A couple of years ago our staff here at White Oak developed a set of Staff Behaviors. We believed that we needed some valued behaviors that would help us focus on building positive culture amongst our staff and to help drive us forward on our mission of connecting people to full life in Jesus. I sat down with the staff and asked them to share with me what they wanted to see from their coworkers and what they hoped would define the culture in our ministries. Out of that, we came up with five staff behaviors that we would keep in front of us.
I take Jesus seriously.
I am present for the fun things.
I help others.
I multiply heroes.
I expect more.
You’ll notice these are all “I” commitments. That’s because each person is responsible for embodying and maturing in these behaviors. Each commitment comes with a statement that helps define it. I want to take the next few weeks to share these with you, why they are important to us, and how we hope they drive not only our staff but our church family as well.
I take Jesus seriously: We check one another on attitudes and actions that reflect Jesus’s heart.
I heard a preacher recently talk about the prophet Jonah. His core issue was that he believed he could do the work of God (whether prophet, church staff member, pastor, etc.) without the hard work of following God into the hard things. It’s critical to our faith journey and to our ministry (which God has assigned to all of us) that we are walking closely with Jesus. It’s easy to get caught up in doing things for Jesus. It’s strikingly easy to slip into a routine of faith. Quick prayers, putting smiles on for others, saying the right things, working hard for results. And at the same time, we don’t even notice that we aren’t in the rhythms and posture to see our faith maturing. Asking questions like: Am I more loving than a year ago? Do I treasure Jesus more now? Am I more obedient to his desires than I was? What have I surrendered that I’ve avoided giving up in that past?... these help us to take Jesus more seriously. The saying goes, you can’t lead others to a place that you’re not going yourself. This is so true. If our hearts aren’t being given over to Christ to form and purify day by day, how can we expect to lead others in a deeper walk with Him?
There’s a second piece to this Staff Behavior. We also commit to help one another take Jesus seriously. If we are asking the questions of one another and if we’re noticing behaviors which do not model Jesus’s heart, we have the obligation as fellow Jesus-followers to help lead one another back onto the path of surrender and maturity. This isn’t easy but it’s critical.
It's possible for any church to be filled with people who say they love Jesus and even that they follow Jesus. But, to take him seriously? At his word? Daily surrendering? Checking one another? That’s a different thing. Would you be willing to adopt a commitment like this into your own life? Perhaps you put this up at work. Maybe you post it in your home. Maybe put this on your bathroom mirror.
Jesus words, here, say it plainly.
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. -Matthew 7:24-25
May we be a church staff, a church family, and individual followers of Jesus who pursue this commitment and behavior as we trust in His power and grace to move us forward and pick us up when we fall.
I take Jesus seriously,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor
White Oak Christian Church