Why I'm Going to Taiwan, Part One

This is probably one of the most common questions I'm asked when sharing that I'm going overseas for missionary work. It seems like an appropriate way to start the posting here as well, so here goes:

Reason I'm going to Taiwan #1: I have a Calling

The idea of a calling can be misinterpreted, and sadly often is. Some Christians wait for some kind of Gideon-esque sign from God, and others for some intangible sensation that will "confirm" the call in some definitive-enough sense that they can feel the decision can be made with minimum uncertainty. Neither is necessarily required for the decision to pursue cross-cultural missionary work, and many organizations now discourage the use of this term for that reason. How many Christians are waiting on a "sign" from God to go, when Jesus has commanded us all to go? For someone who is clearly led towards and qualified for a certain ministry, "waiting for a calling" could in fact be a way of clothing their own fears and hesitation in godly-sounding language.

(Although sometimes God does indeed make it that obvious; I recall hearing a friend tell of his friend committing to ministry in China after having a dream in which "CHINA" was written in giant fiery letters. Without the context of seeking God's will in a matter, however, this could be easily explained as merely a result of thinking very hard about the decision during waking hours. Looking at the examples of Moses, Gideon, and others, scripture suggests that this kind of sign from God is typically a response to prayerful inquiries and appropriate in the context of a revelation from God which has already been given, not a trumpet call "out of the blue.")

In my own experience, the confirmation went hand-in-hand with the commitment, and both strengthened each other to some extent. My own wet/dry fleece moment could be said to have occurred when praying repeatedly and earnestly for confirmation that I was indeed on the right path in my pursuing Taiwan missions.
After helping my small group organize a week of prayer for our upcoming missions conference at seminary, I randomly chose a time slot which was open on an afternoon I knew I was free, without giving much thought to the particular time I was choosing. Upon arriving at the prayer chapel, I found a document had been supplied which provided a list of countries, American cities, and missionary organizations as possible prayer options. Each day had one each of these, and upon finding my day I discovered to my considerable surprise that the country was Taiwan, and the organization was TEAM -the very organization I'd been intending to join and with whose missionaries my Taiwan ministry experience had been accomplished.

This alone would have been a poor method of picking a ministry destination and organization, but coming after years of Taiwan ministry experience and hours spent in prayer over the decision, and already being at seminary for the purpose of being more prepared for ministry in Taiwan, I believe it was a gracious answer to my fervent prayers for confirmation that I was indeed in God's will. At other crossroads in the journey, I needed confidence again, and each time God provided evidence that I was in His will. Sometimes it was a new local ministry opportunity which tied into my ongoing progress to overseas ministry, sometimes an improbable meeting with the exactly right person to help me take the next step; the God who calls will provide what is necessary to obey the call.

The most interesting moment in my pursuit of Taiwan ministry came during TEAM's annual conference in Taiwan when I was spending a visionary year of ministry there to explore the potential of longer-term service. I was praying outside, enjoying the warm air and starlight (Visible when far enough away from urban environments; Asian cities tend to be glorious, multi-splendored beacons of light pollution and Taiwanese cities are certainly no exception.), and more or less directly asked God if I was supposed to come back there. I received an interesting silence back in answer. This I was not sure how to interpret. It was certainly not a "no," yet I didn't feel any sort of confirmation.

Later after more prayer I realized that I had been trying to foist off the decision on God.
Basically, I wanted God to tell me to go, in no uncertain terms, so I didn't have to shoulder the responsibility for my own decision to do so and whatever ramifications that might have in my own life or the lives of others. I was worried that if I chose wrong, or misinterpreted His will, I might end up somewhere far away from where I ought to be, and then have to try to uproot myself from wherever that was and try to get back into the thing that really was His will for my life.

God in His merciful and infinite wisdom did not comply with my attempt to obtain "decision insurance," and instead allowed me to learn what seems clear now; that God does not test us in this way. Certainly, He will test our obedience by asking us to do things which are more difficult than we can accomplish without His aid, or things we don't understand at the time (and sometimes ever in this life), but God will not set an open, righteous and God-glorifying path in front of you and then punish you for following it because you honestly mistook it for His will.

Yet, I knew that it would be difficult to distinguish obstacles the enemy threw in my path from God re-directing me. So I prayed that, as my goal was to find His will, I would try to overcome every obstacle and trust that if I was going out of His will, He would close the door effectively enough that I wouldn't mistake it merely as spiritual opposition. By the time I finished that year in Taiwan, I had made the decision that, unless He closed the door and locked it, I would pursue Taiwanese ministry and not let any difficulty stop me. Praise be to our glorious God: that was many open doors ago.

Getting Started

大家好~ (Hello everyone)

I am a former computer engineer who, through an interesting series of events, found myself learning Mandarin, graduating from seminary, and headed to Taiwan long-term to plant churches.

I'll be sharing life/work/ministry progress updates from time to time, along with tackling various concepts one encounters living a life of faith with an inquiring mind.

I welcome all readers to join me in thinking through the Christian faith from a reasoned perspective, while I share glimpses of how God is working in Taiwan.