Addressing Cultural Unrest In Your Church (Pt. 1)

How you handle cultural flashpoints starts before the conflict.

Sundays come with amazing regularity—and it seems that controversy does too. Many pastors can point to the spring and summer of 2016, political positions on immigration, presidential elections, the COVID-19 pandemic, and continued racial unrest as particularly high points of tension in their leadership. Yet it's not always clear when you should speak on a particular issue.

To be honest, I don't know many pastors who enjoy conflict. Most of us want to do the right thing, point our people to Jesus, and make it home before our favorite team plays on Sunday. But in moments that require you to speak, what should you say?

Sin is a virus with innumerable strains. Each strain attacks a portion of our body, and we need each other to help heal us from whatever strain is affecting us. Social and cultural unrest is a particularly resistant strain that infects all of us when a national event of such magnitude happens that it requires us to speak.

Over the next couple of articles, I'll give you some helpful handles to consider as you look to lead during these tense times.

Design Your Culture to Be Conflict Resistant

Every church has a culture, and that culture should be set by the leadership of the church. A church with clear values that go beyond traditional mission, vision, and values will set itself up well when crisis arises.

Tim Keller writes about a concept called Theological Vision in Center Church. He defines Theological Vision as "a faithful restatement of the gospel with rich implications for life, ministry, and mission in a type of culture at a moment in history." Keller further explains: "This is something more practical than just doctrine but much more theological than 'how-to steps' for carrying out a particular ministry. Once this vision is in place, it leads church leaders to make good decisions on how to worship, disciple, evangelize, serve, and engage culture in their field of ministry—whether in a city, suburb, or small town."

In other words, a Theological Vision gives your church very clear vision for how they are to live together. At Fellowship, our Theological Vision has eight interconnected behaviors that interlock with our church core church identity. You might think of these as core beliefs and corresponding expected behaviors.

Core Belief: Gospel -> Behavior: Grace-Driven and Truthfully Sharp

Core Belief: Intercultural -> Behavior: Kingdom-Minded and Counter-Cultural

Core Belief: Intergenerational -> Behavior: Humble and Wise

Core Belief: Transformational Discipleship -> Behavior: Loving and Missional

For us, Theological Vision plays a critical role in creating a culture that facilitates certain behaviors, which are helpful when cultural crisis arises. Because our ministry practices are built around these realities, we have a clear call to action for the people in our church. Now, this doesn't guarantee that everyone will agree, nor will it eliminate dissent, but it does allow you to start the conversation well ahead of those who don't have this foundation.

Culture Is Your First Line of Defense

Words build worlds, and language creates culture. I once heard Doris Burke on NBA Tonight give one of the best definitions of culture I've ever heard: "The culture of an organization is defined by the worst type of behavior that is tolerated." She was speaking about NBA clubs, but the implications for the local church are staggering.

The culture of your church can be defined by the shared values and practices that your organization has. It can also be defined by the worst type of behavior you tolerate.

When any cultural flashpoint arises, every organization will revert to its highest level of training. It will also lean on its culture for language and practices in that moment. This is why the culture of your church is your first line of defense against Satan crouching at your door.

Here are some practical steps:

1. Develop a Theological Vision and Talk About It Often

Regardless of denomination, we all have theology and ministry practices. If your theology is the hardware of your church (what will rarely, if ever, change) and your ministry practices are the software of your church (what will frequently change), then how do your hardware and software communicate with each other? They do so through middleware—theological vision.

Based on your theology and ministry practices, what are the realities that shape the best behaviors you want to see in your church?

2. Tighten Up Your Culture

Every church can pinpoint the behaviors they can't stand and the people who exhibit them (you know who I'm talking about). Yet very few pastors actually do anything about them for really good reasons: fear, shame, and uncertainty about consequences are just a few.

However, if you want your church to thrive during cultural flashpoints, your culture has to be resistant to whatever strain of virus is dominating our social media feeds and news cycles. Identify those unwelcome behaviors and work with your team to ensure they are addressed. Obviously, don't be callous, but you should be firm.

Perhaps you're finding that your culture isn't as resistant as you had hoped. Maybe you see that your efforts to preach, teach, and pastor have left you vulnerable in this area. Don't panic. Not only is it okay to develop new ideals to build your culture around, but I'd genuinely like to help you. i2 Leader can help guide your team to create Theological Vision and culture to prepare you for the next wave of cultural strife (because we know it's coming).

3. Trust Your Culture

If your culture is solid and your people have clear expectations of how to live together, then you should trust the culture you've built. There will be congregants who choose to be uncharitable and unkind, and those precious sheep should be pastored and shepherded where they are.

But I'd be willing to bet that if you took a closer look at your people, you'd find a critical mass of folks who understand where you're trying to lead them and are hanging on your every word. Don't stop talking. Don't stop leading. Keep going. Trust the culture you've built.