Learn what it means to be a “culture carrier” of our church, bringing our core values into everything that we do — whether it be in our ministry work, our pastoral relationships, or in our day to day living.
I. Know the church culture
– what is our vision and mission?
– how well do you know it?
II. Be the church culture
– don’t just go to church, be the church
– embody the vision and mission in all areas of your life
III. Carry the church culture
– inspire others to be culture carriers
– extend the kingdom mindset
– change the world, one relationship at a time
Sample Questions:
- How can you describe your family culture? What about your work culture?
- Does your own personal mission statement flow with the church vision?
- What other characterisations can you think of that describe our church culture?
- What things have you been doing that you think embodies being a culture carrier?
Good evening everyone, thank you for choosing this workshop. Tonight we have fifteen minutes or less to teach you all about Carrying the Church Culture. So let’s get on with it shall we.
I. KNOW the culture
We start by defining what culture is.
I like this definition by a famous Dutch researcher. He says culture is “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group of people from another”.
Collective — meaning we all are doing or being it, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Programming of the mind — meaning it is indelibly inked into our very beings.
Culture can be seen in the way a group of people speaks, moves, or acts. It is in their outward appearance — in their dress, gestures, movements. It is in their speech — their colloquialisms, their catch phrases, their manner of speaking. It is in their internalizations — decision making, ways of thinking, responses and reactions.
Our church culture then is the mindset and actions of our church and our church goers. It is our shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices. It is that which characterises us as a church organisation, defines us as a group of people.
Our “church culture” helps describe who we are as a church to people outside of our family of believers. And as believers of Jesus Christ, our culture is very much entrenched in the teachings and commands of God.
Therefore, our culture is intrinsically entwined with the church vision of fulfilling the Great Commission.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28:18-20
What then is our church culture? It is more than can be summed up in our time here tonight, but let’s try out some statements:
We are a church that loves Jesus.
We are a church that follows the great commission.
We are a life group church.
We are a house church church.
We are a church that goes on missions.
We are a church that evangelises.
We are a church that goes out there.
We are a church of beautiful people.
We are a church of worshipful people.
We are a church of leaders.
We are a church of volunteers.
We are a church of “welcome!”
We are a church of “Pinoy po kayo?”
We are a church of “yes and amen!”
We are a relational church.
We are an intentional church.
We are an authentic church.
We are an excellent church.
We are a church built on the teachings of God in the Holy Bible.
We are Hope Church Filipino.
This is our culture, and this is our church.
II. BE the Culture
As a part of the church that we have just described, it is inherent within us to reflect these qualities in our daily lives. We are people who don’t just stop being Christians when the life group ends, or when Sunday service is over. We don’t stop being intentionally relationship-oriented human beings just because we aren’t at a churchy event.
Our identities are wrapped up in the identity of God Himself. Therefore, we embody His attributes. We live our lives according to His Words.
Our church is the way it is, because we, her People, are the way we are. We have driven this narrative, we have given our church the culture that it has.
Of course not any one person is perfect in his or herself. And so it is good to be reminded that in order for our church to flousirh in the way that it has, in order for us to continue to be the lively, active, vibrant church that we are, we have to make sure that we ARE the church culture. At all times. And in all of its ways.
So those things that we have mentioned above, they have to spill over into the way we live our lives. The culture has to extend into our home lives, our work lives, our family lives. Our identities have to be intact and authentic seven days a week, not just on Sundays.
This is where accountability comes in. This is where discipline and responsibility matter. This is where we ensure that we don’t fall short of the glory of God, more than we already have (Romans 3:23).
Before we can proceed to carry the culture through to the different aspect of our lives and into the various communities that we belong to, we have to make sure that we *are* the church culture in our own life first. Once we can truly say this, that we embody the church culture in our own lives, then we can go ahead and say that we are ready to be culture carriers.
Are you ready for it?
III. CARRY the Culture
Now that we know the church culture, and can profess to be the church culture, we are ready to hear what it is to carry the church culture.
If someone cuts you, what comes out? What do you bleed?
Carrying the church culture is to be so sure of your identity in Christ, and so filled with the Holy Spirit, and so confident in your position in the Kingdom of God, that it spills out of you, and overflows into your entire life.
You are like a shining beacon of light in an ocean of darkness.
You are like a roaring waterfall, or a powerful river of water pouring forth in a dry desert.
A church culture carrier is someone in whom the spirit of God is so strong that it is reflected in their speech and in their actions. It shows in their face. One look at a person who is a culture carrier, and you know immediately that they are part of the church.
A culture carrier is a vision communicator. They are an inspiration. They can change the world, one relationship at a time.
And it’s all about Jesus. It’s all about spreading His love. It goes back to the Great Commission. It goes back to God.
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