[Scroll down for the Five Healthy Practices] November marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of my venture into ministry. When I set out for Germany in 1991, buoyed by the idealism of youth, I assumed I’d be on the field for a couple of years, then return to the States to live out the milestones I thought […]

If you’re familiar with the Adult MK Survey I ran last year, you’ve read some of the disquieting comments posted by those who have rejected God. The reasons they give for their abandonment of faith are diverse: dysfunctional families, trauma on the field, irrational expectations, unanswered questions, anger, grief, apathy… The common thread in their […]

(Ten Tips for TCK Voters is at the bottom of this post. Click HERE to be taken directly there.) I’m a Third Culture Kid with an American passport. I grew up in countries where Washington mattered because its selfless sacrifices saved powerless strangers. But I’ve returned to this country to find Washington adrift, saving itself […]

I had returned to the place that was home to me, where I’d lived from infancy until my teen years. I was eager to introduce my friend, Mari Ellen, to the City of Lights, a contradictory place at once shining and shadowed, forcible and fragile, analytical and artistic. While Mari Ellen took in a small […]

Defining what it means to be an MK ranks right up there with summarizing the plot of Inception or The Matrix. We’re not just Rubik’s Cubes. We’re Rubik’s Cubes whose facets are made of multicultural experiences mixed with universal milestones and tinged with spiritual overtones. In other words, we’re confusing to ourselves and to others! […]

  [The backlash has begun, so I must clarify. My purpose in sharing Jeff’s story is not to glorify atheism or to come out as an atheist myself. (Huh?) Nor do I claim that his recollections are exactly what others involved would remember. But I am convinced that prevention and healing can only come through […]

[This is an interactive post. Whether you supports missionaries or are the missionary, we can learn from each other. Please use the message space below.] If you’re a missionary, you’ve likely sat through meetings intended to teach you fundraising strategies. If you know missionaries, you’ve likely been on the receiving end of donation requests. And […]

With so much written about the challenges that come from growing up between worlds, it’s important to highlight TCK strengths too. One of the most powerful of them is “Cross-Cluster Influence.” According to Cluster Analysis, there is a universal phenomenon that happens when diverse people navigate the same space—they tend to gravitate toward those most […]

Three preliminary thoughts before you read this article: Though this article addresses the response of Missionaries’ Kids (MKs) to Cultural Christianity, the conclusions may extend to clear-minded Christians as a whole… In this article, I refer to North American in its narrower definition, meaning the United States and Canada. It’s important to note, as one […]

Ask adult TCKs about the most challenging transition of their lives, and they’ll most likely say, “College” or “University,” which I’ll use interchangeably here. It’s not surprising, really. Where most young people entering higher education have left their home and family in another part of the country, TCKs have often left their entire universe behind—the […]