How to FIGHT THE FORCES OF STAGNATION AND fuel the fires of innovation IN YOUR CHURCH
Nearly every church in America is feeling pressure to respond to the changing culture, but most are unwilling to try new ideas or break out of the ruts in which they find themselves. They spin their tires in programs and events, and when they fail to see much happen, they naively ask, “Why?” The new mantra must become “Innovate or die!”
While Scripture is filled with new ideas cooked up in God’s celestial mind, far too many churches have embraced the false security of the status quo, bowing to the altar of tradition (Matthew 15:6) and to the god of “We’ve never done it that way before” (Isaiah 43:18-19).
Part of our plight is theological. We assume that God stopped creating after the sixth day. Scripture tells us that God rested, not that God quit. God is “Creator” not only in the past tense but also in the present tense, continuing to do new things. Do a word study on new and you’ll be amazed by the theology of innovation. Innovation is one of the trademarks of God’s nature. Humans, made in the image of God, are also endowed with creative abilities, varying in degree and direction. While we herald the value of holiness and spiritual fruit, a sanctified imagination creating new ways of reaching and serving people is also a Christlike characteristic.
Tapping into this potential shouldn’t be relegated to secular artists and corporate entrepreneurs. Creativity holds the key to catalyzing new growth in churches where inertia has rendered many ministries impotent. The Creator calls us as pastors to follow the Creative Spirit, innovating new ideas in our churches. Nearly every corporation in America has chanted the mantra in the last decade: “Change or die.” But, for some reason, churches resist the idea of creativity and innovation and cling to “business as usual.”
One would expect innovation to be especially difficult for most megachurches because of the difficulty of turning around a “big ship.” But in the study Megachurches Today 2005, the Hartford Institute for Research and Leadership Network found that of the 1,210 Protestant churches with more than 2,000 in weekend attendance, almost 60 percent said one or more services have changed “some or a lot” in the last five years. When asked to describe their church, 86 percent of these members interviewed said that it “welcomes innovation and change.” While not all large churches are growing, innovation is a strong characteristic of those that are.
Church size needn’t be a factor. In a recent Business Week article, Jack and Suzy Welch were asked, “What do you see as the strategic essentials in companies employing fewer than 100 people?” The former GE CEO and his Harvard professor spouse responded, “We have bad news for you. Strategy is strategy, whether the company is large or small. It’s that killer idea, the ‘big aha,’…that gives you a sustainable competitive advantage…strategy is all about execution…small companies actually have something of an advantage.”
7 Measurable Signs Your Church May Be Stuck
Having researched the topic of church change for nearly 10 years, I’m convinced that a lack of innovation and new-idea execution is the leading cause of ecclesiastical death. It’s like having clogged arteries and not knowing it. Until enough people get fed up with the status quo, we won’t be making much progress. What’s your church’s diagnosis?
Evaluate the following symptoms:
1) Worship service attendance is up less than 10 percent from three years ago.
2) Small group and Sunday school attendance has increased less than 10 percent from five years ago.
3) Ninety percent of ministry team members are the same as they were a year ago.
4) Less than one new ministry for every 200 attendees was begun in the last 12 months.
5) People can predict, within 75 percent accuracy on average, the basic order and content of any given regular Sunday morning worship service.
6) Tithes and offerings have grown less than 10 percent from three years ago.
7) More than 50 percent of your regular attendees are over 60 years of age.
If one to three of these symptoms are true, you may be stuck without knowing it. Dig deeper to see how you can add some traction to your spinning tires. If four or five are valid, you’re stuck; wake up and smell the coffee. If six or seven of these symptoms fit your situation, call a tow truck and a hearse: Your rut is really a grave.
Creating Your Own Ministry Thinkubator!
A Ministry Thinkubator is a thoughtful approach to incubating ideas that can take your ministry to the next level. This process is intentional, meaning that it’s not left to the haphazard whims of a few individuals. Everyone has some degree of creativity, the ability to come up with a new idea for a process or task. Even if people are prone to more sedate God-connections, they can liberate the Creator’s interaction with their imaginations. Here are practical ways you can form your own Ministry Thinkubator.
Get the Right People in the Room
Don’t pretend to be the creative giant of your church—think team. There’s something in the way we’re wired that allows us to play off each other’s creativity. If one person can come up with two great ideas, two can uncover four, and three nine.
The other power behind a team approach to ministry is that the influence of a team, whose members are networked through an array of church relationships, enhances the chances that an innovation will find acceptance. No one benefits from great ideas that are rejected for lack of support.
Any given church is likely to have 2 to 5 percent of their attendees who are naturally gifted at creative projects. Limit most creative meetings to four to eight attendees for maximum input. Studies show that people share most evenly at four, but if you only invite four and someone isn’t able to come at the last minute or is in a funk of sorts, you’ll be more effective with a couple of spares.
Who to invite: Look for people who tend to be positive, can-do, creative types. While we’ve said that everyone has the ability to be creative, many have shut it down since childhood. Because one person’s closed-mindedness can adversely affect others, you’ll want to make sure you get the right people on the bus.
Who not to invite: Time usually reveals those who are more and less adept at Thinkubating. You’ll want to make sure that new, untried members are only invited one at a time to meetings until they reveal a good chemistry with the team. Some people just don’t work well with others and tend to derail the creative process by talking too much, going down rabbit trails, or intimidating others. Two types of people usually don’t work well: controllers and how-to people.
Controllers tend to try to sell their ideas to others, which isn’t the goal of brainstorming. How-to people tend to discourage the creative process because their minds automatically move to how it will or can’t work, which is a second- or third-round process. In The Ten Faces of Innovation (Doubleday), author Tom Kelly writes, “The Devil’s Advocate may be the biggest innovation killer in America today…Why is this persona so damning? Because the Devil’s Advocate encourages idea-wreckers to assume the most negative possible perspective, one that sees only the downside, the problems, the disasters-in-waiting. Once those floodgates open, they can drown a new initiative in negativity. Why should you care? And why do I believe this problem is so important? Because innovation is the lifeblood of all organizations.”
After you’ve chosen your Ministry Thinkubator members, train them. Don’t assume that people have honed their creative skills. Read this article together or some other training resource that discusses creativity, innovation, and the ideation process. Elevate the value of this ministry; cast the vision; raise the bar of expectations.
Brainstorm
Brainstorming not only generates fresh ideas but also helps forge a responsive and spontaneous culture. Here are the secrets to effective brainstorming sessions.
Establish the goal: Be laserlike in terms of what it is you’re striving to accomplish. Don’t waste time sailing the seven seas in hopes of finding a few salient ideas.
Establish the rules: (1) There are no bad ideas here, (2) everyone contributes, (3) everyone avoids judgments, and (4) one person speaks at a time. Designate a referee to hold people accountable.
Quality emerges from quantity: Motivate participants by shooting for 50 ideas an hour, a good sign of progress. “We’re up to 42—c’mon, just eight more. We can do it!”
Switch gears: Almost all brainstorming sessions hit “the wall.” When you do, take another angle: Suggest listing metaphors, titles, or benefits. Mix it up to keep ideas flowing.
Maximize space: Provide Post-it notes, colored pencils, and other art materials. Tape butcher paper on the walls. Avoid rooms with distractions, and bring in comfy chairs and munchies.
Prime the pump: Let people think about the issue in advance so that they come to the meeting with ideas. Starting cold can thwart creativity. If you can’t do this, then lead in with a brainteaser warm-up activity to break the ice.
Strategic Selection
All ideas are not created equal. A few have the ability to leverage more results than others. Look for the 20 percent that will yield 80 percent of the impact and pursue those first.
Plan Toward Execution
Any good idea needs a blueprint for implementation. Execute boldly. Whether it’s a prototype or a pilot program, don’t suffer from analysis paralysis. Sometimes, “ready, shoot, aim” is more productive. Far too many ideas die in the delivery room because no one is willing to follow up. Studies show that the leading cause of procrastination is perfectionism. What are you afraid of in implementing a new idea? Do you fear losing your job or people? What about losing what you might gain? Are you afraid of succeeding? What if Jesus had said, “We’ve never done it this way before. What will the Pharisees think? What will my disciples say?”
Assess Quality and Results
Every new event or idea should receive a brainstorming postmortem after it’s executed. What went well? What didn’t? What do we need to do differently next time? What can we do to get better? Is it paying off? How do we measure results and do these tell the real story?
Record the Victories
Gather ample ammunition for potential critics. Show them the changed lives, the testimonials, and the statistics that prove the new idea is actually working. If expectations aren’t met, then celebrate your attempt anyway. Anyone can sit in the boat and critique, but you have to get out of the boat to walk on water.
Do It Again
Even new wineskins can get stiff unless they’re massaged occasionally. Take a deep breath and try something else. Keep trying new things until you find something that works, and when you do, keep doing it while you think of something else to try.
Every year, more than 6,000 congregations close their doors. Predictions are that in the next few years, tens of thousands of churches will cease to exist. Many of these closures are the direct result of an unwillingness to dream new dreams and develop new ministry ideas. Naively, they kept doing the same things they’d been doing, hoping for different results. Regardless of your wiring, you can facilitate a Ministry Thinkubator in your church. You already have people whom God can use to think new ideas that will breathe life into your ministries. Whether your church is new and looking to solve a big challenge or old and yearning to get unstuck, unleash the Creator’s DNA in your congregation.
ALAN NELSON is executive editor of Rev! Magazine and the pastoral resources director at Group Publishing, Inc. His most recent book is Coached By Jesus (Howard Publishing).
UPDATE: THE MEGACHURCH REINVENTING ITSELF More than a year ago Rev! Magazine ran a feature about Community Church of Joy (CCOJ) in Glendale, Arizona. Founding pastor, Walt Kallestad, knew that CCOJ had become stuck, even as a church averaging more than 2,000 in weekend attendance. Subsequent to Walt’s heart attack and reflection on life and ministry, he felt that some changes needed to be made. After visiting a church in England, Walt felt impressed to invite Pastor Mike Breen to join him in the Arizona desert to do a new thing at CCOJ. Recently, Rev! followed up, to see how things have gone.
“We realized that our people needed to go deeper, spiritually. They would come to church, enjoy the service, but didn’t seem serious about their walk with God.” The staff pretty much ran the church and for the most part, the members seemed fine with that. The innovation included reshaping the worship service and philosophy of ministry, letting go of some staff, and merging younger staff leaders in the mix. During the process, CCOJ dropped nearly 25 percent in attendance. “During the two-year innovation, 30 to 40 percent of our staff turned over,” Walt said. “We laid off all our paid musicians. Worship is now more organic, from the people, not just for them. We’ve regained the attendance we had before and our finances are up 40 percent from where they were a year ago. Recently, more than 1,100 people showed up for a community service day. That would never have happened in the past. There is a new spirit in the church. It has been difficult, but the change has certainly been worth it.”
The lesson from CCOJ is that innovation can be risky and costly, but it can also be successful and surprising.
12 IDEAS FOR INNOVATING YOUR CHURCH
A body at rest tends to remain at rest. A body in motion tends to remain in motion. Feel stuck in terms of where to begin? Here are a dozen starters. Pick one or two to get you moving.
1 Add an experiential component into your service so people will interact with each other, perform an activity, or take home a memory object that has to do with the message theme.
2 Re-do the nursery. Children’s areas should be redone every two to four years to stay fresh, creative, safe, and engaging.
3 If you’re an Anglo church, invite an African-American choir for a change of pace (as in the movie Keeping the Faith).
4 Take your Ministry Thinkubator team on a retreat for fun, brainstorming, and out-of-the-box thinking.
5 Schedule a work camp or community service project where you also invite people who are not church members to serve with you (www.groupworkcamps.org).
6 Let the congregation pick the sermon topics for a short or long series.
7 Do a vacation Bible school program intergenerationally, whereby you schedule individual-age-group as well as family-styled activities at night.
8 Plan “Summer Nites in the Hood” where people host fun home gatherings during the summer lull, sharing a potluck meal, games, swimming, and a devotional.
9 Discuss how you can move toward an equipping model, where the pastor equips others to do the acts of service in the church.
10 Give Sunday school a hiatus to do small groups, if that would be new for you.
11 Use a creative team to plan a worship series complete with music, media, visual aids, and other artistic elements. (Don’t miss this issue’s article “No More Lone Ranger Worship Planning” on page 66.)
12 Rethink how you do what you do. For example, instead of reading a Scripture passage, have someone pantomime it or add pictures to run on the screen for visual learners while the Bible is read.