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MentorNet
#46 Enabling
Change within Established Churches Copyright ©
2007 by George Patterson, Galen Currah and Ed Aw A prophetic word of caution, adapted from Gordon
Macdonald (Current Thought & Trends, April 1997), remains
pertinent ten years later: A maxim warns, “If change within an organization happens slower than
change outside of it, then the organization is in its death throes.” A scary thought! Does your church or organization operate
much like it has done for more years than you care
to admit? Many churches are losing their influence and will
not survive another decade. Sermons often fail to touch what people
face in the larger world. Yet,
there is a bright side. Our younger generation is so spiritually hungry, so driven
for a supportive community, and so curious to see how the Gospel speaks to
issues that they face, that it forces new churches to be born rather than
simply revamping old ones. They kill our sacred cows and challenge our ideas
of piety. They make some of us mad. Our first impulse is to criticize, discourage and sometimes condemn them, but despite many
mistakes they are succeeding. They make us see that the greatest of all
change-managers is the Holy Spirit, who brought change at Pentecost, during
the Reformation, during the great missionary movement, and in the many church
planting movements occurring now. If there is any one thing that we who are
older must do, it is to get out of the way and cheer, mentor and pray for the
new generation of Christian thinkers, communicators
and shepherds. Let us be Moses to their Joshuas,
Elijah to their Elishas, and Annanias
to their Sauls Does your flock or organization need change? If so,
then let it go through a six-step process common to successfully making a
sustainable change. These are not always discrete steps
that happen in order; some may overlap. The important thing is to take
believers through all of them; failure to do so will scuttle your efforts.
1)
Guidelines
to Make Believers Aware of a Need
for a Change a)
At
the beginning and during the whole process ask God for wisdom with a trusting
heart, and He will give it (James 1:5). b)
Do problem finding as well as problem solving. Many churches never make the change to
solve a devastating problem because no one notices it, or because no one has
the courage to recommend a change. One way to detect crippling failures is to
consider if your church is effectively practicing all of the ministries that
the New Testament requires. (See Pastoral Ministries
Chart in MentorNet #11.) c)
Emphasize the obvious.
What exactly is the need for change? State the facts repeatedly, in a way
that is so easily understood that the solution will prove crystal
clear, even self-evident. 2)
Guidelines
to Awaken Interest: Help believers to think about the
benefits. a)
Recount examples of other churches or organizations that have made the
change, without hiding the problems that they faced. b)
Ask
those for
whom the change matters most to discuss it with friends; set up sessions, if
needed. c)
Challenge the believers in a positive way. For example, you might need to ask
older believers to make a sacrifice to keep their children and grandchildren in
God’s Kingdom. Where there is a conflict in scruples about non-essential
issues (today’s issues often touch music styles and types of meetings)
Scripture requires the stronger to yield to the weaker, to avoid giving
offence. Millions of young people have abandoned their parents’ churches
because of the latter’s failure to obey this rule found in the fourteenth
chapter of Romans. 3)
Guidelines to Rouse Discussion: Talk over time and money
costs, and benefits. a)
Avoid the temptation
simply to preach about a needed change. Stimulate interest by asking
questions about the need for it. Why
should the change occur? Explain the benefits. b)
When people pose problems
that might come from the change, help them to weigh the potential
consequences of the problems against the advantages of the change. 4)
Guidelines to Make a Formal Choice: Believers agree with
their leaders. a)
Confirm who will bring about the change or
lead a new church, cell or ministry. Talk with members of the flock to find
who is eager to help. Do not build a fast, ultra-light aircraft and then find
that nobody will fly it. b)
Look for new, potential
leaders and workers rather than overloading older ones. To start new
ministries, cell groups or daughter churches, let older leaders mentor newer ones
the way Jesus and Paul did it in an environment of freedom and encouragement.
A leader should model this. 5)
Guidelines to Implement the Change: Plan details and
implement it a) Propose
small, easy steps. Place the stepping stones across
the stream close enough so that nobody falls into the water. Let workers see
progress in small but measurable increments. b) Move with the movers. Do not push people to
do what fails to interest them. Find those who want to make the change or to
start something new; work with them and let the others lie in green pastures
beside still waters. Later, when all sees that the Lord is working in the new
endeavour, many of the passive believers will embrace the change. c)
Focus on a change publicly
until the flock embraces it. For example, if you have recently begun cell
groups — tiny churches within a bigger one — then you must keep folks’
interest ‘white hot.’ One way to do so in a cell church is
by interviewing briefly, during big-group meetings, persons who have
experienced victories in a cell group. They may be new believers,
folks who have received healing or who have overcome drug abuse. 6)
Guidelines to Adapt to the Inevitable Challenges: Make successful adjustments. a)
Balance change and
stability. Maintain both static and dynamic aspects of the body of Christ.
Most people lose interest in change, not only when they get in a rut, but
also when change is overdone or when changes are made
too often. Beliefs and long term aims should be
static, changeless. Methods, monthly goals and organization, however, should be kept dynamic, regularly revised or replaced. b)
If you cannot bring about
a needed change in your church, then do not fear to start a new work. Think
of positive multiplication rather than negative division. Many churches’
leaders have agreed that some members would prefer a different kind of
congregational life, or a very different style of worship, and have
encouraged a daughter church or cells to be born with the support and
encouragement of the mother congregation. Resources for Church and Cell Development and Reproduction To find mentoring tools
and web sites, visit <http://www.MentorAndMultiply.com>. To download free, reproducible training materials for new leaders
& missionaries, visit: <www.Paul-Timothy.net>. To download the e-textbook Come,
Let Us Disciple the Nations software, visit: To download this article and earlier MentorNet articles, visit <http://www.MentorNet.ws>. |
