As a ‘tech guy’ and reluctant Bible College student Michael Wakefield might be a surprising candidate for a Master of Missional Leadership, but this isn’t the first time his boundaries have been stretched.
“I never wanted to do Bible College. I thought I knew enough. In 2002 all I wanted to do was to go to Papua New Guinea and work for the Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship, but the mission said I had to study at Bible College for at least one year. It turned into three, which I call my ‘Accidental Bachelor of Ministry’.
In PNG, I realised that a Bachelor of Ministry was the bare minimum I needed to do my job. I went to fix radios, but I ended up dealing with lots of other questions and issues.
We got back to Australia in 2019, and now I’m at college for a second crack, doing a Master of Missional Leadership. I’m sure some MST lecturers laughed when they heard about it.
I chose the course for three reasons. First, to process being thrown into leadership in PNG. I went out to do one job and ended up doing another one which I had no training for. Second, because we still feel drawn to cross cultural ministry. If we do it again, this will help me work better. Third, I like to learn. You can invest in your own education.
“But you do a better job with the right tools.”
In the first class, the lecturer said, ‘Let’s define mission. Let’s define leadership,’ and my brain instantly started to stretch. What is mission? I felt like more of a missionary last year working in the mines than I was overseas! I think it’s important for people to realise your mission field is wherever you wake up in the morning.
I thought I would know a fair bit about the missional leadership subject, but every class opened up new areas. You are never aware of what you don’t know!
I went out to PNG to be a workshop manager, but then they needed a general manager. If you only do what’s easy and what you know, you’re not going to grow. God puts us in places for a reason. We can work to do the best job we can.
But you do a better job with the right tools.”