When you lead an organization—especially when you are responsible for leading an organization like the local church—there is a temptation to ignore trends or minimize the impact they will have on how you operate.
It’s so difficult to gain and keep momentum, that when you have some momentum it becomes tempting to ignore the changes around you because they might force you to rethink your method.
But the truth is that your method (your strategy, your approach, your plan) is not sacred; the mission is sacred.
Andy Molinski calls it global dexterity: The ability to adapt behaviors across cultures without losing who you are in the process.
Leaders who are willing to reconsider the methods to preserve the mission are usually the ones who succeed long term.
While there are dozens of trends that are impacting the church, the trends outlined below are what I would call ‘organizational sleepers.’
We all see them.
Our lives are impacted by them every day.
But many leaders are not talking about their impact.
One of the reasons we’re not talking about these issues might be that few of these trends have implications for the church that are clear cut or obvious.
Most of the thinking around these trends lead to wet cement conversations—thoughts that are open to reshaping, rethinking and reconsidering. Not every leader is comfortable with that kind of conversation.
So I offer them as things we need to be thinking about, talking about and praying through.
While there may be no clear answers, there should at least be conversation among leaders, boards and the thought leaders of any organization.
