Traditioned Innovation

I first heard the intriguing phrase, Traditioned Innovation, a few years ago while I was attending a seminar at Duke Divinity. Last week several of our KCD ministers had the privilege of participating in the annual Estes Park Consultation on Clergy Development, in which Greg Jones, the creator of the phrase, Traditioned Innovation, was the major presenter. Dr. Jones is the author of Christian Social Innovation: Renewing Wesleyan Witness, a book about the need for Christian entrepreneurship that stimulates renewal, reestablishes trust, and cultivates sustainability.  

Traditioned Innovation speaks to the practice of moving forward by imagining a new advance that is properly anchored in what lies behind. Traditioned Innovation acknowledges that while those of us in leadership are called to paint, we are seldom presented a blank canvas on which to do the painting. Usually the canvas we are presented already has a significant amount of paint on it. The question becomes, “How do we paint in such a way that both honors the artists who have gone before and is a fresh expression of the new thing God wants to do?”

Jones suggests that Traditioned Innovation calls for several virtues, including (among others) a sense of awe, hope, gratitude, wisdom, and trust. He also suggests that true innovation usually necessitates change in about 3% of an organization/institution. The key is to discern which 3% needs to change!

Christian leaders were once social entrepreneurs who built hospitals to heal the body and universities to shape the mind. Jones suggests that today we need similar Christian leaders to lead us forward by displaying a “holy ambition” willing to creatively engage the needs of the world around us, develop creative innovations, and foster flourishing communities.  

May God help us be leaders who produce Traditioned Innovation as we “ponder anew what the Almighty can do.”

Grateful for Nazarene Higher Education

This past weekend was a big weekend for Nazarene Higher Education in the Kansas City area. Both Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS) and MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) celebrated Commencements. (Nazarene Bible College will celebrate Commencement on May 26-27.) We are privileged to partner with these great institutions to forward the mission, and we are grateful for their witness and their influence as the teaching arm of the church.

Last Saturday I had the privilege of observing the fruit and product of our partnership with MNU by participating in two MNU Commencement Ceremonies (Traditional Undergraduate Commencement and Professional and Graduate Commencement). I was impressed by…

… the inspiring stories of life transformation.

… the number of family and friends that gathered to celebrate their graduates.

… the significant scope of MNU’s reach and influence.  

… the obvious sense of connection – even “family” – between graduates and professors. Those connections are not nearly as prevalent at public universities as they are at MNU. 

… the young servant leaders who walked across the platform to receive their diplomas – leaders who will be recognized for their excellence, integrity, and spiritual maturity. Many of those servant leaders will occupy places of service and influence in our churches. 

Our best strategy for discipling 18- to 22-year-olds on the Kansas City District is MidAmerica Nazarene University. MNU provides students from our district a place to learn and prepare for vocations that will make a difference in the world, as well as providing several of our district ministers a place to invest their significant teaching gifts. MNU also serves as a key Lifelong Learning resource for ministers on the Kansas City District.

As of May 1, Kansas City District Nazarenes have given $337,284.25 in support of MidAmerica Nazarene University during the 2017-2018 church year. Thank you for your generous support of our university! You are making a wise investment.

Prayer and Fasting

Last Monday Diane and I were with a group of missionary leaders who had gathered for training, team-building, and exploring their new regional priorities, the first of which is praying and fasting. The exact wording of the priority: Praying and fasting for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of Holiness. The priority is rooted in Psalm 27:8 – “…Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Not content to just spend an hour or two talking about the subject, the entire group fasted a meal and spent that time in prayer. It was a shaping experience that reminded me of my need to develop a more faithful practice of that unique means of grace.     

Jesus tells us that some things come about only by prayer and fasting. Not giving ourselves to prayer and fasting results in a lack in our lives. Giving ourselves to prayer and fasting provides space and focus for the Spirit to do a fresh and deeper work in our lives, resulting in answered prayer, increased fruitfulness, and fresh anointing.  

Prayer and fasting is a wonderful way to seek God’s face and listen to His voice in a noisy and broken world. As our friends on the Eurasia Region remind us, “No initiatives are given birth without the work of God’s Holy Spirit. Nothing is sustainable unless we draw from the deep resources of Christ. No new creative opportunities open up unless we seek the Lord wholeheartedly.”

A Service of Death and Resurrection

This morning I attended the funeral of a saint.

The sanctuary was bathed in the colors of Lent and stained-glass windows.  Stained glass—broken and then pieced-together to tell a beautiful story—such a symbol of redemption and restoration.

The photos shown during the prelude were filled with sunny smiles and celebrations—days of youth and promise, maturity and fulfillment.

The casket was the work of a carpenter, hand-rubbed and beautiful, fitting one who cherished the loveliness of nature. 

The service brought together a collection of friends who had spent years doing life together.  But in this season of life their paths cross intermittently, most often at times such as this.  Today they are especially mindful of the treasure of friendship and the blessing of each other’s company. 

The tributes were thoughtful, beautiful, engaging.  Hers was a life well lived.  “She tended the moments that mattered,” said one.  “I will miss her,” concluded another.  And I thought those four words might be the most significant tribute any of us could ever receive.

The Scripture was read.  The faith was sung.  The Gospel was proclaimed.  And it was beautiful.

And each of us left with a fresh reminder of the gift of life, of the importance of faith, and of our own mortality.  And that death does not have the last word.

“I am the Resurrection and the Life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”                    – Jesus (John 11:25)

Benediction

(A prayer for the pastors of the South Carolina District)

Pastor, may God bless you.

May He bless you with health and wholeness.

May He bless your family, and make them to thrive.

May He bless your wildest dreams, your unspoken hopes.

May He bless your ministry and the people you serve.

May He reward your faithful labor with seasons of fruitful harvest.

May He give you wisdom and courage for ministry in this age,

            and patience with those yet to display those gifts.

May He turn His face toward you and smile on you. 

May He make His love known to you, His presence sensed by you.

May His grace flood your soul and splash over into the lives of those around you.

May you sense the wind of the Spirit at your back.

May you know the warmth of the Son in your heart.

May you trust the will of the Father in all your deliberations.

May God bless the South Carolina District, and your new superintendent.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sorry, But All the Easy Churches are Taken

Dear Pastor:

Thank you for sending me your résumé and for expressing your interest in serving on this district.

You were very specific in your cover letter about the kind of church you are looking to serve.

You stipulated that you are requesting an assignment at a church that is “missional, highly engaged in the community and willing to grow, a church that supports pastors and their families well (both emotionally and financially) and understands the toll ministry can take on ministry families, that has sufficient resources to hire additional staff, and that is located in a city with a high quality of life and a good school system.”

I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you this, but all the easy churches are taken.  And I don’t think any of those pastors will leave.  Ever.  And if by chance one does leave, I will probably claim that church for myself.

I guess what I am trying to say is that we are looking for pastors who are willing to invest their blood, sweat, and tears in hard places – pastors who will go into challenging situations and make them better; who will help churches become more attentive to the mission, more intentional, more loving.

We are looking for pastors willing to be change agents who help turn self-centered congregations into congregations actively looking for ways to bless their community, stingy congregations into generous congregations, and prickly congregations into graceful congregations.  We are seeking pastors who will help congregations love not just their friends, family, and people like them, but who will passionately embrace the lost, the least, the lonely, the hurting, the hopeless, the hungry, and the hopeless in their mission field no matter where they come from or what they look like.  

Yes, it’s true -  all the easy churches are taken.  But if you aren’t afraid of a challenge, I have an opportunity for you!