Always a Downside
I once knew a man who pastored a medium-sized traditional church but decided to chart a course toward becoming a megachurch. Just over half of his people supported the change. When I asked what he was going to do with the large minority that opposed him, he said, “I will leave them behind.”
His response shocked me. I was sure he would fail. But he didn’t. He succeeded – wildly! Initially he did lose half his congregation, but hundreds (and eventually thousands) who shared his vision joined him and created a burgeoning and highly regarded megachurch.
I wouldn’t be able to do what that man did. My temperament and my view of shepherding differ from his. I place a high premium on keeping my congregation together through change. If I know someone isn’t on board, I want to hear them out and I want them to hear me out, so we can move forward together as a church.
That’s easier to do with twenty people than two hundred.
No matter what decision you make, there will always be a downside to it, and there will always be someone against it because of its downsides. In the mid-nineties our church was packed with about 120 people. There was no more room. We talked about going to two services, but many opposed doing so because of the downsides.
“You’re going to create two separate churches!”
“People won’t know each other! How will you ever get them together again?”
“The parking lot will be jammed between services! How will people get in and out?”
“You’re not going to have enough people to handle children’s ministry!”
I proposed what I thought were viable answers to these questions. But to my surprise each of my proposed solutions had a downside! Would the process of resolving downsides ever end?
I learned that it wouldn’t end. If you have to solve every downside before you move forward, you will never move forward. You will find yourself trapped by indecision; the problem will persist and get worse. Deciding to act and then acting usually opens the way forward!
Problem-free solutions to anything are rare. Leading through change doesn’t mean finding a problem-free solution around which to create unanimity; it means moving toward a goal with a reasonable (though not problem-free) plan and then working through the obstacles as they arise.
I still want to keep as many people on board as I can as we move forward. But I have accepted that there will always be some who won’t get on board – no matter how hard you try to get them to do so.
Leadership means knowing when it’s time to stop trying to change their minds against their will, close the bus doors, and move forward on the journey with those that want to be on the bus.
His response shocked me. I was sure he would fail. But he didn’t. He succeeded – wildly! Initially he did lose half his congregation, but hundreds (and eventually thousands) who shared his vision joined him and created a burgeoning and highly regarded megachurch.
I wouldn’t be able to do what that man did. My temperament and my view of shepherding differ from his. I place a high premium on keeping my congregation together through change. If I know someone isn’t on board, I want to hear them out and I want them to hear me out, so we can move forward together as a church.
That’s easier to do with twenty people than two hundred.
No matter what decision you make, there will always be a downside to it, and there will always be someone against it because of its downsides. In the mid-nineties our church was packed with about 120 people. There was no more room. We talked about going to two services, but many opposed doing so because of the downsides.
“You’re going to create two separate churches!”
“People won’t know each other! How will you ever get them together again?”
“The parking lot will be jammed between services! How will people get in and out?”
“You’re not going to have enough people to handle children’s ministry!”
I proposed what I thought were viable answers to these questions. But to my surprise each of my proposed solutions had a downside! Would the process of resolving downsides ever end?
I learned that it wouldn’t end. If you have to solve every downside before you move forward, you will never move forward. You will find yourself trapped by indecision; the problem will persist and get worse. Deciding to act and then acting usually opens the way forward!
Problem-free solutions to anything are rare. Leading through change doesn’t mean finding a problem-free solution around which to create unanimity; it means moving toward a goal with a reasonable (though not problem-free) plan and then working through the obstacles as they arise.
I still want to keep as many people on board as I can as we move forward. But I have accepted that there will always be some who won’t get on board – no matter how hard you try to get them to do so.
Leadership means knowing when it’s time to stop trying to change their minds against their will, close the bus doors, and move forward on the journey with those that want to be on the bus.