SAYING GOODBYE

It's been said, "It's not the changes that kill us; it's the transitions." The most dreaded stage or phase in the change process is the time of transition. The people of Israel complained the most between Egypt and Canaan. This no-man's land, Bermuda Triangle, twilight zone, is equivalent to the space between the roof of a burning building and the safe roof of an adjacent building. For a time during the transition, chaos, confusion, insecurity, and apprehension reign. We know what we must do, but the fear of the jump can create a lot of havoc.

Any analysis of the change process must take an honest look at the most difficult in-between zone. Managing the transition is different from managing the overall change. Transition management emphasizes personal impact and role definition; it is more relationship-oriented.

You can't erase the transition phase, but you can make it easier. An overused illustration is worth a mention here. It's about the guy who is hiking along a cliff when, all of a sudden, he slips. He's about to plummet to his death when he grabs a straggly tree that is growing out of the side of the rocky face. Looking far below at his certain end, he yells, "Help! Is anyone there?"

Suddenly, a giant hand emerges from the sky and a booming voice from heaven says, "Let go!"

The climber looks down again and then back up. He screams, "Is anyone else there?"

The joke describes the plight of many churches and congregational members who cannot grasp the new thing God is wanting to do, because they are unwilling to let go of the past.


God calls us constantly to newness and Jesus modeled this characteristic. Still, many people embrace the familiar even more tightly when faced with the unknown quantity of a change.

We will discuss just one aspect of the transition phase here. Your role as a change agent requires that you honor those who love the "old" ways. Before any significant change can take place within a ministry or a church, you must initiate a period of letting go, of burying the dead, of mourning their loss, of celebrating memories -- but then move forward. Too many leaders and progressive types err when they do not allow for suitable mourning and when they do not arrange for a respectful memorial of the things they are about to change.

Some leaders fail to honor the past because they weren't around when a certain ministry or style of worship was successful and effective. Out of insensitivity to others, they forge ahead, lopping off ministry elements with no apparent awareness of the memories and meaning to others.

Most of the time, before a new change occurs that will become fruitful, we must allow the death of something else. Hanging on to outdated ministries and religious traditions because of the meaning they used to provide can be a morbid practice. Until Israel let go of Egypt, it could not grasp the Promised Land. We cannot take hold of God's Kingdom until we release our own. The same is true of change. Before we see the benefits that a new program, style, strategy, or ministry will bring, we must let go of some of the things of the past.

Russel Moore