Building a Courageous Church Culture

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Building a Courageous Church Culture

• Brad Smith and Don Simmons
• CCN Seminar, April 2003
• Chandler_at_vbmb.org

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What is culture?

• Something about opera and poetry.
• What happens when something is in the
  refrigerator too long.
• Something about foreign countries.

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Culture is

• V.A.B.Es
• Values
• Assumptions
• Beliefs
• Expectations
• The environment of (un)conscious language,
  behaviors, beliefs that surrounds the work,
  relationships, and programs of the church.

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Three Schools of Leadership

• 1. The cultural school.
• Emphasizes role of leaders in making sure the
  atmosphere of values and relationships are
  right-on as people serve together

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Three Schools of Leadership

• 2. The vision school.
• Emphasizes role of leaders seeing where the group
  needs to go and motivating them to get there

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Three Schools of Leadership

• 3. The management school.
• Emphasizes role of leaders in
• making sure activities are organized
• people understand role
• there are adequate resources to accomplish the
  vision

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Three Hats

• Culture ----- Community
• Vision ----- Cause
• Management ----- Corporation

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1. Culture ----- Community

• How healthy are our values and relationships?
• Do we have a Christ-like process as well as a
  Christ-like end result?
• Do the means and end match up?

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Community Cultural Leaders

• Inspirer moves the whole congregation
• Sage/Pastor Discerns, guides, and cares
  individually in ways that affect the whole
• Prophet sees and speaks the inconsistencies
  that guide others to change

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2. Cause ----- Vision

• How are we continually showing the God-given
  purpose and vision of the church?
• How well do all know the big picture calling
  that unites all activities of the church?

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Cause Directional Leaders

• Visionary reveals the need and vision to meet
  that need
• Engineer creates the role clarity that matches
  strategic direction
• Implementer focuses on next operational steps

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3. Corporation ----- Management

• Have we built systems and provided resources so
  that vision is not just all talk?
• Are there clear roles for people to participate
  in accomplishing the vision?

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Corporation Influence Leaders

• Influencers leads by persuading others
• Managers matches people with roles, comes
  alongside throughout
• Contributors creates observable models of
  excellence

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Community Family
Cause Army
Corporation Business
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How do we build a courageous church culture?

• By building systems that strengthen community,
  cause, and corporation

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System Values of a Courageous Church Culture

• Courageous Churches build courageous systems that
  connect and promote growth of all kinds.
• They exude an emerging internal culture of
  empowerment.
• Their results are glocal community
  transformation and vision for the world.

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Building Courageous Church Systems

• Focus on a process of assimilation.
• Help guests become members, members become
  leaders, etc.
• Warrens circles, 5 Gs
• People respond when they know the steps

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Building Courageous Church Systems

• Focus on discovering calling and gifting.
• What is God doing in this season of your life or
  chapter of your ministry?

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Building Courageous Church Systems

• 3. Focus on matching and placement.
• connecting people to places of ministry
• Deploying places where people can behave their
  way into believing

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Building Courageous Church Systems

• Focus on an intentional process of training for
  ministry.
• Sharpen the saw!

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Building Courageous Church Systems

• Remember to celebrate ministry and recognize God
  at work through people.
• Catch people doing something right

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Building Courageous Church Systems

• 6. Create underlying support of administration
  and leadership development.

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The Leadership Task in Building Culture

• Alignment
• Understanding the stated values of the church
• Reading values of the actual practices of the
  church
• Helping the church bridge any gaps between 1 2.

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Actual Values

• What does a church actually value as evidenced by
  its
• actions
• priorities
• use of time
• use of money
• allocation of people
• organizational structure

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Stated vs. Actual Values

• Evangelism
• Prayer
• Discipleship
• Health
• Community change

• Numbers growth
• Orthodoxy
• Keeping folk busy
• Financial security
• A good reputation

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Courageous leaders

• Assess the current culture of the church.
• Courageously call out gaps between what we say
  and what we do.
• Envision what type of culture should be created.
• Embody that culture in a leadership team.

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Embodying Courage

• Does my serving equip and involve others?
• Community Am I am member of the family?
• Do I serve according to my gifts and calling?
• Cause Am I a soldier in the army?
• Do I in-courage systems growth in courage?
• Corporation Do I carry on business the right
  way?

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Strategic Questions about Courage

• Where is the ground already prepared?
• People? Felt needs? Current models to be
  affirmed?
• Who should develop the change strategy?
• Who should spearhead the change strategy and cast
  vision?
• How can we translate vision into measurable goals
  and evaluate progress?
• Showcasing authentic examples
• What are steps in an action plan toward those
  goals?

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Listen to the Stories

• When people in our church talk about what we do
  well, what do they say, and how do they
  illustrate it?
• How would that change if you asked people outside
  of our church?

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A Question

• If our church disappeared tomorrow
• Would anyone in the neighborhood notice?
• Would anyone in the community cry?

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Building a Courageous Church Culture

• Dr. John P. Chandler
• Courageous Churches
• Virginia Baptist Mission Board
• John.chandler_at_vbmb.org
• Copy right John P. Chandler, 2004