The
Presbyter's Page
Electronic
Edition - June 2000
Original articles published May 1997
Section 12 - LA District UPCI
Donald Bryan - Presbyter
The E-mail editions of The Presbyter's Page are never sent unsolicited.
If you believe you have received this newsletter in error, or wish to be
removed from our mailing list, visit our web site at: http://www.pentecostalsonline.org/articles.html.
Near the top of that page, you will find a box where you may unsubscribe
simply by entering your e-mail address, highlighting the
"unsubscribe" button and clicking on the "Submit" button.
Brother Donald Bryan may be contacted directly at DBryanUPC@aol.com. You can also contact
us by writing to webmaster@pentecostalsonline.org.
Sermon Thought: "The Church is the Good Samaritan"
Understanding Why Followers Resist Change
What Growing Churches Did NOT Do
Sermon Thought: "The Church is the Good
Samaritan"
(Scripture
text from Luke 10:25-37)
God has established that His work will be done through the Church. The Word, miracles, preaching, sharing,
revival, hope, and growth will come through the church. In the Old Testament, one finds lone
prophets directing God’s plan, but in the New Testament, God does all His work
through the church. From Jesus’
teaching in the gospels seven churches in Revelation, you’ll find God moving in
the church.
For God’s kingdom to advance, the church must touch its world. How is God’s love shown? It is through the church. If someone is crying for an answer, unless
it is a supernatural healing or infilling which God alone does, the answer will
come through the church. This principle
is clearly shown in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus shares this parable in response to a
young lawyer’s question of “who is my neighbor?”
In the parable, the traveler is beaten and robbed. The first passer-by to see him was a priest,
who passed by on the other side. The second
person to come by was also a religious person – a Levite – but, he too passed
him by. Why did both of these servants
of God pass the traveler by? Perhaps
they were too busy, didn’t want to get involved, or they were too
judgmental. Regardless, their religion
didn’t touch their world. The world was
in the ditch and they didn’t touch it.
(Editor’s note: According to
Jewish law, if a person touched blood or a dead body, they were ceremonially
“unclean” and would not be able to participate in temple worship, or perform
their duties in the temple, unless they submitted themselves to a ritual
cleansing which took 7 days. In effect,
they were unwilling to show God’s compassion and mercy to another and used
their religion as an excuse for their behavior. They would have had to defile themselves according to the law in
order to assist the traveler.)
In a recent Gallup poll, non-churched Americans were asked their
opinions of the Christian faith, the church and Christians in general. They responded with a 90% positive
impression of the Christian faith, a 50% positive impression of the church, but
only a 10% positive impression of Christians.
Why was this number so low?
Obviously those polled thought of the Christians they knew and did not
rate them highly. Your religion must
touch your world. It was the Samaritan
who came to the traveler and helped him.
Now, if you were the wounded man, whose church would you go to? The Good Samaritan showed mercy and it
changed a life. As a church, we should
be kind, give love, pray for the lost, go the extra mile and show mercy and
forgiveness. The church is the Good
Samaritan. Touch your world and change
it.
Understanding Why Followers Resist Change
People do not want to change for many reasons. It is the duty of a leader to know his
followers and what they want in life (i.e., their visions and dreams). It is mandatory, however, that a leader know
why followers resist change. When
leaders are able to answer the barriers to change, they will be more successful
in leadership. Those barriers are:
Misunderstanding
People tend to be “down on” any projects they are not “up on.” This means the leader must communicate vital
information, solve problems and paint the vision.
Lack of Ownership in the Project
At times, followers feel that projects are being forced upon them. To answer this problem, leaders must involve
as many followers as possible in the process and the project. When people are involved in the planning
stages – The implementation stage and the delivery stage – they will reduce
their opposition to the project.
Basically, when followers do not have ownership of a new project (i.e.
they don’t buy into the dream or vision) they will fight the new project.
Habit Patterns
Sometimes people perceive a new program as a threat to their
established way of doing things.
The Perceived Price Is Not Worth It
Basically, people resist change when they think the payoff is too small
for the price they may have to pay.
When people feel a proposed change offers them the rewards they seek,
they will support that innovation.
The Loss of Something Valuable
Within any church or ministry constituency, a range of comfort levels
are related to potential change. A
person’s comfort level relates to his position, prestige, relationships or even
attachment to physical things such as a seat in the sanctuary. They feel they are losing control, or maybe
losing their security, or even worse, they feel it will cost them too much
(financially, emotionally or reputationally.)
“Satisfaction” Level with the Existing Way of Doing Things
These situations occur because the leader has not properly initiated
his people into the dream/vision.
Leaders should recognize that when people resist an innovative idea, it
is not the people who are at fault, but the leader who has not done a proper
job of communicating the vision/dream of where the ministry is headed – and
why.
Negative Attitudes Toward Change in General
Some people are maintenance oriented:
they want to maintain the status quo.
These people have a tendency to resist anything new, whether it is a new
idea, a new program or a new way of doing things.
Lack of Respect for the Leader
Many times people do not have a negative reaction to an idea or new
project; it is just that the people do not have faith in leadership.
·
It’s
much easier to lead without vision, but it’s virtually impossible to be
successful or fulfilled that way.
·
Arriving
at a solution to most problems requires attention, not brilliance.
·
Leaders
do their homework.
·
If
you don’t believe in yourself, you cannot expect others to believe in you
either.
·
The
most effective things in life are usually simple.
·
Public
opinion is usually soft. A real leader
can shape it however he or she wants.
·
Every
trial brings with it a lesson. Learn
the lesson quickly and so minimize your chances of having to re-live the trial
on another day.
·
Too
many churches treasure order more than impact.
·
People
are bombarded by increasing amounts of information, but are less well informed
about their world than ever. To
communicate, use short words, graphics and fewer points.
·
Winners
concentrate on winning; losers
concentrate on getting by.
·
Ninety-nine
percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
·
Everyone
must row with the oars he has.
What Growing Churches Did NOT
Do
Here are some programs, perceptions and behaviors
commonly found in churches, but conspicuous by their absence in growing
churches.
1. Growing churches did not
limit God.
2. They did not beat a dead
horse.
3. They did not humiliate
visitors.
4. They were not insulated from
the community.
5. They did not alienate those
who are different.
6. They did not do cold-door
evangelism, but instead used visitor follow-up, and relationships to attract
people.
7. They did not apologize for
seeking help.
8. They didn’t base their
staffing on precedent, but on needs of the church.
9. They didn’t take the safe
route.
Pastor Bryan and/or other members of the Pentecostals Online ministry staff personally recommend the books listed below. They are available for purchase through our virtual on-line bookstore through our affiliation with Amazon.com, the world’s largest on-line bookstore. We invite you to take a look at the many new Christian books, tapes and CD’s available through our link to Amazon’s Christian Books and Music sections, or to visit the Electronics or Toys sections. Proceeds from any sales go toward maintaining our web site and the First Pentecostal Church Building Fund. Thank you for your patronage.
Leaders
on Leadership : Wisdom, Advice, and Encouragement on the Art of
Leading God's People (The Leading Edge Series) by George Barna
List Price: $14.99 Our Price: $11.99 You Save: $3.00
(20%)
An excellent book on leadership principles as shared
by 14 prominent church leaders. The
book shares wisdom, advice and encouragement on the art of leading church
people.
Habits
of Highly Effective Churches by George Barna.
List Price: $17.99
Our Price: $12.59 You Save: $5.40
(30%)
This book published in February 2000 is a must for anyone involved in
church leadership. Help your church
become all that it can be.
Check out these Other
Books by George Barna on church leadership and growth!
We also recommend:
Making
Church Relevant by Dale Galloway
List
Price: $19.99
Our Price: $13.99
You Save: $6.00 (30%)
This is an excellent book that deals with how to reach and win an
increasing society of unbelievers who have no church background. The people that the church works with today
are so different. How do you win
them? This book answers that question.