Overcoming Disorientation

It’s somewhat of a running joke with my wife and kids – when we go on a trip, you can count on dad to get us lost at least once!  I have long since stopped denying this inevitable truth and willingly admit that I easily become disoriented.  As a result, I always use a GPS to keep me headed in the right direction.

Disorientation isn’t just something that individuals struggle with, but entire organizations can become disoriented and that includes churches as well.  Disorientation is defined as a “loss of one's sense of direction, position, or relationship with one's surroundings.”  I am amazed at how well disorientation defines the state of so many of our churches.  It points to three characteristics that easily apply to the church:

1. Loss of a sense of direction: We are all familiar with Proverbs 29:18 which states, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”  When God’s people cannot get a clear vision of where God is leading them, they easily become disoriented.
2. Loss of a sense of position:  Disorientation results in the church being confused about “Why has God placed us here?  Why do we exist?  What is our purpose in this community?  World?”  This is a loss of a sense of position.
3. Loss of a sense of relationship with one’s surroundings: When the church loses its sense of position it always results in a loss of understanding its relationship with its surroundings, its community. When this happens the church tends to hide within the walls of the church, a seeming safe-haven in the midst of the wilderness.

Part of our role as leaders in churches that have become disoriented is to help our congregations find their bearings.  In a sense, it is a reorientation to God’s mission for the church.  When you get a job at a new company most of the time they have you come in for what they call “orientation.”  An orientation is simply learning about the organization, why they exist, what their goals are, and how they go about accomplishing those goals. 

For many of our churches those things were once clear, but have now become fuzzy.  What they need is a reorientation in why the church exists, the goals of the church, and the steps they will take together to reach those goals.  Doing so will help our churches to more clearly see where God is leading them, the redemptive position they have in their world, and how this calls them to live in relationship to those God has called them to reach.  It’s the mission of God that keeps us oriented and moving in the right direction.

Recommended Resources

Shift – How NineChurches Experienced Vibrant Renewal by Daron Brown

Shift Videos

Choose Your Battles Wisely

Every time I teach my Pastor’s Welcome Class I make the statement, “there are very few things worth shedding blood over.”  The point of that conversation is to remind us as human beings we tend to overreact and respond emotionally to things that really don’t matter in light of eternity.

Oh, how I wished I understood that principle early in my ministry.  I’m embarrassed as I reflect on how quickly I argued over something as silly as the placement of a soda machine--as if the location of that soda machine were key to reaching the unchurched.  That is what you would refer to as “choosing your battles foolishly!” 

When it comes to church renewal, you will have to make some changes!  The key is choosing your battles wisely. This is about more than just picking the right fight.  A pastor may pick the right fight, but fail in the areas of execution and timing.  The right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing.  This is where wisdom is needed.

As a pastor who is seeking to lead your church towards new life and vibrancy, you identify some things in your church that truly are the “right things” to change.  Your heart is in the right place; your motives are pure; and the changes are absolutely necessary to help your church take a step towards missional effectiveness in your community.  Choosing these battles wisely must include two things:

1.     Education.  One of the greatest errors I believe we make as pastors is failing to give our congregations time to be educated on the issues surrounding the needed changes.  What we often see as resistance to “the will of God” or unwillingness to follow our leadership is the natural hesitancy that results from lack of understanding. 

T. Scott Daniels believes this is one of the most common errors pastors make.  He writes that we fail to “…shape the convictions of the congregation.  People don’t change without first knowing why they ought to be different than they are.”  As a leader you must take the time to loving and graciously educate them on the issues.  Include them in the conversation.  Make space for questions.  This is a wise practice that will payoff.  Education also allows time for buy-in to increase. People are more apt to trust you the next time around.

2.     Pace of change.  Every book on leading organizational change tells us to pay attention to the speed of change.  But when we get in the middle of the transition we tend to forget.  I would add that even when you think you are moving slowly with change, slow down a little more.  Sometimes in our passion to reach the lost and to make a difference for the Kingdom, we change directions so quickly we throw some off the bus.  This is magnified exponentially when we are trying to make more than one significant change at once or making a series of changes.

I would encourage you to be cautious with the pace of change.  Allow time for people to catch their breath.  As changes are made be sure to take time to celebrate your people and their efforts.

Remember, it’s not just about right and wrong.  It’s about doing the right things the right way.  When we choose our battles, let’s show some wisdom in how we go about implementing those changes.

Recommended Resources

Vibrant Church Renewal Website

The First 100 Days by T. Scott Daniels

Leading Congregational Change by Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, & James Furr

United Around Mission

When pastor and people unite around the mission of the church . . .

. . . God’s presence is sensed.  He freely works to bring about good and salvation.  The people of God rejoice in the miracles He performs, in the conversions that take place and in the observed spiritual growth.  The congregation maintains peace, unity and fellowship.  God’s people look for ways to serve in the community.

. . . The morale of the congregation remains strong.  Excitement comes quicker, easier and stays longer.  The reasons for togetherness are obvious.  The purposes of worship, study, and prayer are compelling.

But how do churches achieve that level of agreement and unity? For a teaching resource on Team Building for Success go to www.missionevangelism.org.  Click on Church Renewal/Training Modules/Team Building for Success.

Contributed by Dr. Lyle Pointer

Hope-filled Leadership

If you are a pastor of a plateaued or declining church – vibrant church renewal starts with you!  One of the things our congregations need more than anything else is hope-filled leadership.  Are you a leader who fosters hope in your members?

Leonard Sweet writes, “The annual meetings of most churches are like that of the swimming coach who made a difficult speech at an awards banquet after a disastrous year.  'We didn’t win a single meet this year,' he admitted, 'but we had a good time and nobody drowned.'” 

I personally have been to too many District Assemblies and heard too many pastor’s reports that reflect the low expectations of this swimming coach.  Alan Roxburgh writes, “We encounter many congregations and church leaders functioning out of low expectation and hope…But the Biblical stories that lead to the Incarnation keep telling us these are the very places where God’s future emerges.  This is what God does and how God acts, most clearly in Jesus.  When leaders bring this imagination to their congregation, they foster hope.”  We need leaders who will dream again of the life and vibrancy that that God wants to bring to where they are currently serving.

Hope-filled leadership doesn’t mean we don’t deal in reality or that we look at things through rose-colored glasses. It means that we look at all of those circumstances through the lense of the resurrection.  As I once heard William Willimon say, “When we’ve got a resurrected Christ, we always have more future than past.”  Hope-filled leadership believes that no matter how bleak things look at the moment, we serve a resurrected Christ who has a hope and a future for our congregation and its members.  

Vibrant church renewal starts with you.  It starts with restoring hope where hope has been lost.  Let’s be hope-filled leaders today.

For more help on raising the morale of your congregation, check out this resources from Vibrant Church Renewal:

Raising the Morale of a Plateaued Congregation