A motto for the city of Luxembourg is MIR WOLLE BLEIVE WAS MIR SIN. This is etched in stone on a building. It means “We wish to remain as we are.” At least they admit it. Many of us do all we can to resist change. Change is viewed as a bad thing.
That is a strange position for a Christian to take in view of our theology. Repentance is a 180 degree change of direction. Regeneration and sanctification are all about change. The main goal of discipleship and counseling is to bring about change in the life of a believer. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that the believer is a “new creation.” We have an unchanging God who brings about change all the time.
Intrinsic to the definition of leadership is the idea of change. Leading is about going somewhere. If you look out the window of your car and the scenery is not changing, you are standing still. The very activity of leading others demands change. It is the leader’s responsibility to be looking over the horizon to see what is coming and to determine the direction for the future. To get to that horizon will mean change.
Intrinsic to the definition of leadership is the idea of change. Leading is about going somewhere. If you look out the window of your car and the scenery is not changing, you are standing still. The very activity of leading others demands change. It is the leader’s responsibility to be looking over the horizon to see what is coming and to determine the direction for the future. To get to that horizon will mean change.
But change makes people nervous. One way to minimize anxiety is to assure people there are some anchor points. Some constants for your church are truth, mission, and values. Doctrine is not up for grabs. The purpose statement of an organization is a north star that provides long-term continuity.
And values articulate the things that are important. Values provide banks for the organizational river of the church or ministry. Any change initiative should be preceded by a clear statement of the things that will NOT change. But after that, go for it.
The problem is not change. The problem is what is being changed. I don’t know who to credit for the following statement, but it is profound: ”Some churches die because they change what they should never change. Some churches die because they refuse to change what they are free to change.” The programs and strategies of an organization are merely vehicles to accomplish the mission and vision. The important issue is not the strategy; it is the end goal.
Instead of resisting change, embrace it. Love it. Do it. It isn’t a dirty word. It is another word for progress.
WHEN TO CHANGE:
The big question is: How do you know when to bring about change? May I suggest that there five instances.
1. When your environment changes: The horse and buggy don’t do well on a 12-lane interstate highway. A changing environment brings about new opportunities. In my world of missions it looks like this: Because of the upsurge of social networking, there is tremendous potential for leveraging that medium for recruiting missionaries. Because of the expansion of distance learning, there are many more Bible students and thus many more potential missionaries. We can either ignore these realities or change our approaches to recruiting. We are changing.
2. When people change: There have always been complaints about a “generation gap.” At one level it does exist. Each year the Benoit College describes the incoming freshmen. This is their observation about the graduating class of 2014:
- Does not know how to write cursive
- Never uses snail mail
- Finds email too slow
- Thinks Al Gore has always been animated
- Thinks “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.
- Thinks computers have always had a CD-ROM disk drive.
- Thinks Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.
It seems obvious that this incoming group of college freshmen have a different view on the world.
3. When the vision changes: The job of a leader is to “articulate and activate the vision.” It is his job to point to the next spot on the horizon and help others get there. That assumes there will be change. If you are in a car looking out the window and the scenery is not changing, then you are not going anywhere. Heading forward demands change.
4. When there is success: An organization is never as vulnerable to failure as when it has just succeeded. Or to put it another way, success is dangerous. Once we are at the top of a mountain we tend to relax. But it is at that moment that we are susceptible to sliding off the other side. There is something intrinsically good about the struggle to get to the top. That is why there must always be a new pinnacle in mind before we reach our present goal. It is counter-intuitive to be changing things when things are going well. But it is dangerous to ever get to the top.
5. For change sake: There is value in changing just to be changing. The reason we feel stiff after driving 10 hours is because we have not been moving around. The same thing happens in an organization. Sometimes there is value in changing things just to stay flexible. The church that has never changed a thing for ten years will struggle with even the slightest change. I have a friend who moves the furniture around when his family is out of the house. He just wants to remind them that things will not stay the same. So, yes, there is value in change for change sake.
By Paul Seger
General Director
Biblical Ministries Worldwide
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