Back when we got a vision to start Grace Community, we were in the last days of a campus ministry. So the campus ministry rebirthed and goes on today as Illini Life. A bunch of us gathered together in rented offices on 6th Street and asked what will the culture of this new church be? We knew what the beliefs and basic mission would be- the same as every other evangelical church out there. The question for us as leads was, what will the culture of this new outfit be?

We knew if we did not address this crucial issue, the result would be the least common denominator- what we had experienced before, our comfort, what people expected of us, etc.

So we came up with the beginnings of “cultural values” for lack of a better term, and they are evolving to this day.

They have never been listed in one place, but we talk of them and use them all the time. I have spoken on them so many times over these ten years. Our ministries have used them in charting the course. They are what “make Grace Grace”.

On a recent trip, Bill Glick and I talked them over and reflected on their value.

So…I want to serve you by enunciating them as clearly as possible over the next few days.

The first one is “OPEN” and I will write about it soon. Interesting thing happened when we discussed this value…it kind of shook us, but it was just what we needed. More later.