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My dad, Dr. Ed Plueddemann, was a research scientist and had patented 100 inventions before he went to heaven. His discoveries are being used today in computer circuit boards, the space program and medical technology. While he was famous in the field of adhesives, his most powerful influence on me was through his life. I learned these important missionary lessons from my dad.

1. Don’t complain when life is difficult. Dad grew up during the Depression as one of nine children of a poorly paid preacher. But in telling about his childhood, he only reminisced about the fun they had. Contentment characterized his life. When the doctor told him they could do nothing more to treat his cancer, he never complained. Rather than mope, he worked on improving his golf game and kept experimenting in the lab.

2. Enjoy life to the fullest. Dad loved life. When I was a child, the neighborhood kids often knocked at our door asking if Jimmy’s dad could come out and play. Dad was constantly amazed that his company gave him a free chemistry set and paid him to play with chemicals all day.

3. Be curious about everything. As a scientist, Dad was interested in molecules, but he was also inquisitive about the stock market, astronomy, world history, theology and politics. He taught himself German, Russian and Greek so he didn’t have to depend on others for translations. He never quit learning and even had a chemistry experiment going in the lab the night he died.

4. See all of life as Christian service. Dad felt that God had given him 24 hours a day. Ideally, he wanted to work for eight hours, sleep for eight and do ministry for eight. While a research scientist, he also pastored a small church for an annual salary of $1.00. In the lab he assumed God was peering over his shoulder to see if he could discover how the Creator had constructed molecules.

5. Debate ideas, not people. I learned as a child that people could disagree about ideas and still be good friends. If a conversation became dull, Dad stimulated debate by taking the opposite opinion. If he convinced folks with his ideas, he switched sides again. I chuckled inside as I watched Dad spice up the conversation with wild ideas.

6. Study the Bible with excitement. My dad enjoyed nothing more than Bible study. He spent many evenings in his blue easy chair reading the Bible and commentaries. He sometimes stayed up until 2 a.m. discussing Scripture with a small study group. Preparing sermons was one of his life’s delights.

7. Live for the next world. As cancer spread throughout his body and heart attacks destroyed his heart, the church elders came to pray for him. When they asked Dad how he’d like them to pray, he replied, “Well, I don’t expect to live much longer in this body, and I’ve lived longer than I thought I would. Just pray that I’ll keep rejoicing in the Lord.” As we sat around him with tears in our eyes, Dad talked about the questions he would soon ask Jesus, and he described his design for heavenly three-dimensional golf courses. He knew he was leaving the world of the dying and going to the land of the living. Dad exuberantly enjoyed life, but longed for the place Jesus was preparing for him.

A joyful, creative, curious attitude is not something easily taught in college or seminary. Dad’s missionary training helped me face many challenges in cross-cultural work.

I hope I’ll always be excited about both this world and the one that is coming.

Jim Plueddemann is a professor of missions at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.