Culture-making and culture-shaping are important tasks. Often, with ministry, we lose sight of the cultures we make on our way to produce outcomes. The problem is that our habits produce cultures which can deform the soul of ministry into misalignment to God’s character and purposes. It is a sad cycle. In our effort to make something great for God, we make some not-so-great and even terrible things along the way. For me, it is joyful and holy work to shape or re-shape the culture of a ministry to better reflect God’s purposes and bring healthy alignment to mission.

While some skeptics will call certain habits inevitable, as a leader, I have tested and learned that we do not have to accept them as reality. We can resist the urge to give into these habits and aspire, through the hard work of changing old policies and habits, to replace them with practices that better reflect God.

The following are some aspirational habits to replace unhealthy ones. To help elaborate on each, I have included an example and a danger to be avoided. Let me know what you think.

1. Instead of fostering and acting out a scarcity mindset,
   • foster and act out of God’s abundance.
     • Ex – ministry resources, pay, treatment of people
     • Danger – Believing there is not enough = God does not have enough
2. Instead of using positive testimonials to sell an outcome,
   • let authentic testimonies shape God’s people in joys and trials.
     • Ex – real testimonies aren’t for announcements or donations but to help others see God’s work in another believer
     • Danger – Manipulating people with our goals instead of letting the Spirit speak and transform
3. Instead of relying on human strength,
   • turn to prayer.
     • Ex – pray more than you plan
     • Danger – Believing we are primarily responsible for our work and the outcomes
4. Instead of overworking your people,
   • make rhythms for rest and sustainability.
     • Ex – make sure people take sabbath, vacations, have boundaries around work hours, and invest in sabbaticals
     • Danger – Ignoring human limitations and acting God-like
5. Instead of over-scheduling employees and participants in your ministry activities,
   • give them time to love their family and neighbor by being present at home
     • Ex – family and neighbor interactions should be a barometer of how well pastors/ministers are doing
     • Danger – Incongruence between personal life and public
6. Instead of upholding policies that reinforce individualism,
   • consider policies that uphold the communal good.
     • Ex – reward teamwork and model sharing of resources
     • Danger – Mirroring worldly frameworks instead of the communal nature of God
7. Instead of underpaying your employees,
   • consider how your pay structure can reflect generosity.
     • Ex – start by paying fair wages for the geographic area with opportunities for raises under a structure of pay equity across your organization
     • Danger – Unsustainable and harmful working conditions, which reinforce scarcity for doing God’s work.
8. Instead of labeling opposing voices from within as enemies,
   • keep your eyes on your duties as shepherds caring for sheep.
     • Ex – pay attention to injured and ornery sheep as a shepherd given oversight over a whole flock
     • Danger – Treating sheep under your care as enemies because they cause you discomfort.
9. Instead of over-professionalizing the work,
   • remember the call to Christ’s ministry and the need for Spirit-led discernment.
     • Ex – embrace professional characteristics, but not at the expense of recognizing the peculiarity of the call to ministry and the necessity of being led by the Spirit
     • Danger – Becoming an organization of professionals instead of an extension of Christ’s earthly ministry, made up of sent-ones.
10. Instead of relying on secular business principles,
    • operate in the economy and currencies of God’s kingdom.
      • Ex – the meek, the weak, and the marginalized have more to teach you than the business world does.
      • Danger – Driving toward growth based on a system of meritocracy rather than inward growth and transformation patterned after Christ’s death and resurrection.