POSITION YOURSELF

ISAIAH 6:8

My soccer career was less than impressive. I don't think I ever actually started a game, but I did learn a secret about getting to play. The coach will sometimes send in the guy standing closest to him. It happens, for example, when someone has just been dragged off the field and he needs someone -- anyone -- to fill a spot. I learned that if I was close enough at that moment, he just might choose me. It worked sometimes -- certainly more often than sulking on the bench would have. This is why, during the course of my single season of play, I entered the game as an right-wing, a halfback or a defensive fullback even though I never practiced in these positions. I usually didn't know exactly what I was expected to do, but at least I was on the field.

There's a principle here to remember: As Dwight L. Moody once said, "God always uses the man closest to him." Unlike my high school soccer coach, God isn't easily distracted and he doesn't send us anywhere unprepared. But he does use those who are eager to get into the game. That's why I want to make a habit of "getting in God's way" so to speak, so that when he's ready to use someone, he sees me first. I want always to be in a position where God can do something with my life.

Isaiah heard the voice of God saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And Isaiah responded, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

God is asking the same question today. He's looking for those who are to ready to be used in a great way. When he's searching the sidelines for someone to take the field, I want to be standing close to him.

ABOUT CHANGE

MATTHEW 18:3

It's been said that the seven last words of the church are: "We never done it that way before." We tend to resist change — and I've noticed that "contemporary" churches are just as reluctant to change as "traditional" churches. That's not necessarily a bad thing; change for the sake of change rarely leads to success.

Too often we keep changing the things that working and ignore what really needs to be fixed. I've seen churches that are constantly changing their music ministry or the structure of their service when what they really need to change is the friendliness of their people to guests.

The approach to any kind of change in our personal lives or ministry should be handled with thoughtfulness and prayerful consideration. Here are some notable quotes on the topic.

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"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

"If you want to truly understand something, try to change it." — Kurt Lewin

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." — Nicolo Machiavelli

"Don't take the fence down until you know the reason it was put up." — G.K. Chesterton

"Not all change is improvement, but without change there can be no improvement." — John Maxwell, Developing the Leader within You

"In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are." — Max Depree, Leadership is an Art