Change and the Church

The old joke goes something like this. How many Baptists does it take to change a light bulb? The answer, “None. Why would we want to change anything?”

Change is never easy and rarely sought, but change is going to happen. We can either adapt to it or use it as a springboard for innovative and effective ministry. In his book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, leadership guru Peter Drucker encouraged leaders to see changes around them as opportunities for purposeful and systemic innovation. He pointed out seven sources for innovation: the unexpected, incongruities, process need, industry and market structures, demographics, changes in perception, and new knowledge.

Let’s consider how those in congregational leadership might use these sources to make effective changes in the church.

First, the unexpected might be the unexpected success, the unexpected failure, or the unexpected outside event. Perhaps you begin a new worship service and people flock to it. Why is it a success—time, location, style, leadership? If we know why it works, perhaps we can apply the principles elsewhere. A new ministry may fall. Rather than just sweeping it under the rug, take the time to do a post-mortem and learn from the experience. An outside event like a natural disaster, a new business in town that brings in people from another part of the country or world, or an offer to purchase your property may be the catalyst for reassessment and repurposing of the church’s resources.

Second, the incongruities you encounter in your church may be the difference between an assumed reality and the actual reality. Your church may have a long history of reaching young adults through its college and single adult ministries so you continue to budget and staff for those ministries, but in reality things have changed. Students no longer live in the local community and choose to commute long distances. The businesses that drew single adults have closed. Perhaps it is time to face reality and allocate those resources in new ways.

Third, the process that we use to do something may need to be changed. We already see this in the way that the church does publicity. We once depended primarily on print media—either done in-house or contracted out—to communicate with members, guests, and the community. Now we use digital media and less paper. What is the next thing that your church needs to discover as a better means of communication, information, or administration?

Fourth, although we hate to use the terminology, most church leaders realize that there have been major changes in the religious “industry” and “market structure” in recent years. We have seen the rise of megachurches (both denominational and non-denominational), house churches, and new expressions of faith (including many world religions) in our communities. People have more choices and they are exercising them. Each church must decide what it does well, what it can do better, and what it offers to the community that no other group does. This can provide new enthusiasm for creative ministry and new venues for your church to pursue.

Fifth, changes in demographics are both a challenge and an opportunity. As we discovered in the last Presidential election, age, gender, and ethnicity have a tremendous impact on the electoral process. The church is not exempt from these changes and many others. One significant change is in how we define family. Most churches are still programming for mother, father, and 2.5 children while the families that come through our doors (at least one time) are quite different. There are single parent families, blended families, and families where grandparents are raising grandchildren. The demographic reality calls for adaptation and innovation.

Sixth, the changes in perception, mood, and meaning that the church faces are often external. The church no longer occupies the same place in culture that it once did. Even for Christians, the church is only one part of a complicated lifestyle and may not even be in the top three places where one spends his or her time. We can see this as a negative situation or as an opportunity to help people redefine or rediscover the place of the church in their lives. Another change in perception that impacts the church is the role of women in society. The church’s response to the fact that women are more highly educated and increasingly prominent in secular leadership can be positive or negative. We can seize the opportunities this offers for a fresh wind of the Spirit to move in our midst or embrace a reactionary stance that stifles giftedness.

Seventh, we can use the new knowledge available to us to pursue new ministries or to be more effective in what we are currently doing. New knowledge may provide us with new tools to communicate, lead, or educate. All of the new knowledge is not equally useful, so we will need to be discerning in our evaluation of its worth but we will miss a great resource if we ignore it.

Life brings significant changes to us as individuals; some are for the good and some challenge us to do something different. This is true for the church as well. What will your church do this year to address a changing world?

http://astore.amazon.com/barnfile-20/detail/0060851139

Confessions of a Recovering Southern Baptist

I am grateful for my heritage as a Southern Baptist. I was exposed to the Bible and worship from a very young age. I grew up in a church in south Alabama that supported the Cooperative Program of missions giving. This meant that our church had the benefit of being part of a supportive group of local churches and the educational opportunities that afforded. Our state convention provided varied and effective ministries with groups like orphans, ethnic groups, and college students. We supported missionaries at home and abroad. We had good Bible study and training literature (which we paid for, of course). I went to an accredited seminary and paid a remarkably low tuition. Wherever you went on a Sunday morning (in the Southeast and Southwest, at least), you could find a church that sang the familiar hymns and studied the same Bible lesson. In hindsight, I realize that this Southern Baptist utopia was imperfect. There were significant theological differences, often geograp

The Bible Tells Me So

As I read the story of the Good Samaritan during my devotional today, I was reminded of the times that I have heard the story in the Christian education setting of the local church--as a youngster in primary and intermediate classes (old terminology), as a young adult in college classes, and then as an adult, often teaching the passage myself. The characters and story line are very familiar due to these experiences of Christian education. These are challenging times for Christian education in the church. Like so much of what is happening in the church today, the old forms do not seem to support present needs. What once worked no longer seems to be effective. Christian education or the formation of believers is in a state of flux. In an article on ethicsdaily.com , retired professor Colin Harris addresses this issue. He points out that the period of the 60’s and 70’s “saw the beginnings of a loss of vitality within the educational dimension of church ministry, as the

Metaphors of the Kingdom of God

In a recent blog , consultant Seth Godin addresses the power of metaphor. He points out, “The best way to learn a complex idea is to find it living inside something else you already understand.” In other words, “this” is like “that.” “When you see a story, an example, a wonderment,” says Godin, “take a moment to look for the metaphor inside.” Jesus turned this around. In the use of parables, he told a story or provided a metaphor and challenged his hearers to see the truth within. For example, in his teaching on the Kingdom (or Reign) of God in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom to such things as a mustard seed, yeast, a hidden treasure, a net, a king, and a landowner. His hearers are encouraged to use their imaginations to understand something that they had never experienced. He also attempted to shift their perspective so that they might see signs of the Kingdom breaking into their present reality. These are metaphors for the Kingdom. Where do w

The Tragedy of Willow Creek Community Church

File photo of Steve Carter, Heather Larson, and Bill Hybels As Christian brothers and sisters, we need to pray for Willow Creek Community Church. On the eve of the Global Leadership Summit, a worldwide conference sponsored by the church in cooperation with the Willow Creek Association, church leadership imploded as a result of further allegations against former pastor Bill Hybels. Last year, Hybels introduced the team who would assume church leadership upon his retirement--lead pastor Heather Larson and teaching pastor Steve Carter. Although the founding pastor planned to stay on to assist in a time of transition, reports of sexual impropriety involving Hybels surfaced early this year. He accelerated his departure from the church and left the board of the Willow Creek Association. When other charges emerged last week, teaching pastor Carter resigned. On Wednesday evening, Larson and the entire elder board--lay leaders who provide accountability on behalf of the congreg

A Future for the Global Leadership Summit?

Craig Groeschel, the founder and senior pastor of Life.Church. The Global Leadership Summit which began as a project of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, and its founding pastor, Bill Hybels, over 25 years ago was held this week without Hybels. For several years, the GLS has been now produced by the Willow Creek Association, a spin-off organization and a loose network of churches but Hybels has been its driving force. Attended by thousands at the church facility in South Barrington and broadcast to thousands more at satellite locations, the annual meeting brings together not only evangelical leaders but outstanding speakers from business, charitable organizations, politics, and business. For the first time, Hybels did not appear due to allegations of sexual impropriety brought against him over the past year by former employees, staff members, and business associates. He has already left the church and resigned from the board of the association.

Barnabas File

Search This Blog