“The culture of a workplace —an organization’s values norms and practices—has a huge impact on our happiness and success.”― Adam Grant, Author
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This famous quote from leadership coach Peter Drucker means that though strategy is important and necessary for any business or organization—CULTURE—the customs, attitudes, spoken and unspoken contracts, achievements. and behavior characteristics of a social group are more important. This is true in secular society, It is also true in the Church.
Maybe you haven’t noticed, but the Church has been getting a pretty bad rap lately. In a post-Christian society, people say they don’t participate in “organized religion” or that they ‘like Jesus, but not the Church.” In those last few years, the bold criticism and sometimes vitriol with which people refer to the Church and its followers is astounding. Nowadays they’re not just disagreeing with doctrine/teachings or particular Biblical passages; they’re taking a hard look at some Church cultures and saying, “If this is what following Jesus is like, I want no part of it.” The political in-fighting, racism, segregation, lack of diversity, disunity, and the rise of star-making celebrity without holy lifestyles and accountability— among other things—have left a bad taste in the mouths of folks on the outside and on the inside of the Church. People no longer want to “come or go” to our churches. They don’t know that PEOPLE who are Believers in Jesus Christ are the Church, not buildings. Even Christians who have been members for decades now post negative opinions about the Church on social media about people they once loved, and the Christ they vowed to serve. We as a Church won’t get anywhere with all our strategies with a bad culture.
From the initiation of the New Testament Church, there have been several cultural characteristics by which we are to be identified. Jesus said in John 13:34 AMP “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” We lost it right there, didn’t we? Luke described for us some of the practices that were the DNA of the Church in Acts. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47) When we look at the Church in this time, is it at all reminiscent of these Scriptures? Sadly, no. I”m not just writing about your local Church, but about the universal Church (that’s what the word Catholic means). Because.. as one Body in Christ, if some of us are not there…none of us are.
