Innovation Inhibitors

(Re-posted from ChurchPlanting.com)

One of the reasons church planting is such a powerful tool for the mission of the Gospel is because it allows leaders to overcome challenges through innovation.  But, as churches grow larger and more committed to systems, innovation can be lost.

So based on both my experience and this recent article from the Harvard Business Review I want to expose these eight inhibitors of innovation.

Inhibitor #1: Focused on the short-term results

Often church planters get funding from groups that want “quick” & “quantifiable” results…  resist the urge to sacrifice long-term missional purpose for the short term goal.

Inhibitor #2: Afraid of cannibalizing the sending church

Create partnerships with church leaders that have a history of sending people without reserve. Leaders who make people “off-limits” lack the innovative thinking needed to prosper the Kingdom.

Inhibitor #3: Devoted too many resources to today

It is easy for church planters to get consumed with the tyranny of the urgent. Force yourself to make time and set aside resources for new ventures.

Inhibitor #4: Passed it on to someone else

There are unique needs in each community that can’t be left to someone else. Using your unique gifts and talents, look for ways to engage pressing needs with new ideas.

Inhibitor #5: Constrained by efficiency and excellence

Efficiency and excellence are the enemies of innovation. Ministry is always messy and if you wait until everything is “perfect” & you have everything you “need” you will never take action.

Inhibitor #6: Coached by leaders not trained to be innovative thinkers

Find a church planting coach who is capable of fostering innovation and not simply helping you imitate the success of others.

Inhibitor #7: Paralyzed by flaws and fears

New ideas are full of flaws and the only way to work out the kinks is to discover the power and potential of an idea, move forward, and take risk.

Inhibitor #8: Controlled by systems that don’t reward innovation

Avoid denominations, churches, and leaders who are afraid of letting go of their systems or want to make clone-ministries and embrace those who reward new ideas.

Read more here: 8 Inhibitors of Innovation - ChurchPlanting.com

Living in the Caveats

Somethings aren't always the case, thats why we have exceptions, 'what-ifs,' asterisks, caveats...

Recently, in a conversation about the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, we decided that most people live in the caveats.  They don't live in the middle, they live in the exceptions.  People often don't live in the scriptural balance of 'pursuing the gifts' and 'orderly worship.'  One group lives in the place of 'who am I to quench the Spirit,' when in all reality its not the Spirit at work.  Another group lives in the place of 'that opens us up to abusive practices, and emotional hype,' and all that means is, 'we don't do that here.'

You know you are living in the caveats when you find yourself asking the question, "yes, thats true, but what about...?"  The fact that there are wrong turns, and bumps in the road, on the way to Chicago, doesn't mean there isn't a way to get there.  Or even that it will be all that difficult to navigate.  Just that we have to pay attention to the guide, stay focused on the road, and never forget the destination.

This is a cultural phenomena.

We like to focus in on the exceptions to the rule instead of the meat of it; we wanna follow the letter of the law instead of spirit; we want to find out what is permissible instead of what is beneficial.  We love bizarre interpretations of obscure texts instead of the main and plain teachings of obvious and popular texts.

My pastor would always say, "its not the things in Scripture I don't understand that bother me, its the things I DO understand!"  Loving God with every fiber of my being, repenting of my sins, loving my enemies, living generously, humility, forgiveness, sacrifice, listening and obeying, spiritual disciplines; these are the most difficult, but necessary components of my faith.  Which is why I'd rather sit around and argue about obscure textual references...

Solving Yesterday's Problems Tomorrow

The Inevitability of Institutionalization

"In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely."

"...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. Examples in education would be teachers who work and sacrifice to teach children, vs. union representatives who work to protect any teacher including the most incompetent. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions."

Jerry Pournelle

Perfect Imperfection!

"These christian-themed entertainment venues need to stop using the word "church" - it clearly confuses people."

This was a comment on the event documented in the Youtube video below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJDqVx3RlzI

Consumerism and Mission

The Church in the West has built a model of church growth that attracts people to attend congregational events, and ultimately join a local congregation, by providing services to the individual.  A local church will provide excellent child-care, professionally played music, state of the art facilities, and ministries specially tailored to individual desire.

This has resulted in a Church where individual Christians choose their congregational affiliation based on the fulfillment of personal desire.  Christians might live on the West Side of Buffalo, but attend worship services in Williamsville, or even further away.  This is not entirely problematic in and of itself; one person leaving their neighborhood to worship and witness elsewhere has little effect, but when the entire church pursues this same pattern of relationship, there is a deep disfunction that settles on the Church.

The Mission of God consists in getting the salt out of the salt shaker and into every corner of society, but when the salt continues to seek out larger and larger salt shakers within which to seclude themselves from the world, that mission suffers.  The Mission of God requires each and every Christian to take personal responsibility for seeing God's Kingdom Come to the little corner of the earth that they inhabit, this is impossible if we refuse to labor towards the blessing of the place we are at, and instead seek our own blessing by going elsewhere...

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This doesn't mean it is a sin to drive past one worship service to attend another, but rather this is a check on our motives.  God called Paul to leave Jerusalem, and then to leave Antioch; it would have been sinful for him to stay when God said, "Go."  This is not about which congregation we choose to belong to, but about how we make that decision.

People want the Church to provide child care, excellent music, air conditioning, clean carpets, good teaching, hot coffee, and a single's ministry with lots of attractive and wealthy members.  God wants the Church to provide people who will live for His Kingdom, love each other sacrificially, work tirelessly for justice, and live their lives as a shining light in a dark world.  We must chose which list we will use to determine the course of our lives, and the course of our Church.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer tells us that, "discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ."  What this means, simply put, is that God is offering us an opportunity to get involved in His project, He has no real desire to get on board with our agenda.  He is not merely a planet in our sky, important and beautiful, but ultimately in orbit around us; rather He is the sun around whom we must find our orbit.

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What this all boils down to is this: Consumerism is the enemy of Mission.  Consumerism, simply put, is making decisions based upon the fulfillment of personal desires; I will do what satisfies my needs.  Mission, simply put, is making decisions based upon the fulfillment of God's desire to bless other people.  When the Church embraces consumer values we eschew missional ones, and vice versa.

Excellence?

"The English Premier League presents football at the highest level: which is great for the sport, but not so great for ministry. In fact, the professional game presents 22 men desperately in need of rest being watched by 22,000 people desperately in need of exercise! It sounds a little bit like church life, doesn’t it? If the goal is to provide a high level of entertainment then excellence is a requirement, but if the goal is to equip others, excellence can become the enemy."

- Ray Hollenbach

(Click on the title link for the whole post)

Broken Tomato Cages pt I

A wonderful metaphor that I have had rattling around the innards of my skull lately is the tomato cage. It is a structure that is very useful. If you have ever planted a tomato plant, you know what happens as the plant grows bigger. The weight of the fruit, and of the plant itself, is too much for it to bear. Its own weight causes it to fall over, which damages the plant, and the tomatoes, which defeats the purpose of planting them! So you put a metal cage around it to help it stay upright. The cage provides support for the plant and allows it to continue its growth far beyond its self-sufficiency without the additional structure.

What has been insightful for me to think on is this: a picture of a gardener putting tomato cages into her garden, but she has no tomato plants! Instead she is putting tomato cages around herbs, carrots, and lettuce, the cages have no point! She continues to focus on the cages themselves and neglecting the plants in the process; the cages have become their own end, they are no longer the means to other ends. She then brags to other gardeners about her marvelous cages, she begins to hold workshops on 'How to Install Tomato Cages,' and markets her own brand of cage.