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Core Values & Ministerial Leadership
The Importance of Core Values in Ministerial Leadership
[Ref: Aubrey Malphurs: Values Driven Leadership, Baker Books, 2004]
Every church has a culture, though it may not be aware of it. A church’s culture consists of such
things as its traditions, heroes, expectations, norms, stories, rituals, symbols, rewards, and most
importantly its values.
In fact these cultural ingredients revolve around the core values.
Values are a vital part of any ministry’s culture – they are the very threads that make up its
organizational fabric.
“The Most important single element of any corporate, congregational, or denominational culture,
however, is the value system.” [Lyle Schaller, Getting Things Done, p. 152]
There are at least 10 significant reasons that core values are so important in ministry:
1. Values Determine Ministry Distinctives.
The best example of this can be seen when we examine the 7 Churches described in Rev 2 & 3.
Cite some examples:
Rev 2: 3, 4: Ephesus ‘hard work, perseverance’
Rev 2: 9 Smyrna ‘genuine wealth’
Rev 2: 13 Pergamum ‘loyalty of faith’
Rev 2: 19 Thyatira ‘love, faith, deeds of service and perseverance’
Rev 3: 1 Sardis – they had a reputation of being alive but in reality they were dead!
Rev 3: 8,10 Philadelphia ‘loyalty to God’s word & name, enduring patiently’
Rev 3: 15, 16 Laodicea - lukewarm
Each congregation has its own values that determine its ministry distinctives.
2. Values Dictate Personal Involvement.
Values help people determine their personal involvement in a particular ministry.
When core values are shared the congregation can collectively invest in ministry. People involve
themselves more and last longer in ministry in a ministry if they share core values.
There is a challenge then to Pastors and the leadership of a congregation to ensure that the values
are regularly articulated and that there is support for the values particularly among the leadership
and also among the general membership.
See Romans 15:5,6
3. Values Communicate What is Important.
A church’s core values signal its bottom line. They dictate what it stands for, what truly matters,
what is worthwhile and desirous. They determine what is inviolate for it; they determine what it
believes is God’s directing in ministry. These core values also determine the priorities of ministry.
See Acts 6:1-7
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This is an example, where the early church identified it’s priorities – based on it’s core values.
This action allowed the 12 to focus on the higher values of prayer and the ministry of the word
without neglecting other needed ministries.
There is also something else very important about this example:
a. Rather than compromising, denying or abandoning their core ministry values, the 12 were
led to redefine their daily activities so that they were invested their daily energies into
their core values.
b. The early church had a clear commitment to these values – they stood for these values
and were prepared to die for them.
c. These high priority values were known by everyone – they were clear and precise - the
membership were clear on them and no doubt observers of the church could clearly see
the emphasis as well.
4. Values Embrace Positive Change.
Like no other time in history we are living in a world of change. This is a global and accelerating
phenomenon with no end in sight.
The early church in Acts faced a similar situation, although the changes were not to the same
magnitude as we face today.
The difficulty is this – with all the change taking place, what do we accept and take advantage of
and what changes do we ignore?
This is where we discover the practical benefits of having clearly established core values – core
values like our doctrinal beliefs being based on Scripture. These values will stand the test of a
changing society – they are timeless.
5. Values Influence Overall Behavior.
Key values or beliefs are the shaping force of the entire institution or church. They set in place
attitudes which then control behavior. These values affect everything – the decisions made, the
goals that are set, the priorities and even the problems that are solved.
See Acts 15:1, 2
The church did address this issue and because Jesus Christ and the grace He purchased was a
clear core value, and they were also being led by the Holy Spirit, they chose grace rather than the
superseded covenant. This is a clear example of values determining behavior.
6. Values Inspire People to Action.
You can tell Christians to share their faith with the lost. You can insist that they volunteer for
ministry in their churches. You can offer them stipends / payment – you can even offer perks /
rewards in an attempt to increase their effectiveness in what they are already doing.
What is the missing ingredient to the recipe that stimulates and sustains this kind ministry?
What moves a church member from a passive pew position to persistant participation?
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People need and want something they can commit to, something they feel is worthy of their best
efforts. They are willing, even eager, to commit voluntarily and work for that which is truly
worthwhile – that which is larger than themselves – that which creates meaning in their lives.
Example of our Children’s Sabbath School leaders – the effort is enormous and obvious! The
children love to go – they get excited!
We need to rise above a mediocre existence that for many has become a meaningless weekly
ritual. This did not characterize the church of the first century, and it must no longer characterize
Christ’s church of the 21st century. To truly catalyze the greatest amount of energy, to strike a
resilient chord in the hearts of its people, to seize the day, a ministry must penetrate to a much
deeper level. It must touch people at a level that gives their lives meaning and significance.
How do we accomplish this?
Values give servants a greater sense of meaning in their service – but not just any values! Biblical
values that are shared and core. The shared beliefs of both leaders and their followers catalyze –
energize people! They are the invisible motivators that move people’s hearts toward meaningful
ministry – willingly!
7. Values Enhance Credible Leadership.
Good leadership is essential to any effective Christian ministry. [As the leadership goes, so goes
the followers.] A core element in any definition of leadership is influence; good leaders influence
people. [The best leaders of people are those who are followers of God.]
The ability to influence followers has characterized the excellent leadership of people such as
Moses, - with some reluctance he influenced Pharaoh and God’s people;
Abraham, - was able to influence three heavenly visitors [Gen 18];
Joshua, empowered by God was able to influence a whole nation and region;
Deborah, see Judges 4: 4, 5, 8
Esther, influenced the most powerful monarch of the time;
Peter and Paul, had a pronounced influence over the Roman empire!
Significantly, bad as well as good people have influenced others. Was Adolf Hitler a leader? He
certainly influenced a great number of people – however the leader’s values make all the
difference in the kind of influence they exert.
All leaders are values driven and their ministries are expressions of their values. Therefore it is
imperative that leaders decide what they stand for. They must determine the bottom line – not just
any bottom line will do! Good Christian leaders opt for a strong set of Biblical values. Infact
those Biblical values drive them and direct them. Strong beliefs lead to strong leaders and this
intern leads to strong ministries.
Equally important is that leaders model a lifestyle consistent with these core values. This is key to
leadership credibility. Leaders shape people’s values, and they instill these values more through
what they do than through what they say. If their behaviour is consistent with their values, they
infuse their leadership with credibility.
Paul was very anxious that Timothy be aware of this significant leadership issue!
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See: 1 Tim 4:12-16
8. Values Shape Ministry Character.
A person’s character, whether good or bad, directly affects how he or she conducts life. People of
poor character tend to live life poorly in that they may fudge on the truth or cut corners to
accomplish their goals. People of good character live life well in that they are honest, moral, and
upright. In either case it is their values that directly affect their characters. A person’s character is
the direct descendant of his or her values; personal character rests on the foundation of personal
values.
No wonder that the prolific Christian author, Ellen White wrote,
“A good character is a capital of more value than gold or silver.” (Counsels to Parents, Teachers,
and Students pp. 225, 226)
It is also very significant that just as church’s have values – they also have a character
[characteristics]. And its values are character defining. Core values are the qualities that make up
and establish a church’s character, and that character determines how the organization conducts
its ministry or activities.
Another way that core values affect the character of a church is in its commitment to excellence.
Scripture teaches excellence. In the OT the people were instructed to sacrifice their best animals
[Lev 22:20-22]. The NT teaches that Christians should do their work with sustained excellence as
if they were working for the Lord. See Colossians 3:23.
Significantly, churches can conduct their ministry with sustained excellence or with mediocrity –
they have a choice. Some churches’ facilities are well maintained others are showing a lack of
care. This comments very publicly on the character of the church.
9. Values Contribute to Ministry Effectiveness / Faithfulness.
Why do primary values have such a profound effect on ministry performance?
a. First, when people flesh out their beliefs in service, they will impact the commitment,
enthusiasm, and drive of others in the church, making it a powerful force in its
community. For example, Christians who regularly evangelize lost people inspire other to
model their behavior.
b. Second, shared values create within people the incentive to serve for longer hours and
accomplish harder, more challenging ministries. A community of believers, united by a
common cause, is enthusiastic and committed and exerts a strong influence on its
ministry constituents. This was the key to the effectiveness of the early New Testament
church. See Acts 2: 42-47. These early believers were inspired to do the extraordinary!
c. Shared and congruent values can also lower ministry costs. In the church they bring to the
ministry a sense of meaning that attracts skilled, competent volunteers and relieves the
need to employ large numbers of paid professional staff. For example, the miracle of a
new spiritual birth – the conversion experience – which is a value in itself, is the highest
form of compensation for individuals who share their faith.
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d. Fourth, when serving a worthwhile, meaningful purpose, people become intensely
committed to ministering to other people’s legitimate physical and spiritual needs. See
Acts 3:1-8.
e. Fifth, by generating deeper personal commitment and mobilizing more people for the
ministry, shared beliefs lead to much greater creativity and innovation. This, in turn,
discourages the maintenance mentality. People who achieve major ministry
breakthroughs, such as leading a friend to Jesus, become totally immersed in what they
are doing. And this commitment carries them through the ministry downturns, when they
experience opposition and difficulties.
10. Values Affect Strategic Planning.
Strategic planning enables the church to think and act purposefully. And this will be key to its
survival in the fast-paced, change-overwhelmed 21 st century. Strategic thinking and acting
involve such activities as discovering the church’s core values, developing a mission and vision,
designing a strategy, and implementing that strategy. It is core values that affect the entire
strategic- planning process.
Obviously vision is a very significant component of strategic planning. Vision sets the direction.
The scriptures tell us what our vision should be. It is the Great Commission as recorded in:
Matthew 28: 18-20;
Mark 16: 15-18;
Acts 1:8; and this was enlarged upon in
Revelation 14:6-13.
Conclusion:
Luke 14:7-11
Jesus did not tell this parable to coach the Pharisees on political shrewdness, the subtleties of
power accumulation nor artificial humility. Surely Jesus is talking about more important issues
than simply where to sit when you are invited to a banquet.
He is addressing a religiously orientated audience of leaders. Leaders who were not only religious
leaders but significant community leaders.
Instead, Jesus is revealing how He enters our life. When we invite Jesus to the banquet of our life,
He will not impose Himself as the guest of honor, seizing the most significant, prominent and
influential chair. He will meekly attend our banquet of life, awaiting a further invitation, a daily
invitation to assume that position.
If we, as leaders of Gods people, are to have Biblical, Christian Core Values in our Ministerial
Leadership, we need to ensure that Jesus Christ, in daily reality, is at the core of our lives.
Seated at the place of honor in our lives.
Leading our lives with His core values.
