In fact, one
translation of God’s workmanship is “God’s masterpiece.” We are
God’s masterpiece! I really believe that God the Father views
us that way because of Christ’s redeeming work.
GraceWorks core
values, then, are centered around God as revealed in Christ. In
short, GOD IN CHRIST.
Centered In God
Gathering
of leaders to bring restoration in an end-times world (Matt.
24:13)
Obedient
to God’s call and leading (John 14:5, Daniel 1:20) by
whole- heartedly seeking out the
Deep
riches of God -- His wisdom, His
knowledge and His counsel
(Romans 11:33-36)
Done God’s Way
Integrity
-- Accomplishing His work in righteousness, with excellence
(Ephesians 5:1-21, Colossians 3:23)
Neighborly
– A relational ministry, minimizing risk by working with
long-term clients who respect and trust us (John 15:15).
As Lived out in Jesus
Creative
-- following Christ as He
Himself makes all things new (Rev. 21:5,
Eph. 2:10)
Holistic
-- meeting the whole need of those God calls us to serve (Luke
4:18, 19)
Real
Relationships -- authentic, genuine, honest, forthright; true to the needs and
realities of our times (John 4:1-42)
Idea-driven
-- transforming minds to wholly serve God (Matthew 22:36, 37,
Romans 12:1,2)
Servanthood
and Suffering -- servanthood and
suffering embraced to accomplish great things in the Kingdom of
God (Matthew 23:11, Is. 53)
Teaching
and Transforming -- to instill, deeply and widely,
to a new generation of leaders, everything God is making new.
Organizations
age because the “why” becomes fuzzy or lost. Why do we
do what we do? Part of the fuzziness is when the
administrator,
Board, or other leaders disagree on the essential core values of
the Christian school. Conflict results, or we go to "lowest common
denominator" actions that miss God's riches.
Conflict
results when new leaders come to realize, after several months
on the job, that their personal core values are much different
than the core values of the school they serve. This can be
avoided if the school takes the time to discover its core
values. (The new leader must also know his or her core
values.) Then both the school and the new leader can readily
assess to what extent they “match.”
In considering
whether your Christian school should partner with GraceWorks, it
is critical that we understand our respective core values, to
see if we can advance you in your core values, via the core
values we embrace. To be specific:
(1)
God has
called GraceWorks to be non-traditional; innovative, new and
creative. Most of what we recommend will in fact, be new to
you. Expect change if you partner with us.
If you don’t want
to change, save your money and don’t work with us.
(2)
We
aren’t bandage providers, either. We will go deep and broad
to provide holistic solutions that work long-term. If surgery
is needed, we will be real upfront about your school’s need for
it. We will not dance around the reality that short-term pain
and suffering is needed to significantly advance God’s purposes
and vision.
(3)
We don't
play songs on one-string guitars. GraceWorks is not a
one-solution specialist. We can provide you a thorough capital
campaign, if you need one, but we also provide excellent
marketing solutions. We have experts in annual funding, even
visioning and planning. We have software solutions, even. (We
can't pontificate on your need to provide solid customer
relationship management without giving you a practical way to do
it!)
(4)
We will
work where ever you have need. If you want us to help in one
area, and two others are sick, we are going to press pretty hard
to help you in those areas, too. That’s what holistic solutions
mean. Everything relates to everything!
(5)
In the
end, our goal is to instill in you what God is making
new. That
is, as much as you will let us, as much as we possibly can! In
other words, GraceWorks does not want you dependent on us. And
we are never going to hold back, either, because helping you
in some other way “wasn’t in the contract.”
(6)
Finally,
as a Golden Rule ministry, GraceWorks has a
100% Good Faith
Guarantee. If you’ve worked with GraceWorks in good faith,
and we somehow fail you -- and we can’t make it right -- then we
will refund whatever is fair, up to 100% of our fees.
This is
a core value issue for GraceWorks, flowing out of Christ’s
command to love our neighbors as ourselves. We assume the risk
in partnering with you.
The most
effective 21st century leaders, according to Bill
Hybels and Ken Blanchard, are those who lead, not by the
authority of their position, but rather through articulating
core values and organization vision.
Why?
Because the world is changing so fast that the constant cannot
be whatever we are doing right now. In the acceleration of
change in our world, what you do must also change if
your Christian school
is to survive and thrive.
The constant that rarely
changes is why -- why we do what we do. That’s
core values. If your
Christian school has plateaued or
is dying, there is
a good chance that something related to core values simply
isn’t working right.
GraceWorks