Targets and goals-Part 2:Systems and Goals

Recently we had a visitor, who, doing the course of our conversation, mentioned that he is a "systems guy."  Immediately I could relate, for I am also a systems guy.  I  have not usually used that term to describe myself, preferring to use symbology from my previous occupation: map making.

Systems guys are those who use inputs (could be data or resources of some kind) and then work to devise away to achieve a desired output (could be a report, or goal of some kind).

Most of the time we don’t think about the systems guy and they seldom get mentioned.  For example, when I write a newsletter, I use Microsoft Publisher (r) to create the document.  For my supporter database I use software called TNTConnect (r).  The systems people at TNTConnect created a way to link my data to Microsoft Access (r).  The systems people at Microsoft created a way from me to link my Publisher document to Access in order to personalize it and send it to MS Outlook (r) which sends out the e-mail messages.  But I don’t mention that in my newsletter.  The systems people work, often invisibly, behind the scenes to help people be successful.

To design a system, one needs to know the value of and limitations of the inputs.  One also has to be very clear about what the desired output is.

When designing a system, one should also be able to think beyond the stated desires of the customer and plan for other potential uses for the system that could arise.  It may get to the point where the system needs to be tossed and replaced. This is always a hard decision to make, because converting can take a lot of  effort.

When I first started working with NRCS in California, we were using a database program called Prelude that ran on a Unix operating machine.  It was a simple and fairly easy to understand system and I became quite proficient at using it.  But it was also quite limited.  So the powers that be decided to switch to a program called Informix.  Informix is much more powerful and I enjoyed it's capabilities.  But as we moved into the multi-dimensional world of geospatial data servers, it became time to switch, this time to SQL Server. This was a much more complicated than the previous change.  I'm sure I would love the new system, but the switch happened just after I left.

A problem can arise, though, when we get to like our system so much, the system becomes the goal.  I have seen this in government, religion and elsewhere.

We see this situation in government, for example, when an agency is created to address a certain problem.  Later on the problem is solved or the agency isn't needed anymore for some other reason, such as becoming redundant.  But the agency isn't dissolved.  They find some reason to keep it going.  This original goal no longer exists--the mission has become the goal.

We also see this in the realm of religion.  As a systems guy, I like the concept of Systematic Theology.  If God is indeed God then He has to be beyond human understanding.  But we humans want to understand God better so we develop these systematic theologies to help us.  I like that.  The problem comes when we use a system created to help us understand what God is like to instead define what God is like.  Then we end up creating silly ways to look at scripture verses that don't quite seem to fit so they are no longer a problem for us.  Or if God were to do something in the world that does not fit into our carefully crafted boxes we write it off saying, "that's not from God" or "that's from the devil."

We can do the same in ministry.  We might start a program or institution to accomplish a certain goal.  But then we like our program or institution so much, it becomes a goal.  That is not necessarily a problem as long as it remains a secondary goal and the primary goals remain the main goals.  But that doesn't seem to happen.  When the system becomes the goal, as opposed to a means to reach a goal, then usually the primary purpose for it seems to suffer.

Back when I was working for the government, our agency was under pressure to get models written for our soils database that would show how soils would behave in certain situations.  Another agency with a lot more clout than ours was driving this.  The problem was that the model used certain data about soils that wasn't necessarily relevant to all soils.  But we were under orders to put data in those boxes in the database so the model would work.  So, under protest, we did so.  The model worked fine.  However that particular data element is now only meaningful for that model.  We tweaked the data to fit the model rather than fix the model to use the data.  The system (the model) became more important than the original purpose for use of the data.

The reason I am thinking so much about systems these days is that we are encountering situations where the system has become the goal.  For me, as a systems guy, this has been quite frustrating.  But it is a reminder, as we move forward, to, as the adage goes, "keep the main thing the main thing."

So what IS the main thing for us?

I try to keep reminding myself and our Khmu partners of MB Mission's vision and ministry focus.

Our vision: Holistic church planting that transforms communities among the least reached.

Our central ministry focus: multiply healthy disciples and missional leaders.

That is what we're about at MB Mission.  We have all kinds of systems in place to try to accomplish that, but systems are just systems, they are not the goal.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:12 NIV)

Targets and Goals-Part 1: Setting the right target

When I was a kid I remember being enamored by those karate demonstrations when we'd see people use various parts of their body to bust apart pine boards.  I thought, "it would be so cool to do that."  But I didn't have much hope that it would ever happen.

I think my hand would break doing this
Photo by Andrew Semprebon

Back then I was pretty much the antithesis of athlete.  I lacked coordination. I did a lot of walking and some ice skating so my legs were okay.  But upper body strength? Let's put it this way--while my classmates boasted about lifting beyond their body weight, I figured I'd be luck to push the empty bar off my chest.

So how was I ever going to bust a piece of wood with my hands?

And yet I found I was able to bust through 3 boards.

It's all about having the right target.

You gotta figure that if you wing your hand at a piece of wood, something's gotta suffer.  So you have to decide if it's going to be the board or your bones.  And if you have a piece of wood and you aim at the center of it, something may well break, but probably not the board.

I learned the secret from a friend who was taking karate lessons.  His instructor would grab some pine and hold it in his outstretched hands about head level and tell his students to "aim for my face".  (Apparently, one student was particularly good and actually busted through the boards and hit the guys face.)

You see, if your object is to just hit the board, then aiming for the board is fine.  But if you actually want to bust through the boards, you need to aim for the other side.

As we enter the last year of our second term with MB Mission, it's time to think about our goals for the next term and our path to getting there.  If we don't get the goal right, we'll just end up hurting our hands.

for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.
(2 Corinthians 8:21 ESV)

Inviting-Not!

A portion of the road to Wiang Kaen follows the Mekong River.  Perched on a hill on a bend in the river is a stupa and Buddhist shrine.

Interestingly, there is no name of this place posted along the road. There is a staircase from main road up to the stupa (though it does not get used much because it is also possible to drive up).  On either side of the stair case are these interesting statues.  One is a man holding a scythe, the other is a man wielding a club.





 

I'm not sure how the locals interpret these statues.  But what I DON'T read is "Welcome, come on up," or "We're glad you're here."  It looks more like they are saying, "we dare you to come up."  In my eyes, this is anything but welcoming.

What a contrast to how we see God depicted in the Bible.  We have an invitational God.  In the Old Testament, we see God was welcoming the alien and stranger.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:18, 18 ESV)

The temple was to be a  place where everyone was invited to come pray.

these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 56:7 NIV) 

Jesus welcomed all people.  He invites people to follow him. He invites the weary to come find rest. He invites even children into his presence.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23 ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  (Matthew 19:14 ESV)

God is a welcoming God.

But what about us?  Are we as inviting as Jesus was?

I have not seen any strange statues outside our church buildings that would deter people from entering.  But sometimes the buildings themselves can be quite intimidating.  In an historically non-Christian culture like we find in Thailand, very few people would dare go into a church building unless they are already believers or they are pretty much ready to receive Christ.

We believers can be a bit intimidating as well.  Sometimes our speech or behavior can be less than inviting.

I pray that my life would not be like these statues below the stupa, but that it would bear testimony to our God who welcomes all who come to Him.

Put It In Your Pocket

It was probably the year 1992. We had taken a trip in our Ford F-150 to visit one of the Baptist Haiti Mission churches near St Michel de L' Atalaye, Haiti. Some people there were wanting some advice about capping a spring.

While I was I the area, I stopped at an open market.A woman was selling what appeared to be large seeds. I asked what they were, but the name, kakòn, meant nothing to me. I asked what they were for, and she told me they were for treating hemorrhoids. Intrigued, I asked, “how do they work?” She replied, “you carry them around in your pants pocket.

If you don’t ask, you never know.

I bought a seed from the woman and I probably still have it in storage in California.

This past week, Ingrid and I went bike riding down a track through a forest.

Cycling in the forest

Ingrid spotted the remnants of a very large bean pod lying on the ground. I busted a piece open, and there it was—the magical method for treating hemorrhoids.

I don't know if they really cure hemorrhoids or not, but if you swallow this thing, you might get them.

I have since found out that the bean is known as “snuffbox bean” or "sea bean" (Entada phaseoloides). Apparently, the beans were used for toting around one’s stash of snuff in days of yore.

Snuffbox bean pod, high up in a tree--about 2 feet long

Some of the tribal peoples of Northern Thailand use the large seeds for games or for medicinal purposes.

I've never tested the hemorrhoids treatment (and I hope I never have to want to), so I can't say for certain that it doesn't work.  But field of ethnobotany (the study of how indigenous people use the plants around them) has always fascinated me.  God gave us an amazing variety plant resources for us to use for food, tools, medicine and other things.  How people even came to know the beneficial properties of plants is amazing.  And it saddens me when I see these plants lost to needless destruction.  Many plants may have properties which can be used in the world of medicine, but if those plants become extinct, the resources are lost.

Recently, a verse in Revelation 22 caught my attention for the first time.  The Tree of Life, we read in Revelation 22:2, has leaves that are used "for the healing of the nations."  What an interesting picture.  The old world is gone and there is a new heaven and a new earth.  But there is still water and there are still trees that contain healthful benefits for mankind.  (I'm not sure why the nations will still need healing in New Earth but I'm sure it's related to a metaphorical aspect to this passage.)

From the very beginning, God gave us plants for our health and well-being (Genesis 1:29, 30).  And in the New Earth, He does the same.

Praise God for the amazing way he provides for us.