What comes to mind when you hear the word “culture?” Have you ever thought about the notion that our homes, churches, and organizations have a specific culture? Actually, note the definition of culture…
Definition of Culture: The sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. (Dictionary.com)
Did you capture the big idea? Culture involves the “sum total of the way we live.” It is the sum total of our beliefs and behaviors integrated in daily life and transmitted to the generations following.
Much like an iceberg, our lives are the sum total of cultural characteristics that are not just seen above the surface but are developed below the surface. What we do in public is often activated by what we believe and value in private.
Much like an iceberg, every person creates culture above and below the surface of their lives. Families create culture. Churches and organizations create culture. For example, when the leadership of a church parks in the back of the parking lot to allow guests and the elderly to have the best parking spots, that creates a certain culture—putting others first. Or, when the leaders of a church walk through the facilities and pick up paper or displaced items from the floor instead of leaving them there, that creates a certain culture—God’s house is important. In other words, culture is created by the way we live our lives.
Why is this so important? Because the culture in our churches and organizations determines how people fit in! Culture determines what kind of life grows and flourishes and what kind of life doesn’t. Just like certain kinds of plants and animals thrive in certain environments, culture enhances whether people grow and ultimately influences their environment. In many ways, culture to a church or organization is like personality to a person. In essence, the best way to describe culture would simply be to say, “This is how we live”—”this is how we live in the Ming family …. this is how we live at our church … this is how we live in the Pentecostal Church of God.”
So, here is the all-important question then: Are we creating culture by design or default? In the Pentecostal Church of God, we hope to create culture by design. Certainly, our movement has already developed a certain culture; however, that doesn’t mean that the existing culture can’t be reformed. In this article, I would like to inspire the beginning steps toward a cultural shift through intentionally living in three ways—placing “Mission above the Machine,” placing “People above our Preferences,” and placing the “Other Generations above our Generation.” Are you ready?
PLACE “MISSION ABOVE THE MACHINE”
Some have heard me share that one of most transformational moments in my life occurred when the Holy Spirit revealed that I was “oiling the machinery” more than “moving the mission of Christ forward.” Unfortunately, many of us can wind up in an all-to-familiar place—maintaining ministry more than living the mission of Christ. Allow me to ask you a personal question: Are you maintaining the ministry machine of your life or are you living the mission of Christ?
Now, if you have any question marks concerning what living the mission of Christ really means, allow me to reinforce the notion that missional living represents a significant cultural shift in the way we live for Christ. Missional living means that we engage the world the same way that Jesus did—by “going and reaching out” rather than just “modeling what we believe.” Jesus said…
“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, NKJV).
“And as you go, preach saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matthew 10:7, NKJV).
According to these mandates, every Christ-follower should intentionally engage people concerning the Gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, I believe that every Christian should be able to articulate his/her faith in three minutes or less. The reference “to preach” in these scriptures doesn’t pertain to standing behind a pulpit in front of Christians, but intentionally engaging pre-Christians throughout life’s journey.
Recently, I was returning from Africa and ended up right next to a wonderful Muslim lady in full regalia. She was covered in her burka, and her hands and wrists were decorated with this type of lovely calligraphy. After engaging in a conversation, I learned that the artistic flare on her hands and fingers did not represent anything more than her desire to present herself with elegance. During our conversation, I noticed that she kept clicking a little item that looked like a stop-watch. When I asked about it, she showed me the number 1,301 on the face of it and expressed that she had asked God (Allah) to forgive her 1,301 times. I certainly tried not to express my utter amazement, but on the inside, I was doing summersaults when she shared that she had clicked her small trinket 1,301 times during the past thirty minutes. Of course, this opened the door to a conversation concerning the notion that Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins once and for all.
The truth is that I could have modeled the Christ-life by being kind to this woman during the entirety of the trip, but until I engaged her in a conversation, I wasn’t placing “mission above the machine.” In fact, I couldn’t help but ask myself whether what Christ would have done in my situation. Candidly, I don’t believe that He would have sat by her on that flight without ever engaging her in a conversation concerning her soul? As the Scripture declares, “…And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14, NKJV).
May I suggest a cultural-shift here? Would I be too bold to suggest that we can end up “oiling the machinery of ministry” and excuse ourselves from “moving the mission of Christ forward?” Certainly, a tension exists to do “business as usual,” and unless we intentionally live our lives by filtering what we do through the grid of mission, we can become spiritually complacent. Interestingly, complacency is common when our focus is more management-based than mission-driven and internally-focused than externally-motivated.
Please hear my heart! In the Pentecostal Church of God, we must experience a culture-shift that allows us to filter everything through the grid of mission. If what we’re doing in ministry is not reaching the lost and equipping and sending the found, then we should cast it as far as the East is from the West. If what we’re doing is not multiplying ministers and missionaries, training church planters and multi-cultural leaders, and coaching up pastors to reach beyond their four walls, then we should change our priority list.
Fundamentally, missional praxis must supersede church management. In truth, every person is a mission. Every church is a mission, and every nation is a mission. Moving the mission of Christ forward applies the whole life of every person, church, and organization to embody the mission of Christ in their world. Now, that is a culture not only worth dying for but worth living for.
PLACE “PEOPLE ABOVE OUR PREFERENCES”
How is this even possible? Is it possible to place people ahead of our personal preferences? After all, preferences are simply what we prefer—what we like or dislike. Yet, the possibility of this cultural paradigm must exist because Jesus makes the statement…
“…whosoever desires to become great among you, let him be your slave … Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26, 28, NKJV)
As we look at the example of Jesus, we know this way of life is possible because He continually loved people ahead of Himself. The programs, protocol, and procedures of His time did not supersede the woman at the well, the lame man on the Sabbath, or Lazarus in the tomb.
For years I have struggled with a PCG culture that tends to elevate rules of order and bylaws above people. I’ve even attended conventions and business meetings where the letter of the law was elevated above the spirit of the law. In other words, the law enslaved people rather than setting them free. Transparently, in those moments, I wanted to turn over the tables of the money-changers and the dove-sellers and say: “Where there is no vision, the people perish, but where there are no people, the vision perishes.” In other words, people should be our priority and not our policies and procedures.
One of my favorite stories for illustrating this point involves a pastor who went to a car wash and asked for his trunk to be vacuumed. The attendant responded by saying, “We don’t do trunks.” The pastor even requested to pay extra and finally offered to pay double, but the attendant still said, “We don’t do trunks.” Unfortunately, we see some of the same sentiment in the Church. Rather than trying to love and care for people at the point of their need, we tell them, “We don’t do trunks.” We restrict their freedom because our policies, procedures, and preferences don’t allow for anything else to be considered.
As we approach a new chapter for a 2nd-Century PCG, I am praying that we will see a cultural-shift that begins to prioritize people above personal preferences. When we begin to hear the sentiment, “we don’t do trucks,” I am praying that we will not allow that sentiment to become our burden. Our preference may suggest that “we don’t do trunks,” but our willful obedience to Christ will inspire us to place people above ourselves.
Perhaps, you’ve heard the story of Alexander the Great who was in the midst of his 3300-mile journey in eleven days. His army was parched without water when some Macedonians came by and offered Alexander a drink from one of their helmets. When Alexander saw hundreds of his men staring at the water, he returned it saying, “If I alone should drink, the rest would be out of heart.” His entire army started cheering his temperance and magnanimity, vowing to follow him to the ends of the earth. Why were they cheering? Alexander the Great had placed people above his own preferences.
PLACE “OTHER GENERATIONS ABOVE MY GENERATION”
Interestingly, every generation seems to evolve as a cultural critic: “Our music is better than your music … our lifestyle is better than your lifestyle … our convictions are better than your convictions … our generation is better than your generation. Whether in gest or sarcasm, each generation can serve as a voice of antagonism for other generations. Generally, some people never learn the difference between living their lives as critical thinkers rather than critical spirits.
In fact, allow me to highlight the notion that the Church of Jesus Christ is multi-generational. Specifically, there is no such thing as “us” against “them” unless a particular generation wages war against all the other generations. The generational challenge shouldn’t be contextualized by a “young vs. old” or “old vs. young” rubric. Currently, we are not just navigating through the generations known as the Depression Kids, Boomers, or Busters, but we are navigating through other generations like Generation X, Generation Y, and even Generation Z. Every generation is unique and valuable to the Kingdom.
The PCG is also a multi-generational church, and at some point, we must recognize that our present and future depends upon our willingness to prioritize the next generations. Candidly, I can’t remember my exact age or the specific day and time, but a transformation of heart took place in me that affirmed: “The rest of my life is no longer about me; it’s about the generations after me.” The only way I can describe it is a “turning of the heart” took place.
Malachi 4:5-6 declared, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…” (NKJV).
Perhaps, one of the signs of spiritual maturity involves a cultural-shift of the heart. The heart shifts toward the other generations and especially the next generations. Interestingly, the heart-shift doesn’t begin with the children but with the fathers and mothers. The children certainly reciprocate but specifically after the parents initiate.
Unfortunately, some church leaders still struggle with segregating the next generations rather than integrating them. Instead of connecting with the next generations, they delegate that ministry to the youth adult and children’s leaders. Pardon the poignancy here, but they hire a young leader and pass off their heart.
Recently, I heard the story of a lead-pastor who was so burdened for the children of the church that he spontaneously left the adult service and served in the children’s worship service. He certainly wasn’t desiring accolades or seeking to neglect the adult population of the church, but he had experienced a cultural-shift in his heart. I believe that the missing ingredient for placing “other generations above my generation” is heart.
Now allow me to share the disclaimer for those who may feel that I am delegitimizing generational preferences, music styles, or even personal convictions. There is nothing wrong with enjoying the cultural idiosyncrasies of your generation. By all means, enjoy them in your personal time and space. Enjoy them whenever possible.
However, allow me to inspire you with a different approach when mixing and mingling with other generations in collective worship and service. In private, enjoy your generational preferences, but in public, learn to place the other generations above your generation.
In fact, if you find yourself struggling with it, ask the Holy Spirit for a “turning of the heart,” and I believe that just as our Heavenly Father turned His heart toward His adopted children, we will learn to turn our hearts toward the adopted children of the next generations.
Remember our definition of culture above? The sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. How can we see a culture-shift without witnessing a transmission of it from one generation to another?
Loved ones, as we move toward the first chapter of a 2nd-Century PCG, let us decide to create our PCG culture by design and not default. If we will place “Mission above the Machine,” “People above our Preferences,” and “Other Generations above my Generation,” I believe a cultural-shift will occur that will catalyze us toward One Mission—One Movement. Remember, God blesses motion and not just notion. So, as leaders of the Pentecostal Church of God, let’s not only affirm these together, but live them together. Selah.
