help

[FoundInGrace]

,

 

[SonOfThunder]

hi, need a little advice,
i've signed up to go on a missions trip type thing with a group from my church and the more i get to know the leaders the more i don't like them.
they are bossy, nosy and have no sense of boundaries.
however i do think God has told me to go and the other people going seem like really good people.
i've never been good with manipulative people and am now feeling like i want to pull out of the trip with the group just because i know they'll walk all over me and i'll be the lowest one on the pecking order.
what do i do?

If you hear the call of God, listen and obey.
Perhaps God is teaching you how to be humble and a servant, to face all types of personalitites with grace and compassion.

May I suggest to pray about this?

James

 

[fishstix]

hi, need a little advice,
i've signed up to go on a missions trip type thing with a group from my church and the more i get to know the leaders the more i don't like them.
they are bossy, nosy and have no sense of boundaries.
however i do think God has told me to go and the other people going seem like really good people.
i've never been good with manipulative people and am now feeling like i want to pull out of the trip with the group just because i know they'll walk all over me and i'll be the lowest one on the pecking order.
what do i do?

It's hard to know whether they are being overly picky or whether you are just not used to the rules, boundaries, and standards that they have given you. For example, as a teen I used to volunteer at a place that had very strict rules for the volunteers - far stricter than anything my parents had ever imposed on me. And yeah, it did bother me and it sometimes made me want to quit. Sometimes it did seem that they were being overly bossy and nosy and not respecting some of the boundaries I thought I should have. But at the same time, I knew they had good reasons for those rules. And I knew that was where God wanted me at the time. So I stuck it out. It did help me to learn a lot about servanthood.

So as long as the leaders aren't actually abusing you in some way (spiritually, sexually, physically or whatever), and you believe that is where God wants you, I would advise you to hang in there and try to have a good attitude about it. It's good for us to sometimes be the lowest one on the pecking order, even though it isn't the most comfortable place. It helps to build character. And one of the best places to learn to be a good leader is that lowest spot on the pecking order. After all, Jesus told us that whoever wants to be first must be the last and the servant of all.

 

[FoundInGrace]

.

 

[rogsr]

i know they'll walk all over me and i'll be the lowest one on the pecking order.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (matt. 5:3).

Do you remember the story when John and his brother came back from their first "mission" trip? They asked Jesus who among them would be the greatest. Jesus got mad at them because of their petty jockeying for rank, then he reminded them that the one who made himself the least would be the greatest. I couldn't help but think of that when I read your thing. Have fun on your mission.

Peace-

 

[StAnselm]

Sometimes it can be quite tricky discerning what it is that God wants you to do. Perhaps this is God's way of telling you not to go after all - I don't know. But it certainly should be making you pray harder. It would be dangerous to wlk on to the plane still feeling uncomfortable about the whole matter.

But hey - that's what mission trips are all about, aren't they? Dragging us out of our comfort zones. I really liked your post, fishstix - God often uses experiences like this to mould us into what He wants us to be...

 

[bliz]

How is it that God has called you to go on this trip?

I'm in no position to argue that He has not done so... I'm just wondering how exactly God called you to do this. Often we Christians think we hear God's vioce calling us to do a goood thing or something that other Christians are encouraging us to do, but it may not be the call of God at all. Be very sure that God really wants you on this trip before you proceed.