The new job: Director for Language Services

When we returned to Papua New Guinea last month, I stepped into a new role: Director for Language Services. Because of how busy I've been with the Festival of Pacific Arts travel and just getting into the new job, I haven't had an opportunity to explain what this job is. So today I'll try to explain, and also answer some questions you may have.

I'll explain it hierarchically first. The PNG Branch of our organization has one Director. He leads a Directorate team of associates:

(this team also often includes the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Communications Officer)

It looks like there are two “Language” directors that are the same, doesn't it? Because the PNG Branch is so large (over 800 languages in the country), with so many personnel and projects ongoing, the Director for Language Programmes (DLP) looks after the active translation programmes in PNG—any of the languages where someone is working on Bible translation.

The Director for Language Services (DLS; me) on the other hand, manages a corps of consultants who give technical guidance to the language workers. Under the DLS role are also domains like Language Survey (finding out the vitality of languages, language boundaries, etc.), Academic Training (providing course sets for Papua New Guinean Bible translators in Hebrew, Greek, cultural background, basic translation principles), Language Software Services (creating and maintaining software that is used in language development and Bible translation), and my own area of Ethnomusicology & Arts. Here's what it looks like:

While I'm in this role, I'll get to introduce you to events, workshops, and people that you haven't heard about before in our newsletters. You'll continue to hear about music and arts, but now I'll also be able to bring you into translation training, literacy courses, church engagement conferences, and many other things that I get to be a part of. For example, I recently led a workshop about multi-language translation projects in PNG and the Solomon Islands, and just this weekend I attended a dedication for the New Testament in the Marik language. I'm looking forward to sharing some pictures and information about those events with you soon.

Let me guess some questions you might be asking:

So you're not still an ethnomusicologist?

I most definitely am still an ethnomusicologist. And though this new role will limit the amount of time I can devote to music work in PNG, I will still be doing some music workshops around the country. In fact, the Branch Director told me to make sure I don't give up my previous work entirely; he wants his team to be satisfied in their work, which for me means getting out to the villages and doing the teaching and recording that I was enjoying before. Attending the Festival of Pacific Arts was definitely part of my Arts Consultant role, and I'm looking at travel to another international music and missions event next year, as well as a couple of PNG village music workshops in the next year.

Is this a permanent job change?

No. It is an appointed position, and my appointment is until this time next year. At that time, I may be re-appointed for another 2-year term.

Does the new job come with a pay raise?

Only if you give it to me. :)

Does this job change mean that Wycliffe no longer values music and arts work?

Not at all. In fact, the arts world within Wycliffe is growing a lot! When Joyce and I joined Wycliffe in 2000, there were probably 10 or fewer ethnomusicologists; now, there are closer to 40 people on the Arts team worldwide, and they include not only ethnomusicologists but also specialists in dance, drama, visual arts, storytelling, and other artistic domains.

If you still like being an ethnomusicologist, and there is still much musical work to be done, then why take this new job?

I'll give two reasons: 

1. It's a service to my colleagues to do this necessary, strategic job. Most people come to the mission field with very specific skill sets, and they want to use those skills to the best advantage. Though we need administrators and leaders, most people do not feel capable of taking on those positions, or they are unwilling to leave their chosen jobs. I think I can do this directorate job, and it oversees areas that I know something about and care about very deeply. So for a specified time (up to three years right now), I'm making myself available to serve in this way. I'm definitely feeling that it's a bit of a sacrifice; it makes me very tired, and I often feel out of my depth (I'm assuming all of that will get better the more history I have in the job). But it's also a great privilege to be the person who is keeping track of all the loose ends, trying to connect everything in the best way and move our work forward in excellent ways.
2. I also feel that doing this job will grow me personally and professionally. It prepares me for any number of other things, and it helps me see the inner workings of how our organization functions. I enjoy working with the Branch Director, who spends an hour a week with me, helping me through the day-to-day business of the DLS job, and mentoring me into becoming a better leader. The other members of the Directorate team are a delight to work with (we all meet together every Wednesday morning).

Did Wycliffe require you to take this job?

No. When a directorate job position is opening, the Branch membership nominates people to take the job. A year ago, I was nominated to be DLS. All the nominees answered some questions, and the membership submitted feedback on the nominees. At that point, the Branch Director determined who he wanted to appoint to the position, and then an Executive Committee approved the appointment. At any of those stages, I could've said “no, thanks” and been out of the process. All along the way I prayed that if I wasn't supposed to take the job, I'd just get shut out and that would be the end of it. But the process went forward, and I continued feeling that I could probably do this.

Thank you for your prayers as I continue to learn the new job.