If you look over there in the left-hand column on this blog, you’ll see my smiling mug with the phrase “Cultural Architect, Coram Deo Church” underneath. I have taken a lot of crap for this title. My brother left me a voice mail asking if I did ‘cultural architecture consulting.’ Some not-so-friendly critics of Coram Deo suggested that in a truth-compromising sellout to postmodernistic cultural relevance, I had given up on the title “pastor.”
Au contraire. The culture of a community IS the most important reality about it. Think about the places you have worked, or the schools you’ve attended: they have a defining culture. Business consultant James Alexander says, “The culture becomes highly ingrained to the point of becoming invisible to the members of the organization. That is why it is so difficult for group members to talk about their culture, because it operates at a level blow our normal consciousness.” Commenting on the culture within a church, John Burke writes, “That intangible ‘feel’ [of a church] is the culture. [T]hough it may be imperceptible to regular members… the culture makes all the difference in the world in a post-Christian society.”
No matter what we preach, teach, say, or do, it’s our communal culture that defines us as a church. The task of a leader is to create a certain culture – one that reflects the values of the Kingdom and the heart of Jesus. That’s my task. And that’s the task of all of us who make up the core of Coram Deo. We are culture-shapers.
So yes, I am pastor. I am a shepherd. I am a servant of Jesus. And because I am those things, I am a cultural architect.
‘Nuff said. Boo-yah to the naysayers.
