Another New Feature

And to the Ends of the Earth has a guest author. Once a month (when it fits his schedule) Dr. Peed, professor of global ministry at Bethany Bible College has offered to write something ministry related. Below is his first article.

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Memories of Zambia, advertised as "the warm heart of Africa," come back to me every time about this time of year. Instead of snow, ice, and strong winds, this beautiful country is experiencing almost daily rains and temperatures in the 20s and 30s (C). While missionaries there my wife Marilee and I soon discovered that it was "tough" being a missionary, but, somebody had to do it!! There we were, "suffering for Jesus," in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet while our friends back home shovelled away. And not only was the weather different but, more related to the reason we were there in the first place, there was plenty of religious, cultural, and social diversity surrounding us.

Most of us who are passionate about global ministries say we value diversity. After all, none of us want to be called intolerant or arrogant or narrow-minded. These are especially cancerous in the life of the cross-cultural worker. Yep, we talk about being diverse, but how intentional are we about developing this trait in our lives? For example, how often do we take opportunities to "stretch yourself" culturally by seeking out and developing satisfying relationships with people who are ethnically different from us? Do we stay up on international news? Do we go to ethnic eating establishments? The list goes on.

Early on in our ministry in Zambia my wife and I had to decide either to embrace diversity and push ourselves out of our ethnocentrism or withdraw into our own worlds and become ineffective in our ministry. As best we could we opted for the former. Intentionally we tried to be people of diversity. I encourage you to make this choice also.

For Christ and His Kingdom,
Dr. Bill