Hey, I’m Megan Fate Marshman and I work, with young adults in Long Beach, California.
How do you take people through change? It’s a good question.
Some people are scared of change, and some people love change. The reality is you need to know your people.
I’m thinking of one specific ministry context I came into when I had a million different ideas. Or maybe you’ve come home from a conference, and you’re like “I’m ready to change everything!”
However, the people that you’re about to have these conversations with may not have attended the conference, may not have had that “Aha” inspiration, and may have a hard time with you walking in with all these crazy ideas because they’re so different.
Some people are scared of change, and some people love change. The reality is you need to know your people.
Two Skills You Need to Learn
In a specific change that I had to go through with people that were currently doing something one way when I wanted to take them on a different journey, I learned two important skills:
1. Listen More.
Allow them to talk about what they’re referring to as the good old days. And allow them share what God did in that generation and what we can learn from it.
When you approach the people that you’re leading and ask them questions—you approach them as a learner—you empower them to realize that they too have a voice.
2. Ask Really Good Questions.
If you’re really good at asking questions, you can actually lead them to the places that you want them to go. If people discover it, they’re going to own it. And you want them to own the idea, not simply agree with you.
If you simply delegate ideas and tasks, you’re going to make a lot of followers. But if you ask a lot of really good questions and give away leadership and ideating of new ideas to those people, they become leaders themselves.
Then all of you can truck together toward much bigger things than you could ever imagine.
And that’s what I realized in that transition. I don’t have all the answers, but I have a community of people who do have a lot of different ideas. Sometimes you just need to empower them to be a part of the change process.
How to Get Heard and Supported by Your Church Leadership
How to Get Heard and Supported by Your Church Leadership
