A Case Study in Innovation

Jeremy links to the Time Magazine interview with Steve Jobs. Jobs seems to understand things about design that others just never get. The folks over at Presentation Zen also see the difference. How many business leaders approach business from the perspective of Steve Jobs? Very few. As Jobs himself points out, that is definitely not how the leaders of car companies think! Mike Evangelist can at least point to one record company exec who gets it, but apparently he's rare.

In the meantime, Jordon is wondering how we develop leaders within the Church. Legitimate questions being asked. Are our seminaries too academic to be able to produce leadership? There are some folks wondering if they can even produce good pastors anymore. We seem to have taken our eyes off of the main thing. If our goal is to change the world, it often seems as though Apple would be the better place to invest our money. As much as I love Apple computers, I'm not advocating that. We ought to be investing our time, money, and knowledge into building the Church most effectively. This often comes by creating new models or versions. Let's face it, we're not driving Model T's anymore. That doesn't mean that the basics of the faith change. The Model T used the combustible engine just as our modern vehicles do. What changes are the ways that we express those basics of the faith. Too many people have become frightened by the non-essentials. The result is confusion about Truth and objectivity.

So, how did I go from Steve Jobs and innovation to the Church? Quickly, and with the help of some friends, but that's not the point. As the Kingdom of God on earth, we need to be thinking carefully about how we live and what we say. "Our Scriptures, confessions, and creeds are all very public, out in the open. Anyone can easily learn what it is supposed to mean to be a Christian. Our Bible is open to public examination; so is the church’s life. That is our problem. People can read what our Scriptures say, and they can see how Christians live. The gulf between the two has created an enormous credibility gap." We need to constantly be looking for innovative and new ways of communicating the Truth in our words and in our deeds.