Today, I’m writing a summary and response to a book titled “Leading Congregational Change.” Here are some of the words that are now highlighted yellow in my copy. This is a great book!
“Working harder at what we’ve been doing is simply not the answer.” pg. 3
“A church cannot be on mission with God without an energizing corporate worship experience that helps the body encounter God’s holiness.” pg. 20
“A planning process may focus on controlling our future rather than aligning our lives with God’s activity. When worship is at the heart of planning, we are more likely to focus on aligning all of our lives-individually an dcorporately- with the ongoing activity of God among us.” pg. 20
“Congregational leaders must recognize the tension between unity and diversity and affirm both as essential in God’s plan.” pg. 24
“Community is experienced as sinful, broken, and highly diverse people joyfully pursue this mission in ways that reflect the character and spirit of Jesus.” pg. 26
“If the leaders of the congregation are not spending significant, consistent time seeking God’s direction – through prayer, Bible study, meditation, solitude, and fasting – it will be impossible for meaningful and lasting transformation to occur.” pg. 31
“Ultimately, momentum for ongoing transformation is a function of two factors: the organization’s ability to continually assess current reality, and it sability to create internal alignment around the vision.” pg. 88
“Change is driven when a significant gap exists between a vision of the future that people sincerely desire to achieve and a clear sense that they are not achieving that vision.” pg. 100
“Creative tension is exercised when change leaders paint two pictures clearly. The first picture is of god’s vision for the congregation. The second is an accurate depiction of current reality.” pg. 107
“Teams are hard work. They are inefficient and require us to function interdependently. They can be full of conflict. And for those who are accustomed to hierarchical leadership, teams mean less control.” pg. 130
