Shane Ash

It is widely acknowledged that any organization or business is driven by a single underlying motivation (or in some cases, lack of motivation). It becomes the job of  leadership within the organization to find the motivation, refine it, and fulfill it.

Sometimes this motivation is called a vision statement or a mission statement. Webster defines motive as “something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act.” In addition to these statements, often organizations like to identify core values. I like to think of core values as the inspiration to fulfill the motive.

The past few months the leadership team at nbc has been examining our motivation for ministry within our local church. It sounds funny to say we are looking for motivation…but honestly it is exactly what we should be doing. Examining the heart of our organization…making sure that it beats to the heart of the Kingdom.

We have been asking ourselves questions like: Do our ministries complement one another or compete against one another? Are we partnering with other churches/ministries or do we prefer to promote our own brand? When we serve in the community, are we doing it out of a heart of mercy or self-display? Are our lives filled with conscious need of God or are we seeking comfort in our piety?

These kind of questions help us identify the true motives behind our actions (the vision behind the strategy). We will continue to ask these hard questions until all of the faulty, unaligned motives have been exposed. Because, unless we are 100% certain that our motives (our needs or desires) align with purposes of God…we will always be limited in what God can do through and in us.

We are continuing to purge ourselves of church-selfishism and work toward becoming a community devoted to living out Christ-likeness.