3 Steps to Creating Culture Through Individuals

Anyone can discuss culture, but few know how to replicate it effectively.

Do you?

The truth is that we are all creating culture. The things we do, words we say, and people we develop will have a long lasting impact on the culture we aim to create.

Everyone shapes culture, but not everyone shapes culture intentionally. Not everyone is a catalyst for culture change. 

Culture isn’t a code to be deciphered or a nut to be cracked. Culture, simply put, is the agreed upon assumptions, beliefs, and patterns within a group– many (but not all) of which are unconsciously agreed to through an acculturation process over time.

As you participate, observe, and evaluate the concept of culture, you can walk through these steps to not only grasp your current culture, but also begin intentionally creating and multiplying the dream of a culture of exponential discipleship that God has laid on your heart.

3 steps to creating culture through individuals

3 Steps to Creating Culture Through Individuals

1) Capture the Culture You Wish to Cultivate

Culture replication requires culture identification. How can you cultivate a culture of discipleship if you aren’t clear about what that is or what that means?

Your next steps should be framed around a precision regarding what the culture should or could look like.

2) Accept the Limitations of Broadcasting Culture

Preaching and teaching matter (ALOT!), but they have limitations when it comes to culture adaptation.

Think about the patterns you developed early in your life. How did you develop your beliefs and assumptions about life? Did you decide how you would handle your finances, plan vacations, and invest in your kids based on sermons you heard?

You were likely impacted by how someone taught on one of these topics but as much if not more by the culture that was modeled for you in your home, by mentors, in your church, etc. 

Many like to say culture is caught, not taught. But even when it’s caught it is taught through our actions.

3) Multiply Culture Through People

Organizations don’t carry culture–the people in them do. You do. Organizations reflect the shared assumptions, beliefs, and patterns among individuals in a group or organization. 

For you to internalize and replicate culture, you must see it modeled and begin applying it to your life. The problem is that you alone can’t effectively immerse hundreds of people in a new culture at once. You need a small army of leaders at various levels of your leadership pipeline. 

Start small, so that you are creating culture carriers and multipliers rather than only culture hearers and observers. Culture acquisition relies on information gleaned through both the hearing and experience of behaviors, values, and assumptions from one life to another. Observation provides an introduction to culture, but lacks a vehicle for transformation without intentional human interaction. 

How can you go about creating a culture of discipleship in the individuals around you? Where do you need to start? Who are the natural culture carriers and multipliers in your life?