How can we create a healthy culture and proper values in our churches? These are notes by Tim Schrader from the Catalyst Leadership Conference:
Groeschel teaches:
• Every organization has an unlimited number of intangibles that create its culture.
• It’s impossible to recreate an environment.
• Culture is way more than buildings, environments, signage or cleanliness.
Values and Culture
• Healthy cultures never happen by accident: they are created. The number one force that shapes your culture is your values.
• What you believe determines how you behave.
• Matthew 9:10-12
• If we value survival we will focus on keeping people happy and be overly-focused on making money.
• If we value tradition, we will focus more on the past than on the opportunities for
ministry that are right in front of us.
• If we value evangelism, we will focus more on those we have not reached than
those we have.
• A strong, effective church is made up of people unified around a strong set of values.
• We need healthy, God-honoring culture in our churches.
• If you want a different kind of culture, you’ve got to change your values.
How Do We Allow our Values to Shape our Culture?
1 – Determine honestly what your actions say you value.
• Every ministry values something.
• Not all values are intentional or clearly articulated.
• Your actions determine what you value.
• There’s often a big difference between what you claim to value and how you behave.
• Your actions speak louder.
2 – Identify the values God has put within YOU.
• Don’t copy other people’s values.
• We can’t be good at being somebody else
• What do you passionately love in ministry?
• What breaks your heart or makes you righteously angry?
• What makes you say, “NOT ON MY WATCH!” • Be honest about what you value.
3 – Narrow your values to ten or fewer.
• If everything is important, nothing will be important.
• If you value everything, you’ll value nothing.
4 – Once you’ve clearly definite your values, describe them in short, life-giving statements.
• If can’t be tweeted they are too long.
• They should be statements that strike emotion and motivate people to action.
• Some of LifeChurch.tv’s values…
• We’ll do anything short of sin to reach more people for Christ.
• If we want to reach people no one is reaching we’ve got to do things other people aren’t doing.
• We aren’t a mega-church, we are a micro church with a mega-vision.
• If your values don’t move you, they won’t move other people.
• Don’t put your values on a wall, put them on your heart and let them bleed out.
5 – Shape your culture and build your people around your values.
• Lead toward your values as if your future depends on it… because it does.
• Organizations don’t change, people change.
• When people change, the organization will follow.
• If you want a different outcome, you’ve got to change the people.
• Hire and recruit for your values.
• Remove people from your organization with distinctly different values.
• If you don’t like where your ministry is going, change directions.
• If you want you’ve always had you should do what you’ve always done.
• If you want what you’ve never had, you should change.
• If something’s not right in your ministry, quit your whining and fix it.
• You have what it takes.
• Use your gift of leadership.
• God put you where you are for a reason.
• God cares more about your church than you do.
• Go and do what only you can do.
• God will empower you to get it done.
Notes from this Catalyst Conference message 2010 are taken from Tim Schrader. timschrader.com. Used by permission of Catalyst Conference.