Both my personal experience and leadership intuition is telling me that with the launch of our Agawam location, change is coming. The growth we’re believing God for there, when realized, will shake things up, and in this lesson I will do my best to prepare your minds and hearts for what I believe is coming, which again, is change.
There are many people over the years who have written about change. For example…
- Heraclitus (Greek philosopher) said “The only constant in life is change.”
- John F. Kennedy (35th president of the United States) said “Change is the law of life.”
- Bob Dylan (singer-songwriter) said “There is nothing so stable as change.”
From these writings (and others like them) it becomes clear that if we can count on anything in life, it’s change. Some people love this reality, while others hate it, but despite how you feel about it, life is subject to change.
- You were once in high school, but then you went to college and your life changed.
- You were once single, but then you got married and your life changed.
- You were once married without kids, but then you had kids and your life changed.
- You had more kids and your life changed again.
- You were once working one job, but then you got a new one and your life changed.
- You were healthy but then got a bad report from the doctor and your life changed.
- One of your parent’s passed and your life changed.
- On and on the list goes because life is comprised of one change after another.
Since life is filled with changes, why might we expect things to be any different at work? Just as things regularly change in our personal lives, so things will regularly change in our work lives. Here’s why…
- Growth results in change. When we started New Day we adopted a certain org chart, and while it served us well over the years, we have grown exponentially since its inception. So recently, because of our growth, we had to come up with a new strategic way to organize ourselves that was in keeping with our future goals. And this has resulted in change. Whereas in the original org chart it made sense for Next Steps to be under Andrew, in the new org chart it made sense for it to be under Pete. Likewise, in the old org chart, it made sense for Next Gen to be under Pete, but in the new org chart it made sense for it to be under Andrew. And no doubt, in time it will make sense for it to be under someone else because at a growing church the org chart isn’t static, but rather always evolving.
- Multi-site results in change. When we decided to start New Day Agawam, Pete had to adopt a brand new position called campus pastor. And since his old responsibilities had to be passed on to someone else, that resulted in change for other staff as well.
- Increased income results in change. As God has blessed, our budget has increased, which is allowing us to make a new hire in Pete’s department (i.e., Seth). Pete, knowing Seth is coming, has drastically changed his job description. Certain responsibilities that were on him will now go to Seth, allowing him to fully adopt the new responsibilities of being a campus pastor. This creates change for him, and for Seth, with the ripple effects creating change for other staff as well.
- Curveballs result in change. When the governor shut down in-person church gatherings because of COVID, all of our jobs changed. We went from producing services in person to producing them online. We went from ministering to people in person to ministering to them via Zoom or over the phone. Likewise, we all know the changes that result when from time to time (sadly) a staff member has to be let go. Angie is in the job she’s in now because we had to let someone go. Dan too is in the job he’s in now because we had to let someone go. In the same way, when Lily told us the wonderful news of her pregnancy it too created change. She had to recruit Sarah to take over some of her responsibilities. And when Rachel Adams told us she could no longer do her job because of her cancer, Sarah had to step up even earlier than expected to pick up the slack. Bottom line? Curveballs, just like growth, multi-site, and increased budget necessitate change.
Now the key to living happily in a culture of change is to adopt the right mindset through it all. If you mistakenly believe change is abnormal vs normal, or negative instead of a positive, you will struggle with change.
The right mindset to have is this (even if it’s a challenge to adopt it): God has called me to church ministry, which means I’m going to play an important part in helping my local church make disciples. The church has graciously agreed to pay me for playing my part. But being a passenger on the New Day bus, I understand that from time to time I might have to switch which seat I’m sitting in on the bus. And that’s ok because what I signed up for wasn’t a specific job and what I’m attached to isn’t a specific title. What I signed up for is playing the role that I’m needed in, which will change season to season.
If you adopt this mindset in this new season we’re moving into, you will do well. But if conversely, you get attached to a position and title vs a general calling to serve in full-time church ministry, you will struggle with the inevitability of change.
Another thing that might help you with change is to remember that many companies, far from waiting for circumstances to shake things up, proactively shake things up. And they do it for all the benefits that come from serving in different roles. Some call it “job rotation” while others call it “cross-training,” but the idea is that by regularly switching someone’s job, they learn new skills, gain exposure to different departments and better understand the bigger picture of the organization’s operations.
Did you know that before ever becoming lead pastor of New Day my roles included but were not limited to kids pastor, Sunday school teacher, youth pastor, evangelist, administrative assistant, prison preacher, web designer, graphic designer, and associate pastor? Yes, I was bounced around like a pinball prior to landing where I am now. But you know what? All those experiences helped prepare me for the role I’m serving in now as lead pastor. They gave me the broad experience and skills needed to step into the role.
I would say the same has been true of Pete. Pete, can you please list the various jobs and job titles you’ve had since coming on staff at New Day? [Pete shares] As you’ve just heard, I’m not the only one who’s been bounced around like a pinball. But guess what? Pete, having such a broad range of experiences that helped him to pick up a broad range of skills, is uniquely qualified to now serve as campus pastor. Had we not moved him around he wouldn’t have accumulated the requisite knowledge or experience to serve in the role he’s moving into now.
Andrew’s on vacation this week but did you know Andrew was once over groups? Did you know that Andrew was once our youth pastor? Did you know that in a certain season, I asked Andrew to manage all the staff (with no one but him directly reporting to me)?
Jon’s job has been more steady, but even he had to abandon his normal responsibilities to join Dan for the installation of the AVL in Agawam. For some six months Jon just completely changed what he did here. And now it’s changing again.
Tracey, can you share the different roles you’ve played here over the years, please?
Last but not least, I’d like Rachel to share the different roles she’s been in since she started at New Day.
Each person we’ve just covered has served in multiple roles over the years. In doing so they’ve gained invaluable experience, have become more valuable as staff members, and in every season have helped us make disciples by playing the role that was needed in that season.
So to wrap things up: Change is coming. And the good news is that you can live happily through this season of change if you remember three important things:
- Your calling is to church ministry, not a certain position or title.
- There are many benefits to occasionally changing which position you serve in.
- Regardless of which role you fill in any given season, you’ll still be using your life to point people to Jesus.
The last thing I’ll say, since a lesson like this could potentially cause anxiety, is this: At present, we have no specific plans to change anyone’s job. This is not preparation for changes that have already been decided on, but rather preparation for the new season that (I believe) our Agawam location will launch us into.
In this new season, I need everyone to adopt a servant’s heart and a willingness to be used to make disciples however might be needed. You’ll still be on the bus, but this is fair warning that we might need you to switch which seat you’re in.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: What’s the predominant thought you’re thinking and what is the predominant emotion you’re feeling after hearing this?