Small Church Pastor
Coaching, Consulting, and Resources for Pastors of Smaller Churches.
Encouragement 4 U
Copyright, Dave Jacobs 2010
| Encouragement, hope, and ideas for you. |
"It's not about success, it's
about significance."
- Dave Jacobs
about significance."
- Dave Jacobs
Don't grease the squeaky wheel
by Dave Jacobs
by Dave Jacobs
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e-newsletter. This is an extension of my
website and designed to keep you informed
of new articles and resources on this site.
Sign up today and I'll send you a free copy
of my Better Sermons in Less Time
workbook.
I was recently on the phone with a new pastor who wanted my opinion. Apparently he had been
experimenting on Sunday mornings with allowing time for people to “share” things they felt God was
“giving” them. This isn’t an easy thing to manage. You get good sharing and bad sharing. Some stuff is
from God and some from who knows where. Doing it and making it work is like trying to herd cats.
Anyways…one individual in his church had contacted him to let him know that he did not like this new
change in the program. “This is weird. It’s out of control. This will turn off visitors,” said the squeaky
wheel. The pastor told me, “Dave, maybe I should go back to the way we did things before. Maybe this
guy is right.” And then, without even thinking, I said, “Remember this principle…never change your
direction or practices because of one or two people.”
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to keep everyone happy. I’m not suggesting we try to make people
unhappy, but you can’t please everyone. I remember one wise old pastor who told me, “You can’t avoid
offending people. You’re going to offend. You might as well decide who you’re going to offend and offend
them. They’ll leave, but they probably would have left anyway.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about his wisdom
but it made me laugh, and maybe he’s not too far from the truth.
I don’t know how many times I changed something just because a squeaky wheel I didn’t want to offend
didn’t like something we were doing. Eight times out of ten that person left anyway. Never change your
direction, practices or policies just because one or two people squeak. Chances are a year from now
they won’t even be in your church.
I’m not saying we don’t listen to people. I’m not promoting being head-strong and plowing forward no
matter what others say. God can speak to us through our people. They will, at times, have good ideas
and suggestions we need to hear. Having said all that, they can also misdirect us. So remember, never
change your direction, practices or policies just because of one or two people. Don’t grease the squeaky
wheel.
Your friend,
Dave
experimenting on Sunday mornings with allowing time for people to “share” things they felt God was
“giving” them. This isn’t an easy thing to manage. You get good sharing and bad sharing. Some stuff is
from God and some from who knows where. Doing it and making it work is like trying to herd cats.
Anyways…one individual in his church had contacted him to let him know that he did not like this new
change in the program. “This is weird. It’s out of control. This will turn off visitors,” said the squeaky
wheel. The pastor told me, “Dave, maybe I should go back to the way we did things before. Maybe this
guy is right.” And then, without even thinking, I said, “Remember this principle…never change your
direction or practices because of one or two people.”
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to keep everyone happy. I’m not suggesting we try to make people
unhappy, but you can’t please everyone. I remember one wise old pastor who told me, “You can’t avoid
offending people. You’re going to offend. You might as well decide who you’re going to offend and offend
them. They’ll leave, but they probably would have left anyway.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about his wisdom
but it made me laugh, and maybe he’s not too far from the truth.
I don’t know how many times I changed something just because a squeaky wheel I didn’t want to offend
didn’t like something we were doing. Eight times out of ten that person left anyway. Never change your
direction, practices or policies just because one or two people squeak. Chances are a year from now
they won’t even be in your church.
I’m not saying we don’t listen to people. I’m not promoting being head-strong and plowing forward no
matter what others say. God can speak to us through our people. They will, at times, have good ideas
and suggestions we need to hear. Having said all that, they can also misdirect us. So remember, never
change your direction, practices or policies just because of one or two people. Don’t grease the squeaky
wheel.
Your friend,
Dave
