Kevin Ford is the Chief Visionary Officer and Managing Partner of TAG Consulting, a management consulting firm specializing in strategy, leadership and ministry development. TAG's client list includes Merrill Lynch, the Federal Aviation Association and the Salvation Army. While Kevin loves consulting with companies and ministries of all sizes, his passion is to help leaders of the local church.

In his workshop at the 2009 Cornerstone Knowledge Network Conference in Charlotte, Kevin presented on the topic of "Leading Through Change." Here are some of the highlights:

The primary task of leadership is to distinguish between what needs to be preserved and what needs to change. Work on what to preserve before tackling what needs to change.

How do you take your church through the process of change? First, determine what you need to preserve.

What to preserve

1. Code—The things that make you who you are (McDonald’s = golden arches, kids, consistency; Burger King = flame-broiled, have it your way).
2. Core Values—The written expressions of the positive elements of your church's personality. (Some examples from churches include, "Unselfishly serving those who will never sit in our pews." "Grappling with scripture for changing lives together.")
3. Preserve our mission. Mission = purpose + result/benefit + beneficiary. It must be short and concise. A mission statement is a tool for leadership to define what you do and what you don't do. (i.e. U.S. Army's mission: To fight and win the nation's wars.)

How to introduce change

Once you know what you want to preserve in your church, you can begin to identify the changes that need to occur.

1. As the external environment changes, our vision and strategies must adapt. Resistance may emerge. Resistance indicates that you're exercising leadership. You have to pace the change.
2. Preserve the core, but stimulate progress.

A congregation was grappling with whether they should relocate or adapt their facilities to better match the emerging needs of their local community. The pastor asked the congregation what they thought about the idea of their church relocating, hoping they would give him their input. Instead, nearly 200 people left the church after that Sunday.

Instead of presenting change with by suggesting a possible solution, start with a question. For instance, this pastor went back to his congregation and said,"Our building's falling apart and our church doesn't match the demographic anymore. What should we do?"

Church members weighed in and it quickly became obvious that a key strand of their DNA was the church's location. Moving would have killed them. They decided to do a multi-site strategy, so they could keep their primary site. When the pastor went back to his congregation and announced the strategic plan after receiving everyone's input, he got a standing ovation. He learned to start with a question instead of the solution. This is an example of transformational leadership.

Change must be interactive. It's not leadership by consensus; it's gathering information to make right decisions. Consensus is always a byproduct of making good, well-informed decisions.

You can learn more about leading change at TagConsulting.org.

Read more by Kevin Ford: Transforming Church: Bringing Out the Good to Get to Great