3 Reasons to NOT Start Something New at your Church

I live in the future. I’m all about ideas, change, new strategies and innovation. I’m the one who usually says things like:

“What if we did this differently”
“What if we cancelled that thing and tried something new?”
“What if there is no spoon?”
“What if we started a campus on the moon?”

Ok, maybe not the last two.

Anyway, you might say I’m a visionary. I drive the administrative types on my team nuts.

And yet, over the course of my ministry career I’ve learned some hard lessons about driving change. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is when to hit the brakes. And, how do you know when you should hit the brakes on a new idea? I would suggest that there are three red flags you need to look out for.

RED FLAG #1: YOUR LEAD PASTOR DOESN’T LOVE IT

The first red flag has to do with your lead pastor. If your lead pastor isn’t 100% bought in on the idea, push pause. It isn’t worth the pain and heartache.

If he or she isn’t excited about the idea, it will be evident to the congregation. When this red flag pops up, I would recommend pursuing a “here” and “there” conversation with your senior leader.

What’s that? It’s a conversation in which you emphasize that where we are currently (here) is not acceptable and in which you paint a compelling picture of why “there” is so amazing that we just have to go! If you want a little more info, check out our ideas on “here” and “there” from a previous post. Oh, and if this language sounds familiar, that would because I stole it directly from Bill Hybels.

So, back to the “when to hit the brakes” conversation, watch out for the red flag of apathy on the part of your lead pastor. Waiting until your lead pastor catches the vision will save you a ton of heartache.

RED FLAG #2: COMPETING STRATEGIES

I once worked in a church where there were competing strategies. They were called "Adult Sunday School" and "Small Groups". Maybe you work at that church. Note: I’m obviously not talking about your specific church, that would be just rude!

Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with adult Sunday School and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with small groups. However, in my experience, it’s next to impossible to have a vibrant Sunday School ministry and a vibrant small groups ministry. They compete against each other when it comes to relational capacity, time, church resources, etc.

Also, your people will always be confused as to what environment they are supposed to engage. What is supposed to be the next step in their spiritual journey?

This is just one example of competing strategies. In my experience, churches that achieve high levels of congregational and staff buy-in typically employ a unified strategy that leads to a specific target.

One of our mantras is “One team. One vision.” Competing strategies are usually a symptom of competing visions. If your new idea competes with another idea, strategy or program in your church, you should probably hit the brakes and engage a conversation about what is most important in your church strategy.

RED FLAG #3: VOCAL DISSENT

Look, you’ll never make everyone happy. Don’t let a few naysayers keep you from moving forward. However, if the majority of your congregation or staff is vocally against your new idea, you have a serious problem on your hands. It’s tempting to say:

“I know what’s best here. I’m the leader. They’ll come around.”

Yeah, or they might not. I’m not saying that if the majority of your people are against your idea that your idea is bad. I am saying that the timing may be wrong.

It’s my opinion that the ferocity of most church conflicts involving change could have been deescalated by slowing down the process and inviting conversation.

[tweetthis]The ferocity of church conflicts involving change can be deescalated by slowing down and inviting conversation.[/tweetthis]

It may be that you need to spend a season building support. Identify key stakeholders and spend time with them. Return to the “here” and “there” conversation with the people of your congregation. Invite skeptics to dialogue with you. If there is a book that clearly articulates the vision behind your idea, invite people to read that book and share their thoughts with you.

In my experience, it makes a world of difference to the people who disagree when they feel heard. Most people are reasonable and will fall in line with a new direction that they initially disagreed with, as long as they felt heard and valued in the process. Sometimes there is wisdom in delaying in order to build support and momentum.

Hey, keep it coming with your ideas. Keep dreaming, innovating, questioning and moving forward. But, as you do, take a lesson from my mistakes and hit the brakes when you see red flags.

I’d love to hear your suggestions on other red flags to watch out for. Also, if you have any stories of successful change in your church, I’d love to hear them. Feel free to leave your stories and red flags in the comments below.