Embracing the Whole Picture

"We are grateful that he gave so much time coming to the poorer nations ... simply to teach us the Bible." Ajith Fernando about John Stott

Most people latch on to a specific idea and make it their life's mission. We are told at every turn to focus our efforts in order to create something truely unique and to get the attention of an increasingly distracted audience. So in the interest of efficiency and focus, we "zoom in" on what we believe we can offer to the world.

There is great value in focused work, but I worry that our persistent focus, and the pride that it so often brings, is causing us to lose site of the larger picture. We have all met those individuals who act like their cause or idea is the most important one in the world - to the exclusion of all others.

We need a broader more balanced approach to our efforts as innovators and Generous Minds. This was one of the main lessons that I took away from watching the interactions online after John Stott passed away recently. In the articles, videos and quotes that I saw, I got a sense for a man who saw the whole vision for the church so clearly. And this larger vision allowed him to focus in on specific ideas or efforts at certain times. But I get the sanse that he never lost the larger perspective on God's heart for His creation.

I think that is why so many of the reflections about John Stott speak about humility. Because his identity was not wrapped up in his particular agenda, God grew him into a humble man who was there to serve those around him. The quote from Adjith Fernando at the top of this article embodies that so powerfully.

Our best efforts can look like self-serving agendas and personal passions to the outside world. I would encourage you to read David Brook's article about John Stott to see how he was viewed differently than so many in the Christian world.

As I read David Neff's article at the time of John Stott's 90th birthday, I got another insight into this amazing servant of God. David zero's in on John's discipline. Incidentally, I saw a tweet from Billy Graham's grandson, Pastor Tullian Tchividjian, talking about John's discipline as well.

Not only did John Stott see the bigger picture and enter it with humility, but he was extremely disciplined in his very specific ministry efforts. I believe these factors held in creative tension were part of the reason that he is known as one of the fathers of modern evangelicalism.

Do we bring the balance between "big picture" and "focused effort" along with the "humility to serve" and "discipline to achieve"? These things will seem to pull us in very different directions at times. But all these things are important to God and He will give us the ability to embrace each for the benefit and blessing they bring to our labors.

Take some time to read the quotes from John Stott that I curated from twitter and the commemorative video that has been watched by over 10,000 people.

"We should travel light and live simply. Our enemy is not possessions but excess." John RW Stott

“God’s church means people not buildings, and God’s word means Scripture not traditions." -John Stott”

“The symbol of the religion of Jesus is the cross … not the scales.” (John Stott)

"The Gospel isn't good advice to men but good news about Christ; not an invitation to do, but a declaration of what God has done." John Stott

"Christians need to look like what they're talking about"-John Stott

"Until you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will never appreciate that it is done for You" - John Stott

The End of a Transition and the Beginning of a Journey

When we suddenly found ourselves in a liminal time of transition just a few months ago, I shared very openly about our process and about the lessons my wife Mindy and I were learning as we journeyed through a time of even greater dependence on God.

Thank you to each of you for being part of that journey. Your encouragement, connections and prayers along the way have made all the difference as we have strived to honor God through our transition. Over the past months I have written the following posts about our process:

• Transparency in Transition
• Open Sourcing Your Innovations
• Rethinking Publishing
• Serving Through an Interview
• What Happens When We Can Only Think at Starbucks

And now I write this post to share about how God has guided and directed us to a new phase of ministry. As you have seen from my posts of late, God has put the publishing industry on our hearts. Better said, God has burdened Mindy and I with a passion to help people communicate their ideas in new ways for a new century. This is not new, but in transition you always go back to the passions that God has given you and ask Him for a fresh perspective.

We did that over the past months. I interacted in great detail with many in the publishing field trying to identify what God is doing through the publishing of ideas to further His Kingdom. We asked the hard questions and looked for the key innovations that would be part of making God's Word and His work in the lives of believers available to more and more people.

At the end of that process God gave us the opportunity to join a new publishing start up called Novo Ink (www.novoink.com) in Colorado Springs. This new organization will be coming alongside content providers such as Christian publishers to help them move their current and back-list titles into a high definition, color eBook reader delivered by Zinio, a long-time digital content provider with over 7 million subscribers globally. These eBooks will be available on people's computers, iPhones, iPads and soon in the Android Market.

As of September 7, I have taken the role of Account Manager and I have the great pleasure of working with the publishing staff of the Christian publishers that decide to partner with Novo Ink to get their content into this new format and available for purchase. I am very excited about the potential because Zinio's platform has the ability to deliver static content in an excellent/high-quality experience but it also has the ability to deliver audio, video and Flash content within the books - helping Christian publishers make the jump to Enhanced eBooks and a more dynamic experience for readers.

Mindy and I will continue in the Generous Mind cause, including blogging on innovations in publishing as I move deeper into that arena along with innovations for ministry in general. We also will keep blogging about our latest book Through the River: Understanding Your Assumptions About Truth and encourage you to purchase a copy and take time to think through how you understand truth.

Again, it is with great humility and thankfulness that we write this note. We owe so much to each person that is part of the Generous Mind cause. We look forward to your comments and your thoughts as we begin this new journey.

P.S. To follow along as Novo Ink launches in the coming weeks/months please connect in these ways:
Web: www.novoink.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/novoink
Twitter: www.twitter.com/novoink

Open Sourcing Your Innovations

As many of you know from my last post, we are in a ministry transition right now. Transitions are tough, but one thing they make you do is hone and develop the ideas you really believe in. That is what I want to share about today.

When you have a new innovation that you are nurturing one of the gut reactions is to hide it. You don’t want anyone to steal your idea or, even worse, make fun of it! So many times we develop innovations in secret and wait for the right moment to spring them on the world.

I would like to suggest that this thinking is actually counter productive. In an idea economy, your innovation has real value if it is viable. However, your idea is just that – YOURS. Only you have the experience, understanding, perspective and creativity to design your idea. Even if someone else were to take your blueprint and roll it out, it would be dramatically different from what you would do.

This means that innovative ideas need to be shared openly at the initial stages. Instead of worrying that someone will steal your idea, share it in such a way where you are the only possible owner. That uniqueness and creativity that you bring to your innovation will set it apart and set you apart.

Ok, but you might be asking, “If the idea is mine and unique to me, then why should I let it out there as I am developing it?” My answer is that while the idea is yours and it is very hard to really steal it in today’s idea economy, your idea is a work in progress. It needs refining and it needs other people’s experience and input - a little like open source software needs ongoing development. Your idea is not nearly as good as it could be if it was shared and refined!

Let me give you an example. I have some innovative ideas about the future of publishing in the 21st Century. I’m not sure what God is going to do with those ideas but I am passionate about them and willing to invest time and energy to see them become a reality. So what did I do? I created a white paper sharing my ideas and asking people to engage with me. Then I began to send it out to various people that I trust and that know the publishing industry. Each time they came back with input, I have thought it through, asked the hard questions and made a new version of my white paper. I’m several iterations into the document now.

Each time someone interacted with me on my innovation, my ideas have improved. I have developed a better understanding of publishing and of my unique perspective.

Now let me be clear, don’t hear me saying that you should share everything. If you have a unique business model or some key relationships or pieces of intellectual property that need to be protected, then you need to share those very carefully. However, that should not stop you from sharing your larger idea and being willing to learn from others.

Ok, so now I need to practice what I preach! I have this white paper on Cause-Oriented Publishing and if any of you would like to read it and give me input I would love to share it with you. You can email me at jonhirst-at-generousmind.com. But when you ask, it will come with an expectation:
1. That you will read it and consider the idea seriously.
2. That you will take the time to write me back and share your thoughts honestly.

I look forward to sharing with some of you about my latest innovation!

The List is Live!

Friends,

We have been on a journey to share 30 ways to be a generous mind in 30 days. The results of the effort are on our generous mind blog. Click here to read all 30!

We hope they bless you,

Jon and Mindy

30 Ideas in 30 Days

A key part of innovation is learning and sharing new ideas. What does it look like when you are disciplined about that process?

In our efforts to share practical ways to be a generous mind, we are twittering 30 ideas in 30 days. It's simple: go to www.twitter.com/generousmind and follow our twitter to get these practical ideas. At the end we will document them all on this blog as a summary.Blessings as you are generous today!