my name is Peter corny on this videotape we're going to be talking about change particularly the whole question of initiating change constructively in the local congregation every Australian has undergone massive change in the last 50 years I can remember when we had an ice chest at home and the Iceman came each day with a block of ice on his shoulder in fact I can remember when my mother got our first refrigerator she was so pleased the first person in the street to have one we've undergone some very difficult changes take the change from sterling to
decimal currency for many people that was quite a difficult thing changing years and years of thinking and understanding about a certain kind of currency think about the way we eat a friend of mine used to run a european-style restaurant back in the 60s in Melbourne and he tells me that in those days an average family ate out about three times a year now today the average family would eat out probably three times a week as well as taking take away at other times we have undergone enormous change in those 50 years humic I the Australian
social researcher says that we're living through such a time of massive social change that we are in fact reinventing Australia we're reinventing the whole way we live the way we shop the way we bank the way in which men and women relate to each other everything is being redefined in the midst of this sea of change our churches also are having to adjust an a massive shift in people's lifestyles their priorities their tastes their attitudes for example the change in the way in which people receive information through the communications and entertainment media has radically affected
people's expectation of church of course the questions go deeper than just the packaging and the technique they raise deep theological issues for us what should we adjust to as the people of God what should we resist what is an issue of substance and what is an issue of style how distinctive should the Christian community be from its cultural setting we know who we are partly by where we have come from and by preserving that story in a period of massive and rapid change the tension between cultural relevance and continuity with our history and tradition is
acute and painful on the other hand the church always lives at a certain point in history and in a particular culture this is no new tension it's always with us and if we refuse to understand our culture and learn how to communicate with it and learn how to express our faith and worship within it then we become irrelevant a ghetto speaking only to ourselves many of our churches are experiencing cultural Wars as the different generations fight over music and worship styles and methods of governance and leadership the importance or the irrelevance of denominational distinctives often
the pastor and other leaders get shot up in the crossfire as they attempt to negotiate change being a change agent is a dangerous business in this video I want to suggest a few clues for initiating and managing change constructively in the local church the first clue is that we have to help people understand the inevitability and in some ways the ordinariness of change change is part of life we grow from a child to an adult we go the passages of life everyone's experience of life means that they experience change we need to help people to
be aware of this and to tap into the changes in their own lives if we're not changing we're dead historical reflection will also show that every denomination has a history of change things were not always done the way they're done now identify some of these changes in your denomination there was a time when Wesley's hymns were radical when brass bands and bonnets were revolutionary there was a time when lay involvement in ministry was a novelty the second clue is that we must help people to understand that the gospel is about change the gospel involves quite
radical personal change reflect on some of the key ideas associated with the gospel forgiveness and reconciliation the restoration of a relationship repentance a complete change of direction the new creation regeneration these are radical spiritual changes renewal at the core of our being baptism signifying death and new life resurrection the great change the third clue leaders and change agents must understand the nature and the dynamics of change this is especially important in institutions like the church that contain and convey people's beliefs and values people are rightly hesitant about uncontrolled and over rapid change in our key
social institutions unwise an unreflective change may cause the loss of crucial values and beliefs therefore most of us are cautious about change particularly in these kinds of institutions some of the key dynamics in the process of change are these change disturbs people its threatens us it disorientate sus it creates confusion and anger and fear insecurity it causes loss and grief it seems to declare some people irrelevant their experience and training and knowledge no longer valuable they don't seem to fit anymore these are all strongly negative feelings but change also excites and challenges and so for
all of these reasons we react to change more emotionally than reasonably managing change means dealing with people's emotions as well as their reason most people's initial response to change is cautious resistance that's normal some typical responses to change are these some people feel like victims they're out to get me others develop a kind of survivor mentality well I'll just have to put up with it even though I don't like it others develop what we might call the resistance fighter mentality if they think they're going to change me they've got another thing coming the idea that
people will kind of fight this change to the death then there's the navigator response we need to move on and discover new territory let's see how we can get there safely together now it's that final one the Navigator responds so we want to move most people towards that is the most constructive way the most constructive attitude to have to change
