A few years ago our staff created a staff culture document (you can read more about that journey here). It was a vital part of our journey for our staff. It helped change the course of who we are.
Last year we began to take that same journey with our church. We created a church culture document. The purpose of this document is to express who we are at our best and who we aspire to be in the future by the grace of God.
Our 9 distinctive cultural values at New Life are:
1: God is big and God is good
· God is most glorified when we most enjoy Him.
2: The gospel changes everything
· We are more utterly sinful than we realize, but more profoundly loved than we can fathom.
3: The Bible is our source
· The Bible is God’s authoritative Word for our lives and is the anchor for our preaching, teaching, and doctrine.
4: Everyone matters to God
· Since time is short, we pursue every opportunity to share Jesus.
5: We are contributors not consumers
· We have been given much and find joy in giving it away.
6: Character outlasts charisma
· We recognize that the greatest kingdom works done without Christ’s character are empty.
7: Life is better together
· We go deeper with God when we go deeper with others.
8: Big church, small feel
· We are big enough for a God-sized vision for Tucson and the world, but feel small enough to be a family.
9: Healthy churches multiply
· The urgency of the mission pushes us to replace ourselves and partner with others for the Kingdom of God.
Over this summer, I want to share these values with you one by one. I hope some of these can spark a more profound passion for Christ and his church in your heart.
Our first cultural distinctive is this: God is big, and God is good. We believe that God is most glorified when we most enjoy him. We love celebrating the bigness and the goodness of God.
Far too many worship a small god of our own making. Theirs is a god they always understand and can always make sense of. Theirs is a god who is loving and kind, but not big enough to stop bad things from happening. Theirs is a god who isn’t demanding and doesn’t call us to obedience. If we just believe in him and pray to him every once in a while, he’s content.
This god isn’t the one true God. This isn’t the God of the Bible.
Consider the book of Job. The book of Job concludes with God showing up in a whirlwind. God asks Job 77 questions, each one emphasizing God’s merciful sovereignty. Every question demonstrates how big and good God was and how small Job was.
In Colossians 1:16-17, Paul reflects the bigness of God this way:
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
What a gift that our three-in-one God is the one who not only created everything, but actively holds all things. What a gift!
God is big! God is good! And we are invited to delight in him.
In Psalm 37:4, David commands and then promises, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Our heart is made to delight in God and be shaped by that delight.
The bigness of God leaves some cold, but it ought to do the opposite: God’s bigness calls us to delight because we know:
1) He is always near.
2) He is always in control.
3) He will make right what is wrong.
4) He knows us better than we know ourselves.
5) He knows our days, our years, and our lives beforehand.
What a delight to know that our knowledge of God is inexhaustible. Have you ever met someone painfully shallow at a party? You try to engage them and learn about them only to realize that there isn’t much to learn. Their interests in life appear to end at their mild interest in Doritos. Try as you might, you cannot wring a conversation from that dry sponge. God is the cosmic opposite. The more I spend time with him, the more there is to know and the greater my joy in my relationship with him. Look to the stars and behold his grandeur! Look to the butterfly’s wing and behold his attention to detail. Look to those at death’s door and behold his bottomless love.
What a gift to celebrate a big and good God! It is our prayer that this distinctive would mark our worship, preaching, ministries, and us as God’s people here at New Life.
Constructing Culture Series:
Part 1: God Is Big and God Is Good
Part 2: The Gospel Changes Everything
Part 3: The Bible Is Our Source
Part 4: God Loves You and Your Neighbor
Part 5: We Are Contributors, Not Consumers
Part 6: Character Over Charisma
Part 7: Life Is Better Connected
Part 8: Big Church, Small Feel
Part 9: Healthy Churches Multiply
Photo by Stephanie Klepacki on Unsplash