INNOVATION: The DevotionalSample

“CREATED TO INNOVATE” The first chapter of the Bible tells a famous story, in which God creates mankind in his image. At this point in the Bible we know very little about who God is – we don’t yet know about his love, his power, or his justice. We don’t fully know about his Trinitarian nature or anything else; pretty much the only thing we know about him is that he is a creator. What this means is that, regardless of whether you feel creative or not, and regardless of how people perceive your creativity, we are all designed in the image of a creator, so we are all creative people. People often say to me that they don’t consider themselves to be creative, and I often reply “Well, if you want to be more creative, the best thing to do is to spend more time with the creator.” The presence of the creator fuels creativity. The writer and pastor, Erwin McManus, writes that “to create is to reflect the image of God. To create is an act of worship.” One of the easiest traps to fall into when it comes to the topic of innovation is boxing what innovation looks like into a specific definition or category. I don’t know about you, but when people start talking about innovation I often think straight away to hipsters with beards and artisan coffee shops; there’s a temptation that we box innovation into a particular look or style, because we have this stereotype of what modern creativity looks like. But, if we are all creative, it doesn’t matter if you’re an accountant or a single mum raising three kids; we are all the church and we can all create! The Dictionary says that innovation is “having or showing an ability to make new things or think of new ideas.” To be innovative you have to be creative, but if we know that we are creative then it frees us up to be innovative. One of the major roadblocks to innovative solutions in the church is us writing ourselves off. But when we do this, let’s always look back to Genesis and remember that we share in the creative spirit of our heavenly father! He has called you and he has equipped you. Action Point – Today think of yourself as creative made by the creator. What do you have in your hands that you can innovate?