TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES THROUGH REVOLUTIONARY MINDSET

From time immemorial, man has had the tendency to be bound by tradition – the men of old passed certain practices to their children, who further transmit the same set of rules to their own children, and the practices become operational boundaries from generation to generation. Even when it appears as though there are creative additions, the add-ons are still within the borders of the traditional landmarks already set by relatively unknown authors. However, in the midst of this spiral, the Sovereign God himself declared (using the men of Babel as a case in hand) that nothing will be restrained from men once they have conceived it and have a unified purpose (Genesis 11:6b). By this expression, the bounds and boundaries of tradition have been torn asunder by the Sovereign God himself.

It is imperative to mention that the temptation to exalt and magnify technology in this discourse is strong. While we do not rule out the imperativeness of technology in blurring boundaries and catapulting workplace operations to an entirely lofty arena which the older professionals and operators could not imagine in their days, the main instrument or key to operating beyond bounds and boundaries is a revolutionary mindset.

A revolutionary mindset thinks beyond the normal or beyond what is acceptable. A revolutionary mindset does not seek what is comfortable or possible, rather, it seeks what is tough and seemingly impossible. A revolutionary mindset houses dreams that scare the dreamer. If challenges terrify others, they excite the man with a revolutionary mindset.

Gone are the days when understanding of basic logic, mathematics and test of English could guarantee a good, high-paying job; today, employers are concerned about the revolution candidates could bring to the workplace, in a world of opportunities.

The revolutionary mindset we are talking about is not an ego-driven one, whereby the younger generation seek to root out the older generation through skirmishes and stratagems in a bid to replace the existing powers with a youthful prototype. The revolution we are talking about is one that aims to create an alternative that outclasses the extant practices or models of operation. It is an attitude-specific drive.

It is also imperative to note that the revolutionary mindset that breaks bounds and boundaries stems from the population we are dealing with, and I will explain what I mean by this. If you are saddled with the responsibility of (administratively) serving 50 to 100 people within 24 hours, the traditional way of doing things will suffice just fine and effectively for that matter. However, if you are saddled with the responsibility of serving 10,000 people within the same time frame as the man serving a few, you need something that transcends the boundaries of tradition to deliver on your mandate.

Demands for impact are growing exponentially in our world today, especially given the socio-economic conditions that prevail around us. Even the famous Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations require some revolutionary outing to achieve if governments and intervention agencies are going to be of any substantive impact to nations and the human race.

Of course, the great commission by our Lord Jesus Christ, with which we are running in our organization (RCCG), requires the full adoption of the best that today offers while positioning ourselves for what tomorrow brings.

The 21^st century church has been catapulted into arenas that were hardly accessed a few years ago. It now offers so much more than just a building that houses congregation and a pastor that delivers sermons. The 21st-century church is now a conglomerate, offering all the spiritual, physical and material help she should and so much more. Examples include school operation (you can attest to the fact that the leading schools in Nigeria today both at the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary level are owned by Christian Missions), hospital operation, intervention programmes like rehabilitation of drug addicts (Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry, one of RCCG’s agencies), vocational training, ministry to the incarcerated, ministering to those with HIV/AIDS (RAPAC for instance), economic development, and other Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, just to mention a few. The brain behind all these movements today is a revolutionary mindset.

When we are ready to migrate from a world that was to a world that is, it is only then that we can say that we are operating without bounds. Globalization has compressed time and space in the world today, and part of the opportunities that this compression affords us is an exertion of control through technological artifacts without necessarily being present on the scene of events and without regards for the time differentials and zoning.

Abnormality is a tag that people with revolutionary mindset have to bear everywhere they go. A piece of advice therefore, never discredit yourself or be apologetic for operating in this paradigm.

Olurotimi Vincent Adegborioye