Here Be Dragons – A Barrier To Change
At the edges of medieval maps was often inscribed the warning: “Here be dragons.”
The fear of dragons kept generations of sailors from sailing beyond known boundaries.
Similarly, I have found I confront my own dragons each time I approach the edge of my comfort zone.
There I discover the greatest barrier to my next level growth and to significant change is my comfort and control at my current level.
We all know people who cling to the past, the music, the programs, the attitudes and values of the past.
Maybe more so in the church than anywhere else. While this nostalgia is understandable it is also regressive.
Nostalgia Can Become An Excuse Not To Change
If we are not changing we are staying the same.
If we are not going forward we are going backwards.
We are even going backwards when it feels like we are stuck.
Nostalgia can become an excuse for avoiding growth, refusing to embrace change and for taking the next steps on our journey of discovery and faith.
Painfully, I must admit the most frustrating people I deal with are those who feel they must put me back in their box.
Such people try to dismiss or shame anyone calling them out of their comfort zones. For if you are right, they have to change or admit they are wrong.
I would count it a win/win if these people could bring themselves to say that perhaps even 10 percent of what I am saying might be true.
Application: We Cannot Avoid the Choice Between Anxiety and Depression
It has been said that angst is the price we pay for growth and change and depression the fee we pay for regression or being stuck.
Therefore, we cannot avoid the choice between anxiety and depression.
To not live life forward is to invite despondency, loss of energy, hopelessness and dejection.
To commit to growth and change means that we will have to leave our safe harbors, venture into unknown seas and confront our fears and anxiety.
But that is where our soul, our borders and yes, even our churches will enlarge.
That is a powerful summons to personal and organizational growth.
Action: Which are you going to choose today………the path of growth and change and it’s accompanying anxiety or security and regression and it’s inevitable depression?
Posted on May 1, 2014
