Source: Peregrini Press
Forged on the Field: Letters from Global Mission Leaders, edited by T.J. MacLeslie. Peregrini Press, 2015. 253 pages.
Imagine yourself at a mission leadership conference. You are surrounded by hundreds of mission leaders from diverse contexts all over the world. There is no way you would have the time to spend even a few minutes with each person at the conference. In this book, in a sense, you can.
Forged on the Field presents more than 70 letters from global mission team leaders writing to inspire, encourage, and train new team leaders. Contributors share lessons learned (mostly the hard way), answer the “what do you wish you’d known?” question, and more. A majority (but not all) of the letters were submitted by leaders of church planting teams with MacLeslie’s organization (mine, too), which is Pioneers. Most, though, seem aware they are writing to a broader audience.
Books on leadership abound, but few speak directly to the concerns of those who lead mission teams in cross-cultural contexts or give such leaders a voice. So this is a unique book, and I found it to be a treasure. It’s also intended to be the first in a series of similarly structured “field notes,” one volume a year, with advice for prospective missionaries, perspectives on preparation, and suggestions for workers re-entering their own cultures. I’m looking forward to volume 2.
» Learn more or buy the book from Amazon or elsewhere. The paperback is US$16.99 and the Kindle edition US$9.99.