Daniel Im

Pastor + Author

Change

The 5 Small Shifts

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Are you happy with your existing vision, strategy, and values? Are you producing disciple-makers, disciples, or consumers? Are you worried that what you’re currently doing isn’t sustainable or scalable? Do you need to overhaul your church, but aren’t sure how?

I want to invite you to consider what God might do through you, if you were to implement five small shifts.

In my book, No Silver Bullets: Five Small Shifts that will Transform Your Ministry, you’ll discover five micro-shifts that have the potential to produce macro-change in your church. Here’s a quick overview.

Shift #1: From Destination to Direction

This first shift is about viewing discipleship from a systems perspective. In this shift, you’ll uncover the various ways churches approach discipleship from a fifty-thousand-foot level. We’ll do this by looking at the two spectrums that influence your approach, and then by examining how they intersect.

Shift #2: From Output to Input

In this second shift, you’ll zoom into discipleship at the individual level. We’ll go from looking at the systematic discipleship of the many to the personal discipleship of the one. We’ll do this by unpacking the results of one of the largest research projects on discipleship to date, in order to determine the right metrics for maturity.

Shift #3: From Sage to Guide

Technology has forever changed the way individuals learn. Moreover, adults learn differently than children. We simply can’t teach the way we were taught. In this shift, we’ll unpack these issues and you’ll explore what it looks like to move from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side when it comes to discipleship and leadership development.

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Leading Change in the Church

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Conal Gallagher
Conal Gallagher

One of my favorite things to do is to help churches create alignment and momentum within their staff and leadership to move their church towards multiplication. In order to do just that, change needs to happen. There’s no other way around it.

Unfortunately, most pastors and leaders struggle with change management. This is because many forget to think through who all and what all is going to be affected by this change. As a result, people are overlooked, feelings get hurt, and easy wins are lost. Inevitably this results in unnecessary conflict that could have and should have been avoided.

Your mighty plans for change are then lost in the mire of relational trouble and politics. Nothing changes. Your church stays on the same course. And the next time you try to change something, you experience even more opposition and skepticism than ever before.

If only there were an easy step-by-step process to guide people through leading and managing change in the church.

Leading Change

John Kotter’s 8-Step Process outlined in Leading Change has heavily influenced the way that I process, think through, and lead change. I’ve implemented his 8-steps through precarious times and important shifts in churches, like when I helped my previous church make the shift to becoming more missional.

Here are his 8-steps, as now updated in his recent book, Accelerate:

  • Step 1: Create a Sense of Urgency
  • Step 2: Build a Guiding Coalition
  • Step 3: Form a Strategic Vision and Initiatives
  • Step 4: Enlist a Volunteer Army
  • Step 5: Enable Action by Removing Barriers
  • Step 6: Generate Short-Term Wins
  • Step 7: Sustain Acceleration
  • Step 8: Institute Change

Leading Change in the Church

These 8-steps are a proven system for change management and they can certainly be contextualized for use in the church, which I’ve personally done, but it’s definitely not a perfect fit.

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How Do You Decide on Change or Transition?

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How do you decide on transition or change in your life?

  • Do you look at others who are doing what you want to do and try to emulate their steps?
  • Do you think of transition when things get tough at work or in life?

I find that there is a spectrum of change that all humans fall into. On the one end of that spectrum, we love the thrill of the unknown and get excited about change. On the other end, we love stability and are resistant to change.

Where are you on that spectrum?

My intention in this post is not to create a complete framework for discernment or change, nor is it to list out all of the Biblical passages that are relevant towards decision making. This post is intended to help you begin the conversation on how you process change by gleaning insights from this passage.

Don’t let your heart envy sinners; instead, always fear the Lord. For then you will have a future, and your hope will never fade. Listen, my son, and be wise; keep your mind on the right course. (Proverbs 23:17-19 HCSB)

Here are four insights on transition and change from this passage:

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