Yesterday in Toledo, we celebrated the National Day of Prayer by holding our 22nd annual Northwest Ohio Prayer Breakfast. About 750 people got to enjoy fellowship, some good food and a great message from Os Hillman. Os shared with us about the stages that God takes someone through when becoming a change agent…someone who impacts their culture.

The following are those stages:

  1. Recruitment through divine circumstances (change agents are rarely looking for this assignment) – eg. Moses and the burning bush
  2. Character development (adversity, betrayal, waiting, perseverance) – eg. Joseph’s hardships (betrayal, slavery, prison)
  3. Isolation period (a time where God realigns a person’s values) – eg. Paul hidden away for 3 years in Arabia prior to his ministry beginning
  4. Personal cross (hardships to develop humility, trust and intimacy with God) – eg. King David had many tests and flunked some of them…but grew through the process
  5. Problem solvers (they solve problems through invention and entrepreneurship) – eg. Joseph solving a coming food shortage problem
  6. Networks (change happens with a small number of change agents banding together) – eg. Esther had Mordecai and her people who prayed for 3 days for direction

He shared examples of how these same stages have played out in countless lives throughout history and also today. He closed by asking a poignant question. “Does Satan have a ‘wanted, dead or alive’ poster with your name on it?” In other words, are you a threat to the kingdom of darkness? If you are willing to let God use you to be a change agent wherever you are, you certainly will be known in Hell. But take heart because, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).