Chris Denning shares what he could & should have done differently in his new ministry.
1. You Changed Too Much, Too Soon.
I know, I know. You feel like you’re walking right into a hot mess and that you have to fix it TODAY. Things are probably disorganized or not setup the way you would do them, and that drives you nuts. I’ve been there, and that pressure to make everything right ASAP is a real thing.
Or maybe you’re walking into a situation where you’re taking over for someone who did a great job leading a healthy ministry. Even in this kind of situation, you will probably feel the desire to change things to fit you and your leadership preferences. None of this is bad, but trying to change too much, too fast is a great way to make everyone else uncomfortable and nervous.
Change is not bad itself, but UNMANAGED change can cause some problems for new Worship Leaders. When I think about change, I like to think about a big, big Cruise Ship. Lets say you’re sailing North and you want to go East, a definite change.
If you take the helm of that big Cruise Ship and whip the wheel as hard as you can to the right, you’re going to cause a lot of commotion on the ship. Everything will sway back and forth, and some people may even fall off the boat! Simply put: everyone on that ship is going to FEEL the change.
However, if you take the helm of the ship and gradually turn it over time, you will still get exactly where you want to go, but the change will go MOSTLY UNNOTICED. Just by adding a little bit of time, you’re able to do what you set out to do, but by managing your change well, you bring change in a healthy way.
I believe that there are 3 things that you can do to help ensure that you don’t change too much too soon.
First, talk to as many people that have been around the ministry to get a real history & perspective on the ministry. Taking the time to learn where the ministry has been and what has happened in the past (both good and bad) will help you to better understand what needs to change or maybe why things are the way they currently are.
Second, privately list everything that you think needs to change. This is just to get everything out of your head, on paper, and in front of your eyes. Listing the needed changes will help you to get perspective on your situation.
Third, take that list and prioritize the changes that need to be made. Which changes are not just the most important ones to make, but will impact or help the most people? Be ruthless in prioritizing this list so that you can focus on what is most important first.
Remember: CHANGE is almost always NECESSARY, but taking your TIME will help your change to be EFFECTIVE.
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