"And do you now begin to see why Christianity has always said that the devil is a fallen angel? That is not a mere story for the children. It is a real recognition of the fact that evil is a parasite, not an original thing. The powers which enable evil to carry on are powers given it by goodness."

- C.S. Lewis
5 Innovations for Church Reformation

Was reading on a pastor's blog last week about five "innovations" that will revolutionize the way we do church. (Exclamation points, insert trademark symbol, all caps, woo hoo.)
It was all stuff about technology. Hologram pastors, 3-D environments, etc. It struck me as ways to make the unreal seem less unreal. Virtual incarnational ministry is an oxymoron, I think.

So here are my suggestions for five "innovations" that will revolutionize the way we do church (exclamation points, insert trademark symbol, all caps, woo hoo):

1. Preach through books of the Bible.
2. Increase frequency of communion.
3. Train worship leaders in theology.
4. Spend more on missions than on new buildings.
5. Hire pastoral staff from within the congregation.

(Yes, this is really just an abridged rehash of an old post from GDC -- 11 Innovations for Your Church!)

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Comments on "5 Innovations for Church Reformation":
1. Bill - 03/12/2008 9:26 am CDT

Great post, Jared.

Funny how revolutionary your innovations sound these days

2. blest - 03/12/2008 9:45 am CDT

I LOVE it when pastors preach through books of the Bible. That is the best!

3. Bill Kinnon - 03/12/2008 10:16 am CDT

How about
6. Eat together often. (Kind of goes with communion in my not so humble opinion.)

4. Jared - 03/12/2008 10:40 am CDT

Bill, yup yup!

We have really integrated common meals into the life of Element in a really satisfying way. After our worship service, we have an "after party" at a restaurant and, no exaggeration, about 90% of the service attendees eat together.
Then on Monday nights we have our small group Bible study at a Whole Foods Market, where we eat dinner together and then have our discussion time. We're running about 12-14 for that time every week. It's awesome.

Those times of connection and dining together are great signs of health, I think.

5. Bill Kinnon - 03/12/2008 11:09 am CDT

Most excellent. Might I suggest you do a Gospel-Driven post on this.

6. blest - 03/12/2008 11:38 am CDT

I'm all for the church eating together..but can we do something about the menu?! ;-)

My mom has often noted the irony of the plans for who's bringing what to the next fat and sugar laden fellowship following hard upon the prayer requests for so-and-so's bypass surgery and such-and-such's high blood pressure.

7. Bryan Riley - 03/23/2008 4:47 am CDT

Great stuff and great addition Bill.

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