January 29, 2021

Maximize Disruption and Release the New

Disruption releases innovation. We discover untried ways of serving God, of accomplishing His purposes. Do you maximize or resist the opportunities disruption brings?

Often, instead of embracing new things, we get stuck. We experience a nostalgic longing for the way things used to be.

Change is hard. Adapting to new situations requires a tremendous amount of energy. We grow weary, tired of the intense demand of constant change. This is particularly true as we age. Younger people tend to have a greater ability to adapt. They are more likely to see change as an adventure, as something interesting, than a burden.

We want our movements and ministries to grow. This will not happen unless we choose to lean-in to new pioneering and innovation. Problems in our world like COVID 19, political upheaval, even natural disasters, are opportunities. Without the pressure of a crisis, we may never have considered doing things in a new way.

Yet, it’s difficult. At least for me.

It could be a simple change, like having to find my groceries in an unfamiliar store. Or it might be needing to learn a new social media app. I confess I am easily annoyed by change. “Why do they keep moving things around?” I grumble in frustration.

This last year brought many uninvited changes in our lives.

– Social distancing (was this even a word before?)

– Wearing masks

– Restrictions on travel and mandatory quarantines

– Churches that couldn’t meet in buildings, conferences cancelled, or put online

– Many online meetings and even social events in Zoom or Teams

– Working from home much more

– Exercising outside, instead of in gyms

The list goes on. Your changes may not be in the list above, but I’m sure you’ve faced some. As we go through these challenges, it is easy to experience “adjustment fatigue.”

When you notice weariness in having to yet again adjust, how can you respond?

Decide to Welcome the Opportunity to Grow

Make an intentional decision to welcome change. Ask God for grace to stop looking back at the past, and for His help to look toward the future. As we do this, our Father releases creativity. We gain new perspective. With His help, we can not only welcome new ideas, new people, and new ways of working, we can actively celebrate and encourage them.

Websites at Seventy?

My parents are a tremendous example to me. They are now eighty-four and eighty-five. Healthy and mentally strong, they continue to live on their own, loving, and serving the community around them.

When my father was seventy, he decided to learn how to create websites. It was new technology, and far more difficult for him than for us who were younger. That didn’t stop him. He committed to embracing the new.

I saw my parents do this with their church as well. While others complained about the loud music of a younger generation, they tried hard to learn the new songs. They made a choice to embrace, welcome, and learn new things. I hope I can be like that when I’m in my eighties!

The challenges of missions today demand creative solutions.

– Millions of unreached people remain without gospel access

– Numerous borders are closed and travel restrictions have grown

– Social distancing makes outreach and relationship building harder

– Global economic challenges make fundraising difficult

– Security issues are more complicated than before

– A new generation is growing up with a quite different worldview than the previous

The level of difficulty can feel overwhelming. Maybe we should just “wait it out” and hope that things will get back to normal. No!!!

Could it be that God wants instead to force us out of our ministry “ruts”? That He would train us to think and work in completely new ways?

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”
Mark 2:22 NIV.

Innovation and pioneering are not optional.

Terms Defined

What do we mean by innovation?

An innovation is a “new method, idea, or product” (Oxford Languages.) It is similar to the word inventor or invention. We experiment with something new.

The printing press was a new innovation that led to the printing of the Bible. This new way of giving people access to the Word of God brought great transformation and shaped church history.

When Loren Cunningham started taking youth on short-term mission trips, it was a new innovation in missions. Previously, all missionaries went long-term.

What new innovation might God give you to further His Kingdom in our time?

What do we mean by pioneering?

Pioneering has to do with starting new work in a new location. We think of pioneers as those who are willing to step out into the unknown, to take risks to establish something. Without actively pioneering into new locations, people groups and spheres of society, we will not finish the task Jesus gave us.

It’s time for a new generation of courageous pioneers to rise up!

How do you encourage and inspire pioneering efforts through your ministry?