The Foundation and the Pillar

 I believe we are in the midst of a huge transition period, one that our church may have never seen before. The transition is a huge part of where we are headed and it is very much needed. However in order for us to get there, there are some things we need to be aware of. 

There are several stages to a church’s growth with the very first one being the foundation. It takes several, sometimes many people to build a foundation. Sometimes this foundation will take months, sometimes years to build. After the foundation has been laid you will then begin to see people standing on it as well as people in the background maintaining it to ensure it doesn’t crack or break and if it does they can quickly repair it before any damage is done and before anyone falls through the cracks. 

As the church continues to grow you will at some point begin to see the need and the making of a new foundation. In order for that to happen you will first need to make sure the first foundation is still strong and then you will need to start putting pillars in place so the new foundation can begin to be laid. Here is where I believe that we are at. 

There are several of our people that were at the start of the first foundation, some that came in later to stand on the first foundation, and some that have maintained that first foundation. These people are still very much needed but can no longer be the frontrunners. This is not because they can’t do their jobs or are lazy or that God is done with them, it is because God has not called them to be the frontrunners on this new foundation, God has instead called them to be the pillars. 

A lot of times these people that have been the frontrunners for so long will now start to become the pillars that the new foundation will stand on. They will be the people that the new people who stand on the new foundation learn from. They will be the very people holding the new foundation up so that when and if the new foundation cracks, it can be quickly repaired; again before any damage is done and before anyone falls through the cracks. 

During this transition while the old frontrunners are being moved down to pillars and new frontrunners are being put in their place a lot of times the old frontrunners feel they are being replaced, they feel that they have done something wrong or that they are not needed anymore and that is the farthest from the truth. If we didn’t have them we couldn’t build a new foundation. Without them there is no way we could be where we are now needing a new foundation. 

I believe it is very important that these people understand what God is calling them to do and be. I believe that it is important that the new frontrunners understand that they couldn’t have this new foundation without the pillars being in place. They both need to know the importance of each other. 

I believe that when these people are being moved that it is important for them to understand that they are not being replaced and for them to understand their new role and to take it very seriously. 

I believe that there is a way to move people around in such a way that when they are moved into a new position their hearts and souls are set on fire to continue the mission God has called them to. 

So how do we do this? I believe that when we move them we know in advance the position they are being put in, that we already have somewhat of a knowing of what is expected of them. When we begin to move them it is imperative that we understand that it is not just them it will effect. It will affect their ministry, their volunteers, and their families. It is also important to understand how they will feel when this change happens, so it is important that when we make this change we do it in person, we don’t do it over a phone call, email, text, ect. We need to be able to see their faces, we need to be able to lift them up then and there, we need to be able then and there to set such a passion and fire in their hearts and souls that they will gratefully move into this new position with grace and running after Jesus with their hearts and souls on fire for Him. It is also important that they know how thankful we are for them helping us to get to this new place and that they know that there is no way we could be here without them. They need to know that their story doesn’t end here but that a new chapter in their life is starting. A chapter with new challenges, new things to learn, and a new place they will be leading.

It is equally important that the new frontrunners understand what they are getting into as well. That they are either helping to build a new foundation or coming into stand on this new foundation. It is important for them to understand the importance of the pillars and not to treat them as if they have been tossed aside. They need to understand that they would not have a foundation to build or stand on without these pillars. There should be room for the pillars to be able to speak into the new frontrunners' lives, to give them guidance, to help them stand up when they are fixing to fall. To encourage them when they hit a new level and they are running blind because they have never been here before.  

It is just like when you go off to battle, eventually the frontrunners will have to come off the front line either due to injuries, being tired, or they have hit new ground and they need someone else with more power to push through. There is no difference. 

It is also important to understand the new frontrunners feelings, therefore again when they take this new position, it is done in person so that you can share with them the vision, help them understand the culture they are walking into, to encourage them, and again to set a fire in their hearts and souls that they go out running for Jesus. 

The other people involved in this are the volunteers and leaders that will stay in the same place. Their old leader is being moved into a new position and a new leader is coming in to lead them. Again it is important they understand what is happening. They need to know that their old leader did nothing wrong and that the reason for the new leader is to help lead us into this new foundation we are now on. 

If we don’t do this the right way, it will be a great disaster and total loss in the long run. If the old frontrunners get moved in the wrong way with no vision, no gratitude, and no one to set a fire in them they will feel they are useless and not needed and either leave or not do their job to the fullest. This is the same for the new frontrunner, if they are put in place without knowing what is going on and then have to find out everything as they go, you will see them start to slow, you will slowly see that passion and fire leaving until they either leave or again don’t do there job to the fullest. This again is true for the leaders and volunteers that will stay in the same place but will have a new leader. If they are not told why their old leader is being replaced, they will start to wonder what happened for their leader to  have to be replaced, they will start to talk, they will not take too kindly to their new leader and again will either end up leaving or not do their job to the fullest. 

When this happens it is not just the leaders, the volunteers, their families, their ministries that will suffer but the entire church and ultimately the entire kingdom of God will suffer due to this. When and if  this does happen if it is not taken care of quickly you will start to see people in the church talking and eventually leave. This is disastrous because not only is the church losing people, but the church is losing its chance to lead people to Christ and when that happens, you will lose the chance to lead their families to Christ, you will lose the chance to see those people whom you didn’t lead to Christ lead others to Christ and at that point you are not just looking at a handful of people not coming to know Christ but very possibly generations of people not coming to know Christ because the person you were supposed to lead to Christ you didn’t and couldn’t.