Well-known author Patrick Lencioni says, “Core values [ought to be] deeply ingrained principles that guide all of a company’s actions; they serve as its cultural cornerstones.” We think this is a helpful way to think about Core Values.

Lencioni observes that businesses and organizations (churches included), often times, craft their stated Core Values in a merely aspirational nature; these are ideas or attributes that the organizational leadership wants (or realizes that it needs), but the organization currently actually lacks those values and the leaders have implemented no real plan toward acquiring or embodying those values. In other words, the organization merely hopes to one day embody them.

Well, we want to avoid being merely aspirational. We want to actually work toward living out our stated Core Values. With this in mind, we have crafted our Core Values as commitment statements that we believe our Members can (and should) joyfully embrace and we’ve sought to build realistic rhythms, within the life of our church, around these Core Values so that they are much more than merely aspirational.

 

What Shaped Our Values?

The commitment statements that became our Core Values are primarily informed by our observations about how spiritual growth happens. We want to see people grow and mature in their spirituality and faith.

However, human beings cannot manufacture spiritual growth. Spiritual growth is solely wrought by the Spirit of God, in his absolute and sole discretion; as he sees fit, for his own glory. So, how can we speed or cultivate spiritual growth, if we ourselves are incapable of bringing it forth?

We cannot bring forth or manufacture spiritual growth; however, we have observed that the Spirit of God most often, and most intensely, grows and matures people whenever they are clearly confronted with the goodness and beauty of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we exhort our Members (and all peoples) to seek to be confronted with Christ’s goodness and beauty as often as possible. In other words, put yourself in a position (or order your life in such a way) where you will be consistently confronted with the goodness and beauty of Jesus Christ.

 

Our Rhythms: Spiritual Growth by Seeing Jesus

At Horizon City Church, with God’s help, we consistently seek to place significant emphasis upon the corporate activities that bring individuals face-to-face with the glorious goodness and beauty of Christ. The ultimate aim and hope is to cultivate conditions, in our lives and minds, that are conducive to spiritual growth.

In other words, we will engage in activities that are most likely to remind people of the goodness and beauty of Christ, because we have observed that the Spirit of God most often, and most intensely, brings forth spiritual growth when people are being clearly reminded of his goodness and beauty.

The goodness and beauty of Christ is best seen whenever these things are happening:

• Whenever believers are regularly gathering with other believers for mutual encouragement, inspiration, and admonishment and when they are inviting unbelievers to come observe and experience genuine Christian community;
• Whenever people are regularly hearing faithful Christ-centered expositional teaching;
• Whenever believers take personal responsibility for the discipleship of the individuals that God has brought into their lives.

In simple terms, whenever we (as Christians) are doing these three above-mentioned activities, we are more likely to clearly see elements of Jesus; and when we clearly see elements of Jesus, that’s when (it seems) that the Holy Spirit does his best work in us.

Our Core Values have been shaped in light of these three above-mentioned activities. Our church’s Core Values are:

• We gather often.
• We make much of teaching.
• We show others the way.

With God’s help, our Members will joyfully embrace these three Core Values, and as they do they will hopefully cultivate conditions, in their minds and lives, that are conducive to spiritual growth.

If the Lord permits, our church will develop into a community of mature Christian disciples who treasure, enjoy, and obey Jesus Christ together.