Winning Words 6/12/12
“Harvard endures, because Harvard changes.”  (Drew Gilpin Faust)  Harvard was established in 1636, and remains strong, because it has embraced change.  There is a natural resistance to new ideas, but positive change can happen when a vision is communicated, when teamwork is promoted and there is a goal.  Think about it.  All of life involves change….a university, a business, an organization, the self!    ;-)  Jack

FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN:  "Important principles may, and must, be inflexible."////FROM JACK:      See!  There are exceptions to change

FROM OPRAH WINFREY:  "The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be."

FROM GOOD DEBT JON:  Harvard endures because of a 4.3 Billion dollar endowment.////FROM JACK:  An endowment like that certainly helps.  Some churches have large endowments, too, and empty pews.  Money isn't everything.

FROM JAYFOR IN MICHIGAN:  In 1961, students were upset because Harvard was changing its diplomas from Latin to English.  Harvard’s president at the time gave a witty response, but many students failed to see the humor.  The university argued that since Latin was no longer required in the curriculum, it made no sense to continue the Latin diploma tradition just for the sake of tradition (but of course, the motto “Veritas” is still in Latin).  When I was a student there (in the 1980s), divesting from Apartheid companies in South Africa was a big concern – the Harvard foundation eventually divested.  I agree wholeheartedly that change is hard!!!////FROM JACK:  Change, without being difficult, is not really change.

FROM CB IN MICHIGAN:  I like your quote in Winning Words today -  thank you!////FROM JACK:  It's not only Harvard that benefits from change.  I try to keep "preaching" that.

FROM YOOPER FLICKA:  YES !! THANK YOU...I AM REMBERING WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG..AND MY MOTHER WOULD REMIND ME ABOUT THE DIFFERENT SAYINGS WHEN WE WOULD DRIVE PAST HARVARD.........EONS AGO !!////FROM JACK:  Do you mean that Harvard is older that you (and I) are?


FROM IRONMAN IN MICHIGAN:  I like today's winning words.  Unfortunately police officers in general do not like change so improving an organization takes time.  Two steps forward one step back! ////FROM JACK:  Pastors also will often meet a group within a congregation who will say, "We've never done it that way before."  I've found that to be an energizing challenge.



FROM WATERFORD JAN:  A church?////FROM JACK:  You said that.  I didn't.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN:  As they say:  Don't let your rear view mirror be bigger than your windshield!////FROM JACK:  It's surprising how many people there are who think that driving while looking in the rearview mirror is safer than driving while looking forward.

FROM RI IN BOSTON:  Another reason Harvard endures is because it has billions of dollars in endowments, and gets more every year, and the changes they engender frequently come at the expense of the community.////FROM JACK:  It sounds as though roses aren't the only flowers grown in Cambridge

FROM ILLINOIS LIZ:  Change 4 the sake of change is not wise... change & growth can be very different. I read many Harvard grads r reluctant 2 claim their alma mater these days.  Larry Summers, former Harvard President, once declared that women were not as good @ math & science as men. Bet he wishes he could change that statement!////FROM JACK:  Would you ever want to change some of the statements that you've made?  I know that I would.  It would be a strange organization, if all of the members agreed.  I read this morning that  a large group of the GOP would have a hard time accepting the leadership of Ronald Reagan.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Harvard had a very strong Christian background but not anymore.  Sometimes change isn't good.////FROM JACK:  Even Christianity has changed from the 17th century.  The King James Bible was written in 1611, and it, too, was a "new" translation...a product of change.  I find it interesting that Harvard and the KJV are both about the same age.

FROM PLAIN FOLKS CHESTER:  How DARE you infer that I am a Democrat!!!!////FROM JACK: 
No inference.  In 1948, in Harrisburg, Illinois, Harry Truman delivered a speech attacking the Republicans. During the speech a supporter yelled out "Give 'em Hell, Harry!". Truman replied, "I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it's Hell."  No inference.

FROM MEDD-O-LANE:  Changes are mostly instigated by negativity.////FROM JACK:  Your response reminds me of Peter Finch, in the 1976 movie, "Network," when he screams, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore."  Frustration also begets change...or a desire for it.

FROM CWR IN B'MORE:  True......and it is likewise true of the Church. The Reformation must exercise continuous Re-Formation.////FROM JACK:  ...so do congregations and members of congregations.

FROM SAINT JAMES:  One thing that I have learned is that when we as individuals stop embracing change, that is a sign of shutting down.  I have witnessed that in many people in my life and hope that I don't fall into that trap.  Each day I live, I end it learning something I didn't know when that day began.  It's intimidating, but it must happen!////FROM JACK:  The emergence of the butterfly is a good example.  Two words I learned in high school science were pupa and chrysalis.////MORE FROM THE SAINT:  We should always embrace the emergence of the butterfly in our lives...when we don't, we miss a ton of what life has to offer!

FROM MEDD-O-LANE:  I don't know who said it first, "If it ain't broke don't try to fix it."////FROM JACK:  Do you suppose that's from the Book of Proverbs or some place else in the Bible?