Case Study Responses
July 1, 1998
Create Quick Wins
A major reengineering of a church culture takes four to six years, unless a crisis fast-forwards the process, so this case is fairly typical. In the transition process, people in the church will go through four stages: denial, resistance, exploration, and commitment. Certain leadership actions are appropriate for each stage, and leadership will determine the outcome.
The congregation proceeded normally coming out of denial (characterized by business-as-usual, commitment to the past, withdrawal) into resistance (marked by anger, anxiety, loss of members). A significant breakthrough occurred with the big Sunday night meeting.
The congregation may be stuck in the exploration phase. This phase is typified by a lack of focus, an outbreak of the "crazies" (both people and ideas), and a need to quit doing some things. In the exploration period, the congregation needs some quick wins under their belt to build confidence that their future dreams are realizable. Inserting a vision retreat here may have prematurely pushed the horizon too far ahead.
It's time for the next chapter to become evident. The church needs to distill how it will carry out the Great Commission.
Other questions emerge surrounding the pastor. I cannot tell if he is ambivalent about his own life mission. He has a strong sense of call, but does he know what to do with it? What are his strengths, gifts, and passions? The pastor needs sufficient self-understanding to lead this church into its next chapter.
My hunch is his workaholic tendencies impact his ministry in several ways. Workaholics tend to entwine themselves into too much, and it does appear that most of the lines in the church run to him. His enmeshment seems normal to him, but it is one ...
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