics at play with those who share the global missions task with us. For cultures that thrive in getting things done fast, there will be the need for patience and a willingness to “slow down a bit” in the process. For those cultures where time and planning are not priorities, there will need to be more “fluid organisation” allowing all partners to know their part in the task. And the only way all this will happen will be through His grace, through a deepening understanding of the Gospel, and by adding new cross-cultural skills to our toolbox.

Poly-centric, in other words, means learning to play as a team with a whole new group of players who may be different from one another.

Filed under: Mission, Partnership, Polycentric focus | 4 Comments »

Gospel calls forth commitment

Posted on December 18, 2024 by wtdavid

D.A. Carson, in his work Basics for Believers, wrote: “The heart of true fellowship is self-sacrificing conformity to a shared vision … Christian fellowship, then, is self-sacrificing conformity to the gospel … the heart of the matter is this shared vision of what is of transcendent importance, a vision that calls forth our commitment.”

The vision that D.A. Carson was talking about finds expression in this Advent season. From before the foundation of the world, God set forth His plan to bring a people to Himself. Despite the many struggles and failures of His creation, He continued to prepare the way of salvation and by His prophets announced the coming of the “One who would save us from our sins”.  Jesus came into the world that He had created in order to offer Himself as a sacrifice to deliver us from this present evil age (Galatians 1:4)

The vision that we share is not based on our collective wisdom, but on God’s amazing grace demonstrated to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And our fellowship is centred around a call to each and everyone one of us to conform our hearts and lives to the wonder of the gospel: that we should be called children of the most High God.

That “self-sacrificing conformity to the gospel” will free us to …

  • Be quicker to admit our failures and the pain we may have caused others
  • Be quicker to ask for and offer forgiveness
  • Remind one another more regularly of the truth that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever
  • Take one another’s hand to work together to see our vision become reality: that disciples and communities of believers would be multiplied among the lost peoples of this world!

May your celebration of Jesus’ coming into this world be a filled with joy and wonder at His boundless love for His people!

Filed under: Advent, Fellowship, Gospel | 3 Comments »

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