What do you use to filter your decisions? How do you determine the “right” (or at least the best) idea from an abundance of really good ideas? The answer is values. Whether we acknowledge this phenomenon or not, we use our values to filter our ideas and determine what motivates action in all areas of life. As far as the local church goes, we tend to talk about vision, mission, and beliefs. Although all of these are beneficial and should be stated, none of them are as helpful as values when filtering ideas. Sometimes these values are stated and there is a formal process through which ideas are filtered. Many times, there are “ghost values;” which go undocumented and unspoken, but are fully understood by those who make decisions. For example, an organization can have a stated mission and vision, but everyone understands that “keeping the right people happy” is the ghost vision driving the way decisions are made.

We made sure to repeat our five key values this past Sunday at our second 801South Launch Team Party:

As we make decisions, we ask ourselves questions, such as, “How does this connect people in relationships?” Or we might ask, “Is this too complicated? Is there a way we can make this simpler?” One of the more difficult questions we will ask is, “Does this program or event really just provide something to do for people who are already connected in church?” We will make some decisions that might cause tension within churched people, because we value reaching those who are currently disconnected above providing for those who are already connected. For example, we might sponsor an event at a local bar, rather than hosting it at a church. Will church people have an issue with this? Yes. Do I as a pastor struggle with the fact that it might look like we are promoting the use of alcohol? Yes. But we value being in an environment with those who are more likely to be disconnected more than we value the pastor being comfortable with every decision made. It’s a little dangerous and definitely messy.

We also shared the initial 801South leadership structure:

We believe this structure will give us the greatest opportunity to create a culture that continually reproduces leaders from the beginning. As we evaluate according to effectiveness moving forward, we will tweak the structure as needed. Notice that this is mostly a servant-led structure. There is very little room for paid staff in this initial model. The plan is for future staff to move up the structure organically-from servant to apprentice to leader to coach to staff.

Lastly, we shared what’s next as we near the public worship experience launch in April of 2014:

Those who have been trained and equipped as small group leaders will be launching new small groups in January. Also, I am asking for a nine month commitment from the launch team. This allows for people who jump on board and focus intensely on getting 801South off the ground, but then desire to drift back toward their current environments and commitments to do so after nine months without any hard feelings.

So what questions do you have?

What are the stated and the “ghost” values that drive decision making within your organization?

Do you see yourself being led into the movement and structure of 801South?