A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes Healing

Yes, the church is part of the good news of Jesus. And the church proclaims the good news of Jesus. But when men and women have only seen churches formed by unhealthy power, celebrity, competitiveness, secrecy, and self-protection, our corporate ecclesial life belies the truth of the gospel. The church can only witness to the truth of Jesus by seeking justice, serving with humility, operating transparently, and confessing and lamenting failures.

When a male-based culture is re-formed into a male-and-female-based culture, it presents a truer picture of the character of God, who created all people as his image bearers. When the voices of women become customary, common, expected, and accepted, the church becomes more inviting, more inclusive, more empathetic, more compassionate, safer, and more secure—for everyone. We pray for that day. [1] Luke 4:18-19, NRSV, italics added. [

Culture socializes us into what is considered proper behavior. For Christians, this is true in our churches as well as in society at large.

However a church is organized—with a senior pastor, lead pastor, teaching pastor, rector, or priest, along with associates, curates, elders, deacons, directors, and ministry leaders—the leaders guide the organization toward a particular culture. But they’re not the only ones who have a say in the matter. The congregation, too, is involved in shaping the culture of the church. So, though it is true that leaders lead and thus have a decisive and sometimes overriding voice in the formation of culture, it’s more accurate to say that leaders and congregations form the church’s culture together.