Change When Change Is Hard

Pray, pray, pray. Leading a congregation, and especially leading transformation, must be anchored in prayer. Pray for wisdom in how to lead. Pray for change agents to come alongside you. Pray that God will soften the hearts of those who are most resistant.

Look for bright spots and soft hearts. It’s rare for the leader to encounter universal resistance. Even though the situation may be difficult, leaders need to look for spots where God is doing something that points the way toward the future. Similarly, look for people who, despite a negative exterior, may be more open to the stirrings of the Spirit. These are the places and people where you should invest your time and energy.

Point back to Scripture. At its root, resistance to change is often a spiritual issue. When people are focused more on what they want rather than what God wants, resistance will be high. C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “The church is the only organization that exists for non-members.” Unfortunately, many members don’t act that way. We all need to be reminded regularly to pray, “Thy will be done.”

Be patient. When the resistance is high, change will take time. Leaders need to acknowledge this and be patient. Occasionally a leader can use a wrecking ball to remove the resistance and start afresh, but usually that wrecking ball will end up swinging back and hitting the leader.

Examine yourself. Leaders need to consider whether they have contributed to the resistance by being heavy-handed or manipulative or impatient or unclear. If so, the first change that is needed is in the leader’s approach and attitude.

Is this guaranteed to work? Unfortunately, the answer is no. But it may help you turn the corner. In the next blog, I’ll look at a few things to avoid when change is hard. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>