Mentoring Lessons- ResilienceSample

A New Idea Will Rarely Make Everyone Happy

What’s it like when you think you’ve found a wonderful new idea only to find that some people are resistant to it?

Here’s what happened when a few people had the idea to add additional pages of sports testimonies and photos to the New Testament to create a sports Bible.

At first, we had many questions. Would sports fans be more interested in reading the Bible if photos and faith stories were included? Would a sports Bible inspire young athletes? Would any Bible agency be willing to print it?

Rather than endlessly discussing the idea, we wrote the faith stories of six sportspeople and took them to a Bible Society as an example of a possible sports New Testament. The response was positive – if we could finance it!

With support from donors, we provided 120,000 sports Bibles for a major sports event. The response was very positive, with letters of appreciation continuing for the next ten years.

To my surprise, some people were not happy. Including photos and testimonies upset some.

Yes, the Bible is our most important book. It is precious – the Word of God. Photos and testimonies had never previously been added to a Bible. But our reasoning was this: Anything that helps people open the Bible is good, and it was designed so that there was a clear distinction between the Bible and the faith stories of the athletes.

And so the idea grew! Others created national sports Bibles and sports Biblew for specific sports. Now, more than 40 countries and individual sports have produced sports Bibles.

If you want to bring a new idea to ministry and mission, be aware that some people don't cope with change. You will face negativity.

Scripture to Ponder: Isaiah 42:10

Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

Key Lesson: When you have an idea that may result in negative feedback, be sure to pray and discuss the concept with wise believers.