Being a Cup, not a Cap: A lesson in leadership and culture
A couple of years ago I planted 20 trees in my back garden. All of these trees were the same height. However, there was one tree that even after five years never grew. The reason it never grew was because the neighbour’s branch was covering it, restricting it from getting any sunlight.
Then one day I saw our neighbour cutting down that branch and the sun began to shine on that one tree and suddenly it grew.
Using this example, it would be so easy to think that the covering was bringing safety when in reality it is restricting and preventing growth. I want to talk about the power of being a cup not a cap; about what it means to cut down the branches, make room for the sunlight to shine forth cultivating new life and growth. I am passionate about seeing a culture that empowers others, celebrates uniqueness, and champions those they are leading, ultimately creating a culture fit for the King of Kings.
Culture of the King
Jesus came to change culture, challenge the status quo and shift religious mindsets. Not only that, He came to commission His disciples and followers to cultivate the culture of heaven here on earth. It is so interesting that Jesus used the word apostles to describe his disciples. In Roman times this word was a military term for someone that would be sent on behalf of the king to a city that had been conquered. His task was to change the culture of this conquered to city to look that that of the king. Relating this to Jesus, he sent out his apostles to change the culture of the world to look like the culture of Him.
And this was not a task for just the 12 disciples, this is the calling on each of our lives. To carry the very essence of the culture of heaven declaring Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
We are a sent people. We have been sent to change culture, to look like the King, so when the King comes He feels at home.
Unhealthy vs. Healthy Culture
Now that we have established that are called to transform culture, the question remains; what does that culture actually look like? What is it that we are cultivating here on earth to look like Heaven?
I believe what we need to cultivate is the freedom of choice. The main difference between a healthy culture and an unhealthy one is about choice. An unhealthy culture is a culture that controls and whenever you see control, behind that control is fear. On the other hand, a healthy culture is when people have the freedom of choice, which gives them the opportunity to grow and mature, just like the Father does. And in their freedom to make choices they also have the freedom to make mistakes, learn from them and ultimately grow. It should be our greatest joy as leaders, mothers and fathers to see our children (and those we are leading) outgrow us — allowing our ceiling to become their floor.
The minute we become a cap instead of a cup and we start making choices for other people, we end up controlling them not empowering them. This is not the culture of the King!
Being a Cup
My charge to you is this, be a cup not a cap. Not only that but be a cup that overflows. Be a community that is passionate about seeing those around them fulfill their God given dreams and beyond. Be a leader who leads with the understanding that unity is not uniformity but the celebration of diversity. And finally, be a people that bring the culture of the King wherever they go, whoever they interact with and whatever their mission is, creating lasting and global transformation.