Fueling the Fire; Innovation

One of our values at Higher Calling is innovation. We are committed to trying and risking new things for God. Innovation is all about the pursuit of newness.

The church is seen by many as the defender of the status quo, and is often criticized as being 50 years behind the curve. I am glad to be at a community of faith where newness on stage and elsewhere is accepted and not fought.

How can we ever look at the world around us and think that God is the defender of the status quo? The heavens and earth scream out a song of newness and celebrate a God that creates something from nothing. The entire Bible is a story of God doing new things. In the book of Isaiah, God tells his people that he is going to provide for them in a new way. When Jesus walked the earth he confronted many people who loved their old traditions more than people. He strongly criticized such people because he came to break the hold of tradition on our lives and instead create a model where love and compassion flourished. When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, or communion, he called it the symbol of the "new covenant." And in the book of Revelation, Jesus sits on the throne of God and says he is making "all things new."

God is the original innovator. The Bible also tells us that we are made in the image of God, so we can reflect parts of his nature. Just as God is creative, we are creative. I believe that when we try new things we honor God. By the way, that is why we are pursuing this blog. I truly believe that every church will have a blog within just a few years, it will be seen an necessary and people will wonder how we ever got along without this type of communication.

We will always seek to try new and exciting things. If that scares you, its ok, but know that God is in favor of our risking on his behalf. I am excited to hear your ideas as well.

What do you say about this value of innovation? Do you have something to add to the discussion? Leave a comment and share any thoughts that you may have!