Broaden and Deepen Your Leadership Base
A congregation can only adapt new ways of doing ministry as the leadership base broadens in number and deepens in their understanding of and commitment to being missionally effective in their community. So, developing a sufficient and unified leadership base that can give guidance in new ways to the congregation is crucial. In most congregations, this may best happen through regularly meeting of key leaders in order to cultivate a common sense of purpose and perspective. Read through and discuss one or more of the following books:

• The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church. Reggie McNeal (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003)
• Taking the Next Step: Leading Lasting Change in the Church. Lovett H. Weems Jr. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003)
• The Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Robert Schnase (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007)
• Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism. Martha Grace Reese (St. Louis, Missouri: Chalice Press, 2006)
• Becoming a Blessed Church: forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power. N Graham Standish (Herndon, VA: The Alban Institute, 2005)

Invite new and spiritually mature persons into the group that have the capacity for leadership and for “getting it.” Be careful not to alienate those “movers and shakers” who do not yet “get it” and yet who have the resources (financial or political) either to make things happen or to keep things from happening. Patiently allow the Holy Spirit to work among the leaders in gaining a deeper sense of what being faithful to Christ and fruitful in His ministry might look like for them personally, for their congregation and in their community.

A word of caution: remember that a leader without followers is just somebody out taking a walk. Many efforts at congregational transformation are derailed by pushing too much too quickly and creating an adversarial, “us against them” environment. Even when a few key leaders are “right” about a particular change, without having a sufficient leadership base and a critical mass of people wanting to move in a new direction, you may win the battle for the moment and lose the war in the long run. As your expanding group of leaders prayerfully seeks God’s heart for your congregation, expect the Holy Spirit to change people’s hearts. How can you help people see a new and enticing future into which Christ invites them to join Him -- and into which they then choose willingly, even enthusiastically and selflessly to move together? Some people may choose not to go with you on this journey and leave the church; however, you will need enough people going with you to make journey.