Creating Culture

I was at a VA Lunch yesterday, and Chad Moore from Sun Valley Community Church gave some great insights into what happens in Churches to establish culture. I really should have written this post last night when I was thinking a little more clearly, so sorry for any SVCC readers….who probably remember this material far better than me.

The first step is to establish what people actually think about your church, not what you think about your church. If someone was to walk in on a Sunday, what words would they use to describe your church? We totally have words that we would like them to use, our church is Biblical, Relevant, Engaging, Passionate, Funny, Motivational, Hard Hitting and insightful. All excellent adjectives, but what would people say about your church?

The second step is to understand that the product of your church is dictated by the leadership of your church. The senior pastor and teaching pastor are going to dictate the culture that your church presents. Which means that if the culture sucks, it is because of you. In a micro-environment you can see that in youth groups, you often see the spiritual climate of a youth group reflect the leadership, and direction of the youth leader.

Leadership = Influence (according to Maxwell) Influence comes from trust which is established through integrity and authenticity. Which means that if you are establishing a church culture that is Authentic in its presentation of Jesus, then YOU must be authentic.

Authenticity comes from being vulnerable in communication those of us who connect when we speak, do it through being vulnerable. If we are willing to reveal some of our failings, without dropping our pants for full exposure. People can connect and we can build influence. Authenticity as a leader is where you are willing to admit that you are broken and just as in need of God as everyone else. It is the willingness to say, I have problems and this passage is for me like it is for you.

Culture is built on the backs of who you are, but also how you do things. The context in which you work is significant. How do your leaders act around people, what does your marketing look like? are you striving for excellence? What language do you use? The context in which you bring the message of Jesus will affect the culture of your church.

Content builds culture. You can get chicken anywhere, some places it costs $8 and other places you can pay $25. The content, chicken might still be the same, but the rest of the content is far different. You can have better produce, a more skillful chef, more ingredients, better ingredients. There are a bunch of variables that move the content from $8 to $25. Including the context, where are you eating that chicken, changing the environment changes the context and the price. Classy establishments don’t serve $8 chicken.

It is the same with church, the Content is the same. We preach from the bible and want to be faithful to God. The content of the message though has many factors, and as we look to develop some culture, shooting for the $25 sermon rather that the $8 sermon is the goal. Surround the message with content that enhance clarity for the message of God. People know when you have spent very little time preparing, and you deliver an $8 happy meal.

Remember

Authenticity builds Trust

Trust builds Influence

Influence = Leadership

Our culture is established through that leadership. Which means that if you are the pastor and you are in a church, that does very little, that stagnates, that sees no growth for Jesus. Potentially it is a leadership issue, and not  the churches fault.

(This ENTIRE thought really is the product of Chad Moore Workshop, I just couldn’t remember the other C Context, Content, Character maybe?!)

Authenticity Chad Moore Creating Culture Leadership

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