PERSONAL BIO
NAME: Paul S. Fisher
A.K.A.: Paul Fisher Shelpeck, Pablo Fisher, Pableux
D.O.B.: 07-31-1964
PLACE: Philadelphia, PA
NATIONALITY: U.S.A.
WEIGHT: 220
HEIGHT: 6'2”
SEX: M
RACE: Caucasian
EYE COLOR: green
BLOOD TYPE: O+
MARITAL STATUS: Married
SPOUSE: Dawn R. [Tucker]
CHILDREN: Amanda, Natasha, Wendy, Penny, Daphne, Calliope, Gaby, Joseph, Raquel, Jack
PRESENT ADDRESS: CLASSIFIED
OCCUPATION: active MTW field agent
LANGUAGES: English, Spanish, German
TRAINING: BA, RN, EMT, I/O
INTERESTS: music, medicine, technology, writing, travel, adventure,
CONTACT: pfisher@naclnet.org, SKYPE: paulsfisher
MAILDROP: 1001 S 10th St G-590 McAllen, TX 78501
AGENT ASSIGNMENT
Paul Fisher is an active field agent who was recruited by MTW in 1998 and deployed to infiltrate strategic urban centers of Mexico, assimilate into the local population and disseminate the message of Christ through field operations of evangelization, discipling, recruitment and training and missions of mercy and justice in conjunction with existing church planting efforts and in coordination with national operatives.
Fisher's background in the arts and medicine enables him to generate a variety of contacts within multiple segments ofthe target population. His 20 years of experience in the field has also equipped Paul with vital insight, knowledge and skills, relevant to the society and culture of Mexico.
Agent Fisher is the founder and director of the NACL task force in Guadalajara, Mexico, strategic urban center of latin America.
AGENT TESTIMONY
I have the greatest job in world. I am a foreign "missionary." As part of my job, I get to lead people in the worship of our great God every Sunday at church. It is the highest calling I can possibly imagine, at least in this life on earth. And so, for years, week after week, I have had this awesome privilege. But eventually I began to sense an uneasiness growing in my soul. Something was missing. So I took a look at my life, my mission. And I saw that it was lacking something, something important.
As I thought about my career as a missionary, I asked myself, How am I responding to the great commission of our Lord Jesus who said, Go into all the world, preach the Gospel and make disciples? But I’m a missionary, I consoled myself. I teach Sunday School, I lead worship, and I even share the gospel sometimes… why just the other day, I told somebody about Jesus and even invited them to church!
It didn't work. I had to admit that my witness was pretty rare, at best, occasional. Spontaneous, but rarely ever intentional. Sincere, but never strategic. I had lost touch with my mission, I had forgotten why I was on the mission field, why I am here on this planet. I started feeling anxious. I’m 42 years old, I’ve been a missionary for 20 years, but, what am I doing? What is my mission? Am I making any difference at all? Am I really being the salt of the earth and the light of the world? Or am I just going through the motions of ministry? Stuck in the missionary routine, just spinning my wheels? Have I lost my saltiness? Am I good for nothing?
So I prayed, God, do something. Help. I don’t want this to be my whole life.
I can’t describe exactly what happened next, except to say that God answered my prayer and gave me a new perspective on life. Passages of Scripture that I had read dozens, even hundreds of times before, suddenly had new meaning to me, because they applied… to me personally. I am Christ's witness, I am His ambassador, I am called to preach the Gospel and make disciples. I realized that I was engaged in spiritual warfare, on the front lines, or rather, deep behind enemy lines. I also realized I had lost my focus and just fallen into a comfortable routine that, although legitimate ministry, was desperately lacking in intentionality.
So I looked around and thought to myself, what can I do to fulfill the great commission? How can I be a better, more effective witness for Christ? Gradually, I began to see more clearly. It all started to make sense. I saw all these open doors of opportunity that I had never considered before. Aspects of my life that were just things that I did, I now realized were strategic opportunities for witness. More and more opportunities started unfolding, mission after mission.
But then I got worried, how do we keep this perspective? How do I keep from slipping back undercover? Lulled back to sleep by the routine of "ministry"? How do I keep the focus? How do I coordinate all these mission opportunities? How do I begin to reach the millions of people who have never been confronted with the message of Christ?
So I started taking notes, making lists of friends and acquaintances that I had never actually told about Christ. I am ashamed to admit that it was a long list. I started writing outlines of how I might strategically get to know other people in order to eventually be able to talk with them about spiritual things and share the Gospel. I soon realized that this mission is huge. I can’t do this by myself. So I made another list of fellow believers who I thought might share this vision.
I invited this small group of friends to meet together: men and women, young and old, to share with them, exactly what I am sharing with you now. We all agreed that our witness was pretty pathetic and that there was so much more that we could be doing. We opened God’s Word and studied passages about the missionary exploits of Paul and the other Apostles. We studied the commands of Christ to go and witness and preach and make disciples. We pacted together to obey these commands and put them into practice together. But how?
After some time, this is what we came up with…a plan. Way too ambitious, way too complicated, and yet…so simple. And so, NACL was born. A volunteer initiative to go out and intentionally be the salt of the earth; to take the Gospel to the streets and specialize in the most extreme cases, those least likely to ever be exposed to the message of Christ. To practice mercy and justice and make a difference in lives for eternity. To be "all things to all men, to by all means, save some."
It is undeniably a work in progress. Some of it is theoretical, some of it is practical, some of it is easy, some of it seems impossible. Some of it is exciting, some is terrifying. But all of it is the most worthwhile, significant thing that any of us have ever done with our lives. There is no higher calling. Now I really do have the greatest job in the world.
I invite you to partner with us in this strategic initiative to make a difference here and now, as the salt of the earth. Please join the NACL support team.
