He is considered by some to be the best college coach ever. His basketball teams won an unprecedented 10 NCAA national championships, including an unmatched 88-game win streak. ESPN named him, “Coach of the Century.” He is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. His name is synonymous with excellence, integrity, and leadership.
I was reading Jonathan Edwards biography by George Marsden the other night. Edwards was two years into his stint as pastor at Northampton. Though I was sleepy, Marsden's word made me fully awake:
"Even though by 1731 Edwards could sense that the spiritual orchard he was tending might be regaining its vitality, it took nearly three more years of patient pruning and cultivation before it burst into bloom." (p. 152 italicize mine)
Edwards is one of the greatest thinkers in American history, a man of passionate faith, and one who loved the church of Jesus Christ. Despite that, change did not come immediately. It took time. There are no shortcuts to walking with God, implementing a vision, or growing a church. Change takes time!
