Four Critical Questions to Ask to Lead Change in Church
April 6, 2018
When I walked into Maranatha Worship Center in Wichita, Kansas seventeen years ago, there were many challenges, but I was fortunate to find a group of people ready to face those challenges. Soon I realized that while I was the 13th pastor in that church鈥檚 nearly nine decades of ministry life to that point, I was given a gift that perhaps none of my predecessors had received. People were ready, and even desperate, for change.
To achieve significant change in an organization, four questions must be answered the right way.
1. Do we know we need to change?
John Kotter鈥檚 book Leading Change tells us that step one toward change is a sense of urgency. Frankly, if there鈥檚 not a strong reason to change, the people won鈥檛 have the stomach for the journey. But urgency comes in two sizes鈥搒urvival and mission. Survival urgency is the realization that if something doesn鈥檛 change, our church won鈥檛 be around for another decade. The threat of the doors closing will make most groups at least consider change. But mission urgency is even better. Mission urgency sees someone were not reaching or some critical need in our community, and charges toward change because we have to make a difference. In Wichita, survival urgency was on the table, and it brought a clear answer to question #1鈥揧ES!
2. Are we willing to change?
Unfortunately, many churches who need to change lack the willingness to do so. Sure attendance is declining and ministries are shutting down 鈥檆ause the folks who once ran them now attend the church down the street. But, as long as the decision makers remain content with what they鈥檙e 鈥済etting鈥 at church, we don鈥檛 need to make any changes. Tragic decision-making. To know change is needed and still be unwilling usually means the church has turned so inward that they will not risk their comfort for the mission Jesus gave. Thankfully, in Wichita, the people said strongly, 鈥淪how us what to do and we鈥檒l do it.鈥 Question #2鈥揧ES!
3. Do we know how to change?
Now this is a bigger challenge and we鈥檒l likely need a couple of blog entries to fully unpack it, but knowing what to do is critical because you won鈥檛 get many chances to fail with change. Change that鈥檚 effective breeds more opportunity for change, but change that fails makes change the enemy. For now, let me just say that change has to fit a pastor鈥檚 passion and ability to lead and also must connect with the people鈥檚 capacity to fulfill. If you can鈥檛 lead it and the people can鈥檛 do it, you aren鈥檛 going to succeed at change. I鈥檒l discuss this more in detail next week. In Wichita, we didn鈥檛 succeed with every change initiative, but we were fortunate with enough of them to see strong momentum begin to grow. Question #3鈥揧ES!
4. Are we willing to do that?
This is the commitment question. Once we have decided how we should change, we must be willing to pull the trigger. Many opportunities for a better future have been missed because we didn鈥檛 do what we knew we needed to do. How tragic to be so close to the right step only to back away because of fear. It takes resolve to pursue change. Not everyone will like it! In fact, there will almost always be a loss when change occurs. You can鈥檛 reach for a new day without lessening your grip on the old day. In Wichita, Question #4 got a YES! too.
There鈥檚 nothing easy about a change journey and you鈥檒l volley back and forth on your scale of hoped-for success. So, how strongly you and your people can say 鈥淵ES!鈥 to these four questions will be critical to the energy and willingness with which they tackle the change journey.
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