We are continuing our look at the book by Bill Easum - Unfreezing Moves - Following Jesus into the mission field

The other posts in the series can be found here

The innovative congregation

Easum opens up chapter four with this statement:

“The permission-giving organization is by nature an innovative environment that is constantly keeping the status quo from forming (homeostasis). Any time new ministries are allowed to bubble up from the grass roots, without the approval of a centralized authority, innovation is inevitable. However, it is one thing to be unintentionally innovative. It is quite another to be intentionally innovative. To be intentional does not mean that innovation can be planned or programmed. It means that innovation is encouraged and nurtured.” (p53)

The authors comment that innovation can’t be planned or programmed resonates with me. The Western Church often lurches itself from program to program – each one gaining excitement, energy and enthusiasm. The time and energy expended are to be commended because the motivation is right. Yet while each of the programs were often innovative in their original setting, they have become a program to be run or an event to be organize in another setting. This means that when the life-cycle of the particular program begins to conclude rather than innovation occurring naturally – the program is closed with a sense that it was worth a try but it didn’t work.

Easum believes that “innovative congregations are led by leaders who have a passion for being on the mission field with Jesus” (p53). While some leaders seem to be wired in a way that allows to be naturally innovative there are other less skilled leaders who simply from their very passion for what they are doing allows them to be creative and innovative. This leaders may not be wired with certain natural leadership abilities but they are wired into their culture context and as Easum says “they know it like the back of their hand” (p54)

A list of ways that leaders can foster innovation in their congregations is provided and a number of them caught my eye:

“Make heroes out of those leaders who attempt new ministries” (p55)

“Point attention to leaders who attempt new ministries even if they fail” (p55)

“Work around the edge of your religious group (denomination, association or network) because innovation has less resistence there.” (p55)

“Throw out as many new ideas as possible” (p56)

“Give people all the information they want about what is happening in the congregation” (p56)

“Use the why word a lot” (p57)

Easum concludes this chapter on innovation stating that the task is to “embed the DNA” into your key leaders. He writes: “Without the DNA firmly embedded throughout the leaders, the permission-giving, innovative congregation never materializes.” (p58). In arguing this, Easum is inline with the discipleship emphasis that is growing in the emerging church and is seen in books such as Alan Hirsch’s forthcoming book on mDNA, Alan Roxburgh’s establishment of a missional order. It makes sense, as many of the effective movements in history held a high emphasis on embedding the DNA of the characteristics of the movement into their members. I would suggest that the issue for the western church is not in embedding the DNA but rather examining the DNA that is being embedded. Every organization is capable and quite effective at embedding the DNA into its members – the issue becomes do we recognize that the DNA that we embed needs to be thought out and discussed rather than simply assumed.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 25th, 2006 at 10:27 am by phil and is filed under Unfreezing Moves. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.