Dispelling the "We Can't Change Until Everyone is On Board" Myth

I heard it all the time.  "We need to make some changes at our church, but we can't do it until everyone is on board..."  Really?

I understand the intention of the person saying it.  Whether a pastor or a strong lay leader, we don't want to force our ideas on others.  We don't want to lead as a dictator.  We really don't like, "my-way-or-the-highway," leaders and don't want to be one of them.  We have also heard about building consensus.  So, we work to build consensus...but then, what?

Here is the problem with waiting until everyone is on board: there is too much power in one person's hands.  It allows one person, or a very small handful of people to become passive dictators!  Moreover, as I was reminded by a recent article, most people are late adopters, and they won't buy into an idea until it has already succeeded!

So what is a leader to do?  Gently push for change, and try new ideas on an experimental basis with those who are willing to try.  In other words, form a test group.  Here is how pastor and leadership expert Larry Osborne suggests going about it:  "I've found that most boards and congregations will let us try something long before they'll sign off as fully supporting something that is brand new or untested...most people are happy to let us try something as long as they don't have to support it or pay for it.  Frankly, there are very few true innovations that require broad buy-in to launch.  Most can be launched at the fringe of your ministry with minimal support.  Simply count the "yes" votes and start with those who like the idea.  It it's successful, everyone will jump aboard soon enough.  If it's not, you'll be able to bail out or make any necessary midcourse corrections without losing all of your leadership chips."  (Outreach Magazine, January/February 2014, page 70)

Do you hear the humility here?  After all, my great idea might not be all that great! But testing it with a group of supporters is a great way to try it and make corrections.  Maybe that humility will be all the others need to give it a try.

I wish I had listened to this advice nine years ago.  I was working with a team to Re-Focus our ministries and we concluded that we needed to completely re-vamp our discipleship program (which included one adult Sunday School class, a weekly prayer meeting, and occasional small groups) into a full-fledged small group program with no prayer meeting or adult Sunday School class.  The idea blew up and a bunch of people left the church.  Looking back, I would have been wise to launch the group program with just 2 groups of interested people, and allow the other groups to continue to meet.

So how many people do we need on board to make change?  Only enough folks to experiment with the change, and then take it from there!