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)

Milestones

One day this past week brought the concurrence of two significant events.

First of all, it was my birthday.  Another opportunity to look back at the past twelve months while also looking forward to the next.

A nice spin for my birthday this year (though a day early) was a surprise birthday cake brought by some of the teenagers who study English and the Bible with us.



One of the young women in the photo above, while she would not yet profess to be a Christian, is eager to hear stories from the Bible.  She and one of the others will be graduating this spring and are hoping to go on to university in Chiang Rai.  We've missed them some these past weeks because on Saturdays they have been going to Chiang Rai to take college entrance exams.  Pray that our time with these young people will be of benefit to them not just intellectually, but also spiritually.

Another event that occurred on my birthday, though I had not planned it this way, was that I finished reading through the Bible in Thai for the first time.

A few years ago, I figured that reading the scripture in Thai would be helpful for both ministry and for language-learning.  So I just started where I was in my regular reading, and tried to read a chapter a day (some days I did not get through a whole chapter).  I typically read on my computer, as I can make the fonts big.  (I have issues with my eyes that make deciphering the small curly-q's of the letters in the printed versions a bit difficult.)



It is interesting that the completion of this reading was marked with a beautiful doxology, which makes a fitting close to the end of one year and the beginning of another:

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith-to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.  (Romans 16:25-27 ESV)


What a great doxology!  It talks about a message of good news (the gospel)...made known through revelation (scripture)...to all nations...so that God may be glorified.  That is why we are here in Thailand.  May this be my prayer and continued focus of this next year of my life.

You can’t get lost…

…if you don’t have a destination



Today, I was out on my bicycle, combining my morning workout with exploring parts of our district that I had not visited before.  My journey took me up an unpaved road that turned into a field road that petered out on a hillside garden.

As I was coming back, I decided to check out some of the side streets of the nearby village.  As I was rounding one corner, I noticed a group of people standing around in one of the yards.

“Are you lost?” they asked.

I told them that I was not lost but I was new to the area and I was exploring.  What I wanted to say, but I did not know how to say in Thai, is that you can’t get lost if you don’t have a destination.  Instead, it is more like how the old saying puts it, “wherever you go, there you are.”

While this kind of attitude is great for exploring, it is not very helpful for most things in life, whether it be working or writing or doing a project around the house.  And I must confess that I do struggle in this area—I’m a better starter than a finisher.

I know I’ve listened to sermons that were put together by someone who did not have a goal.  After a while the listening gets tiring and I check out.  “Where is he going?” I’ll as myself.  Sometimes the speaker will get me by surprise and actually reach a destination. At other times I’ll notice that the speaker himself did not seem to have a goal.  I find myself looking to be fed but coming up empty.

The destination is important.

I see the importance of having a goal these days in continuing my Thai studies.  When we were in language school, there was always a goal—usually marked by the completion of a workbook and a test of some sort.  Now the struggle is to find a goal that is reasonable, in the light of ministry commitments, and then to work towards that goal.  Without such a goal, it is hard to stay motivated to study.

Our life also needs a goal.  While I don’t underestimate the value of the journey itself—our life is all about that journey—it should be a journey to someplace.

Paul noted the importance of a life goal.

¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
 ¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:10-14

Paul’s goal was to know Jesus and be like Him.  He notes that this is not an easy goal to attain, but that it was worth straining forward for and pressing on towards.

It is interesting to note that Paul’s goal was not to win X number of people to Jesus—though he spent his life trying reach those who had not yet heard about Jesus.  In fact, in Acts 9:15 we read that Jesus gave him a clear call to do this very thing. Yet even though his life was consumed with bringing the good news to the non-Jewish world, his actual goal was to know and be like Jesus.

Reaching people for Jesus was his task.

Being like Jesus was his goal.

I admit that my pursuit of this kind of goal often seems to lack the ardor and zeal that marked Paul’s life.  It is easy to get distracted with other things—even good things.

We read a story about this kind of thing in Luke 10:38-42 (NIV):

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
⁴¹ "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha missed out on the "better" part because she let the task (serving Jesus) distract her from what should have been her goal (knowing Jesus).  Both the task and the goal are important—but if we lose sight of the goal, the task has no value, and we get lost.

God, help me to fix my eyes on that which is better—that which is most important.

Danger of Comparisons

Philippians 3:12-16 (ESV)
¹² Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
¹³ Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
¹⁵ Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
¹⁶ Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

LOOKING TO THE SIDE

I have recently been reminded of the danger of comparing ourselves with each other.  While such comparisons can be good in that a little competitive spirit can bring out the best in us, there is a double-edged danger to this.

On the one hand, I can get an inflated ego and full of pride as I see how much better I am than others at a given task.  On the other hand I can become discouraged and want to give up as I see how much better others are.

In our Thai class the other day, we were learning the expression to say: “In the past I was ___ but now I am ___.”

I remember as a child that I was not very good in sports and so I gave up on them completely.  The taunts and jeers kept me from wanting to participate.  I was better academically, but there were always those better than me and even though I was near or at the top of the class in some subjects, I always felt that I was behind.  In this case though I was confident enough to benefit from a competitive spirit.

LOOKING FORWARD

In the passage above, Paul reminds us that our eyes ought to be looking forward toward Jesus.  Jesus is our standard, not others.  Paul says in the following verses that people would do good to imitate him, but only as much as he follows Jesus.

Having Jesus as our example could be discouraging, as the goal of imitating Him seems impossible to attain.  Indeed, it is impossible to attain on our own, and so it should give us humility as EVERY ONE OF US, even Paul, need to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to become like Christ.  But this also gives us hope, because the same Holy Spirit is available to all—even to the lowliest and most awful sinner among us.  I can do no more to earn my salvation to anyone else.

LOOKING BACKWARD

While Paul tells us to forget what lies behind, he is telling us not to go back to our old way of life.  We don’t want to be like the Israelites, wandering in the desert wishing they were back in Egypt, rather than moving forward towards the promised land..

But one can be encouraged by looking back just to see what progress has been made.

I like to climb mountains.  But sometimes it seems like we walk for hours and seem to be no closer to our goal.  Then, all of a sudden we get to a viewpoint where we can see where we came from.  At that point we realize that, while we have not reached the top—and we may not even know how far ahead it is—we have come a long ways.



Columbia Rock--an encouraging point on the challenging hike to the top of Yosemite Falls

Learning Thai is like climbing a mountain.  If I look at the task ahead of me, it seems like I can never become fluent.

If I look to the side at others around me learning the language, I see those that are further along and those that are further behind.  There is not much value in making these comparisons—I can become either prideful or discouraged.  If I must look to the side, it should be either to give encouragement to others or to receive encouragement from them.

What does encourage me is when we are asked a question that I don’t know how to answer, but then I realize that at least I understand most of the words in the question, which I would not have been able to understand a week ago.  I am moving forward, even if I have not arrived.

BALANCE

In general, I like to:

• Remember where I came from,
• Live in the present
• Move forward towards the goal
• Encourage and be encouraged by those around me