EMQ » October–December 2019 » Volume 55 Issue 4
By Eddie Byun
Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2018
168 pages
USD $16.00
Reviewed by Birgit Herppich, Fuller Theological Seminary, International Membership Department Coordinator for WEC International and former missionary in Ghana.
Nobody would deny the importance of prayer for cross-cultural missionaries. However, often these prayers are of a general “God bless all the missionaries in the world” kind. In his small book, Eddie Byun provides a very practical guide to more specific prayers. His twelve “areas of a missionary’s life or ministry that need our prayers” quite comprehensively cover the experience of cross-cultural missionaries, from the unremitting need of such workers to their return to their home country.
Byun is a self-confessed very “white” Korean-American with many years of cross-cultural experience. He grew up in Chicago, studied in Canada, taught and planted churches in South Korea, Australia, and the United States, and is now the mission pastor of a church in California. In addition, he has led many short-term mission trips. This background gives him many good insights into cross-cultural ministry and numerous stories to illustrate his points.
I appreciated greatly that the topics are permeated with a spiritual focus, such as personal intimacy with God, spiritual protection, maintaining devotion to the will of God, and the need to keep focused on Jesus even up to reentry back into a missionary’s home culture in order to finish the race well. Interesting and often neglected topics include healthy partnerships with churches and agencies.
Although “missionary” is never clearly defined, the illustrations assume missionaries move from a more affluent place to a “developing” country and from more comfortable conditions to economically deprived, politically insecure, and physically challenging contexts. While this is often true for cross-cultural Christian message bearers, it fails to recognize the reality of today’s world where many missionaries come from exactly such contexts.
To me the weakest sections were those on “Singles, Marriages, and Families” and on “Incarnational Love for the Nations.” The former is rather superficial and fails to address many of the complexities involved in single, married, and family life in cross-cultural contexts and multicultural teams. Prayers for “strength” are appreciated but remain general.
“Incarnational love” and cultural sensitivity are indeed crucial for missionaries in order to meet the needs of the people to whom we are trying to communicate the gospel. However, Byun’s final story about orphans, trafficked children, single moms, and the offense he caused among Korean leaders perhaps reveals a lack of cultural sensitivity and fails to address the complexity of cross-cultural communication. Missionaries often face these kinds of dilemmas when conflicts arise between different core principles and convictions—in this case between cultural sensitivity and love for the people. We need prayers for wisdom and God’s guidance in these complex situations, and we need to listen to the perspectives of local Christian leaders.
Having said that, this is a valuable resource and very practical guide, full of quotable ideas and memorable alliterated points. Every chapter ends with discussion questions, specific prayer points, and action steps that facilitate the use of the book in small groups and challenge the readers in their personal lives. The author also challenges readers to take specific steps to support missionaries. Having read this book, one’s prayers for missionaries will flow out of a deeper understanding and appreciation of their life with its challenges and joys.
