{"id":3021,"date":"2024-05-03T20:12:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T20:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/?p=3021"},"modified":"2024-05-29T13:12:16","modified_gmt":"2024-05-29T13:12:16","slug":"a-church-called-tov-forming-a-goodness-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chapelhillbiblechurch.org\/?p=3021","title":{"rendered":"A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

by Scott McKnight and Laura Barringer<\/h4>\n

Laura Barringer and her husband were in shock as they read the news report The Chicago<\/em> Tribune<\/em>: their long-time pastor, Mark Hybels, whom they greatly respected, had been accused of sexual misconduct. Their first reaction was disbelief, but then they read the names of the women who were alleging it. Because these were women they also respected, they were thrown into a profound state of cognitive dissonance as previously held beliefs about the character of the accused and his accusers collided. They couldn\u2019t both be true.<\/p>\n

Laura called her father, Scott McKnight, a professor of New Testament, \u00a0to get his perspective. He said he thought the allegations were likely true. \u201cHow do you know?\u201d she asked. \u00a0His answer was both that it was highly unlikely that all the witnesses were making up a story and that the pattern of the church\u2019s response of denial and planting seeds of doubt about the accusers was a highly predictable one, seen frequently when scandals arise regarding a church leader.<\/p>\n

Have you ever been in this situation, when a pastor whose sermons you\u2019ve appreciated and whose leadership you\u2019ve respected, has been credibly accused of misconduct?\u00a0 If so, or if you\u2019d like to be proactive and be part of a church culture that cultivates the kind of tov<\/em> that makes this unlikely, this book is for you.<\/p>\n

What is tov<\/em>? It\u2019s the Hebrew word for goodness. \u201cAnd God saw all that he had made and it was very tov<\/em>.\u201d Gen\u00a0 \u201cYou are Tov<\/em> and do Tov<\/em>.\u201d Ps 119: 68 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cOh,\u00a0taste and see that\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0is Tov<\/em>!\u201d Ps. 34:8<\/p>\n

Their experience at their church motivated them to do something constructive: to paint a vision —both theological and practical— of kind of church culture that is resistant to abuse of power, and instead is a place of tov<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Their vision of a \u201cCircle of Tov\u201d is a church with a culture that intentionally nurtures empathy, grace, putting people first, truth, justice, service, and Christlikeness.<\/p>\n

Overview and some key quotes:<\/h3>\n

Part 1 \u00a0helps the reader begin to discern the elements of their own church\u2019s culture and to detect elements of toxicity in its culture. <\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cTwo early warning signs of a toxic church culture are narcissism and power through fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe selfish drive for importance compels the narcissistic pastor to surround themselves with admirers\u2026[and] gravitate toward enablers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose approved by the pastor gain \u201cstatus enhancement\u201d as they are admitted into the inner circle. ” This is one of the 8 stages of power through fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen something goes wrong in a church\u2026the pastor and other leaders often seek to control <\/em>the narrative to protect the reputation of the pastor, the church, or the church\u2019s ministries.\u201d \u00a0They may do this through strategies such as discrediting the critics, portraying the wrongdoer as the victim,\u00a0 suppressing the truth with NDAs, or offering fake apologies.<\/p>\n

Part 2 paints a vision of a church with a culture of Tov. A church with a culture of Tov will nurture:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Empathy<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Building on the proclamation Jesus made at the start of his ministry that he was sent to the poor, captive, blind, and oppressed (Luke 4: 18-19),\u00a0 McKnight and Barringer note that the ministry of Jesus was primarily to people on the margins. \u201cHe sees them because he has the eyes of God.\u201d \u201cEmpathy is the ability to feel what someone else feels, to exit our own feelings and enter the experience of others.\u201d \u201cCompassion is the outworking of empathy.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cA goodness culture\u2026 will touch all corners of the church.\u201d That is to say that it will have the eyes of God toward those the world (and the church) often views as not worthy of being taken into account.<\/p>\n

Grace<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cGrace-filled goodness begins in forgiveness, forms into freedom, and resists fear\u2014all because it knows that God\u2019s design for the church is love.\u201d \u201cThe gift of grace\u2026makes us all siblings of each other.\u201d (No one is deemed more important or superior to another.) \u201cCreating a grace-based family of siblings requires trust, the invisible glue that binds people together. Power and fear can undermine trust, but grace creates it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A people-first culture <\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cSeeing church primarily as an institution creates a culture in which empathy, compassion, and grace can be pushed aside \u2026.. The church may not do this intentionally, but as any organization grows, there is a tendency toward \u201cinstitution creep\u201d in which the needs of the organization\u2026begin to supersede the needs of the people in the organization.\u201d \u201cA people-first culture instinctively treats people as image bearers and as siblings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Truth<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0 \u201c<\/strong>Christianity makes the astonishing claim that truth is not merely an ideal or a set of ideas or a philosophy; instead, truth is embodied <\/em>in the person of Jesus Christ.\u201d \u201cTelling the truth, then, is who we are<\/em> as Christians. When we don\u2019t tell the truth, we deny our identity<\/em> and our calling<\/em>. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cGod\u2019s judgment is against those who \u201csuppress the truth\u201d and create false narratives. False narratives are not just \u201cspin\u201d or even \u201cbrand protection,\u201d though they may be that, too. They are darkness<\/em>.\u201d \u201cWhat motivates false narratives is a zealous ambition to protect a brand, defend a reputation or preserve\u00a0 the glory of an ambitious leader, a zealous church, and its board of leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[The prophets] were called to the platform of public proclamation. When leaders in the church suppress the truth, it is profoundly biblical to go public. Anything less than bringing the truth to light is profoundly unbiblical<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justice<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cA justice culture knows what justice is<\/em>; namely, doing what is right at the right time. The \u2018right thing\u2019 will always conform to the character and life of Jesus and his mission to establish God\u2019s kingdom on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who would form a goodness culture of justice will do the right thing regardless of the fallout. Sometimes this means admitting fault and confessing sin, and sometimes it means coming under attack and taking hits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn most cases, loyalty is a virtue, but not when it obstructs justice and prevents people from doing what is right before God.\u201d \u201cSadly, in many churches today, Christians are asked to choose between loyalty [to the leader or a brand] and justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Service <\/strong><\/h4>\n

A culture of service contrasts with a culture centered around a \u201ccelebrity pastor.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a celebrity pastor culture, \u201c[t]he size of the church does not matter. What matters is the size of the pastor\u2019s ego.\u201d \u201cThe celebrity pastor finds a way to make it all about garnering praise for himself\u2014his vision, his ministry, his success, his glory.\u2026.the only narratives that are told are those that prop up the pastor\u2019s vision and success; and loyalty is the supreme virtue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congregants play a role: \u201cBehind every celebrity pastor is an adoring congregation\u2026 Many people want their pastor to be a hero or a celebrity at some level.\u201d \u201cThe congregation.. begin[s] to think of themselves as a celebrity church–\u2026 \u201c<\/em>better than most\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

A culture of service: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA servant culture forms when the pastor, other leaders, and the congregation take on the culture of servanthood\u2026.\u201d \u201cThose who might otherwise be seen as high-status people in the church\u2014pastors, ministry leaders, prominent parishioners\u2014should turn service into a spiritual discipline .\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA life in service to others is not heroic. Rather, it is ordinary people helping ordinary people who happen to be in their path as they travel through life.\u201d \u201cJesus served everyone<\/em> on his path\u2026his spontaneity in service annoyed his disciples, but it was on mission<\/em> for Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christlikeness<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A culture focused on Christlikeness is in contrast to one based on the \u201cachievement and accomplishment\u201d measures of business culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a society focused on achievement and accomplishment, the challenge we face in the church is to avoid being\u2026shaped in that image.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKnight shares his observations made as the church began to transition to calling pastors \u201cleaders\u201d as the business world defined leadership:<\/p>\n