By Allen White
Businesses commonly have Research and Development or R&D departments to improve their products or create new ones. The purpose of R&D is to create the future without upsetting the apple cart of the present. In a recent episode of Carey Nieuwhof’s Leadership Podcast, Todd Wilson from Exponential asked the question about why churches don’t have R&D.
In the past we’ve often taken entire ministry models from other successful churches and imposed them on our churches. I’m guilty of that. Some of it worked. Some of it didn’t quite fit. And, we must admit, there were quite a few casualties along the way.
But, let’s face it, most churches struggle with producing disciples. As Pete Scazzero says, after spending time studying Jesus’ model of discipleship, the modern evangelical church’s Connect, Grow, and Serve falls short of what Jesus intended for his followers.
In case you missed last week’s post, here are some thoughts about why we need a new model for disciple making and how to develop new things without destroying old things (and losing our jobs!).
