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I’m not sure if you know about the project management program called Basecamp.  Lots of organizations, especially some we work with, use it as a way to keep things moving.  It lets you share documents and keep track of who’s doing what on a project.  It’s popular and has brought a lot of attention, and money, to its creator 37Signals.

Despite that success, and a 96% approval rating by customers, soon Basecamp will be completely rebuilt and redesigned. 

37 Signals Co-founder Jason Fried wrote this in Inc., “The easy thing to do is nothing. But continuing on the current path is a time-tested formula for complacency.”

And compliancy isn’t where the company wants to be.  For eight years, Basecamp has made incremental changes, based on user experiences, which made them successful. A year ago when the team started talking about changes they wanted, they realized the only way to make it happen is to start over -- a task they are excited about but know will come with some resistance.

“Paradoxically, that success makes it harder to change,” wrote Fried.  “As time goes by, people get used to things the way they are. And the more someone is accustomed to doing something a certain way, the harder it is to ask him or her to change. When it comes to introducing ideas, the years have a way of boxing you in.”

I can’t help but think that churches find themselves “boxed in” in similar ways.  They’re doing things the way they’ve always done it because it’s easier than fighting the resistance that might come from change.  And in turn, they find themselves stalled in complacency.  The fear of change, or the challenge of it, seems like a bigger task than just becoming stagnant.  It’s even tougher when you’re looking at something that’s worked well for years.  Take Basecamp for example, it’s been eight years since the launch as it’s still popular.  Your church probably has successful ministries that are doing things now that they started fresh eight years ago.  But it’s tough to look at something that’s worked and say it’s time change it because there is risk involved.

Jason Fried and 37Singals have a lot of credibility for vision and it’s easy to understand why.  How many organizations would look at something that’s popularly working well and say it’s time to make a change?  How many organizations cast such a strong vision for their product that they’re willing to reboot their most popular product?  Some will say it’s radical or reckless, but I think it shows a commitment to best serving their clients.

As a church, I hope you’re finding success in the things you’re doing.  I hope your church is thriving.  I hope there is something you can point to as being good and innovative.  The challenge becomes not to rest on that success but think of how you can build on it for the future—even if it means shaking things up when they’re on a roll.  If you don’t, complacency will eventually set in and the momentum will slow down.  You will “keep on keeping on” yourself into blahness.  We all probably know of churches where this has happened.  There’s a good chance this is the situation in our own church.

Whether your church is rolling on success or caught in a stagnant place, look at this as a nudge to rethink what you’re doing.  Cast and embrace the vision for the future of your church and find ways to build your ministries to better serve your congregation and your community.