Torch, Summer 2003

growth, but too rapid, which leads to poor management decisions because the owner/operators fail to adapt to the changing needs of growing lists of customers, suppliers, and employees. Spiritual growth also demands adaptation and change. Paul chastised the Corinthian church for failing to mature properly when he wrote in I Corinthians 3:1-2 (NAS): “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.” Not only does growth demand adaptations, but differing circumstances also demand different responses. God uses our circumstances to develop our spiritual selves. If we fail to develop in response to those circumstances, God’s lesson remains unlearned. What would the scriptural record be if Job, Jonah, Nebuchadnezzar, and others had failed to recognize God’s hand in their circumstances and refused to alter their perspectives and behaviors? This is as true today as it was in biblical times. Individuals adapt as they mature; in fact, the adaptation of individuals to the less- encompassing involvement of their parents in the choices with which they are faced is the very definition of maturity. Families adapt to the addition of children — those who think otherwise have not experienced children. They also adapt as their children grow and mature. Change Creates Conflict One of the almost universal outcomes of change in families, organizations, and institutions is conflict. Children often feel their place in the family is threatened when younger siblings come along. spiritual realm. In the physical sense, as we grow through the various stages of life, certain adaptations are necessary. These changes include the ways in which we communicate, nourish ourselves, and practice health and hygiene. Nothing is more tragic than to encounter an individual who has not adapted to the changes associated with physical development. Consider how uncomfortable it is to be in the presence of someone who has not been properly taught how to use eating utensils, preferring to eat as a child. How do you react to individuals who have not appropriated proper habits of personal hygiene? Certain behaviors are expected of individuals at certain stages in their physical development. Those expectations are essentially requirements to change with the passage of time and the growth of physical bodies. What is true in the physical sense is also true in the commercial or business arena. Businesses experiencing growth are incapable of operating in the same way as when they were initially established. Some analyses of business failures indicate that the greatest danger of most small businesses is not too slow conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself ” (emphasis added). I Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJV) is probably the most recognizable positive scriptural rendering of change. It reads, “Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed , in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (emphasis added). If it is true that change is not inherently evil but can result in positive outcomes, then our task is to determine at what point change is appropriate and how positive outcomes can result. There are at least three instances when change is appropriate: when growth dictates it, when circumstances require it, and when technology ordains it. It is important to remember that growth dictates change. This is equally true in the physical sense, in the commercial arena, and in the 6 TORCH / Summer 2003 Leading Change