You Be the Change You Want to See - 5

                                                You Be the Change You Want to See - 5

Subject:  Leading The Change in Your Family, Church, or Business

By Rick Welborne

Ecclesiastes 3:1 & 11-14 (NKJV)
¹  To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
¹¹  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
¹²  I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives,
¹³  and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor--it is the gift of God.
¹⁴  I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him. 

Romans 8:28 (NLT)
²⁸  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

--Both of these portions of scriptures are references to time…there is a time for everything…God has made everything beautiful in its time…we know God works everything for our good…but all in His time.

--We all want everything faster…fast food (joke), fast internet, fast delivery of what we order from the internet,

fast service at stores, fast responses to text messages…we all want and expect faster.

--I don’t want any of you to be disillusioned but, more than likely, the change you are looking for will not necessarily happen quickly…it may…look how long God has been patient with you!

--Some organizations do not want change at all and if you do not believe it, try to change something quickly.  Church is a perfect example of this resistance. I shall not be…I shall not be moved.

--Those who try hard to resist the process of changing can cause those who really want to see good positive change to get discouraged.  My staff pastors are always stretching me in ways I didn’t think they could.

1. There are healthy ways of making change happen…ways of helping the organization and ways of keeping people from getting hurt or left out.   

A. Identify the motivation (the why) for the change.

--If people understand what your motives are and your motives are pure…they will sense your urgency and passion to see this happen. It cannot be about your personal agenda or cause.

B. Identify what you need or what will be required for the change.

--Identify the people, the facilities, the money you will need to accomplish the change you want to see. If you fail to plan you are just planning to fail.

C. Clearly state the incremental steps in the change.

--Back in 1995 I went to the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Fl. And God turned me every way but loose.  I wanted change in our church. I prayed for wisdom about where I felt God wanted to take us.

--I knew rushing my desires on the people would be detrimental to our church. I came home and shared what happened to me, I modeled in front of them, I stuck with it until change came.  

D. Identify the people who will be affected by the change. 

--Again, if your motives are pure, if you know where you are going, if you explain the vision clearly, more than likely, people will follow the change you are leading them into. 

E. Try to identify any obstacles that might hinder the process of change you are seeking.

--Try to ask yourself the right questions: Will people be resistant, do we have what we need to make the change, who might challenge this idea, do I really feel God is in this? Have I received confirmation?

F. Identify opportunities to recognize and celebrate progress.

--Celebrate the people who are helping you get to where you want to be and celebrate the progress along the way…Have someone else who is a leader share what God is doing in them.

G. Realize that it is going to take time…lots of time. 

--There is a season and a time for everything and God can work it out in His time…we must be patient and wait. Recognize Who God is while you wait.

Isaiah 40:29-31 (NKJV)
²⁹  He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
³⁰  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
³¹  But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. 

2. As you seek to be the change you want to see expect frustration and delays.

Leon Trotsky – Life is not an easy matter. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea.

--Though we do not agree with Trotsky’s thoughts on political matters…his perception of frustration was accurate. I am so glad that the Bible shows us the reality of life in its characters.

--All of us can agree that life isn’t easy. That is so well depicted in the life of Joseph. As close as I could figure it took 22 years for him to experience the dreams he had at the beginning. Much frustration.

--When people sympathize or empathize with me about my feet I always say ‘compared to a lot of people I do not have problems’…do I want my feet well? Of course but others have it so much worse.

--If we are not careful our frustration can lead us to cynicism. The tendency to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives or actions. We all are cynical at times…just watch TV commercials.

--Warning: Frustration and cynicism are cyclical…one leads to another. If we are not careful we will find ourselves (even believers) living very frustrated lives…I am sure you know people who are.

A. So how do we overcome frustration?

--It is hard to follow a frustrated leader. Frustration, as you know, is hard to hide.  It is even more difficult to lead a group of people who are frustrated followers. It has the ability to affect every aspect of life.

WebMD – Unresolved frustration and anger may grow until you are not able to deal with them. You may then yell, scream, or hit someone or something. Unexpressed anger and frustration can also cause other problems, such as physical illness or depression. 

--I have always been amazed at how people age so quickly who have horrible anger issues…it is unnatural for your face to be contorted that way. Song: If you are happy, notify your face.

--Imagine the frustration Joseph felt in his situation…rejected by siblings, sold into slavery, falsely accused, forgotten in prison…what helped him?  He had someone to talk to…The Lord was with him.

--We all need the Lord but sometimes we need a true Christian friend who will listen, empathize, pray for us, encourage us, and even correct us if it is needed. Someone who is blatantly honest with us.

--Sometimes you to talk to yourself and encourage yourself…When Ziklag was burned and the families of all of David’s men had been taken and they were talking of stoning him the Bible says:

 1 Samuel 30:6 (KJV)
⁶  And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 

--Journaling really helps some people…when you are frustrated write down what you are dealing with, pray, and then write down what you believe God and His Word are saying to you.

B. How do we handle delays?

--Things do not always happen in our timelines…ask Joseph.  Our prayers are not always answered as quickly as we would prefer.  Doesn’t God know what I am going thru?  Yes, and He will help you go thru.

--Whenever people are involved the possibility for delays becomes greater…things (especially change) will seldom move as quickly as you would like.

--When you see the delay coming, set your mind and your heart on the Lord and do not become impatient. Joseph had to continually look to the Lord every time he faced a delay or set back…we must do the same. 

Ketterling:  Not all delays have a divine purpose, but some do.  Ultimately, time is in the hands of the One Who created it.  Our perceptions of time are not the same as His.  What we see as a delay might be a momentary pause for His ultimate purposes.  Pushing through delays might cause us to miss something with eternal significance. 

3. As you seek to be the change you want to see, understand the power of clarity.

Albert Einstein – If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself. Keep it simple so people will understand.

--Jesus purposely spoke in parables so that His audience could understand His message.  Become a student of Jesus and other great communicators to make your message clear.

--Children’s pastors and youth pastors have learned to use visual aids to help people understand.  I try to use any situation I can to teach my daughter some kind of life lesson.

--For example: when someone makes very poor decisions and has horrible consequences…why waste them?  Take the time to speak to your kids so that they get the message.

--We can all determine to be good communicators and to speak with clarity…if you get that deer in the headlights look…take the time to ask if you were understood.

James 5:12 (NLT)
¹²  But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.

Ephesians 4:11-15 (NLT)
¹¹  Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
¹²  Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
¹³  This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
¹⁴  Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
¹⁵  Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.