Cultural Analysis Tcgos

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Cultural Analysis 1

A Blended Family:

A Cultural Analysis of The Church of the Good Shepherd

Kenyon G. Stanley

Queens University of Charlotte



Cultural Analysis 2

Introduction

Churches in America are declining in population. In fact, according the Ross,

B.J. (2009), The number of men, women and children in the pews has dipped to the

lowest level since a comprehensive effort to count members began in 1980 (p.1). This

decline has caused many church leaders to question the mission, values and goals of their

respective church bodies and denominations that have been a staple of American culture

since its birth. Experts vary on why the church is seeing such a noticeable decline. Some

blame lower birth rates while other blame an overall complacency (Gross, 2009).

Whatever the reason may be, the fact remains that churches all across America are

struggling to survive.

So the question that so many small to mid-size congregations tend to ask is, ³How

can our church grow?´ According to Mark Naylor (2011), ³A positive connection with

cultural insiders that capitalizes on their expertise can mean the difference between

success and failure (p.2). So what is a cultural insider? According to Driskill, G.W &

Brenton, A. (2011), The root metaphor approach to examining organizational culture

focus on three aspects of culture:

1. Culture as shared cognition.

2. Culture as system of shared symbols.

3. Culture as the expression of unconscious process.

This analysis will go beyond the known symbols of the Christian Church (e.g the

Cross, Bible and ancient relics). Instead, this report will analyze the opinions of several

members at Church of the Good Shepherd in Cornelius, NC for the purpose of examining



Cultural Analysis 3

how conscious and unconscious processes create shared beliefs and assumptions

regarding the following cultural traits:

y Leadership

y Diversity

y R ituals

y Heroes

y Outlaws

y Artifacts

y Proxemics

After analyzing the data collected, assumptions, key learnings and

recommendation will be drawn and given to the leadership at Church of the Good

Shepherd. These recommendations will assist leadership in understanding and

using their cultural realities to maximize organizational goals and overall

effectiveness.

Key Terms

There are several key terms that need to be defined in order to understand

their cultural significance and impact at The Church of the Good Shepherd. They are

as follows:

y Ritualsfor the purpose of this paper, only non-sacramental rituals and

events that take place outside of normal Sunday services will be examined.

y HeroesA hero is any individual or group members that embodies church

values and are highly respected and looked up to by other members.



Cultural Analysis 4

y OutlawAn outlaw does not carry a pejorative meaning for the purpose of

this report. An organizational outlaw is a someone who goes against

organizational practice or values yet are still valued by the organization.

y ProxemicsFor the purpose of this report, the spacing, and general set up of

the administrative offices at Church of the Good Shepherd will be examined

in order to reveal the cultural significance of such proxemics make-up.

y ArtifactsFor the purpose of this report, artifacts will be examined in order

to reveal underlying or hidden values of The Church of the Good Shepherd

and examine whether or not valid assumptions can be made.

History of Church of the Good Shepherd

The Church of the Good Shepherd is affiliated with the Anglican Mission in

America (AMIA), a missionary outreach of the Anglican Mission of Rwanda. The

AMIA began when differences in Biblical interpretation amongst leadership and

members of the Episcopalian church drove a large number of parishioners to begin

a new denomination. Currently, the AMIA has over 10,000 members in over 1,000

congregations. The AMIA endeavors to partner with individual churches using an

intentional relational approach.

The Church of the Good Shepherd began in 2001 and initially shared a building

with another church outside of the AMIA (Calvary). In 2008, the Church of the Good

Shepherd moved their Sunday services to the Lake Norman YMCA while performing

administrative duties at Calvary. Recently, The Church of the Good Shepherd has

been notified that they will no longer be able to use the space at Calvary. Therefore,



Cultural Analysis 5

church leadership has begun to explore new offices for the purpose of fulfilling their

mission to their members and community.

The mission of the church is to help members and the community experience

life beyond belief. The leadership of the church encourages its members to

participate in three routinely held fellowship events. They are as follows:

y Life Groupsan informal affinity group where specific lesson plans are

studied amongst church members.

y 3-fold groupsgroups of 3 men or women where men and women can

feel free to self-disclose the triumphs and setbacks of life.

y Missionsmembers are encouraged to participate in at least one specific

mission focus of the church. A full list of approved missions can be found

at www.lifebeyondbelief.org.

Additionally, The Church of the Good Shepherd is operating with a budget

shortfall. The AMIA has been providing The Church of the Good Shepherd with

grant funding annually in order to continue operating.

Lastly, the church is considered to be small by industry standards with

approximately 50 weekly attendees and three paid staff personnel. The three paid

staff personnel are the Lead Pastor, Pastor of Children and Youth and Worship

Minister. There is one unpaid intern and an volunteer administrative assistant.

Methods

This observer is a member of The Church of the Good Shepherd.

Additionally, I regularly volunteer during church service. For this reason, I found

myself in a unique position to explore the cultural climate of the church. As an



Cultural Analysis 6

inside observer, I have acquired the awareness needed to analyze the cultural

informally.

Upon receiving IRB approval, I began my analysis with several hours of

informal observation at both the church services and at the location where the

Church handles their administrative duties. This analysis provided me with data

pertaining to the artifacts and proxemics inside the church. Data was collected,

values were exposed and assumptions were positively made.

A total of four observations were made during this matter lasting generally

an hour per observation. A simple pen, paper and method note taking was utilized.

I recorded any and all observations that occurred to me.

In addition to informal observation, I also had the opportunity to conduct a

ethnographical qualitative analysis using a semi-structured interview protocol. The

pool of interviewees consisted primarily of church members. Upon receipt of a

membership list, I assigned an individual number (separated by gender) to each

name and entered the numbers in my computer. I programed my computer to

randomly select 10 men and 10 women from the interview pool.

Upon receipt of the interview pool, recruitment letters were sent out to the

interview candidates. Out of the 20 candidates selected, 3 men and 2 women agreed

to the interview. However, some candidates did indicate that she/he would be able

to complete the interview after the deadline given to me for this project.

Although there were only 5 interviews conducted, each interview took

between 30 and 45 minutes. I recorded the data using a pen, paper and general note



Cultural Analysis 7

taking procedure. The interviewees were asked questions pertaining to themes I

had previously generated following additional observations. There were as follows:

y Strong Leadership

y Weak Leadership

y Level of importance in the rituals

y Hero qualities

y Outlaw qualities

y Artifacts

y Proxemics

Artifact analyses were also conducted during this time. The Church of the

Good Shepherd generates a E newsletter to the members and attendees of the

congregation. However, the contents of the newsletter pertained directly to the

upcoming Holiday schedule and no relevant cultural data was revealed. I will

address this in my Key Learnings and recommendation section further.

Lastly, great effort went into protecting the identities of the interviewees.

Upon confirmation and set-up of an interview time, a letter and number was

assigned to the interviewee. The letter M indicated that the interviewee was male

and the letter F indicated that the interviewee was female. The number assigned

simply indicated what order the participant interviewed with this researcher.

Themes

During the initial observation phase of this analysis, two themes immediately

emerged, and one additional theme emerged later in the study. Throughout the

remainder of this analysis, these three concepts continued to be reified by a number



Cultural Analysis 8

of sources. In the end, these themes revealed the overall definition of The Church of

the Good Shepherds organizational culture.

Theme 1: Family Metaphor is Eff ective to Build Church Communit y

The importance of the family metaphor at The Church of the Good Shepherd

was the initial theme that emerged. From the very beginning of the analysis, many

church members would speak of church activities during informal conversations

using the word family as the metaphor during their communications with others.

Additionally, during weekly sermons, whomever was delivering the message would

greet the church body and refer to the body as family. The importance of family is

a shared value of the church as a whole as there are a large number of young

families with children that worship together and participate in various affinity

groups outside of the traditional Sunday service.

The prevalence of the family metaphor also revealed itself during the

interview sessions. Out of the 6 interviewees, four of them indicated that meeting

for dinners outside the church were one of the most important rituals at The Church

of the good Shepherd. When asked why, all of them indicated the importance of

families to eat together and the church family is no different. Additionally, all of the

interviewees listed Life Group as an important ritual. Life Group is a ritual where

dinner is served in a small group setting prior to collectively studying a

predetermined Biblical curriculum. Several of the interviewees referred to their

Life Group as extended family.



Cultural Analysis 9

One interviewee stated, Affinity groups are more effective in building church

community. While another said, that people who meet outside of church for church

dinners Share the same skin.

According to Eisenberg, E.M, Goodall, H.L & Trethewey, A. (2010),

organizations that operate under a family metaphor sometimes obscure

dysfunctional relationships (148). While this may be true in some organizations,

due to the overwhelming emphasis on eating together and relating the experience

back to family tells this researcher that the family metaphor is healthy, relevant and

highly valued for church leadership and laity.

Theme 2: Open Communication is a Valued and Strong Leadership Trait

Open communication was the second theme that revealed itself during the

interviews. According to Eisenberg et al. (2010) leaders who operate using open

communication perceive the other interactant as a willing and receptive listener

and refrain from responses that might be perceived as providing negative relational

or disconfirming feedback (262). According to the interviews, the church lost

several key members last year and was in a transitional phase. One of the questions

on the interview questionnaire asked for the interviewee to give an example of

when someone in the church modeled strong leadership. There were two leaders

mentioned by the interviewees that exemplified strong leadership during this time

of trial. When asked why that was an example of strong leadership some of the

comments were:

The leader showed good character...was able to relay information without

blaming anyone.



Cultural Analysis 10

The leader was honest about the ordealdidnt put on a front.

The leaderheld an open forum and was transparent. The leader drew the

church together instead of letting gossip divide the church.

It took courage to address the issue. The leader accepted culpability and didnt

deflect.

The leaderdidnt come across as my way or the highway.

These comments show that the leadership traits that are valued center on

openness and engaging dialogue. This is further supported by existing literature.

According to Eisenberg et al. (2010), there are five key components to effective open

dialogic leaders. They are as follows:

1. The most effective leaders emphasize the importance of communication with

their followers.

2. Effective leaders are empathetic listeners. They respond positively to

questions, listen to suggestions and complaints and express a willingness to

take fair and appropriate action when necessary.

3. Effective leaders ask or persuade, rather than demand.

4. Effective leaders are sensitive to others feelings.

5. Effective leaders share information, including advance notices of impending

changes and explain why the changes will be made. (p. 263).

I

Its obvious from the interviews that open dialogue from the leaders is highly

valued amongst the members at Church of the Good Shepherd. In addition to the

interviews, The Church of the Good Shepherd sends weekly emails and other




correspondence to members in order to communicate any changes or upcoming

issues which may cause confusion amongst the body.

The value that the members place on the leadership using an open

communication method is further exemplified by the answers that the interviewees

gave when asked to give an example of weak leadership. Although the respondents

were instructed to refrain from linking the term weak to mean a negative term, the

responses overwhelmingly referred to instances where open communication was

not used and people were left confused. Some of the comments that referred to

weak leadership traits were as follows:

During the period when some meetings there is inner-squabbling

sometimes people separate themselves from the issues.

During the same time when families were leaving the church some

communication efforts hurt others.

Sometimes leaders should show vulnerability.

Sometimes leaders avoid confrontation.

Although the aforementioned examples seem to be the exception, its clear

that organizational members value the role of open leadership in the church and

mission teams. This is further made clear when interviewees were asked to identify

heroes and outlaws of the organization.

When asked to identify a hero of the organization the names of the people

varied. However common leadership traits emerged. Heroes tended to embody the

open communication style previously mentioned. Furthermore, heroes didnt shy




away from confrontation and instead would engage in open dialogue in order bring

group consensus. Also, going against the theory of flashy leadership, by the

responses of the interviewees, the theme of quiet hero and servant leadership was a

dominant response from the interviewees.

In addition to heroes, there were several outlaws identified within the church

membership that other members highly value. The common traits were identified

as follows:

He/She gets the job done in an unconventional way.

She/He is different than other members, but his/her faithfulness and

dedication is evident.

She/He doesnt view his/her skepticism as negative, instead he/she sees

her/his skepticism as way to deepen the discussion.

The interviewees attributed their responses to the fact that God makes all of

the members differently. However, the common bonds and love for one another far

outweigh any theological or systematic differences.

Theme 3: The Administrative Space Used By Church of the Good Shepherd

Doesnt Reflect the Cultural Values of the Church.

As we have learned from the first two themes of this analysis, openness and

family are important themes to the organizational members. The Church of the

Good Shepherd rents space at a vacated church in order to conduct business outside

of Sunday worship. Additionally, from time-to-time other church functions are held

there (e.g. dinner gatherings, meetings, special services etc.). Judging from the




responses of the interviewees and my observations the site where Church of the

Good Shepherd conducts business outside of Sunday worship (Calvary) lacks

identity, artifacts that embody church values and was perceived as isolated, dirty

and not a representation of The Church of the Good Shepherd.

When asked to identify artifacts are at Calvary that symbolize The Church of

the Good Shepherd, the interviewees struggled to recall any. One participant

couldnt recall a single one while every other respondent referred to the Bible in the

main foyer. Another participant referred to a picture of Jesus carrying a sheep.

Considering that the Church of the Good Shepherd rents space at Calvary, its

logical to assume that any personal branding or other commonly used artifacts

would be in plain sight. However, due to the strong negative feelings that the

participants had towards the present location, and considering the fact that the

church is planning to change locations in the near future, I will be addressing the

artifacts more extensively in the recommendations.

Lastly, my observations of Calvary were consistent with the interviewees and

I will be addressing my observation in concert with the interviewees responses to

the interview questions pertaining to Calvary.

Description of Existing Culture

The aforementioned themes revealed by this analysis resulted from honest

answers by organizational members as well as my experiences as a member and

independent observation. According to Driskill, D.W. & Brenton, A.L. (2011),

organizational culture refers to the web of significance that we have spun for

ourselves (Pg.4). In the case of The Church of the Good Shepherd, its clear that the




members make sense of their organization in concert with leadership objectives.

However, the members are not simply drones that blindly follow leadership. The

members appreciate discourse and value openness, community and genuine

engagement outside of the traditional Sunday service. These are commonly shared

values between the denomination, church leadership and its members. According to

Driskill et al. (2011), strong cultures possess the following amongst their members:

1. Shared vision and values.

2. Supportive business environment.

3. Recognized corporate heroes and values.

4. Effective rites and rituals.

5. Effective formal and informal communication networks (Pg. 207).

With the exception of the supportive business environment, this research indicated

that the members interviewed overwhelmingly shared the remaining four items.

Therefore, this researcher concludes that the culture at The Church of the Good

Shepherd is predominantly strong. Additionally, if the leadership at the church

takes into consideration the comments regarding the business space at Calvary, the

overall culture of the church can be additionally strengthened.

Furthermore, the strong culture at Church of the Good Shepherd is

strategically appropriate. After all, in the church setting, there are scores of

volunteers and a limited number of leaders. If a church leader expresses a dominant

style of leadership, members may choose to worship elsewhere. Different from an

organization that employs most of its members, a church doesnt have the




concertive control that other organizations have. People worship at a church

because they choose to.

Discussion

This analysis did not seek to reveal negative or positive attributes. Its aim

was to reveal the existing culture at Church by the Side of the Road and gage its

effectiveness amongst membership. Nevertheless, the themes revealed could be

explained within positive and neutral parameters. Although, there were some

negative traits discovered, such traits served to be the exception rather than the rule

and the interviewees explained the benefit of mistakes as a learning experience.

The theme of family metaphor would be identified as positive and effective.

There are several reasons why the family metaphor theme is positive and effective.

First of all are the nonverbal responses I noticed from the participants as they

answered the pertinent questions. Whenever a participant mentioned the church as

a family, the interviewee would smile and her/his posture would become more open

(e.g. arms would unfold, he/she would smile etc.). Additionally, the family metaphor

arose as a result of positive instances experienced by the participants. I did find this

rather odd since generally families made up from different origins tend to clash,

hence the title of this paper. Although there is conflict from time to time, the Church

of the Good Shepherd appears to be a healthy family of Christians that blend.

The theme of openness being a valued leadership trait amongst its members

was made evident through the examples of strong and weak leadership given by the

participants. The Church of the Good Shepherd is a young growing church and

growing pains are expected with any young entitynot excluding organizations.




Judging from the responses of the participants, openness, honesty and dialogue are

positive attributes that the membership highly values.

The theme surrounding the negative perception of the space at Calvary is

neutral. If the Church of the Good Shepherd was planning of staying in the building

for an extended period of time, I might be inclined to place it in the negative.

However, each participant was aware of the churchs intention to move offices in the

near future and made recommendations for the new space which I will address

further in the recommendations portion of this analysis.

Review of the process

The process utilized in this analysis consisted of three methods: First, my

own independent analysis of the office space used at Calvary. Second, this study

includes my analysis of church services, the metaphors drawn by leadership and

gaging whether or not those observations were consistent with other methods

employed. Lastly, this analysis utilized an ethnographic qualitative analysis using a

semi-structured interview protocol of six church members in an informal setting.

Limitations

As with any study, there are limitations to this analysis. First, I am a member

of The Church of the Good Shepherd. Therefore, I carry a bias towards the

organization that other researchers may not have. Secondly, this report was done

over a period of two months. A more comprehensive analysis could be achieved if a

researcher had more time. More time would have allowed this researcher to draft

and distribute qualitative surveys which may have provided additional data that

could reveal additional insight to the overall conclusions of the analyses. Lastly, the




participants were all members of the organization that faithfully volunteer their

time to various church-sponsored initiatives. There are attendees that worship at

Church of the Good Shepherd that were not a part of this study. Perhaps if this

analysis could have incorporated their insights, leadership may be able to find

creative ways to involve those attendees in additional church activities outside of

Sunday worship.

Recommendations

There are several recommendations that this researcher has for the

leadership at the Church of the Good Shepherd which may help the organization

improve its overall effectiveness as they move forward.

First, continue engaging in open dialogue and participative leadership. The

members interviewed valued the relational style that many of the leaders employ

when initiating organizational change, handling conflict and rolling out new

initiatives.

Second, coach new and emerging leaders in the importance of open

communication. Many of the examples of weak leadership centered on specific

experiences when members felt disconnected from important decisions made. By

reinforcing the importance of dialogue, members will increasingly realize that the

leadership shares the value of open dialogue as a form of effective leadership.

Third, continue reinforcing the metaphor of family in all communications.

While the metaphor is present in informal conversations, Sunday worship services

and affinity groups, by adding the metaphor to additional publications, the idea that




Church of the Good Shepherd is a family will continue to be reified amongst its

members.

Lastly, as the leadership seeks to find a new location to conduct

administrative duties, search for a location that will allow the church to do the

following:

y Effective branding (signage, literature, name plates on the offices).

y Prominently display pictures of church mission team endeavors and

other activities.

y Ensure that there is a designated place for prayer and reflection.

y Seek advice from the church body to create a space that is inviting to

visitors.

y Invite others to visit the new space during Sunday services.

In conclusion, this analysis offered a snapshot into the existing culture at

Church of the Good Shepherd. With a strong culture and a membership team that

has bought into the values of the organization, the future of the church looks good.

Although there are some areas that should be addressed, the leadership style is well

received by the members interviewed. This analysis should prove to be a valuable

resource for church leadership as they move forward.




References

Driskill, G.W. & Brenton, A.L. (2011) Organizational Culture: A Cultural Analysis

Workbook . Los Angeles, California: Sage

Eisenberg, E.M., Goodall, H.L. & Trethewey, A. (2010). Organizational

Communication: Balancing Creativity and Constraint. Bedfords: Boston, MA.

Naylor, Mark. Navigating Intercultural Partnerships. Cross Cultural Impact.

07/08/2011. Accessed 12/05/2011. http://impact.nbseminary.com/

Ross, B. Church in America Marked by Decline. The Christian Chronicle. 2/2009.

Accessed, 12/05/2011.

http://www.christianchronicle.org/article2158685~Church_in_America_ma

rked_by_decline

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Cultural Analysis Tcgos