Promising Innovation: When Disruption Becomes Ministry – Faith+Lead
Post # 3– Promising development takes advantage of previous decisions, capacities, and experiments.
When Disruption Ends Up Being Ministry
Appealing development hardly ever appears out of thin air. Many appealing innovations occur when leaders utilize disruption to expand their ingenious imagination. Experiments that equate creativity into action frequently make use of established networks and previous initiatives.
Oak Grove United Methodist Church, a congregation of about 150 members in Portland, Oregon, did not let their size or capability stop them from responding to the instant requirement for personal protective equipment (PPE) in their community. Oak Grove UMC’s pastor, Heather Riggs, couples Jesus’ command to teach others “to follow whatever that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20) with his call to take care of “the least of these” (Matt. 25:45). Following this guidance has led to deliberately cultivating relationships with local mainline churches in addition to with unchurched neighbors, nonprofits, local companies, schools, and city government. As a United Methodist, Pastor Riggs is grounded in John Wesley’s declaration that “the world is my parish.” When the pandemic hit, her formerly developed relationships and partnering initiatives became necessary in Oak Grove UMC’s ability to react to the needs of their neighborhood in a timely manner.
As the pandemic took hold, Pastor Riggs discovered her coworker, Pastor Craig Barnes, was searching for masks for farm and service market workers in his location. Pastor Riggs and her associates were worried about the security and wellness of these workers, who are mainly Latino/a, and this encouraged them to do something. Within a brief amount of time, 200 masks were contributed and dispersed through a cooperation between UMC, Episcopal, and ELCA churches. As Pastor Riggs notes, “Since we were leveraging relational networks rather than institutional networks, the process was casual, simple and smooth.” She and her fellow pastors did not let congregational size or denominational differences get in the method of acting on this real-world requirement.
Since of Oak Grove UMC’s dedication to serving the “least of these” and their belief that the world is their parish, they have made community engagement an essential focus of their ministry. They use community organizing capacities– leveraging local power to resolve collective problems– and this has increased their capability to recognize and react to the requirements in their community. At the very same time, it has actually offered rich chances for conversation about God with people who don’t generally go to church. This foundation made what they’ve passionately called “the mask experiment” fall into Oak Grove UMC’s sweet area.
Little did they understand that another opportunity would rapidly emerge. Fast forward to late summer season when wildfires were creating a disruptive moment throughout Oregon that left many homeless. This was a new chance to experiment, now the timing was even more critical. Pastor Riggs shared how this experiment unfolded as soon as she and her pastoral coworkers found out about the requirement:
“On Thursday morning, 10 a.m., I discovered that some folks who are houseless were being turned away from fire evacuation shelters for being ‘transients’ [and] had no place to go in the midst of this disaster. I worked with my clergy friends, and our social worker buddies, to get the church open as a shelter by 2 p.m.”
Then the Oak Grove UMC congregation learned that the Churchgoers’s Heart Street Dad shelter was also being evacuated, likewise they invited them into their welcomed. The shelter’s routine visitors signed up with the congregants, therefore did a lot of its staff and volunteers. Mikaila, among the social employees, remained with Pastor Riggs the opening night. The movement continued to grow as word infect surrounding churchgoers about what was occurring. Those ministries offered additional supplies, sent out volunteers, and arranged meals. Even governmental and not-for-profit companies joined the effort. Providence, a large local medical system, supplied hospital-grade PPE and sanitizing and safety materials. And, Pastor Riggs adds, “County personnel, from health inspectors to EOC managers, checked in with us and offered materials and support. They worked to repair the issue of shelters declining ‘transients.’ ” she asks wryly, “isn’t everybody leaving the fire ‘short-term’?”
In their experiments, Oak Grove UMC demonstrates among the crucial tenets of innovation. Innovation stems out of deep listening: listening for explicit and hidden needs, observing disconnects, and being curious about what lags a need or developing the disconnect. This is a way of life– a way of being which lays a structure that can support inspiration and experimentation when the opportunity arises. Innovation is supported by design thinking, which is a discipline along with a process and set of practices that can assist organizations increase their ingenious DNA by connecting previous decisions and capacities with real-time experiments. In his book Change by Style, innovation leader Tim Brown says, “The mission of design thinking is to equate observations into insights and insights into items and services that will enhance lives.”
At the heart of Oak Grove UMC’s experiments is hope that witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The needs in their Portland community are undue to tackle all by themselves. As they partner with other parishes and neighborhood companies, they are living out the call to care for “the least of these” in their parish in Oregon. This work “also raises the community’s awareness of our church,” Pastor Riggs includes, “so that individuals who didn’t know that churches like ours (Open and Affirming and active in service) exist.” Oak Grove UMC is countering one narrative with another, one disruption and experiment at a time.
About the Authors
Terri Martinson Eltonis the Associate Teacher of Management at Luther Seminary. Having served twenty years in congregational and synodical management before concerning Luther, Terri is deeply devoted to accompanying churchgoers in discovering brand-new expressions of ministry. Terri has co-authored a book on Leading Churchgoers and Nonprofits in a Connected World with Rabbi Hayim Herring, looked into and discussed Cultivating Teenager Faith, and has a brand-new book, Journeying the Wilderness: Forming Faith in the 21st Century, coming out this spring.
Tessa Pinkstaff is a task manager and grant writer at Luther Seminary who serves on the Innovation Leadership Team. She leads the weekly Home in the Word webcast for Faith+Lead. Tessa is enthusiastic about spiritual disciplines– consisting of silence and solitude– as a means for developing an intimate relationship with God. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science from the University of Northwestern– St. Paul and is nearing completion of a Master of Ministry from Bethel Seminary. Tessa looks forward to earning a certificate in spiritual direction from Christos in Lino Lakes.