I just returned from visiting a nest of creativity, the first annual Buzz Conference at National Community Church (aka theaterchurch.com) in D.C. Among the speakers were NCC pastor/Buzz host Mark Batterson, Fellowship Church pastor Ed Young and Center for Church Communication founder Brad Abare. Our tagline is discerning analysis for innovative church leaders, but it wasn't until Buzz that I began to reconsider what the word innovative means--particularly in a church context. It's not so much about a dictionary definition, but about identifying ingredients. Here's a start ...

• Creativity: Is my new way of doing things unique to my context?
• Risk: Does my new way of doing things entail a likelihood of failure?
• Discernment: Does my new way of doing things organically spring from my understanding of God's ways and God's Word?
• Results: Does my new way of doing things accomplish the objective for which it was conceived?

We're going to be much more intentional about looking for these criterion as we continue our quest to find--and connect our readers with--innovative leaders in ministry.

# posted by Matt Green : 12:37 PM