“Observed behavior,” “group norms,” “espoused values,” “habits of thinking.” These and more combine to form an organization’s culture. Organizational culture, according to Edgar H. Schein, is the “accumulated shared learning of a given group, covering behavioral, emotional, and cognitive elements of the group members’ total psychological functioning.” In essence, an organization’s culture represents what is under the surface that defines who they are.

Of course, as believers, we would strongly suggest that it is the gospel of Christ himself that defines who we are as an organization. While this is a nice sentiment and is, in part, true; when an organization has existed as long as we have, there are countless other things that have contributed to who we are. In both good and bad ways, our organization has been shaped by countless moments in time. These include: discussions and debates, wins and losses, blessings and challenges. All of these things and more have helped to form how we as an organization view the world around us and how we are to function within it.

Organizational culture is not often thought of when we think of the task of leadership development. However, given my role as Coordinator of Leadership Development for Advent Christian General Conference, I think about it a great deal. There are a lot of positive elements to who we are as an organization. We also possess a lot of weaknesses and even faulty ways of thinking. This, I suppose, is what comes when living in our fallen state.

As has been publicized quite heavily in recent years, we will be turning over approximately 70% of our pastors in less than a decade. This means that significant change is already under way as we work to raise up the next generation of Advent Christian leaders. As we do, taking stock of our organizational culture is going to be an important element. There is a lot of good in who we are as an organization, and we want to be sure to impart those elements onto our emerging leaders.

But, as we prepare for this significant turnover, we must also look at the opportunity in front of us to examine where we need to grow and change as an organization. We must ask ourselves: Where have we fallen short? Where have we gotten off track? Where have we diverted from Scripture? We have the opportunity to self-correct.

This is an element of what we are doing in the leadership development department, particularly through the Ministry Training Institute. As we work to empower our churches to develop leaders, we are working to impart biblical values and godly thinking to all involved. It is ultimately these values and thinking that should affect our organizational culture as we move forward. So, as an organization, as we focus on this important task of leadership development, let us return to the Scriptures as we allow the Lord to shape who we are and where we are going together.