Change is important.

But it’s also important to cling to core values. Paul experienced that tension, and God helped him to facilitate change while not abandoning his core values. In Acts 16:6-10, Paul is all set to carry the Gospel message to Bithynia – but the Spirit of God redirected him to Macedonia. Change – new direction. But it was only a new direction, not a new message. Paul’s core value was not Bithynia; it was fulfilling God’s desire to expand His kingdom. Because he didn’t confuse his desire (to go to Bithynia) with his core value (to follow God’s call), Paul sailed straight for Macedonia.

In the great book Built to Last, Jim Collins notes that once a visionary company identifies its core ideology, it preserves it almost religiously – changing it seldom, if ever. Collins concluded that:

Core values in a visionary company form a rock-solid foundation and do not drift with the trends and fashions of the day. In some cases, these core
values have remained in place for over one hundred years. Yet, while keeping their core ideologies tightly fixed, visionary companies display a powerful desire for progress that enables them to change and adapt without compromising their cherished core ideals.

The point? Capable leaders who recognize their core values can change practices and procedures to enable their organizations to move forward while preserving those same core values.

Like Paul, all godly leaders need the ability to hold on to core values while making those changes necessary to advance their cause.

Change is tough enough when we’re the only ones involved. But the role of a leader is to bring about change in others and in an organization. All of a sudden, there are more people involved, and this change business just got a lot tougher!

God modeled some powerful principles of organizational change when He urged the exclusively Jewish church in Jerusalem to embrace Gentiles (Acts 10:9-23). This passage shows how God led Peter from being an opponent of change to becoming its champion. Take a look at these 7 principles of change God led Peter to
model.

• God started where Peter was
• God allowed Peter to challenge the idea
• God gave Peter time to work through his resistance
• God permitted Peter to experiment with small changes first
• The change proposal was well-prepared
• God didn’t ask Peter to “change”; He invited Peter to participate in what Peter already loved
• God convinced a key leader and allowed that leader himself to champion the change

Can you think of a situation today that these principles would be of help to you?

If so, then Change Away!

Change and innovation are integral components of both biological and spiritual growth. In the medical world, a clinical definition of death is a body that does not change. Change is life. Stagnation is death.

• If you don’t change, you die.
• It’s that simple. It’s that scary.

Spiritual growth is more about process than product, because all believers are in a process (whether we resist it or not) of becoming the people
God meant us to be. In the same way as biological growth, without change, spiritual growth is impossible.

Consider Abram and the immense change through his encounters with God. This was not simply a shifting of external elements in his life, and adjustment to his schedule. God asked for a complete overhaul of Abram’s career, dreams, and destiny. God even changed his name to Abraham to signify the depth of the change.

When leaders contemplate change, their first consideration must be the anchors that provide stability in a changing environment. Abraham believed in the Lord, and that security allowed him to pursue revolutionary change. Similarly, the Christian life is an ongoing process of change and internal revolution, grounded in the belief that this process is reforming us to become more Christ-like.

How do you find yourself resisting the changes God brings into your life? Do you focus more on process or on product?

Most of us have an aversion to change – especially when things are going relatively well. But we serve a God who says “Behold I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5). God is not interested in preserving the status quo; He is committed to nothing less than an entirely new order of creation. It started with the incarnation of His son into our world, and it continues in each of us who become “new” in Him. We are a new creation in Jesus  Christ, and should be exhibiting this “newness” each day in different ways.

How are you changing today?