Some things change and some things should never change. It is so important to be able to differentiate between the two, and act appropriately. Three of the things that never change are the Man Jesus Christ, the Message that He preached, and the Mission that He gave us in today’s world. Don’t try to change these things. They are changeless.
The Man Jesus never changes. The Bible says “He is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). I think His message of hope and redemption (Luke 4:18, 19) is more relevant today than ever before in history. He didn’t come to talk about the survival of the fit, but the revival of the unfit! He offered life and hope to every person He met. His Mission to make disciples (Matthew 28:19) has not changed. Many Christian organizations have drifted away from the primary mission of making disciples. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!
So many things are changing. The stock trading’s open market pits in Chicago and New York City, “where generations of sweating traders in colorful jackets once bellowed out orders for wheat, corn, and cattle contracts, closed this past July. Modern computer advances have made “face-to-face trading largely obsolete.” Someone raised the question “Will traders who trade on the computer even know what a tip is?”
JPMorgan has changed how it utilizes the telephone. The bank is phasing out landline voicemail in its consumer and community banking units for employees who don’t deal directly with clients. Coca-Cola, in its Atlanta headquarters, has eliminated voicemail because it impeded the best way to do work today.
Amy Ingram is an excellent personal assistant who is “professional, prompt, and receptive to critiques.” As her initials suggest, she is an artificial intelligence program. When Amy receives an email request in a meeting, Amy can take over the task of coordinating schedules and setting dates. She will be available for use by the public in 2016. The New York Times reports that 47% of U.S. jobs are at high risk of being replaced by software and smart machines over the next 20 years!
The Edge is an Amsterdam office building which is the “smartest” building ever built. An app directs workers to available parking spaces when they arrive, and makes assignments for meeting rooms and different kinds of desks. The Edge also “knows your preferences for light and temperature, and it tweaks the environment accordingly.” It even remembers how you like your coffee.
With the opening of the Cyber College at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery is “negotiating contracts” to “plug in” and become not only a gig city but a cyber city – one of the few in the U.S.! The Cyber College not only will indentify and find solutions to security threats and hacks, but will offer access to the cyber workforce on demand 24/7 anywhere in the world!
We must navigate change by keeping the Changeless and the Changing in the proper perspective for action. I am completing a book which will be available in about a month which delineates in greater detail the Changeless and the Changing. It will contain discussion questions for churches, businesses, organizations, families, sports teams, etc.
Change is a choice! Change can be an obstacle or an opportunity – a help or a hindrance – a burden or a blessing. Businesses can turn change into dollars. Churches can turn change into converts. Sports teams can turn change into scores!
Never try to change the changeless – always be open to change with what is changing.
