GROWTH POINTS WITH DR. MC

Make Change Your Friend

On Your Mark — Have you noticed where the letters on a standard keyboard are placed? They are placed as far apart as possible. Originally the purpose of the arrangement of letters was to slow down the typing speed on typewriters. Keys on older typing machines would jam if the typist went too fast.

Then, in 1936, the Dovark keyboard was invented. On this keyboard, the most used keys are in the home row, and the right hand does 56% more of the work. Tests show this keyboard allows typists to complete their work five times faster, with no increase in error. However, the older keyboard designed to be inefficient is still the primary one in use? Why? People don’t want to change!

Get Set — Churches face change in three ways. One, they RESIST change. Two they RESENT change, And, three, they RETREAT from change. A better approach is to RISE through change. Change can be an encouragement to grow by deepening our commitment to things that are unchanging. The Apostle Paul wrote, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Everything in life can be divided into categories—material and immaterial, visible and invisible, temporary and permanent. The first is going to pass way; the second is going to endure for eternity. To rise through change, churches must focus on the things that are going to last.

Grow — Are you frightened by change? Do you feel things are changing too fast? Do you wish things would slow down? Security lies in focusing on those things that do not change: God’s Word, God’s love, and God’s purpose. How can you change your focus this week?

-Gary L. McIntosh, Ph.D.
Author of The Ten Key Roles of a Pastor

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You can read this article, and access additional ones, on Dr. McIntosh’s website: www.churchgrowthnetwork.com