You Need a New Culture; Not Another Program

I stepped back, away from people for a moment and took it all in. The lobby was nearing “packed.” Our congregational worship had ended 15-20 minutes earlier and people were still gathered, talking, laughing, and meeting new people. Someone took several Mercer basketball players to the connect bar to fill out an info card. Others gathered at our Missional Community rack talking about MCs and taking MC cards. There were at least three visiting families in the crowd and several college students and they weren’t being greeted and shown around by our official Sunday morning Connect Team volunteers who were “on duty” - it was just our regular, off-duty, New City people.

Someone who was visiting but has a regular church home elsewhere said, “You never see this at __________ Church. People just leave. No one stays to hang out and talk.” One of the visiting families walked out with me as I locked the doors shared that they had already been invited to a kid’s play date and had exchanged phone numbers with one of our families. Another visitor was all smiles, holding several MC cards as she told me she had just moved to Macon from out of state and would definitely be back.

The truth is, this happens often at New City Macon. The difference this past week was that I stepped back and took it all in. I paused to see what was happening and it was beautiful.

It didn’t happen by chance, nor was it because I preached on it that day. It happened because it is our church culture.

Every organization including churches has a particular culture. Most leaders just are not aware of it. Kellie Wong, on the Achievers Blog writes this about organizational culture:

Organizational culture is the collection of values, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the actions of all team members. Think of it as the collection of traits that make your company what it is. A great culture exemplifies positive traits that lead to improved performance, while a dysfunctional company culture brings out qualities that can hinder even the most successful organizations.

The people in your church demonstrate the existing organizational culture each week. When they rush to get to lunch they show that lunch is a greater value than welcoming new people, helping them feel connected and at home. They show that church is about the event more than it is about people. In the rush to meet their own needs, their actions demonstrate a low concern for the needs of others. By what they do, we see that there is no organizational expectation other than, “come to the worship gathering.”

Wong adds, “Don’t confuse culture with organizational goals or a mission statement, although both can help define it. Culture is created through consistent and authentic behaviors, not press releases or policy documents. You can watch company culture in action when you see how a CEO responds to a crisis, how a team adapts to new customer demands, or how a manager corrects an employee who makes a mistake.” In other words, culture is not what we have on paper or even what we aspire to. It is the reality of our true values, expectations, and practices shown in what our people do. It is what we do, not what we say.

What our people demonstrated on Sunday was a love for others. They welcomed others as Christ has welcomed them. They talked, laughed and exchanged numbers like family. They served, walking people to the connect bar, explaining what our Missional Communities are, and by simply hanging out in the lobby. They were excited to invite our visitors to MC, to lunch and even to their home because they value others and truly believe that they have a role to play in seeing those people love and follow Jesus. It is our culture.

The modern church has too often turned to programs when it has spotted a problem. Programs are bought and sold as the fixers. Programs are started but nothing changes. Programs begin and end and are replaced with new programs that often do the same thing - begin and end. Programs come and programs go and the culture remains the same. If you add programs and never address the culture you just end up with a handful of busy people and no real change. Programs will never create culture on their own, but culture will always demonstrate its values through its practices with or without a program. It wasn’t our “Connect Team” filling the lobby Sunday; it was just our people. They didn’t need a Program to act; they acted on their values. What I am trying to say is that what happened Sunday (and happens often) didn’t happen because we had a better program than _________ church. It happened because we have a different culture. We value things differently.

So, now the hard part.
Step back this week and watch your church. What do you see?
What does it tell you of the organizational culture of your church (the collection of values, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the actions of the people)? Look beyond the “on duty” workers and observe those off duty. What you are seeing is your church culture. Is it a welcoming culture? I don’t mean a surface welcome, I mean a family welcome! Is it a serving culture? Maybe a better question is, is it a culture that reflects the Kingdom?

Yes?
Great! Keep doing what you are doing. Literally keep doing it; you can’t stop or the culture will change. Creating, changing, or maintaining an organizational culture takes intentional effort and non-stop work! Keep teaching, talking, doing, and celebrating. Not only will this reinforce the culture, but it will also serve to change the value and expectations of every new person who becomes a part of your church.

No, it isn’t what it should be?
Then start the work of changing it! Wong lists “8 steps to building a high-performing organizational culture.” Though she is writing to the business world and all 8 steps may not apply, there are adaptable church applications. There’s plenty more to read on the subject as well. Use your favorite search engine for an endless supply of blogs, books and downloads! Simply search something like, “Change Organizational Culture.” Or feel free to reach out to us. We would love to be a part of the discussion and we really want to see your church thrive!

Whether it is reading Wong, searching for more information, or reaching out to us, do something! Get started! Don’t assume that because your church is an older, established church it is impossible to change. It is possible to change the culture of your church if you are willing to try, but it will almost certainly NOT change if you do nothing.