Innovative Churches

[Chad Dvoracek]

Tony Morgan (Simply Strategic author, ex-Granger Community Church and current New Spring staffer) along with Outreach magazine have began to take nominations for America's Most Innovative Churches of 2008 to be published in Outreach's Jan/Feb 2008 edition. 

It is interesting to visit some of these churches websites.  I am challenged to think about how we do ministry and whether we are innovative.  Our society has come to respect innovation, creativity, outside-the-box thinking and an ever changing culture (technology).  Does your level of innovation line up to the expectations of those you are trying to reach?  Who is your target market (people you want to reach and attract to your church) and how do they respond to our culture and technology?  Are we trying to reach the ipod generation with 8 tracks?

[Chad Dvoracek]

Interesting site.  I would be most interested to see or hear about the fruit of the church that they attend and how they win the lost.  I am usually very turned off about people and sites set up for the sole purpose of pointing the fingers as how bad other people are.  Regardless of what people think of Rick W and purpose driven thing, he has certainly influenced a generation.  If you have read the Purpose Driven Life it is good stuff, nothing that I can remember is off base theologically.   

Innovative in churches doesn't necessarily mean innovative in truth. Jesus was very innovative to the presenting of truth.  He used parables of what people understood, he was a story teller explaining truth.  If Jesus was walking around the city today he wouldn't be giving parables about sheep and such in our urban settings.  Jesus related the truth to what people understand.  We must speak the truth also, and we must also tell the stories that relate to were people are.  The word and the proclaiming of it is what people hear to find salvation.  But the methods that we use to explain it are different.  Today we can use video illustrations as the parable, we can use many of visual thing that are very innovative for the church. 

The service I was in last weekend was a straight forward presentation of what it takes to be saved but it was presenting along with all kinds of innovative presentation in the service. 

We can embrace our culture and innovative technologies in the church and have a true faith and relationship with God.  Yes, we must pray.  As that site was talking about the problem with bait and switch evangelism.  Paul did it.  How about when he talked about the "unknown God."  It really wasn't God that it was set up for but Paul saw it as an opportunity to gather a crowd to talk about the real God.

[Chad Dvoracek]

Chad,


Ultimately Paul summed up his philosophy of preaching in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.  This model of preaching is becoming harder and harder to find in our day.

I'm all for being relevant and creative as long as the message isn't watered down and we ultimately trust the power of the Holy Spirit to breathe upon what we are saying. 

That sums it up perfectly Jamie!  I think you are right, there are many that are wanting to do ministry with the latest trends just to be trendy.  That is the scary part.  But to use creativity to present "Christ and him crucified" and "if you want to be my disciple you must pick up your cross and follow me" this will be the future of the next generation.  That is our challenge isn't it...to raise up the next generation of sincere Christ followers.  Disciples full of courage and faith and equipped with the Word and the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer is one of the keys.  I am so thankful for our team that gathers every Sunday morning prior to the service.  It isn't a time for prayer requests it is a time that we seek for direction in the service and to get into unity with the Holy Spirit.  I couldn't imagine trying to "do" a service without the preparation of prayer.