“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Since hearing this quote from Peter Drucker last year, I’ve been thinking about how it applies to our church and my plans for our future together.
I’m a planner. I like methods and systems. I know that growth cannot be reduced to a plan, but I rarely see things happen without one. At the same time, I’ve become increasingly convinced that without a healthy culture, plans are bound to fail.
Culture is something that’s hard to put your finger on. It’s the environment and atmosphere. It’s what’s “in the air.” And that air can either be toxic like smog or life-giving like oxygen. Many good people feel restless and frustrated with their churches for decades, but can’t put their finger on what’s wrong. Sometimes the problem is their church’s culture. They’ve been breathing polluted air for years and they feel the effects on their spiritual lungs.
Culture is what’s “in the air,” and that air can either be toxic like smog or life-giving like oxygen.
A healthy church culture doesn’t develop overnight. It is largely the result of good beliefs and practices over time. And when a church’s culture has been unhealthy, it can’t be corrected overnight. It takes time to get the toxins out of the air and to help people heal from its harmful effects.
My prayer is for our church’s culture to be safe, spiritual, transparent, authentic, trusting, truthful, and caring, so that people feel refreshed just by being there. Our church culture is never going to be perfect, and at times we may have to struggle through some “storm clouds” in the atmosphere. But as we continue to love one another from a pure heart and make every effort to keep in step with the Spirit, I am confident that our culture will become even more healthy and life-giving.
My prayer is for our church’s culture to be safe, spiritual, transparent, authentic, trusting, truthful, and caring, so that people feel refreshed just by being there.
If you are a church member, start with introspection. How am I contributing, positively or negatively, to our church’s culture? What “vibe” do I give off? How do I make people feel? Am I modeling what I want to see in our church? If I want our church to have a transparent culture, am I taking the risk of acknowledging my struggles at prayer request time? If I want our church to have a caring culture, am I showing compassion through my tone, words, and actions?
Leaders are major culture-shapers, but every church member has a role to play. Start by doing what you can today to help your church have a more healthy culture.
