Spiritual Equipping for Mission: Thriving as God's Message Bearers

by Ryan Shaw; Tom Lin

Publisher:

IVP

, 2014

Overview

God calls his people to mission. But the demands of crosscultural ministry can be overwhelming and draining, leading to discouragement and burnout. All of our strategies and methodologies for reaching others are useless if we are incapable of living the holy, faithful lives God intends for us. Yet God does not leave us on our own. The Holy Spirit equips us to succeed and thrive spiritually in preparation of becoming God?s message bearers in the world.Spiritual formation and discipleship are at the core of effective and fruitful mission. Mission professional Ryan Shaw unpacks ten fundamental spiritual keys we need to practice to have a successful outer global witness. He shows how we can partner with God to experience Jesus’ transforming power and presence, with practical insights for praying, growing and persevering as God’s servants in the world. God is calling a new generation to serve long-term to fulfill the Great Commission. The Holy Spirit is at work within us to equip and enable mission workers in and out of the field. Discover how you can become who God wants you to be as his ambassador to the world.

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Setting the Stage
1 What Is the Spirit Saying?
2 Spiritual Key # 1 Being Saturated with the Powerful Presence of God
3 Spiritual Key # 2 Embracing Humility
4 Spiritual Key # 3 Hungering and Thirsting for God
5 Spiritual Key # 4 Being Clothed with God?s Word
6 Spiritual Key # 5 Discerning God?s Guidance and Revelation
7 Spiritual Key # 6 Pursuing a Lifestyle of Prayer
8 Spiritual Key # 7 Cooperating with God?s Two-Fold Purpose
9 Spiritual Key # 8 Understanding the Times and Seasons of God
10 Spiritual Key # 9 Persevering with Steadfastness and Stability
11 Spiritual Key # 10 Pursuing a Focused Life
Notes
Other Resources by Ryan Shaw
About SVM2

Praise for Spiritual Equipping for Mission

"In this book Ryan Shaw has presented ten issues that are key for anyone wanting to be serious about crosscultural message bearing. While much crosscultural training is focused on strategy and methodology, Ryan deals with core issues of who the message bearer is to be, and how they can remain alive in their inner being. If these matters are not kept in focus, the message bearer will not thrive and even the best strategy and methods will not be fruitful."

"Ryan Shaw has touched a nerve and struck a much-needed balance with his helpful book. The pages of this book ring with the values of a trained Great Commission apologist and crackle with the spiritual insights of a passionate worshiper of Jesus. The spiritual keys that Ryan puts forth are indispensable to the formation of the heart and life of any message bearer and will fuel the fire of even the most experienced person already engaged in kingdom work. I highly recommend this book as a training resource, as an instrument for personal challenge and inspiration, and as a handbook for being a disciple-making message bearer."

"Ryan Shaw presents in this book the key elements necessary for the message bearer to make a positive impact in his or her ministry context. These important principles are biblically grounded with examples from God’s servants in the Bible and from the history of missions, interwoven with personal experiences and practical applications. This excellent book is indispensable to all who are called to serve the Lord in advancing his kingdom, but also to those who train and send missionary workers. It helps us to understand the crucial importance of a healthy spiritual formation in the effort to fulfill the demands of the Great Commission."

"I am thrilled with the insights and practical truth Ryan Shaw has brought together here. According to Hudson Taylor, the real secret for modern-day message bearers is a life and vibrant inner core of ever-developing faith and intimacy with God. The keys identified here are right on to unlock the potential Jesus promised!"

"Most of us focus on strategy, methods and materials, but Ryan helps us look beyond just purpose and plans, and evaluate the person. He exhorts me to ask myself, ‘Am I really becoming the man I need to be to accomplish God’s mission in and through my life?’ Spiritual Equipping for Mission is a challenge for any world changer who wants to know and live and share the heart of God with those who desperately need to experience the love of the Savior."

"Ryan’s book offers powerful spiritual keys to every message bearer. I keep thinking how desperately the emerging mission movement needs to hear such messages that point to the necessity of being spiritually grounded as the primary and vital resource for success in any mission enterprise."

"Message bearers eager to thrive in life and ministry will discover biblical truth and practical wisdom in every chapter of Ryan Shaw’s Spiritual Equipping for Mission. Anchored in God’s Word, rich in personal testimony and birthed in real-life experience, Ryan’s inspiring focus on inner transformation is both a refreshing voice in the metrics-saturated missiological conversation and a true expression of his own life and ministry."

"In Judges 6:13, Gideon wondered why his generation had not been experiencing the kind of testimonies that were given about God’s miracles and marvelous works among the people of Israel in the past. I too have often wondered why the spectacular acts of the Holy Spirit associated with the apostles in the book of Acts, as well as the utter dedication attributed to the early missionaries, are rarely seen in the present generation of missionaries, whether from the West or from the emerging missionary movement in the global South. I am glad to discover that the reasons and the remedies are being explored in Spiritual Equipping for Mission by Ryan Shaw. This book will be a veritable tool in unearthing what has been missing as well as pointing the church and mission movement to what should matter as we confront the last of the giants in missions and mobilize, equip and unleash the great potentials in God’s people on the remaining and daunting harvest. I highly recommend this book to my colleagues in the Great Commission community."

"Ryan Shaw’s latest book, Spiritual Equipping for Mission, flows from his observations of the effects of spiritual fatigue on sincere Christians who began with zeal but, because they were not equipped with tools to foster long-term spiritual vitality, burned out or became discouraged. With real-life advice and useful tools, Ryan lays out a plan to build strong spiritual foundations so that crosscultural workers thrive. Spiritual Equipping for Mission should be on the required reading list of every person or team preparing to serve as crosscultural message bearers."

"Relevant, megamotivational, practical and a vital message for the church in our day. I urge people not only to read it but to also get involved in distributing copies."

Product Details

• Title : Spiritual Equipping for Mission: Thriving as God's Message Bearers
• Authors:
  • Shaw, Ryan
  • Lin, Tom
• Publisher: IVP Books
• Publication Date: 2014
• ISBN: 9780830896585

About the Authors

Ryan Shaw is international lead facilitator and president of Student Volunteer Movement 2. He is the author of Waking the Giant (William Carey Library, 2006) and holds an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Seminary. He and his wife, Kelly, currently serve as missionaries in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Tom Lin is the president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He previously served as vice president and director of missions and the director of the Urbana Student Mission Conference. He also spent several years in Mongolia pioneering campus student ministry with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. He is the author of Pursuing God's Call and Losing Face Finding Grace.Lin has pioneered new Asian American Christian Fellowships at Harvard and Boston University, and served as an IVCF staff trainer, fund development specialist, and missions department consultant. He has leadership experience with a number of Christian ministries, serving the Lausanne Movement as the international deputy director for North America, and serving as a board member for Missio Nexus and The Crowell Trust. He has also served as vice chairperson for the board of Wycliffe Bible Translators. A second-generation Taiwanese American, Lin has developed networks in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Brunei. He has also served as a human resources director of a Fortune 500 company and was leadership pastor at Wellspring Covenant Community Church. He and his wife Nancy live in Madison, Wisconsin, with their two daughters.