The thick paper stock gave the church bulletin a formal feel – appropriate for the cathedral-like sanctuary of the traditional 2600-member Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis.  The font was formal as well, and likely chosen more for style than readability.  On the back page, the list of ministries was extensive – reflecting a dynamic ministry with abundant resources, including 7 ordained clergy.  Nestled among the programs like “Open Forum,” “Adult Bible Study” and multiple choirs for all ages was a ministry for 20’s & 30’s offered twice per week entitled “Aquatic Experience.” Any guesses on what “Aquatic Experience” was all about?  A program addressing the spiritual / religious use water, such as its role in the sacrament of baptism?  Classes about the miraculous stories of water in the Bible like Jesus turning water into wine and his walking on water?  Something else?

 

Where does “Aquatic Experience” lead you?

 

Frankly, it was a tongue-in-cheek name chosen for a program I started, sufficiently classy to be acceptable yet clearly absurd for the largest land-locked city in the United States.  Aquatic Experience was a ministry where I taught young adults to windsurf.  It was one of most enjoyable and successful ministries in which I’ve participated.  In a nutshell, windsurfing became a passion of mine early in the 1980’s, and I became certified as an instructor.  I volunteered to teach the classes at the Hi Tide Windsurfing Shop & School (not sure about that name as there were no tides in Indy) for free, if they’d reduce the price for the classes I taught to people from the church.  It was a “win” on multiple levels.

 

It was unbelievably fun, and I loved doing ministry on the water in God’s glorious creation.  It provided great exercise and developed community & new relationships.  Most of all, windsurfing – and you know this if you’ve tried – provided a level playing field for everyone.  It didn’t matter if you are smart, athletic, overweight, popular, needy, successful, nerdy, Christian, whatever.  When windsurfing, everyone loses control, everyone falls off, and everyone gets soaked before humbly pulling themselves back on the board.  All the preconceived notions about who someone is or is not, the kinds of things that often impede the development of healthy groups, start to vanish when everyone – I mean everyone – looses control and “gets baptized” in the water.

 

Now, did we talk about Jesus when learning to windsurf at Aquatic Experience?  No.  We got wet, laughed, sailed, and often had a beer after class.  Did we build community, deep friendships, and open the door to meaningful ministry down the road?  Without a doubt.

 

And it began with a simple, innovative idea of joining two worlds seldom mentioned together in the same breath – ministry and windsurfing.  That’s partly what entrepreneurial and innovative thinking is about – bringing divergent elements together in creative ways to meet a goal.  Author Robert D. Hisrich defines an entrepreneur as “an individual who takes initiative to bundle resources in innovative ways and is willing to bear the risk and/or uncertainty to act.”    (Entrepreneurship (8th edition, McGraw Hill Irwin, 2010).

 

How do you begin to think entrepreneurially and bring diverse concepts and ideas together in a manner that benefits your ministry?  Without getting into a deep debate (not unlike that of speaking in tongues – is it learned, or from “elsewhere”?), I believe many elements of entrepreneurial thinking can be learned.

 

So, what is the starting point for learning to think innovatively, and with an entrepreneurial spirit?  Begin by answering these questions:

                 • What do you love? 

                 • What’s your passion? 

                 • What are you willing to go the extra mile for? 

                 • What do you know inside and out?

 

Typically, that for which we are passionate is what we know best.  We understand the idiosyncrasies and the details.  We notice and begin to understand patterns, like I did when learning to windsurf – that EVERYONE CRASHES when they start out.  Soon, you begin to make natural connections with other areas of your life, as I did when realizing that everyone crashing while learning to windsurf was ideal for developing group dynamics.  It’s a small but important step toward thinking in a new and creative way.

 

If you want to develop innovative solutions and programs for your ministry and you do not see yourself as one of those “creative types” for whom it comes naturally, spend some time reflecting upon:

                 • What are my life passions?

                 • What do I know about those passions; what elements and patterns are present?

                 • Do any elements or patterns fit with the core issues of ministry?

 

In the Aquatic Experience example, I was passionate about windsurfing.  I saw the consistent pattern of everyone, everyone who learns to windsurf – losing balance and falling awkwardly into the water.  That experience created a common bond among participants – a dynamic that’s present in healthy church groups and communities.

 

Over the years I’ve been involved in creating innovative ventures that range from Aquatic Experience and Walk on Water Contests to an Organic Garden to founding the Dancing Bohemian Ukulele Team.  What’s all that have to do with faith?  Plenty, particularly if you believe building community matters.

 

What’s your experience?  Have you developed creative links between what your passion and your ministry / work?