Catalyst:
"def. - an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action"
(Webster's Dictionary)
With the understanding of what a catalyst is, we have to decide something for each of ourselves.
When it comes to change in our lives, in our families, and in our churches are we a positive catalyst or a negative catalyst. We need to understand that each of us, no matter what our thoughts or opinions might be, are a catalyst of either one or the other. The choice though lays upon our shoulders.
The world is constantly in flux with change. Change in technology, change in medical advancements, change in economies, change in governments, etc. Change is always around us, and we too are agents of change.
Imagine being an individual that discovered the cure for cancer. You would be a HUGE positive catalyst in the medical field, but you would also be a huge catalyst of change in almost other area of life as well! Technologies would change, economies would change because people would no longer be dying from cancer, governments would change in regards to leaders and healthcare, even our families would change because even now so many families have lost loved ones because of cancer, or have families members suffering because of it.
Imagine having the desire to have the knowledge to change the world in such a way!
Now imagine having a desire on a personal level to lose weight and be in better health.
Your desire doesn't affect the medical world, or the technology world, nor world economies or governments...but it does affect you and your family. Your desire to change comes with a catalyst. Some might call it a will power. You have a desire to change your world, and it is a positive catalyst. Yet, at the same time, although you have that desire, maybe you don't have the personal will power to get off your couch and exercise and eat healthy. Your lack of will power would be a negative catalyst.
Did you know that its true also in the body of Christ the church?
Each and every one of us affects the church. We may notice it, and we may not, but individually as individuals, we all impact the church, and we impact it with either positive catalysts or negative catalysts.
Imagine where the church of Christ would be today if every believer in the church were a positive catalyst of change. Not just change for change sake, but they truly honestly, and personally wanted to make an impact for God upon this earth for His glory and for His honor. Imagine if every believer were totally sold out for the gospel, and they served in the church, the shared the gospel with their family and friends, they built relationships at work with people to find opportunities to share the gospel, they did everything within their ability to glorify God. Imagine where the church would be today.
Now let's focus on the reality. In our real world today, not everyone in the church is a positive catalyst of change. There is unfortunately, plenty of negative catalysts present as well. Comments such as, "We've never done it that way before." or "That's not the way Pastor so and so used to do it." I don't believe I really need to give you more examples because I think you already know what I'm talking about.
Often times in our churches today we struggle to find people to serve in different capacities simply because they are refusing to be positive catalysts of change. If as positive catalysts we were all in this together for the glory of God, there would be no negative catalysts to hold the church of God back.
So the question has to be asked, and answered then by each individual person... "Which am I?"
Am I a positive catalyst that helps change happen quicker, or am I a negative catalyst that causes the church not to change?
Ephesians 4:15-16
"But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."
QUESTION: Are we building or tearing down according to the type of catalyst that we are?
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