Sand from the Sahara

Periodically, my wife’s allergies flare up enough that she makes a trip to the doctor to get help fighting a sinus infection. She had one of those incidents recently, but the diagnosis wasn’t what she expected. After completing the examination, the allergist said that the problem wasn’t an infection. Rather, it was sand from the Sahara. Yes, you read that correctly, and no, the doctor is not a quack. Apparently, the global wind and weather patterns have stirred up this very fine sand, launched it into the upper atmosphere, and dropped it in our area. The impact ranges from a quiet Atlantic tropical storm season (so far) to congested sinuses. When I heard this story, I quickly thought of a central concept that leaders often forget: every change changes everything. Or said another way, everything is connected. There is no such thing as making an isolated change in your church or ministry or non-profit. When you make one change, there will always be a ripple effect and it will often have unseen consequences. Consider a predominantly middle-class church that has had a partnership with a nearby, low income elementary. After a couple of years, the church leaders decide that they need to find ways to minister to the spiritual needs of these children and their families. What will happen when some of those families begin to show up for worship services on Sunday morning? Will the ushers greet them as warmly as they greet people that they’ve known for years? How will veteran children’s Sunday school teachers deal with a child who’s never heard of David and Goliath or any of the other familiar stories? Does the pastor need to adjust the sermon to reflect the change, and if so, how will the “old guard” react? What if, a couple of years later, some of the newcomers attend a church meeting and advocate restructuring the budget so that more is spent on externally-focused efforts? It’s impossible to anticipate all of the second- and third-order effects that will be caused by a change. But it’s not impossible to acknowledge that there will be ripples and to have a conversation about what those effects might be. In fact, it’s poor leadership to not do so. So the next time that you’re considering a change, whether big or small, remember the sand from the Sahara. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>