You see that things need to change. Attendance is declining. The building is deteriorating. People are tired but complacent.
You have suggested ideas but few have responded. You've tried things on your own but few get on board.
How can you, as pastor or other key leader, really lead change in your church? In my last newsletter I introduced you to the work of John Kotter. I noted that: In his book The Heart of Change, he stresses that "The single most important message in this book is very simple. People change what they do less because they are given analysis than because they are shown a truth that influences their feelings."
The first step in leading change was to increase urgency. Help members of your church understand how urgently God wants them to make some changes.
His next two steps are:
2 - Build the Guiding Team
3 - Get the Vision Right
First, there should be a team of people leading any change. One person can't do it all. Or, said differently, if you think you're leading change and nobody is following, you're just taking a walk. You need a team of respected leaders. In a church, the pastor must be on the team. However, the pastor doesn't need to be the key leader of the team; odds are fairly good that there are respected leaders who have both more time and expertise in leading such a team than the pastor.
In a typical congregation with 100-300 in worship, a team of 8-12 is a good size. That's large enough to represent various segments of the congregation and small enough to form a group who really know and trust one another.
Be very clear, members of a team to guide change need to trust one another and be trusted by most of the congregation.
I have written extensively about the importance of building trust in my book, Entering Wonderland: A Toolkit for Pastors New to a Church. Bottom line: you have to continually build trust in every group in your church. If your church is afflicted by mistrust, you'll never achieve any change - and minimal ministry. I suggest any number of exercises in my book that help build trust. Use them.
It is critical that the members of the church respect those on the team. Include some newer members who have potential to be vital congregational leaders but make sure that longer tenured members are on it. I think of a congregation that was working on bringing some change to worship. A key member of that guiding team was Charles, at that time in his late 70's. He observed that he and his wife "weren't going to be around forever and that the church needed to open up to more innovative worship forms." He had credibility with peers who might have resisted changes. Similarly, if you're going to have music that speaks the language of youth and twenty-somethings then you will want those who know the genre!
The team will need to be very clear on what they are working on. Are they tackling a major culture shift, for example demographic changes in which older white residents are being replaced in the neighborhood by African immigrants? Are you trying to respond to the cultural shift among younger adults who are too often indifferent to faith and any organized religion? Given some of the bad press concerning clergy sex abuse and the rantings of the religious right, it's no wonder that younger adults are deciding they want nothing to do with any organized religion.
Perhaps the issue is much more concrete - e.g. a building that is dated and impedes rather than enhances the church's ministry. Buildings are often idols. Older members who helped build the current facility and maintain it over the years can be incredibly attached to every detail: the ladies parlor, the arrangement of the furniture in the chancel, where the pastor's study is, the color of the fellowship hall!
You must be clear about the issue you tackling.
So, step two is to build this guiding team of respected leaders who will build trust and clarify what it is that they are working on.
Step three involves getting the vision right. I have written extensively about discerning God's vision in my book and in these newsletters. I think the key question for a church is: who and what is God yearning for this church to be and do? Why should we even be in business? What is our purpose? What part are we playing in living in the spirit of the risen Christ?
Kotter suggests that the guiding team generate a number of options for the organization's vision. Your local community and culture would guide what those options might be. I know of a fairly progressive congregation in a small midwest town that is kind of a haven for progressive Christians; it offers a wonderful mix of jazz and traditional music. I know of a congregation in Washington, DC, that offers jazz and blues nights in its artsy neighborhood. Another church in our area is very intentional in helping senior governmental officials wrestle with significant social issues from a theological perspective. I think of a church in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood that seeks to be a kind of oasis for newcomers.
Some church growth experts declare that the pastor should "cast the vision for the church." I'm not altogether clear about what "casting" means. Is it like casting a fishing lure and trying to figure out who's going to bite what? Is it broadcasting the Batman symbol in the sky? While the pastor's discernment is critical, I think that getting the vision right is a step by step process of exploring heart and spiritual hungers and what's needed, having lots of conversations in the congregation and with members of the community, and then testing that possible vision and working to get it right.
A key question is "where is the Holy Spirit in this vision?" Where is the wind of the Spirit already blowing and God is already working! You will know you are getting it right when there is that deep sense that you are resonating with God's yearnings. You have energy you didn't have before. There's excitement in the air. The guiding team sees the need for change. They are excited about the possibilities envisioned. They change themselves and then can lead change in others.
When you gain real consensus in the team on God's vision for your church, then you take the next steps. I'll talk about those in my next newsletter.
