This continues the March 8th post on 3 things I remain convinced of…
1. here
2. The best ways of doing ministry have yet to be found and we are in an “idea” crisis
Idea crisis, creativity dearth, innovation desert. We have to own that part of what we are called to do is design, create and come up with better ways of doing it.
We have to own this one deeply, passionately and relentlessly. This is not because we have to be innovative or don’t like the way we have always done it. We have to own this because God is always doing a new thing and inviting us into new territory and terrain.
I am convinced the best ways are yet to be found and furthermore am totally convinced by my experience that some of those “best ways” are actually in the ideas that will come from people who we don’t know yet and who don’t follow Jesus yet.
How do you create this on a staff team? You give unbridled permission to think fresh and free and you give lavish space for unedited idea generation. These two are critical if you want to have a creative staff ethos that midwifes new ideas.
I honestly think we are in an idea crisis. There is lots of information around but not a lot of ideas. Information no matter how coyly packaged is still plain old information. We need to de-google our meetings. We need to stem the flow of information that constipates insight.
Insight doesn’t always lead to great ideas but it is usually the foreshadowing of one. When I am in meetings where there is a shift in the texture of the space, and there is a move from simply conveying information to discussing insights, we start looking over the edge of the cliff into the vast world of ideas and sometimes even illumination.
What we need is a break with convention. We need more than simple tweaks, adjustments, fine tuning or recalibration. We seem to be experts at overlaying one conventional idea over another just slightly older conventional idea and pronouncing it as progress.
Behold I want to do a new thing….not a slightly different version of an old thing. We need the intoxicating rush of idea adrenalin in our leadership, churches and teams.
The best ways of doing ministry have yet to be found!
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My opinion is that you also need to give enough room to try out ideas and to fail miserably. To trust the Holy Spirit and integrity of the leaders working with you. To de-structure so that new ministry can create only the absolutely necessary structure. To let go of control, embrace chaos and stay on your knees.
We must not only de-google meetings, we must recreate meetings. Meetings must become a place of worship where we are sensitive to the Holy Spirt but where we are also sensitive to the world around us. If we want to be visionaries we have to get out of the mould we use for Church meetings. Our agenda’s of control. Move meetings from Church buildings to busy shopping malls, sport fields ect. on different times. Stop arguing about words. We are so busy trying to protect the church, to administrate the church that it is impossible for us to radically follow Christ in this world. He leads where it is not always safe or ‘responsible’ according to us. He came for People, not for structures.