People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Church Culture
by James W. Moss, Sr.There are three basic cultures that impact the life of a church. One is the culture of the church itself (covered in this article). The second is the culture of the denomination. This is particularly true if the church is more than one generation old. The third is the culture of the community. These three cultures frequently intertwine until sometimes they are almost indistinguishable. However, they are there and need to be recognized and understood.
The culture of the local church
The culture of the local church includes the real core values of the congregation—not necessarily the ones written down or mandated by scripture, but the real ones. They are the ones that the church functions by. The pastor and people may not even be able to articulate them, but they are there. They may not be based on scripture but that doesn’t matter. They are real. A new pastor may cross one of those unwritten core values without even knowing it. An explosion occurs, and the pastor stands in frustrated amazement wondering what just happened. He just broke one of the unarticulated core values of the congregation. He offended the culture of the church and didn’t even know he had done so. It seemed petty. Maybe it was for an outsider. But for someone on the inside, it was important.
I was talking with a friend. He raised a question about one of my core values that had just been challenged by another. I almost bit his head off—even to the point where I sat in amazement. I asked myself, “Where did that come form?” His simple question just asking for some information didn’t warrant that kind of response. I apologized and explained what had happened. He said, “I thought maybe I had touched a sensitive spot.”
Can the culture of the church change?
Yes, more readily if the culture of the community is changing with it. Thirty-three years ago, the culture of the local church I served dictated that white shirts and ties be worn to church on Sunday morning. My wife bought me several pretty colored dress shirts for Christmas. One Sunday when I felt particularly bold, I wore a colored dress shirt in the pulpit. The next Sunday there was a wide variety of colors in the pews. The dress code of the community had changed sufficiently to allow the culture of the church to change. After that Sunday there was only infrequently a white dress shirt in church. Today, as I travel from church to church, I don’t see many ties anymore. This illustration seems mundane. But, a few years earlier in another church, on a very hot summer evening, I took my jacket off because of the heat. That week I was handed an article how a pastor can buy a light-weight jacket to wear even in the summer.
Any variety of subjects could have been selected. The issue of dress today seems trivial. But the culture of the church is not trivial. First, a pastor in a new church needs to understand the church’s culture. There are the written and obvious issues. One church I knew made a constitutional change anytime a pastor did something to cross the culture of the church. However, most churches are not quite so forthright. It is the unwritten aspects of the church’s culture that are more subtle and will snag the unsuspecting clergy.
What may seem petty is not!
To an outsider, the church’s culture may seem petty. Remember, a pastor is an outsider. And unless the pastor has earned the rights of the founding pastor, the pastor is always an outsider. That is true even of a long tenured pastor. The position of pastor does not guarantee one entrance into the culture. Entrance into the culture is earned. How is that entrance earned? First, by attempting to understand the church’s culture and by never ridiculing the culture even when it seems ridiculous. Be careful what you say clandestinely. Mrs. Morgan taught 4th grade. She was attempting to affirm Jill, who lacked self-confidence. She was discussing Jill with another teacher. She said many disparaging things about Jill. Mrs. Morgan didn’t know Jill was on the other side of the screen listening to every word. Mrs. Morgan destroyed any chance to help Jill. After that it didn’t matter what Mrs. Morgan said, Jill didn’t believe her.
Be careful what you say quietly about your church. Even words uttered to other people and laity in the community outside your church will frequently find their way home. The pastor’s true feelings will be exposed and ministry potentials destroyed.
Where possible, affirm the culture
More points can be earned by affirming those aspects of the church’s culture that are worthwhile. Take time to learn the history of the church. Ask the old-timers to tell you the “stories” of the church. Please make use of them in a positive way. Cite the impact of positive persons in the life of the church and the lives of people. Very gradually the culture will unfold for you. You will learn what to watch for, when you need to be sensitive, and even some things you can do to change the culture of the church very carefully without disrupting the congregation.
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January 20, 2003. Volume 6, Issue 2. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way with proper credit. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.