During my years in Weaverville, at Mountian Chapel church with Bill Johnson, and others, I don’t remember ever hearing a message about honor; I remember seeing it demonstrated in practice. Years later in Redding, people would come visit us at Bethel and pointed out that we had a “culture of honor” present in our environment. At the time, I had not identified it as that because it had become second nature to us. It happened for us slowly over years of demonstration of right relationship. When others would turn against us, the response was love. When someone attempted to speak about another person negatively, there was a refusal to give in to such behavior. Honor, treating others as we would treat Jesus, became central to everything else happening in our midst.
A culture of honor is not enforced. It is demonstrated.
What was shaping our hearts in Weaverville was a core value that: people become who God has made them to be, in a free environment, full of honor. Our job as leaders is not to control someone into making right choices; it is to give another person freedom to choose to agree with who God says they are by our willingness to live that out in front of them as an example of love.
A few key steps to creating this in your environment are:
1.We demonstrate love and unconditional acceptance grace, and forgiveness
2 We set boundaries preventing another’s behavior from affecting our core values
3. We speak identity and encouragement over them
4. We remove control and fear
5. We give space for others to make mistakes and correct them
6. We demonstrate truth and model correct behavior and right living
When we operate in freedom instead of control, we give others the keys to change their life from the inside. Those who practice honor know it is an inside job.
What are you creating in your environment to give others the keys to freedom within right relationship?
