A staff member told his senior pastor the other day (this isn’t code for one of my staff members told me, I promise):
“You’ve changed… ”
And he said it like it was a bad thing.
He didn’t mean that the senior pastor had become arrogant, unapproachable, or Biblically unfaithful. These changes would certainly need to be addressed head on. But to this staff member, even the positive changes in his pastor’s life were uncomfortable, and therefore, negative.

I don’t know much more about the conversation to be honest with you, but it got me thinking:
I hope the people who have backstage access in my life are sizing me up every few months (at least!) and recognizing: “You’ve changed.”
If I’m not changing, I’m not growing. If I’m not growing, I’m dying.

But I hope they see the right kinds of changes, you know?
I hope they’ll see that I’ve increased in passion, intensity, and maturity.
I hope they’ll see me being more strategic with my time and talents.
I hope they’ll see me choosing my battles more carefully, and practicing selective hearing in the face of criticism.

I hope when the people I trust tell me that I’ve changed…
They mean it as a compliment.