As many of you know, we are in the middle of another MOP (Member Orientation Program). All of MOP is being done online during the pandemic, so what we used to call MOP online is now MOP 201 and this segment is called MOP 202V (V is for virtual). We have 12 participants from 6 different passport countries, and this diversity is encouraging.

Every MOP, we talk about one's definition of success. We consider what the Master's words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” might mean for new cross-cultural workers. How do we live and serve so that our King is pleased with our service? We look at several inadequate definitions of success often adopted by missionaries. We study how Paul defined success for himself as an apostle. For a quick summary of what we teach in this session, see this document. Each MOPer completes the statement, “I believe that God will be pleased with my first term if at the end of the term …” Then 2 years after arriving on the field, a MOP-up coach reviews that definition of success with the new missionary to see if it might need to be revised.

Defining success is not just for first-termers. I clearly remember Warren's question to me almost 15 years ago: How would you define success for SEND in Far East Russia? I realized then that I had no clear idea of how to answer that question – and that I needed to learn how God would answer that question. Over the years, I have asked that question of myself many times as I review my work. How should I fulfill my tasks so that God is pleased? What is the work that God has given me to do? What are the outcomes that God would want us to aim for here?

There are many different ways of recording your conclusions to those answers. SEND U has defined success for the MOP training in the form of 16 outcomes and we use these outcomes to evaluate at the end of each training. Every outcome-based job description seeks to define success for each of the key areas of responsibility. Let me address one common objection. We know that God is pleased with us simply because we are his children. But that foundational truth must be balanced by another biblical truth. God is also pleased by our obedience. See Wayne Grudem's article on this topic. Ephesians 5:10 tells us to “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” (ESV) The translation “try to discern” indicates that there is a degree of uncertainty in this task. Diligence and hard thinking are required. Not everything we are to do is clearly spelled out in Scripture. We don't always perfectly understand how God wants us to serve. But we should seek to find out what brings pleasure and joy to the face of God. Going through the process of defining success for our ministries is part of that discernment process.

At the end of last year, it became apparent to me that the SEND U team did not have the capacity to fulfill all the requests for our help. I began praying that God would add the right people to our team. Now I am pleased to announce that Alfie Mosse and Jenny Baker will be joining our SEND U team, both on a part-time basis.

Alfie has served with his wife Julie for many years in Odessa, Ukraine, and is temporarily relocated to Indiana for a few years. Alfie is giving much of his time to assisting the new Eurasia Regional Hub but has also consented to give some of his time to helping SEND U with developing onboarding materials (SEND Core).

Jenny Baker and her husband Derek are located in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories. Besides serving with Derek as Ministry Directors for SEND North in Canada and on the Women's Ministry Team, Jenny is also willing to help with a few SEND U projects. This decision is so new that we have not yet worked out exactly which tasks Jenny will tackle first.

We are sorry to see Beth Eckstein step off the SEND U team. She has served well for many years as the Assistant Director for SEND U and even filled in for me as Director during my sabbatical. Beth has decided that she needs to focus her time and energy on Asia, working alongside her husband. I fully support her decision, but nevertheless, we will miss her on the team.

• Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund - recommended by Marcie Williamson. “It's been a restful read about our LORD taken from Matthew 11:28-29. A book to work through slowly and give time to contemplate the heart of Christ (gentle and lowly) for His children.
• Finding Quiet: My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices that Brought Peace by J. P. Moreland - recommended by Alfie Mosse. “Moreland offers an intimate and transparent presentation of his journey and struggle with depression and anxiety. He also offers much hope as he applies his considerable research and analytical skills to issues connected with depression and anxiety. He gives the best and most nuanced analysis of using anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication that I have read. He evaluates the usefulness of Biblical counseling, talk therapy, spiritual disciplines, and self-talk among other practices connected with anxiety and depression.”
• New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional by Paul David Tripp - recommended by Gary Ridley. “A great daily reminder of the grace that comes to us in Christ. My wife and I have been blessed reading it together!”
• City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell - recommended by Bethany Reedy. “This novel is based on the true story and journals of the author’s grandparents, who were missionaries in China during the early 20th century. I loved how this book showed that as we go through life and ministry and face difficult circumstances, we may have more questions for God even as our faith and trust in him grows.”
• Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by Tod E. Bolsinger - recommended by Ken Guenther. “How to lead when you cannot rely on your past experience or training because the challenges you face are unlike those you have ever faced before. Leadership in such situations requires learning to let go, learning as you go, and learning to keep going even when you don't have all the answers.”
• 7 Deadly Sins of Women in Leadership: Overcome Self-Defeating Behavior in Work and Ministry by Kate Coleman - recommended by Jenny Baker. “Seven self-defeating behaviors which need to be overcome to be successful and balanced in life, work, and ministry. Kate Coleman develops her content well, shares relatable examples, and the “coaching tips” at the end of each chapter are great for creating action steps in each behavioral area.”

• March 24-31 - Language Reboot - A one-week online course designed to help you improve your language learning process. For those who have already been in a language learning program for at least 6 months. Facilitated by Mark Morgenstern.
• April 12-19 - Learning Culture through Purposeful Observation- A 1-week CIT Next online course designed to help you as a new missionary or cross-cultural worker to begin to put into practice your culture-learning skills. The course asks you to make an investment of 4-6 hours of learning time. All SEND long-term members are asked to take this course about 6 months after arriving on the field.
• April 26 - May 3 - Animism and Folk Religion- This 8-day, collaborative, online course will give you an introduction to animism and folk religion so that you can better minister to those who follow these beliefs. Facilitated by Gary Ridley. We need a few more to sign up to make it a class.
• May 3 - June 12 - MOP 201- a 5-week onboarding online course required of all new mid-term and long-term members of SEND. It looks at worldview, cultural values, cultural stress, incarnational ministry, and safety and security. This used to be called “MOP online”. It is facilitated by Bethany Reedy.
• May 6 or 7 - Conflict in Multicultural Teams- a Learning Focus Group facilitated by David Sedlacek of TEAM. Includes one 2-hour training session on Zoom, 3 small group coaching sessions and a reading of a chapter on “Managing Team Conflict.” Register by April 1.

All these can be found on the SEND U Training Events page on the SEND U wiki.