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At Metamorphic we have developed a strong culture and that culture determines who fits into our team and who doesn’t. We like all people, we respect all people but not everyone is Metamorphic. Our culture determines what we do and whom we will do it with, it dictates what we say yes to and what we say no to. It permeates everything we do, every word written, spoken, every decision made, its who we are.
If you were to observe the Metamorphic team up close you would see our culture at work. You would see that our culture is more than a set of values, it is who we are. Metamorphic culture is made up of the following five convictions. Grace, Honor, Affirmation, Abundance and Partnership.
The reason why these five things make up our culture is three fold. Firstly they are the personal convictions that I have as the leader. Its who I want to be, its what I am committed to and it’s the type of people I want to do work and life with. Secondly because these three things are not evident in the Church or society in the Developing world and so by virtue of our name, Metamorphic, we want to bring change and transformation to every community we work in. We do that by bringing a touch of our culture as we help whole communities create a better future. In this Blog entry I will just deal with one and how that effects communities and us.
In many years of travelling into the developing world, doing business and ministry I have observed the absence of any sense of grace as a concept. Most Developing nations have a fatalistic world view and this effects every level of society. For many in the Developing world that fatalistic view locks them into a mindset that says they cannot change their future and they are victims of their past and the environmental limitations they are surrounded by. When we introduce the concept of grace as a culture people begin to see that they have a future based not on their own human effort or background but rather on the fact that God loves all people and gives every one of us the seeds of success. When people understand grace they begin to believe that they can change their circumstances.
For us at Metamorphic it affects our approach toward everything. We don’t look at who deserves our help but rather who needs our help and input. We don’t for example favour the Christian over the Buddhist when it comes to doing water projects for example. The word grace of course simply means undeserved favour and that is how we approach life, ministry and business. Its also how our team work with one another. We are not quick to judge or disqualify people but rather look for a way to build each other up and give each other a second and third chance etc. This type of an environment creates trust and security, things that every great team needs and every great Developing nation needs.
In our next blog post we will look at how honor and affirmation can transform developing nations and impact us as well.
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