Book Reviews
I Think God Wants Me to be a Missionary
By Neal Pirolo
Reviewed by Glenn and Verna Schwartz
This book addresses in-depth spiritual preparation for missionary service, both short-term or long-term. The author addresses missionary attrition on the part of some who admit “we shouldn’t have gone to the field in the first place”. He also seeks to address those who are ready to “go out and save the world” with little awareness of the damage they can do if they have not dealt with issues of personal pride, materialism, a desire for comfort and personal significance, along with other spiritual issues.
This book stresses the importance of good counseling before going into missionary service, the in-depth involvement of pastoral staff in home churches, the necessity for a prayer support group that surrounds the missionary, and effective re-entry and debriefing measures. Every field missionary should be treated with such understanding and love by their sending churches!
One wishes that the author stressed more the need for cross-cultural training, every bit as important to successful and effective ministry in other settings and cultures. I assume the author affirms this need but has chosen to concentrate on spiritual preparation in this particular book.
Piroro, Neal. I Think God Wants Me to be a Missionary: Issues to Deal with Long Before You Say Good-Bye. San Diego: Emmaus Road International, 2005.