The biggest reason why change is hard is because it involves people. There is always going to be a segment of the church that doesn’t like change. The rule of thirds tells us that 1/3 of the people are always ready for change, 1/3 of the people think that wherever we currently are is great, and then 1/3 of people in the middle who are waiting see which side will gain momentum. Most of the time we focus our efforts on the people that are not open to change. This is a mistake. If we focus our efforts on the people that are ready for change right now, we will gradually win the rest of the people over.
When it comes to change, there is always risk vs. reward to consider. As a pastor leading change, you must also consider visibility. The reward that propels change must be visible for the congregation to more quickly get onboard with the change. You must also recognize how the culture of the church is shifting as you change. Take time to acknowledge the wins of the past to propel you in to the change. If your church has become centralized, consider that this is a response to risk. If the congregation is fearing change, they might want to close ranks and keep things as similar to what they currently know as possible.
As you lead change in a church setting, find ways to hold yourself accountable to those changes. Create clear plans for change. Have your team execute a 90-day plan around smaller changes and provide public frameworks like due dates and task lists to allow for accountability and follow through.
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