Interview with Daniel & Katie Speer
In recent weeks, Daniel and Katie Speer were officially given a two-year missionary appointment to Tokyo, Japan. Daughter of missionaries Donnie and Ruth McDonald, Katie was actually raised in Japan. And like his wife, Daniel has a heart for reaching the lost with the Gospel of Christ. They are excited about their appointment and humbled at the opportunity.
To fit in with our emphasis month on missions, Daniel and Katie were kind to give the Helwys Society Forum an interview, discussing everything from their hobbies to their reading to their recent appointment to Japan. Check it out.
_______________________________________
Helwys Society Forum (“HSF”): Beginning with a lighter question, what are your hobbies?
Daniel Speer (“Daniel”): Over the past few years, my hobbies have been changing quite a bit. Katie and I enjoy watching classic episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series on Netflix, along with the occasional episode of Duck Dynasty too (I like the beards). I used to be a big gamer on the Xbox 360 and PC, but I felt called to give that up since it had become a major idol in my life. Occasionally I will play a game on the iPad, or I will break out my old NES for a bit of nostalgia.
Most recently, I have enjoyed getting back into the “swing” of reading and self-education. I’m learning quite a bit by listening to sermons online, reading deep theology and Christian history, and “auditing” free seminary classes on iTunes U. I also just started Japanese language self-study. Although challenging, Japanese is a bit easier when you live with a native speaker.
Katie Speer (“Katie”): Oh, you know, the typical girly things—shopping (particularly the thrift store variety), painting my nails, and baking (but not right after painting my nails. That would be disastrous).
_______________________________________
HSF: Many readers will want to know how it is that a young couple like you ended up with this recent appointment to missionary work. How did you come to believe that God wanted you to pursue missions?
Daniel: This, for me, has absolutely been a lifetime process. I’ve grown up around missionaries, because my parents always kept our family in mission-minded churches. I’m so thankful for the role my parents have played in leading me to Christ and toward a global vision for the Gospel!
In the past few years, I’ve seriously considered what it means to actually call myself a Christian. Jesus told His followers that they needed to pick up a torture device and then to follow Him to death. I had to ask myself “What does that mean? What does it mean for me to put my ‘self’ to death? What even defines my ‘self’’?” God has terribly convicted me and humbled me about this. I’ve come to realize: even when I think that I’m at my best, I’m still hopelessly wrecked. God’s holiness is completely consuming, and His burning eyes see to the depths of my wickedness. Any good that might come out of my life will be a testament to His goodness, love, and mercy, and not to my ability to do good things under common grace.
After experiencing humility and fear, it’s ridiculously encouraging to know that the all-powerful, holy God wants to lovingly sanctify, fill, and use His children to make His fame known in all the nations. This is an unstoppable movement! God is tenaciously pursuing the joyful glorification of Himself. No power of hell can stand against this, because hell and death have been completely overthrown. God is working all things, even suffering, together for our good so that we will bless the nations with the Gospel, in the power of the Gospel, for His glory. I guess the simple answer to the question is: Why wouldn’t we want to be a part of this?
When we were considering exactly what part we could play in missions, the answer to that was pretty easy, I think. Katie grew up in Tokyo, so she already knows the language and culture. Japan is less than half of one percent Christian, and there has yet to be a cultural movement for Christ that has swept over the nation. Jesus taught in Luke 12 that to whom much is given, much is required.
First, God has given both of us the greatest gift possible: the Gospel. He gave us His only Son. It’s our joyful, humble duty to take this same Gospel to the yet-unreached Japanese people. Second, God has given me Katie. We are one unit in marriage. Her gifts are mine too, in a sense, so I’m responsible for encouraging her and leading her to where she can use them in the best possible way. It just seems to make sense for us to go back to Tokyo, and it looks like God is making the way for us to do just that.
Katie: Like Daniel said, I was born and raised in Tokyo as a missionary kid. To be really candid, I used to have a lot of resentment for my parents for what they did—not their role in missions, but how their job made my life so inconvenient and abnormal. We had to move every couple of years, and I never really felt like I belonged anywhere we went. In Japan, I felt comfortable, but I obviously stood out quite a bit. In the States, I always felt like a fish out of water. So I was mad at my parents for turning me into an anomaly.
But in high school, God started changing my attitude and speaking to me on a very personal level. I started realizing that I wasn’t just along for the ride my parents were on, but that God had allowed me to be born to a specific set of people in Japan—on purpose! He wanted me there for a reason. As simple as that sounds, it was a revolutionary concept in my high school brain. Ever since then, I started viewing my weird lifestyle and ability to speak Japanese as gifts from God, and tried to be thankful for them.
After graduating college, settling down, and getting a real grown-up job, God grabbed ahold of my heart again. He made it clear that I wasn’t using the gifts He’d given me in the most fruitful way. The same question kept coming back to haunt me: how can I stay in Nashville, a city with over 700 churches, when there are people in Japan that I’ve been uniquely prepared to reach? It was at that time, about two years ago, that Daniel and I realized that we needed to actively pursue serving in Japan.
_______________________________________
HSF: Tell us what you’re doing to prepare and what your lives may look like in Tokyo?
Katie: We are going to Tokyo, where we will work under career missionaries as two-year apprentices. Our plan is to leave next year some time, but those plans are subject to change. We will not go on salary for the mission until January at the earliest. While we are waiting, we are continuing at our current jobs and proceeding with “light” fundraising. Daniel currently works at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as a clinical engineering technician, and I as a private music teacher.
Daniel is planning on pursuing a Masters degree at some point in the near future, and I want to continue my education as we work toward meeting our requirements for long-term career mission work. Other than pursuing higher education, we’re just praying that God would do whatever He wills in our lives to prepare us for the work ahead. There’s a baby girl on the way in August, so we’re sure that she will work our patience and diaper-changing skills.
_______________________________________
HSF: What can those who don’t feel called to vocational missions do to think and live in a more missional way?
Daniel: I think God calls all of us to fulfill a role in vocational missions, in some way. Vocational mission is an extension of the local body of Christ for the furtherance of the global body of Christ. Our international mission board can’t send out traditional, career missionaries if the church doesn’t support them financially, and we missionaries are truly reliant on the Church’s prayers to support us in the Spirit. We are deeply humbled when God moves the Church to do these things.
I will never forget when Dr. Pinson preached through Isaiah 55 in chapel at Welch College. Because of his careful, continual exegesis, Isaiah 55:8 is permanently etched into my mind: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” If there is any advice I can give to anyone who wants to live in a missional way, it’s to seek the Lord and to learn humility in the shadow of the cross. The more we explore the unsearchable depths of the fullness of God’s qualities, the more we will be eager to live missionally. He is GREAT, and greatly to be praised!
Katie: Every person has a sphere of influence that they can utilize to further God’s kingdom. There are people that you know and come in contact with that Daniel and I will never be able to reach. Decide that those are the people on your mission field. One thing I’ve noticed about Americans is that they’re dying to talk about religion, if you just ask. People love to tell you their opinions on Jesus and the Bible. So go ahead and start up a dialogue with them. You’d be surprised at how easy it is to bring up these subjects in everyday life. Then pray for opportunities to speak truth into their lives.
_______________________________________
HSF: As we work toward a conclusion, what have you been reading of note lately, whether related to missions or not?
Daniel: I am currently reading…too many books! Some of note that are in progress: Follow Me by David Platt, The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler and Jared Wilson, The Mortification of Sin by John Owen, A History of Christian Missions by Stephen Neill, God Is Great, God Is Good by William Lane Craig, and others. In fiction, I just started the monolithic Les Misérables, and I try to keep up with the online comic Axe Cop.
Katie: Well, I’m reading a lot of baby books right now. I’m in the middle of New Mom’s Guide to Life with Baby, which is actually making me feel more stressed than prepared. As for devotional reading, I’m also finishing up Follow Me by David Platt, and a wonderful book by Kelly Minter, No Other gods: Confronting Out Modern Day Idols. This book discusses the gods that we worship in Western society and calls us to serve God wholly and completely.
_______________________________________
HSF: Thanks for the interview. One last question: how can those who read this help your efforts to make it to the field and be fruitful there—prayer, finances, or otherwise?
Daniel: Prayer and financial help are both appreciated! Financially, we are in need of supporters who can contribute on a regular, monthly basis. We would love to meet with individuals, pastors, and local churches who might be interested in partnering with us. Katie and I are more than happy to talk in greater detail about what God has done in our lives through the Gospel, and we would love to share the vision that He has given us for Japan. Folks can feel free to contact us any time at our email addresses listed below.
Thanks for the interview opportunity!
_______________________________________
HSF: We appreciate Daniel and Katie taking the time to share with Forum readers about themselves and their ministry. Please offer them support through your finances, encouragement, and prayers. To contribute to their ministry, you may contact Daniel at dspeer@fwbgo.com and Katie at kspeer@fwbgo.com. To contribute financially, please click here and notate that the gift is for Daniel and Katie Speer.
Recent Comments