Everyone wants a quick fix. Sports teams, parents, businesses, people with illnesses...and churches. Sadly, there are plenty of people around who advertise that they have just what people want. But most of those promises don't amount to more than a temporary moment of hope followed by disillusionment.

That's not God's way. If you look through the Bible, there are countless stories of people who had to wait: Abraham becoming a father, David becoming a king, Paul becoming a missionary. And so it is with church life. Most significant change within congregational life requires culture change.  And that doesn't come quickly. It requires a series of goals and preparation. It requires constant prayer and a lot of patience. And it requires leaders who understand how God acts. This is why Grace Institute always offer longer term support rather than just single fix-it events.

Since we all live in the "microwave/drive through/take-a-pill" society, we have to teach our people a realistic expectancy or they will be constantly discontented and eventually figure that one of the quickest fixes is to replace the pastor. One of the things we must teach is that even though it doesn't appear that there is any forward progress, what we do with that moment still counts. How we handle "down time" is what prepares us for those moments when God does call for us to step forward and become something new. The apostle Paul wanted to start ministry immediately after his conversion experience, but was given a three year "waiting period." He didn't sit around moping and feeling sorry for himself. He spent his time deepening his faith and allowing God to work in his life to make him ready for when the call finally came. Our churches must learn to do the same thing.