The God-Ordained Culture

A Comprehensive Guide to Improve Local Church Functionality, Viability, and Sustainability

Alvin B. Moore

• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781636305714
• eBook ISBN: 9781636305721
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

The author believes dysfunctional increasingly defines too many seemingly successful twenty-first-century local churches. The God-ordained culture is presented to root out causes of dysfunction.

The author uses the Holy Bible to provide a review of the culture that organically generates, expands, and extends to future generations the beliefs and ministries essential for healthy local church function. The reader is directed toward ministries and structures identified within Psalm 19: 7–9 and Ephesians 4: 11. Emphasis is given to apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, beliefs, intercession, alignment, culture, proactive strategies, and self-assessments.

The author pinpoints Bible-truth and scientific knowledge to highlight leadership, communication, and intellectual skills critical to local church functionality. The scientific knowledge includes eleven life-sustaining characteristics of all living things and beings. The author uniquely combines Bible-truth and scientific knowledge to provide practical instruction and recommend behavior assessments supporting the continual improvement of local church functionality, viability, and sustainability.

Preface

This book results from my fifty-plus-year observations that dysfunctional increasingly defines local churches. Dysfunction minimizes local church viability and sustainability. Specifically, dysfunction is observed in churches that successfully add members yet do not sufficiently develop those members toward full functionality.

The guidance provided within this book results from my postgraduate research.1 The research suggests that the quality of local church function rises and falls with the church culture.

Culture

Culture is the combined beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, etc., of any assembled group or community. Necessary is a learning culture2 which inspires people learning with and from one another. Culture defines what truth is acceptable; it defines how believers perceive and address complexity.

The God-ordained culture maintains ways of thinking and acting that motivates the asking of questions. Questions serve to clarify and validate the diverse perceptions of reality held by church members. Once perceptions are understood, decision-making can be guided toward alignment with Bible-truth.

The God-ordained culture is not established with a list of steps to be strictly followed. Rather, it is naturally established by mature believers who maintain a solid, unshakable belief in Bible-truth and faithfully apply it.

Truth

Defining truth from multiple sources and perspectives can be a dilemma. What one accepts as true ultimately determines the quality, duration, and ultimate dynasty of their life. Valid sources of truth include the Holy Bible, scholarship, the Holy Spirit, and the ascension gifts.

Bible-truth

Bible-truth is the essential source of truth. It can be used to validate any perspective because it is perfect, reliable, right, pure, clean, and true (Ps. 19:7–9). Those aligning with Bible-truth develop true beliefs. True beliefs develop accurate thoughts, enable healthy emotions, and encourage constructive behaviors.

Although the Bible is the foundation of truth, it does not detail every situation and circumstance. Scholarship is necessary to adequately understand and correctly apply Bible-truth to every situation.

Scholarship

Scholarship is the process of gaining knowledge through observation, research, experiment, and otherwise sound academic and training practice. Scholarship is only possible because God’s creation has an observable and definable order.

Any scholarship, including mathematics and science, that conflicts with Bible-truth is either incomplete or biased. Any action based on scholarship must be validated because what seems right may not be right (Prov. 3:5–8, 14:12, 28:26). Essential is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit reveals truth (John 14:16–17). The Holy Spirit provides two essential decision-making capacities:

1. All who accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Master obtain the ability to discern the will of God (John 16:13–15).
2. The character imparted by the Holy Spirit includes self-control; it is the power to direct self to do the will of God (Gal. 5:22, Phil. 2:13).

The ascension gifts

Jesus Christ, when He ascended on high, gave gifts to fully equip believers for service (Eph. 4:1–12). These gifts include apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors, and teachers. Individually, each gift is an expression of truth lived and taught by Jesus Christ.

Perception

Perception is one’s imagination or mental model of reality. Having an imperfect perception of reality causes blind intelligence. Blind intelligence3 is using distorted, false, or inadequate information to guide decision-making. Maintaining full functionality is only possible to the degree true reality is perceived, protected, clarified, and appropriately applied to one’s current and emerging state of affairs.

Complexity

Margret Wheatley4 relates that change, once observed as chaotic in nature, actually has a definable pattern that can be observed over time. Chaos is currently better defined as complexity. This complexity results from diverse, simultaneously active change responses that drive, resist, and grow with change. Although complexity prevents change from being controlled, it can be effectively influenced.

What is necessary to address the complexity of change within any local church includes identifying, challenging, and rooting out causes of dysfunction. Dysfunction limits opportunities to fully engage the God-ordained culture.

Without the God-ordained culture, ministry structures essential for proper local church function will not be adequately established and maintained. When local churches adequately engage the God-ordained culture, church functionality is enhanced to maximize opportunities that inspire the maturity and full functionality of its members.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the initiators of my journey in complexity theory, Dr. Michael Bokeno and Dr. Vernon Gantt, professors of Organizational Communication at Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. Dr. Bokeno and Dr. Gantt were part of my original thesis review team. They broadened my vision toward accomplishing this book.

Dr. Bokeno was more than a classroom professor. He was my research advisor and chair of my thesis review committee. He first introduced me to chaos theory. His strategic questions and recommendations helped to expand my vision and understanding o...

Table of contents

• Chapter 1