Living In The 3rd Culture: “Developing a Philosophy of Ministry You Will Actually Use”

I. Why we need a Philosophy of Ministry (POM)

Most of us do ministry like Barney Fife... you have a one bullet POM. Barney Fife was the deputy from the Andy Griffith show who only carried one bullet... in his shirt pocket. What is your bullet?

ü The bullet of “Wait till they here me preach!”

ü The bullet of “Look what we can do!

ü The bullet of ……..

“The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on.” ~ Walter J. Lippmann

“People are more easily led than driven.”

~ David Harold Fink

“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops,

while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.”

~ General of the Armies John J. Pershing

II. What is a Philosophy of Ministry?

A Philosophy of Ministry is the distinct mix of personality, aspirations, vision, ministry values, styles, and strategies embraced and used to accomplish the church’s mission/purpose in its unique cultural context. (Tim Keller, Aubrey Malphers, Steve Childers, Bob Orner)

A. Scripture - Bedrock

ü "God has spoken in the Bible and He has not stuttered" (J.I. Packer).

ü “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

B. Mission – Foundation

1) Your Foundational Purpose, What we are called to do.

2) A mission statement is:

ü A broad, brief, biblical statement of why your church exists – it’s purpose.

ü It is the primary goal of why the church exists in the community.

2) The Mission Statement is how you will communicate the vision.

3) It speaks to Head and brings clarity.

4) It answers three fundamental questions:

ü Who are we here to serve?

ü What are their greatest needs?

ü How is our church going to meet those needs

C. Priorities: Foundation

1) The Ministry of Worship & Prayer

2) The Ministry of Learning & Edification

3) The Ministry of Fellowship & Community

4) The Ministry of Outreach & Evangelism

5) The Ministry of Mercy & Social Concern

Tim Keller -Evangelism: Equipping Believers in Mission and Outreach, Version 2, 1998

D. Vision – Roof

Vision is the dream of what the future looks like if God does His thing through us.

1) It asks:

ü “What are we seeking to do?”

ü “What are our aspirations?”

2) It looks to the Horizon.

3) It is more heart than head.

“If we are to think strategically and not incrementally,

it is imperative that we manage backward from the future,

not forward from our past." ~ Aubrey Malphurs

“Do not follow where the path may lead.

Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

~ Muriel Strode

To get a Solid Vision we must:

1) Have a realistic understanding of yourself.

2) Be a student of the Context.
3) Include your Leaders.

“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself,

or to get all the credit for doing it”. ~ Andrew Carnegie

“The difference between vision

and hallucination is action” ~ Allen Patmarajah.

E. Core Values –Base of the Wall.

Core values are the unique underlying motivations and convictions that drive behavior and ministry activity.

1) Values are our guiding or governing principles, our ground rules or boundaries.

2) Values are important because:

ü Determine organizational distinctives

ü Communicate what is important

ü Create right decisions

ü Influences behavior

ü Inspires action

ü Enhances leadership credibility

ü Influence mission and vision

2) Core values must be linked to the purposes

ü Worship & Prayer

ü Learning & Edification

ü Fellowship & Community

ü Outreach & Evangelism

ü Mercy & Social Service

3) Core values are unique for each ministry context

F. Culture/Context – Wall

Though I am only offering a brief overview of context, this one of the most neglected and misunderstood aspects of a a philosophy of ministry. As you can see from this blog, this is very important to me. Here three broad areas to keep in mind contest and culture.

1) Context of target area

ü Demographics

ü Cultural Values

ü Reached/Unreached

2) Planter/Pastor

3) Leaders in the Church

G. Style - Wall

Style asks the question “How does THIS church do gospel ministry in its unique cultural context?”

1) Worship Styles

ü Liturgical

ü Modern (alternative, blues)

ü Traditional

ü Contemporary (80’s)

ü Ancient/Modern

ü Other

2) Learning & Communication Styles

ü Analytical/Cognitive

ü Concrete/Relational

ü Intuitive/Experiential

3) Leadership Style

ü Consensus/Democratic

ü Elder led

ü Pastor led

ü Intense or laid back

4) Internal Organizational Style

ü Small home groups

ü Under-shepherd communities

ü Multiple worship services

ü Multiple congregations

5) Outreach/Acts of Mercy (Front Door, Side Door?)

H. Strategies - Door

1) Strategy lies on top of everything else.

2) Both inside and outside realities are taken into factor

3) Some required areas of Strategy are:

ü Networking

ü Prayer

ü Evangelism

ü Discipleship

ü Worship/Preaching

ü Personal/Spiritual life

ü Fundraising

ü Team Development

“The task of the leader is to get his people

from where they are to where they have not been.” ~ Henry Kissinger

“The first responsibility of a leader is

to define reality.” ~ Max DePree, The Art of Leadership

Third Culture Defined

The term “Third Culture” has been used in various ways. One “Third Culture” group “consists of those scientists and other thinkers in the empirical world who, through their work and expository writing, are taking the place of the traditional intellectuals in rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives, redefining who and what we are.”Another common use of “Third Culture” in fact describes my personal experience. The term was first coined by sociologist Ruth Hill Useem, professor emeritus of sociology and education at Michigan State University. She used the term to describe children growing up outside their citizenship countries because of a parent’s work abroad. A “TCK or Third Culture Kid has since been defined as, “someone who as a child has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture" Though I am a TCK, it is my desire to use the term in referring to the people who make up the true Christian Church (Theologically defined as the “Invisible Church”). In other words, the Church is a Third Culture. Scripture teaches us that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law and the punishment of Hell, and through faith in Him we become citizens of His Kingdom, receiving not only the full benefits of citizenship in His Kingdom, but indeed the right to become sons and daughters of God. The moment, we step into this Kingdome we experience a new and different culture. We are no longer in the kingdom of darkness, but now live in the kingdom of light and that changes everything! At the same time we never went anywhere physically as we continue to work, live, and play with the same people as before, we see the world differently, we no longer truly fit – we are “in the world, but not of it” -- we have a new culture. For most of us this life changing experience occurs within our birth culture and our Christian experience is saturated by those influences. For those who grew up in non-Hispanic White North America, Christianity is uniquely different than those who grew up in an African American context. Our birth culture effects how we live out our faith in the Kingdom of Christ. Yet the Kingdom of Christ requires one more cultural shift and that is away from birth culture and into a culture made up of people of every ethnic and cultural group that has ever existed on the face of the earth. This Kingdom is no more North American than it is Tanzanian or Tibetan. It is a unique or shall we say a “Third Culture” that integrates elements of all cultures into one new and better one, where there is no Jew or Greek, slave nor free, male nor female“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:26-298). In fact Revelation 7:9-10 gives us a description what this will look like one day:“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." A Third Culture Perspective is one that understands and appreciates that God gathers people from every ethnic and cultural group and brings them into the new culture of His Son Jesus Christ. It is a perspective where birth cultures are appreciated and respected as coming from God, but none are superior. It seeks to have a deeper understanding of the Gospel, pays attention to culture, our own as well as others, and then attempts to bring them together. It is a perspective that “seeks first His Kingdom and His Righteousness” and lovingly and passionately enjoys and glorifies God in all we do. It is a perspective that welcomes immigrants….

“Developing a Philosophy of Ministry You Will Actually Use”

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