Currents That Shape Your Church
April 1, 2002
Erwin McManus
Mosaic
Los Angeles,
California Create expectation for change. The rate at which you change determines your church's culture. When you move slowly, you filter out the entrepreneurs, the risk takers in your community. And when you move quickly, you filter out people who resist change, people who like predictability. The question is not dealing with specific changes, but asking what kind of culture you're trying to create. If you have leaders whose dominant value system is to resist change, every change seems substantial. But if you have a leadership base that sees change as God's invitation to create the future, then changes become the norm. At Mosaic, we've worked hard to create a change culture. In the early years, we resolved to make every worship service unique. We rearranged our worship units—drama, Bible reading, singing—every week. I remember having a crisis the first Sunday we decided not to do a welcome; I thought I'd get fired! Today, our culture of fluidity enables us to change even our place of worship, as often as every six months. Unpredictability has created an expectation of change and a willingness to accept it. Cheryl Sanders
Third Street
Church of God
Washington, D.C.
Read the congregation first. Several years before my installation, my predecessor decided to consolidate our two Sunday morning services into one late service. It was supposed to build unity during a building campaign. It turned out to be an unpopular decision with many who had made time and job commitments to attend the early service. There needed to be a change. My leadership style favors achievement of consensus as an important factor in major decisions. I tend not to "impose" change on the church. But adding a service wasn't the same as ...
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