Change or Die?

In a recent Christian Coaches Cafe LIVE Call, coach Chris McCluskey talked about the challenge of making meaningful, sustainable change and suggested two approaches that we often use in addressing needed change.

On the one hand, those initiating change may attempt to use these three strategies or arguments:

Fear--“If you don’t do this, you are going to die.”
Facts--“Here are the rational reasons to do this.”
Force--“You’ll do this or else.”

As I thought about the best way to encourage change in a congregation, I quickly realized that all of these fail as adequate motivators. Fear tends to elicit denial and an “I’ll show you” attitude. Facts may help to develop strategy after a decision is made, but people make choices more often with their heads than their hearts. I think it goes without saying that force does not work in most churches, especially the Baptist churches where I have spent most of my life!

The alternatives that Chris suggested are these three processes:

Reframe--Find a way to look at the situation from a different perspective. This may be a clearer or more robust vision for the future or taking a fresh look at the context of the church as an opportunity for new ministry. What have we missed that we should consider?

Rehearse--When we develop a new skill or prepare for a presentation, we take small, incremental steps and strengthen our ability. Churches can do this by undertaking “holy experiments” or pilot projects that try something new on a trial basis and give us an opportunity to learn what works. What new things can we try?

Repeat--If we keep trying new things, the action encourages us to keep exploring new opportunities and this eventually leads to mastery. Addressing change with commitment helps this new behavior to become habitual. What’s the next challenge for us to face?

A key difference here is the organizational approach over against the organic approach. No one can impose healthy, sustainable change on an individual or a church. True change, whether in the life of an individual or that of a congregation, comes from within.

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