Last evening some of us got together and had a wonderful first conversation about culture and how it relates to our mission and vision. The mission is the Great Commission: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” In other words, our call to action is to not be static, to keep moving, to make disciples without any discrimination, to do the sacramental work of offering a visible sign of grace to those who accept Jesus as their lord and savior, and to bring people to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ idea of the Kingdom of God. That is our mission, given to us by Jesus himself.
Our vision is what we hope to see us achieve through this mission. Again, it is not something we are inventing on our own. The New Testament witnesses that when the great commission is lived into life transforms, that is, people receive healing and restoration, a whole new creation becomes evident. So, our vision is that we too will witness lives transforming – lives changing, right before our eyes.
Culture is something different. Culture evokes the chicken and egg debate. Does culture come first which then helps us understand the mission and realize the vision, OR, is culture the outcome of the mission? The answer is both and. Culture is made up of values. Some of those values we already have and some we aspire. Culture is constant and it is ever changing. Notwithstanding this ambiguity, culture is clearly felt. When we walk into an Apple store we feel the culture of the company. Everything speaks clarity and simplicity. Value is given to “genius”, etc.
So, what is the culture of The Table? That is the conversation some of us have started. So far, we have noticed two things: We lead by example, and we strive for excellence, not mediocrity. For instance, if elegant touches want elegant touches for everything we do, then, they don’t wait around for someone to tell them how to do what, they find creative solutions to make things elegant – they lead by example. Similarly, individuals lead by example. For instance, Amanda believes in offering an excellent documentation of what we do, so she does everything in her capacity to make that happen; Robbin believes in making people feel welcome through good organization, so she does just that; Sandy believes in a true immersion in the books that their group reads. The list of people who lead by example is too long for me to mention everyone here, but you get the point. Second, in every case of leadership, we have observed that no one is satisfied with mediocre work; we all strive to make it the best – the best livestream, the best music recording, the best newsletter, the best blessing box, the best Altar, the best outreach to the community, the best music, etc. And we constantly evaluate what we do, and we constantly strive to make it better.
Another thing we observed was how quick people are to participate. There is practically no warm up time – people are ready to share from the get-go. Why? Perhaps they know that there is no judgement offered, and everything shared is equally valued. We also noted how multiple leaders think from the perspective of positive can-do spirit – things just happen because people volunteer to do them!
Our observation is that none of what we are observing is happening in a vacuum. It has a history and some very conscious decisions. We have chosen to be an imaginative, bold, compassionate, strong, faithful, group of Jesus followers committed to seeing that God’s will be done on earth as in heaven.
Our group will continue to meet and continue this conversation. You are most welcome to share your observations in the comments below. There will be a time for us to keep enlarging the participants of this conversation, and for now, please do share your observations.