Q: It seems to me that I’ve seen more churches damaged when a pastor attempts to lead change than I have churches made stronger and effective. Why is this? What are some of the common mistakes that derail a positive transition?
A: It’s true. The church world is littered with and haunted by failed attempts at transition and change. Though attempted by well-meaning pastors and leaders, the changes were approached in the wrong way and/or for the wrong reasons. Beyond the hurts experienced by both leaders and people, these failures have left us with an even larger problem: the widely embraced belief that change isn’t possible or worth it. These failures have entrenched many churches against the very point of following Christ—change.
From my experiences as a pastor and my privilege of working with other pastors and churches on the journey of change, I’ve discovered nine common mistakes. Being aware of these before or early in the process of leading change can be the difference between damaging the church and strengthening it.
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Common Mistakes:
1. Leading change with the wrong motivation.
We have a natural desire for significance and success. Though Jesus didn’t condemn the desire in the early disciples, He did condemn selfish motivation. We can’t seek to lead a church through change to build a kingdom for ourselves (e.g., “I want to pastor a large, successful or better church”). Our motivation must be to advance God’s kingdom by serving the genuine needs and eternal interest of others.
2. We seek to do change to people rather than leading people through change.
I learned this mistake the hard way in my first pastoral ministry. I did change “to people” by making all kinds of organizational changes before investing appropriately in the existing people. Though the organizational changes were important and allowed us to begin reaching new people, the existing people revolted. The church blew up, and my wife and I were forced to leave. I learned quickly that simply changing the organization changes nothing because the church is people. Therefore, spiritual leaders must focus on leading people through the journey of personal change. When they do, the organizational changes necessary to better reflect Christ in this generation become a natural outcome.
