Chained to Change the Horizons 2 Tim 2: 1-13 Introduction:- If you ask employees in any organization, what they think

about change, you will normally find that most people have negative attitudes and perceptions towards change. They have fears of losing their job, their status or their social security, or they are afraid of a higher workload. These effects include fears, stress, frustration and denial of change. Most employees tend to react with resistance to change rather than seeing change as a chance to initiate improvements. The Apostle Paul, who started as one of Christianity's most zealous enemies, was encountered by Jesus Christ to become the gospel's most challenging messenger. We see that Paul was one who has undergone change in different ways all through his life. His missionary journeys and the message of salvation to the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire, enriched him in planting churches, preaching the gospel, and giving strength and encouragement to early Christians. Some scholars argue that among the epistles, the Pastorals i.e., 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus have been widely disparaged for more than 150 years. For this they cite reasons as distinctive vocabulary and style of the Pastorals, the degree of church structure seems more developed than anything in the earlier Paul and so on. Thus, it gives rise to the question of authorship of the Pastorals. However, the 2nd epistle to Timothy mentions that Paul in his third missionary journey, went by Miletus to Corinth (2 Timothy 4:20) and he proceeded to Rome. While being imprisoned there he wrote this Epistle to Timothy, shortly before his martyrdom. Regardless of the current debate, it is important not to let the issue of authorship weigh too heavily in one's appreciation of and response to the Pastorals. 19th century reformed preacher C. H. Spurgeon writes that The second epistle to Timothy is the last which the apostle wrote in the immediate prospect of his martyrdom. Paul pens this letter to his favorite disciple, Timothy, and solemnly charges him to abide faithful unto death, as though Paul thought he saw in him some signs of constitutional timidity. He felt it necessary, also, to give him by letter a last warning as to the heresies, that which were then being propagated in the early Churches. This epistle sketches Timothy's life only in broad strokes, from his early immersion in the scriptures (3.15) and matrilineal Christian growth (1.5), to his authorization for ministry by the laying on of Paul's hands (1.6), and his present ecclesiastical challenges. Therefore this read text helps one to remember the exhortations that Paul made through the metaphors of suffering soldier, competing athlete and toiling farmer which explains that Paul himself had lots of challenges in his fulfilling of the will of God. At all times he depends upon God and thus becomes model for Change by God's grace. He sets his life to be a model for change after Jesus in-spite of being chained not only literally but also politically, socially and sometimes spiritually. He insists Timothy also to overcome all similar chains his life. Based on the set background I would like to read and interpret today's read passage under management perspective and title the sermon as Chained to Change the Horizons. Chained to Change the Horizons We cannot deny the fact that all of us might be chained with one thing or the other, may be our addictions, our fear, anger, selfishness, authority, power etc. Eminent management guru John P. Kotter in his acclaimed book Leading Change says the rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades." Be it an secular field or spiritual field, industry or the church, it is a common fact that Change is part of it. Change is a function of altering what you are doing - to improve something that is already possible in your reality. This improved stage is what we call New Horizon. Horizon is the range of perception or experience. Horizons is something that might be attained. As we make efforts and try to understand our horizons, we will be able to see what is that chains us, then overcome those enslaving factors and subsequently develop new horizons. For this let us look at this graph which is widely used in management circles and is known as Product Life-Cycle (Look Graph). Fig. 1

Here we get to see that every product as shown in the graph has a introductory, growth, maturity and decline stage. By relating this graph to our lives we realize that we also experience such similar kind of stages at various points of our life. It could be the same even with respect to a family, and even a church as well. We cannot predict which stage is going to be longer and when will we move from one stage to the other. But in every stage we are chained always with our habits, practices, problems, experiences, powers, authority etc., that are either good or bad. There are high chances that we may give up when we face crisis, be it big or small. Timothy, the young leader, too is vulnerable to such experiences in his life therefore Paul cautions Timothy with his exhortations. He exhorts not to give up his faith while being a leader, and while faithfully administering his duties. As we look at the main theme of 2 Timothy announced in 1.8 we see that Timothy and all who follow him should not be Fig. 1 ashamed of the gospel or its representative, Paul, but should stand in fidelity to them, even to the point of suffering thus, it is essential for Timothy to overcome the road-blocks in the situation he is in, so that he allows change to happen within himself and with the church that he leads. This change will lead to the growth in faith by both Timothy and his Church as well. The exhortation to Timothy is to be strong and teach others rightly (2.1-13) is highlighted in the read passage. Thus the exhortation here can be understood as 1) Chained to be Change Champions: - Providing Vision and Direction Change management studies defines a Change Champion as a person who voluntarily takes extraordinary interest in the adoption, implementation, and success of a cause, policy, program, project, or product. He or she will typically try to force the idea through entrenched internal resistance to change, and will evangelize it throughout the organization. It is not only a privilege to receive the Christian faith but it is a duty to transmit it. We can see that Greek word used for faithful is Pistos which means, believing, loyal, reliable and to depend on. In verses 3-7, Paul uses three metaphors viz., an suffering soldier is chained to please the enlisting officer, an winning crowned Athlete is chained to the rules in order to compete, and an toiling farmer is chained to work so that he will have the first share of the crops. All the three metaphors that Paul uses here are familiar to the era and are common to the Greeks and Romans, thus, it could be easily related to their daily life. They were able to became Change champions by setting a model by their lives. They took voluntary and extraordinary interest in the tasks they were obliged to. Paul using these metaphors here insists and demands Timothy to become a Change Champion like them. It is important for the church leaders to provide vision and direction. Remember there are many around us who are lost, astray, and even at the edge of giving up their lives. There is a someone around us who needs a vision for his/her life and someone has to show him/her the right direction. Are we as ministers and to be ministers able to be change champions? Often we find this task difficult. Here Paul has a solution through his exhortation, it is to remember and do what Jesus did for our sake. According to Charles Handy an Irish philosopher specialized in Organizational behaviour and

management in the book The Empty Raincoat, says The Sigmoid Curve, which is a S-shaped curve is the metaphor for the life-cycle of all things: from a products Waxing and warning in popularity to the rise and fall of empires. He believes that one can survive -- even prosper -- in the tough new downsized world if one understands the forces that are shaping it. The secret of constant growth is to start a new Sigmoid Curve before the first one peters out. (See Figure 2).

And the right time to start the second curve is before reaching pinnacle of the first, so that there is time and resources to get the new curve off the ground (this is at point A). Unfortunately, waiting until the sign of downturn and disaster is apparent (point B), then it is probably too late to make the leap to a new Sigmoid Curve, Leaders are discredited, resources are depleted, and morale is damaged. Problems and trails do chain us, addictions and predictions may confuse us. But never give up. This is God's ministry and we are part of it. The discipline of the second curve requires that you always assume that you are near the peak of the first curve, at point A, and should therefore be starting to prepare a second curve. It is tempting to think that the world has always been arranged the way it is and to delude ourselves that nothing will ever change. The discipline of the second curve keeps one skeptical, curious, and inventive. Leaders who had victory and were successful, were able to draw this 2nd curve. This was first done by Jesus on the cross when humanity was being immersed into sin. His victory over death could be understood as the 2nd curve in the salvation history. Paul wants Timothy to remember Jesus who raised from the dead, and in verse 9 says it is for this gospel I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Judas Iscariot gave-up to a rope, the rich young man missed the gate to heaven, and many others were counted among the losers because they dint want change to happen. There is nothing that can keep you and me chained which God cannot break. Word of God unchains all that chains us. Anything that chains us can be used in return to change the present horizon to a new one. Paul used all that chained him to change his horizon to a new one. He chose to suffer hardship for Christ sake. Are we willing to be Change Champions: who provide vision and direction in fulfilling the will of God. Chained to be Change Sponsor- Providing Support for the Change Though the term sponsor is a commercial word I prefer and restrict it to consider it in the terms of Change management. Accordingly, Change sponsor is someone who has the authority, seniority, power, enthusiasm, and time to lead/carry through/oversee the changes. The change sponsor must ensure that the necessary resources are available throughout the change process and accepts

ultimate responsibility for the successful change implementation. Verses 11-13, in the passage seems to be taken from a poem or hymn that was popular. Here it says of the faithfulness of God and demands one to be a role model. If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. The idea that there may be something that God cannot do is entirely foreign to some people. Can he not do anything and everything? Are not all things possible to him? Is he not Omnipotent? Yes, but God's omnipotence needs to be understood that God is not a totalitarian tyrant that he should exercise his power arbitrarily and do absolutely anything whatsoever. God's omnipotence is the freedom and the power to do absolutely anything that he chooses to do. And he chooses only to do good. The One who denied the Heavenly throne, chose a cradle in the cattle shed for his birth, and chose to suffer death on the cross of Calvary as we read in Philippians 2: 6-8 says who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God , as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Yes he cannot deny his being. He cannot deny himself and the reason is you and me. Paul reminds Timothy of how much Christ had to suffer for our salvation. Jesus wants Paul to suffer for his sake, and Paul asks Timothy to suffer for Christ's sake while he hands over the next generation of believers under Timothy's leadership. Today, we need to decide whether to choose to suffer and share the suffering for Christ's sake. Paul presents himself as an example before the faithful. When we as individuals can't do many things we can let that happen through the Church. Together as one in Christ, we can achieve and support each other in fulfilling the will of God. Church has authority, church has power, and church can support and monitor the progress of the people. Remember, the Sigmoid Curves demonstrates to us the constant need to reinvent ourselves and our Churchto transform from the as-is state to the to-be state. Moving on requires a belief in that everything has its ups and then its downs, and that nothing lasts forever or was there forever. This is the mandate the church has to realize; it is the way of constant vigilance, innovation, and transformation to survive to the next Sigmoid Curve of life. Moreover, the accelerating pace of change shrinks every time a 2nd curve is drawn. Take the example of our Volleyball team. Victory is our goal. Team is the tool. Coach scolds when rules don't mold. An injury is predictable. Regress practice is what is essential. Time and programs are the constraints. We are yet to draw a 2nd curve. In the growth of the church enlightenment and reformation were the series of 2nd curve. But that isn't the end. Is not church most of the time denying Christ and often seen faithless through its words and actions? Why is the church silent towards injustice, marginalized and the ones who suffer. People are being oppressed and rejected within the church itself. Church too may be chained by its policies and practices and therefore restrains from change. Paul wants the Church to become Change Sponsors in providing support for the change. Church with the help of its sacraments, pulpit, various organizations like Sunday school, Yuvjana sakhyam, Sevika Sangham, Edavaka mission and so on, can certainly provide and support for Change. Church has to help in bringing Change in the horizons of many in the society. That is why Paul begins his exhortation in the chapter saying 1 You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; 2 and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well. We together make the church. Church must therefore ensure that the necessary resources are available throughout the change process and accepts ultimate responsibility for the successful change implementation among its congregation as Change Sponsors. And thus words that comfort Paul is seen through the hymn, God remains the same,in all his sufferings, even when he is chained like a criminal, it is his grace that is sufficient and is also with us today. Even if we are faithless, He remains faithful. Conclusion:- Under the title Chained to Change the Horizons we have meditated upon Chained to be Change Champions: providing Vision and Direction

Chained to be Change Sponsors: providing support for the Change. Change is something that presses us out of our comfort zone. Change is for the better or for the worse, depending on where you view it. Change has a ripping effect on those who wont let go. Flexibility is the key. Even a roller coaster ride can be fun if you know when to lean and create new balance within the change. Change is not comforted by the statement just hang in there but with the statement you can make it. We dont grow in retreat, but through endurance. Change makes victims to become victors; and that choice is ours. While I was not selected for the BD course for my 1st attempt in 2006 I didn't know what to do. Where there was no way-out that I could see, it was God who opened for me the door to experience corporate culture and later complete my Master's in Business Administration. I could also successfully do the project on Change Management, the principles of which I have used for todays sermon. Amidst all the challenges and difficulties then, God helped me to draw a 2nd curve, and many of us seated here too would have similar experiences to share. Yet, there are many areas lacking in us which demands the drawing of a 2nd curve before we enter into the decline stage. Each of us here is blessed with a rich tradition of faith handed on through generations. However, the need of the hour is responsible transmission of this faith. And it is in this spirit that Paul exhorts Timothy to share in suffering like a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Change is awkward -- at first. Change seeks a better place at the end and is complete when you realize you are different. Change can flow or jerk, depending on our resistance to it. Change is here to stay. Silence: May the Triune God enable us to be the Change which widens the horizons of everyday lives in full accordance with his will, today and all days of our lives. Amen.