Credibility

Organizations don't act; individuals do. Organizations don't save lives; individuals do. Organizations don't defraud; individuals do. It's important to make this distinction, because ultimately every one of us must take personal responsibility for what we do. Actions have consequences, and we all have to account for our own. What organizations do is create cultures. Culture is the organizational equivalent of a person's character. The behavior that is modeled becomes the behavior that is followed...It really does matter what you choose to believe in.James Kouzes and Barry Posner
Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It

I first read Kouzes and Posner over a decade ago. Their research and writing about "credibility" is strong. The relationship between individual action and organizational culture is worth considering. Over and over again I have observed this relationship played out in terms of an individual member of the body of Christ and the Church. Although Kouzes and Posner were not writing about churches, the relevance is clear. We cannot depend on the "Church" to take action apart from our own willingness to act. Likewise, we cannot expect the "Church" to be pure apart from our own commitment to holiness. When we break it down on the local level, it reminds us that organizations do create culture. Cultures are created through the behaviors of the individual members. Love is evident in the culture of a "Church" when the members are actively extending themselves as the hands and feet of Christ. Grace and Hope are evident when the members model the heart and mind of Christ in daily life.