“Flexible is too rigid - be fluid.”

I would LOVE to see ALL church leaders recognize the importance of relationships over the “event.”

What happens then? Multiplication factor - the body will start COPYING what they SEE the leaders doing and then you have an army of 100,000 in the WORLD - bringing people to Christ at work, at the grocery store, etc.

Yes, The Very Large Church is a great resource for learning what it takes to break through the various barriers. I also recommend it.

Does anyone else have thoughts for Terry?

Thanks for asking a question about what difference it has made. One of the hardest things I had to come to (and I spoke about it this past Sunday) is that as a pastor one of the most devastating things is trying to please everyone. Doing what I was doing, visiting like I was visiting was exposing me to all kinds of stuff and people wanting me to take sides. I have nipped that in the bud here by not listening to every song and dance. I spend a lot of time with my leadership guys and others I want to see in leadership in the future. Wondering about what everyone was thinking-would they be yeah or nay-had me spinning my wheels a lot. Another thing I had to come to realize (and this was possibly the hardest thing of all) was that I did not and could not possibly know everyone’s name. The church here is near 200 and I cannot possibly know all our visitor’s name every time I see them. I try but it gets harder the older I get. :) One other things that has happened is more ministry is taking place by those “not paid to do ministry.” we are truly seeking to be a church that does ministry. Hope that helps.

For Terry: some of the advice above will apply. I would also say invest in your leadership or those whom you see being in leadership. Create successes your leadership can participate in and your folks can visually see. That stokes their fire and also they are more willing to get on board for the next one. As one leadership guru was fond of saying, “Success creates change in your pocket.”

Rusty, your comment definitely reflects the work and responsibility that rests on the leaders’ shoulders to help break through the barriers.

Jim, thanks for coming back and sharing your insights with us. Those are great!

What we do is literally talk about how we would do something and then think about how a larger church would do it. Most of the time we were cutting ourselves short in the leadership side of things. We do not allow God to work through the people in the church and they do not get the leadership experience that they need.

I am loving this series again. It excited me to think about change bringing growth. But I have a question that maybe some of you can answer. What happens when it is not you that is in charge, but your leader needs to change to grow. What steps are made at that point?

Jim, what mistakes have you avoided? How did you learn to think like those other churches?

Joseph, you’re right. Pain tolerance is crucial part of growth and ministry.

Steven, perhaps we can do a post or series of posts on those critical moments. Thanks for your observations!

Travis, thanks for linking to Swerve! We are honored that you are sharing us with your readers.

Robbie, thanks for the resource!

Scott, the insight into coaching is interesting. Thanks for sharing it!