How Do You Introduce Change Without Alienating People?

If I took a poll and asked you whether you’d like to introduce some sort of change in your worship ministry, I doubt there would be any silence.

We all want to change something. We have friends who are doing this or that. Hillsong United is using this fresh, new instrument. Jesus Culture is leading this song and that song.

We are surrounded by change. If we were the only people attending your church, change would be easy. But how do we make changes without alienating our churches and creating a monster?

That’s why I’m writing this post. Change is a vacuum. It’s never ending. And oftentimes it is the result of being discontent with what we have.

Before you embark on flipping the foundation of your ministry, stop, slow down, and thank God for where you are and who you get to serve. Change can help serve the advancement of the Kingdom but it can also distract us.

Change is a great opportunity to pastor others. It’s less about getting what we want and more about leading our churches to where they need to be.

Two Stories

Can I tell you a brief story?

I did a hospital visit this past week and was privileged to sit with a 95 year old man from our church whose health is failing. He had been attending APC since the beginning, 47 years ago. I’m not sure if he recognized me as the worship leader and one of the main instigators of change in our church’s music over the last several years.

You could say I was a bit nervous to do the visit.

He went on to tell me how he noticed our church’s change in style a few years back. The services became radically different – music style, pace, lighting, video.

But it was so beautiful to just sit with him and listen. I didn’t rise up and preach a sermon on why we needed to change. I simply listened and sympathized.

Because Allison Park Church is his church too. As people who want to see change happen, we need to keep in mind that the local church belongs to multiple generations. It’s not MY church. It’s the senior citizen’s church too, and we need to serve them.

I was also listening to the Catalyst podcast this past week, hearing an interview with Mac Lake. He talked about how he was visiting a church as a 53 year old man. He went up to the pastor afterwards and said, “I really enjoyed your service.” The Pastor responded by saying, “Thank you”. Mac went on to say, “I shouldn’t be enjoying your service. I’m 53 years old. There should be something that you’re doing that is uncomfortable for me. You should be reaching the next generation.”

So how can we reach the next generation while still pastoring all the generations represented in our churches?

3 Tips For Introducing Change

I must say, there are no easy answers – no process that will take the struggle out of pastoring people through change.

But it’s worth the pain to do it right. I’ve developed 3 tips (which all start with “C”) to help you:

1. Care for All Your People – The best way to introduce change is to love all your people long before it happens. Even though some people may not appreciate the new sanctuary look, the more aggressive music, and the new lighting cues, they’ll receive it easier if they know you love them, care for them, and have them in your heart and mind.

2. Create a Plan – When you have an idea for change, don’t just implement it tomorrow. Or if you are a worship leader at a new church that has historically tolerated a lot of bad habits, resist instant change. Instead, create an action plan for gradual change. Set dates for when and how the change will happen.

For example: Let’s say I want to start introducing new songs and new, more modern styles of music. Rather than filling this weekend’s setlist with all Hillsong Young & Free songs, I’d do this:

• Week 1: Rehearse new songs with band
• Week 2: Rehearse new songs with band
• Week 3: Plan a “Youth Sunday” where we introduce new song as a “special” during offering
• Week 4: Do new song during worship and set it up with a talk, addressing those in the room who may have a hard time with the style and sound

See how that process helped? Creating a plan will help soften the blow that change can have on people.

3. Cast the Vision – After you’ve committed to caring for your people and you’ve created your plan, it’s time to cast the vision. No change should happen without vision behind it. Long before change happens, start giving the “why” behind the change. If people can understand “why” the change is happening, they’ll stay committed to the vision because they know it’s not for them but for a greater purpose.

OK, worship leaders and pastors, now it’s your turn.

I’d love to hear your experience with introducing change. What have you found that works well?

I really believe your comments will help to encourage other leaders who are experiencing the same thing. You can leave a comment by clicking here.

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