Module 1: Introducing Innovation
April & May
Module 1: Introducing Innovation
What do we mean by the term “innovation”? How can we explain to congregations what we mean by innovation?
Pre-Meeting Work
Please listen, read, and reflect before the Zoom meeting:
Listen
Interview with Greg Jones, Faith and Leadership, Duke Divinity School
The same interview is posted here in two different file formats.
Readings
Greg Jones, Preserving Tradition and Leading Change
Floyd Thompkins and Byron Bland, “Every Church an Innovator”
Victoria Atkinson White: We create in community
Scripture reflection
Mark 2:1-12.
There are interesting issues of translation in the very first verse: is Jesus in a house, in his own home, or does the house symbolize the early house churches (where the risen Lord was felt to be “at home”)? The following questions play with the idea that innovation in congregations can be a little like taking the roof apart for the power of God to become manifest—highly effective, if a little unsettling. The second-to-last portion here marks another interesting issue for translators, the theme of ordinary people’s “rising” in Galilee after their encounters with Jesus. This theme becomes apparent for readers who heed the angel’s invitation at the end of Mark, to “Go to Galilee. There you will see him.”
The friends of the paralyzed man go to great lengths to bring him into the presence of Jesus. In doing so, they bring up issues of calling: the paralyzed man has a call to agency and freedom; the friends have an unstoppable call to assist him. Where are congregations experiencing a call to assist particular groups that they discern may be “paralyzed,” unable to answer God’s callings on account of societal neglect, misunderstanding, or marginalization because of youth or age or unjust discrimination related to race or immigration status? Who needs entry into Jesus’ presence?
The friends stage a remarkable intervention by digging through the roof of the home where Jesus is. What surprising innovations or improvisations are being called forth among the congregations to help people gain access to a more direct, liberating relationship with Christ?
What role does forgiveness play in this work?
Zoom meeting dates
April 30, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm (CST)
May 1, 8:30 am, 10:00 am, 11:30 am (CST)
Discussion Questions
How does innovation relate to concepts and practices you are already familiar with?
How do your pastors and congregations talk about innovation or change, when they talk about it?
What language do they use for processes of making changes?
What do you want to know more about, with respect to innovation?
Additional Resources
Shannon Hopkins, Matryoshka Haus
Kendra Creasy Dean – Princeton Theological Seminary, innovation lecture at Fuller Seminary; see also Ministry Incubators
See Faith and Leadership resources on:
Module 2: Innovation in Congregations
June
Module 2: Innovation in Congregations
What are stories of innovative congregations?
Pre-Meeting Work
Please listen, read, and reflect before the Zoom meeting:
Listen
Interview with Kara Faris, Indianapolis Center for Congregations
Co-Author, Divergent Churches
Reading
Innové Studios, Colonial Church Case Study by Amy Sherman.
Maggy Barankitse, Love Made Me an Inventor
Rev. Michael Mather, “Excerpt from “Having Nothing, Possessing Everything,”
The Kuhnekt Initiative builds relationships among church members
Scripture reflections
1 Thess 1:2-5
Note the order here: work of faith, labor of love, steadfastness of hope.
What makes doing new things in congregations a work of faith? How are the new things you are contemplating deeply faithful?
Love of what (or love of whom) is pushing you to make these changes? What are you learning about the labor of love?
What practices help you to maintain steadfastness of hope?
How would you describe the Gospel (“not in word only”) that is longing to become known through your congregations?
Matt 13:52
Some of the hardest work of congregations is in discerning what old ways to hold on to and what new things deserve attention and energy. Note that the master of the household is not bringing things out for himself, but in order to serve others.
What are some important principles for determining what is truly “treasure” (what to leave behind and what to bring out, in the present context)?
How might a process of innovation be an instrument for precisely this discernment?
Zoom meeting dates
June 11, 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm (CST)
June 27, 8:30 am, 10:00 am, 11:30 am (CST)
Discussion Questions
What are the motivations for innovation among the pastors and congregations you are working with? What language are you using with your congregations, in relation to innovation? Tell a story about a connection you are seeing between vocation and innovation.
Additional Resources
See Faith and Leadership on: Congregational innovation
Some particularly good stories include:
PCUSA faith community takes flight, celebrating Appalachian music and culture
Art and faith converge at a hybrid church/community arts center
A small rural church is bringing together people affected by the opioid epidemic
A Christian social enterprise offers healing to survivors of violence and abuse
Chris Russell, Fresh Expressions – Interview
Videos:
Kit Ford, Do Good X Fellow, FTE
Ted Talk: Jeffrey Brown: How we cut youth violence in Boston by 79 percent
Module 3: Innovative Organizations that Work with Congregations
July
Module 3: Innovative Organizations that Work with Congregations
Pre-Meeting Work
Please listen, read, and reflect before the Zoom meeting:
Listen
Interview with Stephen Lewis, Forum for Theological Exploration
Reading
Faith and Leadership: Select two stories on institutional innovation
Scripture reflection
Philippians 1:8-11
Paul cannot control what the Philippians do; he can only try to give them encouragement and counsel from a distance. The verb “determine” in the sixth line means literally, “to prove through testing or experimentation.”
How does love lead to knowledge and insight?
Discerning what is best is done through a process of experimentation, interpretation, new insight, and moving forward again. What qualities and practices does a congregation need in order to engage such a process over time?
Paul adopts the widest possible angle for describing the point of the Philippians’ faithful actions (“the day of Christ,” “for the glory and praise of God”). What framework is important to your congregations in thinking about the goal of their innovations?
Zoom meeting dates
July 12, 8:30 am, 10:00 am, 11:30 am (CST)
July 16, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm (CST)
Discussion Questions
How has your institution been innovative in the past and what about this project is pushing you to do something new now?
Tell a story about a way in which your institution is innovating, in order to work well with your congregations in this project.
Additional Resources
See Faith and Leadership on: Institutional innovation
Harvard Divinity School students on innovative leaders: How We Gather
Module 4: Theories of Innovation: Theological, Biblical, and Business Modules
August
Module 4: Theories of Innovation: Theological, Biblical, and Business Modules
What are good theological resources on innovation? What are other good resources?
Pre-Meeting Work
Please listen, read, and reflect before the Zoom meeting:
Listen
Interview with Scott Cormode, Fuller Seminary
Reading
C. Kavin Rowe, Traditioned innovation and Pentecost
Joy Bronson, ABC 2018 gathering (video)
Scripture reflection
Mark 6:30-44
This very familiar story recounts a series of improvisations, from a planned quiet getaway, to the unexpected arrival of a crowd, to a long day of teaching, to an unforeseen need to feed people. Not everyone finds it easy to shift gears from one expectation to another.
What is the theological grounding for faithful improvisation and innovation in this story?
What seems to guide Jesus’s unfolding decisions?
What one thing in this story reminds you of something you are encountering as you guide congregations in processes of innovation?
Zoom meeting dates
August 14, 8:30 am, 10:00 am, 11:30 am (CST)
August 27, 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm (CST)
Discussion Questions
How does innovation relate to important theological commitments of your congregations?
What theories and models of innovation have proven useful for working with your congregations?
How are you making the theological and biblical connections? Is something missing?
What are you learning about innovation from the congregations themselves?
Additional Resources
See Faith and Leadership on:
Several good resources include Disruptive Innovation, David Odem; Interview with Roger Martin, author of The Opposable Mind and discussions of books on innovation by Alan Deutschman and David Bornstein
Module 5: Innovative Approaches to Vocation in Congregations
December
Module 5: Innovative Approaches to Vocation in Congregations