We cannot keep change from taking place, but how we manage the transition is up to us...

A Necessity When Navigating Transitions

By Todd Parrish

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

Though not one to argue with a great man like Franklin, I would make one addition to the statesman’s list of certainties: change. We live in a world of change. Seasons change, people move, and young people leave high school and attend college. The church isn’t immune to change, either. Pastors come and go. Church members move away. Sadly, disgruntled members find another congregation. But there is a difference between change and transition in the life of a local church.

William Bridges, author of Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, said, “Change is situational…transition is psychological.” In other words, we cannot keep change from taking place, but how we manage the transition is up to us. A church experiences multiple seasons of change. Pastors leave, deacons serve their terms, and new members join the church roll. The question is, “As leaders, how do we manage the transition when change occurs?” Church leaders must have a clear, foundational focus to manage transitions well. They need to remind themselves of the biblical description of the church.

In Romans 12:4-5, the Apostle Paul reminded the church at Rome it was a body, not a building. The church is a living organism, not an organization. Paul admonished the church at Corinth to conduct themselves decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). While we may borrow organizational principles from secular business practices, we must be mindful the church isn’t, as Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., once said, “a country club with a steeple on the roof.”

Peter described Christ’s Church “as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). Let us be warned by the words of David F. Wells in his book The Courage to Be Protestant: “What happens in the corporate world has not been lost on many of our church leaders today.…Increasingly they are thinking like corporate CEOs who pursue market share and market domination, with a kind of cold, calculating, ruthless, and steely zeal.” Wells denounces what he describes as the Walmartization of today’s church.

We must remember Christ’s Church is called His bride…not a building. Ephesian husbands were reminded to love their wives “as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. ...That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25, 27). Understanding the biblical imagery in Scripture to describe the church, we understand leaders must incorporate the correct mentality and focus when navigating transition. Remember, transition is psychological.

What are helpful ideas to help a congregation journey through a pastoral change, building program, or congregational crisis like losing members due to division or disagreement? First, leaders should direct the church to enter a season of focused and fervent prayer. Leaders should weave prayer into the fabric of local church life. Engaging the church in public prayer will prove helpful. Mention the specific manner of church transition in public prayer from the pulpit, during mid-week prayer service, or in Sunday School or small group meetings. “Let’s be mindful to pray for our pulpit committee and prospective pastors during this time of transition” would be a wonderful reminder to offer in all phases of corporate worship if the church is looking for a new shepherd to lead them.

Second, leaders should encourage members to incorporate prayer for the transition during private prayer times. Deacons and other leaders should promote and exemplify prayer in the homes of church members. When we pray over our meal or lead our children during family devotions, we provide excellent opportunities to pray for the church during transitions. Leaders, allow your children to hear you pray for your church when it is journeying through transitions.

Third, leaders should not only concentrate on public prayer and private prayer during times of church transition but should engage in planned prayer opportunities. During one of my previous pastorates, our church entered a building program to renovate and expand the facilities. We engaged in a capital campaign to raise over $750,000…a colossal task for the congregation.

Before soliciting the first pledge or raising the first dollar, we planned opportunities to call the church to prayer. The congregation enlisted a volunteer prayer team who developed a 31-day prayer calendar including various needs within the church, not only the building program. The congregation prayed every day of the month for their pastor and his family, for other leaders, for spiritual needs, and for great opportunities to impact Christ’s Kingdom the enlarged facilities would provide.

Our congregation set aside a daily prayer time. We encouraged people to set an alarm on their phones or create some other reminder to pray for the church and its mission during the specified time. The prayer team visited every home in the church membership during our season of planned prayer, asking church members to put personal and family needs on the prayer cards provided.

Later, the prayer team collected the prayer cards. After all requests had been collected, the church held a 24-hour prayer vigil at the church beginning on a Friday evening and continuing through the next evening. Church members signed up for 30-minute slots of time. When the church family arrived for their assigned time, prayer team members met them at the altar where the compiled prayer requests were waiting.

The results were staggering. People began coming to Christ in the weeks following the vigil. Many prayer requests were answered in the following days. And almost as an afterthought, the capital campaign was a huge success, with church members freely pledging to help. The campaign consultant later told me it was the most successful campaign he had ever witnessed. Most capital campaigns are considered successful if they reach 75-80% of their goal. Through the faithfulness of God and His people, we realized nearly 100% of the goal set by the congregation.

As leaders, we often cannot manage why or when change occurs. But we can manage how we navigate the transition. Renewing our minds regarding what the Scriptures teach about the nature of the church and realizing the congregation’s need for intense and intentional prayer will allow leaders to guide the congregation safely through times of transition.

About the Writer: Todd Parrish is vice president for Institutional Advancement at Welch College. Learn more: welch.edu.