Culture Shift

I started reading the book "Culture Shift" by Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro the other day, which is providing a helpful insight into church culture and a practical guide to "transforming [the] church from the inside out."

Right at the preface I was captured by the authors belief that "culture is to the church what a soul is to the human body."  In other words, as I interpret it, culture is a mirror into the soul of a church.  

I wonder if we spent more time cultivating a healthy soul than clothing the body with programs that make a church look good, whether we would begin to heal some of the internal sickness that inhibits the church from being a thriving organism.  Church activity that is the product of a healthy culture will always produce growth, but church activity that proceeds from an unhealthy culture will spread the sickness and cripple the body of Christ.

If the human soul reflects the core of who you are as a person, I wonder what reflection is cast by the culture of your church?  This is a challenging question that will require some soul searching by church leaders to stimulate the sort of culture shift necessary to restore the witness of the church to reflect the heart of Jesus Christ!