Series: The New Humanity
Message: Innovators
Preacher: J. Murdock
Reflection: Tim Gillespie
Live Wonder: Verity Were
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Beyond: Moe Stiles
Live Purpose: Vanessa Rivera
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Isaiah 43:1-7,18-19 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect: Why do we hold onto things so tightly? Because we hold onto our traditions so tightly, we have a hard time allowing some new blessing from God to become real in our lives. What would it take for you to look at life differently, to see that change, while uncomfortable, might be a good thing if it is managed the way that Jesus managed the change that was necessary in order for everything to be made new through Him?

One of the reasons that innovation and change are so hard in the church is that we have created a culture of punishment (think about those Blockbuster videos that you returned late!) or we have assented to the fact that change is bad, innovation is bad, and creativity might be the worst thing when it comes to church.

Our weary spirits become a symptom of a diseased culture, where hierarchy, process, and survival suffocate a democracy of ideas. And it is in culture that tries to worship the God who innovates. That is a disconnect that people can feel, even if they can’t verbalize what is happening.

Unfortunately, the most common words in church are, “We have never done it that way before,” and change is met with the attitude that doing something new is bad. However, perhaps that phrase should be a catalyst for trying! Church should be the safest place to take risks on trying something new. Christians understand failing as well as anyone in the world. In fact, that forgiveness we have received should give us the grace to try, fail, and try again with celebration and joy because we are moving things for the kingdom. Unfortunately, that is not often the case.

So how do we change it? We begin to see the innovation that we are in God’s creation, and we begin to leverage that understanding to create safe spaces for our kids, our creatives, and our churches to try something new. We become those who stand in the way of criticism when something doesn’t work, and we become the very best cheerleaders when something does work for the kingdom of God through our local church.

We have been given all the tools, creativity, innovation and energy that we need to make great strides for the kingdom. Why would we sit and be afraid? He has already made a way, has done something new, and is making a river and a road for us!

Recalibrate: Where do you already see God working for change and innovation in your life and in your church?

Respond: Write down your thoughts on the recalibration question so you can share them with others! It is important to recognize the creative and innovative work that God is already doing in your life and church so that others can begin to think of God as an innovator and a creative being.

Research: A good and short read on traditioned innovation.

Remember: “Behold, I am doing a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19, ESV).

Dr. Timothy Gillespie is lead pastor of Crosswalk Church in Redlands, CA. He also teaches at several universities and consults on mission integration for Adventist Health.

Watch sing the hymn “I Am a New Creation by Steve Kuba with your little one. Behold, God is making us new! Take a moment to thank God with your little one for His precious gift of life—but more importantly for life eternal because we are made new.

Watching a team that plays well together is very inspiring. Each player works together as part of one team, focused on scoring goals. Jesus calls us to play on Team Jesus together. We score goals by playing like Jesus. When people who don’t know Him ask, “How do you do that?” we can say, “Jesus helps me. He taught me how to play, and He wants you to play too!”

If you didn’t pick this up already, I’m from Australia. (Yes, I also lived in Samoa and New Zealand.) Australia, funnily and scarily enough, has some of the deadliest critters and creatures in the world. Spiders, crocodiles, and snakes, just to name a few! And people have developed a genuine fear of some of these creepy crawlies for obvious reasons—they’re deadly! Well, not all spiders are deadly but let’s be honest, if a non-poisonous spider jumps at you and takes you by surprise, there is a chance you will die of a heart attack, or at least of heart palpitations! Some people have fears of heights, of being at home alone, of people (it’s a thing). What are you afraid of? What is a genuine fear for you? What happens to you when you experience fear? Did you know that fear is one of the most common human experiences? Yep! Even the most confident people have their own secret fears. Some of the fears we all share are the fear of being rejected, the fear of being alone, the fear of not being good enough—do these sound like issues you might struggle with?

I love the passage for this week which encourages us over and over again not to be afraid! God continually says this not just in this passage but all throughout Scripture. He says, “Do not be afraid; I will be with you—through all your fears!” My prayer for you today is that our amazing God will make Himself known to you and that He will make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you! I pray that He will dispel any fear that you may have in the name of Jesus! Do not be afraid; the Lord your God is with you!

Did you catch all of the promises in the text this week? Did you notice how God is willing to protect us? Did you read about how He wants to redeem us? In these promises, there is a lot of information about what God has done and what He is willing to do for us. So what are you willing to change? What are you willing to give up? While it’s nice that God set up salvation for us, we are the ones who need to decide what to do next to become part of a new humanity.

Verity Were is a registered nurse at the largest pediatric intensive care unit in Sydney, Australia. She attends Kellyville Adventist church with her husband and two toddlers.
Zan Long is GRC director for faith development for ages 0-17. She lives in Sydney, Australia, and serves at her local church in nearby Kellyville.
Moe Stiles is lead pastor at Oasis Church in Vancouver, WA. She is married to Adrian and is mother to Caleb and Johnny.
Vanessa Rivera is a therapist at a community mental health center in Denver, CO, and serves as the faith engagement pastor at Boulder Church.