A Catalyst For Change

I serve as an adjunct professor at Southeastern University. One of the classes I teach is Change Management. Change is all around us. Todays leaders must learn how to manage change in an organizational context in such a way that the overall vision and the basic values of the organization are moved forward in a way that is productive and Glorifies our Heavenly Father. John F. Kennedy said: “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” Why is change management important? We are living in a day when society is changing at a faster rate than ever before. Because of this rapid pace, faith based organizations must be willing to change their methods if they are to remain relevant. The challenge is to change the methods, which are temporal, without changing the message, which is timeless. Many resist change for fear of compromising the message of Christ. For this reason, the 21st century leader must engage change management principles that can implement effective changes while making them palatable to stakeholders and guarding the values we hold dear. We must view change as a process and not an event. The process will involve understanding how people interact with change, as well as equipping ourselves with a basic knowledge of change management theory. As Christian leaders, it is imperative that we look to the Holy Spirit to empower us through the change process. The Holy Spirit can be a catalyst for change in people, situations and organizations. In organizational terms, a catalyst is someone that precipitates change without being altered in the process. The Holy Spirit has a clear view of every person’s heart and mind so that He knows what changes are necessary and will empower us to lead the change process. The Holy Spirit uses a variety of gifts, abilities and personalities to affect change. God is able to harmonize a wide diversity of gifts, talents and personalities for the most effective change in people and organizations. Paul wrote, "There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." (I Cor. 12:6,7) We can ask the Lord to help us understand and cooperate with the way the Spirit is harmonizing a wide variety of peoples’ gifts, abilities and personalities to effect His changes in our organization.

What Is Your Vision?

In most churches the Lord planted that church in that place for His purpose long before the current pastor ever arrived. I know that is true in my case. In order to understand the vision we must come to grips with a very important question. Why? Why did God put this church in this place at this time? When a new pastor comes to a church the first question that is asked of him is “What is your vision for the church?” Most enterprising pastors have learned to keep a well-crafted vision in their suitcase should someone ever ask him about it. When asked, most pastors pull out the mission of the church rather than the vision, with full confidence that no one will recognize the difference. The mission of the church was given by Christ to the church as a whole. It will be the guiding force for every vision, but it is not the vision. The mission of the church is to “go then to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples” (Matt. 28:19). This is the same for all churches. The vision, on the other hand, will be different for every church and every community. The question should be asked collectively: “What is God’s vision for our church?” By this means, the vision comes from the grassroots up as opposed to from the top down. As we redefine vision, we must realize the vision must come from the Lord by the Spirit through the grassroots—the people, God’s people. The way you find this “right” vision is to look for the activity of God in that church and in that community. Once we find where God is showing up we can more clearly see what God’s vision for that church is.

Let’s Talk Extraordinary

Recently, I was reading John MacArthur’s book: Twelve Ordinary Men. He points out how, in Matthew Chapters 8, 9, and 10, Jesus shares leadership responsibilities with his disciples. Our Lord chose ordinary men and trained them to become extraordinary leaders. There are four natural progressions in their training. First, they simply followed Jesus. These followers grew as they listening to and learned from His teachings. A fundamental principle of discipleship and leadership training is that you cannot be trained as a leader if you are not interested in learning and following. In other words, it is difficult to lead others if you have not first learned to follow. How can you lead if you do not understand being led? Second, there must be commitment. When Jesus called these men, they left everything to follow him. You cannot be trained to lead others if you fail to commit. If there is absence of self-sacrifice, there is absence of service. There is a connection between dying to self and service to God and for God. We are living in the most self centered society since the days of Noah. Jesus showed His followers the virtue of true servant leadership. Commitment to something greater than self gain is the key to becoming a servant leader like our Wonderful Lord. Third, there is internship. The Twelve had experiential opportunities and were privileged to spend premium time with Jesus being mentored and taught by Him. Think of it. How would you like to be mentored personally by the Son of God! Such education and experience can not be obtained in Seminary. It is through the process of internship that their character was shaped and their destiny fashioned. The final step of leadership training is empowerment for specific service. This is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus instructed followers to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the dynamic power from the Holy Spirit so that they might fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 1:8). These were ordinary men. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that made the difference. The lesson here is God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things so that He can be glorified. John MacArthur says, “God’s favorite instruments are nobodies, so that no man can boast before God.” (Reference: John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men (Nashville: Nelson, 2002), 15-19)