

Episode 12: A Mentoring Culture
Video
Description
Phil begins this episode by providing a foundational understanding on the subject of organizational culture and how this impacts the dynamics of a mentoring relationship. He specifically explains Jesus’ illustration regarding new wine and new wineskins and how this highlights the need for structure or culture (“how we do things around here”) to reflect the group’s values. He shows that even though the Church has an eternal, mystical quality, on this earth – in time and space – it is also impacting organizational laws that affect all groups of people gathered around a common purpose. Specifically, the values of a group, expressed in their culture, will positively or negatively impact the quantity and quality of mentoring relationships. Not taking this into consideration results in frustration and both leaders and members being controlled by something they do not fully understand. The warning is that “Structure eats vision for lunch.”
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Video Script
Episode 12 Intro: Creating a Mentoring Culture
Last time we were discussing how where we are at in life impacts both what we have to offer as well as what we need in a mentoring relationship. We also discussed several suggestions as to what types of functions can accomplish this. But it is hard to overestimate the incredible impact organizational culture can have on mentoring relationships. Often our good intentions are thwarted by the forces outside of our control that are working against these authentic type of relationships. So in the next couple episodes I want to spend some time on this important topic.
Organizational Culture and Mentoring
The Culture of the organization or ministry determines the level and intensity of mentoring relationships. For example, hierarchical structures inhibit mentoring relationships, while empowering, releasing models of ministry encourage them. This is why we discussed Jesus’ model of leadership in previous episodes. What the leadership of the organization values will be valued by the whole group. Are people encouraged and given permission to mentor others? Who holds the power and is it shared by a few or by many? Is open communication encouraged, particularly across levels of leadership? These are all issues of organizational culture.
Just to clarify, Culture can simply be defined as “just the way of doing things around here.” Recognize it or not, we are all influenced by culture. Some of these influences is neither good nor bad…..it’s just the way it is. When I was in China a few years ago I asked them why they used chopsticks. Of course they looked at me like I was crazy. But after they got over that, it become clear they had no idea. It’s just the way it’s always been done. That’s culture. Even if we don’t know how it developed we are impacted by it.
There is ethnic culture, but there is also organizational culture. Each organization, from a business to a church is impacted by the culture that has been developed within that organization. All culture is based on certain values. And these change over time. However, what often happens in organizations is this. As their values change, there becomes a competition or even open war between the existing culture and the change that needs to happen in order to realign the organization’s actions with its values. A leader who underestimates the power of culture – the way we do things around here – does so to their own peril, and often results in their eventual unemployment.
Within some church circles, often due to a faulty theology, organizational structure has gotten kind of a bad name. We think that since the Church of Christ is an organism, not a man made organization, culture will or should not affect us. As God’s character, the Gospel should never change right?! But when this divine mystery that the Apostle Paul writes about, of Christ with his Church, interfaces with our humanity on this earth, it is inevitable that some structure or organization will need to be developed. We see the early church struggling with this also as they had to come up with ways to function without any direct teaching on the matter from Jesus.
So it becomes an issue of how are our values are reflected by our culture – the way we do things around here. This is why we have spent quite a bit of time in this series discussing values regarding leadership, for it is these values that establish the culture of any group of people seeking to achieve a common purpose. Our values will impact our mentoring relationships.
New Wineskins Needed
Now before you think I am getting too far into the weeds here, let’s look at Matt. 9:17. Here Jesus uses the analogy of wineskins. He states what was obvious to his listeners, but might be missed by those of us used to seeing wine in bottles. He says that if you put new wine in old dried up wineskins, as the wine ferments and expands, the brittle wineskins will burst and not hold the new wine. He seems to indicate that it was not a problem with the new wine, it was a structural problem, a wineskin problem. We have to get our heads around the difference between the new wine in the church which is divine and never needs changing, with the structures or culture necessary in the human expression of the Church that needs to adapt in order to be an appropriate vessel for this new wine.
The Church has been ordained by God as the vehicle for this new wine, but since it is made up of us humans, it also has the attributes of any human organization made up of groups of individuals. Of course, at its very essence, it is the invisible, mystical, community of God’s people. Yet this community is expressed in human made forms, which can be described as the “wineskins.” But these are not sacred in and of themselves, which is why they need to be regularly evaluated as to their usefulness in achieving the unchanging purpose of the Church.
The problem becomes when we ascribe to the structure (the wineskins) the same unchanging nature as the Gospel or the Body of Christ (the wine). Local church structures vary over the centuries from culture to culture, this is why the details of how we do church various over the decades and varies by country and denomination. But ministry structures should always serve to fulfill the ultimate purpose of the community of God’s people, the Church. It is therefore possible to modify the structures without damaging or invalidating the very essence of the Church or God’s people.
In order for the leader of a local church, a fellowship, or a denomination to prepare the next generation of leaders and release the Body to fulfill its calling, they need to understand the dynamics at work within groups of individuals and how these result in organizational structures that either facilitate growth or hinder growth. This is why it is so important to consider what aspects of our organizational structure may be working against the development of the very mentoring relationships we want to foster in our church. Trying to fit the new wine of mentoring within inflexible structures that work counter to these types of relationships always results in the new wine being spilled on the ground.
The Power of Organizational Culture
In the Organizational Development field there is saying, “Culture will eat vision for lunch every day of the week.” In Jesus’ words, the condition of the wineskin is as important as the wine when it comes to fulfilling the organization’s purpose. Leader’s seldom want to admit it, but the reality is that the culture of the group is more influential than even the leadership’s new vision or intentions of change. This is why we need to make changes at a values level as to what biblical leadership really looks like. Only then will our structures or culture be conducive to mentoring relationships.
The Culture of the organization or ministry determines if mentoring relationships are encouraged or discouraged. The reality is that a hierarchical culture inhibits these relationships, while an empowering and releasing culture will encourage mentoring relationships. Are people encouraged and given permission in the organization to pursue these types of relationships? Other questions we need to consider are, Who holds the power and is it shared by many? Is open communication encouraged, particularly across levels of leadership?
Understanding Culture
The culture of a group is often outside of our control, but nevertheless it has a crucial impact on our ability to form mentoring relationships. In order to be effective mentors, we need to understand the dynamics of the contexts within which mentoring relationships must function. The reality is that one of the main functions of leadership is to create the conditions within our organizations that encourage this type of relationships.
This begins with the personal values of the leaders and the leadership team, as well as the culture and organizational structure of the ministries within which they serve. Within our shared human experience, we are dependent upon the relational structures that are necessary for individuals to interact and accomplish common goals. To prepare the next generation of leaders and release them to fulfill their calling, leaders need to understand the dynamics at work within groups of individuals and how these result in organizational structures that either facilitate or hinder mentoring.
Mentoring Failures
As mentioned, this is a component that is overlooked in leadership training. Usually within the first few years of ministry young leaders often become frustrated as they keep hitting their head against structural limitations that they do not fully understand. Over the years of teaching on this subject I have discovered something. When I began teaching on this subject, after my initial seminar I would leave and come back to do a follow up seminar. Invariably I would discover a bunch of frustrated young leaders. They would say something like this, “I went back to my church and shared with my pastor about mentoring and I wanted a mentor or to be a mentor, but the leadership either ignored me or completely shut me down.”
What was going on? Well my young friends were coming up against a structure and culture that was based on values that were working against the empowering and releasing type of mentoring relationships. They didn’t have a chance. Remember, culture eats vision for lunch every day. If you missed last episode you might want to take a listen to catch up on the foundation I laid there.
I believe this is the key reason for the failure of mentoring relationships in so many churches and organizations. Remember, organizations are just groups of people organized around a common purpose or vision. But so often the values, which are usually unspoken, are working contrary to these types of relationships. If leaders are threatened, co-dependent, focused on gathering followers or yes-men, it is very unlikely that mentoring and releasing others will be a high priority. These values will stifle mentoring relationships.
Mentoring Culture and Values
The culture of the Church or Christian organization is based upon certain values and activities that the group thinks are important. More specifically, the culture of a group is the sum of the basic assumptions that are shared by the whole group. These assumptions are learned by the group as it adapts to the needs around it. The actions which turn out to be effective in meeting these needs are then seen as valuable and are taught to new members. This is how new members learn the correct way to perceive, think, and feel, in relation to the challenges which they face as a group.
Leaders who are not conscious of the culture in which they are embedded, will be controlled by that culture, rather than learning how to manage that culture. Understanding these dynamics can help the leader understand what is happening and what values are motivating the behavior of the members. As with other organizations, the culture of a church is based upon the values, beliefs, and assumptions of the pastor, its leadership team, and the members. I have discovered that whatever country I am in, this dynamic is pretty consistent.
My young friends really didn’t have a chance. Values and the resulting culture needed to change. As we saw with King Saul, he had developed a culture in the palace that made it okay to throw spears at his protégé. I wish I could report that this no longer happens, but you and I know that it unfortunately does. In our next episode I will provide some insights into what young leaders can do who cannot find a mentor or find themselves in unhealthy life-killing organizations. As always, I hope you’ll be able to join me.
Some Leadership Matters to Consider
But before then, I’d like to leave you a few leadership matters to consider:
What have you learned about culture from this episode and how will this help you develop mentoring relationships?
Do your actions reflect leadership Kingdom values or is there a disconnect between what you believe and how you exercise leadership in your family or organization?
Reflect on the culture of the group you are part of as a member or leader. How does it encourage or discourage mentoring relationships? Are new wineskins needed?