The Leader As Culture Cultivator

Leaders are culture cultivators, gardeners who possess a calling to cultivate faithfully a plot of ground entrusted to their care. If leaders are culture cultivators, then the question needs tobe asked: What, exactly, is culture?

Culture is the set of accepted rhythms, values, practices and un-written laws of a particular group or subgroup. Culture is often revealed in the values we hold dear, the language we use regularly, the stories we tell most often (and how we tell them) and the rhythms we participate in.

Therefore, as people called to lead God’s people, we should be asking a series of questions such as the following:

• What do we celebrate, and why these particular things?

• What do we hold most dear?

• What is it that we mourn?

• What language do we use to describe the nature of reality?

• What “stories of legend” do we tell most frequently—and why these?

• What are the rhythms of our lives? And what does that say about who we are and what we care about?

When you think about your culture—a set of accepted rhythms, practices, values and language in your particular community—consider what it says about who your community is, how you see the world and, ultimately, how you view and interact with God.

One of Peter Drucker’s most popular mantras is “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” Leaders are called to care about the culture entrusted to them and to work hard to cultivate a culture that embodies what it should care about most.

Jesus created culture by announcing the new reality by his arrival. He used imaginative language, he told stories of celebration and he honored people’s stories when they embraced a culture of the kingdom of God. The language he employed, (“The kingdom of God is like . . .”), the symbols he used (sheep, a party, bread, water, a servant’s towel, the cross, etc.), and the rhythms he participated in (prayer, worship, rest, justice, service, generosity, healing, caring for those who others had been ignored or scorned, etc.) all created a new culture. When I travel and people ask me what I do, I usually tell them I am a cultural cultivator. Inquisitive people follow up and ask me to explain specifically what I do. I tell them I help a local church care most about the things that Jesus cares most about.

As spiritual leaders, it is much more important to cultivate a kingdom culture than it is to build quality programs. Programs aren’t inherently wrong, but they are often overemphasized. Ulti- mately, our call isn’t to develop stellar programs; it’s to see that the values of the kingdom run through the collective bloodstream of our churches. Commit to cultivating a healthy kingdom-centered ethos—then allow programs, events and initiatives to flow out of that culture.

Fruitful leaders are the ones who regularly ask, “What kind of culture are we seeking to cultivate here—and does it align with the values of the kingdom Jesus came to bring to earth?” Create a culture that seeks to care most about the things that Jesus cares most about.*

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*This is an excerpt from J.R. Briggs’ book Ministry Mantras.