Christian Yelich, pictured above, a veteran member of the newly crowned World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers, was asked about the winning culture that has been developed in the Milwaukee organization. His reply was, “The standard creates the culture.” That statement speaks volumes to any group of people who are interested in creating a certain culture, whether it be a sports team, a nation or a church.
The culture in the United States was founded on principles found in the Bible. Our founding fathers were almost unanimously God-fearing men. Our founding documents refer to a Creator who endows us with certain rights. Scripture is engraved on the architecture of many of the magnificent buildings and monuments in Washington, D.C. God is mentioned in state constitutions. The foundation of our culture is firmly based on biblical principles. That is not to say that we have not seen any terrible injustices in our nation. (Slavery and abortion quickly come to mind.) But these injustices did not come from the standard of Scripture. Rather, they came from our lack of adhering to the biblical principles upon which we were founded.
The culture of any church must come from the standard of the Bible. The church is built on the foundation of Christ and the apostles and prophets. Eph.2:19-22 says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Any denomination or congregation that radically veers away from the standard of Scripture is sure to experience an unhealthy culture. Those who lower the bar in matters of morality invite spiritual sickness to permeate the church and cause a great deal of harm. The church at Corinth failed to uphold the biblical principle for sexual morality, and the apostle Paul issued a strong warning that the church would suffer if the leaders did not get back to the standard and exercise church discipline regarding the offending member.
Yelich was spot-on in his assessment of what creates a successful culture. It all comes down to the standard which that culture chooses to uphold. Our standard must be the Bible.
