The last post created quite a debate over how well Campus Crusade and college ministries in general innovate.
Apologies to Ryan, Eric, Russ and Benson in advance as I try to summarize. I'm hoping to capture key bits of information that represent you guys well.
Two general observations:
- Quantifying innovation proves extremely challenging considering the many tangible/intangible & direct/indirect factors that factor into the innovation process,
- The fragmented nature of CCC also makes understanding how well we do at innovating difficult, as on some levels we are doing REALLY AMAZING stuff, but on other levels not much is happening.
Here were some key quotes in the discussion:
- Innovation passes through Campus Crusade the way a bill passes through congress: coalitions built on shared needs and goals...Believe me, if your innovation (for example) is effective at helping students move toward Jesus, and you can demonstrate this with proven results, you won't need "identifying and empowering" from someone with a title. --Ryan McReynolds
-
I meet so many staff at the local level who have great ideas, are innovating and coming up with better ways of doing things and helping students discover Jesus. They are challenging existing models and really engaging the problems and current realities. However, like you've identified, we're not good at seeing those great ideas out to the masses (at least quickly). We are not good at collaborating.--Russ Martin
- We are a
top-down organization, but "The Way Forward" is an attempt to move us
more away from that. Hopefully it will continue to happen. But for now
we're still a permissions-based culture.--Eric
- But I would wonder if in a healthy "profession," we should be seeing lots of "medium-level" innovations, too - ones that don't ever become as huge as I Agree with Dave, but still impact a number of campuses. If all college ministry has are local innovations (that nobody hears about) and the occasional innovation that EVERYBODY hears about, I bet we're missing something.--Benson Hines
Since this discussion can go so many ways still, I'll throw out a couple questions that may keep the conversation going:
- If you're on the field in any capacity (full-time ministry or marketplace), what are some key elements to seeing your innovations get noticed by those above you, and/or spread beyond your role for the greater good?
- If you are in an executive role, what sorts of principles or practices work well for seeing that ideas and innovations are not only seeded with resources to help them grow but championed in the greater scope to benefit a larger audience?
