A New Year with A New Perspective

To survive in these tough times, innovators must be persistent. We angle, cajole, network, present and smile our way into opportunities to share our ideas. This determination and spunk is part of what makes an innovator who they are.

But many times that drive is overtaken by pride and self importance. It happens so easily. We start out simply pushing an idea forward and before we know it, we have convinced ourselves that we deserve the success and the rewards that will eventually come.

So in this new year, I would like to present the antidote to this prideful tendency among us innovative types. The cure is brokenness. BROKENNESS???? "What kind of cure is that?" you might ask.

I asked the same question till earlier this year. That was when I read a book called "The Tale of Three Kings" by Gene Edwards. I had heard about this book before, but God brought it to my attention through a sermon, a friend's recommendation over coffee and then through a vague memory of seeing this book in our storage closet. Well, my memory was accurate and I read the book quickly.

This book takes a unique look at Saul, David and Absalom. The first was an angry king who threw spears, the second was a broken king and the third was a rebellious king. The book shows David's brokenness and then challenges the reader to consider a broken life before God.

Up to that point, in many ways I had allowed the pride of innovation to rule the day in my life. But God used this book to show me what it meant to be broken. And what I have found in the process is that a broken person is an even stronger innovator. When you are broken before God, you accept that all ideas come from Him. You also accept that only the ones that God blesses should succeed.

A broken spirit does not push beyond God's direction and moves forward with courage under God's leading.

As each of you innovators begin your new year of work, what will be the driving force behind your work. Will it be your pride and self reliance? Or will you live a broken life before the Lord and ask Him to guide your efforts?

Blessings as each of you innovate in this new year!

An Innovator's Christmas Prayer

Dear God,

It's been a busy year and I haven't stopped and to pray like this nearly as often as I had hoped.

But this morning as I drink my coffee and reflect I want to thank you for the blessings in my life.

I want to thank you for the inspiration on those late nights where so many ideas were born.

You gave me hope to expect good from the most difficult circumstances that I faced.

You showed me the right timing to move forward on that exciting project.

You guided me to fix the key things and flex on the rest.

You provided the courage to be authentic in my relationships and my efforts.

You showed me that you can use art, cell phones, conferences, and countless other tools to impact people's lives.

You encouraged me to dig deep as I sought the new ideas and inspiration to work.

You celebrated with me on the good days.

You challenged me to be risky and dangerous in my efforts to serve you.

Maybe we have been talking more than I thought this year God. So many times you are there and I don't even realize it. In those brainstorming sessions, the early morning breakfast meetings, the quite times reading a book, the long talks with friends . . . you made all those possible. Thank you.

But as I sit here typing on Christmas Eve, the innovation that I am most appreciative of is your greatest gift. I am baffled and amazed at your majesty that would design the incarnation. Your perfect design for my life included your Son coming to Earth and saving me from sin.

Thank you for the hope and courage that you have given me this year and I pray that it would increase as I strive to serve you in the coming year.

Amen

How to destroy an idea in 10 minutes. . .

You wake up one day and you decide that you have had it with change. You commit to avoid anything that looks new or different. You don't quite know why, but it is as real to you as the steaming coffee you hold in your hand. You say with conviction, "Today I am going to be happy with the same things that I enjoyed yesterday!"

Once you arrive at your the office, and you settle into your chair to go through emails. But to your dismay, the first thing to pop up in your email box is a note from one of your "innovative" co-workers. You hesitate to open it, but in the end your curiosity gets the best of you.

So you click, you read and then you sit back in your chair and think. In the email your friend shared with you a new idea. The friend shares it with passion and with quite a few BOLD words and !!!!!!!! - you can tell he is excited.

You also know that this idea will change your world. If you join him on this adventure, the whole department will be impacted. The whole organization might adopt this concept and change.

So you think . . .

Then it comes to you. Instead of doing all that work to join this friend and his new idea, there is an easy out. You look at the email again and you say, "Wow, he has guts recommending this. I wonder what his motives are? I wonder if he really has our best interests in mind or if he is just looking for some more of the limelight?"

You continue your internal interrogation of this co-worker and within a few minutes you have accomplished your goal. Your mind convicted him of being self-centered, ambitious and prideful.

You say, "There that was easy!" and you continue on going through your email.

Change averted . . . idea destroyed . . . innovator tarnished.

Author Note: We have all had moments like I have written about above. You can admit it, don't be afraid. In those moments where we fear a new idea or a change, we decide to turn someone's passion into pride and in the process we turn our own status quo behavior into a humble badge of honor. By judging motives we hold great power to destroy people and ideas.

Why do we do this? There are many reasons. The important thing is that we understand our fears and our reactions so that we can change them. If this little story connects with you, share your experience . . .

Don't Think Because You Might Have To Act

So you come up with this idea that really has some potential. You go over it in your mind and the more you think about it the more excited you become. But the bubble of your excitement is quickly pierced when you realize that if this idea ever comes out of your mouth you will have to do it. Then in fear you stuff that idea deep down and breath a sigh of relief that it never made it out of your mouth.

Does this sound familiar? There is probably no one reading this blog posting that does not relate.

We live with the reality that an idea shared is an assignment given. People like our ideas but the message is clear, "Don't bring new ideas into the world unless you are ready to carry them out."

But there are a few big problems with this and I am afraid that this mentality has kept many from bringing innovative solutions into the light of day. Here are a few issues:
1. Many times the person with the idea is not the one gifted in its execution. God may have someone waiting in the wings to implement if only the innovator would be willing to share it.
2. New ideas don't always necessitate action. Sometimes a new idea helps to create different thinking and will have other benefits.
3. New ideas challenge people to step outside of their comfort zones. If people only bring up ideas they think they can execute, then people will not be challenged.

So next time you stuff that idea down because you are afraid you will be asked to make it a reality, remember that there are other values and reasons for being generous with your innovations!

Hope Expects Good Responses

We got some great responses to the Hope Expects Good posting. That is one of the themes that is in our upcoming book about how we view truth (more to come on that soon).

Take a minute to check out some of the great responses from readers like you.

Hope Expects Good

Dean Merrill wrote in The God Who Won’t Let Go, “Hope is actually very close to fear. Fear looks at a set of grim prospects and says ‘It might fail.’ Hope looks at the same set of grim prospects . . . and says, ‘It might work.’ Hope and fear are thus like two ships passing in the night but headed in opposite directions. They are at the same dark murky point in the ocean. But by morning they will be miles apart.” (p. 23-24)

Mindy found a definition of hope that is very simple: Hope expects good. I love it because it is so easy to apply. When you wake up in the morning do you expect good or evil? Is hope guiding your life or is fear?

Lets apply this to innovation. The innovator is a person who has learned to hope. They expect good out of every new project, strategy, line of investigation. Hopefully they are realists, but that doesn't stop them from having an attitude defined by hope.

What does it mean for you if you live expecting good?
1. You see opportunities when others see brick walls.
2. You give people a second, third, fourth chance when others wouldn't.
3. You probably smile a bit more.
4. You have a determination and persistence that allows you to persevere through major challenges.
5. You are close to the Father's heart - that is how He sees each of us.

So as you read this, are you expecting good from your day or evil? Is your work being defined by hope or by fear?

I pray that it is by hope - the hope that comes from the heart of God.

Are you being eaten alive by criticism?

Every innovator will be criticized. No matter how nice you are, how loving, how considerate, how calculating or how sympathetic. The simple reason is that change and new ideas bring criticism. There are people who do not want change, or maybe it would be better to say that they are truly afraid of it. Out of that resistance and fear will come criticism.

I am listening to a book called "Tribe" by Seth Godin. It is an excellent resource on innovation and I will highlight it next weekend. One of the things he says in the book is that the fear of criticism keeps us from stepping out and doing the innovative things that are necessary to move our causes forward.

In my life, I will admit that I am very afraid of criticism. It is like termites eating away at me from the inside where no one else can see it. Many times I have ideas that I just don't feel I can share because of the criticism that might come my way. I don't think I am alone. I think that my fears are pretty normal.

Moreover, I think that under similar fears are hiding hundreds - maybe thousands - of good ideas. We are being eaten alive by criticism or the fear of it. Our organizations are languishing because we will not share our breakthrough ideas. Our causes are stagnant because we will not put forth the new thinking. Our relationships suffer because we will not share the ideas that might bring insight and new horizons.

So what should we fearful yet creative people do? Should we throw off all inhibition and share everything? Should we clamp up and wait for people to ask us for our ideas?

I think this particular challenge calls for a few things:

1. Love: We need to bring our ideas out in love and kindness for those who might struggle with them. We need to realize that there can be many reasons for criticism that we do not understand or appreciate.
2. Courage: If God is calling us to innovate in a certain way, we need to be brave enough to bring our idea out even if we know we will be criticized.
3. Dependence: We need to know that the success of our idea rests completely in God's capable hands - not our energetic efforts. We need to give our idea to God and allow Him to bring it out.

So if you are afraid of sharing your idea today, take courage. One of the things that I daily try to remind myself is that my identity as a person is not in what others think of me. My identity is in Christ and His love and care for me.

Now that we have talked about that, are there any ideas that you feel God is asking you to share? Share them with this community and ask for prayer as you pursue them.

Clearly Seeing New Opportunities

One of the seminal jobs of an innovator is to gaze into that cloudy thing we call the future and intuit new opportunities. The ability to see where something is going and apply that to a specific audience or a specific challenge is what defines an innovator.

Now that means many times we will be wrong or at least not as right as we wish we were. There will be times when we got the opportunity right, but someone else got there first. Or there may be times when we see the challenge that needs to be met, but the audience is unwilling to go there with us. That's all part of the game.

One of those innovators that I have been so impressed with over the years is Phil Vischer. He saw a huge audience of people looking for Christian kid's content and so he created Veggie Tales as a way to meet the opportunity. But even though he lost Veggie Tales in the end through a series of challenges, he has now picked up on a new innovation.

Phil Vischer has launched something called JellyTelly. This new innovation is a step ahead of many others and has some huge potential. Some of Phil's challenges with Veggie Tales was in the area of distribution. So with JellyTelly, he is creating wholesome kids programming delivered straight over the Internet instead of through cable or DVD. Kids can watch new programs for 1/2 hour each day right now and as he is able, the new company will expand that and provide more programming.

Not only will this give young writers and producers a whole new outlet for creating kids programming that reflects Christ, but it gives parents another way to engage their children with the Bible.

So for 2.99 a month, a family can access daily programing and games that reflect their values. We will see if Phil has identified an opportunity that the audience will grab hold of. But whether or not that happens, Phil has shown himself to be a world class innovator in his work and faith.

Billy Graham's 90th birthday

One of the great innovators in modern evangelism is Billy Graham. He turns 90 on Nov 7 and the BGEA has set up a cool way for you to share your memories of him or a birthday wish. Watch this video:



And then go to www.billygraham90.com to leave your special message.

Upcoming Writers Conference

I would like to share about a ministry that we support - MAI (Media Associates International). They hold a key conference for writers from around the world every 3 years called Littworld. That conference is a place for writers to learn, get plugged in and to move forward in their careers in their respective countries.

Littworld will be held in Kenya in 2009. Read a bit more about it.

Relentlessly Broken

Recently a friend of mine said something to me that really stuck. He has been going through some difficult times and having to trust God in some large ways. As God is working in his life, he realized that maybe this brokenness and trust isn't just for a season. Maybe it is for always.

You see, he shared with me that as life got harder and he trusted God with more, he secretly thought that some day God would back off and let him run things again. God was trying to teach him a lesson but didn't want to run things this way all the time.

But then my friend came to a realization that has hit me very hard. "Maybe God wants us to be broken and dependent all the time!" Wow, that is hard to even contemplate, let alone live up to. Where would I even start?

We have this strange game going on with God where we let Him run certain areas of our life for a while and then demand them back. As if we were doing God a favor by allowing Him to take part.

So what does this have to do with innovation? Plenty. What I find myself doing as I strive to come up with new ideas and concepts is best described in a simple list:
1. I have a problem/opportunity that I am trying to figure out.
2. I struggle with a solution and then remember to ask God.
3. God leads and I follow . . .
4. Then I thank God for the idea and say, "I'll run with it from here."

In Christian circles we can get caught in a trap of treating God as the solutions fairy. When we need a new idea, a solution, a fresh perspective, we go to God in prayer. However, as soon as we feel that we have an answer we remove it from the feet of Jesus and we place it at our own.

I can think of countless times that I have done this in my own life. I want God's help but not His leadership. I want His vision but not His direction.

We have to be willing to relentlessly submit to God . . . at every step of every idea/action/task. We have to be willing to live - like my friend shared - broken lives all the time and not just when we are learning something or going through a hard time.

God wants all of our ideas, our efforts our leadership to be bent to His vision, mission and will. Are we willing to live lives like that as we innovate?

Birth through Relationship

When you consider all the ideas that have been birthed the reality that we often overlook is that most of them probably had a key relationship as part of their lifeblood. There was someone who encouraged that idea-generator. Maybe they took that person to breakfast. Possibly they played basketball with them weekly. It could have taken the form of a Biblestudy.

But it is not hard for me to stipulate that few ideas come in isolation. That is why I have launched a new survey question on the blog. Look on the right side of the innovationinmission.com page at the top and you will see it.

I am asking you to share how the mentor in your life has helped you.

I have been so blessed by the mentors in my life. As I look around, I think we need a lot more mentoring going on. People are hard pressed to find someone willing to invest that kind of time on either end.

As you answer the question, be thinking about this issue of mentoring. We will be talking about it more in the coming weeks/months.

Show and Tell

One of the critical things about innovation is sharing. It's amazing how many innovations are the result of other ideas. That's how the system works. But so many times the good ideas get bottled up and stuck somewhere . . . maybe even in someone!

So I can't say enough about being a generous mind. When an innovation works, we should be evanglists for the idea. You can share it with friends, online and in conferences. There are millions of ways to share ideas.

One of our facebook group members brought a new survey to my attention. Tony Morgan, pastor of New Spring Church, and Outreach Magazine are looking for innovations in the local church setting. Have you seen any? Would you take some time to share them on this survey?

Click here to go to the survey.

Are you FREE?

Everyone has that sweet spot of creativity. What is it for you? What is that perfect mojo experience where the creative juices are flowing and your ideas just fly onto the paper? Over the past months we did a survey on our blog about this question.

I am most innovative when . . .
I am under pressure: 8%
I have Starbucks coffee: 11%
I am free to be creative: 58%
I know the stakes: 20%

As I look at some of the input, I have to think, "What makes us free to be creative?" What gives us the liberty to think differently and risk it all.

Here are some of those magical environmental elements for you to consider:

People feel free to create when . . .

1. there is acceptance and trust.

2. ideas are valued in and of themselves.

3. there is silence and peace.

4. a goal exists that is larger than any one person.

5. there is an "others" focus rather than a selfish focus.

So are you creating environments like this? How could you begin to create this type of freedom?

Beyond Timing

One of our readers (Samuel) made a great comment and asked a very good question. He commented that sometimes innovation isn't a matter of timing as much as it is cycles. I believe what he was getting at is that sometimes innovations come for a time and then cycle out - maybe to come back again later.

As I have thought about this, I think that we should consider the cycles of innovation as well as the timing for it. It is possible that an innovation is developed, goes through a time of growth and usefullness and then disappears.

Is it bad if an idea has a lifespan? No, I don't think so. Since the world's situation and people's needs change, ideas are bound to die. But the exciting thing is that idea never really dies. In fact, it lies in wait for the next opportunity to be useful.

Mindy and I talk all the time about what it means to be generous with what you know. I think that this concept of cycles is a prime example. If you are generous with your ideas and share them, then they may provide innovation to generations in various cycles long after you are no longer around to instigate them.

So lets think not only of the timing of ideas but also about how those ideas cycle in and out of our lives.

Timing is Everything

I have been thinking a lot about timing in recent days. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 has the famous chapter on timing. It starts in verse 1 by saying, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:"

Those words written so long ago still amaze me. In my own mind, I fight these words because I want the timing and seasons of an activity to be up to me. But when I read this I remember that I do not control the timing of so many things.

As that reality dawns on me and I consider again my role in the world, I am able to put myself in a right relationship with the God who has planned out the ages and is working out His will in our lives.

So what does this have to do with innovation? It is very simple. Timing is everything in innovation. Think about an idea that you have which you would like to bring into the world in a new and exciting way. The timing of when, how, why and where are critical.

For example, with some innovations it is very appropriate to launch them in a hard economic time. Think of an innovation that allows people to save money on gas or keeps their home utilities down. Other innovations would never fly. Imagine trying to launch an innovation in luxury pet carriers in a bad economy!

But there are other issues with timing as well. What if your innovation will take you away from your young family for days, weeks or months? What if your other commitments are keeping you from spending the time on your new idea?

As we look at our ideas and how we might move them forward, we need to be very sensitive to the Holy Spirit and His leading. Timing is everything and the right idea can be pushed forward at the wrong time. But if we are praying about our innovations and bringing them before God, He will show us the right timing.

Summing Up The Mission Next Conference

It has been almost a week since the Mission Next Conference and I have been processing the key lessons and ideas. Let me share some very quick summaries for you to consider and link you to my thoughts from the conference.

1. The minute we start questioning motives, we loose our ability to create partnerships between the Global South and the Global North.
2. Little details speak volumes. If we open our eyes to little things that we say and do and how they impact those from another culture, we will have a solid foundation for partnership.
3. As long as the standards for ministry practice are developed in the Global North, the Global South will struggle to have their issues and priorities at the table.
4. If we value status above empowering, then we will never allow new leaders to learn or grow through responsibility.
5. Partnerships are messy but that allows God to get the glory instead of us.

Out of these and many other conversations came a list of possible ways that we can connect the entire world of Great Commission workers. Take a minute to read some of those ideas.

I hope that blogging this conference has been an encouragement to you. I hope that you have been forced to think about things differently and consider new ways of partnering with other cultures.

Underlying all of this is relationship. If we are not out in our world building relationships, working together and praying together, we cannot hope for unity in the Great Commission Effort.

What are you doing to build healthy and strong cross cultural relationships today?

Little Things That Make a Difference

As I attended the conference, one thing came out over and over - little things make a big difference. Here is what I mean. When you are talking about relationships with people all over the world, little things that seem insignificant can mean a lot, for good or for bad.

One example is the conference call. When you schedule a conference call with a group from around the world, who picks the time? Is the US office getting the most convinient time during business hours?

So many times we are in a hurry to get something done. In our haste we overlook things that show another culture that they are not valued. This happens between any two cultures but as we try to work together it keeps us from building trust.

Those silly little mistakes communicate more than hundreds of hours of meetings and thousands of airline miles logged. So how can we pay attention to the little things?

Moving Forward - Ideas Presented

This conference has been very colaborative. There have been some great efforts to collect ideas, bring together input and create consensus. One of the things I am most impressed about is the effort to create concrete steps for how to build powerful Global North (GN)/ Global South (GS) relationships.

Here are some of the ideas that people have shared (by no means all of them) about building stronger relationships:

NOTE: These were some of the initial brainstorming ideas. There will be more consolidated ideas/action steps coming out of the final discussions. Hopefully the conference will release those in some way to benefit others who could not attend.

1. Create Listening and Learning Opportunities

• Exchange visits for listening, prayer, learning and family time, not just tasks.
• Schedule days of listening, repentance and forgiveness for GN /GS failures
• Select couples with relational skills to dedicate to long term relationship building
• Share perspectives on N/S topics with internet video in many languages
• Add peer review process by local voices for GN publications about GS issues

2. Require Cultural Training on the Field with Local Partners

• Use varied national church contexts for orientation and training of staff and visitors
• Teach culturally appropriate ways to listen, dialog and partner to new missionaries
• Invite GS leaders to help design pre-field and on field training for short-term and long-term teams.
• Invite leaders from GS nations to visit and train organizations in the GN

3. Support Majority World Missions Movements

• Ask global partners for 1-2 ways to assist them in their own missions mobilization
• Create business as mission jobs for GS workers in restricted access contents

4. Demonstrate Partnership Vision and Competency at all Levels

• Set up partnership training for all levels from board to field personnel to partners
• Establish partnership criteria/expectations for key levels of organizational operation
• Work on clear, mutually sensitive agreements, policies, MOU’s, and contracts

5. Internationalize Leadership

• Populate teams and networks with GS/GN people who are reaching the world together.
• Expect GS/GN people to participate in decision making councils and advisory boards.
• Place GS individual as co-leader of the organization – regionally or internationally
• Involve GS people in the recruiting process for their regions by GN organizations

6. Engage Boards in GN/GS Issues

• Boards should meet internationally
• Set objective of 50/50 balance for boards between GN/GS
• Require board members to travel overseas at least once a year to see ministry in context

7. Create Culturally Sensitive Funding Patterns

• Encourage GS leaders to nominate priority initiatives and projects for funding
• Clarify benefits and culturally wise methods of funding GS missions movements
• Redesign funding structures to work flexibly with GS partners in accountable ways.

Mentor . . . Mentor . . . Mentor

Tonight we are listening to young Majority World leaders who came in special to speak to us. They are sharing several of the issues that we have heard during the week. But the thing that is coming out loud and clear is that the next generation wants mentors. They want people to come alongside.

These young people even said that having a mentor from a different culture was a positive thing because it gives them new perspectives and ideas.