Elephant in the Boardroom: The Four Cultures of the Church
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, March 15, 2005
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- (9) comments so far
A family culture expects the pastor to maintain and guide the church as a parental figure who carries the family traditions and heartbeat. Examples could include most mainline Protestant churches and smaller community churches.
An icon culture expects the pastor to symbolize in his or her public persona the character of the church and to be the face or voice through which people enter the church. Examples include media churches, many megachurches, and many large mainline Protestant churches.
An archival culture expects the pastor to be an activist curator. It insists that the pastor be in touch with the great historical and universal traditions of the church so that they can be made relevant to the present. Examples might include Roman Catholic Churches and the Orthodox church.
A replication culture expects the pastor to replicate ministry through multiplication of called, equipped, and deployed leaders and workers. Examples might include some megachurches, and parachurch organizations.
None of these church types is "pure." For example, all church cultures have elements of family. However, a family culture is distinct in that the elements of relationship and style drive the decision making of the church and become central to the expectations of members. In addition, no one church type is superior to another. Each has its strengths and vulnerabilities.
FOR DISCUSSION: What type of church is your church? How has this affected the way that your church has handled pastoral transition in the past? What can you do to help your church better help pastoral transition in the future?
We’ve be using the new book titled "The Elephant in the Boardroom—Speaking the Unspoken about Pastoral Transitions" by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree for some great discussions on how healthy pastoral transitions should look. Last week we started looking at the four church cultures: The family culture; the icon culture, the archival culture, and the replication culture. This week we’ll continue on with a little more on each one. (This is just a small part of the discussion in the book, I would encourage you to get a copy and read in more detail for yourself!)
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Bigdaddysmith on Tue, March 15, 2005
You forgot one section of culture. The DEAD church like the one I attend now.
Russ Crabtree on Tue, March 15, 2005
Based on some of the responses to the book, it may be important to say that each of these cultures can be spiritually vital. I could give numerous examples of churches in each catagory that are strong, God-honoring and serving congregations. Conversely, each can become moribound, and examples of this could be given for each culture as well. What we are talking about here is not ways of displacing God but ways in which God operates and connects with people in different kinds of congregations.
When we understand this, we understand why different kinds of congregations have very different pastoral transitions. Our experience is that attempts to force a one size fits all approach to pastoral transitions is unhelpful, and, as some of you have pointed out, disastrous. It is difficult to grasp this because we all tend to see things from our own cultural perspective. It is like going into China and speaking Spanish. There is an immediate disconnect. It takes work to see beyond our own framework.
I greatly appreciate the work on this website to get this information in front of people and the weekly encouragement for people to read the entire book. It is an entirely different way of thinking about pastoral transitions and unless the power of the whole is grasped, the individual pieces tend to get judged based upon an old paradigm.
Blessings to all on the journey!!
Russ Crabtree - Co author
Ricky on Tue, March 15, 2005
Why is it that “Pastoral Transition” is necessary? Are we saying that God has called a Pastor to a church until things get rough and then he calls them to another church. We always talk about church hopping people, what about church hopping Pastors?
Dr. Jim Dyke on Tue, March 15, 2005
I sometimes wonder if pastoral transition is another good by-product of human mortality! One of the common things I have seen in large church cultures (of all types) is the natural, human tendency for congregants to increasingly tie the life, vitality, and even future of their church to its senior pastor, in an unhealthy “co-dependent” manner. Of course, there is a definite connection between the life of a church and the leadership the pastor supplies, otherwise I wouldn’t be one of those who believes in training pastors to be better leaders! But the disturbing part of the equation is that parishioners often easily (and subtley) shift their focus of dependence (and thinking and planning) exclusively on to the senior pastor and HIS vision, to the neglect of a vision for the church itself. What results is a vision that cannot outlast the tenure of the pastor. What exacerbates this probem is that the pastor often does the same thing! At one staff meeting I attended, the senior pastor declared his vision based on his estimate of how much longer he was going to be able to serve in that capacity (about 17 years). What saddened me about that was his lack of sensitivity to the staff (and congregants) who would surely be there at the point of his departure. He had absolutely nothing to say about the future of the church past his tenure. He had obviously given no thought to the transition that would occur. And just as surely, had made no plans or provisions to aid that process. I predict the usual trauma when he leaves—and the resulting staff losses (and parishioner “transfers”) when the new leader arrives with his own narcissistic vision for the church. I think the Holy Spirit deserves to “lead” the church in the truest sense of the word, because He knows (as we all do) that the church is meant to outlive and outlast any human leader. Inevitable pastoral transitions protect the church from the potential tyranny and abuse from any one human leader—that’s a good thing. But the inevitability of pastoral transition ought also to motivate us all to pursue a “better way” than the typical, i.e. to think bigger than any one leader—to develop a vision for the church as a whole, and to constantly be raising up the next generation of leaders in the church (both professional and volunteer) to ensure that the loss of a senior pastor is not the end of the church’s vision.
Russ Crabtree on Tue, March 15, 2005
Dr. Dyke’s point is an important one. Focusing on a planned pastoral transition process before it happens forces the church to think more broadly than the current pastor. That is certainly what happened in the ministry of Jesus. Because Jesus acknowledged that his time with his disciples was finite, it encouraged a thinking beyond his own ministry. Jesus had a transition plan that enabled him to say “greater things you will do.”
However, pastoral changes in and of themselves do not automatically result in less pastor dependent churches or churches that are more vision driven. Without an intentional discernment process that goes beyond any one pastor, they can be catapulted into a cycle of grief, reaction, unrealistic expectations, failure, grief, reaction, unrealistic expectations, failure, grief…and on and on.
Developing a pastoral succession plan for a church puts real teeth into the assertion that the church does not belong to the pastor…it belongs to God.
Russ Crabtree
Russ Crabtree on Tue, March 15, 2005
Dr. Dyke’s point is an important one. Focusing on a planned pastoral transition process before it happens forces the church to think more broadly than the current pastor. That is certainly what happened in the ministry of Jesus. Because Jesus acknowledged that his time with his disciples was finite, it encouraged a thinking beyond his own ministry. Jesus had a transition plan that enabled him to say “greater things you will do.”
However, pastoral changes in and of themselves do not automatically result in less pastor dependent churches or churches that are more vision driven. Without an intentional discernment process that goes beyond any one pastor, they can be catapulted into a cycle of grief, reaction, unrealistic expectations, failure, grief, reaction, unrealistic expectations, failure, grief…and on and on.
Developing a pastoral succession plan for a church puts real teeth into the assertion that the church does not belong to the pastor…it belongs to God.
Russ Crabtree
Harry Miller on Thu, March 17, 2005
Yesterday, I visited the Christ Lutheran church in Pacific Beach on 4761 Cass Street in San Diego, California. It had a mission court yard structure and the door was open. Upon entering the courtyard I saw a door the read office and I went in. At the end of the hallway was the pastors office and the door was open. I went up to the door and was welcomed in. I introduced my self as a preacher that works in the homeless Rose Creek area. And I mentioned that I had heard that they had a feed for the homeless and I was told it was on Fridays at 11:30am. Next I said I would like to invite the homeless to come and I wanted to bring them to a good place. I mentioned one of churches in the area the Methodist church on 1561 Thomas Ave had sodomites in the congregation and would not preach against sodomy according to the elder went I visited because he said they would be offended. Then the pastor of the luthern church said neither will I preach against sodomy. Our church is a loving church where everyone is welcome. I said that 1 Corintheans chapter 5 says we must remove the leaven of those who call themselves believers and continue in fornication or it will corrupt the whole church. The pastor said Jesus said “judge not lest ye be judged.” “And slavery is wrong.” I said the Holy Scripture says “God has committed all judgment to the Son so they would honor the son as they honor the Son as they honor the Father.” I said that Jesus is the “Judge of Judges. He sends people to the lake of fire to be tortured for all eternity for rejecting God. Slavery, the holocaust etc. is nothing compared to that.” The pastor said “Jesus never preached against sodomy.” I said yes he did for Jesus said “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And the Bible says that Sodomy is an abomination to God.” I said that “God is incharge and has used things like slavery to bring people to faith. For example in the the book of Judges God put the children of Israel into slavery ten times in four hundred years after they entered into the promise land because they went into idolitry, whoredom and the murder of their children. And this was after God put them in slavery in egypt for four hundred years.” And I said that “the farther that we get from God the worse it is. Africa has many countries that have rapped and killed millions of people to this day and God brought these people to Christians to learn about Christ and they grew and surpassed the American church with Martin Luther King.” He said “I believe that.” I said “love without truth is not right.” Jesus preached “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” He said “I am not Jesus.” He said “my approach is love.” I said in the book of Jude is says “some save through loving kindness others through fear.” Jesus loved by preaching to His enemies that He is the Messiah and when they rejected it He took off all their clothes spiritually for all the world to see. I said in John 3:16 it is written “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” I said “only begotten” is “mono genes” and means only form. And I said in Romans 8:28,29 it is written “All things work together for good to them that love god to them that are called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed into the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” I said we are to be conformed into the image of Christ and when you try to make another form this is idolitry.” He said you have made the Holy Scriptures idolitry. I said the Holy Scriptures are fulfilled in Christ. If you can’t fit them into the life of Christ you don’t understand them. There was a young man sitting down in the office and he said that he was a worship leader and that if they preached against sodomy he would leave the church. I told the pastor that I would not bring the homeless people to his church for I did not want them to be distroyed. As I left he he said “the Lord be with you.”
Harry Miller on Thu, March 17, 2005
This week in California a judge in San Francisco legalized sodomy as marriage. Now as I live through these incidents Chirst brings me revelation through the Bible story of Lot. In Genesis 19:7 Lot calls all the men of the city of Sodom brethren. Looking at the historical context this happens after the God of Abraham saved them from slavery to the four kings. What righteousness did Lot have that he was saved from destruction? Now we need to look for the righteousness of Christ for this is the only rightousness God will accept. First Lot tried to save the messengers by bringing them home. Next when confronted Lot was willing to rebuke his brethren “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.” Next Lot put his life on the line standing between them and the door. Now how does this week’s blog fit in my life. First there is a family culture here: (i.e. expects the pastor to maintain and guide the church as a parental figure who carries the family traditions and heartbeat. Examples could include most mainline Protestant churches and smaller community churches.) The church expects the pastor to maintain and guide the church as a parental figure who carries the family traditions and heartbeat. This church has an open door policy. The pastor is accessable to everyone. So was Jesus. The church is making love their central theme. Everyone is welcome. The church has a living demonstration of reaching out to those that are hurting the poor and homeless with the loving kindness of a home cooked meal every week. This church is a mainline Protestant church and a smaller community church. Second there an icon culture here the pastor is expected to symbolize in his or her public persona the character of the church and to be the face or voice through which people enter the church. Third there is an archival culture here were the church expects the pastor to be an activist curator. It insists that the pastor be in touch with the great historical and universal traditions of the church so that they can be made relevant to the present. Luther was a rebel to what he perceived as in justices of his day. Last there is a replication culture were the church expects the pastor to replicate ministry through multiplication of called, equipped, and deployed leaders and workers. The Methodist church on Thomas avenue serves 200 plus homeless every week. There is a dentist office, legal counsel, and many other active social ministries. The social worker involved also started God’s Extended Hand ministries on 16th street downtown where meals are feed to the homeless for breakfast and dinner to hundreds almost everyday. But there is also something missing from these cultures and it is the righteousness of Christ without which nobody will be saved.
Jim on Fri, March 18, 2005
Why do we expect so much out of our pastors? I think this either burns them out or turns them into egotists. We should be more independent of our pastors and learn to think for ourselves.
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