10 ways this effective leader understood and encountered culture
Jesus lived and breathed a kingdom culture. Everything He did revealed to those watching what the culture of God’s kingdom was like.
People could take their cues from Jesus, and in so doing be exposed to an accurate experience of the kingdom of God.
Excellent biblical leadership enables people to taste, smell and touch the culture of God’s kingdom. Jesus’ leadership made way for people to encounter the culture of the kingdom of God. Here are 10 things Jesus understood and practiced about culture, which will help us do the same.
1. Jesus knew only He could determine what His culture would be.
In both of Jesus’ first sermons as recorded by Luke (4), and by Matthew (5-7), He was absolutely clear regarding what the culture of His kingdom looks like. Only the leader can determine what the culture of an organization is. It is the responsibility of the leader, a responsibility no one else can take on.
2. Jesus knew that the temperature of His culture rested on His leadership.
Every leader sets the temperature of culture for the people they lead. Jesus knew that people would only ever be as excited about the culture of His kingdom as He was.
3. Jesus knew that the culture He was creating would benefit everyone.
Everyone who immersed himself or herself in Jesus’ kingdom culture would be benefitted. He was confident of what His culture looked like and how it would help others. Knowing this meant Jesus was motivated to maintain the standards of his culture.
4. Jesus understood the limitations of the culture He was setting.
In John 6:60-70 we see Jesus challenge those who would not be able to accept this new culture, to return to where they had come from. Jesus knew that the culture He was establishing would be difficult for some to embrace, so He permitted them not to belong to it.
5. Jesus knew everyone else had the potential to detrimentally influence his culture.
Frequently Jesus would address His disciples (Mark 10:35-40) or the religious leaders (Matthew 12:34), as they challenged or violated the culture He was creating. He was constantly re-orientating them to the culture he was introducing. Jesus knew how impressionable people were and how important it is for leaders to constantly reinforce cultural values.
6. It was more important for Jesus to establish culture than strategy.
Jesus’ strategy was simple, “Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of people” (Matthew 4:19). Culture is all about what it would look like when they said ‘Yes.’ What His kingdom looked and felt like as it invaded the world and transformed it, was a far more complex and enthralling conversation. One which Jesus, then Paul and every church since has been exploring.
7. Even though a culture cannot be seen, it can be felt.
Culture is like that. It’s an invisible force that transforms people. When Zacchaeus (Luke 19) was drawn into kingdom culture, he instantly gave everything he had away. When the rich young man (Matthew 19) drew close to kingdom culture, his response was the opposite. They didn’t fully understand what was happening, but they both felt something significant.
8. If Jesus had misrepresented or contradicted His culture people would have distrusted Him and left.
Jesus’ ministry was so congruent with everything He said and everything that Scripture had said about Him, that He constantly reinforced the same message. When people interacted with Jesus, they experienced the fullness of the culture of His kingdom in every way.
9. Jesus’ consistency was what established His culture.
From slaves to soldiers, farmers to fishermen, kings to children, Jesus was always the same. He operated from a single set of values, which were also the values of His kingdom. As He did more and more, His kingdom spread further and further. The simple fact of his consistency gave his culture enormous traction and appeal.
10. As people assimilated into Jesus' culture, they became ambassadors for the culture.
Jesus' culture was so strong that people were changed by it and then lived in it, and saw others changed. Even today, 2,000 years after Jesus empowered the Church with the Holy Spirit, we experience the same kingdom culture Jesus first revealed. Every generation since Jesus, has felt the wonderful culture of the kingdom of God and sought to embrace it and carry it.
As you’ve thought about Jesus’s cultural leadership, I hope you have been able to see how the culture you are responsible for can benefit from what Jesus teaches us about culture. Are there actions you can put beside each of the above points to develop your cultural leadership?
These thoughts have been adapted and developed from my book,How to Create the Organisational Culture You Want.
Photo source: istock
 | Rev. Ralph Mayhew has been leading people for more than 20 years. He is a lead pastor, author and seminary lecturer in practical theology and ministry and has a Masters in Christian Leadership. At the beginning of 2017, after 14 years of ordained ministry, he planted Burleigh Village Church; a local church encouraging people to think Jesus. He has written several books among them The Anonymous Leader: An Unambitious Pursuit of Influence and How To Create The Organizational Culture You Want. |
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