Christians are such loving people. my brothers and sisters are often asking me how MTS is going. they really want to know, because they are concerned for me.
how is MTS going? it's always really hard to answer. i guess they want to know if it is worth it, or if i am learning. or if people are growing. or if numbers are growing.
but how do i evaluate it for myself? what things do i assign value to, and how do i value them? first i need to figure out what it is that i am actually doing. am i training or am i ministering? should i make sure that i am training in the areas that i am weakest at, or should i be working with people where they most have a need. is my training more important than the needs of the church? no.
what is training anyway? i have a feeling that it has to do with the whole experience and learning to live a life of paid ministry. but then on the other hand we talk about needing to train in different areas where we aren't so competent.
how do i evaluate what i am doing in MTS anyway? do i compare myself to my brother who has a completely different set of skills? but how do i compare any way, because the products and outcomes of our work are so intangible. and God is the one who is doing the work, not i.
how do i know that i should keep doing this long term? i'm willing, but is that all there is to it? i can do somethings well... i think. but not as well as...
maybe the answer is to just keep plugging away. trying my best. earnestly seeking for glory and honour (God's obviously).
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that's a very interesting question. what do you think?
sounds a lot like Irish - lots of questions, challanging assumptions, the value of things etc...
but it raises an interesting question...similar to the poem that I wrote for Borrodalian Issue 11. Where exactly does value lie? How do we measure it? Can it increase/decrease? For what purpose does it exist?
Some flittering thoughts:
* we will never reach perfection in this life, so 'learning' in one sense will never cease. but this must differ from 'training' in some way
* from a medical point of view, training is 'the process of doing, yet under supervision and with limited responsibility' (I just made that definition up now, but I kinda like it..:P). under this view, it is clearly worth making the most of your training - it is the best opportunity to make mistakes (least sequelae) and get feedback and support
*perhaps comparing hands and feet is not so productive, except with what they have in common. it is probably very worthwhile for hands and feet to examine their connection to the body, which is what they share. how am i serving the rest of the body? am i being nourished? am i growing in proportion to the other parts? etc.
* a hand could also compare himself to other like body parts. 'on the other hand' may be a useful turn of phrase for more than just economists :P
not much cohesion in those thoughts. but your post raises interesting questions. look forward to hearing progression of your ideas.
PS: dal recipe was excellent. had much fun. roti took a little while to perfect though...hmmm...
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