Great Resources and Links below at the SEND U site:  (NOTE: all annotations theirs)

Creating an Individual Growth Plan

• IGP guide or roadmap — A guide, self-assessment and form for creating an Individual Growth Plan developed by SEND U. For creating a IGP for mission leaders, see Personal Growth of the leader.
• A process for self-assessment and creating a personal growth plan, developed by SEND China
  • Step 1 – Annual Self-Assessment (refers to the Feeling Wheel under emotional assessment)
  • Step 2 – Personal Growth Plan worksheet
• Ken Guenther’s PowerPoint on creating a personal development plan, given at Leadership Couples’ Orientation
• A template for personal growth goals from the Personal Growth Self Assessment Tool developed by Steve Moore.

Spiritual Formation

• Day Alone with God – a guide developed for the Member Orientation Program
• Good to Great in God’s Eyes: 10 Practices Great Christians Have in Commonby Chip Ingram
• Renovation of the Heart Video Curriculum by Dallas Willard, being used by our East Asia teams.
• A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller. Recommended by Jerry Benge.
• Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret. Also available as a free download as of March 15, 2012. Recommended by Derek Baker (phenomenal in reminding us of the importance of prayer in missions)
• Staying saturated in the Gospel (a list of resources to help in the process of preaching the Gospel to ourselves each day)
• Mentored Sonship – 8-month mentoring program by World Harvest Mission for those in full-time ministry.
• Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C. J. Mahaney. “A small book, quick read, that reminds me of some very central Gospel truths…a book that I actually re-read once a year. Really has helped me to preach the Gospel to myself and refreshes me in the completed work of Christ and how that applies to my life as well as my ministry to others.”
• The Idol Factory, a series of 3 sermons by C. J. Mahaney,  Free for download.
• Future Grace by John Piper.  Free sample of first 3 chapters available for PDF download from Desiring God website.
• Godly Servants: Discipleship and Spiritual Formation for Missionaries by David Teague.
• Faith Comes by Hearing – David Benzel writes, “You can download Bibles in various languages and translations to listen to, which I do constantly. You have to sign up to download something (but I’ve never gotten any mail from them) and they limit how many versions you can download at one time. There is probably about 20 various English options to download (dramatized, etc.). They used to have the NIV but don’t any more. But they do have the ESV.”

Personal Change

• You Can Change: God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions by Tim Chester. Recommended by Jacob Ginter. “discipleship that gets to the heart of the matter… not formulaic”
• Seeing the larger picture – an article by Dr. Evan Parks on how people change
• Heart of the Problem: When You’re Tired of ‘Just Coping’ with Your Struggles and Want to Find a Cure, You’re Ready to Face the… by Henry Brandt and Kerry Skinner. Recommended by John Paetkau.
• Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love by Jerry Bridges. “Great book to help us understand the enabling power of grace and the transforming work of grace. Much of this book exposed my own legalistic tendencies and pointed me to the finished work of Christ (like most of Bridges’ books).”
• Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. Recommended by Andy Spradley. “A unique and very insightful look at the Sermon on the Mount. Seeks to inspire the reader to live a “God-saturated life”. Richard Foster (author of Celebration of Discipline) called it “the book I have been waiting for all my life”. A rich book for personal spiritual growth and reflection. I’m being inspired even more as I read it through for the 2nd time.”
• Hazards of Being a Man: Overcoming 12 Challenges All Men Face by Jeffery E. Miller. Audio series also available as well as discussion guides. Recommended by Ron Redell. “Each entry in the series focuses on a different challenges that men face through eyes of Old Testament lives. All of the examples that Pastor Miller uses are negative examples so that we can learn from their failures.”
• Counselling Resources at Christian Counselling and Educational Foundation, particularly articles by David Powlison, recommended by Jim Gabriels.

Emotional Wellness

– see articles and resources on emotional intelligence, depression and burnout on this page

Personal Evaluation

• Understanding Yourself – links to various personal self-assessment tools
• Personal Growth Self Assessment Tool developed by Steve Moore, president of The Mission Exchange, and author of the The Dream Cycle: Leveraging the Power of Personal Growth
• SEND Team Leader Profile Self-Assessment.docx based on SEND Team Leader Profile
• Cure for the Common Life: Living in your sweet spot by Max Lucado

Intentional Living

• Intentional Living is a topic that is discussed in some detail in the pre-field Member Orientation Program. See the handouts for this session.
• Reflect & refocus – a series of questions to help us regain focus on life and ministry. Use it on a quarterly basis (once every 3 months).
• Should we set ministry goals, and why do goals make us more productive? See Goals and Accountability for Ministry Effectiveness: Insights from Psychological Science by David Dunaetz.
• The SEND North Central Europe Personal Review Form, which includes a section on personal development goals.
• Intentional Living, 4 week online course, offered by EQUIP (EFCA ReachGlobal’s training arm). Recommended and reviewed by David Wood.
• Accountability questions suggested for an accountability partnership

Accountability

• SEND Accountability Document

Overcoming in the battle with pornography   here

Dealing with the Busyness and  Stress of Ministry

see resources on the Member Care page

Lifelong Learning in Mission

• Ted Szymczak’s paper on Lifelong Learning with theoretical foundations and examples in the Missions context of SEND NCE.
• Appendix for Ted’s paper on Lifelong Learning with NCE’s L&O manual and Personal Review Forms.
• Life-Long Learning – article by Rick Mann
• Refocusing Leadership Retreats – put on by CRM.

Applied Theology

• Foundations of the Christian Faith (Master Reference Collection) by James Montgomery Boice. Recommended by Anne Marie Smoker. “A systematic theology book for the lay. The first half of the book is solid theology, may not interest some folks. But the second half of the book I’ve used over and over again in ministry as I relate to people and try to bring Christ into our conversations.”

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Additional Resources and Recommendations from MissionaryTraining.org:  NOTE: all annotations theirs)

Selected Resources in Spiritual Formation, including Spiritual Warfare:

Clinton Arnold. Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Baker Books, 1997. Perhaps the most balanced and helpful work on the topic, rooted in Scripture and reality, avoiding the extremes.

Ruth Haley Barton.   Sacred Rhythms (InterVarsity Press, 2006), Barton gives practical advice on how to seek God in the crucible of ministry.  She explains the importance of listening, silence and Scripture in growing deeper in God. In Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership (IVPress, 2008), she includes contemplation as the spiritual practice through which Jesus’ followers learn to pay attention to Him, and prepare their hearts to hear from Him.

David G. Benner. Sacred Companions. The Gift of Spiritual Friendship and Direction. IVPress, 2002. An inviting introduction to the ancient practice of the church of being in accountable spiritual relationships that both encourage and direct.

_____. Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer (IVPress, 2010), introduces the reader to the timeless practice of contemplative Bible reading. He suggests contemplative prayer is not communication with God, but communion with God. As we open ourselves to Him, God does the spiritual work of transformation in us. In this thoughtful book, the author describes prayer as Attending, Responding, Being and the Life of Prayer, or Prayer as Life.

_____. Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality. IVPress, 2003. A compelling reminder that it is our surrender to love that allows us to offer it to others in power.

Bruce Demarest. Satisfy Your Soul: Restoring the Heart of Christian Spirituality. NAVPress, 1999. A most helpful overview of the disciplines and Spiritual Formation and Direction.

_____. SoulGuide: Following Jesus as Spiritual Director. NAVPress, 2003.

_____. Seasons of the Soul: Stages of Spiritual Development. IVPress, 2009.

Richard J. Foster.  Celebration of Discipline. Harper/San Francisco, 1978. This classic by well-known Quaker spiritual director Foster outlines ten classic spiritual disciplines for personal and community growth into Christlikeness.

_____. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. Harper/San Francisco, 1992.

_____. Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith.. Harper/San Francisco, 1998.

Joyce Huggett. The Joy of Listening to God: Hearing the Many Ways God Speaks to Us. (Intervarsity Press, 1986.) In contemplation the Lord calls us from our preoccupation with self and our overbusyness to focus on him and him only. Contemplation is one way that God’s saints have discovered greater intimacy with God through the ages. In extended times of prayerful silence, the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray (Rom 8:26). Huggett’s chapter 1-5 introduce the reader to tuning into God, our calling to contemplate, preparing to contemplate, and continuing to contemplate.

Timothy A. Jacobsen.  Nurturing Spiritual Formation Among Missionaries. Grace Printing/Tim Jacobsen, 2010. www.graceprinting.ca

A. Scott Moreau.. Essentials of Spiritual Warfare: Equipped to Win the Battle.  Shaw Publishers, 1997. Other missiologists have cited this short book as the best introduction to spiritual warfare on the market.  A balanced understanding that is biblically-based, personally relevant, and culturally sensitive.

_____. Spiritual Warfare: Disarming the Enemy through the Power of God. Shaw Books, 2004. A valuable series of self-study guides on twelve topics based on inductive Bible study. This is a gem for everybody in mission.

M. Robert Mulholland. Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. IVPress, 2003. A clearly written introduction to the transformative nature of intentionally choosing to start the journey of spiritual growth and formation.

Henri J. M. Nouwen. The Way of the Heart. Image Books/Doubleday, 1979. This beloved devotional author and spiritual director suggests solitude, silence and prayer as the core dynamics of a deeper walk with Jesus.

_____. In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership. Crossroad, 1990. One of the most powerful books (deceptively brief) on true spirituality, especially relevant for all who are or who aspire to some kind of Christian leadership. I have given away more copies of this book than any other in my life. It’s deceptively brief!

Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society. IVPress, 1980. Tested spiritual counsel by one of the wisest and tested shepherds of the Global North, rightly dissects our penchant for instant spirituality and leadership, and calls us to perseverance and endurance in the life-long journey of faithful discipleship. Anything by Peterson will be healthy for you!

Douglas D. Webster.  Finding Spiritual Direction. IVPress, 1991.

Dallas Willard.  Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God (InterVarsity Press, 1984, 1993, 1999). Being close to God means communicating with Him—telling Him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing and understanding what he is saying to us. It is this second half of our conversation with God that is both important and difficult. They key is to focus on building our personal relationship with our Creator through silence, listening and contemplation.

_____. The Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ.  NAVPress, 2002.Arguably the most accessible writing of Willard, who dissects the Christian life into its component parts, and then puts them all back together into a riveting guide to personal transformation.

_____. The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship. Harper/San Francisco, 2006.