This past weekend I was privileged to attend the 175th anniversary celebrations of my alma mater Christ Church High School in Chennai and experience its rich history. Way back in 1842, a gentleman by the name of Thomas Parker Waller saw an opportunity for education and offered up the premises to build a school and a church on Mount Road in Chennai. And it was a defining moment. 175 years later, his great-great-great-grand-daughter was able to see some of the fruits of that investment as she and her son were present as the school celebrated some of the moments of history that they were commemorating on this particular day. And what a proud moment it was for her as she looked at all the things that had transpired over these 175 years! It was a pleasure to see her engage with different people, trying to get as much information as possible, and yet, at the same time humbled by all that was going on and all that had occurred over these years.
Defining moments are so wonderful when people are able to take that moment and say, "Here's an opportunity for me to make a difference," and then, to take that moment and say, "I'm going to step into this place because I believe I can help in this situation." That's what this gentleman Waller did, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I also travelled up to the Christian Medical College, Vellore and again, was caught up with the vision that Dr. Ida Scudder had when she started CMC in 1900. She was born in Trivandrum, the daughter of second-generation medical missionaries from the Dutch Reformed Church in the United States. But she didn't want to have anything to do with the work in India. She went to the US and came back only to take care of her ailing mother. But in the course of that time, she saw how difficult it was for ladies to get care because they couldn't take the care from doctors who were men. She was privy to three children who died because of that. That changed her! She went back to the US to train in medicine and then returned to India to start the hospital in 1900; a single bed hospital that became a 40-bed hospital in 1902. Again, a defining moment.
As I thought about these 2 events over this weekend, I was reminded that defining moments are opportunities that come our way to make a difference, to seize an opportunity that can meet a great need, if we are able to seize it. It can be in any area of work in our lives. As somebody said, "There's a defining moment in every person's life. Within that moment, everything that the person is shines its brightest.
Take a look at Roberto Goizueta who took over as CEO of Coca Cola in the 1980s. it was a time of huge competition between Pepsi and Coke. Executives from Coke were trying to increase their market share by just 0.1% to be able to say that they were ahead of Pepsi. And Roberto decided to do something different. He called a meeting of all his executives and then he asked them what was the average fluid intake of an American per day. The answer was 14 ounces. Next question: What is Coke's share of that? The answer: 2 oz. then Roberto said, "That's our answer. We are not going after Pepsi. We are going after the other 12 oz. our competition is water, tea, coffee, milk and fruit juices that Americans consume in the remaining 12 oz." Coke never looked back after that. They put up vending machines at every street corner making their products easily available and won that particular battle hands down. For Roberto, this was the defining moment.
I don't know how many of you have seen the movie 'Facing the Giants'. There's a line in that movie that says, "God gifted you with the ability to lead. Don't waste it!" Wherever you are today, whatever you are doing, God has placed you there with the ability to take these defining moments and do something about it. Don't waste it. Great speeches, great inspirational moments at times like this, move and make a huge difference to people while making sure they remember you for a long, long time.
Inspirational moments, thoughts and messages leave an indelible mark on the hearts and lives of people. And you are in positions of leadership to create those kinds of defining moments. The greater question is: Will you take them? As they come your way, will you accept those opportunities?
Our Holy Scriptures say, "In a world that is so complex, we ought to shine as lights." We ought to be ones who will shine like stars in a world that seems to have lost so much of hope, where there's so much of despair, so much of wrong. In the midst of this we are called to be defining leaders. My challenge to you, is to take these defining moments and be the inspiration you are supposed to be. Inspire them to be different, improved individuals, better human beings. Go beyond that, even and inspire them to think lofty and noble thoughts. Help them imagine beyond cynicism and their own confining boundaries and challenge them to rise above their own self-limiting expectations. There's a defining moment in every person's life, and within that moment, everything that that person is, shines its brightest.
Find your defining moment, because defining moments define people.
May I offer this prayer on our behalf? Almighty God, may everyone who hears this be inspired by You. May everyone of us be able to seize our defining moments, be able to rise to the occasion when we see opportunities to inspire, to be able to say the right word, to do the right thing and to be able to create a defining moment that will have wonderful results or consequences for generations to come. I pray this in Your precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.
• Roberto Goizueta, ncr.mae.ufl.edu/funstuff/Teamwork.ppt
• Christian Medical College & Hospital, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Medical_College_%26_Hospital
• Facing the Giants, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facing_the_Giants
• Prof. Satish Dhawan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd-OYt-rTqk
• Defining Moment quote, http://thinkexist.com/quotes/like/there-is-a-defining-moment-in-every-persons-life/347477/
• Bible quote: http://biblehub.com/philippians/2-15.htm
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