{"id":429,"date":"2013-05-09T14:25:49","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T12:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/?p=429"},"modified":"2014-11-25T12:37:43","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T10:37:43","slug":"the-greatest-challenge-in-the-church-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/?p=429","title":{"rendered":"THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN THE CHURCH TODAY"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><a title=\"More from Brad Powell\" href=\"http:\/\/www.churchleaders.com\/author\/BradPowell\/\"><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">by Brad Powell<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong style=\"color: #333333;\">Q. What is one of the largest challenges to effectively leading change in the church?<\/strong> <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><br \/>\n<strong>A.<\/strong> This is a no-brainer. There\u2019s not even a close second.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Changing myself is by far the largest challenge I face! It\u2019s the largest challenge most leaders face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The person God calls to lead has the greatest ability to effectively move people through change or keep people from changing. As the old saying goes, everything rises and falls on leadership.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Of course, we leaders and pastors love to take credit when what we\u2019re leading is \u201crising.\u201d But we tend to blame other people or the circumstances when what we\u2019re leading is \u201cfalling.\u201d However, as leaders and pastors, we need to honestly and humbly own our part in both.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Here\u2019s an important discovery I\u2019ve made through the years: We can be called and gifted by God to be leading where we are, while at the same time failing to be the leader God desires us to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>Personal Change Required.<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I think this can result from two specific failures. The first is a failure of character.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Sadly, many who have been called and gifted by God to lead have failed in their leadership because of a compromise of character. King Saul in the Old Testament is a great example. Sadly, we\u2019ve seen this kind of failure too often in the lives of pastors and leaders in our world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The second is a failure to change. Stagnating environments often stem from stagnating leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">As our world, culture, communities, circumstances, organizations and people change, we have a tendency to keep leading in the same way we\u2019ve always led. This never works in a changing environment. What used to be positive, effective leadership becomes negative and ineffective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">One of the realities we must understand is that leading change demands personally changing. When God wanted to change something in the world, what was the first thing He did?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">He changed the person He was calling to lead. This was true of Moses (Ex. 3), Isaiah (Isa. 6) and Paul (Acts 9).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Personal transformation enabled Paul, who had waged war against Christ and His church, to become an apostle for Christ and urge people to follow his example as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; Phil. 3:17).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This was my first biblical introduction to an important leadership principle: speed of the leader, speed of the team. I have since found it to be the reality in my experience as a pastor and leader, especially when it comes to leading people through change.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">No matter how much people respect or believe me, they won\u2019t take the journey of change simply because I\u2019m pointing the way. But they will take the journey of change if I\u2019m personally leading the way. This has been true in every area of my leadership: knowing Christ, relevantly reaching out to the lost, serving the poor, and giving up or changing things I love to fulfill the purpose God has called me to accomplish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">In truth, the greatest catalyst to my effectiveness in leading change has been my willingness to take the journey of change myself. I\u2019ve had to change the way I live, love, learn, think, work, relate and lead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">And I\u2019m finding myself needing to change more now than at any time in the history of my leadership because the realities and circumstances facing the people I lead are changing faster than ever before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Key Principles to Follow<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">To help you lead yourself through change, let me share some keys that have helped me experience a measure of success through the years.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Experiencing God.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">As a spiritual leader, this is the single most important ingredient for change in my life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If I don\u2019t remain intentional at staying thirsty and hungry for God, I begin conforming to the patterns of this world rather than continuing to experience change by the renewing of my mind (Rom. 12:2).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Exposure.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I read years ago that the most important and valuable changes in our lives will stem from the people we meet and the books we read. The truth is that the changes we need to experience require exposure to new people, thoughts, experiences, environments, information and needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If we\u2019re not intentionally expanding our exposure, we will by nature begin to stagnate.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Examination.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Without becoming morbidly introspective, we must be willing to hold ourselves up to some rigorous self-evaluation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This should include inviting others into our lives to lovingly, but objectively, help us see the areas that could use some improvement. As Proverbs 27:17 tells us, \u201ciron sharpens iron.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Education.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">I have found that the only way I can change the quality and effectiveness of my leadership is through a willingness to learn new things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While my experience can be a great teacher, allowing myself to also learn from the experiences and knowledge of others helps me to change exponentially.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Enthusiasm.<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Finally, my personal willingness to change and my ultimate effectiveness in leading others through change are directly connected to my passion quotient.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If my passion and enthusiasm for God, His people and the purpose He\u2019s called me to are waning, my growth throttles back. If they remain high, nothing can hold me back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">So, here\u2019s my question for you: Where do you need to lead change and how are you changing in that area yourself? <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Brad Powell is the senior pastor of NorthRidge Church in Plymouth, Mich., a 2011 Outreach 100 church (No. 47 Largest). He is the author of Change Your Church for Good (Nelson) and consults with church leaders to help them lead their churches through transition.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em><a title=\"More from Brad Powell\" href=\"http:\/\/www.churchleaders.com\/author\/BradPowell\/\">More from Brad Powell<\/a><\/em> <em>or visit Brad at<\/em> <em><a href=\"http:\/\/bradpowellonline.com\/\">bradpowellonline.com\/<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.churchleaders.com\/pastors\/pastor-articles\/167405-brad-powell-greatest-challenge-in-the-church-today.html?p=3\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">http:\/\/www.churchleaders.com\/pastors\/pastor-articles\/167405-brad-powell-greatest-challenge-in-the-church-today.html?p=3<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Brad Powell \u00a0 Q. What is one of the largest challenges to effectively leading change in the church? A. This is a no-brainer. There\u2019s not even a close second. Changing myself is by far the largest challenge I face! It\u2019s the largest challenge most leaders face. The person God calls to lead has the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artikels"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/parowvallei-oos.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}