How valuable are values?

July 22, 2009

Roy Disney once declared “if we know what our values are then decisions are easy”

Recently while giving some consideration to the values of this church and to a certain extent my personal ones I came across these four important points about our values. 

1)Values determine distinctive.

No two individuals are identical; this same principle   applies to churches and to ministries. Some devote their time to strong biblical preaching, others to evangelism, what makes each one unique is its culture, and the most important aspect of the culture is its value system. Values are the constants in life, they are what mark people out, they can change but often only slowly. They are usually non-negotiable .If you can negotiate a value away it probably is not a value.

 2 )Values communicate what is important.

 The values of a ministry signal clearly what is the bottom line. They communicate what really matters. Clearly articulated values drive a stake into the ground that announces to all,” This is what we stand for; this is what we are all about, this is who we are, this is what we can and cannot do for you.” The Jerusalem church was very clear about what it valued:

 3)Values influence overall behaviour.

 A church’s values are ministry shaping. Malphurs   calls this the values impact. Values dictate every decision and influence every action. They begat attitudes that influence behaviour. In Acts 6; 1-7 we see the Jerusalem church modelling the values impact. The Greeks felt the Hebrews were neglecting their widows. In  response the twelve assigned seven well-qualified people to take care of the need. The value system of the apostles dictated that they  should prioritise prayer and ministry of the word.

4) Values embrace good change.

As the country lurches from one change to another, from one worldview to another-modernism to post-modernism, there is much rapid change, much of it good, some of it not so good. The question to ask when confronted with change is, does this change work with with or contradict our values.

 

Do you believe it is important to know what our values are? if so why?

 

Written by william · Filed Under Pastors Blog 

Comments

One Response to “How valuable are values?”

  1. sallangley on July 24th, 2009 8:54 am

    Having these values articulated and shared amongst us all in church, for me, makes us stronger collectively, helps us stand together. It’s particularly useful to me as a new Christian to understand where I should be aiming and how I should be conducting myself now that I’m not simply living out my life but I’m a walking advertisement. Thank you. x

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