Abstract
Little has been done to address the issue of how to overcome resistance to
change in a change effort in the church world. “How to overcome
resistance to change?” is a question that requires serious consideration
among church leaders. Church leaders continue to act in ways that
produce resistance to change and ultimately failed change efforts. These
actions on the part of church leaders often strengthen and reinforce the
sources of resistance to change, making it very difficult for change to be
accepted by church members.
A literature study design was used to conduct this research.
The purpose of this research was to:
• Understand the phenomenon of resistance to change
• To determine the actions of leaders that generate resistance to
change
• To determine how church leaders can overcome resistance to
change
The research indicates that church leaders make too many errors in a
change process that generates resistance to change. The research has
found eight actions of leaders that generates resistance to change by
followers. Apart from the eight actions of leaders that produce resistance
to change, many change agents continue to function as managers and not
leaders in a change process. This results in further resistance to change.
The research clearly shows that for church leaders to effectively
overcome resistance to change, they need to follow a multi-stage change
process, which is comprehensive, sequential and one that develops
naturally and addresses all the sources of resistance to change. The
research shows that church leaders should not skip or race through the
steps or fail to reinforce earlier steps in the process of overcoming
resistance to change. The researcher recommends nine steps that can be
used by church leaders to overcome resistance to change and thus
facilitate change successfully.
Dr. B.J. Geyser