The subtitle is “Leading change in the church”. I could’ve used this book when I was at my previous church. Though the results of failing to make the changes we tried to make would not have changed, it would’ve prepared me better. From what I learned from that experience, I did a better job at making changes at my current church.
There are many good principles as well as practical advice in this book. Some may seem obvious, but it’s good have it laid out on paper. There is more that can be said, but for a small readable book, this covers quite a lot.
A few take-aways:
5% eager for change
20% open to change
30% followers of the most convincing voices
25% resistant to change
20% highly resistant to change
The authors says the numbers are not precise, but the proportions are close.
I thought it was just Chinese churches that are resistant to change, but apparently not so.
I am of the 5% who like changes – “Change is not always better, but better always requires change.”
“How much should leaders communicate the vision and the change needed to fulfill the vision? As a rule of thumb, once leaders are sick and tired of hearing themselves say the same thing over and over again, that is the beginning point of effective communication.” – This I have not done!
“Many churches move from a dynamic Great Commission body to a religious country club…That’s the natural state of most churches in America today…change will not happen without intentional outward movement…” – My senior pastor sees this. He says the way to move together is to have an outward focus.
March 1st, 2017 at 10:53 am
Thanks for this! I follow Thom Rainer pretty closely on his blog and podcast. I would like to hear more of the story about changes at your previous church in-person.
April 13th, 2017 at 10:08 am
The changes we failed to make at my previous church led to us leaving after 20 years there, so I guess it’s not a success story. However, we see God redeeming that for his purposes.