How about finding fulfillment in God by being a servant?
Ever try serving soup in a soup kitchen? or being a mentor like the Big Brother/Sister program?
All ministry is servanthood. Don't give me that ........ again...I've cleaned my share of toilets, worked with the homeless for 3-6 months, and mentored many a young person...my word folks...I am 50+ years old and I've been there and done all that!
This is just my opinion, but I would say that anyone called to be a missionary would have to be a person who was driven by a burden for the lost. Rhoni, I don't see an overwhelming burden for the lost reflected in your postings. You list your reasons for wanting to do this and then emphasize that you're bored. Being bored and sick of life in the USA is not a reason to become a missionary. If you are bored, find an extra part time job or something. Leave the missionary work to those who are called to do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Phelps
Bingo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mizpeh
How about finding fulfillment in God by being a servant?
Ever try serving soup in a soup kitchen? or being a mentor like the Big Brother/Sister program?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhoni
Rico,
I have been posting for 5+ years and if you don't see my passion for the lost and hurting then you are not reading my posts.
My frustration has been not finding my niche within the Apsotolic ranks I fellowship in because so many are afraid of counseling and the legal issues that accompany it.
I have been in ministry most of my life and being a missionary just one part I haven't participated in...most others I have covered.
You need to be careful in your assumptions about a person.
Blessings, Rhoni
I have been posting for 5+ years and if you don't see my passion for the lost and hurting then you are not reading my posts.
My frustration has been not finding my niche within the Apsotolic ranks I fellowship in because so many are afraid of counseling and the legal issues that accompany it.
I have been in ministry most of my life and being a missionary just one part I haven't participated in...most others I have covered.
You need to be careful in your assumptions about a person.
Blessings, Rhoni
I have been reading your posts, and they're all about you and your belief in counseling. I believe you want to help people, but I don't believe your burden for the lost is as strong as you are claiming. It literally has to be the most important thing in your life. Take Sister Alvear's posts for example. They are filled with the sacrifices she has to make to get the Gospel preached to those people in Brazil. I can see the burden she has just by reading her posts. I've seen the same trait in other missionaries. You may not like what I am saying to you, but I call things the way I see them and don't mince words when it comes to ministry. You are too self absorbed to make the sacrifice becoming a missionary would require.
So, you don't like the responses you've gotten and now you are checking out of the conversation. Oh well. You certainly don't seem all that ready to defend your "calling" to me. You meet a little resistance from people you know and turn tail and run. Imagine the kind of resistance you would face on the mission field.
All ministry is servanthood. Don't give me that ........ again...I've cleaned my share of toilets, worked with the homeless for 3-6 months, and mentored many a young person...my word folks...I am 50+ years old and I've been there and done all that!
These are just some ideas for someone who is claiming to be BORED!
All ministries are servanthood but some ministries are not in the spotlight and don't receive the notice that other ministries might recieve. Do it all again..the scrubbing, the mentoring, counsel the homeless. What exactly are you looking for? and why do you think missionary work in another country will fullfill that hole?
__________________
His banner over me is LOVE.... My soul followeth hard after thee....Love one another with a pure heart fervently. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
To be a servant of God, it will cost us our total commitment to God, and God alone. His burden must be our burden... Sis Alvear
I have been reading your posts, and they're all about you and your belief in counseling. I believe you want to help people, but I don't believe your burden for the lost is as strong as you are claiming. It literally has to be the most important thing in your life. Take Sister Alvear's posts for example. They are filled with the sacrifices she has to make to get the Gospel preached to those people in Brazil. I can see the burden she has just by reading her posts. I've seen the same trait in other missionaries. You may not like what I am saying to you, but I call things the way I see them and don't mince words when it comes to ministry. You are too self absorbed to make the sacrifice becoming a missionary would require.
And once again...........BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rhoni, I don't mean to sound like I'm jumping on you while you're down here, but everything that Rico is telling you is the truth. You may not see it, but trust me when I tell you that we are good enough friends to point some things out to you that you're not seeing.
If you're wise, you'll take what has been said and do some self examination with it.......
You are a counselor, you're trained to listen to what people say, just as I am.
Your over riding reasons for being a missionary?
*YOU are bored.
*YOU are tired of life in the States.
*WE (in the States) are spoiled and always complain
Not that you're burdened for the lost, YOU are bored, and so this missions thing is something that will benefit YOU, not the mission field.
Just some friendly advice ........
__________________ "Many people view their relationship with God like a "color by number" picture. It's easier to let someone else define the boundaries, tell them which blanks to fill in, and what color to use than it is for them to take a blank canvas and seek inspiration from the Source in order to paint their own masterpiece"
Sometimes it's best to just think things and not say them outloud or to a forum of hundreds of your closest friends!
Rhoni, you aren't bored - you are lonely and you are seeking something to fulfill that loneliness.
You are seeking to find your purpose in life - after accomplishing all that you have you are waiting for the "what's next" in your life.
This is so true. We all go through this struggle. It seems to get more and more difficult as we age. I've been struggling with this "purpose" issue myself for about the last ten years. I'm 41 now and feel as if I have wasted half my life. My biggest fear is waking up someday an old man and realizing that I never fulfilled the purpose God had for me in this life, especially when it comes to the Gospel. Surely God saved me for more than just posting my opinions on internet forums! I know I am called to preach to prisoners and am really struggling with how to move forward in this area, seeing as how I don't have anyone I am accountable to in ministry. It's one thing to be a maverick with my walk with God. It's another thing to get into a pulpit and have others rely on the things I say to show them God's way. I am torn between knowing God has chosen me to bring His truth to these men and the risk I take with these men's salvation if I go it alone.
This is so true. We all go through this struggle. It seems to get more and more difficult as we age. I've been struggling with this "purpose" issue myself for about the last ten years. I'm 41 now and feel as if I have wasted half my life. My biggest fear is waking up someday an old man and realizing that I never fulfilled the purpose God had for me in this life, especially when it comes to the Gospel. Surely God saved me for more than just posting my opinions on internet forums! I know I am called to preach to prisoners and am really struggling with how to move forward in this area, seeing as how I don't have anyone I am accountable to in ministry. It's one thing to be a maverick with my walk with God. It's another thing to get into a pulpit and have others rely on the things I say to show them God's way. I am torn between knowing God has chosen me to bring His truth to these men and the risk I take with these men's salvation if I go it alone.
Brother Rico, quit being so stubborn and get yourself and your family in a church and start doing what God wants you to do!
Good heavens! You don't have to put up a Christmas tree, even if everyone else in the church does.
God isn't talking to me right now...I am in that 'transition' stage and He is being silent.
It is in times like this that it is imperative to immerse yourself in the Word. We live in a time when people go from conference to conference looking for "a word" when we leave the Word sitting on the dresser. I am confident that even in a time when you feel like God is not speaking to you, if you increase your study and intake of the Word, you will hear His voice.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois