How Long Will it Take?

I have been thinking recently about how long it takes for significant change to happen. I can tend to be an impatient person who is ready to take action ASAP. I am the guy that named our ministry RightNow and one of our values as a ministry is Immediate Action.

But then I got to thinking about all the marketing and advertising we are exposed to everyday. Those messages are filled with promises of instant results. We know those promises are actually lies. Deep down we know that there’s no quick fix.

So when it comes to seeing lives changed — there’s no overnight transformation. Change comes one choice at a time. I need that reminder because I can be tempted to believe that in the next three years our ministry could have huge “results” on our generation and the way we put our faith into action. While I hope God allows us to make considerable progress in the next three years, there’s a bigger picture than just the next three years.

I had the honor this week of meeting with a faithful woman in her 80′s named Ruth Merillat. She and her husband ran a successful company for decades and had a tremendous impact on their community in Michigan. Even in the short time I spent with Ruth I was reminded that transformation happens over time.

I want to be in my 80′s still plodding along in my own faith and in my ministry to others.  There are no shortcuts to real change.

Maybe we should change our name from RightNow to “Slow and Steady” or “Plodding Along” …