PROBLEMS OF AN APPOINTEE OR LIFE OF AN APPOINTEE
 

When on deputation a pastor in California asked me to come to his church for a missions conference. He specified what topics each missionary was to cover. One of my topics was the problems of an appointee. I was somewhat uneasy speaking of the problems that I had been facing after several years of deputation, but since it was an assignment I put together these thoughts.

These thoughts may be a bit negative in the beginning however I trust that as we proceed that you will see God's hand in all of it and be able to say with me in the end "To God be the glory!" for indeed it is because of Him and His glory that we and others have done what we have done in past years.

A topic I would like to hear addressed sometime by a panel of Pastors would be "The problems of pastors as they deal with missionaries."

I have heard some real horror stories!

One pastor told me that he had a missionary speak on the subject that anyone ministering in the USA was out of God's will, that all people should be on the field.

While associate pastor of a small church we had a female missionary that had been supported by the church for years speak. In Sunday school she was just plain preaching. During the break the elders and deacons met with her and asked her not to preach, but to just share what she had been doing on the field. She stood in the church service and preached again.

Pastors have mentioned missionaries coming into a service after the service had started, they have missionaries that don't confirm that they are coming and don't call so that the pastor knows that they are, while others just don't show up.

One missionary pastor mentioned how much he appreciated me contacting him for a meeting. We are a new church and struggling and missionaries usually won't come to this kind of church, they want to go where the money is.

A pastor mentioned that he can't get missionaries to come to his church during the hot season of the year. Missionaries plan their itineraries according to the hot/cool seasons of the year.

This may tell us why pastors are the way they are to missionaries at times. Having said all this, as a pastor and missionary for many years the above mentioned missionaries are the minority - most are quite considerate.

Nothing in this study is said in sorrow of doing it or going through this time of deputation. Indeed, many laymen are called upon to do similar things by their Lord at different times of their lives and they respond as we have - in obedience to His leading.

Deputation has been described as calling pastors that don't have time to be interrupted to ask them for meetings that they can not give you to gain support from their church that they do not have.

In light of the economic situation that churches are were in when we were on deputation I really found it surprising that we were invited to as many churches as we were. Many of the pastors that invited us were on a part time basis themselves.

As we begin to survey the problems of an appointee we might take a short look at the lighter side of deputation.

At our first meeting we were finished setting up except for the projector. I ask my son where the slides were. His silence should have been the tip-off but you know dense old dad had to look to see why he hadn't answered. The sick look on his face told me that they were at home in the closet (about 150 miles away). After the panic attack subsided we revised our plans around not having slides and the meeting went quite well. Indeed, we received some support from that meeting.

From no slides we might move on to the wrong directions syndrome which struck us every now and then. We were following written directions when we found an unmarked detour. The directions were wrong and we thought we had to go further so headed out on the detour. We finally stopped for directions, and were told that the church was back at the beginning of the detour. We finally found our way to the church in the nick of time.

We might move on to the church that massacred our name. We rounded the bend in the road to see the large reader board announcing "Sam Derickson". Isn't that the way it is -- you finally get your name up in lights and they misspell it. I was introduced as Sam - as Mr. Erickson etc. Etc. all morning. As we drove home we looked at the love offering check and found that they had made out the check to some one but I couldn't really tell whom. The name was completely different from ours. I took it to the bank fully expecting them to refuse it. They did accept it though I'm not sure why. My honest face I guess!!!!

The meetings in all of these churches were very good I might add!!

I would want to start such a topic with the statement that these are the problems that we have faced on deputation and that each couple or individual faces not only some common problems with us but also problems relating to their own particular location, personality, and life style.

I have broken the study down into five areas, Judgmental, practical, mental financial and spiritual.

I. Judgmental

A. In my time on the road there were a number of pastors and lay people that were convinced that we had to be out of God's will because He was not raising up support. Now the average time on deputation at the time was two and a half years, so I'm not sure how they could assume we were out of the Lord's will. To have an average of 2 1/2 years there are people out less than that as well as longer than that.

B. We were driving a car that was two years old with well over 100,000 miles on it and we were questioned on having such a nice car. We had purchased the car before the Lord lead us into missionary work - I guess we should have sold it and bought a junker.

C. There were a number of pastors that would not invite us to their church because we did not belong to their particular group. This even though I had graduated from two of their approved schools.

II. PRACTICAL

A. Bathrooms. Let us get down to the real living. Ever try to find a restroom for a family in a strange area of Washington State? They are quite rare in some areas. While on the interstate system this isn't a large problem but get off of the interstate and you need to plan ahead.

One afternoon I turned down a road that was marked as leading to a state park. The only problem is that the State Park was fifty miles down the road.

B. Keeping awake. More than one Sunday morning we packed into the car at 3:00am drive till 9:00, minister in three services then drive till 2:00 am to get home. Then the fun part - get up at 6:00 to get to work. This was ruff on children as well when they had to go to school the next day.

C. Place to stay. I made month long trips to the Midwest for meetings several times. On these trips there were no offers of a place to stay. I had a friend that pastored nearby so stayed in his church office at night. Actually this was not a real problem, but one must wonder about the hospitality of believers in this day and age.

D. Diet. My stomach is allergic to some foods and never knew what I was going to run into when invited out to a meal. Other missionaries have dietary needs and have talked of the same problem.

There is also a problem of the amount that you are served. Everyone wants the missionary to eat a big meal, which is appreciated, but not necessarily healthy. One kind farmers wife invited the pastor and me for dinner. She served the meat (roast) on our plates then had all the trimmings on the table. My plate had enough roast on it for our entire family. No, I didn't argue - it was great. She kept pushing us to help ourselves and because everything was great we did. She then asked if we would like a little pie. Well, just how could we turn her down? We said sure, and she placed it in front of us. She had taken a regular pie, divided it four ways and given each of us a piece with a ton of ice cream on top.
 
 

Yes, I'm afraid to say I did eat it! As I remember I did forgo the evening meal that day!

It is fantastic to see as I look back that the Lord always provided for housing as it was needed. And quite often I noticed that the Lord saw to it that the foods didn't upset my system as much as usual.

E. Not being given enough time to set up equipment when you arrive. We were given five minutes in one church and naturally that was the night that the slide tray spilled on the floor. I suspect many pastors figure that most missionaries won't be there till five till anyway.

F. Trying to be properly prepared for three services after being on the road five or six hours. Often I would park in a parking lot and go over my materials before reporting into the pastor or church.

G. Sometimes there was little info as to what was expected for the visit to the church. This didn't happen to me however, I observed the events transpire. It was the first session of a Missions Conference and about 15 minutes before the session was to begin. One of the missionaries had just arrived and he was promptly informed that he was the speaker for that hour to all age groups. For having no preparation he did quite well.

H. My wife had to run the house and transportation while working full time while I was out on the road. The family also took care of our custodial duties at our church while I was off running around the country.

I. Most missionaries are accustomed to long busy days, then when on deputation you minister on Sunday and maybe Wednesday, but between there is nothing to do. This can be frustrating to the busy person that feels they are wasting time.

J. Arriving early with no place to stay and no money for a motel. On one trip I was to have a meeting in one state and then drive to another state for a conference. When I arrived in the second location, it was four below zero, two in the morning, and not enough money for a motel room. Thank goodness the Albertson grocery store was open and I could get some coke and donuts - I ran the car about every ten minutes to keep it warm enough. Finally I just began driving around until time to check in at the church.

I have noticed that many of the things that I dreaded about the inconveniences etc. and the things which people I talk with think are horrible for me to do or go through are only horrible or dreaded because of our "1985 American I can't survive without convenience" mindset. Things like going over notes in a Macdonald's parking lot seemed fairly crude but it wasn't that bad. I slept on the floor for five weeks in a sleeping bag in Nebraska on several occasions. I am completely deformed from the terrible experience as you can see. Ha!! We in America seem to think that if it isn't four bedrooms at 72 degrees and paid for that we are suffering for the Lord. NOT SO!!

I have done many similar things -- I have even slept in the car overnight several times while traveling across the country. I was really uneasy about it before I did it, but found that it didn't hurt a bit - in fact I enjoyed completely getting up and seeing the sunrise and to share in the beauty of the Lord at that terrible hour!

We need to get out of our padded pews and realize that the world is in need of evangelism much worse than we are in need of our many many comforts.

III. MENTAL

My personality is such that I have never adjusted to meeting new people, nor to carrying on a conversation with strangers, nor making phone calls to pastors to ask for meetings in the hopes of gaining financial support.

I have been told by other missionaries that this is the case with them as well so it is not uncommon. Overcoming the mental blocks and uneasiness of these situations take their toll in extra fatigue due to nerves.

Again, I must give God the praise for the improvement in this area over the months of deputation. He has been able to stretch my personality somewhat. He has also been faithful to place me in homes of people that love to talk so I have not had to carry the conversations to often!

Probably the worst frustration is spending 2 or 3 hours on the phone and getting only one meeting.

There is a strain on all members of the family due to the traveling as well. The kids are in a new Sunday school class every week or so - they are very seldom spoken to except in passing. We were in a church in Washington State for a Sunday of meetings. When we were on the way home our sons mentioned how at home they felt in the church that day. I questioned them as to why. They decided it was the fact that people talked to them. Don't be afraid to speak with missionaries and their children - they are people too.

There is also a problem in that the future is in constant change and there are very few anchors that you can hold onto. You can never plan to be too involved at your church in case you get a meeting. Hobbies have to be curtailed because "we can't ship all those things to the field." We sold furniture to gain money for orientation. Do we replace it? No, that would be foolish if we are leaving in 6 months. Two years later you wonder if you should have sold the furniture.

We decided to be ready to go so we bought materials for crates. We lived for three years with three crates - two foot by two foot by four foot in size - in our apartment with three children. (Really wasn't that bad - used them for storage, for desks, for beds etc.)

IV. FINANCIAL

A. Stewardship of investing $16,000 to raise $400 a month support. That is actual expenses for the ministry and has nothing to do with living expenses for the home and family. That translates into something like this. If all of those contributors give for our first term on the field then the Lord will have broken even on the investment and the 2nd term will be profit for the Lord's stewardship department.

B. Never knowing if there will be enough money to go around. I Left one day on a five-week trip to Nebraska needing $1100 to meet unpaid bills - had $75. and two credit cards for gas/food when I left. Yet the Lord is always there to supply the needs and when I returned home we actually had a few dollars extra and the credit cards were paid.

It is of interest to me that in Phil. 4:14 Paul states of the Philippians gift to him, "Ye have well done, that ye did share with my affliction." The term affliction has the idea of a pressing down. It would seem that the apostle Paul was concerned about finances! To worry all the time certainly isn't proper but a concern seems to be within reason.

C. Stretching things to their limit - saying no to yearbooks at school for the kids. Putting off eye and dental care etc.

D. Knowing that you are in churches looking for support when you know those they support on the field need the money they might give you. There were many churches were the pastors were not fully or properly supported.

Veteran missionaries are having problems getting back to the field after furlough at times. Some are even coming home in middle part of their term to raise enough support to return for the remainder of their term.

E. Another frustration is when the missions computer goofs and you aren't reimbursed for your expenses and you were counting on the money to pay bills. An error in our records caused us to transfer all of our funds from our accounts to an outgoing fund to correct the error. We were without operating funds from that point forward and had to function on funds that we could earn in secular work.

Again, I would want to emphasis that the Lord always met every need.

VI. SPIRITUAL

A. A consistent quiet time is hard, for your schedule away from home is different every day and quite busy if you are at a conference. Finding time is not usually a problem however to have it at a regular time of the day is sometimes impossible.

B. Keeping your eyes upon the Lord in spite of some of the many frustrations and problems is a constant job.

Support slow in coming in. Equipment problems. Car problems. At times health problems.

C. Rudeness in person as well as by phone and letter. We sent out form letters after many contacts with churches. The letter had boxes to check - not interested - not interested at this time etc. one came back and the not interested was x'ed in ink once and in pencil two or three times and then the sentence was underlined. Only about 40% of the pastors even returned the questionnaire when we provided the self addressed stamped envelope.

Another pastor after telling me on the phone that he would call me back with a date for a meeting sent a letter stating that they supported only "Baptist" missionaries. Another pastor sent the following letter, "I'm sorry to say that we will have to cancel this meeting time we had planned with you.... we are somewhat inundated with missionaries right now. Four of those we already support are home from the field this summer .... We do feel an obligation to give these people priority in our schedule." A friend of ours was a member of the church and had been on staff at the time of the letter and he told me (not knowing of the letter) that the church was in bad shape financially at the time. They had decided not to have any more new missionaries in and begin raising their present missionaries. HHHMMMMMM !!!!!
 
 

D. Knowing that the unsaved are watching to see if you are going to make it. This bothered us where my wife worked. They kept asking her if we are still going, etc. One man in particular was very concerned with our situation and was constantly asking.

E. Speaking to pastors of large churches whose church supports two missionaries and they think they have a good missionary program. Others that have no interest in missions.

There are others that are very involved in missions and are frustrated that they can do no more.

CONCLUSION:

I trust this has not given you a negative view of deputation for it is not negative in its totality. Yes, there were hard times and there were negative times but as a whole we can look back on it and feel that it was a positive time.

It certainly gave us a view of the condition of the church in the western states. The church is hurting in many many ways. Some of it is the economy - some of it is sin in peoples lives - but I really feel it all stems from the spiritual condition of the churches people including some of the leadership in our colleges and seminaries. The schools are going down hill and as is usual through out church history the church is tagging along behind.

Trials? Yes, many. Loneliness? Yes, bunches! Lack of money? Yes, constantly. Tired? Pass the coffee. Frustration? Not more than daily. Disappointed? The Lord knows how often. Blessings? More than enough to compensate for the other items of consideration!!

I'd like to just share some of the blessings that we've received from the people that we've had the privilege to meet.

Letters

"I am writing to encourage you. But I really don't know how to do it so I trust that the thoughts and effort will say that. ...I can tell you that we both know who is on the throne.... Be encouraged - easier said than done.

"Today I came across your letter where I had unfortunately set it aside when it arrived almost two months ago. I want to apologize for not answering your inquiry. I believe our Lord would have us be both courteous and prompt and I really blew it on this one."

"Oh how short but sweet was our visit the Sunday just past. Your words, your friendship and your ministry lingers on with us."

"I have received many good reports of individuals lives who have been touched by the time you shared with us."

One ten or eleven-year-old boy was entranced with the stamps on our display table. I told him I knew of a way for him to get a lot of free foreign stamps -- write to missionaries. He ask if I was serious and I said yes, very definitely. A couple of days later I received a letter from him stating, (ruff quote) I'm fine. How are you? I'd sure like some stamps. I sent him some from Ireland with a note. About six months later I received another letter. How are you? I am fine. sure would like some more stamps if you have any.

COMMENTS

After a sermon in eastern Oregon Several came up after the service and said that the sermon had been especially meaningful to the congregation.

Thanks for answering that question -- I've wondered about it for years.

The young college girl that ask, "Do you think that the Lord could use me in Ireland?"

I've been wanting to serve the Lord in England but didn't know any mission working there till tonight. Do you think that your board would be interested.

"You have really challenged us." "You have been used here."

ACTIONS

We were able to guide a young woman away from a short-term mission trip with a questionable group she had been planning and she decided to go to South America with our board instead.

We had opportunity to put a number of people in touch with the mission that were interested in serving with the board.

We had many opportunities to share the ministry of the mission, our future ministry in Ireland and a number of chances to minister from the Word.

We had the time and opportunity to just listen to pastors and some of their frustrations and problems.

In closing I might add that being a missionary is not unlike being a pastor in some respects. I have pastored and co-pastored for a number of years and the two jobs are quite similar. You want to retire sometimes on Monday yet you know that if you did you would be miserable. You know the problems weigh you down at times but you also know that the blessings outweigh any problems you have.

It is called being in God's place for you. I know at this moment in time this is what God wants me doing and that is what I must do to be happy before the Lord.

Thank you for sharing with me in an area of life that very few have a part in! I trust it has been a positive time for you!!