Innovation

Please Stop Saying “It’s Just the Way I Am” to Excuse Mediocrity In Ministry

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We need to let go of excuses for not doing ministry better, and learn new things when necessary. Including old-school essentials that may be new to us because we somehow missed them along the way.

As Christian leaders, we have an awesome responsibility. To God and the congregation he’s called us to serve.

Mastering the required tools is a bare minimum for fulfilling our ministerial calling. Both the long-standing principles and the new innovations.

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Why I Don’t Trust New Year’s Resolutions or 10-Year Plans

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God doesn’t work on our calendar.

He created days, weeks, months, seasons and years. Those are real things.

People designed minutes, hours, decades and New Year’s Day on January 1. Those are made up things.

That’s why I don’t trust New Year’s resolutions or decade-long church plans.

What are the odds that God’s plans for my life, my church or my denomination will match our artificial calendar?

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How to Be an Innovator Without Being an Imitator

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Innovative leadership happens in the space between style and substance.

It happens in the middle territory between foundational theology on one end, and trivial, stylistic fads on the other. It happens in the arena of methods, systems and communication tools. That’s why church leadership teachers talk so much about them.

So the next time you go to a church conference or watch a leadership talk, don’t run home determined that the key to breakthrough in your church is to line the back of the platform wall with pallets, or create a viral video for your church Facebook page. When we do that, we’re missing the essence of what truly innovative leaders are trying to tell us.

Don’t watch and imitate. Learn and adapt. Blend your ideas with theirs into something new that works for your context.

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9 Things I Love to See When I Visit a Church

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Over the years, I’ve compiled a list of things I love to see when I visit a church. A lot of it is common knowledge, like clean bathrooms and proper signage. And some things are bonus, like a nice cup of coffee or a kickin’ worship team. So I won’t include those in this list.

What I am including falls under this general heading: When I visit your church I want a genuine expression of worship and fellowship.

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Ramps vs. Signs: Saying ‘Yes’ to Unexpected Ministry Opportunities

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What are we afraid of?

So many churches and pastors act in fear and stay on defense when we should be acting in love and staying on offense.

I’m not saying that we need to be offensive. Quite the opposite.

A church on offense – a church that is aggressively offering concrete examples of Christ’s love to the world – will not push people away, but will draw them in. No matter how big or small we are.

It’s time to start getting innovative and aggressive about expressing Jesus’ love to people. And meeting them where they are instead of expecting them to come where we are – or demanding that they come to where we are in the way we expect.

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Turning Your Small Church’s Limitations Into an Innovative Advantage

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Why bother?

Small churches almost never have enough money, people or facilities to be innovative, right?

That’s precisely the reason we must be innovative.

Some of the world’s greatest ideas, products and revolutions came about, not because someone had unlimited money and resources, but precisely because they did not.

Lack of resources is what spurs most innovators to think differently. This can be true for small churches, too.

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Bringing Innovative Strategies to an Established Small Church

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Why bother trying to resurrect an old, dying church?

I’ve heard that question a lot.

There was a time when it seemed like every pastor I went to bible college with was following church growth principles and starting new churches. In a few years they were buying land to accommodate the growing crowds.

But I was sitting in a pre-existing small church, nurturing it along through the beginning, challenging stages of a turnaround. It’s a long, hard road from dying, introverted and tired, to healthy, outward-looking and innovative.

My friends in ministry saw my struggle and gave me two pieces of advice:

“Plant your own church.”

Establish your own vision, instead of fighting against an old one.

“Tear it all down and start from scratch.”

Tear the old structure apart and say buh-bye to anyone who won’t get on board.

I chose a third path:

Work with the current church to rediscover a new vision together.

It was a harder choice, but for me and the church it has been the most rewarding.

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Church Methods Don’t Matter – Until We Do Them Wrong

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We won’t change the world by adopting new methods in the church. We won’t even save the church that way.

What will change the world is a praying church. A loving church. A worshiping church. An outwardly-focused church. A Jesus-centric church.

The Great Commandment and the Great Commission are all that matter. They haven’t changed in 2,000 years because they don’t need to.

But.

I’m going to use new methods anyway.

I’ll tell you why in a moment. But first, a lesson in typesetting. (No, I’m not crazy. My mother had me tested).

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Between Substance & Style: Innovation Happens in the Middle

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Innovation may not be what we’ve been told. It isn’t about being the coolest kid in the room. That’s just style. And it doesn’t come from tearing down the things that matter. That’s our substance. Innovation happens in the space between style and substance. I’ve spent the last two days at Catalyst West Coast. It was

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