Changing Churches

I recently read “Better Change in Church: when wholehearted commitment counts” by Rod Street and Nick Cuthbert. Street and Cuthbert offer some interesting and challenging insights on the question of managing change within the church community. Change is one of those things that we all tend to say we want, but many are less certain of the direction when it starts happening. However, change does – inevitably – take place and we need to embrace that, at least when we get it right.

As Street and Cuthbert remind us: “Change is a positive experience when led by God, but not a painless one. Resistance is normal. It is feedback on what people feel they are losing as they change. Leaders need to expect and recognise this. High emotions are normal. Without them people would not be changing. They should not be taken personally if you are the leader. People respond emotionally regardless of whether they are experiencing ‘good’ or ‘bad’ changes.”

One of the important things for church leaders is to help people with change. “Leaders must be able to listen, have open-minded discussions, and remind everyone of the value of what is happening. We have to be able to empathise with people and acknowledge their issues without losing our temper or being worn down.”

Street and Cuthbert identify the question of motives as critical.  I agree. Easily and frequently we focus on what we are doing. That is, of course, important. However, we need to dig deeper and think about what it is that is driving us. “The ‘what’ attracts interest. Yet it is the ‘why’ that attracts passion. ‘What’ attracts consumers. ‘Why’ attracts disciples. ‘What’ creates attraction which is easily lost. ‘Why’ creates loyalty which is hard to lose.”

Change for change’s sake is rarely good and, even more rarely, goes well. Good change does require careful negotiation. It can mean that we need to challenge people, but we certainly also should listen to them. Getting the right changes is always going to be challenging, but we need to remember that it can have immense results. Street and Cuthbert again: “If we give people what they want, we will usually end up being ineffective but if we ask why, then we may end up being very creative. As Henry Ford said, ‘If I had given people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.’”