Contemporary Management Theory

Contents

Introduction 5

Section 1: Contemporary Developments in Change Management 5

From Autocratic to Participatory Approaches 6

From Incremental to Transformational 8

From Planned to Emerging 10

The Role of the Leader 11

Section 2: The Relevance and Significance of these Developments to

Contemporary Christian Culture 13

Body Ministry and Team Leadership 14

Missional Church 16

Emerging Church 19

Section 3: Implementation of the Approaches and Assessment of their

Value 21

Conclusion 25

Bibliography 27

Contemporary Management Theory

Introduction

We are living in times of rapid and continuous change in the western world.

While there have been large scale changes in western society almost every 500

years, the consensus is that the magnitude, speed, unpredictability, and impact of

change are greater than ever before1. Today’s society is experiencing complex and

continuous change and the rate of that change is increasing. Change management

is the process by which change is bought about.

The purpose of this essay is to:

1. Review and analyse contemporary developments in change management

showing how contemporary culture has facilitated and required them.

2. Evaluate the relevance and significance of these developments to

contemporary Christian culture and

3. Identify where and how I implement the approaches in my own leadership

context and assess their value in that situation.

Section 1: Contemporary Developments in Change Management

There are many theories of change management. Following a critical review

of these theories editor of Journal of Change Management, Rune Todnem By argues

that they contradict each other and lack empirical evidence as to their usefulness2.

Despite the confusion, however, some themes have been identified. Researchers

Chin & Benne discovered three meta-theories of change; power-coercive, rational-

empirical and normative-reeducative and identified a move from the former to the

latter in recent years. Author of Organisational Change, Barbara Senior, suggests

three categories of change dependant on the pace of change, the scope of change

and whether change is planned or emerging3. Leading authority on organisational

change Bernard Burnes likewise identifies planned-emerging change and the rate of

change as consistent themes while also identifying a change in focus from individual,

to group, to organisational change4.

1 Bernard Burnes, Managing Change (Harlow: Prentice Hall, 4th ed., 2004), p.12 Rune Todnem By, ‘Organisational Change Management: A Critical Review’, Journal of

Change Management 5.4 (Dec. 2005), pp 369-3803 Barbara Senior & Stephen Swailes, Organisational Change, (Harlow: Pearson Education

Ltd, 4th ed., 2010), p. 634 Burnes, Managing Change, p. 261

This assignment will focus on three developments in change management

theories. I have chosen them based on my observations of where cultural changes

have had the greatest influence. Firstly the move from power-coercive to normative-

reeducative approaches and how culture has facilitated the move from a top-down

autocratic to a bottom-up participatory approach to change. Secondly the nature of

change and how culture has required a move from small, incremental change to

transformational and continuous change. This combines the first two areas identified

by Senior of scope and pace, and together with the first area incorporates the move

from a focus on the individual to focus on the organisation. Thirdly, the move from

planned to emerging change. Finally I will address the impact these shifts have had

on the role of the change agent.

From Autocratic to Participatory Approaches

The shift from a top-down authoritative to a bottom-up participatory approach

to change management has been driven by various changes in society. In a post-war

society that accepted authority figures, change was imposed from the top with little

participation from those who were involved. As information became more available

people were able to make informed decisions about things that affected them. The

new generation, did not want to ‘live to work’ as their parents had done but were

looking for meaning and fulfilment in their lives and wanted to ‘work to live’. In

addition there was a growing lack of trust in authority figures following reporting of

Vietnam and World War II and scandals such as Watergate. People no longer

wanted to be told what to do by leaders that they didn’t trust but wanted to be

involved in creating better lives for themselves. These factors paved the way for

more participatory approaches to change management.

Some suggest that both approaches should be combined, although they differ

in their view of the order this should be in. Expert in organisational change, Robert

Quinn, suggests a circular process of hearing from the bottom and implementing

from the top5. Authors Gill & Burke propose strategic ownership, where those at the

top must initiate the process, those involved must respond, question and provide

5 Robert Quinn, Deep Change: Discovering the leader within (San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1996), p. 210

alternatives and then leaders must implement the best alternatives6. Although

established authors in change management Cameron and Green claim that little

significant change results from top-down approaches7, Burnes maintains that for

participatory approaches to be successful an authoritative approach is required8.

Professors of business administration Michael Beer & Nitin Nohria agree, pointing to

the need for both approaches. They state that top-down change is often successful

in the short term whereas bottom-up approaches can take years.9 Offering another

perspective there are those who suggest that change should not be approached

vertically but horizontally along lines of cooperation and collaboration10. I agree with

Beer and Nohria that both top down and participatory approaches have value

depending on the situation, and that the key is to use the right approach depending

on the circumstances and the people involved.

From Incremental to Transformational Change

The shift from small, incremental change to transformational, continuous

change has been necessary because of the increase in scope and pace of the

changes in the world around us. During the last fifty years we have moved from a

modern to a postmodern society. The former was characterised by stability, where

the focus was predominantly on maintaining the status quo, with a view that constant

change was not beneficial11. Improved technology and better communication

provided greater opportunities as people and cultures connected with each other, but

also challenges as they had to learn to live together. Business writer Richard Luecke

argues that in such a context change must be viewed as an opportunity and not a

threat12 and today the need for rapid and constant change is recognised13.

6 Robin Gill & Derek Burke, ‘Strategic Leadership’, in John Adair & John Nelson (eds.), Creative Church Leadership (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2004), p. 71

7 Esther Cameron & Mike Green, Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organisational Change (London: Kogan Page Ltd, 2004) p. 134

8 Burnes, Managing Change, p. 290-39 Michael Beer & Nitin Nohria, ‘Cracking the Code of Change’, Harvard Business Review

(May-June 2000), pp. 13-2310 Colin Carnall, Managing Change in Organisations (London: Prentice Hall, 3rd ed., 1999), p.

17 11 By, ‘Organisational Change Management’, p. 369-38012 Richard Luecke, Managing Change and Transition (Massachusetts: Harvard Business

School Publishing Corporation, 2003), pp. 1-213 Nancy Lorenzi & Robert Riley, ‘Managing Change: An Overview’, Journal of the American

Medical Informatics Association 7.2 (2000), pp. 116-124, < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC61464/> [accessed 20.05.10]

Quinn argues that incremental change is limited in scope and talks about the

need for ‘deep change’ or transformation14. He suggests this can be achieved by

small incremental changes occurring continuously15. Burnes, in addition to

incremental and continuous change, identifies a punctuated equilibrium approach

where stability is interspersed by bursts of rapid changes, but suggests that only

continuous transformation is successful in today’s rapidly changing climate16. Luecke

suggests otherwise, maintaining that large scale change followed by periods of

consolidation creates less turmoil17.

There are some, however, who question the need for revolutionary change.

Professor of Strategic Management Colin Carnall suggests that some situations call

for incremental rather than transformational change18. Professor of Management

Patrick Dawson states that the need for revolutionary change is a misconception and

often leads to ‘change fatigue’. He also highlights the need to identify inappropriate

change19. Although I understand the danger of change fatigue I believe that there is

the need for constant change to remain relevant in today’s society. I do agree that in

a world of constant changes leaders need to strategically identify when change is

and is not necessary. By avoiding unnecessary change leaders reduce the amount

of turbulence in the lives of people and reduce resistance to necessary change.

More recently there has been the recognition that organisations and

individuals don’t just have to respond to, but can shape, their environment. Leaders

in the field of appreciative inquiry David Cooperrider & Diana Whitney present a

model of change management that they suggest ‘turns change management inside

out’20 by starting with the collective strengths of the organisation. They argue that

working to these strengths leads to transformation and that the organisation can

influence the environment rather than being influenced by it. Quinn presents a similar

argument focusing on how individuals can change their organisations and the world

by changing themselves21. Both are powerful concepts resulting in transformational

14 Quinn, Deep Change, pp. 3-815 Karl Weick & Robert Quinn, ‘Organizational Change and Development’, Annual Review of

Psychology 50 (1999), pp. 361-38616 Burnes, Managing Change, p. 283 17 Luecke, Managing Change and Transition, pp. 102-104 18 Carnall, Managing Change in Organisations, p. 10219 P. Dawson, Understanding Organisational Change. The Contemporary Experience of

People at Work (London: Sage, 2003), p.16820 David. L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney, Appreciative enquiry. A Positive Revolution in

Change (San-Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005), p.121 Quinn, Deep Change, pp. 8-12

change but require long term commitment. This approach is especially relevant to

the church which is called to transform the communities it serves and will be

discussed in more detail in section 3.

From Planned to Emerging Change

The method of change that dominated the 1940’s – 1980’s was that of

planned change22, with an emphasis on the ‘power of a plan’23. Many change models

during these years were influenced by Lewin’s three stage process of unfreeze,

move and refreeze24. By argues that planned change is a long established and highly

effective approach to change25.

In the 1980’s the planned model of change came under criticism and new

models emerged. Cameron & Green argue that a planned approach to change was

useful but only in a stable world where organisations operated like machines. They

outline various models of change based on the structure of the organisation,

including a view of an organisation being more like an organism that changes in

response to the environment26. Management strategist Peter Senge proposes a

similar approach highlighting the need to see the big picture when initiating change

and understanding the effects that it has on the whole organisation27. Harvard

Business School Professor and business author John Kotter also suggested that

planned change was not suitable for changes in a turbulent society and proposed

eight errors to avoid in change management28. Rosabeth Kanter, also a professor at

Harvard Business School, argues that in a turbulent and complex environment

change is a continuous and open-ended process rather than a series of steps and

suggests that the planned approach is ‘wildly inappropriate’29. She highlights the

22 Burnes, Managing Change, p. 26123 B. D. Molitor, The Power of Agreement, (Nashville: Broadman & Holdman Publishers,

1999), pp. 2024 Weick & Quinn, ‘Organizational Change and Development’, pp. 361-386 25 By, ‘Organisational Change Management’, p. 369-38026 Cameron & Green, Making Sense of Change Management, pp. 86-12227 Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline, (London: Doubleday, 2006), p. 9228 J. P. Kotter and D. S. Cohen, The Heart of Change: Real Life Stories of how People

Change their Organisations (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002)29 See Burnes, Managing Change, p. 290

need to unleash individual creativity through involvement and empowerment and

proposed ‘Ten Commandments’ for executing change30.

It is argued that the emerging models of change are more united in their

criticism of the planned approach than they are in providing an agreed alternative31.

Carnall suggests that they set direction rather than goals and therefore present a

planned process of change rather than planned steps32. Driven by the rapidly

changing environment these newer models focus on the importance of change

readiness33, the ability to ‘build the bridge as you walk on it’34 and allowing a plan to

emerge35. It is no longer possible to plan the future with certainty and all of these are

necessary skills in today’s context. However, as will be highlighted in section 3, I do

believe that a planned approach to change is beneficial in some situations.

Burnes maintains that by presenting principles rather than steps, the

emergent models are too general and difficult to apply36. He further claims that

neither the planned nor emerging models of change provide the answer for every

situation. He presents a framework for change and a choice-change model which he

states ‘incorporates and goes beyond’ both planned and emerging change models37.

This is a helpful concept but its success is dependant on being aware of the options

available in order to be able to choose appropriately.

The Role of the Leader

The above developments have led to a change in the role of the leader in

change management. Increased incidence of change led to recognition of the need

for leadership rather than management, although many now acknowledge the

necessity of both38. The leadership style required depends on the structure of the

organisation and ranges from dictator, through team leader to coach and to facilitator

with a move towards the latter as society has changed39. Whereas leaders in the

past were expected to provide all of the answers this is no longer the case. In fact, in

30 See Burnes, Managing Change, pp. 306-931 By, ‘Organisational Change Management’, p. 369-38032 Carnall, Managing Change in Organisations, p. 7433 By, ‘Organisational Change Management’, p. 369-38034 Quinn, Deep Change, pp.83-8635 Cameron & Green, Making Sense of Change Management, pp. 93-9836 Burnes, Managing Change, p.30637 Burnes, Managing Change, p. 48438 By, ‘Organisational Change Management’, p. 369-38039 Cameron & Green, Making Sense of Change Management, pp. 120-122

our fragmented society that rejects the idea of any ‘one way’, leaders who purport to

have all the answers are treated with suspicion, especially by the younger

generations.

Rather than having all the answers, leaders today need to have the skills and

competence necessary to bring about change. These are often exercised through

team leadership40. In an environment of complex and rapid change, where there are

no ‘golden rules’ leaders need the ability to have a critical awareness of change

management and fully understand the principles so that they can be applied as

appropriate41. Burnes suggests that a leader’s key role in change is to understand all

of the approaches available, to understand their own environment and to choose the

best option.42 I find Burnes’ approach helpful. I also believe that in today’s complex

and continuously changing environment adaptability is vital. Leaders may often need

to apply various approaches and principles as they face a range of situations and

different levels of change.

Probably the greatest impact for the leader has been regarding the need for

vision. In stable times the ability to see and predict the future was a realistic

possibility and in the 1980’s vision was very much linked with leadership43. However

as the rate and scale of change increased this became less feasible and the need for

vision has been questioned44. Emphasis moved to providing direction for the

journey45, and creating the ability to respond quickly46 with claims that adaptive

leadership and making connections are more important than vision47. In fact we have

to question the role that vision played in earlier models of change management.

Although strongly emphasised, and without detracting from the importance of having

something to aim for, in many cases vision statements were quickly forgotten once

written. As Burnes notes, although strategy is sometimes driven by vision it is more

often driven by opportunities, problems or crises48. In this respect the reduced

emphasis on vision may not be as dramatic as first seems.

40 Burnes, Managing Change, p.44941 Dawson, Understanding Organisational Change, p. 16742 Burnes, Managing Change, p.42843 John Adair, ‘Overview: Passing the Ball to You’, in John Adair & John Nelson (eds.),

Creative Church Leadership (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2004), p.744 Cameron & Green, Making Sense of Change Management, p. 13045 John Adair, ‘Overview: Passing the Ball to You’, pp.5-646 A. Carnall, The Change Management Toolkit, (London: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2003),

p.1547 Cameron & Green, Making Sense of Change Management, pp. 130-13248 Burnes, Managing Change, p.447

Section 2: The Relevance and Significance of these Developments to Contemporary Christian Culture

The changes in society are relevant and significant to contemporary Christian

culture and present a challenge for the church. In many cases, however the church

has been oblivious to the effects of these changes49. Fragmentation of society into

subcultures has led to the celebration of diversity and a rejection of any sense of an

overriding truth or grand story. This is very significant to Christian culture which

recognises diversity and the creativity of God but which presents Jesus at the only

way to God. In order to remain relevant the challenge for the church is to understand

these issues and present the gospel in a way that does not alienate people.

The changes also bring opportunities for the presentation of the Christian

story. Globalisation has led to ethnic diversity and religious pluralism in western

society introducing many alternatives to the Christian faith. In the modern world

science and reason pushed aside the mystery and transcendence of God but people

today, having lost trust in reason, are searching for spiritual and mystic

experiences50. Missional leader and author Reggie McNeal identifies that although

there is a spiritual awakening it is not being informed by Christian thinking and not

happening in the church and questions whether the church is able to compete with

the spiritual experiences other religions provide51. As Pentecostals there has been a

tendency to disregard some of our spiritual expression in order to be more relevant –

the irony being that we have discarded the very thing that people are in fact

searching for.

Twenty years ago missionary theologian Lesslie Newbigin suggested that the

post Christian western world posed the greatest missionary challenge for the

church52. He was mainly concerned with reaching out to other westerners. However

since that time Britain has become an ethnically diverse country, resulting in people

49 S. R. Chand & C. Murphey, Futuring: Leading your Church into Tomorrow (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), p.144

50 Pete Ward, Liquid Church (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 2002), p. 72-7451 Reggie McNeal, The Present Future. Six Tough Questions for the Church, (San Francisco:

Jossey-Bass, 2003), p. 1252 Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks (London: SPCK, 1986) quoted in Eddie Gibbs

and Ian Coffey, Church Next: Quantum Changes in Christian Ministry (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), p. 58

groups that were once placed far away now literally living on our doorsteps. The

mission field has come to us and this presents a great opportunity for the church.

The developments identified in section 1 have special relevance for Christian

culture and for the church as we seek to harness this opportunity.

Body Ministry and Team Leadership

The move from an autocratic model of ministry to a participatory one has led

to the increased involvement of people in the ministry of the church. Since the time

of Constantine the church held a central and prominent place in society. This led to a

clergy model of ministry where a specialist, with the relevant theological

understanding and skills, did the ministry of the church. The desire for increased

participation by the church membership led to calls for body ministry, where ministry

is carried out by all members of the church and not just the recognised clergy53. This

is significant as body ministry is clearly taught by Paul one of the early church

leaders54 but also because those involved in ministry will often be the ones to push

change55. This leads to a bottom up approach to change in the church.

As society becomes more complex and leadership more difficult there is also

increased participation in leadership. Writing on church leadership author Eddie

Gibbs identifies various leadership styles and suggests that leaders need to exhibit

various approaches depending on the situation56. Management consultant Daniel

Goleman, however, found that it was very rare for leaders to exhibit more than one

leadership style57, which suggests that in practice finding a leader who is able to

exhibit various styles may not be that easy. Church leader Mark Conner proposes

the way to overcome this is through team leadership58. Tim Elmore, president of

Growing Leaders, refers to a new type of leader for the 21st century which he calls

the ‘poet-gardener’59. He maintains that poet-gardener leaders function by drawing

53 Reggie McNeal, The Present Future, pp. 43-6854 1 Corinthians Ch 12 vv. 12-27, NIV Bible55 Eddie Gibbs and Ian Coffey, Church Next: Quantum Changes in Christian Ministry

(Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2001), P. 22856 Eddie Gibbs, Leadership Next: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture (Leicester: Inter-

Varsity Press, 2005), p. 2657 Daniel Goleman, ‘Leadership That Gets Results’ Harvard Business Review, (March-April

2000), pp. 1-1558 M. Conner, Transforming Your Church: Seven Strategic Shifts to Help You Successfully

Navigate the 21st Century (Kent: Sovereign World, 2000), p. 17859 Tim Elmore, ‘A New Kind of Leader. Leading Effectively as our Culture Evolves’,

http://andisperspective.typepad.com/files/documents/Poet-Gardener-Leaders.pdf, [accessed

other leaders around them not as team players but as co-leaders. For me this idea of

fluid leadership, working towards a shared vision and taking the lead in areas of

specific competence or skill, is especially appealing. However in reality it can be very

difficult to achieve. While people do want increased involvement on leadership teams

very often they function more as team players than co-leaders. Making the transition

to a team of co-leaders may require that some have to leave in the process60,

creating problems in churches that struggle to find capable leadership.

Missional Church

The church has been slow to adapt to changes in society and this has

resulted in irrelevance and marginalisation. Although lecturer on gospel, culture and

mission Pete Ward maintains that changes in culture have always been met with

innovation by the church61, the consensus is that the church has either become

judgemental or retreated into a protective isolation62. Contributing in ‘Creative Church

Leadership’ Gillian Stamp points out that the role of the church is to lead the way into

the future63. She is correct. Neither standing in judgement nor isolation are

acceptable responses for the church. Church decline and loss of its central place

within society has led some to suggest that we will soon be living in a post-church

society64. I do not agree. I believe that the church is God’s plan for all times.

However, as McNeal suggests I do sense that the death of the church as we know it

may be a real possibility but that we will see new expressions of church rising up

from the ashes.

The church growth movement drew attention to church decline and attempted

to turn the situation around. Changes were small and incremental and based on the

assumption that if church was more attractive people would come. Despite the

21.06.10]60 W. Kallestad, Building a Community for Others: Turn your Church Inside Out (Minneapolis:

Augsburg Fortress, 2001), p. 17361 Ward, Liquid Church, p.162 Gibbs & Coffey, Church Next, p. 4663 Gillian Stamp, ‘But Me; No Buts’, in John Adair & John Nelson (eds.), Creative Church

Leadership (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2004), p.17764 Carol Alexander, 2007, Christian Leadership, Podcast [online], Available from

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mattersey-hall-missional-leadership/ id251416556 [accessed 29.05.10]

apparent success of attractional churches65 missiologist Alan Hirsch claims that they

feed into consumerism and only attract people from other churches66. While this may

be true they also retain those that traditional churches seemed unable to. McNeal

argues that attractional churches fail to produce mature followers of Jesus67 but

acknowledges that while the church growth movement did not have all the answers it

bought about transition for the church by bringing attention to the problem68.

In response the need to transform local churches was identified. This tended

to focus on implementing incremental changes church wide rather than transforming

the way we do church69. Author on strategic planning Aubrey Malphurs argues that

incremental changes push the problems and limitations of the present into the future

and are therefore not effective70. However, he also recognises that gradual

evolutionary change may be better for many churches as there is the risk that they

may not survive radical, transformational change71.

Incremental changes, however, have not provided sufficient long term

answers. While doing church better may result in survival for the church in the short

term Gibbs and co-author Coffey point out that radical change is not about doing

church better but about the need to rediscover the mission of the church72. Hirsch

suggests that a radical change in thinking is required from seeing the church as an

institution to being a people who take Christ with them wherever they go. He defines

this as missional, stating that missional church means to go out into the world, in

contrast to the attractional model that expects people to come to the church73.

Christopher Walker, commenting on Hirsch’s work with co-author Michael Frost,

accepts the need for missional church but rather than an either-or proposes that both

attractional and missional approaches are valid74. Like Walker I recognise the need

for both approaches. In order to survive and thrive, the church needs to move

65 See for e.g. www.willowcreek.org and www.saddleback.com66 Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways: reactivating the Missional Church, (Grand Rapids:

Brazos Press, 2006), p.4567 McNeal, The Present Future, p.868 McNeal, The Present Future, p. 2369 See for example M. Conner, Transforming Your Church: Seven Strategic Shifts to help you

Successfully Navigate the 21st Century, (Kent: Sovereign World, 2000)70 Aubrey Malphurs, Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry

Leaders (Michigan: Baker Books, 2nd Ed.), p. 16371 Malphurs, Advanced Strategic Planning, p. 29872 Gibbs & Coffey, Church Next, p. 17273 Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, p. 51-6274 Christopher Walker, ‘Book Review- The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost and

Alan Hirsch’ <http://atbr.atf.org.au/atbr/images/review_the_shaping_of_things_to_come.pdf> [accessed 04.06.10]

beyond the attraction model presented by the growth movement and discover its

missional drive. However I wonder about the lack of emphasis on drawing people

into the life of the Christian community. I would argue that there is evidence from the

teachings of Jesus, the founder of the church, for both going out into the world 75 and

bringing into Christian community76. The key I believe is to maintain the focus on

mission, with the church community providing the support systems necessary for

this.

As the church rediscovers its missional drive we will move beyond

transforming the church to bringing transformation to our communities. Church

leaders and authors Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro rightly assert that churches

need to transform culture rather than be transformed by it77. I believe that

transformed churches can impact the communities they serve even when operating

from the margins of society.

Rediscovering the missional emphasis of the church requires apostolic

leadership78. Hirsch explains how church maintenance has led to the dominance of

pastoral and teaching leadership. He asserts that for missional church there is also a

need for prophetic, evangelistic and especially apostolic leadership and that a team

with all five of these leadership styles is the most effective79. He defines the apostolic

leader as one who extends the gospel, plants new churches and transmits the faith

from one generation to the next. McNeal also highlights the missional emphasis of

apostolic leadership along with the ability to release others into ministry80. Like

Hirsch I believe that the key to healthy, growing churches is a leadership team where

all five leadership styles are functioning. Belonging to a church denomination that

formally recognises and, at least in theory, releases apostolic leadership81 it is my

observation that when the apostolic role becomes encumbered with pastoral and

teaching responsibilities the missional drive is lost or at least very much diminished.

Reading Hirsch and McNeal I sense the need for us as a denomination to return to

75 Matthew 28 v. 19, NIV Bible76 Luke 14 v. 23, NIV Bible77 R. Lewis and W. Cordeiro, Culture Shift: Transforming the Church from the Inside Out (San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005), p. 4378 See Gibbs, Leadership Next, p. 55 and McNeal, The Present Future, pp.121-12579 Alan Hirsch, ‘Three Over-looked Leadership Roles’, Christianity Today (16 May 2008)

<http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/spring/7.32.html> [accessed 27.02.10]80 McNeal, The Present Future, p. 12681 I am a member of The Apostolic Church in the UK. The church formally recognises by

ordination to office the ministries of apostle, prophet, pastor, evangelist and teacher

our roots and rediscover the impact of apostolic ministry and its relevance for us

today.

Emerging Church

The church no longer faces a certain future. With a clear view of the future

long term planning is possible and acceptable. However as theologian and futurist

Leonard Sweet explains we are now living in a world of ‘status-flux’ where in place of

a landscape we have a ‘seascape’ with no solid ground82. McNeal suggests that

planning leads to cultural irrelevance and is not sufficient in today’s rapidly changing

climate83. If the church is to be relevant for the 21st century it will need a more

effective way to achieve the desired future.

Preparation for change and change readiness are more helpful in a climate of

constant change. Authors Chand & Murphey argue that the future belongs to those

who prepare for it and states that church leaders do this by being aware of the

emerging issues in society84. Gibbs highlights the importance of responding

appropriately and promptly and the need for ‘just in time’ planning85. Dealing with

emerging issues is not always easy for leaders, especially those with traditional

mindsets. For those willing to engage the issues the ability to embrace change,

including change of mindset, is essential. As Hirsch correctly argues facing these

issues is foundational to survival and relevance for the church86.

Spiritual preparation is also essential in a Christian context. McNeal highlights

the importance of this stating that it includes prayer, vision, values, successes,

identifying strengths and ongoing learning87. Spiritual preparation plays an important

role in helping Christian leaders to be clear about areas of life and mindset that

should and should not be changed. Leaders must be first and foremost spiritual

people in order to be able to cope with the rate of change facing the Christian

community and to make the right decisions as they tackle the emerging issues within

society. As executive pastor Mike Bonem rightly points out the spiritual dimension of

the Holy Spirit in our lives to lead and direct is an asset that secular leaders do not

82 Chand & Murphey, Futuring, p.14183 McNeal, The Present Future, p. 93-11984 Chand & Murphey, Futuring, p. 131 & p. 8585 Gibbs, Leadership Next, pp. 13-2786 Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, p. 18487 McNeal, The Present Future, pp. 92-119

have88. Will Mancini writing on churchleaders.com identifies the need for churches to

know their shape for ministry, which includes knowing its strengths89. Like Mancini I

believe that spiritual preparation includes discerning the strengths and resources that

each church or Christian organisation has and that these are used by God to guide

and lead a church in the direction he wants it to go. Building on these will help us as

we seek to be relevant for the 21st century.

As Church leaders are adequately prepared and seek to respond in a

Christian way to the issues within society new expressions of church will emerge.

Well known author and business consultant Jim Collins identified that great

organisations are led by leaders who figure out right thing to do90. This will not be

easy as in today’s complex and changing climate the right thing is not always

obvious and there will be differing views on what the right choice is. However as

Hirsch suggests leaders need to persevere until they have assessed all the options

and identified the best solution91. As church leader and author John Ortberg rightly

identifies church leaders today need prudence, the ability to discern the good from

best and then to chose the right option92.

As this happens the church can impact society in a positive way even from its

place on the margins. Missional leader Alan Roxburgh argues that being on the

margins is a place of dynamic transition93. As church leaders identify and respond to

the issues emerging within society the boundary lines can become places of

exchange rather than lines of demarcation94. We are living in chaotic times but

innovation occurs out of chaos95 and relevant forms of church will emerge as

Christians seek to engage with the culture around them. This will not be easy,

especially for established churches, but that doesn’t negate the importance of

88 Mike Bonem, ‘Good to Great to Godly’, Christianity Today (April 2010) <http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/visiondirection/goodgreatgodly.html> [accessed 29.04.10]

89 Will Mancini, ‘Find Your Churches Unique Shape For Ministry’ <http://www.buildingchurchleaders.com/articles/2010/churchuniqueshape.html> [accessed 29.04.10]

90 Jim Collins, Good to Great, (London: Random House Business Books, 2001), pp. 45-891 Hirsch, ‘Three Over-looked Leadership Roles’, <http://www.christianitytoday.com/

le/2008/spring/7.32.html> [accessed 29.04.10]92 John Ortberg, ‘Today’s Most Devalued Virtue: Why is a Once Honoured Leadership Trait

Now Despised?’’ <http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/currenttrendscolumns/ leadership weekly/devaluedvirtue.html> [accessed 29.04.10]

93 See Gibbs & Coffey, Church Next, pp. 218-21994 Gibbs, Leadership Next, p. 8795 Viv Thomas, Future Leader, (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 1999), pp. 132-138

working towards these emerging changes not only to survive but to be relevant in the

21st century.

Section 3: Implementation of the Approaches and Assessment of their Value

Having identified the various developments in change management and the

relevance to Christian culture, this section will address where and how these

approaches can be implemented in my own leadership context96 and assess their

value in that context. For the purpose of this essay I intend to concentrate on two

main areas of change that I am involved in; changing the focus of the congregation

from inward to outward looking97 and the introduction of Messy Church98.

The framework of change presented by Burnes99 was helpful in identifying that

various approaches may be relevant even within the same organisation depending

on the type of change being introduced. This helped me to understand that more

than one approach may be necessary when implementing change.

I have found the principles outlined by Kotter100 beneficial. All of the principles

hold value, however I have specifically mentioned the following as they either

clarified the importance of what we were doing or identified areas that had been

overlooked.

The need to create a sense of urgency has been especially relevant and is

something that we have been attempting to do as a leadership team. The inward

focus of our congregation and the lack of interest for those outside the church

concerned us. Kotter identifies creating urgency as the most important of his eight

principles, although he does caution against creating a sense of panic and

developing resistance101. This confirmed the need for us to persevere with this

96 I am a church leader and within that context have various leadership roles being responsible for the small group network and children’s work. Within the last few months I have also taken responsibility for the introduction of a Messy Church, a new addition to our programme. Within these roles there are various different changes being implemented.

97 Inward focus refers to the congregations concern for the internal affairs of the church which although important lead to a maintenance mentality. As a leadership team we are working to change this to a focus on the needs of our community and the people outside of the church who need to hear the good news of Jesus.

98 For more information on Messy Church see www.messychurch.org.uk99 Burnes, Managing Change, pp. 318-332100 John Kotter, Leading Change (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996), pp. 4 -16101John Kotter, A Sense of Urgency (Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2008), p.

viii

principle. We were not aware of the importance of not creating a sense of panic.

Having recognised this we are now endeavouring to present the urgency in a way

that creates a desire for change102 and linking the change with our core values103.

Kotters second principle, building the guiding team, was more relevant in the

case of Messy Church where I was able to build a team from scratch. Responsibility

for building the churches core leadership team is not within my remit as I am not the

principal leader. I would comment, however, that while in theory this concept is

excellent, in our leadership context the principle is difficult to apply. Leaders are

inherited and remain in place until retirement. While moving people into the right

place may be an option Gibbs correctly points out that in the church removing people

is not as straight forward as in a secular situation104. However as a leadership team

we currently need to add new members. The team leader, understanding the

importance of bringing the right people on board is taking time to carefully consider

who should join the team, despite pressure from some to make a quick decision.

Understanding the importance of this principle has proved to be of great value in the

window of opportunity that has presented itself.

Regarding the need to empower action I found the concept helpful but vague

regarding application. While Kotter identifies the need to remove barriers by dealing

with resistance I found business leader Brian Molitor’s identification of the

importance of strong relationships and agreement105 especially relevant and

challenging, as often this is something I want to skip over. Understanding the

importance of this in empowering action I am seeking to develop stronger

relationships and to overcome the motivational hurdle by motivating key

influencers106. Molitor’s recognition of the need to identify resisters from the

rebellious has also been valuable107. There has been a tendency for some on the

leadership team to oppose any new ideas that have been presented and writing in

Harvard Business Review Garvin & Roberto highlight the negative impact that this

can have on change108. This threatened to overthrow the decision to start Messy

102 Molitor, The Power of Agreement, p. 63103 David Garvin & Michael Roberto, ‘Change Through Persuasion’, Harvard Business Review

(Feb 2005), pp. 24-34104 Gibbs, Leadership Next, p. 125105 Molitor, The Power of Agreement, pp.1-30106 W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne, ‘Tipping Point Leadership’, Harvard Business Review

(April 2003), pp. 35-48107 Molitor, The Power of Agreement, p. 36108 Garvin & Roberto, ‘Change through Persuasion’, pp. 24-34

Church, something that as senior leaders we felt strongly should go ahead. In this

situation we overcame this barrier by imposing an autocratic style of leadership on

the team and imposing the change. This was possible as the team members causing

the resistance accept this style of leadership. The fact that the congregation have

whole heartedly supported the initiative will hopefully help to create a culture of can-

do attitude for the future.

Creating short term wins was a new concept for me however I had been

introduced to the idea of celebrating success109 and have been able to identify and

celebrate some successes that have occurred. This created momentum and

realising the benefit of this I now intentionally both attempt to create the wins and

highlight the successes. The idea of doing this was introduced to the leadership

team and this year we focused on celebrating successes at our Annual General

Meeting. Linking these directly to our core values is especially beneficial not only in

highlighting that we are achieving our aims but in creating a culture where change is

seen as possible and desirable. It was on the basis of celebrating the success that

we had experienced in connecting with families in our community that the need for

Messy Church was introduced.

Finally the importance of not letting up is an especially timely. With the

successful implementation of Messy Church there is the danger of letting up and as

organisational consultant and writer Viv Thomas highlights any sense of arrival is

dangerous110. The importance of keeping up the sense of urgency is important at this

stage111 and we have done this by linking all of our core values to a monthly prayer

and fasting schedule. This keeps the need for change in front of the people and

identifies specific prayer towards the changes that we want to see happening. It also

ensures that equal attention is given to all of our core values in order to bring

balance to the way that we do church. In keeping up the sense of urgency the

process becomes cyclic rather than linear. The danger of declaring victory too soon

will be avoided in this way and by constantly bringing about changes in line with core

values a new culture will develop.

Kotter has proved to be less valuable in the implementation of Messy Church

because of the lack of a clearly designed set of steps. In this situation I found the

109 The NHS (my employer) offers annual awards to celebrate the successes of NHS employees and departments

110 Thomas, Future Leader, p. 134111 Kotter, A Sense of Urgency, pp. 64-67

change formula proposed by authors Beckhard & Harris helpful112. Like Kotter, the

need for change has to be identified with a clear vision of what is to be achieved.

The need to address practicalities or have a clearly defined plan is also highlighted.

As author on change management Mike Green points out if any of these are missing

(i.e. zero) the likelihood of change occurring will also be zero113. This emphasises the

importance of having a clearly defined plan. As identified in section 1 planning is

helpful in certain situations and has been very helpful in introducing Messy Church.

Identifying specific steps to be achieved, with associated timelines has helped us to

keep on track for our launch date in September.

Conclusion

This essay has identified developments in change management from imposed

to participatory change, from small scale to transformational change and from

planned to emerging change. The changes in culture that facilitated these

developments have been highlighted. The relevance and significance of these

developments to Christian culture has been identified with specific mention of body

ministry and team leadership, missional church and emerging church. Finally I have

demonstrated how I have implemented these approaches in my role as a church

leader; in the ongoing process of changing the focus of the congregation from inward

to outward and in the implementation of Messy Church.

Secular models of change management are helpful in a Christian context but

they fail to address the importance of spiritual preparation. Prayer and hearing from

God are of paramount importance and we take this aspect of being prepared for

change very seriously. As identified in section 2 knowing the spiritual shape of our

church is part of being prepared spiritually and part of God’s guidance for us as a

church is discerned in the resources that have been given to us. Our contacts with

young families, the availability of a suitable building and volunteers with the relevant

skills played an important part in our decision to start Messy Church as opposed to

other possible options. This is akin to the model of change presented by Cooperrider

112 See Carnall, Managing Change in Organisations, pp. 181-2113 Mike Green, Change Management Master class: a Step by Step Guide to Successful

Change (London: Kogan-Page, 2007), p.46

and Whitney114 which states that working to the strengths of the organisation

influences the environment rather than being influenced by it.

This is my desire for the church. That as individuals and as a corporate body

we will be a transforming presence in the world. Not influenced and driven by the

changes in society around us but agents of change and transformation in the

communities that we serve. As this becomes a reality in and through our lives I

believe we, the church, can influence and drive cultural changes in our society.

114 Cooperrider & Whitney, Appreciative Enquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change, pp. 1-13

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