Changing the Atmosphere of Our Faith
*I have previously posted two blogs and making a church culture shift. They have been so popular that I decided to edit them down and combine them into one post. I hope this makes it easier for everyone to get the full story in one post. Thanks for reading!
Sweet or Salty
Do you have a sweet tooth, or are you more of a salty snack person? I’m definitely in the sweet tooth category. My love for sugar was something my college roommate couldn’t help but notice. One day, he opened the pantry and asked, “How can you eat all of this junk?”
“What do you mean?” I replied with a spoonful of Blue Bell ice cream in my mouth.
“Everything in here is full of sugar. None of this stuff is healthy for you.”
I went to the pantry door and looked in. Zebra cakes, mini chocolate bars, bags of chips, and other highly processed sugary foods stared back at me.
A light went off for me at that moment. Believe it or not, I thought I was eating healthy. This may sound surprising, but it is because of the standard I was comparing myself to. My diet was much healthier than what was typically on our family menu at home. But compared to my friend’s family, which includes multiple diabetics, these sugar snacks were foreign objects.
This situation showed me something significant about perspectives. I had moved out of my family home, but that culture was still influencing my point of view. Was it possible this was happening in other areas of my life as well? Maybe, in more ways than one, I didn’t just need to get out of some of my old environments but also needed to get their influence out of me.
The Soil of Our Souls
It is the same with our religious perspectives and church cultures. Our church cultures are the atmospheres of our faith, the soil where our souls are planted. Leading in an unsustainable way, or being rooted in a sick culture, does not wear you out immediately. But over time, the burnout and high turnover reveal that a change needs to be made.
Often, culture influences our decisions and behaviors without us being aware. This can make it challenging to find a healthy rhythm for our lives after experiencing dysfunction of some kind. How do we make a change when we realize we need to change the atmosphere of our faith?
Five Steps To A Healthy Church Experience
I want to suggest a five-step plan for those in need of a church culture detox. This should be helpful even if your environment is not bad, but you are just looking for a new way of doing church life.
Step 1: Get out of the old culture.
Identifying there is a culture problem does not mean you are not part of it. Sometimes it is easier to see in others what we need to be seeing in ourselves.
That is why the first step is simply to get out of the old culture before you begin pointing out what is wrong in the old culture to others. If you genuinely believe you are in a dysfunctional culture, then the best thing you can do is move on so you can begin to heal in the right environment.
Step 2: Get in a new culture.
Breaking a bone requires a visit to the doctor’s office. It does not matter whether the incident was your fault or not. The same principle applies to making a culture shift. Detoxing from a dysfunctional culture includes slowing down for a season and changing your surroundings, at least temporarily.
Realizing you were headed in the wrong direction for you is not enough. You also need to discover the right path moving forward. A new environment does not only give you a place to heal but also time to download a new blueprint for life.
Step 3: Get the old culture out of you.
A change in scenery is helpful, but it is not everything. Although we may change environments, it also essential to allow God to transform the atmosphere of our hearts.
In the process of reclaiming spiritual health, your old behaviors may return despite your best intentions. We have to remove these old ways to make room for the new culture to take root. This shift is a process, not a switch. It is a wrestling match, not a quarter-mile drag race.
Step 4: Get the new culture in you.
Changing the atmosphere of our faith does not happen after reading a book or attending a conference. There is no course that, in and of itself, can take your soul from toxic to healthy. When it comes to culture, it is what is absorbed in a healthy environment, in-between teachings, and events that is most transformative.
Step 5: Thrive in the new culture.
Some tests are passed, not by your success and performance, but by your healing and transformation as a person. Your growth as a believer should not have a finish line. Instead, we should trust God with each step in our journey to draw closer to Him and become a better reflection of Him to those around us.
Trading exhausting religion for refreshing faith is not an easy process. It takes time to unlearn certain things while holding on to others that are beneficial. I hope these five steps help you on your way to discover a more authentic and enjoyable Christian experience.
Further Reading on this topic:
