We recently upgraded all of our computers to Office 2013. The biggest problem we have run into so far is with Powerpoint. Older versions of Powerpoint had something called “Presenter View” where you could see what slides were coming up, click on any of them and get their quickly. Well, Microsoft just ruined it all. The new Powerpoint has something by the same name, but that function has been stripped out. Now you have to click a button mid-presentation to see all the slides, click on the one you want, and it will go there. That is an eternity when people are left gazing at the wrong song or wrong verse on the screen. It really made me wonder if the guys put in charge of updating powerpoint had ever actually used powerpoint in front of real people before. If you haven’t experienced an encounter with meaningless change with Microsoft products you have undoubtedly experienced this with Facebook.
Sometimes in congregational life, things get changed for the sake of change. There isn’t necessarily a rhyme or reason for it, we just thought it might be nice to snazz something up a bit or maybe the change occurred because no one was paying attention and it just happened. Change is healthy. Change is necessary. But change needs to get us closer to the win, not further from it. What is more, a change can be great and needed but poorly communicated. When that happens, what would have and could have been a tremendous win gets tossed out by people who weren’t ready for the adjustment. That’s just poor leadership.
It is imperative that we lead people through change. It is equally imperative that we adequately assess why we do the things we do and whether or not it is biblical and functional. Change can be exciting but we don’t change for excitement’s sake. We change because we think we can do a better job embracing and accomplishing the mission God has given us in Christ.
One Response
Ha! Spoken like a true Microsoft survivor!