At the recent FAIR Conference, I heard a remarkable talk on doctrinal drift by an employee from the Church’s Correlation Department.

Think of doctrine as an eternal, divine truth that God has placed upon a pinnacle.

If we are not careful in defining and protecting that doctrine, it begins to drift—sliding slowly to one side or the other.

Once that drift gains momentum, truth can tumble from its high place into the pit of confusion, where clarity is lost.

A similar dynamic exists with what we might call cultural drift.

Unlike doctrine, culture does not begin at a pinnacle.

It is better pictured as resting in a trough.

At the bottom of that trough lies the status quo.

Positive leadership works to lift culture upward—toward inspiration, revelation, and progress.

But the pull of the status quo is constant, always working to drag culture back down.

We prevent doctrinal drift by holding firm—keeping truth in place at the pinnacle, where it stands as a shining guide for the world.

We prevent cultural drift by actively moving, shaping, and nurturing our culture toward higher ground.

As Dan Duckworth once said, “Culture is the memory of a thousand moments—the imprint the past makes on choices in the present.”

If we want to build a positive culture, we must create not just those thousand moments, but one more—1,001—so that new imprints can replace the old.

Here’s where leadership gets tricky: new culture can influence doctrine, and doctrine can influence culture.

The two must coexist in their proper roles.

Culture must progress, while doctrine remains steadfast.

When culture pushes doctrine off balance, we have a problem.

When doctrine is misused to keep culture stuck in a rut, we have a different problem.

It is essential not to confuse them.

Drifting doctrine will never create positive culture.

Complacent culture will never protect true doctrine.

That’s why leadership in this space is so challenging.

Maintaining doctrine is largely a passive effort—hold it in place, unmoving.

Shaping culture is an active effort—we must show up, make intentional choices, and outpace the gravity of the status quo.

Let’s keep doctrine firm.

And let’s keep culture moving.

Jump in on the discussion about this message over at Zion Lab.

Sincerely,

Kurt Francom
Executive Director
Leading Saints

P.S. This is an older newsletter message. Get the up-to-date messages by subscribing for free HERE. Discuss this message with the Leading Saints community HERE.

The post Doctrinal & Cultural Drift appeared first on Leading Saints.