Session by Troy Gramling (Flamingo Road Church) & Scott Hodge (The Orchard). Details after the jump.
- Troy Gramling
- innovation has a lot to do with being naked, exposed
- it's the same type of feeling – being exposed
- you've got to be willing to be authentic, to step out there
- What he's learned – what an innovative person looks like
- what does it mean to lead in innovation
- Ears
- traditional way to hear is to listen to everybody
- innovative ears limit who they listen to
- if you don't limit it, you don't hear anybody
- you become unable to lead – angry old pastors
- everybody is valuable, but not everybody is a priority
- whoever you don't listen to gets mad
- who do you listen to?
- people who believe in me
- they love me – not what I do
- people with more wisdom than me
- to hear the group around us we have to limit who is in the group
- Eyes
- traditional way to use eyes – broaden focus, narrow influence
- as church grows, there's a temptation to broaden perspective
- we have to broaden our influence by narrowing our focus
- How? We focus on:
- protecting the vision – because vision leaks
- producing the product – the weekend or the ministry
- push out the values –
- as growth happens you have less touch
- if you're not careful the church you lead isn't the church you thought it was
- the difference is making difficult decisions
- hands
- traditional hands are used for today
- innovative hands execute for tomorrow
- today's numbers are the result of yesterday's execution
- we have no control over how people
- show up
- get baptized
- etc
- what we can control is how we execute
- execution is the key to getting where you want to go
- God's going to do His part – it's up to us to do our part
- Convince leaders that it's not about the task it's about the people
- it's never about today, it's always about tomorrow
- Feet
- traditional feet make the next step big
- innovative feet make the next step small because the goal is people love God
- when we feel things we tie things to it – energy makes steps easier
- leaders help reduce barriers
- Brain
- traditionally we think God blesses the methods
- innovative – God blesses the person
- you are innovative for the place God wants you to do ministry
- you can never be a great copy, you need to be true to how God has called you
- God could have anybody do your job – He chose you.
- Scott Hodge
- talking about change – no formula, but a story
- how God has taken an 80 year old church near extinction and has over 3-4 years transformed the church
- father moved to pastor the church and was there 20+ years
- chuch bought a campus, built a building, and his dad found himself miserable
- realized the church was declining
- morale was down
- staff focused not on larger vision of the church
- ineffective at reaching community
- his dad decided to transition the church, invited him back to help
- they figured they had nothing to lose
- if they did nothing it died
- if they killed it, it was going to die anyway
- it could work
- started asking questions
- what's not effective
- why are doing this program
- why does the church exist
- knew more about what they didn't want to be – so they stopped those things
- the transition was less about music, dress, etc but more about culture
- it was rough, people left
- the church is now stronger than it ever has been
- key things learned
- hear God's voice
- courageously obey
- the reason things don't really change
- we want it both ways
- new wine must be poured into new wineskins
- holding onto the old and embracing the new doesn't work
- old wineskins don't cost anything – new ones have a high price tag
- friendships
- popularity
- people
- sometimes even the church