I hope I’m not dating myself by the David Bowie reference (I was in kindergarten when the song debuted. If you want to know the year Google it.)  in the title of this post, but there are big ch-ch-ch-ch-changes on the way for me and my family. In a nutshell, we are leaving Fort Worth, TX where I’ve lived my entire life and moving to Durham, NC where I’ll become the Directional Leader/Lead Pastor of a multi-ethnic church restart called Mosaic Durham. Because it’s a restart I’m having to raise support for 12 months to make the transition.

In going through this whole change process I began to realize their are two primary ways to handle it. I can be a Risk Manager or I can be a Risk Taker.

All change involves taking risks on our part no matter how big or how small the change may be. If I become a Risk Manager I take the safe road (at least that’s what I think.) trying to control the situation, attempting to  minimize the chance for failure and the level I have to step out of my comfort zone and embrace what’s going on around me. Yes I pray, but what I’m waiting for is for God to give me a crystal clear sign of what He wants me to do. I do this to take me out of the equation which normally is a good thing but in this case all I’m trying to do is not make a mistake. If I know 100% what God wants me to do and where He wants me to go then if things don’t work out I can always blame Him. I know we’ve all heard “the devil made me do it”, but in this case it’s “God told me to do it”.

I’m not saying being a Risk Manager is always bad, but if it’s left up to me I’d prefer to err on the side of being a Risk Taker. Here’s why. If I’m going to mess up I’d much rather go somewhere or do something God wasn’t specifically calling me to do and have an epic fail and learn from it than to stay put in a comfortable situation, afraid to take risks, when God’s calling me out to do something great. Being a Risk Taker doesn’t mean just jumping into things without thinking them through and seeking direction from God. Jesus says in Luke 14:28 that we aren’t to even begin without counting the cost. (“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?) Risk Managers keep counting the cost to the point of paralysis by analysis while Risk Takers count the cost, see the reward as being far greater than the risk, and hit the ground running without looking back.

My own personal philosophy is I’m going to “go, until God says no, or says to go slow”. I’m operating on the basis that by leaning on His direction and letting the Holy Spirit guide me on the front end, as I move through the process I can be more certain I’m operating is His will, not mine.

It’s funny how much God has changed me over the years and prepared for what He has me doing right here, right now. In the words of David Bowie,

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don’t want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man

I’ve embraced change by not being afraid to take risks and learning from the failures along the way in becoming the man God has made me today.

Do you tend to be a Risk Manager or a Risk Taker?