Values and Behaviors

Individual Reflection

Based on the teaching so far, consider where your church spends its time and resources, what do you think are the top 5 things your church values (really cares about) and what evidence gives you proof that it’s something you care about? *Remember, congregational values represent the group as a whole, even though some of us will have certain values we would prioritize higher or lower than the group.
Here are some examples:
a. We care about human connection.
b. The evidence is that COVID was so hard for us… we ALL missed hugs and potlucks and face-to-face fellowship.

a. We care about supporting our local community.
b. We host the community food pantry here and give a major portion of our offering to food security programs.

a. We care about music that speaks to all generations.
b. We are intentional about having contemporary and traditional… always spending money on keeping this upgraded and relevant… and people tell us how much they love our worship experience.

Directions: Write your answers for the prompts below. Try to come up with a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 values (a) and behaviors (b).

1. PROMPT

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* 1.a) Please let us know the name of your church and tell us what is something you believe your church really cares about? (i.e. the value)

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* 1.b) What is the evidence that proves it’s what your church really cares about? (i.e. behavior)

2. PROMPT

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* 2.a) What is something you believe your church really cares about? (i.e. the value)

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* 2.b) What is the evidence that proves it’s what your church really cares about? (i.e. the behavior)

3. PROMPT

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* 3.a) What is something you believe your church really cares about? (i.e. the value)

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* 3.b) What is the evidence that proves it’s what your church really cares about? (i.e. the behavior)

4. PROMPT

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* 4.a) What is something you believe your church really cares about? (i.e. the value)

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* 4.b) What is the evidence that proves it’s what your church really cares about? (i.e. the behavior)

5. PROMPT

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* 5.a) What is something you believe your church really cares about? (i.e. the value)

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* 5.b) What is the evidence that proves it’s what your church really cares about? (i.e. the behavior)

It is important to recognize that what we personally care about is sometimes not exemplified in the collective behaviors of the church. For example, I might really love organ music. But, my preference and love for organ music might not make it to the regular and repetitive worship experience on Sunday mornings because few people hold that same value.

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* Are there things that YOU PERSONALLY care about that are not evident in the behaviors of your church? If so, what are those?

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* What can you do, as a disciple of Christ, when your personal values (things you care about) are not aligned with the collective values of your church?

Digging Deeper: The Stories You Tell:
Stories provide an excellent illustration about what your congregation really values and cares about.

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* 1. Consider a difficult moment in the life of the church. What happened? How did the congregation respond? How were, or weren’t, congregational values expressed by and through behaviors during that time?

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* 2.Consider a joyous time in the life of the church. What happened? How did the congregation respond? How were, or weren’t, congregational values expressed by and through behaviors during that time?

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* 3. If there is a value that you named as important in part one that was not evident, what could be done to change that?

Digging even Deeper: The Stories Others Tell:
Often, long-time congregants see their church through “rose-colored” glasses, which can be awesome for maintaining optimism but also detrimental if you fail to see things from others perspectives, an important principle to effective outreach and discipleship.

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* 1. If you were an outsider who had no familiarity with your congregation and you watched what happens here (how members care about people external and internal, how you spend your money, how you spend your time) what would you say people here seem to value, based on their behaviors?