These are questions we frequently ask ourselves as a team. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to tell when a culture shift has begun to gain traction in the life of the church and to articulate what differences it is making. However, as our work in the church pilot project progressed it became increasingly clear that there are 5 core values that are central to a whole-life disciplemaking church that we believe provide a good guide to when a culture shift has begun:
Value 1: We submit to the Lordship of Christ in all thingsWe seek to encourage the churches we are engaged with to actively explore these values in their lives together. Each of these values will already be present to a greater or lesser degree in the life of a church, flagging them as significant helps communities know what they are aiming for, and gives them a thermometer to measure the temperature of change in their context.
Christ is Lord of All is a fundamental scriptural tenet (Col 1:16-17; Eph 1:22). As a community we are committed to exploring what ‘all things’ mean, recognising that no area of existence is excluded from God’s interest, purpose and redemptive power.
Value 2: We value everyone’s frontlines
Everyone has a frontline beyond the congregation, a place that they spend most of their time. We recognise that this place is enormously significant as a context for both mission and discipleship. We are committed to helping each other see the significance of the place that God has put us and how we may accompany Him in His purposes there.
Value 3: We connect the 10 and the 110
Whether gathered or scattered we are the church. We seek to connect these contexts together by 1) making the space to share what is happening when we are scattered, and 2) using the time we spend together (whether in meetings or socially) to support, equip, resource and encourage one another for the places we spend the rest of our time.
Value 4: We are active listeners
God speaks the first word and we respond to Him, accompanying Him. Therefore we are seeking to cultivate the skills of active listening and discernment. In a world of multiple distractions and claims on our attention, we seek to listen well to God and others.
Value 5: We are committed to growth as whole-life disciples
We recognise that we never ‘arrive’ as whole-life disciples. We recognise that our experiences can either shape us to become more like Christ or less, offering opportunities to grow or retreat. We therefore embrace our growth as disciples, wherever we are, whatever we face, whatever we do.
These values may be visible in a number of ways: in preaching, worship, conversation, décor, use of time, voices given weight and prominence etc., and manifest themselves both corporately and individually (both ‘I’ and ‘we’ need to value everyone’s frontlines for this to go beyond mere lip service).
The values are not exhaustive in the sense that whole-life discipleship has many dimensions and you may explore many, many other elements and ideas according to your context and the unique group of people in your congregation. However, they serve as a good guide as to whether a congregation is equipping one another as followers of Christ in the whole of life. Indeed, if any of these values are missing, then churches can become consumer-oriented, concentrating on the religious experiences that people will have whilst they are present at the corporate gatherings of the church to the detriment of enabling people to take seriously the call to live fruitfully in the whole of their lives.
Over a series of posts we will outline each of the values in more detail. In the meantime you might want to think about: how are these values manifest in your community? What would a community that embraced these values look like? Are there would be other elements you would add to the list?
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