5 Reasons Negative Church Culture Exists

In this solo episode, Kurt Francom discusses five reasons behind the development of negative culture within the church, and what we can each do to recognize it and take action to stimulate positive culture.

Highlights

4:45 Church culture is the monster in the room. 6:15 Why does negative church culture exist? 7:00 Church culture is creating a never-ending judgment loop. 9:15 Reason one - Lack of ability. It’s not about lack of motivation. It’s an ability problem. 12:30 Sometimes it’s not for lack of trying but lack of skills. Some people have the skills to teach, lead, or show empathy. Some try but they have to develop these skills. 15:00 Reason two - Negative mindsets. Our mindset is the lens through which we see the world. 17:00 Open mindsets create psychological safety. Psychological safety roots out negative church culture. Everyone feels safe to express opinions and feelings. 18:00 Examples of leaders that have different mindsets and how it affects those in the ward. 22:10 Reason three - Misunderstanding doctrine. Embracing false doctrines as truth. 25:50 Example of misunderstanding doctrine. The push for youth to serve missions can lead to people misunderstanding that missions are a saving ordinance. 27:35 Reason four - Lack of exposure. Expose yourself to a diversity of lifestyles and hear people’s stories to gain a higher level of empathy. Many times we project our life experience onto others. 32:00 Seeking exposure to different types of people and gaining more empathy is not a passive exercise. It's a very proactive effort. This is why it’s so difficult to perpetuate a positive church culture. 34:15 Ideas of how to gain more exposure. Ask people their stories. Exposing ourselves to other people’s experience gives us so much love for them. 36:50 Reason five - Lack of self awareness. Take the time to know what kind of leader you are. Gain a deeper understanding of yourself and how other people perceive you. People perceive us differently than we perceive ourselves. 42:15 What do we do with these five reasons? The goal is to stimulate positive culture.

Links

Is Your Mindset Limiting Your Leadership? | An Interview with Ryan Gottfredson The Research Behind Becoming Christlike | An Interview with Ryan Gottfredson Success Mindsets: Your Keys to Unlocking Greater Success in Life, Work, and Leadership Is Aspiring Wrong? What I Learned About Leadership When My 2nd Counselor Left the Church North Star International Bridges: Ministering to Those Who Question Ministering to Those Who Question | An Interview with David Ostler Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast