Wednesday, March 31, 2010

A Crisis of Context

One of the greatest challenges to innovation in mission today is our crisis of context. What does that mean you say? Very simple...almost all of the ideas and thinking that circulate today are in snippets.

Think about it:

1. A quote on twitter is just 140 characters of a larger thought.
2. A song on itunes is just one piece of the artist's album
3. A Bible verse taken without those around it share an incomplete truth

And on and on...

Innovation desperately needs context. It is the side stories and the small details around the big idea that inform the new and innovative things. We settle for the soundbites but really what we need are those full body ideas with all of the nuance and the perspectives.

But nuance and perspective take time, consideration and thought. We are short on those things today and thus our innovation suffers.

Here is my challenge to you today:

Pick a key idea that you want to learn about and study it in full...read the whole article...look at a few perspectives...ask a few people what they think.
Your next innovation will be much more significant if you have the context that surrounds it!

2 comments:

Cavin Harper said...

Right on, Jon and Mindy! Now you know why I struggle so with Twitter and Facebook. It's so much easier to deal with life at the surface...it's a much different ballgame to dig deep and see what's below the surface. Thanks for the reminder and challenge.

Chinzorig said...

How about talking about fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment? On a personal of a family context? Like every Christian family being missional and every believer (young and old) making disciples. huh?