For the year 2021 we have chosen to focus on innovation as we pursue our essentials to make disciples.  Our simple working definition of innovation is Trying Something New.  We chose that term considering what we are facing with COVID-19.  The author, Mick Murray, explains it this way: “Trying to lead an organization in this increasing VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environment is challenging in many levels.”

Our habit of planning goes something like this.  We draw a straight line from today to next year and prepare for the future based on our recent experiences, best guesses, and current gut feelings.  Simply stated, we attempt to predict what is next based on our familiar past behaviors instead of future possibilities.

Nicholas Skytland said this:

“We can approach the future as explorers.  Explorers, by definition, are people who journey through the unfamiliar to learn about it.  It is explorers who sailed uncharted waters, discovered new lands, circumnavigated the globe, set foot on the moon, and ventured deep into space.  Exploration requires being brave, overcoming your fears, and permitting yourself to take the first step.”

Jesus taught the concept of innovation in the parable of the wine skins (Luke 5:36-38).   “And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise, he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

We also have numerous Biblical examples of innovation.  For instance, Samson tying torches onto foxes, using a jawbone of an animal as a weapon, Moses striking a rock to get water, the Jewish army marching around Jericho seven times as a military strategy, David dancing before the ark of the covenant, and you can probably name some more.

So, pray, imagine, and explore new ways to engage with hell bound people all around us.  And always remember, we have the only lasting and enduring solution to the deepest needs of the heart of all people.

-Jay Letey