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SPIRITUAL FORMATION FOR CONTAGIOUS KINGDOM EXPANSION: A JOURNEY WITH GREATER EUROPE MISSION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY DOUGLAS MITTS MAY 2012 Copyright © 2012 by Douglas L. Mitts. All Rights Reserved. To Lisa Renee, my amazing wife You connect me to the deepest parts of my soul and draw me into the wonder of our Triune Lord. To my children, Megan and Michael I’ve learned so much of God through you. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only tre God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent, —John 17:3 CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 00. cece nce cncececaeraseneessaneenseersassseeecaeradessosereneseenenesaeteeets vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... oes ecceceeeeeeteneesceeseeeeseesesecesssnseseneseesseseeseseseesteessecareresesnsaseneneses vil ABSTRACT oo ceeceeeccee cere neee sees ceesecseseneeserseaeecresesescseseensseesensesecansesssasesseeseesssaeseeseseesseseeeneecgns IX CHAPTER 1: CULTURE CONFINES SPIRITUAL FORMATION . 0... .ccccececcessesesseersestesereseees 1 CHAPTER 2: SPIRITUAL FORMATION CONSISTENT WITH KINGDOM EXPANSION ..35 CHAPTER 3: CONNECTING SPIRITUAL FORMATION TO THE EXPERIENCE OF GOD 84 CHAPTER 4: EXPLORING THE EXPERIENCE OF GOD... ceccccssssecseetesersseseeeresereenserenesiee 131 CHAPTER 5: UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL FOR CONTAGIOUS KINGDOM EXPANSION Wooo. cece eccecccceeeceerecee race cneceeeeseseescesesasscsessanscsssessesseserseessseseeessereseneeessesseeeereneseeese 160 APPENDIX A INTRODUCTORY LETTER... ccecccccecetceeccneeersceseesssserssenceneceessesseesseseeaeeass 197 APPENDIX B SURVEY INSTRUMENT. ....ccccccccccseescsesecsenseenesseeeessnassecseeeensaseenensnseessensnes 198 APPENDIX C SURVEY RESPONSES ..00. cece eece cesses ieee ce cneceeceeeeseceessaneseeesaneeassenesseeeenenees 214 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...0..eeeceeceeeecereeneeen reensreneeseeeeenseeseeeeseseeeseneeesenrseeseeeseeesaessnesieaseanereeeeseseseeseene 258 VITA ce ecccccstetectecreneseeserssecnssereesessersessesreesssesesusrsarecsersecsesnerecserseceacoeseeciacerenecnessnssssensenssassaeasenes 268 ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURES FIGURE 1 PERSONAL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES AS PRACTICED BY GEM MISSIONARIES .0....e ce eecesesceesseeeeesenersessesessssassesessesecsaseesessssesaessenesessenecreesseneesssssnessesenensenasagee 168 FIGURE 2 SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES PRACTICED IN COMMUNITY BY GEM MISSIONARIES oo... eceeeseeeseesereceseeneeesseeesesecsseeessesesessesseessausenseeeetsassessensseseensessressssseeeeeeesenea 169 TABLES TABLE 1-1 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN CONTRAST. ou..ccccccccescesesessetseneeseseenesseerssaneanecees 23 TABLE 5-1 PEARSON'S CORRELATIONS COEFFICIENTS 1.0... ccccsscssseeeeeeseeeeteeneeeesenseee 177 TABLE 5-2 LINEAR REGRESSION ANALYSIS 0000 ceesceeeeeeeeesneeneseeesnersenssenenseeeneenens 179 TABLE 5-3 BEST SUBSETS REGRESSION ON SWB uc eccceecsececcetetenseeenseeseseeneeseseeeneraes 181 TABLE 5-4 LINEAR REGRESSION WITH BEST SUBSETS DETERMINED VARIABLE. 182 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A project such as this involves a number of people without whom it would not have been possible. First, I want to thank my family, Lisa, Megan and Michael all encouraged, supported, and endured the process, including the time away and the late nights writing. Thank you! Dwight Poggemiller was gracious to be a reader for all of the draft chapters as required of me, and he gave both insightful and valuable advice. Thank you, Dwight. I also want to thank Henry Deneen, who gave me the permission to deploy the survey within the context of Greater Europe Mission. Norm Tober, the director of GEM’s member care, as well as his team, endorsed and supported the project for which Iam grateful to them all. Norm also assisted in reviewing the survey instrument and gave helpful comments, which were incorporated into it. I appreciated that very much. Kathie Schwerdt was kind enough to deploy the emails to the entire mission body and do it repeatedly. Thank you, Kathie. For GEM and its field missionaries, I want to give a huge round of applause for being willing to give of their time and respond to another online survey instrument. Without your participation, and the rate you responded, this project would have little meaning. I count it a privilege to serve with and alongside all of you. As to my project mentor, Dr. Stephen Macchia all I can say is thanks. | really didn’t think this was possible, but your instilling of confidence, leadership, and encouragement went a long way. Thanks for sharing of yourself along the journey. Dr. Dave Currie, a great cheerleader, mentor and friend; you were always responsive to my needs. Thanks. As to my D Min SFML cohort, what a ride! These are years J won’t forget and I want to thank you for sharing your lives, your hearts, and your vision with me. I now know what being a part of a cohort means. Thank you. Vil Finally, I want to thank my God in Jesus Christ for leading me, sustaining me, and giving me constant insights the whole way through about what it means to know and experience Him in all spheres of life. To Him be the glory! Vili ABSTRACT The experience of knowing God and the impact that relationship has on spiritual well- being, perceived ministry effectiveness, and retention of missionaries within the context of Greater Europe Mission is the subject of this thesis. The purpose concerned understanding the state of spiritual formation practices among the missionaries as well as discerning the measure of influence they exert on the three aforementioned dimensions of missionary life. The project utilized the Spiritual Well Being Scale developed by Ellison and Paloutzian and a researcher-designed instrument to gather the information for statistical analysis and correlations. The results indicated that the practice of regular spiritual disciplines definitely influence spiritual well-being within the population of missionaries of Greater Europe Mission. However, with regard to perceived ministry effectiveness and retention, the results were mixed and only a weak relationship was indicated, which was insufficient to meet the criteria of this study for a valid correlation. The analysis of the spiritual life practices in concert with the statistical results provided insight for nurturing the spiritual formation of the missionaries of Greater Europe Mission and enhancing their experience of God in such a way so as to foster an environment for contagious Kingdom expansion. ix CHAPTER 1 CULTURE CONFINES SPIRITUAL FORMATION Introduction The apostle Paul knew that the world in which one lives exerts an overwhelming influence on him and really does push him into its mold.' As cultures go, this is very hard to see and it is much like a fish swimming in water. The fish takes its environment for granted and does not consider the surrounding water, even if it is poisoned. As such the surrounding culture in which missionaries come to Christ and are formed also exerts its influence on how one lives out the Christian life and the spiritual disciplines that are emphasized, which impacts their experience of God. Yet that environment remains unquestioned, and as with the fish, it is considered normal. Eugene Peterson captures well the current state of Christianity in North America: My concern is provoked by the observation that so many who understand themselves to be followers of Jesus, without hesitation, and apparently without thinking, embrace the ways and means of the culture as they go about their daily living “in Jesus' name.” But the ways that dominate our culture have been developed either in ignorance or in defiance of the ways that Jesus uses to lead us as we walk the streets and alleys, hike the trails, and drive the roads of this God created, God-saved, God-blessed, God-ruled world in which we find ourselves. They seem to suppose that “getting on in the world” means getting on in the world on the world's terms, and that the ways of Jesus are useful only in a compartmentalized area of life labeled “religious.” The church has imbibed the culture that surrounds it. This, of course, has impacted the spiritual formation of missionaries who have been sent to the field under the 1 Rom 12:2 2 Eugene H. Peterson, The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, March, 2007), 1.