change management

At my job I sell software solutions to special educators which helps them do their job more easily and thoroughly and quickly.

When a school buys my software, a brilliant team of people set out to train this new customer how to use the solution... they spend days training one on one and hands on...

and recently I overheard one of these trainers talk about 'change management'. It's probably a new buzzphrase in business, but it is a very apt description for what these trainers do. Most of our new customers have used some software before, and are replacing it with ours.... they are changing! and that change is no small matter... sometimes they employ hundreds of teachers who were doing just fine, thank you, with the old system and are not looking forward to learning a new system!

As I think about change management, I am reminded that that's exactly what living is about... as legendary coach John Wooden said, "there is no progress without change". And since we will all 'progress' as we live each day, that necessitates change...

so how do we 'manage' that change? on a personal level.... and on a 'church' level, how do we approach it?

the answer to this question is vital to our healthy growth as a person and as a congregation...

Rick Atchley (preaching minister at Richland Hills Church in Dallas) introduced me to a concept which, I believe, is very revealing as to how we attack change... as we are faced with organic change, will we see everything as an either/or proposition? will we see some things as a both/and question?

think about it!

more later...

Blessings!