CULTURE > STRATEGY | Thursday | 8/13

We Are Becoming Something Together

Read: Ephesians 4:3–6

making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: ⁴ there is ...one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

One detail is easy to miss in English.

Paul isn't writing to an individual.

He's writing to a people.

When he urges them to walk worthy of their calling, the "you" is plural.

If Paul were writing to us in Missouri, he might simply say, "Y'all."

That changes everything.

Much of Western Christianity has taught us to read Scripture almost exclusively as individuals. We ask, "What does this passage say to me?"

That isn't a bad question.

It simply isn't Paul's first question.

Paul is asking,

"What kind of people are you becoming together?"

This matters because culture is never created alone. No single person determines the atmosphere of a church. Every conversation contributes. Every disagreement leaves its mark. Every act of hospitality teaches something. Every rumor shapes expectations. Every forgiveness changes the environment.

Culture isn't created by vision statements hanging on walls.

It's created by people who repeatedly choose how they will treat one another.

That means every member of the church is a culture builder.

Not just pastors.

Not just board members.

Not just ministry leaders.

Everyone.

Sometimes we wonder what Trinity will become in the years ahead.

The surprising answer is that we're already deciding.

Every Sunday.

Every hallway conversation.

Every shared meal.

Every welcome.

Every apology.

We're teaching one another what life in this community feels like.

And future generations will inherit what we create today.

Today's Invitation

As you interact with others today, ask yourself one simple question:

If everyone treated people the way I do, what kind of church would we become?