LIFE TRANSITIONS, PART II

The first phase of change is the fight for change. There is a small percentage of the population that actually likes change (sometimes called innovators and early adopters). The rest of us struggle with it. The first step, then, is to get enough people to recognize the need for change. When Moses was finally successful (and it took awhile), it was because he simply reminded the people of who they were created to be, and then pointed out that they were not living up to that — in other words, they needed to change.

Fear: The Greatest Limiting Factor

There is nothing permanent except change.” — Heraclitus

Everything that is happening in our world has actually made this step a little easier. There are few who would deny that everything is changing. It’s not a far journey from that acknowledgment to the realization that if we don’t change we will be left behind. Even so, there are still some who refuse to budge.

This is because the governing emotion of life transformation is FEAR. Fear is the greatest limiting factor in the change process.

A recurring God refrain in the story of the Hebrew people is, Do not be afraid. God said it to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David and Solomon. He said it to the people again and again. God felt the need to reassure them again and again because he understood both the human tendency to be afraid, and the destructive limiting power of fear.

On a side note – Jesus said the same thing to his disciples the night before his death. Jesus begins his clearest and most important teaching by saying to his disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled” (John 14:1).

Jesus knew that they were about to go through the most traumatic transition of their lives and he wanted them to know that it was going to be alright. Peterson in his Message Bible as Jesus saying, “Don’t let this throw you” (John 14:1, The Message). Jesus begins his most important lesson by saying, don’t be afraid.

Fear will kill the needed transition before it ever starts. The fear of the leader – fear of losing his job, fear of not being loved, fear of not being liked, fear of failure, fear of making the wrong decisions, and the list goes on. All of these fears feed the insecurity of the leaders and will destroy any chance of change before it even begins.

That’s why this is a recurring theme throughout the Bible in times of transition – a word of encouragement both for the people experiencing the transition and the visionaries leading them through it – Don’t let fear paralyze you!

Once we understand the need to push through the governing emotion of fear, the next step is to recognize the need for change.

The Visionary Leader

Moses understood the need for change before anyone else did. That happens a lot with visionary leaders – they tend to get ahead of everyone else.

Moses saw an Egyptian master mistreating two Hebrew slaves. He killed the slave master and hid the body (Exodus 2:12). Moses had a deep sense of his Hebrew heritage. Although he was educated in the Egyptian system, he never forgot his roots. He knew that what the Egyptian slave master was doing was wrong. He decided to take matters into his own hands. He decided to become a liberator.

His own people, however, did not accept his leadership in this act. They responded, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:14). They wondered out loud, are you going to kill us like you did the Egyptian? They were afraid that Moses might end up being a worse taskmaster than the Egyptians. The liberator often becomes a worse dictator than the one they deposed.

Moses knew two things at this moment: (1) everyone knew what he had done; (2) he did not have the support of his own people. His fear overcame him and he ran.

Moses’ liberating action had the common flaw of being the right idea with the wrong execution, at the wrong time. Moses was ready to act as a liberator, but he didn’t seem to have much of a plan and he certainly didn’t have a supportive coalition. The people were not ready for a liberator, and God was not in Moses’ methods.

Some forty years later, God would come to Moses and call him to the task of liberation. In the now-famous burning bush scene, God gave Moses the mandate, as well as the plan and human support system.

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” — Maya Angelou

Three Essentials for Change

In summary, there are three essential elements in the first stage of change –

God must be moving in the midst of the people, calling them to change.
The leader must have a clear and courageous vision for the needed change.
The people (a plurality of them) must have the courage to engage the necessary actions for change.

Transformational Leadership

I have discovered that every five to seven years I have to change as a leader. I have to incorporate something in my life that is going to force me from well-worn paths into uncharted territory. If I am not learning, growing, transitioning, and changing as a leader then I cannot lead anyone else to do the same.

Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (John 9:4). I cannot become satisfied with where I am. I’ll have plenty of time for that when I get to heaven. The night is coming, but while it is daytime we must keep moving forward!