2. Lack of originality.
Build on your foundation, but don’t slap a new logo on an existing program and call it innovation.
Innovation is introducing something new, not introducing something with the façade of newness.
3. The wrong metrics.
What gets measured gets done, and what you measure is typically an indicator of what you value.
A mature church will measure different things than a new church. Most church plants are not attempting to track down meeting minutes from a dozen committees for next week’s business meeting. And established churches don’t have to worry about the retention ratio of people from a launch service.
However, an overemphasis on the metrics sustaining the establishment will inevitably de-emphasize innovation and dissuade team members from attempting innovation.
4. The ease of appeasement.
In an established church some leaders prefer the ease of appeasing members rather than innovating to reach new people. Obviously, a long-term member may not desire to be appeased, but rather challenged. However, most churches have a segment of people who would rather rest in the stability of the establishment.
It’s not necessarily a sin issue, and leaders should care about all members, whatever their spiritual maturity. Appeasing existing members, however, is much easier than challenging a church to innovate and reach new people. Even in a healthy established church, one ready to reach outward, innovation is a challenge. The typical established church has several groups of people who joined during different seasons of the church for different reasons. Even when people agree to reach outward, getting them to agree on timing, direction, budgeting and pace is a challenge.
It’s easier to appease. But appeasement is never innovation.
Though established churches are not new, they can still introduce new things. They can innovate.
Hurdles exist. These hurdles, however, are surmountable.
This post was originally published at my Church Executive blog.
