Leading a Healthy Church Culture - Lesson 12
Discussion of Two Principles
Learn about the importance of leadership in creating a healthy church culture. The role of leadership is crucial in setting the tone and creating an environment that fosters spiritual growth, discipleship, and healthy relationships. The characteristics of a healthy church culture are discussed, including transparency, honesty, integrity, and a sense of community. Practical steps for building a healthy church culture are also provided, including developing a clear vision and mission, establishing core values, creating a safe environment, promoting accountability and responsibility, and encouraging growth and development.
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Discussion of Two Principles
I. The Importance of Leadership in Creating a Healthy Church Culture
A. Introduction
B. The Role of Leadership in Creating a Healthy Church Culture
C. The Characteristics of a Healthy Church Culture
II. Practical Steps for Building a Healthy Church Culture
A. Developing a Clear Vision and Mission
B. Establishing Core Values
C. Creating a Safe Environment
D. Promoting Accountability and Responsibility
E. Encouraging Growth and Development
III. Challenges and Obstacles to Building a Healthy Church Culture
A. The Influence of Negative Culture and Habits
B. The Importance of Identifying and Addressing Problematic Behaviors
C. The Need for Continuous Improvement and Adaptation
Dr. Rick Sessoms
Leading a Healthy Church Culture
mc610-12
Discussion of Two Principles
Lesson Transcript
Well, I'd be interested in hearing your list. If the church truly embraced these seemingly simple principles from the life and teaching of Jesus, how would the church look different? How would our leadership be different? Maybe we could start with this group. Who's the spokesperson? You have one?
STUDENT: Well, we were saying there would be less burnout in the leadership because they would be following Jesus.
So, you feel like burnout has a direct correlation with –
STUDENT: Machinery. So, if there's one person in charge of doing the oiling and the tightening of the gears.
Okay, good. What one did you guys come up with?
STUDENT: There should be more emphasis on discipleship building, because if the leaders are following Christ, then you’re going to have more people focused towards that senior pastor as an actual person.
STUDENT: So, everybody is a leader in the priesthood sense.
So, the priesthood sense would rise to the top; there'd be more emphasis on the priesthood sense.
STUDENT: And you wouldn't have the burnout then, because you've got folks sharing; you don't have one person whose shoulders it’s all on; everybody's got a responsibility.
So, what's a second from this group, second point?
STUDENT: Well, as a visitor coming to this community and getting involved, it's a community that you'd get more connected to because people come and go from churches so easily -- they church shop and church hop -- and you would become so much more invested in a church where your involvement is valued, and you're developed and grown, and so people become much more sort of invested in that church culture because their input is valued so much.
Okay, good.
STUDENT: And along the same line, fewer people would be leaving dissatisfied.
Fewer people would be leaving dissatisfied, do you think? It's interesting that there are many churches, particularly larger churches, that have been developed really on almost a consumer mentality, and if this shift were made, the evidence suggests, and we've seen this happen a number of times, that there often is a dip before you can get out of that spin simply because if people have been conditioned to have their, you know, coffee with caramel in it when they come in the morning (I'm not picking on coffee in the lobby), but, you know, I'm saying there's a consumer mentality that really exists in the church, and so the response may not be real positive at first, if that approach were taken, just a warning there. Another one from this group. Do you have another?
STUDENT: If you have genuine expression of gifts rather than just filling slots within the church leadership and body, there would be more of a genuine expression of what their gift truly is. It may be common that they take people with the business and the accountants and put them in the money area needs of the church, whereas they really may have some other outstanding gift that God wants to bring in with them, but they get shoved in the slot.
I had that, in when I was a pastor, there was a guy that was treasurer of the church, and they didn't realize for a couple of years that he just absolutely hated it. He was an accountant guy at work, but he really had this passion to be an elder and to lead people. So, we went through this process, and he discovered his giftedness and his passion, and he's been serving in that capacity now for over 20 years and just loves it, so that's a great example. Another point from over here?
STUDENT: Certainly, piggybacking on to that, Rick, would be that every single person would be important, would be essential, and there would be no hierarchy; certainly, folks would have different functions, but every single person would come and feel valued, important, so that the result would be greater than the sum of the individual people.
That's great, great thought. Other points? Have we covered them? Do you have others?
STUDENT: It would look really different from the culture around it.
It would, wouldn't it?
STUDENT: Because if it really is that and you really do examine how it was in Jesus’ day, just how different.
The church could be the church.
STUDENT: One of the challenges I think we face today is we're dealing with not folks who are unchurched, but we're dealing with a whole culture of folks who've been damaged by religion, or they've gone to religion and not found anything different than the world in it, and so it's not attractive. You're not going to pull folks who can go play golf on Sunday morning; you're not going to pull them away from some other event that's much more pleasurable. So, you need to have something that's really better than what they’ve got. It's like being an alcoholic; you're not going to stop drinking until you find something better than what that alcohol is doing for you, and so, I mean, the negative stuff doesn't do it, so you’ve got to have something better. So, if folks came to the church that was led by Christ and that everybody was important, everybody's part of a family, then people would come and say, I want what they got because they got more than what I can find in my golf game.
There's just an attraction to that, isn't there? Yeah. Well, this is an exciting discussion. It is possible, and there are people who are catching on, and it's exciting to see as we share this around the world.
[00:06:38] And there's just an attraction to that, isn't there? Yeah. Well, this is an exciting discussion. It it is possible. And there there are people who are catching on. And it's exciting to see as we share this around the world.
- This lesson covers the importance and characteristics of a healthy church culture, the biblical foundation of church culture, diagnosing the health of a church culture, and cultivating a healthy church culture through prioritizing relationships, creating a safe environment, nurturing spiritual growth, empowering the congregation, and celebrating God's work.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteYou will gain knowledge and insight into the characteristics, and importance of a healthy church culture, how to diagnose and address unhealthy church culture through biblical leadership and communication, and how to cultivate a healthy church culture.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteYou will gain insight into how to lead a healthy church culture by learning about the importance of healthy leadership, building healthy relationships, establishing healthy structures, and implementing healthy practices.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteIn this lesson, the class discusses a fictional case study called "The Shadow of a Leader," which describes the decline of a Christian leader named Dr. Robert Avella, who became obsessed with power and control over time, causing damage to the ministry and losing trust in his team, as they reflect on the early and later stages of his leadership.0% Complete
- Through this lesson, you gain insight into the challenges and pitfalls of leadership, particularly when leaders lose focus on their spiritual values, become driven by fear and control, and lack accountability and community support. By understanding these factors, you can recognize and address toxic leadership in various contexts.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteBy engaging with this lesson, you will gain insight into the complex dynamics of power and control in leadership, the prevalence of misused power within the Christian church, and the critical importance of fostering accountability and community to maintain a healthy balance of power.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteThis lesson explores Jesus' unique leadership style in the context of the foot-washing event in John 13:1-17, highlighting principles such as leading from a secure sense of self, addressing the deepest needs of followers, and paying it forward through service to others.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteThis lesson teaches you about the significance of developing a Christ-centered church culture, including the exploration of culture's components and the positive and negative aspects it can have within a church setting. You will also learn about the role of leadership in building a healthy church culture, adapting to change, and overcoming challenges.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteThis lesson provides insight into church culture by examining its components, revealing how assumptions and values impact products and practices, and discussing the importance of addressing these core beliefs and assumptions for lasting change.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteThis lesson examines assumptions and worldviews in church leadership by comparing different mental constructs and their influence on leadership values and roles, while also exploring the machine metaphor's impact on organizational life and the new generation's response to this worldview.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteIn this lesson, you learn the importance of cultivating and nourishing people in a garden model of leadership, comparing it to the machine model, and discovering how various biblical metaphors shape the understanding of the church. Emphasizing core beliefs and values, you realize effective leadership focuses on following Christ and maintaining the right attitudes.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteYou will gain insights into the importance of leadership in creating a healthy church culture, including the role of leadership in setting the tone and creating an environment that fosters spiritual growth, discipleship, and healthy relationships. You will also learn about the characteristics of a healthy church culture, practical steps for building a healthy church culture, and the challenges and obstacles to building a healthy church culture.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteBy studying this lesson, you will gain knowledge and insight into the importance of creating a healthy church culture and practical steps for doing so, including the role of leaders in modeling and promoting a healthy culture, building relationships, developing a shared vision, fostering communication, and encouraging accountability.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteThis lesson covers Luke 5, gleaning lessons regarding Jesus' leadership and the four pillars of Christian leadership, which are relationship, influence, follower potential, and common purpose.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteAs you go through the lesson, you will learn about the four primary handles for developing a healthy church culture, which are stories, rituals, symbols, and power structures, and how they shape the values that become the real values within a culture.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteBy understanding the importance of what we measure, we can determine what is significant to us. Measuring something objectively makes it valuable, while not measuring something can result in losing its importance. The example of churches measuring attendance and donations is used to highlight this point, and the lesson suggests that churches should also measure other important aspects like outreach, discipleship, and community service.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteThis lesson discusses how Jesus prepared his disciples to establish the church, and how his actions and values during his time with them set the groundwork for the culture of the church; you are encouraged to explore the principles Jesus instilled in his disciples by examining specific stories, such as the healing of the demon-possessed man and the clearing of the temple.0% Complete
- 0% CompleteLearn to lead a healthy church culture by analyzing current values, identifying actual values, and creating a strategy matrix to establish and support desired values using four embedding mechanisms.0% Complete
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