It seems to me that most significant changes in Human History have been accomplished by small groups of dedicated people.  As it relates to the Church and Christianity, I see the same thing.

Moses - Here we have a young man and his brother, a very small group).  Moses was not a good speaker (perhaps a speech disability, or maybe just a shy stutter, Scripture is not very specific).  God called on Moses to free His people from bondage in Egypt.  A young man who was not the most gifted speaker and his brother who was a much better talker (see how God's plan is unfolding?) went before the most powerful man on Earth, the King of Egypt (Pharaoh).  Pharaoh was a self proclaimed God as well as undisputed ruler of the most powerful nation of his time.  This young man and his brother walked up to the king and demanded he let the people of Israel go free.  Think about that for a moment.  Pharaoh could have ordered them killed on the spot, but he didn't.  Why? Because God was in control.  But God used an unlikely young man to get His plan going.  This one small (in human history terms) change put in place the greatest change in human history.

Joshua, with a relatively small army, defeated nations.  Again, a small group of dedicated people following God's will changed the world.

The greatest change in all of human history was brought about by Jesus Christ.  Jesus, with a group of 12 men changed the world forever.  How did they do this?  A small group of dedicated people were following Jesus and listening to the will of God.  Think about it, 12 men changed the entire course of history.

Another common thread, with the exception of Jesus, all of them were flawed.  Some were flawed in serious ways.  Moses was a murderer and initially scared.  Peter was a hot head who tried to cut off a man's head and ultimately denied even knowing Christ.  Joshua failed to follow God's orders.

I think a lot of us (I am guilty as charged here) think we have too many skeletons in our closet to jump out in faith or there are things that are not perfect in our lives.  We're afraid of the unknown and afraid of failure.  We're afraid our friends may not approve of the changes God has asked us to make (think people didn't laugh at Noah?  Hey, Noah, what you building?  A boat?  You're miles away from water you crazy old man.  Poor old Noah, he must have lost his mind).

We're afraid to take the personal risk that others may not see the vision or approve.  Wasn't that Jonah's problem?  Sometimes we’re afraid people will laugh at us or get angry with us.

However, if the leading is really from God, all he asks of us is to have the faith to step out of the boat and keep our eyes on Him.  If we take the first step and keep our focus on Him, God will handle the rest.  And, yes, some will not like it (Think the leaders of the day liked what Jesus had to say?).  Some will strongly disagree (The Roman authorities were not terribly happy with Paul).  Doing the right thing may even cost you some friends (Jesus made this quite clear to His disciples),

So, where am I going with all of this?  Honestly, I'm not sure.  I'm more thinking out loud and it helps to write these thoughts down so that I can verbalize them more effectively when the time is right. 

I see changes that need to be made around me.  God has pointed these out to me.  I’m afraid to step out of the boat.  I’m afraid that I will be seen as rocking the boat.  I’m afraid that I will lose friends.  I’m afraid my views may be seen as too far out of the mainstream.  I’m afraid people are not ready or willing to change.  Mostly, I’m afraid I do not have the faith needed to make that step.

Bottom-line, what I need to tell myself is:
1) don't be afraid that your group is too small.  God makes an army of any size group following His will.

2) don't be afraid to step out.  No reward comes without risk.  God promises the reward.  He does not guarantee a risk free ride.

3) If God has shown something to you that needs to be changed, change it.  He would not have pointed it out to you.  He made you aware of these things for a reason and He’s asking you to start the change. (Moses is a very good example of this).

Now, the next step, I have to read this again and again until I have the faith and the nerve to jump out of the boat and know I won't sink.

That's it for today.
Jeff