Drawing from Within

When you hear the word innovation you immediately think of new and creative things. That is natural - you wouldn't call an old idea "innovative." Or would you?

We are just getting over our facination with progress. It was the momentum that drove the 20th Century. But at the same time, it assumed that the "new" and the "next" were always better.

Now lets consider what is within us. I wonder if some of the most creative innovations are not ideas that already exist but are reimagined. Those ideas that have been ripening in us over time and then we pull it out of the back of our brain and apply it to a new challenge.

Many of the innovations in mission happening in the Global South seem to be things that the Apostle Paul did so effectively. When I was in a South Asian country recently, I spent some time with a ministry who is mobilizing hundreds of church planters and each one must get a business model approved. They are innovative because they have families to feed. But that's not new. The early church did plent of that.

Another example in the world of mission is online learning. Just like Paul's letters represented an informal style of learning, we are now using new communications tools to help teach missionary staff and hone their skills.

I wonder if a key characteristic of a mission innovator is to unite new opportunities with the wellspring of history and create relevant solutions. I think that it isn't so much about having something truely new as it is about having something truely engaging.