24 Aug 06 Speaking of Cheese

In preparation for an upcoming Shepherd / Staff retreat we decided to read a couple of little books together.  I say little because they are short, to the point reads.  The first book Who Moved My Cheese?, by Spencer Johnson, deals with organizational change in a light-hearted manner in a parable about Cheese.

Here’s an excerpt from the forward by Ken Blanchard:

Living in constant white water with the changes occurring all the time at work or in life can be stressful, unless people have a way of looking at change that helps them understand it.

Ken writes about purchasing 200 copies of this book for every person working for his company.  To answer the question, "why give a copy to each person?" he writes:

Because like every company that wants to not only survive in the future but stay competive, [his company like other] companies are constantly changing.  They keep moving our "Cheese."  While in the past we may have wanted loyal employees, today we need flexible people who are not possessive about "the way things are done around here."

I’m faced with a dilemma in my new ministry position.  It is the same dilemma faced by every new minister, every new staff person, every new employee.  We come in with fresh eyes and see things that need to be changed, we see things that need to be fixed.  Ironically changing and fixing these things is usually what leads to us being fired or resigning.

Imagine how much healthier our churches could be if we had more "flexible people who are not possessive about the way things are done."  Imagine how much healthier you and I would be if we could be more flexible and not possessive about the way things are done.