Culture

"A church changes is culture one person at a time. Radical hospitality begins with a single heart, a growing openness, a prayerful desire for the highest good of a stranger. It begins when one person treats another respectfully and loves the stranger enough to overcome the internal hesitations to invite that person into the life of Christ's church. Personal responsibility for the task of Christian discipleship is avoided by redirecting the conversation to programs and strategies and new initiatives. Members easily point toward the pastor, the staff, or a particular committee an say, 'If they would only...' Or, 'What they should do is...' Members blame and scapegoat and find fault for why things don't work better, and they deny and ignore and avoid their own complicity in the stagnation of their churches...This won't change until each person takes responsibility for practicing Radical hospitality as obedience to the ministry of Christ. Church members have to mature from 'they ought' to 'I WILL.'



~ Robert Schnase, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, 2007.



My ministry has its roots in this very thought. I had never read Schnase before but I had figured out that I can complain all I want but until I am part of the solution I really have no right to complain. Over the past couple of years, I have had what I thought was personal struggles in my church and my ministry. I won't elaborate on them, read back in my blog and you see signs of them and some that I spoke about quite frankly, and still, there were many more that I kept to myself and bore alone. For what seemed the longest time, I believed it was something I was doing wrong. And most definitely, it was something only I was going through. This wasn't happening to other people serving. I believed it was exclusive to me.



Recently, I have learned that it wasn't just me. That the things that I had experienced were indeed happening to the majority of the leaders and to many others as well. I felt as if I was being torn apart at the seams and in many ways now I am thankful I was not alone, even when I thought I was.



Through all of this, I have learned that I have got to speak up. I have to, when things are wrong, call them wrong and when they are right, call them right. We are where we are today because so many of us bore our burdens and struggles alone, so we wouldn't stir up descent or cause problems. We internalized what should have been made public. And hindsight 20/20, our choice to remain silent was wrong. I should have spoken up and I should have not played into the game of manipulation through confidentially and denying spiritual growth to the very people I love and serve for Christ.



"A church culture changes one person at a time." I want to be one of those "one person at a time." Where we go from here, is up to us. The choices we make will make or break this particular body of Christ. And we have got to make the right choices that build the community and encourage those that are part of it. And the first choice, is to no longer remain silent about anything. I am going to begin to as best as I am able tell people how I feel and what I see and what has happened to me.