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Leading Change in the Congregation: Spiritual & Organizational Tools For Leaders
Many books have been written about leadership and change, but until now none has focused on the kind of change that tears at a community's very fabric. Alban senior consultant Gil Rendle provides a respectful context for understanding change, especially the experiences and resistances that people feel. Rendle pulls together theory, research, and his work with churches facing change to provide leaders with practical diagnostic models and tools. In a time when change is the norm, this book helps to "lead change" in a spiritual and healthy way.
188 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
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54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 23, 2015
Great book on the difference between leadership and management, leadership challenges facing church leaders, and realistic strategies for getting through it.
October 1, 2013
One of the most freeing and empowering opportunities for leaders who are addressing change is to be aware of and help others understand what is normal, healthy, organizational behavior. Using the lens of general systems theory it is possible to identify normal behavior that is more often viewed as problematic. Not needing to see it as a problem requiring an answer (which is often, in fact, nonexistent) frees leaders to experiment with other paths and strategies. Leaders need help to see and interpret what is normal. This is where Leading Change in the Congregation: Spiritual and Organizational Tools for Leaders is of great value and help for the leader. Gil Rendle is an independent consultant working with issues of change and leadership in denominations. Prior to this position he served the Alban Institute as an author, seminar leader, and senior consultant for twelve years. An ordained United Methodist minister, Rendle has the experience and knowledge to provide a way for ward for leaders guiding change in the local church.
Leaders of congregations today need to develop the calmness of spirit and the skills and tools that address the needs of the congregation in the midst of change. When you meet resistance in response to innovation, realize that resistance was already there before you introduced the new idea. More than a reaction to the innovation, the resistance was already a part of the system for some very normal, natural, and important reasons. How do leaders help congregations shift from sameness (uniformity) to differentiation? One of the first things that Rendle insists upon is that leaders should relieve themselves of the pressure to come up with the perfect answer to an uncertain future that will keep all the parties in the congregation “happy” (13). For those of us in ministry, this will likely come as an important (perhaps even shocking) paradigm shift in the way we think.
One of the ways that congregations are going to face change in the contemporary world is by leaders supporting adult learning in the search for new ways of doing things. The four components of the adult learning cycle are that adults learn best when they pause after doing something to reflect on what they just did and what they learned from it. This new learning is enriched when they then connect their new learnings with previous experiences and insights that can help to inform their reflection on what they just did. Then with this new learning in place they make a decision about next steps and then implement (do) those steps.
Rendle articulates some of the common realities that may require congregational change – things such as declining membership, a “missing generation” (long and short term members but no middle term members), and the problem of new members in our congregations who are not interested in assimilating with the old traditions. Of course, these may not really be “problems” but if they are perceived to be then people start hunting for solutions. Thus there is a need for leaders to determine what kind of situation they are facing. Rendle articulates three different kind of situations leaders face: technical, technical/adaptive, and adaptive situations. In technical situations a problem can be clearly defined and a solution can be clearly applied. In a technical/adaptive situation, the problem can be clearly defined but the solution requires learning. In the third type of situation now facing leaders, a purely adaptive situation, both the problem and the solution are unclear and new learning is required by all involved. Often times these days, if congregational leaders are willing to open themselves to the possibility that God is doing something new in their congregation, they will need to consider more adaptive approaches to very different questions.
Rendle advocates using Systems Theory to better understand our congregations. Systems Theory invites us to look at our congregations, not in their component parts, but as a whole. ST allows leaders to understand that a number of inter-related issues will need to be addressed simultaneously in order to accomplish change, because the variables influencing the situation are connected. As Rendle argues, the strength of a systems approach, which recognizes and honors the connectedness of issues or variables, is that it allows leaders to ask the essential question about what areas or factors will need to be addressed to achieve the goals that have been set for ministry.
Some of the most helpful guidance in Rendle’s book is his work on the kids of models that leaders use to view their congregations – the linear or chaotic lens. The way we look at our congregation in the midst of change will determine the response we offer as leaders. The model most leaders are familiar with is the linear model. In this model, we move from problem identification to alternative solutions to decision making to implementation. We often use this model because it works. But as Rendle argues, leaders would do well to address their situations by looking at the chaotic model of change to understand what is required of them. A chaotic model begins with an understanding of change that recognizes the reality and the value of a time of chaos (messiness, lack of clarity, a need for wandering). The chaos process is one which movers from pain – possibility – the box – chaos – the creative and faithful choice. He argues that because congregations are broadly living in a time “between paradigms” we need a process which can more fully integrate the creative space that is chaos and address the pain and angst living in the space between paradigms causes. Granted, some problems are very straight forward and can be easily solved using the linear model. However, the increasingly complex problems faced by leaders will likely be better addressed by the chaos model.
One of the many helpful tools in Leading Change in the Congregation is the “roller coaster of change” – a measuring tool for assessing where a congregation is emotionally and for listening to the content of the member’s feelings. Like the model of chaotic change, this tool is a descriptive lens. This tool helps leaders gather information about what a congregation is experiencing based on a series of eight steps and gradations. The roller coaster of change identifies a natural sequence of feelings and relationships that are a part of change. Based on this tool, I realized the very real error of talking to congregations going through change in ways that they will not understand because you are not speaking in ways that they are feeling. Often when people in congregations are feeling certain ways, it is important for leaders to listen than it is for them to talk. In other words, it is a time for empathetic listening – communication that rests on listening to and understanding the other: “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Another very helpful tool comes in chapter six with the analysis of the life cycle of a congregation and the very “do something” stages/processes of restructuring and re-visioning. It is important for leaders to understand the difference.
In the end, Rendle’s book succeeds on a number of levels. First, it addresses, in a principled way, a variety of important models, tools, and methods for thinking about congregational change in contemporary congregations. The challenges are vast. Leaders need good tools. Perhaps one critique of Rendle’s work is that is doesn’t deeply address how leaders process and go through change themselves, though he has touched on this topic in his journal articles. This would have made a rewarding addition to his book.
Leaders of congregations today need to develop the calmness of spirit and the skills and tools that address the needs of the congregation in the midst of change. When you meet resistance in response to innovation, realize that resistance was already there before you introduced the new idea. More than a reaction to the innovation, the resistance was already a part of the system for some very normal, natural, and important reasons. How do leaders help congregations shift from sameness (uniformity) to differentiation? One of the first things that Rendle insists upon is that leaders should relieve themselves of the pressure to come up with the perfect answer to an uncertain future that will keep all the parties in the congregation “happy” (13). For those of us in ministry, this will likely come as an important (perhaps even shocking) paradigm shift in the way we think.
One of the ways that congregations are going to face change in the contemporary world is by leaders supporting adult learning in the search for new ways of doing things. The four components of the adult learning cycle are that adults learn best when they pause after doing something to reflect on what they just did and what they learned from it. This new learning is enriched when they then connect their new learnings with previous experiences and insights that can help to inform their reflection on what they just did. Then with this new learning in place they make a decision about next steps and then implement (do) those steps.
Rendle articulates some of the common realities that may require congregational change – things such as declining membership, a “missing generation” (long and short term members but no middle term members), and the problem of new members in our congregations who are not interested in assimilating with the old traditions. Of course, these may not really be “problems” but if they are perceived to be then people start hunting for solutions. Thus there is a need for leaders to determine what kind of situation they are facing. Rendle articulates three different kind of situations leaders face: technical, technical/adaptive, and adaptive situations. In technical situations a problem can be clearly defined and a solution can be clearly applied. In a technical/adaptive situation, the problem can be clearly defined but the solution requires learning. In the third type of situation now facing leaders, a purely adaptive situation, both the problem and the solution are unclear and new learning is required by all involved. Often times these days, if congregational leaders are willing to open themselves to the possibility that God is doing something new in their congregation, they will need to consider more adaptive approaches to very different questions.
Rendle advocates using Systems Theory to better understand our congregations. Systems Theory invites us to look at our congregations, not in their component parts, but as a whole. ST allows leaders to understand that a number of inter-related issues will need to be addressed simultaneously in order to accomplish change, because the variables influencing the situation are connected. As Rendle argues, the strength of a systems approach, which recognizes and honors the connectedness of issues or variables, is that it allows leaders to ask the essential question about what areas or factors will need to be addressed to achieve the goals that have been set for ministry.
Some of the most helpful guidance in Rendle’s book is his work on the kids of models that leaders use to view their congregations – the linear or chaotic lens. The way we look at our congregation in the midst of change will determine the response we offer as leaders. The model most leaders are familiar with is the linear model. In this model, we move from problem identification to alternative solutions to decision making to implementation. We often use this model because it works. But as Rendle argues, leaders would do well to address their situations by looking at the chaotic model of change to understand what is required of them. A chaotic model begins with an understanding of change that recognizes the reality and the value of a time of chaos (messiness, lack of clarity, a need for wandering). The chaos process is one which movers from pain – possibility – the box – chaos – the creative and faithful choice. He argues that because congregations are broadly living in a time “between paradigms” we need a process which can more fully integrate the creative space that is chaos and address the pain and angst living in the space between paradigms causes. Granted, some problems are very straight forward and can be easily solved using the linear model. However, the increasingly complex problems faced by leaders will likely be better addressed by the chaos model.
One of the many helpful tools in Leading Change in the Congregation is the “roller coaster of change” – a measuring tool for assessing where a congregation is emotionally and for listening to the content of the member’s feelings. Like the model of chaotic change, this tool is a descriptive lens. This tool helps leaders gather information about what a congregation is experiencing based on a series of eight steps and gradations. The roller coaster of change identifies a natural sequence of feelings and relationships that are a part of change. Based on this tool, I realized the very real error of talking to congregations going through change in ways that they will not understand because you are not speaking in ways that they are feeling. Often when people in congregations are feeling certain ways, it is important for leaders to listen than it is for them to talk. In other words, it is a time for empathetic listening – communication that rests on listening to and understanding the other: “seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Another very helpful tool comes in chapter six with the analysis of the life cycle of a congregation and the very “do something” stages/processes of restructuring and re-visioning. It is important for leaders to understand the difference.
In the end, Rendle’s book succeeds on a number of levels. First, it addresses, in a principled way, a variety of important models, tools, and methods for thinking about congregational change in contemporary congregations. The challenges are vast. Leaders need good tools. Perhaps one critique of Rendle’s work is that is doesn’t deeply address how leaders process and go through change themselves, though he has touched on this topic in his journal articles. This would have made a rewarding addition to his book.
July 15, 2019
This is a great book about leading change that takes a systemic approach and draws on research from Edwin Friedman and Peter Steinke, among others. My only caveat in recommending it is how to get this information to congregational leaders, as it is written more from the perspective of clergy and professional staff, but lay leaders need also to be on board in order to take people through the processes named.
There are many insights in the way churches work, and don't work, and the types of changes that churches deal with.
There are many insights in the way churches work, and don't work, and the types of changes that churches deal with.
November 7, 2017
Thought provoking reading from a Presbyterian leadership training I am attending. Not sure I will be using the techniques but many good ideas to keep in mind as I explore change in a congregational setting.
May 24, 2020
This is a good solid book to have in your library if you are a congregational leader. It is worth reading, and coming back to when you are helping an organization through a period of change.
May 30, 2025
Short, simple, insightful, a must read for all church leaders.
December 2, 2016
Favourite section:
It is essential that a leader of a team be identified.
This person needs four crucial personal elements to succeed:
* compatibility (does he/she “fit” in the team),
* capability (evidence of character, competency, and credibility),
* corporate leadership and
* cultural awareness.
- Rendle, Gilbert. Leading Change in the Congregation. Washington: Alban Institute, 1998. (p105-6)
It is essential that a leader of a team be identified.
This person needs four crucial personal elements to succeed:
* compatibility (does he/she “fit” in the team),
* capability (evidence of character, competency, and credibility),
* corporate leadership and
* cultural awareness.
- Rendle, Gilbert. Leading Change in the Congregation. Washington: Alban Institute, 1998. (p105-6)
January 25, 2014
Extremely helpful toolbox of resources in leading change. I'll be returning to this over and over in the coming years to digest and reflect upon its content. A big thank you to the author for distilled wisdom and experience. If leading the church is your context and challenge then this is a very worthwhile resource.
December 30, 2008
I'm rating this book this low because I have found it difficult to read, in spite of the compactness of it.
If you're new to congregational lay leadership, you might ask a more experienced lay leader for a more introductory title on managaing change.
If you're new to congregational lay leadership, you might ask a more experienced lay leader for a more introductory title on managaing change.
April 16, 2012
This is an Alban Institute Publication about systems thinking and change. Any minister (or board) will need to lead a congregation or group through change, and this is a very useful and accessible guide.
August 29, 2023
This book was a delightful surprise with some good insights that go beyond what books like this typically have to offer. It was part of a training I did in interim ministry, and it was a joy to read.
Read
November 10, 2009or Safe Congregations Handbook
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews