The MAF Blog: Worldwide Pulse

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Truth Tellers and Grace Givers: Experiencing Effective Leadership

Posted on: May 8th, 2012 by John Boyd | Leave a comment

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. – Ephesians 4:11-13, NIV

When it comes to Christian leadership, we must be careful to hold our vision up for everyone to see, reminding them of our goal: To become more Christ-like and make disciples as we share the Good News of the Gospel. When Christian leaders focus on becoming more like our savior it ensures that the organization stays on-track—that ministry goals don’t become distilled into mere tasks and objectives.

If we aren’t growing, we can’t be effective in our going. Knowing that staff development is critical to any organization, MAF recently held a seven-day Leadership Conference to help our current and future leaders to obtain various “tools” that will allow them to hone their leadership skills. Eighty-six MAF staff gathered in Nampa to learn from other MAF personnel as well as university professors, pastors, and other ministry leadership experts. The learning sessions were excellent, but most valuable was the time spent praying, worshipping, and sharing with co-workers from around the world.

Matt Hannan, pastor of New Heights Church and one of our keynote speakers, discussed the various styles that leaders use when dealing with others. Some are truth tellers who aren’t afraid to call a spade, a spade. Others are grace givers who are more inclined to spare feelings. However, the most effective leaders are those who have a little of both, those who speak the truth, tempered with love. In doing this we become more like Christ, who is as truthful as he is loving.

The apostle Paul put it plainly:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” – Ephesians 4:15-16, NIV

In our desire to be effective in our leadership we need to ask God to help us set aside our natural inclinations and seek a more Christ-like balance of truth and grace. As we do this, we will both empower people with the truth and give them the freedom to grow in their giftings.

IT as a Ministry?

Posted on: April 26th, 2012 by Owen Fuller | Leave a comment

As an information technology (IT) specialist with MAF, I’m part of one of the organization’s most cryptic ministries. Many people easily understand the role MAF airplanes play on the mission field––bringing workers and supplies across jungles, rivers, mountains, and deserts while saving days of ground travel time––yet few people seem aware of our IT work. To be quite honest, until a few years ago, I didn’t know anything of MAF let alone their IT ministry.

My wife Stephanie and I felt called to missions, but we didn’t know how we would be able to serve. Neither of us was trained or experienced as a teacher, pastor, church planter, or other “typical” missionary occupation. My schooling, military training, and work experience involved working with computers, networks, and radios. Stephanie was enjoying being a mom. How could we serve? A little searching on Google led us to MAF’s website.

MAF flies doctors, missionaries, humanitarian workers, and teachers to parts of the world they might otherwise never reach. Have you ever stopped to think about the needs these workers have once they get there? Doctors need to research diseases and treatments. Bible translators need to submit their translation work for review. Humanitarian workers need to submit supply requests. Teachers need access to teaching material. These workers get lonely, and miss talking to friends and family back home. Often the resources we take for granted every day are not available on the mission field.

This is where MAF steps in with IT as a ministry. We provide tools like satellite Internet access, consulting, and technical support, which allow all these ministries to carry out their work more effectively. With communications technology in place, these workers can order supplies, conduct research, collaborate on projects, access online learning resources, and stay in contact with loved ones more easily than ever before. As with the airplane, the technology MAF uses is overcoming barriers and bringing new ways to teach, serve, and communicate to the ends of the earth.

Chalk One Up To The Ants

Posted on: April 16th, 2012 by Linda Ringenberg |

Ants. I’ve experienced them in the hot and humid coastal areas of Indonesia, but now we’ve moved to a dryer climate at 5150 feet elevation. To my surprise, my kitchen was overrun with the little black vermin! If I so much as dropped a crumb, there they were! Usually as I adjust to overseas living, I also adjust to the ants, but this time their sheer numbers perturbed me.

I tried plugging their holes with dish soap. That worked – for about a day. I borrowed liquid poison, but to no avail. My friend Beth recommended ant chalk – and even brought me some since there wasn’t any available in town. It worked! The ants hated the stuff. Elated, I watched as they marched up to the line of chalk, hesitated, and then turned back. My counters were safe! Or so I thought.

Beth and Linda

After a few days, the chalk would wear off in certain spots, and the persistent critters would find a place to cross. Undaunted, I’d get the chalk out again, and reseal the line with a flourish. No more ants. Now my chalk lines just needed some daily maintenance and we were A-OK.

One morning as I spied the little black nuisances breaking through my chalk line, God whispered to me, “Linda, these ants are like your familiar sins.” That stung a bit as I thought about a recent “familiar” sin that God had convicted me about. “Now,” He continued, “You need daily maintenance with the help of my Holy Spirit in that area. Consciously choose to put off that sin and let me be your chalk line.”

I glanced at my lines of ant chalk with new understanding, and a new desire to be holy. “Lord, give me the tenacity with my sins that I have with the ants!” I prayed silently.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Jesus Christ.” Romans 6:11

What’s in Your Parenting Toolbox?

Posted on: April 9th, 2012 by Liz Schandorff | 3 Comments

As I walked him to the school bus, I gave him a little pep talk: “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Your teacher will help you. The other kids want to be your friends.” But it was of no use; as the school bus pulled up, my five-year-old son kicked and yelled and cried, writhing out of my grasp and sprinting towards home. So I manhandled him into our car, drove him to school and left him struggling against the firm arms of his teacher. But by the time I reached home again, I was crying too; we had played out this scene every morning for two weeks, and it was wearing me down.

While I’m sure that an initial fear of school is normal for many kindergarteners, our situation had the added challenge of a language barrier: everyone at Jacob’s school spoke French.

We tried pep talks and positive incentives for “practicing our new words” as well as firm words and warnings of negative consequences for misbehavior such as refusing to get on the bus. I plundered my parental toolbox until it was empty, but nothing worked this time.

So day after day, I drove him to school and left him there, screaming. What else could I do? He couldn’t stay home; I still had my own French classes to attend, details for our upcoming move to another overseas location to work out, and a toddler who needed my attention too!

I shared my struggle with some other moms here at our language school in Quebec. While I appreciated their advice, their tips didn’t seem to work on my child. But we did pray together. And pray again. And then we prayed some more. And I slowly felt my burden lighten, as my sisters in Christ shared it with me, and we handed it over together to Jesus, time and again.

Turns out, there was no quick fix for Jacob’s fears. He struggled with going to school for months. But now? I don’t even try to walk him to the bus stop––he’s way too fast for me, as he runs to meet his friends! And I thank the Lord for teaching me a thing or two about sisterhood, and asking for help, and the value of regular times of prayer with our fellow students. Those tools are now sitting pretty at the top of my toolbox, ready to be quickly grasped when my next mothering challenge comes along!

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Homeward Bound

Posted on: April 3rd, 2012 by MAF |

Waiting to board an MAF flight out of Bunia to Entebbe, on their way to the MAF program in Kinshasa, our resource team encountered this traveler who had a change of heart.

The young man stands in the shade of the wing of the MAF airplane. The airport ramp is hot and dusty. He waits in a new safari hat and quick-dry adventure wear for the flight to Uganda and then on home to Europe.

Nearby, the hulk of a Russian cargo plane deteriorates in the equatorial heat; the blades of its propellers curled from a ground strike that ended its usefulness years ago. The airport terminal’s faded paint announces you are in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, home of a large UN peace keeping force. Tribal conflict and suffering have long characterized the region.

When you step off the tarmac you have left the only pavement in this town of nearly one hundred thousand people. Skirting the ramp are a dozen humanitarian planes serving various NGO projects throughout northeast Congo.

The young man in safari wear came on contract to fly for one of the air groups. He had arrived the day before, surveyed the airport, driven in to town and decided to return home. This kind of change of heart is not unusual here.

Since the 1960s, MAF has supported the work of mission and humanitarian groups in this area in good times and bad. Evacuations and air ambulance flights saved hundreds, probably thousands of lives. Medicines, vaccinations and epidemic kits flown in to small grass airstrips have saved many thousands more.

Why do MAF pilots stay, when others leave? Is it because the missionary families view their service as more than a job? Is it because MAF staff are more thoroughly prepared to face the obstacles of living in developing countries? Or, is it because the pilots and families have a bigger picture in focus?

Whatever the reasons, it’s clear that––to the MAF people living and serving here––it isn’t about them, it’s about others. As they meet the people and see the needs, they respond with compassion. And they stay.