I do not normally blog on Thursdays, but I am writing a three part blog on why change is necessary. Yesterday I explained how change is often at times needed because we need a different pace. There are times we need to change the pace up and other times when we need to slow down the pace, this is only possible through change.

Change The Lane

Today I want to deal with the second reason I believe change is necessary, this is in order to change the lane. When you are driving on the highway there are many cars driving at different speeds. I use to be the one who hugged the passing lane and put my foot to the floor, that was until I realized police were everywhere. Now I’m a middle of the road driver, not too slow but not the faster car on the road either. As you know there are many times you have to change your lane in order to pass a vehicle or in fact let a vehicle pass you. It is when one car refuses to change their lane that traffic jams happen and sometimes accidents happen.

In the life of any individual or organization there must be times when you change lanes. Too many organizations suffer leadership bottlenecks that hold them back or cause dysfunction. A healthily organization knows when it is time to change the lane. A good book  on this subject is by Paul Weaver called ‘Breaking the Leadership Bottleneck‘.

From 2003 till 2005 by best friend Wes lived with me in my Parents home. He was going through a tough time in his life and I was over the moon that the one person in the whole world I could trust and depend on was going to be around 24/7. For two years we had the time of our lives. It was two years of laughter, fun and lots of golf. You see he is a PGA professional, so after work in the summer we’d go to the golf course and play a few holes, my golf game became rather good. However, in 2005 I got married. The result of this was that I moved to the USA. My friendship with Wes still reminded, we are still the best of friends (even though I’m not a very good friend because I don’t keep in touch as I should), but we have both changed lanes. Wes is getting married this year and he is now in a totally different lane and going at a different speed than he was in 2005. If we had both stayed in that lane, yes we would have had fun, but in the long run our goals, desires and dreams in life would have never been a possibility. We had to change lanes. In the beginning Wes had to change lanes and let me speed up past him. His life seemed to be going nowhere while mine was speeding up. However, if Wes had not have moved lanes I would not be where I am today. However, because Wes moved lanes he was able to take a different route and now his life is in the speed up mode and he is on his way to fulfilling some great things, he is a man of God who has a bright future.

So today, change made be all around  but at times it is necessary because we need to change lanes. Many times we don’t like to change the lane, but it is necessary to get to the place we are going.

What lanes are you needing to change today? Is there something in front of you that is stopping you progressing, then change the lane? Are you to one who is stopping others progress? If so, that’s okay, but it’s time to change the lane!

Grace, the church where I am one of the Pastor’s is going through a lot of change at present. Some people like change others do not. I have heard people ask the questions, why are we changing? Things were going great now we are going to spoil it? If it’s not broken don’t try to fix it? We are growing so why do we need to change? Whenever something good happens it never lasts!

Well over the next three days I want to write about why I believe change is necessary and what warning lights come on to tell us if change is needed.

Changing The Pace

The other day my wife saw an advertisement for the new EA Sports Active game for the Wii. She saw it, wanted it and proceeded to tell me we needed to change the pace. You see, since the beginning of the year we have been using the Wii Fit to get into shape (at this point some of you ‘gym’ types are laughing and making fun, but it works for us). We struggled with finding a routine to workout; our schedules made it impossible to hit the gym, so when we found the Wii Fit it actually worked. We got into shape and enjoyed the workout. However, over the past couple of weeks our motivation levels have been down concerning working out. Nobody else would have seen it because it looks like we are continuing to lose weight. However, we have noticed it! I have got more tired and put some poundage back on. The Wii Fit has been good to us, but now it is not giving us the challenge we need, so it is time to change the pace.

In life we can think that because something has worked in the past it should always be a part of our lives. However, this is not true. There are people, activities and churches that will help us get to a new level in our lives. The Wii Fit has got us to a level of seeing the need to workout and what happens when we neglect our bodies. However, the Wii Fit can only take us to a certain level of fitness.

Often times we cling to something because we like it and we have seen good results, but deep down you know when it is time to change the pace. Motivation levels go down, the things you once were excited about become mundane tasks and you begin to slowly take your foot off the gas. Even though you may not see it, you know what once worked is beginning to crack, it’s time to change the pace.

I do not like to change the pace. Changing the pace means hard work, it often means pulling yourself out of that hole you are now in. It means getting motivated, it means thinking outside the box, it means pushing yourself in areas you do not really want to be pushed in. However, unless we change the pace we will slowly die and what once worked for us will be the thing that leads to our death. In order to live like God wanted us to live we must at times change the pace!

What areas of your live have you slowed down in that you need to speed up? What areas are you going too fast that you need to slow down? Where do you need to change the pace?