Innovation and Guardrails
Seven non-negotiables that unlock creative thinking.
In my last article, I talked about the idea that rather than focusing on the model, we should focus on the mission. This opens up the creative possibilities of what church can look like and allows us to contextualize our efforts. However, innovation in church life isn’t a total free-for-all.
Innovation occurs when we work within a defined set of boundaries that compel us to find creative solutions to challenges. Deconstruction is the discarding of boundaries in an attempt to address deficits in the existing forms. Innovation is healthy and helpful, whereas deconstruction often results in jettisoning foundational ideas that are necessary and can easily give way to cynicism.
It is important that we can ask questions, challenge assumptions and open the door to new possibilities. But we don’t need to tear down what has been built over the previous 2000 years to do so. Instead, we should build upon those foundations.
When innovation within church life happens within the guardrails of Christian orthodoxy, the church can flourish in virtually any context and take on almost any form without drifting from the core fundamentals.
Seven Non-Negotiable Guardrails
We have seven guardrails that provide an environment that allows for innovation based on context. It’s worth noting that these are not doctrinal guardrails (we need those, too). Rather, they are existential guardrails that help us remember what we are trying to do in the first place. Additionally, the underlying assumption behind each of these non-negotiable guardrails is that scripture is the supreme authority from which we devise all innovation in church life.
Evangelism
Churches have good news about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and we need to proclaim it clearly to as many people as possible. We are about the church sharing and announcing the unimaginably good news of salvation through Christ.
Disciple-making
Churches are not just offering information or events but inviting people to submit the entirety of their lives to the Lordship of Jesus. The mandate to make disciples who make disciples is what sets the church apart from functioning as an insular community or a social services agency.
Reliance
Churches are only possible because of the Holy Spirit’s enabling and Jesus’ grace. We are ultimately participating in something that is a mystery and bigger than any one of us. Any attempt to own or control the entire outcome is to take into our hands what belongs only to the Lord.
Church-Family
Churches are not institutions, organizations or even communities. We are called to participate in the growth of the eternal family of God. As a result, one of the most precious things that churches have is mutuality in relationship as we submit to Jesus.
Radical Generosity
Our posture toward the world must be one of generosity and grace. Power is a temptation that will destroy the soul. We are called to be a humble people who serve each other and the world around us without any expectation of reciprocity.
Sending
We do not just exist for the here and now, but for those who have not heard the Gospel. We are an outward-oriented people, not just an inward-oriented people. A church must exist for more than just what is today.
Everyone
Everyone within a church has a role to play. There can be no mere observers. Every person, from the oldest to the youngest, from the least talented to the most gifted, has a responsibility, obligation and calling to contribute to the mission to make disciples and love the body.
A Simple Definition of Church
From this, our working definition of church is pretty simple: a church is a committed group of disciples. Committed to the scriptures, the Lordship of Jesus, each other as family and the mission to make new disciples.
When you put all this together, there is plenty of space for creativity in form and style.