Leading Changes that Heal

Times of stagnation surrounded by great opportunity require courageous leadership.  Leadership because it is the responsibility of leaders to move toward a better future.  Courage because leadership like this is very very difficult.  The courage it takes to build something feels quite different than the courage it takes to change something in a radical fashion.  When Bill Bright showed up at UCLA circa 1951 it took courage and boldness, but he really had very little to lose (ministry wise).  He could have fallen flat on his face, learned something from God and then attempt something else.  No one would be the wiser.  He courageously moved forward and God used him to build a large apostolic / evangelistic organization.

We (as leaders in the organization he built) face a different reality.  We have to lead a change process, in a large organization, in order to fulfill the mission we embarked upon so long ago.  In many ways we are wiser, stronger and more prepared.  But we are also large, somewhat institutional and most of the easy work has been done.  

In many ways it is easy to see why a group like KCCC (Korea Campus Crusade for Christ) is much more successful at Asian student ministry than traditional CCC is.  Not only are they starting Asian (big bonus) but they have no need to lead change.  They build from scratch.  They build what the need, when they need it, how they need it.  They have no need to leverage parts of the organization because they don’t have those parts of the organization.

We on the other hand have systems o plenty.  Most of them built in the same way that our buddies in KCCC built theirs – on the fly, as needed and in order to accomplish the objective more effectively.  And most of the time this has worked wonderfully.  However, when drastic change is needed involving what has been built, the change can prove painful and overwhelming.  Sometimes, it is just easier to build something new.   

Now there’s an idea.