Apprentice

Things are still just calming down here but I’ve managed to get my assignments done so now I have time to catch up on my MAP Journal. Peter and I had a MAP Meeting with Peter on Tuesday the 8th but I still haven’t journaled it from the notes yet so here goes:

Spiritual and Personal Development

This area has suffered a lot over the holidays. We opened the chip shop a few days before Christmas, under-staffed and inexperienced. We were so busy! I would get up in the morning, go to work, work all day, go home and catch a few hours sleep and then repeat the process again in the morning. My prayer life suffered a lot and I needed to get extensions on my assignment for college. Things are calming down now but they’re still not quite the way I’d like it to be. We have more staff now and we’re all a lot better at our jobs but we could still do with another full-time staff member.

My Prayer life is getting better again and, looking back over my notes, I can see the prayers God has answered and this makes me very grateful. I’ve also started a new Bible reading plan. I had just finished reading the Bible for the first time towards the end of last year so the timing was perfect. I was going to do a one-year reading plan but my Biblical Interpretation teacher suggested a five-year plan. I’ll study a book a month (although since the Bible has 66 books I’ll have to read two books some months) and at the end of each year I’ll have studied at least twelve books well instead of just reading through 66 books.

Here’s what my plan looks like:

Relationships

This is the big thing I’ve been keeping a secret in the last few meeting notes but it’s public now so I guess I can write it here. Sam, my pastor is leaving our church, actually he gave his last sermon in Cahir on Sunday. We’ll miss him but I guess he needs to move on now. He’s off to Kenya in February for a sabbatical and then he starts in his new position in Dublin in April. One of my MAP goals was to develop better communication with Sam, so that’s kind of not really possible now. I’m more concerned about the future of our little church though. There was few enough of us already and now we have no minister so we’re in a very vulnerable spot.

Ministry Involvement

Peter and I talked about getting another banner for the church to celebrate Easter. The first banner has been a success, it’s been noticed by passers-by and it’s been commented on by people who come into the church.I still have to write the Statement of Faith page, I’m not sure how to write it really - it needs to be short and understandable, theologically correct but broad enough to welcome diversity on the minor issues. Now that work is calming down I should have more time to work on this.

Leadership

Peter and I discussed the Bible Study I was to lead some more. I’ve since lead the study and it went well. It’s very different to preaching - it’s a conversation so I have to lead it and encourage questions without dominating the study and just giving people a lecture - so it’s good experience to gain.