Change and the church

There’s an old joke that goes like this:

Q: How many people does it take to change a light bulb in a church?
A: Change ??

Is it hard for church members to change? Why might this be? And is there a remedy?

Why people resist change

If things are going well, it is natural to resist change. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

“Change resistance is essentially our mind’s way of protecting us from perceived threats or discomfort associated with altering our current state.” (NeuroLaunch)

Delving deeper, psychologists have found many reasons why people may resist change. Some of the most important:

Fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, anxiety about loss of control. With any change comes uncertainty and this can induce anxiety, fear and resistance to change.
Comfort. The old way is known and comfortable, “tried and true”. Change may not be true to the original vision or idea, so it takes us out of our comfortable routine and habits.
Self identity. “Changes that threaten our sense of who we are can trigger strong resistance.”
Inflexibility. Some people find it harder to adapt their thinking. They may only see the short term impacts and not see the longer term benefits.
Loss aversion. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. “We tend to overvalue what we already have and undervalue potential gains.”
Social conformity. It is often easiest to do the same as our friends and peers.
Mistrust. People may not trust those suggesting or making change.
Apathy. Change will often require effort and maybe we just can’t be bothered.

Church members & change

It is easy to see that some of these factors may be especially prevalent in Christians.

The old ways may be seen as holy or initiated by God. So some Christians may feel deep loyalty to the old traditions, and thus have some sense of anxiety or discomfort in moving away from them.

When so much in the world is changing so fast, some people look to the church to be a place of order, continuity and tradition. These people may also feel anxious or discomforted by having to face change in the church too.

Religious habits and beliefs tend to be held more strongly than others. Church communities may have strong social cohesion. So church members may hold their reistance to change with religious conviction.

So resistance to change may often be more about feeling a threat to something that is valued, not simply stubbornness.

Behind these responses

Our response to change is affected by several psychological (mind) and neurological (brain) factors.

Psychological factors

Psychologists have found that people can use two different types of thinking to make decisions.

Analytical thinking

Analytical thinking involves logical reasoning, critical analysis, and evidence-based decision-making. It is generally accurate, but takes time and brain energy that we may not have, or may not wish to bother with. It isn’t required for many decisions.

Intuitive thinking

Intuitive thinking is fast and easier, and relies on gut feelings, heuristics, and mental shortcuts. Most of our less important choices (e.g. choosing a meal at a restaurant) are made intuitively. But this rapid decision-making comes at a cost of possible errors in important decisions because of incomplete information.

Heuristics are rules of thumb that work most of the time, but may not be reliable all the time. For example:

What has worked well in the past may be a good indication of what will work this time, but it may not be reliable if the situation is different.
If we think a choice is unimportant, we may go with the first thought we have as this saves time and thinking. But this heuristic doesn’t serve us well in important matters.
If our existing views have served us well, we will naturally find them useful in judging new ideas. So we can intuitively prefer ideas which support our existing views (confirmation bias). If new information conflicts with our existing beliefs, it creates mental discomfort (cognitive dissonance), tempting us to reject it.

Hueristics will be most useful when we are faced with either too much or too little information, when we have limited time, when the decision is unimportant, or when an appropriate heuristic occurs to us. But sometimes there is more information if we search for it, or the matter is more important than we think, and we don’t give the matter due consideration.

Most of us ….

Most of us use both types of thinking at times. In some cases we will initially think intuitively to come to a quick answer, and then think further in analytical mode.

Scientists, engineers and managers will generally need analytical thinking to do their work, whereas creatives will likely use intuitive. Some people appear to rarely use analytical thinking.

Intuitive thinking & religious belief

Studies have shown that religious believers are more likely to use intuitive and heuristic thinking than non-believers. They are thus likely to make choices based on tradition and habit and so may avoid change. Analytical thinkers are generally more able to change, and to consider change carefully.

So how we think can affect our willingness to change and those looking to make change should take this into account.

Neurological factors

Fear and reward are influential in how our brains respond to new ideas

The amygdala and fear

Fear is a necessary human response to danger, part of our survival system. Our brain is alerted to make a quick response – “fight or flight” – to deal with the danger.

Deep in our brains is the amygdala, a section of the brain that processess emotions. When new information comes in via our senses, the amydala evaluates the significance of sensory information, especially looking for potential threats (or rewards).

Other parts of the brain will analyse the input and make appropriate choices, but the amygdala will react quickly if it sees a potential threat. Our brains have evolved not to take risks with possible threats – we will react first and then work out later if that response was necessary.

That is why our inital response to a surprise will likely be to jump, the first step in fight or flight.

In the modern world, many of our fears don’t arise from a sudden threat, but from a more settled sense of something not being good for us, for example, financial stress. The amygdala deals with these fears as well, plus sometimes reinforcing memories of threatening events.

Studies have shown that more conservative people have a slightly larger and more active amygdala. This difference is small but may sometimes affect political views, and may even have some impact in churches also. So more conservative people may be more likely to resist change based on perceived threats and fears.

Dopamine & reward

Dopamine is a chemical that is released in our brains when we do rewarding or pleasurable things. It reinforces the pleasure and causes us to want to do the same thing again. Dopamine can reward us for doing familiar things, and so may also lead us to be resistant to change.

Brain plasticity

It may seem as if our brains work against change and there is little we can do about it. But that isn’t the whole story.

Our brains’ neural pathways can be changed so that we think differently. If we challenge ourselves to try new things and have new experiences, we can help our brains be more flexible and able to change.

So our fear and reward systems can be re-calibrated.

Two caveats

These findings are not value judgments on conservative Christians, they are simply facts about how our brains work. It isn’t a matter of blame, but of understanding.
These are broad generalisations, a possible trend among believers. Many other factors are at work too. There will be many believers who think more analytically and so respond differently.

Making change in churches

Understanding how our brains work can help us understand not only why change can be difficult in churches, but how it may nevertheless be promoted.

One clear message is that facts alone are unlikely to convince anyone who isn’t ready for those facts. Some people will need to be reassured and feel comfortable before they can consider change and the reasons for it.

Ten strategies

These ten strategies come from more than half a dozen church strategists.

1. Make change normal

If church services are the same every week, attendees are settling into habits and learning to value things not changing – exactly the opposite of what helps neuroplasticity. Change will become very difficult.

So keeping things different and variable will not only keep things fresh and interesting, it will help people be more mentally prepared for change. Pastors can promote the idea that change is normal and good, not for its sake, but because the mission of the church is always open to change so it can be presented in contemporary ways.

All this can be well before change is needed.

2. Go gradually

Change can be a medicine that some people can’t swallow in one gulp. But if ideas are presented gradually, with contextual explanations, people can be desensitised by gradual exposure.

So change is best done slowly – start small and build up gradually as people come to feel change is safe and can accept the change.

3. Build trust

Lack of trust is a major source of resistance to change. So trust must be built before change is attemped. If people trust the leader, they’re more willing to follow into uncertainty. (Most of these 10 steps will help build trust.)

“The speed of change should never exceed the speed of trust.”

4. Honour the past

People have committed time and energy to bring a church to where it is today. The way things have been done has had value that we can respect without wanting it to never change. Change is far more palatable when people feel their history is respected.

Framing change as an extension of the community’s core values — rather than a departure — reduces the felt threat significantly.

5. Genuine participation

There are many reasons why change will be easier if everyone involved has a part in it. People who help shape a change feel ownership over it. It has the benefit of collective wisdom. It helps identify obstacles, questions and solutions. It prevents dictatorial action.

Listening and asking questions is a very good place to start, before any decisions are made and change begun.

6. Clarify vision

There has to be a good reason to make changes. Perhaps it is only to have variety that allows different people to be ministered to. But sometimes it will be much more critical.

Sometimes change is necessary for the mission of the church. Perhaps the population demographics in the area have changed and the church isn’t offering what is needed. Perhaps newcomers don’t relate to the established culture of the church. Perhaps families are finding it difficult to fit into the current arrangements.

The vision is to make disciples as Jesus asked us to (Matthew 28:18-20). He calls us to be willing to make sacrifices to follow him (Luke 9:23). This must be the basis of major changes. It needs to be communicated that way.

So leaders must share the vision with the entire church community, listen to responses, discuss ways forward. Keep repeating the vision and progress on working out strategies. The aim is for the whole congregation to own the vision and therefore the strategies to achieve it.

7. Tell success stories

Stories encourage and illustrate in practical ways. They can be other churches who have made similar changes, or successes in your own church as changes take effect.

It seems to me that reports and stories from the church’s ministries should be regular parts of gatherings, not just when change is happening.

8. Work with early adopters

Some people are early adopters and others resist change. It is better to work positively with those willing to change rather than argue with those who are resistant. Identify and empower those most open to change, and let their successful experience help more cautious people become more comfortable over time.

9. Start with the easiest

Some changes are more obvious, easier and more likely to be accepted without much question. It makes sense to go for these “low hanging fruit” first and build momentum and acceptance before tackling harder things.

10. Pray

It is good to understand psychology and neurology, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to pray. If we believe this is God’s work, we’ll want to offer him our best by doing due diligence and learning as much as we can about people, change and the church’s situation.

But we also cannot do without the guidance and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Helpful info on change & the church

Psychology of Change Resistance: Why Humans Struggle with Transformation. NeuroLaunch
The Psychology of Change: Why We Resist It and How to Overcome It. Good Change People.
Change Management. Carey Nieuwhof.
Why Your Church Resists Change (and what helps). ChurchPlanting.com
Setting the Stage for Successful Change in the Church. Leaders.Church.

Photo: Johannes Plenio & unkleE

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