Articles
Staying Ahead Of The Curve
We've all heard the terms "proactive" and "reactive", and often we hear people, groups or programs say they need to be proactive instead of reactive. Should the church lean one way or the other?
Obviously, many times, being reactive is our only choice. Things happen that are not planned, things we have no way to know they will happen. When we respond to them, such as tragedy in the lives of one of our members, being reactive is the only option we have, and most certainly we need to react. But isn't there even room to be proactive in those situations, and what about the rest of the time?
Let me suggest today, that the church can be more effective in our world by being proactive. When we have the ability to get ahead of things, it's to everyone's benefit. If we can control certain situations, limiting the effect, or in other cases cause certain things to happen instead of responding to whatever happens without our input, then we can most likely be more effective in the kingdom. This would be true of us individually and collectively as a congregation.
Acting in anticipation of problems vs trying to generate a response to them would be very beneficial would it not? Likewise, if we did things before they needed it, instead of waiting till the need actually exists, it would help us in overall efficiency and management of our lives and various situations. When it comes to spreading the Gospel, I believe it would always be more effective, and we could reach more people if we stood ready to immediately offer teaching and instruction (1 Peter 3:15) when a situation presented itself, instead of those opportunities passing us by because we were unprepared. It's really hard to re-create opportunities, and it's difficult to call after the fact in many instances.
How is our motivation today? Is there room to improve? (James 1:5-7) Are there opportunities we sometimes miss because we are playing catch-up? Let us pray for strength to be prepared, making ourselves ready in advance of situations so that we may be effective and our time well spent. Let us be organized, equipped, and prepared as the Lord's people, so that whatever we do, we do it working for the Lord (Col 3:17), placing priorities where they need to be.
