Tackling Opposition to Change (Part 2 of 2)

The change could be, but sometimes it's necessary. So how can a leader overcome opposition and actually make change happen. Find out today on Truth for Life.

Let's join Alastair beg as he teaches from Nehemiah chapter 4 verses 10 through 12 and from the book of acts chapter 6 verses one through four. 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 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 if there are steps to implementing change in overcoming opposition to change. We need to identify what they are and I want us to run through a few of these again I'm I'm stating in many cases the obvious.

I make no apology for it is imperative with that we think through exactly what it is that we would like to change or we believe needs to be changed. Secondly that we need to know our people and we need to develop trust relationships with our people that can only be achieved over time. Also, thirdly, that that we recognize that in leadership we need to keep an adequate amount of change in our pockets as it where that that we do need in some measure as as leaders to be agents for change, we should be changing stuff… You think if it always remains the exact same something is wrong and so some of us are not as good as that it others, and that's why it's helpful to think through some of the implications we need. Fourthly, to identify the influencers. The people in our congregations and our leadership who in turn are able to influence others and we need to communicate our vision to then, in order that they might be on board to communicate the vision to others. So, for example, it is imperative that in sharing vision that we include our leadership so that they may temper unbridled enthusiasm that they may give clarity to him framed thinking and that they may also have time to come on board with what were doing.

I don't even know if this illustration fits, but it just comes to mind when I was in this church and in Scotland on my own. I had occasion to make contact with a well-known minister here in the United States.

It came about as a result of a family member worshiping in his church and this individual sent to me via my sister some information about the church in which he was serving in the states and in writing to thank him. I invited him to complete his education and to come to Scotland to complete his education by coming to Scotland. He wrote back and said that he would do so if I organized a pastors conference. I wasn't in a position to do that and so I just file the letter. Then one evening I came home and my wife told me that this chap had been on the phone from the West Coast of the United States and that he was going to call again at midnight. Our time to strike is 4 o'clock in the afternoon Los Angeles time for the afternoon. This gentleman phoned up and introduced himself to me on the phone and said, were you serious about that invitation that you extended.

Oh yes, I said I was what I said I would like to, I said you and he said yes and he told me when there were some other circumstances that were pushing him in this direction.

I so) then I said fine I said come and I invited him to come. I think it was for 10 days and I told him that he could preach in the church that we would do evening meetings we would involve ourselves in various pursuits and I would take them and showing every castle in Scotland that we had time to see so I got to the Wednesday evening meeting and I said I got some great news for you. And as I began to bubble over with enthusiasm about the prospect. I was met by just the deadness of the darkness of night, in terms of their reaction, and in the course of all of my enthusiasm I had explained that Americans tended to be fairly well served and therefore it would really be out of out of keeping for us simply to put them in the homes of one of our people.

After all, most of them didn't have a shower and and dad wouldn't like it and so I said I've just gone ahead and made reservations for two rooms in the local hotel which is down on on the river client while at that point a couple of them came totally unglued and announced the fight that they thought that this was not a great plan while I soldiered on, and at one point in announcing how much it was going to cost for this accommodation in great frustration over the prolonged agony of you know, $250 or whatever it was I said to the group of assembled gentry.

I said listen, if it's that big of a problem. I'll pay for the hotel myself, which was an active terrific bravado because I didn't have enough money hardly to buy myself a colt, let alone pay for the elder and his wife in the minister and his wife live for a week in this hotel and at that point. One gentleman jumped up out of his seat and he said I would no longer in the chair out of order in the chair. I didn't know what that meant but I figured it was bad and it was a man that I had violated my leadership responsibilities by making such a snide comment and he felt that I should be removed from the position of chairmanship, which by that point would have been an act of great mercy for me.

Apart from that I won't bore you with all the details, but I soldiered on.

I had nowhere else to go. I couldn't phone the guy up and tell them I was full of hot air. So he came and he minister very effectively and we visited the castles and our people had a fantastic time. Even some of these men who were determined that they want to have a good time even seem to be having a nice time. We put them in this hotel. It was run by a pagan meanie was a self-confessed pagan II had got to know him a little bit because I conducted wedding receptions in his hotel and he'd been intrigued by me and had obviously begun to pay attention to what was going on, and so he had been interested in having this foursome from America stay in the hotel and so they came in the left and the church treasurer paid the bill and lass who was the owner of the hotel sent me a letter and enclosed in the lesser was the check to be sent from our treasurer to him and it was torn in half and he said it is been a great privilege to have these people in my hotel and I would rather not take the money if that's okay. And so then I have the opportunity to go back into Mr. out of order in the chair and I took the two halves of the check stock one half up one nostril and they know not. I wanted to but I didn't. I learned a lesson from that is that in influencing people for the good of myself. That's manipulation in influencing people for the good of the kingdom. That's motivation and they misunderstood. I probably made it easy for them to do so, but I didn't have any personal agenda. In it, a tall, I was simply excited at the prospect of our congregation experiencing the benefits of this ministry and I failed to influence the influencers and I almost foundered on the rocks. Along with that and the fifth thing I just hasten to the end.

The fifth thing is it's obviously important to show people how the changes going to benefit the organization benefit whatever it is, the youth ministry. Our church or our music program. Whatever it is at and in this way to show them how it will help to achieve the overarching vision and goals that we have established that incidentally is why it is so imperative that a church has an overarching vision and clearly delineated goals because it then allows as a point of reference to determine whether we are making it or missing it, you know, if you hit balls on a driving range, and it's all you've got simply is is 3 1/2 acres of grass in front of you can convince yourself, they are actually striking this ball with you know with tremendous power and rhythm and accuracy. The one way to determine whether Yaro not of course is to have someone go out about 150 or 200 yards and stick a flag in the ground when you stick a flag in the ground. Then you determine whether you hit it with a drawl with the fade with it at all, is why often we don't like the flanks is rather live with the illusions churches have to have flanks we have to error the great principles of the New Testament in identifiable state objectives in OJ Adams in one of his little books on preaching says that your that our wives ought to be able to not just remember this about 3 o'clock on a Sunday morning waken eyes and say what he preaching on in the morning and we are to build answer in a sentence and fall back to sleep. He said if we can answer and a sentence is because we don't know what we are preaching on the following morning. Somebody ought to build and not just and say okay tell me about your church about your ministry what you doing what's it what's this, what were what where you moving where to be able to answer and not simply while the chief end of managed glorify God and enjoy him forever on. Therefore, we would like to drop you know we can answer can be the Westminster confession of faith in subsection 6. That's not a good enough answer. You going the bagel shop. They know the answer you haven't written on the wall when you walk in and it eyes is a paraphrase, but it essentially says our plan is to stuff you full of bagels right so it's not a problem.

I mean nobody is in any doubt. We know what they are trying to do and they do to and that's why they wear the hats because they wear the hat because the part of the team and the team is heading for here in the road on the wall in the road inside of them and they're moving towards us was that Hendrix most churches think they're doing fine because they don't know what they're doing, what we doing okay the sub knocks again little silly also.

Then six they change needs to take place in increments with a long-term schedule in mind, we need to build the procedures for change.

We need to take time to lay the groundwork we need to give time for response. We need to listen more than we talk. We need to observe probably more than we begin to implement that all elementary things you guys who are in business here today are certain bar where she would shut up because you have your over your heads in this well you are tell me why you can think the same way in church life because the church is not a business know, we understand that but would you not agree that the principles of the book of now Maia would translate very effectively into the business structures of some of the Fortune 500 companies in America and frankly have done people of build business models right out of the program because the understand the functionality of it. So it's not enough for us to say we're not a business. Therefore, we will endorse and embrace chaos dancers. We are not a business we understand that we are a church. Therefore, we are framed by biblical principles and parameters, but we don't think our brains out when were thinking about how were going to reach your city for Jesus Christ and and the league guys have got to step up.

It's not right that you can spend. If any of you are here kicking can be involved in strategic plans in Fortune 500 companies were you involved in the administration level and you're making strategic involvements that cost 150 and $200 million in change in your organization and then you will come into meetings in a church and be a total pain in the neck about something that is involving 8000 or $10,000 is doublethink.

You got your own two cities going. We overestimate what we can do in a year and we underestimate what we can do in five years. That's why the change has to be incremental seven thing we need to communicate clearly and often. Lately we need to create a healthy discontent for the status quote I'm in favor taken every organization of the church, every fragment of the church and putting it under review, at least on an annual basis that part of the responsibility of eldership in the church should be to put the whole operation under review.

Not in a threatening way, not in a tyrannical way at all.

In a way that is prayerful and is encouraging to the people who are in leadership in those responsibilities so that they know.

For example, in the month of February they will come in and they will share about the ministry. The encouragements that are there. The discouragements the challenges and so on. They will ask the elders counsel on certain things. The elders will have an opportunity to ask questions and they will pray together. If there is need for change in strategy, then we will make note of it and we will consider if the reviewer is such that it simply reinforces the well-being of what's going on. Then we will rejoice in that and we will leave things exactly the way they are. But the one thing we mustn't do is simply assume that all is well on the Western front, because no one is shouting or nothing is squeaking you can think of. I mean that you know you are remembering and in and start on. There were two old ladies who had had a children's evangelism project and it went from their home and these ladies were just the hand of God was on them. I don't know what happened to them with kids. God just made them special with children and he saw lots of Boys and Girls Club in the community come to faith in Jesus Christ.

While after they were gone.

Somebody was still running the operation out of the front room. Nobody was coming because they were no good.

They didn't have the heart. They didn't have the gift and it wasn't working will go in and shut it down.

We can do that. Why exactly I was doing brass Robbins in a church in England and other restaurants on the graves delay brass is down over graves in the Lord's my end and a little sooner. Brass you should know about it because I sold a number of these wrappings to a two to an interior design store in Ardmore. Really nice shoppers: Neil and Bishop and they bought a number of my brass remedies and there hanging in some very nice homes in greater Philadelphia.

They charged exorbitant prices for these things I could not believe it when I saw my poultry renderings hanging in the hallways of this store when it was it was a bias because I would run these as a student so that I can get enough money to come in, chase down this girl that I really liked who's at home with my children and I was rubbing Bryce's in Ely in Cambridgeshire and the church warden came Saturday morning and he said I'm going to have to have you leave the children. Service begins in about 20 minutes so that's not a problem. Be glad to have a break I'll go get a coffee, so I went out and I went across the road from the church and and I went in a little place at Kathy.

I got myself a coffee and where I was sitting I could see out the window and it never occurred to me at first but I'd been there, probably 20 minutes and it suddenly dawned on me. I wonder where everybody's coming from because I don't see anybody going into the children's service. I stayed there for a while I thought you know I don't think anybody went into the children's service. Maybe there was a children's service maybe was canceled and so intrigued I went across the road back up through the gravestones open the door, the back and looked in and as I went into the vestibule before I could see. I could hear the voice and all will all do all these rules all involve all wall I saw whether there is a service you know that when there was no swelling there.

There was a Labrador dog that belonged to the vicar and I'm making this up all the boys and girls in the town were watching TV, playing sports, attending school events, shopping with her mother's there had been a time, presumably went 11 o'clock on a Saturday morning was a great time for a kid service, but it hadn't been any time in the last 25 years that was for sure and even the Labrador was asleep. I understand the guys worldview Sacramento listen priest priestly function doesn't matter if you're there are not limited to what we do.

The children's service tomorrow morning.

Do the Job service say well we don't do you go to that extreme. I'm sure we don't. But if half of is analyzed a significant chunk of what were doing. Find a number Labrador dogs kicking around and stuff that was previously gifted, staffed on the basis of prior gifting for which there is no present configuration of gifting to do the same thing is being propped up by three short legs and a broken leg. Instead of leadership having the courage to go in and reconfigure the thing and fix it and then the widow started to argue with one another because things aren't going the way they should go. Therefore, you need the apostles wisdom to say you know we have to do something strategic about this will get some guys that are full of the Holy Spirit and will put them in charge and we will give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. The last thing I use my last golfing illustration. Probably Sagar problem is I do, but timing is everything.

You know, timing is everything.

See you look at those guys from behind swing a golf ball. It looks as though it looks as though the golf ball couldn't go anywhere because of the way they drop their hands into the slot and this only it's only here that all of that comes from behind. You never see that some of his you see when we play golf.

We put the flue men up here if you do that and I'm an expedited you know you're not very good.

Because when you cast of the tall you lost the angle you lost all the potential for power.

The only thing you can do is can scoop back to the ball and it goes into one of those horrible fades.

You look at guys and so how did you make it go from right to left like that all the time it's it's a number things, but timing is crucial in the don't release the angle until the time is right. Well the wrong idea the wrong time is a disaster the wrong idea at the right time is a mistake. The right idea at the wrong time is unacceptable in the right idea at the right time creates the potential for success listening to Truth for Life Telstra bag with the conclusion of a message called tackling opposition are recommendation today is something we think you want to request. It's a book titled faithful leaders and the things that matter most and Alister is here today to tell us about you know Bob when Paul wrote to Titus and to Timothy, he urged them to put the right leaders in place and he did this because he recognized that the church's spiritual progress was dependent in large measure upon the progress that the spiritual leaders themselves were making and all these years later is no different today. I swiped recall in his book faithful leaders has done us all a tremendous service because he's helping us put our finger on the pulse of what spiritual leadership must mean in the local church needs reminding guys that however gifted or enable a person like me. It's ultimately about faithfulness and holiness and so consequently anybody serving in any role of church leadership is going to be greatly helped by faithful leaders and I leave with you Bob to let them know you get a call, you can request your copy of the book faithful leaders when you donate to Truth for Life today Truth for Life.org/donate or you're welcome to give us a call number is 888588788 Bob Lapine thanks for listening when you go to church.

Do you expect to be attained by talented musicians and gifted speakers, or do you expect to hear from God is a key element that's necessary for God's people to worship expectantly. And in unity will find out what that is tomorrow the Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life for the Learning is for Living