Tackling Opposition to Change (Part 1 of 2)

We live in a world where changes inevitable. But not everybody likes it today on Truth for Life. Alistair Begg looks at the reasons why people resist change in the church from now my chapter 4 and verse 10.

Meanwhile, the people in Judah said the strength of the laborers is getting out there so much trouble that we cannot rebuild the wall. Also, our enemy said before they know it or see as we will be right there among them, and we will kill them and put an end to the work and then the Jews who live near them came and told us 10 times over. Wherever you turn, they will attack us and then in acts chapter 6 and the familiar passage there as the numbers were increasing the need for strategic planning became more and more apparent in those days when the number of disciples were increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the 12 gathered all the disciples together and said it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables brothers choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word. This proposal please the whole group and they chose these individuals as they focus to fulfill the task and then in acts chapter 9 verse 31 then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit.

It grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord, but I pray that once again you will give us clarity of thought and expression. Thank you for our partnership in the gospel for the sense that we feel of being learners together from the one who knows the answers.

We thank you for Christ, the head of the church and we pray that you would bless is not in Jesus name, amen. Well I want to first of all acknowledge that I address this subject much more out of a desire to try and help myself. Then out of any great wisdom that I have gleaned over the years so as to be able to help you. I figure if I keep talking about this. I might learn how to do it and if I do it publicly might save me from convincing myself that I'm actually better answer than I am.

But given that we would endeavor a tall undergoing to establish vision and to see it error in the practicalities of our day.

We recognize that change is a very difficult thing for most people, and for some, in particular, and therefore, by and large churches are not good at making changes, and since those who are most opposed to them are often the most vociferous in their responses. Many times the leadership samples for a happy life, at least potentially so, and for immediate gratification, rather than for the delayed gratification that comes from tackling the opposition to change and pushing through to the eventuality that we believe is right for us coming as I do from the British Isles.

We are not known for our ability to move quickly on things, either in the business world are certainly in church life. The church that I served in Scotland in the evening that I bad farewell to them made a number of speeches, some of which were encouraging and in the course of one of them. One of the senior leaders describe me in this way, he said. Alister came to us as a young man in a hurry and he leaves us as a young man in a hurry. Everybody except me seemed to understand what was meant by that and I still don't know. After all these years with it was a compliment or an insult.

Either way, I tend to look at things. I'm assuming it was an insult but I recognize the truthfulness of the future comes in at the rate of 60 seconds a minute.

Other places to go and people to meet there really is no time for setting up too much in terms of celebrations about the past because the future beckons us.

At least that's the way I tend to operate and certainly where there is life there is always change and part of the challenge has been in ordering that change, and in framing the change and then giving rain to where it needs to be given ranges and correction where it needs to be corrected and the same is true where there is life in a church that I recognize that in the years that I've been here in the states. We've done a number of things that you're really not supposed to do. We sold the building in which to which I came three years after we arrived, which didn't go over well with the significant number of the people who'd already become wedded to the building silly idea really when you think about it why you would be wedded to a building and then we moved into a high school at which we thought would last about a year and 1/2, and it ended up being 6 1/2 years that didn't go over well with the number of people either. I we also change the name of our church.

And that's not something you're supposed to do either. So basically I've done a lot of really dumb things all the time and therefore I need to learn from people how to handle a position to change because there's been a fair amount of it and the unsettling features of it, however, have not outweighed the sense of necessity. We haven't done this in a cavalier fashion in a haphazard way. It's all just for the sake of it, done it strategically and purposefully, and hopefully kindly but nevertheless there are people who are dreadfully opposed to change as I like to think just for a moment about why it is that people resist change and say a number of things that again are not original to me these are gleaned from here there and everywhere, mainly from my my youth ministers in the church who always think more strategically than those of us who were born a little sooner and they help me very much in relationship to this. Why do people resist change. Why do we resist change when we are on the receiving end of. Well, one reason is because we didn't initiate it and we don't own it because we didn't think it up because they didn't think it up. They don't like.

It's okay if they think it up.

But if they don't think it up there. Not with. There are some people who just are put together in that way it was in their ideas about idea's of the skill with those folks is making them feel as though all the good ideas or their ideas. This takes quite some time and skill haven't mastered it, but I people tell me that's where you're supposed to do. Secondly, people resist change because frankly it is disrupting to their established routine and we are tend to be creatures of habit and therefore anybody who disrupts the way in which we approach things tends to be a threat and therefore if we like the routine, and it appeals to us far more than the prospect of a change than we tend to opposing I just as you know, came back from Ireland and I was struck again by how far behind the UK is in relationship to so many things I say that it pains me. I don't mean that as sort of an adopted cousin of America that I can allow the luxury of firing salvos of both sides. You know that I can come over here and guide you and then while I'm over here. I can chide them. The fact is they are really quite slow off the mark in certain things and as I was shown around this building with obvious limitations.

It was just remarkable the way certain rooms were in certain places didn't make any sense whatsoever. You know that was no reason why this room was upstairs in another room was downstairs and in my naivety.

I said well why don't you just flip the rooms, you know, why don't you do the downstairs function downstairs on the upstairs function upstairs. It would see him you know to be fairly straightforward on no no no no no no no we couldn't. We couldn't possibly do that. Why not well and then it went into the explanations why not because people of God into a routine and although it is eminently ridiculous to do what they're doing. The routine is sacrosanct and therefore they oppose any possibility of moving the chairs and those are the chairs. One classic illustration that I paired off but didn't observe involved in American preaching in Wales. He was in the vestry with the minister and some of the deacons. The Baptist Church in Wales, and as the minister came out of the vestry. He came into a long corridor, which was immediately behind the pool bit area there were two doors into the pool area and the administer gesture to open the door that was immediately in front of him at the door no more than 10 paces away was the church secretary a significant figure, a bit like the Clark of session and he said excuse me minister, what are you doing I was in the minister. I'm just going into the open area. I'm taking our guest here.

The gentleman from America. Ono said the gentleman 10 paces away at the other door is that we don't go in that door. Well, the minister said while I was just seem to make sense to go in the door with my guest. Ono said the gentleman that is the evening door.

This is the morning door and so the minister said well we're going to go in the store and so he bustled down because it was his job to open the door and he fell back as he was on the wrong door to open it.

Instead, again, at the right door and get with the program student over there make a fuss about it.

You know, and when he finally got down and the people walk past in their visitor from America said that as he was the last person in of the group. The chap standing up. Now what was in his mind the wrong door. Simply look to the group past and said most peculiar. Thirdly, we impose people resist change because of fear of the unknown, straightforward stuff what will happen if we move will happen if we change this so on. The same way as now Meyer was introducing these people to things that were dimensions of it were unknown to them.

It never faced opposition because they weren't doing anything that would bring about opposition. They were basically doing nothing. As soon as someone with decisive leadership led them to steering activity and they would face all kinds of challenges and the fear of the unknown would be a restricting factor also and fourthly, the risk of failure would rather not try anything then fail and so because were so tyrannized by the prospect of failing. We just won't do anything and that can as much be a paralyzing factor in the experience of leaders. It can be a debilitating factor in those who are responding to leadership the possibility of the challenges of the Jerusalem project to which now Meyer gave himself the possibility for disintegration and disruption of and failure. Where were written all over the project and he needed to overcome any sense of that that was there in his own life and also then be able to lead the people forward on the basis of what God had put in his heart to do physically, people resist change because in their minds the reward that comes from the change is actually inadequate for the effort that's required in making the change in others what they get out of it is not good enough for what they are apparently going to have to put into it.

While we want to reconfigure the way that we and we do pastoral care in the church. What will this mean what will mean that you won't have the same familiar little group of people that you have had pastoral oversight off for the last 12 years, at which means you will bill to hang around with your cronies. It will also mean that you'll have to meet and engage a whole new group of people to whom you've never really given any attention and that you'll have to get to know what I think I'd rather just leave things the way they are because the prospect of any benefit coming from that is certainly far less than the challenge that is represented in making the change. Sixthly, and this is inherent in all that I'm saying because people are satisfied with the way things are we not ought not always to create a sense of dissatisfaction with the state is called many things should give us a basis for satisfaction. We should be grateful for a job well done and for things running smoothly.

But where there needs to be change of satisfaction with something that is in need of change and is obviously not too good, ought not to inhibit us from leading with vision seventh late because of a lack of respect for leadership. I get this all the time people come to me and say well we don't respect leaders and they want to do this so they want to do that and that of course raises other issues it raises character issues. The way in which relieved and the principles from which we lead straightforward stuff and innately the glorification of tradition for traditions say. And again I haven't seen too much of this in America. Certainly not in the church in which I serve, but I can tell you that when we decided that we were going to use the choir on every Sunday. That was a major potential for revolution Warren Weir to be said that when the devil fell out of heaven. He landed in the choir loft and I'm inclined to believe him and people are in the choirs always get really tense when I mention this, and I don't mean to get you tense but I've observed more potential coup d'état is coming out of people dressed in robes that I've observed in any other place in pastoral ministry and see how perfect I'm saying that is a fact. And there's something about musicians.

That is kind of weird.

Mike's my because musicians are trained to be performers and performers perform and performing is not the same as worshiping and if you spend your life believing your performer and somebody just closed down the time of your performance.

You may find that really offensive. However, if you are a worshiper you won't mind if you worship from the back or from the site sitting down standing up her flat out lying on your back. I've seen it, I think, in every church in which I've been is I have I have a revolution in the choir loft because our tradition is valued for traditions, see now when a proposal for significant changes introduce people people fall into all kinds of cancer. Grace responding in in this way, about 2% of the people are innovators. They are entrepreneurs by nature and they think in visionary terms. There regularly talking about the church, the regularly talking about his future when you're with them. They are conceiving of ways of doing things and they think strategically about the possibilities of moving forward. They are daunting people to be around if we tend to be more traditional in our perspective, but yet they are vital people to have and sadly there are all too few of them at least from my perspective. So about 2% of the people are innovative and when changes is on the go. There never happier there. That's what really fires them up and floats the boat about 10% of our people will be the kind of folks that can all new things quickly. They get on board very quickly. They know a good idea when the hearing they know a good strategy when they see it and they tend to say we we we understand this and this is this is a wonderful plan has to do with all kinds of givens I for example and I can only illustrate part of.

We have most recently been but again it was a very interesting circumstance for me to be in Northern Ireland and III moved about 50 miles. At one point in my journey's and in one location.

I had the story of a couple in this other location who had started.

I was told a Christian nightclub and they said that this was very bad thing and it is just was referred to in a very on congratulatory fashion. All right, I asked the individual. Have you ever visited this place all know the person said no I never have. Well, I said as graciously as I could maybe already visited before you start talking about. So it really thing that was a good idea but we left it at that. Okay, so they've got this notion of a Christian nightclub when I get 50 miles away to the place I discovered the one he opened is actually a youth center which has video screens, spiral staircases, old bicycles on the wall and a counter downstairs in a counter upstairs without Coca-Cola machines and potato chips and one or two other things and it is targeted for young people between the ages of 15 and 25 because at that point in Ireland. Particularly, there is a tremendous decline in churches ability to hold teenagers and the pool of pubs and bars and discos is very very significant and the average church offering for the young people is marginal. That was an active great self-control on my part, I just wondering, knowledge, and I was thinking of saying something much worse.

But it is marginal okay so here's a businessman and his wife with a heart for young people who invest significant dollars as a means of reaching a significant part of the community where there are high incidences of drug and alcohol abuse, 50 miles away without ever seeing it totally opposed to it, is Mr. X, Y present challenges in a dramatic way what is going on or what isn't going on in their particular location, and such individuals are not inherently adopters. There certainly not innovators. They tend to be fence sitters and that is the respond ultimately to the opinions of others. Once this status call has been established in relationship to change once we know the way in which the wind is blowing the way in which the majority seems to be going in such individuals will tend to cast their lot with that and the reason I mention this is because all of these people and their personalities differ, and they tend to be represented in the leadership with which most of us are working in the skill package. It seems that we need is to build to include harness, the innovator you know dampening at times the enthusiasm of the early adopter and try and move along the fence sitters because there's about 60% of the people sit on the fence 2% innovate 10% adopt early 60% sit on the fence and then 20%. The kennel last group to adopt anything that's moving the last group to endorse the idea. They always see the pitfalls they oversee the problems they always tell you why it's never been done. They always say that Mrs. so-and-so if she been here, she would be really ticked about this and so on. And there's and there's all that kind of stuff that goes on with that. And then there are 8% who are the laggards or the or the mules if you like a new ideas are seldom if ever adopted by this group.

I'm sure there's a group of these donkeys that move from church to church in America every time it gets them beyond their comfort level since they cannot change the have to go to another place that that seems to be shoring up their own particular tradition in stages: I'm not talking in doctrinal terms, Utah. I think you understand that not talking about spiritual declension are not talking about heresy and I'm am assuming a level of commitment to the Scriptures and the well-being of the church and so Telstra bag with part one of a message titled tackling opposition to train your listing to Truth for Life.

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Now that we know why people resist change. How do leaders overcome opposition so that trains can actually happen. Find out tomorrow when you join us for part two of today's Bible teaching of Alistair Begg furnished by Truth for Life with the Learning is for Living