Crisis - something comes along to upset our equilibrium.
Every crisis: a moment to decide.
James Russell Lowell:
Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some new decision,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever
‘Twixt that darkness and that light.
Challenge - retreat or advance ... no one can stay where they are; because the world is changing ... in a crisis, temptation: o rely on what we already know.
When RCs don't know what to do, they hold a Latin Mass, and retreat into past pactices.
GM and Chrysler were terrific at doing what they knew best, even when it was no longer paying off. Ford took the uncommon road of innovation - there was no payoff either, but someone at Ford saw the future and said, "Let's go."
I should have bought Ford stock last year.
But GM has caught up. Good things ... but it has to be advance, into uncommon corridors; the unexplored is where we need to be.
Stan Ott: when what we know no longer serves us well.
Wall Street is facing a challenge; the instinct are to retreat into the tried and true, so to speak; but just how true it is remains to be seen.
Will Wall Street rise to the challenge?
Will it advance into uncommon corridors or will it retreat into it's old ways?
Great video out on Domino's Pizza ... check it out ... folks said their crust was like cardboard and their sauce had no flavor.
They didn't just add salt;
But back to the drawing boards. They didn't tweak what they were doing; they stopped what they were doing. They started over again.
Donna worked for a real estate company that used to be on top; 50s & 60s, but when the world turned and all the new franchises began to gain market-share, they decided stay with what they knew.
They assumed that people would still do business with them.
But their old customers were old; and new people moving into the area didn't know who they were.
Donna and other agents left; within two years, the once proud company folded. They tried a few things at the end, but to no avail. It was too late.
They clung to what they knew too long; they looked inward, when they should have been looking outward.
Each of us face similar challenges: at work, the way we related to people, the way we think - easy to slip into the "tried and the true," even when it's not working any longer.
Think of it as small and large ...
First instinct - be small.
The in-crowd of Jerusalem wanted to be small, but Peter's words were persuasive, backed by the Spirit.
Judas chose to be small when he betrayed Jesus, and then it was too late. He either took his life, or had a fatal accident – we’re not sure, but when Judas how small he was, it was too much for him; he couldn’t bear it any longer.
If only Judas had waited.
Peter was a small man when he denied knowing Jesus.
And when Peter saw what he did, he wept bitterly.
But Peter hung in there.
He stayed near Jesus, and Jesus restored Peter.
Smarter and wiser.
Saul was small, and then he met Jesus on the Damascus Road, and he got so big, he needed a new name. The old name was too small to hold the new person. So Saul becomes Paul.
A new name for a big man!
Folks in Jerusalem pointed to the temple and said, "Nothin' bigger than that."
They pointed to their laws and regulations, and said, "Nothin' bigger than that."
They took Jesus to the cross and said, "Nothin' bigger than that."
But God said, "There are bigger things. Much bigger. And God rolled the stone away!"
Jesus was a big person who pointed to the biggest thing of all - the Kingdom of God.
Folks who wanted Rosa Parks to sit in the back of the bus and shut up were small, but when Rosa refused, she ignited a huge revolution, and big people came to the front and changed the laws of the nation.
A. LIncoln was a big man with a big vision.
So was Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
Their big vision kept them going when small people wanted to take them down.
A new book – a 14 year old boy in Africa:
He didn't have money. He didn't have supplies. All he had was a book with pictures. He went to a junkyard, found a bicycle rim, PVC pipe, an old tractor fan.
Built a windmill to power one light bulb. And then a few more, and larger … he’s 22 now, and featured in a book:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.
Vision and dreams.
Big things.
Big people point to big things.
Process - gain and loss ... always a trade-off. Sure, the familiar is comfortable; the uncommon can be unnerving - "uh, we've never been here before."
The last 7 words of the church?
“We’ve never done that before!”
Many years ago, I had an elder who always asked, “Is anyone else doing this?”
He was an engineer for Chrysler.
And finally I said to the Session, “Do we really care if anyone else is doing this?”
“Maybe we should be a pioneer and be the first!”
Positive attitude vital - trust in God, sense of adventure, there's always more ... there is no destination, but always the journey. God is infinite, so there can never be an end to our exploration of love and life. Donna: "We're never lost. We're right here!"
Larger view of the world is the pay-off. Those who move into a larger world, experience the gift of peace and confidence, and a higher level of faith. It’s easier to live in a large world.
Like a pair of shoes that fit well.
Or a comfortable couch.
A fine dinner.
It’s good to live in a large world.
"The world's well-travelled people must always traverse the corridors of the uncommon." - an ad for a fine hotel.
Uncommon corridors?
Of course …
Jesus did … and says to us, “Don’t be afraid.
Life will take you into many a strange place.
But in every place, a moment to decide.
You can do it.
You have the power to grow!
Amen and Amen!
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