Step 10: Finishing Strong
by Bill TaylorThose Old Shoes Still Do It for Me!
It’s those old shoes that sit just to the left of my desk. I cannot avoid them. They stare at me, now dusty, at times dusted, now silent, now talking. They belong to an old marathoner friend of mine now living the last lap of a life fully lived. A few years ago I called him on the spur of the moment and asked him to send me a pair of his really old shoes. He cracked up laughing, asking why in the world I would request that. Simply, I said, “I want tangible shoe-leather evidence of how to finish well after all your years of life, marriage, parenting, cross-cultural ministry, leadership, laughing, loving, and serving.”
So a few days later they arrived in a cardboard box. After unpacking them, I gazed at those cracked, worn symbols, thanking God for what they represented. This veteran began his marathon with Christ as a teen. He was the promise of his uncle’s business in Atlanta, Georgia, until he informed his uncle that business was not his passion; Jesus was. The reprisal came rapidly; the angry uncle totally disinherited his nephew. Ironically, this action truly set him free for a God-driven future. The runner married a life partner in the Great Race, and together they began the marathon of life and ministry. Studies at Moody Bible Institute balanced with pastoral ministry in a Swedish Covenant Church in East Chicago, Indiana; a daughter came into their world; they were turned down by two (get it, two!) mission agencies for “health reasons.” Enough to become a pre-attrition case of attrition! But these two runners persevered, and another sending body took them on in 1938. Following linguistic studies in the then young Wycliffe Bible Translators program, they sailed for Latin America. A son was born soon after.
After a decade of service, they returned for further study at Wheaton College, sensing the need to upgrade their skill set and gift mix. Over the next decades, their Race took them to three Latin American countries for ministry, then 12 years as the CEO of the mission agency in the U.S. When this creative Runner approached his 60th birthday, he and his wife informed the mission board that they desired to return to field based ministry in Spain. They would serve under a much younger man whom the Runner years ago had recruited for Spain. The board was stunned, and the chairman admonished him, “Sir, no president of a bank ever returns to become a teller.” To which the Runner quietly replied, “I do not work in a bank!”
They served/ran the Great Race in Spain for five years, developed a vibrant camp and conference center west of Madrid, turned it over to Spanish leaders, and then returned to the U.S. What now? These battle-worn veterans could have opted for retirement, but their spirits were strong and the body still had more laps to go. So they returned to their geographic roots and began planting Hispanic churches in the metropolitan Atlanta area. In God’s goodness, now, about seven Spanish-speaking churches owe their existence to this vision.
But I’m most impressed with the deep character dynamics of this Runner. He had a unique combination of natural and spiritual abilities: visionary leadership and administrative gifts, coupled with spiritual insight and sensitive pastoral care. He was not threatened by younger or more brilliant leaders, and he opened space for them to emerge into responsibility. He mentored an unusual number of Latin American young leaders during his career. He recognized his wife’s unusual gift blend and released her for complete parallel fulfillment. He was a strong leader, but servanthood marked his style.
Those old shoes. I cannot get away from them. This Runner now walks at a slow pace, as does his life partner in ministry. They are still deeply in love with each other, read actively, and now in their mid to late 80s stay active teaching weekly Bible classes. He recently told me that the two of them laugh a lot - at things, at each other, at other people.
Those old shoes talk to me, encouraging me, challenging me, saying, “Bill, finish well!” A postscript word to our readers: get your own pair of similar old shoes from someone finishing well the Great Race.
Why This Story of the Old Shoes?
I tell you this story because I personally need ongoing encouragement to keep my eyes on the Ultimate Goal, not the management goals of my organization, not the false, self-imposed goals of a society that values high productivity, measurable and tangible outcomes, an ever increasing profile of apparent success (whether you get there by the humble route or not!). I pass on this account also because most of you are younger readers than Steve or I, and certainly much younger than my veteran friend, the Runner.
But all of us, men and women, need to be wary of the traps set out for us. Some of them will simply trip us up for a while, and we will recover, possibly through confession of sin and restoration, or simply through the natural path of maturation. But other traps are deadly and can destroy our lives and ministries, our integrity and our families.
So let’s take a bold look at something that may be theory for many of you, namely, finishing well. But look at it this way: the least you can do right now is to anticipate the potential mine fields out there, discerning some of the dangers, and learning from those further along the race who have battled to finish well.
Two Case Studies From Scripture
Daniel, that great public servant, one of God’s great tentmakers, was professionally agile enough to serve through at least five different despotic regimes. He almost sets our standard. Early in his forced international study program, living in exile, this brilliant youth made some radical choices. He purposed in his heart that he would not cave in to the cultural, religious, and power pressures of his world. It was a scary option, but having made that radical decision, God moved into the scenario, empowering him to keep his word. Even in his fading years, he remained faithful to those personal vows, and when he might legitimately have shaved his standards to avoid visiting hungry lions, he stayed firm. And for that reason the High God calls him “highly esteemed” (Dan. 10:11). Why? Because he finished well.
The Apostle Paul gives us another example, this time from prison: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). Paul had lived long enough to see some of his friends and ministry colleagues somehow withdraw from the race. We don’t know all of the reasons, although in some cases Paul hints at the root causes. But Paul passionately wanted to finish well, and he did - executed by the Roman Empire as a threat to the regal system.
Clarification: What Does
Finishing Well Really Mean?
Finishing well does not mean someone who completes his or her personal career, regardless of the vocation, whether in ministry or not, on top of the “success pile” that is lauded by all as the great example of modern ministry production. Finishing well does not mean great banquets celebrating retirement, or biographies written about you, or going on the final conference circuit sharing your secrets to success, nor having your 10-step video programs dazzling millions. It does not mean prizes given to the spell-binding speakers, the writers of self-help books, the powerful motivational speakers, the evangelical celebrities, the prophetically gifted ones, the great public intercessors, the international missions mobilizers or legendary missionaries. Nor does it mean that the high prize is given to parents who claim, “I praise God that all my children are on fire for God and serving Him in . . .”
So what does finishing well really mean? It means coming to the end of the life race with integrity, not fame. I personally have two passions in life related to finishing well, and I measure them simply. Finishing well to me means ending with integrity towards my wife and my children. At my funeral I want my family to say, “Dad loved Mom passionately unto the end, was totally faithful to her, and did not sacrifice his children on an illegitimate altar of his traveling ministry.” That’s my bottom line. The second passion is simply to do all I can to pack heaven with worshipers. Those two passions drive me to finish well.
Finishing well in cross-cultural ministry does not mean having to stay a missionary for the rest of your life, nor to base in the same geography all your life, regardless of your dreams or desires, or whether you are gifted for that task. The future missionary will serve with greater mobility, according to global and local needs, based on his or her skill set and gift mix, seeking to expand the kingdom into the tough unreached areas, and also committed to building up the church of Christ, wherever. The true meaning of the Great Commission equally balances the proclamation of the gospel and the edification of the church.
Finishing well is best done in community. That includes our extended family, our spiritual family, our church family, our colleagues in ministry, our fellow believers from different nations and cultures, and in particular those to whom we have entrusted our deeper life, our fellow mentors and intercessors. Finishing well also means completing in the right manner the different stages of our ministry and assignments, not just the Final Finish.
Too many of us have suffered from the image of the Christian life as the Summer Olympics. We honor and exult in those who jump the highest, run or swim the fastest, endure the most, and above all, those who get the gold medal. Who remembers any bronze medallists of any Olympics, much less those who finished last in any event? But it helps me so much to think of the Christian life as a lifelong pilgrimage, more akin to the Special Olympics. These latter games are great, because it does not really matter who wins, but that all who desire to compete are able to do so at some level. And as those runners and swimmers come close to the finish, arms and legs flailing in all directions, they cross to the cheer of the coach and crowd. That’s a better analogy for us. The Christian life is a Special Olympics, and the key is for each of us, regardless of age, gender, and vocation, to cross that final line, every appendage flailing in every which direction. But we have finished. And our Coach is there to welcome us and lead us in to the banquet.
Finishing well may mean completing life with broken dreams and unfulfilled desires, with children who may or may not be walking with Christ. It may mean that there are few obvious-to-the-world evidences of high production - particularly a problem for those of us who live in cultures that reward efficiency, effectiveness, and tangible, busy productivity. Finishing well means loving the Triune God with passion, even in the midst of pain and crushing disappointment, completing the race with integrity.
So Why Don’t Many Finish Well?
We are told that a disturbing percentage of men and women in ministry, including missions, do not finish well. In my own research, buttressed by the more serious work of Bobby Clinton of Fuller Seminary, I’ve emerged with some observations on some of the major pitfalls that torpedo our path. Some have called these development stoppers; I call them traps.
As I list this series, check yourself out and attempt to discern where you might be vul-nerable. Each of us has a weak side, and the sooner we recognize it and shore it up, the better off we are. You may say, “I’m too young for all of this to make sense, and it sounds so negative, so why waste my time here?” Well, let me assure you, this is no waste of time; but you may have to take that on faith from someone who has pilgrimaged further along the path and who has seen a lot along the way.
Some of the Major Traps
1. The trap of financial mismanagement, at times driven by ambition to acquire money by the wrong means. Watch out for money problems, particularly if you come from a background of poverty or the total opposite, high wealth, and now in ministry you are closer to poverty!
2. The trap of sexual temptation, whether as singles or marrieds. It’s a danger for both women and men today as never before. Many of our younger missionaries come from broken families and have been sexually active prior to encountering Christ in power. Others have lived in a gay or lesbian lifestyle until set free by the power of God. Temptation patterns can re-emerge later in life and cause a fall. Married men tend to succumb to infidelity more than the wives, and the reasons are diverse. Not all marital infidelity leads to a broken family, but the broken trust is a tough one to rebuild.
3. Serious family problems, primarily due to an obvious lack of parental discipline of the children and worked out in their youth or to conflicts between husband and wife. The combination of these will torpedo ministry, for integrity is lost and the family simply neutralizes the gospel. This does not require perfect ministry families! Thank God!
4. The abuse of power in ministry. Most missionaries will not make much money, but many substitute that loss for an abuse of authority. It’s difficult for them to submit to authority, and then when they get it, they will use it in a destructive way. And over time, many of you will emerge into leadership, for good or for ill.
5. Pride and ambition to “get to the top” of the ministry ladder. It’s astonishing to observe the machinations - many times couched in the “language of humility” - that people will use to work their way into the high echelons of leadership and influence. The Apostle Peter had it right, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6).
6. The inability to turn over leadership and authority at the end of a service term, or at the conclusion of top leadership in the organization, or facing retirement. There are simply too many examples of men and women who won’t let go! And the results are so clear, damaging so many individuals and organizations.
7. Testing in the middle of ministry is a unique case. After decades of studying God’s ways in ministry, I have concluded that at certain points in life, the Spirit will invite His servants into a deeper level of brokenness and suffering. This may come from our sin, and we will deserve what God brings to us. But the brokenness may be a sovereign and yet complex invitation to walk in the broken path of Messiah. Why does God do this to us? I’m not sure, but I sense it’s because He’s in the process of purifying us, of preparing us for the next stage of ministry. Ironically, this next stage might mean ministry from the sidelines, away from the dangerous spotlight. It may mean we will end up walking with a kind of “life limp,” reflecting the battle between Jacob and the angel (Gen. 32:22-32). I am astonished at that passage in Isaiah where it records that “it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer” (Isa. 53:10). What mystery!
This kind of testing can bring out the best or the worst in us. For when God invites us into major brokenness, He will not force it upon us, but rather gives us the choice. If we say “no,” His blessing is not fully removed, but one thing for sure, we will not be what we could have been in His original purpose of growth through suffering.
8. Coasting to the end is a peculiar pitfall, and it speaks of those who have simply run out of vital energy for the task and perhaps even more seriously, struggle with internal dry rot of the soul. So they maintain the systems, play the games, and go through the routines of ministry and spirituality. But their heart is not in it. And neither is the power of the Spirit present!
9. Spiritual warfare. We must be able to discern where our arch-enemy attacks us, and we must absolutely detect our personal, unique weak spots. They may have roots in our deep background, in biological factors, in personality weaknesses. But one thing you can be sure, the enemy will throw all he can at us to take us out.
What Are Some Antidotes?
Hey! There’s good news out there. First of all, the High Triune God is on our side, His Spirit lives inside, and His Son advocates for us before the Father. But let me suggest some brief things to keep in mind. Incidentally, many of these were forged in the context of my years of cross-cultural ministry in Latin America.
1. Identify your personal weaknesses, of character and spirituality, and then shore them up. In my case, my wife knows these and strengthens me in my own battle.
2. Develop a sensitive heart to the terrible panoply of sin and the ways it appeals to you. But also grow a tender heart to the loving and sovereign Father, Son, and Spirit.
3. If you marry, never forget your vows. I made some big mistakes as a husband in my early years of ministry in Latin America. Fortunately, they were not major “sin” issues, but simply an unusual lack of sensitivity to my young bride struggling to learn a foreign language, live in a cross-cultural setting, grow in her own identity as a woman and as a woman in ministry, and balance the demands of small children with the expectations of “being a missionary.” And I was a missionary kid who had returned “home,” thus unable to enter into her struggles. So I learned some good lessons early on! There is no substitute for a husband (and vice versa) who enhances his wife as a person, partner, and daughter of the King.
4. Be wary of the seduction of travel invitations when you have children at home. I had to learn this also the hard way, but I am so thankful for the guidelines my wife and I developed early on to control these “glorious invitations to save the world.” We also saw too many colleagues who were out there “doing their great thing” but losing their children or, worse, their spouse.
5. Grow an accountability community, whether of one key person or a small group. There is no need to have a large group for deep intimacy. Be careful with whom you share your deepest struggles, as not all people can handle such knowledge.
6. Be wary of the attacks of the enemy when you are alone, particularly when you travel in ministry. I prefer to have a colleague stay with me in a hotel room so we can help strengthen one another’s resolve to avoid the dangerous TV programs and movies that rot the soul.
7. Ask God to help you develop a prayer shield of deep friends who will become serious intercessors for you. Some of these will stay with you all your life, but recognize that others will be with you only for a season.
8. Commit to building up your inner life of genuine spirituality. Select key writers who touch you deeply, but be wary of the press releases that tell you, “This is the book the church has waited to read for 2,000 years!” Go back to some of the spirituality classics, and drink deeply from them. A few contemporary writers have much to say to us. I personally have been radically shaped by A.W. Tozer, Henri Nouwen, and Eugene Peterson’s books.
9. Never stop learning, reading, growing, studying, and expanding your horizons. If you are married, you can encourage each other to grow as you read and study. Develop a lifetime perspective on ministry and personal growth in Christ.
10. Commit to being mentored and to mentoring others. This is something we will develop further in this last chapter.
What About the Attrition of Missionaries?
I was involved in coordinating a 14-nation study of the attrition of long-term missionaries. And by attrition we mean all reasons for return from cross-cultural ministry. We discovered that approximately 5.1% of the long-term mission force leaves the field each year, and 71% of that figure leave for “preventable” reasons.
What does that mean? Let’s estimate the current long-term, international, cross-cultural force at 150,000 strong. An annual loss of 5.1% means 7,650 missionaries leaving the field each year. Over a four-year term, this figure jumps to 30,600. This is the total loss for all reasons. The “preventable” percentage of 71% of that 30,600 gives us an attrition of 21,726 long-term missionaries over a four-year term. The dramatic statistic is heavy, the financial implications are striking and calculable, but the human implications are staggering. And we want to reduce this preventable attrition in all ways that we can. Even more important, you yourself don’t want to be a future preventable attrition statistic!
There are a number of attrition categories here, with some overlap in the groups:
1. Normal, unavoidable, or expected attrition, such as death, retirement, or conclusion of a work contract or development project.
2. Unpreventable attrition, such as the issues related to the education of children, health reasons, a change of job with transfer to another ministry, conflicts within the family, or even diminished financial support.
3. Preventable or painful reasons, such as some emotional or moral problem issues, lack of prayer or funding, miscommunications of job description and expectations, disagreement with the sending agency, conflicts with peers, lack of call, and inadequate pre-field training.
Significantly, the top reasons for field departure were markedly different for the older sending countries (OSC - which included the U.S., Canada, Germany, England, Australia, and Denmark) and the newer sending countries (NSC - Brazil, Costa Rica, Nigeria, Ghana, Philippines, Singapore, India, and Korea).
OSC Top Five
1. Normal retirement
2. Children
3. Change of job
4. Health problems
5. Lack of home support (finances and prayer)
NSC Top Five
1. Lack of home support (finances and prayer)
2. Lack of clear call
3. Inadequate commitment to the long haul
4. Disagreements with agency
5. Problems with peer missionaries
So How Can We Avoid Being a Future Attrition Statistic?
I’ve reviewed our previous nine chapters and realized that so much of what we have written is designed to avoid “preventable” or painful attrition. And the key is to grapple with these things prior to field departure. They have to do with character and spirituality issues, emotional maturity, the ability to serve creatively under authority, life in community, gifts that emerge and are tested and evaluated in the context of the local church, and completion of basic education. We cannot underscore enough the importance of a strong church community for future missionaries. The church is the missionary seedbed, the principal selector and screener, the fundamental equipper, the prime sender and intercessor base. Of course, the wise church will partner in pre-field training with specialized schools, and it should engage in a strategic partnership with a field based agency for proper supervision, shepherding, and strategizing.
Final Thoughts on Finishing Well
I primarily want to encourage you. I suspect that most of you (congratulations for having gotten this far with us!) will be younger disciples of the Risen Christ, and you are passionately committed to the cross-cultural telling of the Great Story. So it’s possible that much of this chapter is theoretical. But it can potentially be one of the most significant chapters of the book, for it deals with the inner you, the long-distance pilgrimage race, hanging in with integrity until the end.
So be strong hearted; take cheer. We are with you! Oh, by the way, that veteran Runner? I called him the other day and checked up on them. We concluded the conversation with my words to him, “Dad, I really love you and Mom.” Those old shoes mean a lot to me.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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