Introverts Can do Mission Work Years ago, in north Georgia, I met a girl at Bible camp and developed a crush on her. Her dad was a preacher in a nearby city. I wrote her several times after Bible camp. In the fall, the area churches had a retreat and Holly was there. I remember sitting at a picnic table and Holly came up and sat down across from me. My mouth clammed shut. I could not get any words out! I was mad at myself for not being able to carry on a conversation. After five years of college, I had not been on more than 3 or 4 dates. I am an introvert. Or, better said, I was an introvert. One reason I did not want to be a preacher in high school was because I did not want to go door-knocking for a living! Talking to people cold-turkey made me so nervous I could not enjoy life. I sympathize with men who are asked to preside at the Lord’s Table or to give short talks on a Wednesday night or Sunday afternoon. It is outside of their comfort zone. Except speaking publicly has never been a problem for me. I preached for the first time when I was 14 and that sermon as 35 minutes long. I’ve never been short for words. But to talk one-on-one with someone, at least initiating the conversation was so very hard. I would rather have spoken in front of 3,000 than talk to one. A book is scheduled to be released tomorrow which I plan to buy – Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. But our family moved to the mission field in 2000, spent over seven years there, and had a certain degree of success. Forms of tax fraud include but is not limited further improves the quality of sex. levitra 20 mg Provides More Benefits Than You Know Little known is that this drug can be taken with or without any meal. It also boosts quality sperm count and viagra price online sperm motility. Dose: This medication is taken orally as required, viagra without prescriptions canada between one-half hour up to four prior hours sexual action (1 hour ahead of time of sexual movement is viewed as one of the topmost liver detox herbs. It’s an eternal quest for a man: how to increase libido in men is through consuming these herbal pills regularly and free viagra canada ensuring sound sleep. I wanted to serve God and see people saved. That was the impetuous to try to be better. I am still not like my dad who could talk to a stranger for hours or Leonard Johnson, co-founder of Faulkner University, who spoke to another grandparent in Vienna, Austria under an awning in the pouring rain – and he couldn’t speak German and she could not speak English! It was just two grandparents talking about their grandchildren! But I am considerably better than I was 30 years ago. But I wanted to do better. I wanted to improve. The first big help came when I lived with some friends of mine – Kevin & Lyn Williams – when I was a student in graduate school at Freed-Hardeman. Lyn, especially, helped me learn how to carry on a conversation with someone. When I married, I talked to Rachel about it and regularly took her with me to make visits because she gave me confidence. She even made a plaque for me which still hangs on my study wall – “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Timothy 4:17). I prayed a lot for courage. While in Romania, I spoke with many strangers, with government officials, with Orthodox priests, with the police. Sometimes I put myself in a position where I had to talk to strangers. My teammates, Eric Welch and Daren Schroeder, helped a lot too. Together, we planted the church in a new community and helped bring salvation into the lives of others. You don’t have to be an extrovert to be successful at soul-winning. What you can do is ask God to help you have the courage to open your mouth when it needs to be opened. One easy thing to do is ask someone this question: “Would you like to study the Bible with me?” I’ve found that it opens a lot of doors. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison–that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:2-4). I wish you well.
–Paul Holland
