Most pastors forget a critical principle of leading change: Church ministries don’t change; people do. We tend to think of our change initiatives in broad terms like, “We are redesigning the small group ministry.†However, many of your leaders think of it differently. They may be wondering, “Do I keep ministering to my group or not?†To implement sustained change, we must translate our initiatives into a list of implications for each individual who will be affected. This is a key reason why change strategies almost always take longer than we think they will. When you consider individual change, you must consider the reality of resistance.
Many pastors naively assume that if people like a change or think it is a good idea, they will not resist it. This assumption is a bad one because all significant change is a disruption in our expectations about the future. This disruption causes a loss of control feeling, and people will resist this loss of control—even if they think the change is a sound one. During these times it is important for church leaders to exercise courage as you move toward God’s vision for your church.
“Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do well.†2 Chronicles 19:11