Singleness of Eye

I have been doing some real soul searching lately. One option for ministry I had been praying about is being a tent maker. For those of you who don't know, a tent maker is one who has a job and is participating in ministry at a level that is usually considered a full time job. The term comes from the ministry of the apostle Paul who worked as a tentmaker while ministering in Corinth. (Acts 18:1-3) The past few years I have been busy trying to raise my family, serve my country in the Army, work in the church and get my M.Div so that I can get ordained. I see that I just bit off more than I could chew. Now that I have retired from the Army, I see that I had just exhausted myself trying to do too much. It just did not work. I have been praying about what I should do in ministry. I can see that tentmaking is not something I think I can handle. Self assessment is good.

Related to this issue is how my mind works. My job in the Army involved continually learning about new technology. I often deal with learning by absorbing myself into a subject. So much so that being a continual learner in information technology and trying to study for my M.Div. were really hard for me to balance. My characteristic of having a narrow focus has been something that I have known about for some time. It is both a blessing and a curse. I had not thought about it having implications for career choices. So for the most part, I don't think being a tentmaker would be a wise ministry choice for me.

Comments

Milton Stanley said…
I can relate. As Dirty Harry said, "A man has got to know his limitations."

After several years in full-time ministry, I tried this year to continue in ministry while working full-time night shifts at Wal-Mart. It didn't work. My work with the church suffered, and I gave up the moonlighting after only six weeks. We're keeping our eyes open and trusting God to fill the income gaps. Peace.
7:56 PM
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