Keywords
Turnaround churches
Transformational Leadership
Resistance in ministries
How to Cite
Abstract
Changing an organization is difficult. Changing a church may even be more challenging since it is often deeply rooted in traditions and its theological-spiritual dimension is shaped by narratives, norms, and values. Nevertheless, to reach people with the gospel today, change is necessary. Resistance to change, however, is not foreign to church leaders.
The research questions in this paper are: What causes resistance to change among congregation leaders and members, and how can leaders respond to it? The basis for their discussion is a review of the research literature on resistance to change.
Most studies of this kind are conducted in contexts other than churches. Nevertheless, researchers studying Christian leadership conclude that most of this research is relevant to change management in local churches. Still, some of the conclusions must be adjusted to the specific context of churches, such as their theological traditions, spiritual practices, volunteering, and reduced positional influence.
This paper identifies the causes of resistance to change. Leaders may themselves unintentionally contribute to such resistance when change is implemented without sufficient participation, empathy, or transparency. Resistance is framed as both a challenge and a way for people to make sense of change and seek to preserve what they hold sacred. We suggest viewing resistance as part of a meaning-making process, using transformational leadership practices, fostering dialogue, and allowing space for resistance as a means of reducing it. Humility, attentiveness, and discernment can help leaders foster deeper trust and co-create sustainable transformation. Change in churches requires more than structural adjustments; it calls for wise, relational leadership that honors both the past and Spirit-led renewal.
References
Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 50(2), 179-211.
Amason, A. C. (1996). Distinguishing the effects of functional and dysfunctional conflict on strategic decisionmaking: Resolving a paradox for top management teams. Academy of Management Journal, 39(1),123-148. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9603040292&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live
Barrett, F. J., & Thomas, G. F. (1995). The central role of discourse in large-scale change: A social construction perspective. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 352. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=snh&AN=9509051037&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. Free Press.
Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational Leadership. L. Erlbaum Associates.
Bohm, D. (1996). On Dialogue. Routledge.
Bommer, W. H., Rich, G. A., & Rubin, R. S. (2005). Changing attitudes about change: longitudinal effects of transformational leader behavior on employee cynicism about organizational change. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(7), 733-753. 10.1002/job.342 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=18534995&site=ehost-live
Booth, A., Sutton, A., & Papaioannou, D. (2016). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review (2 ed.). Sage.
Brehm, J. W. (1966). A Theory of Psychological Resistance. Academic Press.
Bretherton, R., & Dunbar, R. I. (2020). Dunbar’s number goes to church: The social brain hypothesis as a third strand in the study of church growth. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 42(1), 63-76.
Bruckman, J. C. (2008). Overcoming resistance to change: Causal factors, interventions, and critical values. Psychologist-Manager Journal, 11(2), 211-219. 10.1080/10887150802371708 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=34507259&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Brunsson, N. (1985). The Irrational Organization. Irrationality as a Basis for Organizational Change. Wiley.
Bryman, A. (2008). Social Research Methods (3 ed.). Oxford University Press.
Burnes, B. (2020). The Origins of Lewin's Three-Step Model of Change [Article]. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(1), 32-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886319892685
Caruth, D., Middlebrook, B., & Rachel, F. (1985). Overcoming resistance to change. SAM Advanced Management Journal (07497075), 50(3), 23. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=4604327&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Cobb, A. T., Wooten, K., & Folger, R. (1995). Justice in the making: Toward understanding the theory and practice of justice in organizational change and development. In W. A. Pasmore & R. W. Woodman (Eds.), Research in Organizational Change and Development (Vol. 8, pp. 243-295). JAI Press.
Connor, D. R. (1995). Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient Managers Succeed and Prosper Where Others Fail. Villard Books.
Cox, H. (1986). Power. In J. F. Childress & J. Macquarrie (Eds.), The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics Philadelphia, Pa.
De Dreu, C. K. W., & Weingart, L. R. (2003). Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(4),741-749. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=10775500&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live
Dent, E. B., & Goldberg, S. G. (1999). Challenging 'Resistance to Change.'. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 35(1), 25. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=1568851&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
DePaulo, B. M., Kashy, D. A., Kirkendol, S. E., Wyer, M. M., & Epstein, J. A. (1996). Lying in everyday life. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 70(5), 979-995. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9606262517&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Duck, J. D. (2001). The Change Monster: The Human Force that Fuel or Foil Corporate Transformation and Change. Crown Business.
Eden, D. (1984). Self-fulfilling prophecy as a management tool: Harnessing pygmalion. The Academy of Management Review, 9(1), 64-73. http://www.jstor.org/stable/258233
Folger, R., & Skarlicki, D. P. (1999). Unfairness and resistance to change: hardship as mis-treatment. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 12(1), 35. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3996998&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Ford, J. D. (1999). Organizational change as shifting conversations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 12(6), 480-500. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=17990139&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Ford, J. D., & Ford, L. W. (1995). The role of conversation in producing intentional change. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 541-570. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9508080330&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Ford, J. D., & Ford, L. W. (2009). Decoding resistance to change. Harvard business review, 87(4), 99-103. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=37021976&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Ford, J. D., Ford, L. W., & D'Amelio, A. (2008). Resistance to change. The rest of the sto-ry. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 362-377. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=31193235&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
George, C., & Bird, W. (2017). How to Break Growth Barriers: Capturing Overlooked Opportunities for Church Growth Baker Books.
Gioia, D. A., Thomas, J. B., Clark, S. M., & Chittipeddi, K. (1994). Symbolism and strategic change in academia: The dynamics of sensemaking and influence. Organization Science, 5(3), 363-383. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=4434740&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Green Jr, S. E. (2004). A rhetorical theory of diffusion. Academy of Management Review, 29(4), 653-669. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=14497653&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J., & Rapson, R. (1994). Emotional contagion. Cambridge University Press.
Herold, D. M., Fedor, D. B., & Caldwell, S. D. (2007). Beyond change management: A multilevel investigation of contextual and personal influences on employees' commitment to change. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(4), 942-951. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=25742202&site=ehost-live
Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewin's change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of innovation & knowledge, 3(3), 123-127.
Jenssen, J. I. (2018). Leadership and Church Identity. A Discussion of How Leadership in the Local Church Can Help to Realize the True Nature of the Church. Scandinavian Journal on Leadership and Theology, 5.
Jenssen, J. I. (2020). How church leadership may influence growth by applying an organizational life cycle perspective on church development: A literature study. Scandinavian Journal for Leadership and Theology, 7.
Jenssen, J. I., & Randøy, T. (2002). Factors that promote innovation in shipping companies. Maritime Policy and Management. An International Journal of Shipping and Port Research, 29(2).
Jenssen, J. I., & Randøy, T. (2006). The performance effect of innovation in shipping companies. Maritime Policy and Management. An International Journal of Shipping and Port Re-search, 33(4), 327-343.
Kanter, R. M., Stein, B. A., & Jick, T. D. (1992). The Challenge of organizational change: How companies experience it and leaders guide it. Free Press.
Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2003). Tipping point leadership. Harvard business review, 81(4), 60-69. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9489097&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Knowles, E. S., & Linn, J. A. (2004a). The importance of resistance to persuation. In E. S. Knowles & J. A. Linn (Eds.), Resistance and persuation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Knowles, E. S., & Linn, J. A. (2004b). The promise and future of resistance and persuasion. In E. S. Knowles & J. A. Linn (Eds.), Resistance and Persuasion (pp. 301-310). Lawrence, Erlbaum Associates.
Kotter, J. P. (1995). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard business review, 73(2), 59-67. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9503281992&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Kotter, J. P., & Schlesinger, L. A. (2008). Choosing strategies for change. Harvard business review, 86(7/8), 130-139. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=32709007&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2020). Project Management: The Managerial Process (7 ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotions and adaptions. Oxford University Press.
Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science. Harper & Row.
Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B., & Lampel, J. (2009). Strategy Safari. Your Complete Guide Through the Wilds of Strategic Mangement (2 ed.). Prentice Hall.
Mintzberg, H., & Waters, J. A. (1985). Of Strategies, deliberate and emergent. Strategic Management Journal, 6(3), 257-272. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=12494995&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Morrison, E. W., & Robinson, S. L. (1997). When an employee feel betrayed: A model of how psychological contract violation develops. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 226-256. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9707180265&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Nemanich, L. A., & Keller, R. T. (2007). Transformational leadership in an acquisition: A field study of employees. Leadership Quarterly, 18(1), 49-68. 10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.11.003. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=23948315&site=ehost-live
Oreg, S., & Berson, Y. (2010). Leadership and employees' reactions to change: The role of leaders' personal attributes and transformational leadership style. Personell Psychology, Accepted for publication.
Piderit, S. K. (2000). Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multidimentional view of attitudes toward an organizational change. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 783-794. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3707722&login.asp&site=ehost-live
Quereshi, M. Y., & Strauss, L. A. (1980). Innunization of controverted belief through group discussion. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 8(2), 229. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=8651289&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Råmunddal, L. (2011). Konsept og endring. En studie av hvordan lokale ekklesiologier formes. Tapir Akademisk Forlag.
Råmunddal, L. (2015). Den normative basis for menighetsutvikling II: Et bibel-teologisk normativt perspektiv. . In J. I. Jenssen, L. Råmunddal, & A. Barbosa da Silva (Eds.), Menighetsutvikling og endringsledelse. Under publisering.
Robert, F., Folger, R., Daniel, P. S., & Skarlicki, D. P. (1999). Unfairness and resistance to change: Hardship as mistreatment. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 12(1), 35. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3996998&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Rousseau, D. M. (1998). The "problem" of the psychological contract considered. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19, 665-671. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=17074226&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Schaller, L. (1993). Strategies For Change. Abingdon Press.
Schein, E. H. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership (1 ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership (Fourth ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Scott, M. B., & Lyman, S. M. (1968). Accounts. American Sociological Review, 33(1), 46-62. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=12766430&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Searcy, N. (2012). 5 Barriers to Church Growth. Outreach Magazin. Retrieved 8. Jan. 2019, from https://outreachmagazine.com/features/3501-nelson-searcy-5-barriers-to-church-growth.html
Spreitzer, G. M., & Quinn, R. E. (1996). Empowering middle managers to be transformational leaders. NTL Institute for Behavioral Sciences. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=snh&AN=9609223308&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Strawbridge, J. R. (2009). The word of the cross: Mission, power, and the theology of leadership. Anglican Theological Review, 91(1), 61-79. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=reh&AN=ATLA0001710573&login.asp&site=ehost-live
Tangen, K.-I. (2024). S-E-R-V-E: A theoretical framework for Christian leadership. Scandi-navian Journal for Leadership and Theology, 10. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53311/sjlt.v10.106
Tangen, K.-I. (2025). S-E-R-V-E: A model of sustainable leadership. Scandinavian Journal for Leadership and Theology, 12.
Tenbrunsel, A. E. (1998). Misrepresentation and expectations of misinterpretation in an ethical dilemma: The role of incentives and temptation. Academy of Management Journal, 41(3), 330-339. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=953552&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Thomas, J. B., Clark, S. M., & Gioia, D. A. (1993). Strategic sensemaking performance: Linkages among scanning, interpretation, action, and outcome Academy of Management Journal, 36(2), 239-270. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=3997486&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Tomlinson, E. C., Dineen, B. R., & Lewicki, R. J. (2004). The road to reconciliation: Antecedents of victim willingness to reconcile following a broken promise. Journal of Man-agement, 30(2), 165. 10.1016/j.jm.2003.01.003 http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=12238319&loginpage=login.asp&site=ehost-live
Van De Mieroop, D., Clifton, J., & Verhelst, A. (2020). Investigating the interplay between formal and informal leaders in a shared leadership configuration: A multimodal conversation analytical study. Human Relations, 73(4), 490-515.
Veestraeten, M., Johnson, S. K., Leroy, H., Sy, T., & Sels, L. (2021). Exploring the bounds of Pygmalion effects: Congruence of implicit followership theories drives and binds leader performance expectations and follower work engagement. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 28(2), 137-153.
Visser, M. (2010). The future of church growth research. Evangelical Mission Quarterly(April).
Wagner, C. P. (1984). Leading your Church To Growth. March Europe.
Weick, K. E. (1969). The social psychology of organizing. Addison-Wesley.
Yukl, G., & Gardner, W. L. (2019). Leadership in Organizations (8, Global edition ed.). Pearson.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jan Inge Jenssen, Styrkår Dramstad