Blog Post: Organizational Transitions: Clear Next Steps

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In the fall of 1999, I did it. I boldly crossed the transition bridge from the traditional church I had pastored to a contemporary church plant that would change the region. That’s right, the region. Not just our town, but central Illinois would no longer be the same now that we refused to be contained by an unfortunate church name, poor location, and out of date music. My expectation was that 20 years later, you would go on Google Maps and see a whole different terrain because of that transition.

Don’t go on Google Maps. You won’t see the impact.

Confession: I was clearer on what I didn’t want than on what I did want.

I didn’t want a poor location, an odd church name, or outdated music. I thought if we abandoned these things and crossed the transition bridge, we would enter into a promised land of unchurched people pouring into our church and thus changing the region forever. We wouldn’t be able to multiply fast enough to meet the need.

It’s interesting to note in Exodus 15, after the epic crossing of the Red Sea (talk about a transition bridge) leaving behind the yoke of slavery and injustice, we hear Moses and his sister Miriam praising God for destroying all that was behind them. They praise God for the transition, rather than for their future.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea. – Exodus 15:1

However on the other side of the transition, Moses found himself in the desert with no palatable water.

For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” – Exodus 15:22-24

Loosing the chains does not make you a free person. Changing the name, location, and music style does not make you an attractive church to those outside the church. Moving past the poor decisions made by your predecessor in any organization does not move you into a fruitful future.

I’ve identified three obstacles on the far side of transition.

  1. All the trust you had is now gone. (see previous post)
  2. Your leaders aren’t sure how to play their new roles. (see previous post)
  3. Your followers can’t forget the past because they can’t see any future.

In this final post, I want to talk about helping your followers see the future by establishing some clear next steps.

Set Goals for Immediate Needs

Moses must find water. You can’t drink dreams. The organization must function but now it must function with fewer resources.

  1. The organization must still care for its core constituents.
  2. The organization must still have cash flow.
  3. The organization must [fill in the blank].

The problem is that you now have less structure, less money, less stability, and less help. You can become consumed with meeting immediate needs.

You must meet the immediate needs but only at a level that minimally sustains the people. Note: This will make them very unhappy.

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” – Exodus 16:3

Set a Few Short-Term Goals that Move the Organization Toward the Promised Land

Recently, I helped a church transition a stale Sunday evening service into a dynamic community outreach. So far, we’ve met the immediate needs. We transitioned the service into something new. It cares for the core constituents, collects an offering, and even brought in a few unchurched folks who now call it home. But the work of meeting the immediate need has consumed our effort and left our view of the Promised Land waning in the dust.

Most often transition is about what we want to lose rather than about what we want to gain. You promised milk and honey, but on the far side of transition, you wake up to the smell of bitter, undrinkable water. How clearly can you define your desired outcomes?

As a leader, you may have only ever heard, “Think big. Now double it.” The new mantra needs to be “Think small. Now cut that in half.”

Let’s consider a short-term outcome for our Sunday evening service.

  • We want to see 5 new unchurched people at our Sunday service every week.

As the leader, you don’t have to figure out how to do it. In fact, that would be a tragic mistake. You’re not half as smart as you think you are. Embrace the fact that you need help.

Create Strategic Next Steps to Meet the Short-Term Outcomes

Draw together a team. Do not, under any circumstances, hole up in your office and create strategy for an organization. It won’t work. Nothing will happen.

Draw together the best team you can and brainstorm together about some next steps that could meet our Simple Outcome. These be short term, easy to operate steps. You should review them as soon as possible.

Start working the strategy. Meet again in a month. Embrace what worked. Discard what didn’t and try again for another month.

Quick wins energize the team and make them thankful for the transition.

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