Leading Through Ministry Transition: Navigating Change with Grace
•Todd Rhoades•Season 1•Episode 301
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Every ministry faces transitions, bringing a mix of emotions and opportunities for growth. This episode discusses acknowledging tension, communicating effectively, leading with stability, and embracing growth through these inevitable changes.
• Acknowledging the emotional weight of transitions • Importance of transparent communication during change • Leading with stability as a critical factor • Embracing transitions as growth opportunities • Call to action for support during transitions
You know that feeling when you realize that you just put an entire Ikea bookshelf together and you still have three extra screws left over. Transitions in ministry can feel a lot like that. They're confusing, they're frustrating and they wonder if you did something wrong. But here's the thing change is inevitable and we're going to talk about that today, right here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. I'm Todd Rhodes, your host, and thanks so much for joining us Today. We're going to talk about how to navigate ministry transition with, hopefully, some grace and some wisdom, maybe even a little bit of peace. But let's start here, okay, and that's the reality that any kind of transitions are hard. Ministry transitions are especially hard, are especially hard. They bring uncertainty, they shake up our routines, they test our leadership and whether you're stepping into a brand new role or leading your team through some kind of a leadership change, how you handle any kind of change sets the tone for absolutely everyone around you. So we're going to look at four things today that hopefully will help you as you navigate any kind of ministry change. And the first one I think is really important it's how you must start any kind of change. And here's the deal. You have to acknowledge the tension. There's always going to be tension. Change, even when it's good change, even when it's change that needs to happen, it's going to come with some tension. It's like riding a roller coaster You're really excited about it but there's that moment when your stomach turns and you get to the top of the hill and all of a sudden your stomach drops and at that moment you might feel like you've lost some of the excitement because it's been overtaken by fear, or maybe you feel like you've lost. There's all different kinds of emotions that go on when you're doing change, particularly in ministry, and you know what. That's okay. Acknowledging those feelings and acknowledging that tension is really key. It's really important and, a matter of fact, ignoring some of that emotional weight of transition doesn't do you any good. It doesn't make anything disappear. It just means you're postponing it. It's going to sneak up on you later.
Speaker 1:
My first idea for you is just to take a deep breath and acknowledge that change is going to bring some discomfort and it's going to bring some stress and give yourself and give those around you. Give your team permission, your board permission to process it. Matter of fact, get them ready for it, because you know it's going to happen. And that leads into my second point is communicate. And this is important for those around you, those that you're working with, those on your team. That's important for your board and for your volunteers and for your church as a whole.
Speaker 1:
If and when you know change is coming, silence is your enemy. Okay, I want to say that again because that's really important. When you're starting to go through change, silence is going to be your enemy as the leader. Matter of fact, the more people know what's happening and why it's happening and what they can expect, the more they can trust the process. We see this all the time when we're working with churches that are hiring staff or going through a ministry transition at the senior pastor or leadership team level is that they think, okay, we can do all this in the background and not communicate this to people. But I'll tell you again the more people know what's happening, why it's happening, what to expect, what kind of timeline they're looking at, the more they will trust you as the leader and the more that they're going to trust the process. So here's my advice Be transparent. You're not going to have all the answers, and that's okay. Tell people I don't know, I don't have the answer to that yet. But you do need to cast vision and you need to do it early and you need to do it often.
Speaker 1:
I remember a long time ago going to see one of the I think it was Wired Churches. Tony Morgan, my friend, and Tim Stevens were at Granger Community Church and they did this conference. Pastor Mark Beeson he's no longer with us but I remember him showing a clip of when they were doing their building campaign and it was a real. It still sticks with me about. He was trying to say, hey, you've got to cast your vision early and often. And they were going to do a building campaign and there was a wall that they were going to take down in their auditorium and he showed a clip of probably 10 to 15 times that. Mark Beeson, during his messages, is casting vision early and often we're going to tear down this wall, we're going to tear down this wall and then we're going to tear down this wall. And he kept saying it over and over. He said it early, he said it often and you know what they ended up tearing down that wall and building a beautiful, doubling their space.
Speaker 1:
So remind people. You can't do it early enough, you can't do it often enough. Remind people where you're headed, what this change is going to bring about and why you're doing it, and then listen. Well, your staff, hopefully, will have some concerns and some questions for you. Encourage that, hear them out.
Speaker 1:
I've seen transitions go south really fast because leaders just assumed that their people knew what was going on, when in reality, nobody had a clue. It's all up in the leader's head. You need to keep your team in the loop. It makes all the difference. Okay, two more. Number three you need to lead.
Speaker 1:
When you're going through change, you have to lead with stability. Change feels like you're trying. Have you ever tried to stand up in a canoe? It's next to impossible. You need stability or everybody's gonna get wet and as a leader, you can't control every wave that comes your way, but you can provide an anchor. So stick to your core values. Keep showing up, be a steady presence, even when things feel shaky, because your team will take their emotional cues from you and if you're panicked, guess what? They're going to panic. If you're steady, they're going to be more keen on trusting you for the process. So that's really important. And then finally and this is important you need to embrace the growth opportunity.
Speaker 1:
Every transition is a chance to learn and you, as a leader, you're always going to learn something. If you're looking out for it, maybe it's refining your leadership, maybe it's trusting God in a deeper way, maybe it's developing a healthier church culture. Transitions are where leaders are made. If this is big, if if you let them shape you instead of break you, you're going to make mistakes, and that's okay, but you need to be open to what you're going to learn and take that and learn for the next time you go through change. Okay, here's your bottom line for today. Change is coming somewhere, somehow, some way. Change is coming for you and your church and it's coming whether you like it or whether you don't like it. The good news is you don't have to just survive it. You can lead through it and you can do so with grace. You got to acknowledge the tension. You need to over communicate, you need to provide that stability as a leader and you need to embrace that growth that change can bring.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so if you or your church is navigating through any kind of a transition, particularly staff type situations, and you need some guidance, reach out to me. I'd love to hear from you and we can hop on a Zoom call and see if there's any way that I can help you out, either myself or my team here at Chemistry. Reach out to me anytime. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. I'd love to hear from you and help you think through the next steps. Okay, remember transition and change in ministry. We often sometimes look at it as the enemy, but it's not the enemy. It's really an opportunity and you you have what it takes to navigate it well if you follow these steps. All right, very good. Hope you'll join us again tomorrow here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Have a great day you.
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