Fistbump For a Faithful Dude: Review of The Unlikely Missionary, by Dan King

When I met Dan King during the course of a writer’s retreat he was dripping wet, having just been flipped out of a boat and into a river by a work colleague. He laughed, extended his hand, and introduced himself as the Bible Dude, creator of a website by that name, and author of a soon-to-be-published e-book entitled, The Unlikely Missionary.

During the course of the retreat I got to know Dan a little, this unlikely missionary. He told me about his work as a corporate training manager in the telecommunications industry and as social media editor for The High Calling network. He told me about the work he’d done in youth ministry with his church. He talked about how amazing and beautiful his wife is and showed me, on his phone, a picture of his daughter. I got to know The Bible Dude as a regular guy who does regular things in the real world. Dan King doesn’t fit any stereotypes which may come to mind when one hears the word missionary.

And it is Dan King’s regular-ness which makes his book, The Unlikely Missionary: From Pew-Warmer to Poverty Fighter, a compelling read for regular, ordinary followers of Jesus.

In a winsome, conversational style, using excerpts from his travel journals, Dan tells his story of coming to faith in Jesus, digging deeply into Bible study, and learning to care about those things which Christ cares about. In the course of raising a family, doing his job, and taking seminary classes, Dan started a blog which he used to write about and process the things he was learning. He wrote about an organization called Five Talents, a group dedicated to fighting poverty through sustainable job creation. One thing led to another, and Dan found himself working with Five Talents, and putting his corporate training skills to use in remote villages in Kenya and Uganda.

I’m not qualified for this, was his prevailing thought.

After all, I was just some punk blogger who was excited to have access to some really cool stories that would help inspire others to make a difference in the world around them. I believed that the church should be more involved with this kind of stuff, but never imagined that it would take me on a mission trip to Africa.

The story Dan tells is descriptive, not prescriptive; his intent is not to tell anyone how to become a missionary. Rather, The Unlikely Missionary unfolds the tale of how a regular guy, going about his business, attempting to pursue faithfulness at home, at work, and in the church, found himself being used by God in ways he never could have imagined.

An important element in Dan’s story, I think, is the care he took in preparing his family for the time he would be away from them in Africa. He wanted to make sure that his passion for ministering to others didn’t supplant his responsibility to care well for his family. By making sure his family had a support system in place during his absence, and in recording bedtime story videos for his son, Dan demonstrated his belief that kingdom work is not a choice between overseas missions or caring for one’s family; it is both.

Preparing for my family in this way helped them see that the mission was not more important than they were.

Each chapter ends with a praxis section, opportunities to step out and take action toward a life of world-changing mission. These are not intended as mandates toward a particular action or as an effort to produce a guilt trip in anyone. Instead, they are suggestions for opening doors and considering possibilities in the context of everyday faithful living. A consistent invitation echoes throughout the pages of Dan’s story, and the invitation is this: pursue faithfulness in every area of your life, and then watch and see what God can and will do through you. He says,

I am asking you to start a journey of discovery that will transform your life if you let it.

The Unlikely Missionary: From Pew-Warmer to Poverty-Fighter is available for download on Kindle.