Time For A Change; Right?
What happens when you try one thing, and then another, and then another, and the results are not what you expected?
Consider #1 – Your timing is not the Lord’s timing. Make sure you have spent the time needed in prayer. Are you trying to rush something to put it on your timetable? Are you even trying to be or do something God doesn’t intend?
Consider #2 – Have you given your present strategy time to work? Typically, it takes longer for a strategy to come to fruition than you originally anticipated. Are you rushing the process?
So now you are prayed up and have given your strategy time to breathe and it is just not working – ok, so now what?
Keep going – keep pushing. Turning things around or advancing to a new level takes grit (and new ideas!). You have to keep pushing even when everyone is saying quit, stop, slow down. You need to discern through your “walk with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), if you need to stop, wait, or try something new. But stopping, waiting, praying, is not quitting. You may need to back up and gain momentum to move forward.
Have you taken the time to get as many people as possible to go with you on the change (the new idea)? Explain why you are making the change (trying the new idea) and listen to those on your team. Taking time to explain is not slowing down, it will actually help you move forward faster down the road. At each rotation that doesn’t work, there will be a tendency to include less people – you will feel like it takes too long.
Is there any strategy from the past that you can pull ideas from – just because its old doesn’t mean it can’t be helpful to move forward? How did previous generations deal with the problem you are currently facing? Their solution may not be the right answer for today, but it may give insight that will help you find a new direction.
While I am hesitant to suggest this, because it can be too easily the go to when you are frustrated, “what are other churches in your area doing to address this issue you are struggling with?” But be careful; you may actually need to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.
Resist the temptation to feel that you have wasted time – explored ideas are not wasted time; They help you move forward – just don’t stay in one place too long with an idea that is not working.
Know that once you finally get it going – you will have to change it again (eventually). Moving to new things and feeling the strain to change will always be part of the ministry for the growing leader. It’s not about will you need to change, but when will you need to change.
Some leaders get frustrated and quit but don’t leave, requiring them to be eventually removed (they are not doing their jobs). Others quit and move to another ministry entirely, so they can repeat what has worked for them in the past (but there is no guarantee that it will). But in order to grow as leader and to be effective in your position – you have to grow. Never leave just because you are frustrated or what you have tried hasn’t worked.
The best way for your ministry to grow and advance is for you, as the leader, to grow and advance as a person. Keep reading books, articles, listening to podcasts, etc.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.