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TechnoratiThis is the last part of a series of articles about the life and ideas of Dr. Ralph D. Winter, whose memorial service will be held Sunday, June 28. Winter, the co-founder the U.S. Center for World Mission, passed away on May 20, 2009, after a long battle with cancer. He was 84.
David Datama, the new general director of Frontier Mission Fellowship, and his wife.
It is never an easy task to succeed an organization’s founder, especially one who was described as the group’s “center of gravity.” But even more difficult is the fact that that founder is Dr. Ralph D. Winter, whom many regard as the most influential missiologist in the past century.
David Datema, the new general director of Frontier Mission Fellowship (FMF) and Winter’s hand-picked successor, sat down with The Christian Post this past week for a candid interview about what he has learned from his predecessor, what he will have trouble replacing, and the future of the U.S. Center for World Mission and William Carey International University - two of a number of ministries part of the FMF family.
The following are excerpts from the interview.
CP: How old are you?
Datema: Forty-three.
CP: Were you personally appointed by Dr. Winter or nominated by the board of directors?
Datema: Well, he appointed me but the board did have to ratify that, which they did.
CP: When did you know that you would be the successor?
Datema: It was towards the end of April. Not very long ago.
CP: Why do you think Dr. Winter picked you to be his successor?
Datema: I think part of the answer to that is forever lost to us. But I know that he did value scholarship and he valued careful thinking. I think he was afraid of someone coming and making widely divergent decisions without thinking it through. He was never against wild and crazy ideas because he had a few of his own, but he really valued, I think, being careful. I think what he must have seen [in me] was a carefulness, but that is probably just the tip-of-the-iceberg answer.
If you look at the document that he wrote when he appointed me, which was read to our staff, it is interesting because in that document he mentions at least three times the word ‘team.’ He says in there that ‘I could have chosen a lot of people to do this, but whoever that person is, [they are] going to have to rely on team effort.'
We really didn’t have anyone on our staff who was the obvious heir apparent of Dr. Winter. So I look at it this way, whatever reasons there were – who knows, it could have easily been someone else – but whoever it would have been needs the rest of the staff in order to be effective.
CP: What experience from your past do you think will be most helpful in your new position?
Datema: I think the people skills. I was a pastor so I’ve related to people in a lot of different context and I think I have the ability to work with people. I have what you can call ‘people awareness.’
Also being an MK (missionary kid), I was not an adult on the field but there were still a lot of things that I could glean from living in another culture, from being an observer. Missionary kids are great observers because they are not expected to do anything so they take a lot of things in. So at least I have a familiarity with different cultures.
CP: You were not only a missionary kid but I heard that you also wanted to be a missionary as an adult until something happened to your son that prevented you from fulfilling this dream. Do you feel comfortable sharing about this?
Datema: That is one of the continuously more defining things in my life. My first child was born four months prematurely and he was in ICU for four months. He just barely made it. It is a miracle that he is alive today. He has severe disabilities: cerebral palsy, he’s blind, doesn’t talk.Continue »
