Who Moved My Pulpit?: Leading Change in the Church

It started with a plea for help via email. A reader of the author's popular blog asks for an A to Z plan for leading change. The result is this book which is about leading change in the Church. Written for the pastor and leaders of the Church, it begins with the story of Derek who literally removed the pulpit in order to instill change in his style and method of preaching. It created an uproar in the Church, which lobbed off years off what the Church could have achieved with other things. Reasons for the poor change process include the over-dependence on human strength; inadequate assessment of unintended consequences; lack of communications; underestimating people issues; and not modeling positive leadership. Why is it so difficult to change? Simple: People, especially with one or more of the following people.

The Deniers will dismiss any need for change.
The Entitled will see the Church as a means to their ends and will rebel against anything that threaten that.
The Blamers are all too ready to push the responsibility on the pastor.
The Critics drain the pastor and leaders with their callous comments and side-reporting.
The Confused are just not sure what is more important and prefer not to change unless absolutely necessary.

Rainer then puts forth an 8-stage template for leading change.

Stop and Pray: We avoid becoming dependent on human wisdom and fallible strength
Communicate a Sense of Urgency: Don't give excuses for a Church in decline. Communicate realities as lovingly and as urgently as possible.
Build an Eager Coalition: Choose people who are influential, good chemistry, position, expertise, and leadership.
Become a Voice and Vision of Hope: Be regular readers of the Bible, people of hope, and willingness to help.
Deal with People Issues: Learn about the seven principles of loving people.
Move Focus from Inward to Outward: From leadership to budget matters, work on incremental changes and to celebrate small successes.
Pick Low-Hanging Fruit: Clarity, Affirmation, Appreciation, and Building of momentum.
Implement and Consolidate Change: Over-communicate, be transparent, and learning to deal with difficult people, with success, and with complacency.

Thom Rainer has done it again. Knowing that leaders in churches tend to be busy people, he comes up with a book that is not only short and sweet, it is packed with pointers and easy to understand strategies to implement change. The diagnostic and study questions alone are worth the price of the book. Rainer is President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources and has authored or co-authored more than 20 books. Many of his writings are based on experiences and interactions with churches and Christian organizations struggling with real life change scenarios.

It has been said that change is the only constant. Those who fail to change will suffer the consequences of becoming irrelevant. While many in theory will claim to support change, the implementation of change is another matter altogether. For change is that one thing that is easier said than done. The focus of this book is to enable churches to do the needed changes in a more effective manner. Rainer has a gift of writing when implementation in mind. This is one of the reasons why I appreciate his books. With clear goals and easy to understand sequences, he summarizes a lot for the benefit of readers. While this may mean over-simplification of some areas, it is sufficient for the general reader to know what he is getting at. We do not need the full details of each church scenario in order to appreciate the idea behind the change needed. What is more important is for each leader or Church pastor to do their own analysis and situational checks of their parish and organizational culture. Change is necessary simply because time does not stand still. The culture around us will change. People change. Everything changes. We do not change for the sake of changing. We change for the sake of the gospel. I am reminded of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians where he writes:

"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Cor 9:22)

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

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This book is provided to me courtesy of B&H Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Anybody looking to enter change in their church you will love this book and what makes it so great, even if you are not a pastor this book offers and great deal of information.

I turn around and ordered more for my Pastor and for a deacon at the church.

Love it.

If you are a pastor or church leader you need to get this book. Thom Rainer in Who Moved My Pulpit? lays out clearly the pitfalls, the purpose, and preparation needed for leading change in the local church.

Having done various short term mission trips to assist different churches during my time in college I have seen first hand that there are churches heading towards decline all across America because of an inability to change. There are churches I have preached in as a summer missionary that no longer exist for that very reason.

Dr. Rainer begins the book by looking at a pastor who implemented a change poorly in his church which led to a great amount of conflict, he follows this up by providing a glimpse at the human barriers to change in the church. Chapters 3 and 4 are really the fulcrum of the book, if we don't begin with prayer we will not know God's will for our churches. People in the churches also need to see the urgency of change, so many church members are blind to the fact that the church they serve and attend is dying. The following chapters layout practical steps needed to bring about change in the local church from building a coalition of the willing to addressing people issues, and re-shifting the focus of the church from inward to outward.

If you're a church leader and you're reading this chances are your church is plateaued or declining. While we must never change the message we have, sometimes we must rethink the methods and means we use especially as the community around the local church changes. I fully agree with Dr. Rainer life is short and we must seek to make the greatest difference we can for the church and for the kingdom. Grab this book and learn how to best implement change in your church.

Disclosure: I received this book free from from the publisher for providing this review. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
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In his latest book, Dr. Thom Rainer (President, Lifeway Resources) show us how to be a change agent in our local church. This book is primarily written for pastors and church leaders but everyone can benefit from the insights provided by Dr. Rainer. The book was motivated by an email he received from a pastor asking for help in learning how to lead change in his church.

As a point of disclosure, Dr. Rainer was one of my professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. I had the opportunity to learn from him first-hand and see him as a man of God that loves the local church.

So, how do we lead change in our churches? Dr. Rainer provides eight steps to help facilitate change. He acknowledges these are not “plug and play” steps but rather a Biblically-based process.

Dr. Rainer focuses the chapters on one of eight steps. The eight steps are:

1. Stop …and Pray
2. Confront and Communicate a Sense of Urgency
3. Build and Eager Coalition
4. Become a Voice and Vision of Hope
5. Deal with People Issues
6. Move from an Inward Focus to an Outward Focus
7. Pick Low-Hanging Fruit
8. Implement and Consolidate Change

Each topic challenges the reader to put their faith into action and provides examples of how to do so. Readers are challenged to no longer treat the church as a county club, with a "what's in it for me" attitude. Rather we see how we are to be the body of Christ to a lost and dying world.

Rainer writes in a very easy to read style and draws from his vast experience and research regarding the local church. This book, along with I Am a Church Member and I Will should be bought in bulk and studied by the local church. They would make a great resource for small group study. If you have not experienced any of Dr. Rainer's books, I highly encourage you to start with these smaller books.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from B&H Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I bought this book for my son who is a pastor. He thinks this was an excellent book on the subject. He likes Pastor Rainer.

This book is a must read for any one in ministry. Thom Rainer is a very learned and respected man and his ideas for leading change in the church are Biblical and practical as well as effective. As a pastor's wife I found the book to be encouraging as well as heartbreaking. The encouragement came from the truths about leading change and the heartbreaking part came from the truths about leading change. The book's introduction of the email of desperation actually brought me to tears. My husband has been in the ministry for forty four years and I have seen some of the best of times and a few worst of times in church work. Rainer's practical advice for leading change is necessary and needful in light of an ever-changing society before an unchanging worthy God.

Good condition for the money

I am really enjoying my book. We are in a study at church with it.

Quick read with practical advice for those who find themselves leading change - which is every pastor at some point.

Easy read and good basic points.