An Audacious Approach

Sorry, I couldn't help it. For those of you who don't know I love alliteration. But that is neither here nor there.

Today I want to talk about creating an environment of innovation. I hope you are starting to notice that I spend a lot more time talking about the context than the examples. Examples of innovation are good and I love to highlight cool new things, but the stumbling block to innovation is not a lack of information or ideas. The main stumbling block is creating the right relationships with God, others and our environment to foster missional innovation.

So in that vein, I was at the Panera yesterday with some of the team from Development Associates International (DAI). We were discussing fundraising and technology when Paul Berry shared a personal goal that I just had to share with all of you. So with his permission, I'm sharing his new years resolution.

Usually I role my eyes at resolutions because we all know where they go an the lack of impact they usually have. However, this one had context and a richness of experience that was refreshing. So what was it?

Paul resolved to do something audacious every month this year. He shared how this first month he is building an iphone app. Next month it is learning Greek words and after that who knows. What it is really is not the point at all. The amazing thing about this resolution is that it puts Paul into a posture of learning, risk and creativity that is not normal.

Usually we are stuck in mediocrity of a life that is saturated with the normal. We eat it, drink it and swim in it. No wonder we aren't creative or innovative. We are surrounded by "can't" "don't" or "won't". Somehow if we are going to free our minds to be vessels for God's glory, we have to escape the traps that the world tries to bind us in.

Paul's resolution does that. It puts him in a position where every month he will experience something new, understand something in a different way and meet new people who are struggling through the same thing.

So here is what I want us to do. We have been having some great discussions about innovation and mission over the past days. In the spirit of Paul's resolution, I am asking 12 of you to share one audacious thing that you want to accomplish in the first three months of this year.

12 people and 12 things.

And if you are one of those people, you are agreeing to report back by the end of March with the results of your audacious activity and we will do a blog post with the results of each of your efforts. So who is up for the challenge?

Combo Meal Innovation

Many times people get the idea that innovation has to be a brand new idea that never existed before. We build up the innovator and imagine that without years tinkering in that garage, we could never create innovation in our work. That idea has kept many from understanding the true nature of innovation.

Holistic innovation is all about creative solutions to real problems. Sure it involves research and testing, but it can be quickly applied and lessons can be learned.

Another way to be creative as you innovate is to combine things. Sometimes a challenge in front of you doesn't need one brand new thing as much as it needs a few old things combined in a new way - an Innovation Combo Meal.

Let me give you an example from the organization I work with - HCJB Global. For many years HCJB Global had two key ministries - global radio and local healthcare. These ministries have done some exciting things and blessed thousands of people. However, for the majority of the last 75 years, these ministries operated seperately.

Recently, we have redefined our vision around an innovation. HCJB Global is combining media and healthcare in places like Africa to create more impact. This combo was a direct response to a challenge on the ground. As our partners started radio stations around the world with our help, they began to be the center of their community. Their role in information sharing, made them very influential. That influence brought the needy. People came from everywhere and many needed physical help. So our partners began to integrate healthcare services into their media work.

So as our partners began to innovate in this area, we also joined the effort. By integrating media and healthcare strategically, we are now finding many new ministry opportunities that we would have never had before.

Back to your work and ministry. As you look for ways to innovate in your context, think about some of the work you are involved in and how it might be combined to create new solutions and answers to new challenges!