Jesus was innovative

JESUS WAS INNOVATIVE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
In this study we will see that Jesus was innovative, but that he also inspired
innovation in others, and this is still today the key to effective leadership
Jesus The Entrepreneur – Day15: Innovative
October30, 2018
by Robin Aldrich
Welcome to day 15 of my series, Jesus the Entrepreneur! It is not my intention
to offend anyone, nor to diminish in any way the life and works of Jesus in this
series. My goalis simply to present His life from a new perspective. That
being said, let’s getstarted!
Jesus the entrepreneur was innovative! He was an original, the one and only
Son of God. His messagewas both brand new and prophetic. His approach
had never been seenbefore. He shook the dust off ancient traditions, in many
casesshattering old belief systems.
As was the customin the days of Jesus, rabbis taught and worshipped in
temples. According to Helsinki.Fion Judaism in the time of Christ, “Both in
villages and in towns the Jews gatheredfor worship in the synagogue, where
other community matters were also dealt with. The synagogue was the place
for trials, teaching, care of the poor and accommodationofJews from
elsewhere.”

Rather than in temples, Jesus took his teaching to the people, meeting them
where they were. One example was the Samaritan womanat the well. When
He passedthrough Samaria, Jesus satdown to rest on a wall next to a local
well. A woman came to draw water, and Jesus spoke with her. The
conversationled to many Samaritans accepting Christ.
This innovative style of teaching surprised nearly everyone who came into
contactwith Jesus. The teachings ofthe Old Testamentspoke ofa savior, but
no one expectedHim to be an ordinary man with supernatural power. Jesus,
like the best teachers ofour day, was accessible, humble and kind. His
entrepreneurial approach to sharing His message resonateswith believers
around the world today!
In the coming days, I look forward to taking this journey with you as we
explore the life of Jesus the entrepreneur. Please feelfree to ask questions,
leave comments or email me at hello@robinaldrich.com. You can read other
posts in the series on my blog. Peacebe with you!
https://www.robinaldrich.com/2018/10/30/jesus-the-entrepreneur-day-15-
innovative/
Jesus’Methodof Inclusion in Leadership: A Model for Innovation and
Creativity in the Early Church
Biblical Perspectives – May 2008
Bonnie Banks The early church evolved from its limitations of internal focus
to boundless efficacyby utilizing innovation and creativity in spreading the
gospelof Jesus Christ. Utilizing socialrhetoricalcriticism and socialand

cultural texture, this paper is an exegeticalstudy that emphasizes Jesus’
encounters with women, sinners and the culturally diverse to point to the
applicability of Jesus’method of inclusion in informing creativity in the early
church and in contemporaryorganizations. Contemporary organizations can
emulate Jesus’methodologyof eliciting creativity in followers by
demonstrating care and trust through inclusion. Essentially, creativitythrives
in environments where there is acceptance andencouragement(Messmer,
2001). Creativityand innovation are, in essence,facilitators oforganizational
success.
The utilization of creativity and innovation in the early church propelled it
from humble obscurity to renownedattraction, infectiousness, and
respectability. The early church evolved from its limitations of internal focus
to boundless efficacyby utilizing innovation and creativity in spreading the
gospelof Jesus Christ. The teachings and methodologyof Jesus Christ
invariably causedthe early church to "turn the world upside down." (Acts
17:6, KJV). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the lasting effectiveness
of Jesus’methodologyof inclusiveness on the ability of the early church to
transition from an insular movement to a worldwide institution and religious
standard. Utilizing socialrhetoricalcriticism and socialand cultural texture,
this paper is an exegeticalstudy that emphasizes Jesus’encounters with
women, sinners and the culturally diverse to point to the applicability of
Jesus’method of inclusion in informing creativity in the early church and
contemporary organizations. Socialrhetoricalcriticismis a form of literary
analysis that emphasizes the principles, mores and ethics as conveyed in
particular texts and integrates them with the worldview of the reader
(Robbins, 2001). Socialand cultural texture examines socialand
anthropologicaltheory as they characterize the nature of particular texts
(Robbins, 2001). Exegesisis the examination, analysis and interpretation of
sacredtext. For the purposes of this paper, the Holy Bible is the sacredtext of
reference.

2 Jesus’Methodof Inclusion in Leadership: A Model for Innovation and
Jesus’methodologyof inclusion was non traditional and highly contradictory
to rabbinic law. Rabbinic law attributed status and distinguishable rights to
religious men and men who observedthe law, whereas, women, sinners,
gentiles and the infirmed were marginalized by societyand regardedwith low
status (West, 2007). However, Jesus consistentlymodeled boundless love and
democratizing acceptanceofwomen, sinners, and those seenas foreigners.
Jesus describedHis ministry as fulfilling, not destroying the law. “Think not
that I am come to destroythe law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy,
but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17, KJV). Jesus challengedhis contemporaries and
followers to look beyond basic behavioral adherence to the law to the deeper
revelation of love as the stimulus for obedience. According to Jesus, the
authenticity of righteous living could be only realizedthrough love. “Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy mind. This is the first and greatcommandment. And the secondis like
unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22-37b-40). Jesus
basedHis leadership methodologyon love and acceptance. Thus inclusion, for
Jesus, was love made manifest. Following Jesus’example of demonstrating
creativity through inclusion, early church leaders ushered the early church
from its embryonic status as a sporadicallytoleratedreligious sectto
worldwide recognitionand membership. Robbins (2001)intimates that Jesus
choices andsubsequent actions weighedheavily in the community because of
the religious, socialandcultural norms that he challenged. Rabbinic
literature was filled with disparagementtoward women. Women in the first
century were treated as objects whose sole purpose was to please and serve
men, which included bearing men children (Cruz, 2006). The rabbis taught
that women were not to speak, be spokento or even acknowledgedin public.
Additionally, women were made to walk six paces behind their husbands and
were consideredharlots if they wore their hair uncovered in public (Cruz,
2006). Womenwere not allowedto vote, not allowedto be educatedand not
allowedto receive an inheritance (Cruz, 2006). Womenwere also viewedas

"unclean" during menstruation and after childbirth, and would suffer further
isolationfor specifiedperiods of time during and after eachof these events
(Cruz, 2006). Jesus, in His treatment of women, demonstrated value for their
individual and collective humanity. In John 4:7, Jesus meta Samaritan
woman at Jacob’s welland initiated a conversationwith her. “There cometh a
woman of Samaria to draw water:Jesus saithunto her, Give me to drink”
(KJV). In initiating a public dialogue with the Samaritan woman, Jesus
rebelled againstrabbinical teachings, traditions and attitudes toward women.
The fact that Jewishmen did not, as a matter of practice, speak to women in
public lends depth to Jesus’deliberate and creative actof inclusion. On
another occasiona women, who was, by rabbinic standards, ceremonially
unclean, publicly touched Jesus’garment. “And, behold, a woman, which was
diseasedwith an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched
the hem of his garment” (Matt. 9:20). In fear outweighedonly by her
desperation, the infirmed woman confessedheractions to Jesus only to find
compassionateacceptanceandhealing in Jesus’response. “The woman
fearing and trembling, knowing what was
Biblical Perspectives – May 2008 3
Published by the SchoolofGlobal Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent
University
done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he
said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be
whole of thy plague” (Mk 5:33-34). Once while Jesus was a dinner guestat
the Pharisee Simon’s house, a city woman described as a sinner arrived
uninvited to see Jesus.The woman approachedJesus as he was dining and
beganto weep. With tears flowing, the womanwashedJesus feetand drying
them with her hair- which being exposed, was a violation of rabbinic teaching-
kissedand anointed Jesus feetwith oil. “And, behold, a womanin the city,
which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus satat meat in the Pharisee's
house, brought an alabasterbox of ointment, And stoodat his feetbehind him

weeping, and began to washhis feetwith tears, and did wipe them with the
hairs of her head, and kissedhis feet, and anointed them with the ointment”
(Luke 7:37). Jesus did not rebuke the woman as was the expectationof his
host, Simon the Pharisee. Jesus insteadspoke words oflove and comfort to
her. “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven […] Thy faith hath saved
thee; go in peace (Luke 7:48-50). Following the examples of Jesus, leaders of
the early church exercisedsensitivity to the needs of womenand acknowledge
them as effective leaders and contributors to the establishing of the church.
Deaconswere assignedto minister to the needs of widows (Acts 6:1-6). Peter
healed Dorcas andmany townspeople receivedChrist as a result (Acts 9:36-
42). Leaders today can emulate Jesus’example by abandoning binding
traditions that foster alienationin women. According to the Institute for
Women's Policy Research(IWPR), leaders should promote and highlight the
importance of women's contributions (PR Newswire, 2007). Further
demonstration of Jesus’method of inclusion is evidenced in the occasions
when Jesus chose people ofill-repute, sinners and members of diverse
populations to minister to. The Samaritan woman had been married five
times and was a sinner. “Jesus saidunto her, Thou hast well said, I have no
husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not
thy husband: in that saidstthou truly” (John 4:17b-18). According to
Rabbinic teaching, a divorced woman was impure (Cruz, 2006)and sinners
were to be avoided because oftheir innate indifference to the law (West,
2007). The Samaritanwoman was of an ethnicity and culture, which had been
alienatedby the Jews as mongrels, impure and unclean (Wyckoff, 2005).
Furthermore, rabbinic law statedthat Jews were not to associate withnon
Jews. “Itis an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keepcompany, or
come unto one of another nation…” (Acts 10:28). Jesus similarly
demonstrated inclusion and acceptanceto a Syrophenician womanin Mark
7:24-30. Notwithstanding their gender, by all accounts of the law regarding
sinners and foreigners, Jesusshould have bypassedthe Samaritanand
Syrophenician women altogether. Jesus’method of inclusion extended to His
practice of dining with the ill-reputed as well. “And it came to pass, as Jesus
satat meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat
down with him and his disciples” (Matt. 9:10). Traditionally, the Jewishmeal
was consideredan intimate occasionto be sharedwith family and those of

high socialor religious standing (Zaspel, 2002). However, Jesus made it clear
to His detractors that His mission was to minister to sinners. “I am not come
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. 9:13).
4 Jesus’Methodof Inclusion in Leadership: A Model for Innovation and
Following the examples of Jesus, leaders ofthe early church encouraged
diversity and acceptancein converting sinners. “There came also a multitude
out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them
which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one” (Acts
5:16). Jesus’creativity in going outside of tradition inspired creativity in those
who were the recipients of His grace, namelythe leaders of the early church
who had been Jesus’disciples. “And (Peter) said unto them, Ye know how
that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come
unto one of another nation; but God hath shewedme that I should not call any
man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). “Forso hath the Lord commanded us
(Paul and Barnabas), saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that
thou shouldestbe for salvation unto the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47).
Contemporary organizations canemulate Jesus’methodologyof eliciting
creativity in followers by demonstrating care and trust through inclusion.
Following the example of Jesus, leaders first need to understand that
creativity is not just reservedfor a selectgroup. Leaders’attitudes
undoubtedly affect those of workers. If leaders demonstrate belief in the
abilities’ of workers to creativelycontribute to the organization, workers will
respond (Jensenand Luthens, 2006). Jesus modeledcreativity for his
followers and entrusted them to continue His practice (Acts 1:4-5). Von
Krogh, Ichijo & Nonaka (2006)discuss the need for leaders to demonstrate
care and willingness to share and develop tacit knowledge skills.Jesus
demonstrated care in initiating assistanceandresponding to the needs of
followers and those marginalized by society. Essentially, creativity thrives in
environments where there is acceptanceand encouragement(Messmer, 2001).
In this age of globalization, contemporary organizations face the challenges of
increasedcompetitiveness. Creativityand innovation have become the great

equalizers in a globalmarketplace no longerrestricted by cultural
boundaries. Creativity and innovation are, in essence, facilitators ofsuccess.
In order to realize the benefits of creativity and innovation, organizations
have to employ the characteristics thatperpetuate creative cultures. Jesus’
method of inclusion as emulated by the early church was enduringly creative
and causedthe church to rise from obscurity to become a world religion. As
evidenced in scripture, Jesus and the early church leaders demonstrated
inclusion through the practice of care and trust for followers. Jesusand His
followers setaside the traditional mores of exclusionand alienationand
realized growth never afore experienced. As did the early church,
contemporary organizations will encounter various differences in its
representative workforce andclient base. These differences may consistof
economic, social, political, cultural, and educationaldisparities. However, as
Jesus demonstrated, the value of human capital should be exploited
indiscriminately. Inclusion maximizes organizationalpotential and allows for
growth and development that may otherwise not be achieved.
Biblical Perspectives – May 2008 5
Published by the SchoolofGlobal Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent
University
ReferencesCruz, L. (2006). The view and role of women in the early church.
RetrievedFebruary 16, 2008, from
http://www.freeminds.org/women/womenchurch.htm Holy Bible, authorized
king James version(2001). . Belgium: Thomas Nelson. Jensen, S. M., &
Luthans, F. (2006). Entrepreneurs as authentic leaders:Impact on employees'
attitudes. Leadership & Organization DevelopmentJournal, 27(8), 646.
Messmer, M. (2001). Encouraging employee creativity. Strategic Finance,
83(6), 16. New strategiespromise greaterleadershipby womenin
unions.(2007). PR Newswire, Robbins, V. K. (1996). Exploring the texture of
texts. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International. Von Krogh, G., & Ichijo,
Kazuo &Nonaka, Ikujiro. (2000). Enabling knowledge creation:How to

unlock the mystery of tacit knowledge and release the power of innovation.
New York: Oxford University Press. West,J. (2007). Jesusand sinners.
RetrievedFebruary 16, 2008, from
http://www.theology.edu/journal/volume3/sinners.htm Wykhoff, E. J. (2005).
Jesus in samaria: A model for cross-culturalministry. Biblical Theology
Bulletin, , 1. RetrievedFebruary 17, 2007, from
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0LAL/is_3_35/ai_n15674958/pg_1
Zaspel, F. G. (2002). Jesus andsinners at the table. Retrieved February 16,
2008, from
http://www.cornerstonechurchofskippack.com/sermons/eating_with_sinners.h
tml
Christian Innovation Descending Into the Abyss of Light
by Gary W. Oster
“The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.”1
~Francis A. Schaeffer
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earthly will for mankind. What makes innovation Christian innovation? As
Francis Schaeffersaidof art, “The factor which makes art Christian is not
that it necessarilydeals with religious subject matter.”5 It also is not because
the innovation was accomplishedby a professing Christian. Instead,
innovation is Christian when it is ultimately aligned with God’s purposes and
methods. CreatorVs. CreatedIt is important to recognize that, while man can
make things different or better, only God makes something entirely new.
Remember that only Godcan imagine and make something out of nothing. In
this sense, he is the only One who deserves the title of Creator. We are merely

creative. That is, we can only imagine and make something out of something
else—something that has already been imagined and made, whether in the
creationitself, or from the work of creative people.”6 Human innovation only
vaguely mirrors the uniquely transformative act of God’s salvation,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;old things have passed
away;behold, all things have become new.”7 There is an important contrast
betweenthe creatorand the created. Innovation Flows From World-View
Everyone has a personalworld-view, which emerges from the enduring values
learned by eachindividual. Values are constant, passionate,fundamental
beliefs that propel the actions of individuals and organizations. Theyare
acquired through education, observation, and experiences, andmay be taught
or influenced by parents, friends, work associates, religious institutions,
community, culture, personality, and significant societalevents. An
individual’s values frame his or her worldview, “Worldview is the lens that
people use to interpret their reality and assignmeaning to events, experiences,
and relationships.”8 Thinking Christians developand act upon a Christian
worldview. “The term means literally a view of the world, a biblically
informed perspective on all reality. A worldview is like a mental map that tells
us how to navigate the world effectively. It is the imprint of God’s objective
truth in our inner life. We might saythat eachof us carries a model of the
universe inside our heads that tells us what the world is like and how we
should live in it.”9 For Christians, faith influences their entire lives. As
theologianand philosopher J. P. Moreland asserts“To live Christianity is to
allow Jesus Christ to be the Lord of every aspectofmy life. There is no room
for a secular/sacredseparationin the life of Jesus’followers.”10Similarly,
Innovation may be redemptive. Scripture and the personal experience of
Christians worldwide show that God uses innovation for humans to know
more of Him, to communicate with Him, and to ultimately accomplishHis
earthly will for mankind. What makes innovation Christian innovation?
...innovation is Christian when it is ultimately aligned with God’s purpose and
methods.

philosopher Francis Schaefferagrees“Itis not only that true spirituality
covers all of life, but it covers all parts of the spectrum of life equally. In this
sense there is nothing concerning reality that is not spiritual.”11 Holmes
similarly noted, “To bring our every thought into captivity to Christ, to think
Christianly, to see all of life in relationship to the Creatorand Lord of all, this
is not an optional appendage of secondaryimportance, but is at the very heart
of what it means to be a Christian.”12 And Nolladds, “The much more
important matter is what it means to think like a Christian about the nature
and workings ofthe physical world, the characterofhuman socialstructures
like government and the economy, the meaning of the past, the nature of
artistic creation, and the circumstances attending our perceptionof the world
outside ourselves.”13In all things (including their innovation efforts)
Christians are called to think and to act like Jesus. Making decisions in
business is not a simple function of running anticipated actions through a
formula or process…Weare calledto be like Christ and to think like he would
think (Philippians 2:1-8). Christians know that this is made possible by the
presence and inner work of the Holy Spirit, not by our efforts alone.”14 God’s
Innovation Reveals Himself to Mankind Our first glimpse of God in scripture
says, “In the beginning, God created…”15 God’s characteris revealedto
mankind through His innovation, “Significantly, the world he createdis
complex and elegant – filled with clues about the characterand nature of its
creator. The more we learn about this createdorder, the more sophisticated
its designerappears. The magnificent designof the solarsystem and all the
many galaxies we are now able to observe make it clearjust how creative the
creatormust be.”16 We cannotpossibly ignore the elegance ofGod’s
innovation. As Scripture says, “He has made everything beautiful in its
time,”17 “We are God’s masterpieces, poems… ”,18 and “Out of Zion, the
perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.”19 As MichaelCard noted, “A
thousand examples speak of a deep, inner hunger for beauty that, at its
heart, is a hunger for God. We hunger for beauty because it is a beautiful
God whom we serve… The deep-down interior of a red-wood or a geode or
the DNA molecule or, for that matter, our own body, is a song of
elegance.”20Engaging GodThroughInnovation We are not satisfiedto
observe God’s innovative perfection, but seek to lovingly mimic Him,

“Creativity is worship insofar as it is, at its essence, a response…Inthe callto
be creative, a callthat goes out to all God’s children, we sense the call to
listen to him and, in childlike naiveté, to imitate our father by creating works
that will magnify his
© 2009 SchoolofGlobal Leadership & Entrepreneurship 19
March 2009
praise,”21Grudin says. But independent insight in all fields involves in some
way the experience of beauty. In fact, the thrill conveyedby inspiration in any
field is perhaps best describedas coming from a sense of participation in
beauty, a momentary unity betweena perceived beauty of experience and a
perceiving beauty of mind.”22 Our response to God’s glorious innovation is
praise-filled creativity, “A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God,
not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God. An
art work canbe a doxologyof itself.”23 The Apostle Paul noted that everyone
is given unique abilities to engage God through innovation, “Eachpersonis
given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone
benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of
people!”24 At specific times throughout history, God has chosento
communicate with and direct man during the innovation process.25Through
our own innovative efforts, we find a specialwayto connectwith our creator,
“All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies betweenthe work of
their hands, howeversuccessfulit may be, and the dazzling perfection of the
beauty glimpsed in the ardor of the creative moment. What they manage to
express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a
glimmer of the splendor which flared for a moment before the eyes of their
spirit. Believers find nothing strange in this – they know that they have had a
momentary glimpse of the abyss of light which has its originalwellspring in
God.”26 Obligations ofChristian Innovation The freedom God provides to
Christian innovators comes with concomitantobligations, “The artist as a
Christian is free, but not with a purposeless freedom. He is free in order to

praise God and love his neighbors.”27 As the Apostle Paul said, “Let eachof
you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of
others.”28This certainly extends beyond the wise use of God-given abilities,29
efficient acquisition of revenue for a corporation, and even beyond the “Do no
evil” admonishment of Google, Inc.,
“Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the
artistic vocation—aspoet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor, and so
on—feelat the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop
it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a
whole.”30As Barna summarizes, “Godencouragesus to show genuine love by
blessing others through affirmation and encouragement, by meeting their
physical and emotionalneeds, and by living and working in a faith-driven
community.”31
All innovation begins and ends with the needs of end-users. Christian
innovators cannothave customers, with the disposable mentality the word
implies. Instead, they have clients, with a specialrelationship of deep concern
ordained by God and specificallyoutlined in the Bible, “A new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love
one another.”32 In the Gospelof Luke, we read, “And he [Jesus]answered,
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your strength, and
with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27, NASB). The
Greek that we translate in Luke 10:27 is agapao whichcarries with it a sense
of doing the right thing at the right time for the right reason, or in other
words,loving someone like a friend. The word occurs 110 times in the New
Testament, specificallyfor behavior betweenpeople.”33 Agapaolove
consistentlyfocuses upon the bestinterests of clients, “This Greek word refers
to a moral love…to love in a socialormoral sense, embracing the judgement
and the deliberate assentof will as a matter of principle, duty, and
propriety.”34 Agapao love that a concernedinnovator has for clients has been
describedas being “selfless,”“altruistic,” or“unconditional.” Whereas,
“Agapao love is alive and well today and may be best understood in light of
the GoldenRule: Do unto others as you would have themdo unto you, and

even more to do with the Platinum Rule of Do unto others as they want you to
do unto them.’”35 Christian love for clients is the context for care for them,
“The goalis thus to be broadly benefits driven— constantlysearching for,
investing in, and mastering the technologythat will bring unanticipated
benefits to humankind.”36 Becauseofagapao love, corporations are obligated
to develop an innovation agenda that not only meets profit targets but also
intentionally aligns with the actual needs of clients and societyas a whole. As
Chewning demonstrates, “Business shouldapproachcustomers as people of
dignity whom they genuinely want to serve. From God’s perspective the
purpose of business transactions is to serve people.”37 Windows To GodIn
considerationof the innovative media of literature, C. S. Lewis says, “Eachof
us by nature sees the whole world from one point of view with a perspective
and a selectivenesspeculiarto himself…We want to see with other eyes, to
imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as wellas with our
own… We demand windows. Literature as Logos is a series ofwindows, even
of doors…”38 As Card adds, “If what we create, write, dance, or sing can
open up such a space in time through which God may speak, imagine the
possibilities!Painting might
Photo by: SarahStanfield
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relationship with God through innovation must first intentionally innovate
themselves. Specifically, they should ask God to use their innovation efforts
to provide insight, and then be open to whatever His response might be. They
should carefully study the Holy Bible to learn how God has innovatively
changedpeople and circumstances throughout history. Next, they should set
quantum objectives for themselves and intentionally confront wicked
problems that often confound

people. They should study and engage new and unusual things, let their
natural curiosity run wild and “getwet” by diving deeply into other cultures,
ideas, relationships, and localities. Similarly, they must learn as much as
possible about current and prospective clients. Finally, Christian innovators
should journal about their efforts to see Godin innovation and communicate
with others who share the same journey. Rough Roadof Innovation
Christians willing to be innovative and willing to do God’s will on earth must
have courage:“Creativity is dangerous. We cannot open ourselves to new
insight without endangering the security
become a window through which a onfused world looks and sees the sane
order of God’s creation. Music could become an orchestratedecho of the
Voice the tired ears of humankind have longed for ages to hear. This is art
through which God is seenand heard, in which he is incarnate, is fleshed out
in paint and ink, in stone, in creative movement…The art that naturally flows
out of our obedient response to the callof Godon our lives, as a result of the
imprint of the creative mandate, can, by grace, become waterto wash the feet
of sisters and brothers, cold waterto quench the thirst of a unbelieving
world.”39 The work of our hands and the example of our being should draw
others to God. “The Christian’s life is to be an art work. The Christian’s life
is to be a thing of truth and also a thing of beauty in the midst of a lost and
despairing world.”40 Pope JohnPaul II notes, “As Genesis has it, all men and
women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain
sense, they are to make it a work of art, a masterpiece.”41 Completing God’s
Kingdom Judaism has long held an interesting conceptcalledTikkun Olam,
which originated in the early rabbinic period. Although alteredin modern
times to support primarily socialgoals,the Hebrew phrase refers to
“repairing” or “perfecting” the world. In brief, it was thought that God
intentionally left undone some creative work in the world so that mankind
could joyfully partner with Him in its completion. God continues to use
humans, no matter how frail or unprepared, to innovatively accomplisheven
those things which are “exceedinglyabundantly above all that we ask or
think.”42 Like the Psalmist of old, to those who yield their minds, hearts, and
hands to His will, God will “Put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to
our God.”43 We canbe the instruments of God’s innovation, “With loving

regard, the divine Artist passes onto the human artist a spark of his own
surpassing wisdom, calling him to share in his creative power.”44Innovate
Yourself First A person who is eagerto enhance their
of our prior assumptions. We cannotpropose new ideas without risking
disapproval and rejection. Creative achievementis the boldest initiative of
mind, an adventure that takes its hero simultaneously to the rim of knowledge
and the limits of propriety.”45 Becauseofthe Fall, people have a natural and
sometimes rabid antipathy to any change brought about through innovation.
As Von Krogh said, “People are loath to accommodate new knowledge that
undermines or runs counter to their stories, especiallyif that knowledge is
conveyedby other group participants with different backgrounds,”46
mirrored by Grudin when he noted, “Many valid new ideas endangerthe
interests vested in establishedtheories and no professionalfield, no matter
how enthusiasticallyit endorses innovation, is free from a nagging and purely
selfinterestedresentmentof newness.”47 Mightwe occasionallyfail in our
innovation efforts? Absolutely! As Grudin clarifies, “To think creatively is to
walk at the edge of chaos. In thinking the original, we risk thinking the
ridiculous. In opening the way for a few goodideas, we open the way for many
bad ones, lopsided equations, false syllogisms, and pure nonsense dished up by
unhindered impulse.”48 Schwartzsimilarly echoes, “Failure is the rule rather
than the exception, and every failure contains information… Perseverance
must be accompaniedby the embrace of failure. Failure is what moves you
forward. Listen to failure.”49 Failure is neither a reflection upon the intensity
of our faith nor of the power of the One we serve, “a God who makes all
things new.”50 Innovation, like all other elements of our lives, must be
consideredin its eternal context, “The purpose of your life is far greaterthan
your own personalfulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.
It’s far greaterthan your family, your career, or evenyour wildest dreams
and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you
must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”51
Creative innovation is a path we may take to know, praise, communicate, and
partner with the remarkably innovative God who made us all.

Dr. Gary Oster joined the faculty of the Schoolof GlobalLeadership &
Entrepreneurship in 2007 aftermore than two years as Associate Deanfor
Academics in the RegentUniversity Schoolof Undergraduate Studies and a
decade in senioradministrative roles at William Tyndale College. He has
served as a classroomand online instructor since 1994. Prior to his academic
endeavors, Garywas an executive in high-technologycorporations, both
domesticallyand overseas, focusing primarily upon the computer, electronics,
and automotive industries. He can be reachedfor comment via e-mail at
garyost@regent.edu. Notes 1. Schaeffer, F. (1973). Art & the Bible. Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Pp. 61. 2. Davila, T., Epstein, M., & Shelton, R.
(2006). Making Innovation Work. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School
Publishing, Pp. 3. 3. May, R. (1975). The Courage To Create. New York:
Norton, Pp. 7. 4. Grudin, R. (1990). The Grace of GreatThings. New York:
Ticknor& Fields, Pp. 5. 5. Schaeffer, F. (1973). Art & the Bible. Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Pp. 19. 6. Card. M. (2002). Scribbling in the
Sand: Christ and Creativity. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Pp. 122.
7. Thompson, F. (ed.) (1997). The Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible,
New King James Version. Nashville: NelsonPublishing, 2 Corinthians 5:17. 8.
Fisher, R. & Martini, P. (2004). Inspiring Leadership: CharacterAnd Ethics
That Matter. King of Prussia, Pennsylvania:Academy Leadership, Pp. 2. 9.
Pearcy, N. (2004). TotalTruth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural
Captivity. Wheaton, IL: CrosswayBooks, Pp. 23. 10. Moreland, J. (1997).
Love Your God With All Your Mind. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress, Pp.
174. 11. Schaeffer, F. (1981). AChristian Manifesto. Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Books,Pp. 19. 12. Holmes, A. (1985). The Making of a Christian Mind.
Wheaton, IL: InterVarsity, Pp. 11. 13. Noll, M. (1994). The Scandalof the
EvangelicalMind. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, Pp. 7. 14.
Chewning, R. et. al. (1990). BusinessThroughThe Eyes Of Faith. New York:
HarperCollins, Pp. 6. 15. Thompson, F. (ed.) (1997). The Thompson Chain
Reference Study Bible, New King James Version. Nashville:Nelson
Publishing, Genesis 1:1. 16. Boa, K. “Change and Innovation.” Bible.org.
Downloaded26 June 08. <http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3347>. 17.
Thompson, F. (ed.) (1997). The ThompsonChain Reference Study Bible, New
King James Version. Nashville: NelsonPublishing, Ecclesiastes3:11. 18.

King James Version. Nashville: NelsonPublishing, Ephesians 2:10. 19.
King James Version. Nashville: NelsonPublishing, Psalm50:2. 20. Card. M.
(2002). Scribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, Pp. 32. 21. Card. M. (2002). Scribbling in the Sand: Christ
and Creativity. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Pp. 29. 22. Grudin, R.
(1990). The Grace of GreatThings. New York: Ticknor& Fields, Pp. 14. 23.
Schaeffer, F. (1973). Art & the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
Pp. 10. 24. Peterson. E. (ed.) (2002). The Message:The Bible in Contemporary
Language. Wheaton, IL: NavPress, 1 Corinthians 12:5-7. 25. Viz. Exodus 31:
1-5; Exodus 25:40;Ezek. 1-3. 26. John Paul II, Pope (1999). “LetterTo
Artists.” Holy See:The Vatican, Rome, Pp. 4. 27. Roekmaker, H. in Card. M.
(2002). Scribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, Pp. 140. 28. Thompson, F. (ed.) (1997). The Thompson
Chain Reference Study Bible, New King James Version. Nashville: Nelson
Publishing, Philippians 2:4. 29. Thompson, F. (ed.) (1997). The Thompson
Publishing, Matthew 25:15. 30. John Paul II, Pope (1999). “LetterTo Artists.”
Holy See:The Vatican, Rome, Pp. 2. 31. Barna, G. (2003). Think Like Jesus.
Nashville: Integrity, Pp. 105. 32. Thompson, F. (ed.) (1997). The Thompson
Publishing, John 13:34. 33. Winston, B. (2008). “Agapao Leadership.” Regent
University SchoolofGlobal Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Inner Resources
For Leaders. Downloaded26 June 08,
<http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/innerresources/vol1iss1/wins
ton_agapao.pdf>. 34. Winston, B. (2002). Be A Leader For God’s Sake.
Virginia Beach, VA: Schoolof Leadership Studies, Pp. 5. 35. Ibid., Pp. 8. 36.
Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing ForThe Future. Boston:
Harvard Business SchoolPress, Pp. 321. 37. Chewning, R. et. al. (1990).
Business ThroughThe Eyes Of Faith. New York: HarperCollins, Pp. 212. 38.
Lewis, C.S. “We Demand Windows” in Ryken, L. (editor) (2002). The
Christian Imagination. Colorado Springs: Shaw, Pp. 52. 39. Card. M. (2002).
Scribbling in the Sand: Christ and Creativity. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, Pp. 17. 40. Schaeffer, F. (1973). Art & the Bible. Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Pp. 63. 41. John Paul II, Pope (1999). “Letter

To Artists.” Holy See:The Vatican, Rome, Pp. 2. 42. Thompson, F. (ed.)
(1997). The Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible, New King James
Version. Nashville:NelsonPublishing, Ephesians 3:20. 43. Thompson, F. (ed.)
(1997). The Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible, New King James
Version. Nashville: NelsonPublishing, Psalm40:3. 44. John Paul II, Pope
(1999). “LetterTo Artists.” Holy See:The Vatican, Rome, Pp. 2. 45.
Grudin, R. (1990). The Grace of GreatThings. New York: Ticknor& Fields,
Pp. 9. 46. Von Krogh, G., Ichijo, K., & Nonaka, I. (2000). Enabling
Knowledge Creation. Oxford: Oxford Press, Pp21. 47. Grudin, R. (1990).
The Grace ofGreat Things. New York: Ticknor& Fields, Pp. 98. 48. Grudin,
R. (1990). The Grace ofGreatThings. New York: Ticknor& Fields, Pp. 15.
49. Schwartz, E. (2004). Juice:The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class
Inventors. Boston:Harvard Business SchoolPress, Pp. 143. 50. Thompson, F.
(ed.) (1997). The Thompson Chain ReferenceStudy Bible, New King James
Version. Nashville:NelsonPublishing, Revelation21:5. 51. Warren, R.
(2002). Purpose DrivenLife. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, Pp. 17.
https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/rgbr/vol3iss1/christian_inno
vation.pdf
Change and Innovation
RelatedMedia

A cartoonI saw in The New Yorkershoweda CEO winding up his speechat a
board meeting with the following sentence:“And so, while the end-of-the-
world scenario will be rife with unimaginable horrors, we believe that the pre-
end period will be filled with unprecedented opportunities for profit.”1
Somehow that seems to capture the spirit of our times.
Many of us live with the same perspective as King Hezekiahin 2 Kings 20:19.
After being told that, because ofhis pride and arrogance, his wealth and
posterity would fall into the hands of the Babylonians, he actually says, “The
word of the Lord that you have spokenis good…. Will there not be peace and
security in my lifetime?” Hezekiah was only concernedwith how things would
be during his owntime here on earth. He gave no thought to the hardships
others would endure after he was gone. Many of our environmental and
financial decisions demonstrate this same outlook. And yet our time on earth
is only a speck in cosmic terms. A.W. Tozer was rightly said,
The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.
Life is a short and fevered rehearsalfor a concertwe cannotstay to give. Just
when we appearto have gainedsome proficiency, we are forcedto lay our
instruments down. There is simply not time enoughto think, to become, to
perform what the constitution of our natures indicates we are capable of.2
If life here on earth is all there is, then our mortality is distressing. But the
Bible invites us to see that there is more to this life than the constant
pendulum-swing from happiness to regret. You are not defined by your past;
you are defined by your future. You have a destiny, a hope and a future. The
past is finite, but the future is unbounded. The past is fixed, but lasting change
is possible for those of us who are united with the God who makes all things
new (Revelation21:5). In fact, change is not only possible, it is normative for
those who live their lives with a sense ofholy calling, a determination to follow
Jesus whereverhe leads.
Jesus, the Change-Agent
An old story has a husband asking his wife, “Honey, why do you cut off the
ends of a roastbefore you cook it?”

“Because my mother did it that way,” she respondedwith a smile.
Curious, the husband called the wife’s mother and askedher the same
question. When she gave an identical answer, he calledhis wife’s
grandmother. The moment the elderly matron heard the question she laughed
and said, “I don’t know why they cut off the ends of the roast, but I did it that
way because a full roast wouldn’t fit in my pan.”
That story illustrates how most practices are initiated to serve a purpose. But
over time, eventhe best practice can lose its usefulness. It takes a wise leader
to know when to change something. It takes insight to recognize when it’s time
for innovation. Jesus certainlyunderstood the role of change and rebuked
those who stoodin the way of innovation:
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and
askedJesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees
are fasting, but yours are not?”
Jesus answered, “How canthe guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with
them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will
come when the bridegroom will be takenfrom them, and on that day they will
fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new
piece will pull awayfrom the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours
new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both
the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new
wineskins.”
Mark 2:18-22
The Pharisees chidedJesus becausehe didn’t force his disciples to fast. Jesus
informed them that he had not come to add a few new rules and regulations to
Judaism. He had something entirely new to impart. The Lord made it clearto
those religious leaders that he hadn’t come to patch an old system. Such an
effort would be as foolish as putting a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old
garment, or putting new wine in an old wineskin. When the patch shrank, the

garment would tear. When the wine fermented, the wineskinwould burst. The
old forms of Judaism could never contain the spirit of Jesus’message.
Change challenges ourexisting categories. In order to change we must
reorder our thought processesand see the same things in new ways. The idea
that the Messiahwould suffer and serve and live in poverty and humility –
that was unthinkable for Jewishpeople prior to the Christ’s incarnation. They
would never have imagined that the Messiahwould be born in obscurity and
die a criminal’s death. This was out of their box. Jesus was aninnovator, a
change-agent. So is every effective leader.
Change on a Cosmic Scale
In one way or another, all of us have an aversionto change, especiallywhen
things appear to be going reasonablywell. But we serve a God who makes all
things new (Revelation21:5). God is not interestedin preserving the status
quo; he is committed to nothing less than an entirely new order or creation.
The incarnation of God the Sonbrought about a radicalchange that
disrupted the status quo for all eternity. The Gospelof John begins:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was with Godin the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has
been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines
in the darkness, but the darkness has not understoodit.
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a
witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might
believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world
did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him. Yet to all who receivedhim, to those who believed in his name, he
gave the right to become children of God – children born not of human
decisionor a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seenhis
glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace
and truth.
John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I
said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassedme because he was before me.’”
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
For the law was given through Moses;grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. No one has ever seenGod, but God the One and Only, who is at the
Father’s side, has made him known.
John 1:1-18
John deliberately opened his Gospelwith an allusion to the opening words of
the creationaccountin Genesis 1. Actually, John goes back before Genesis 1,
which talks about the beginning of creation. Even before creation, the Word
existed. At the time of the beginning, the Word already was. Through the
mystery of the incarnation, the Word who createdthe world entered into his
own creationand became one of us. He who foreverexisted as spirit has now
and for all eternity become the God-man. There is a man in heaven – Christ is
now in his glorified resurrectionbody – and because ofthis, he has made it
possible for us to enter into the intimacy of fellowship with Godhimself.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see
my glory, the glory you have given me because youloved me before the
creationof the world” (John 17:24).
Significantly, the world he createdis complex and elegant – filled with clues
about the characterand nature of its creator. The more we learn about this
createdorder, the more sophisticatedits designerappears. The magnificent
design of the solarsystem and all the many galaxies we are now able to
observe make it clearjust how creative the creatormust be. But we need not
limit our observations to a telescope.By looking through a microscope, the
same variety and imagination canbe seen. From the very large to the very
small, God’s intricate design reveals him to be a creatorof amazing
innovation and diversity.

It should not be surprising, then, that the One who infused creationwith
change and innovation should himself be innovative in his dealings with
human beings. The flood, the call of Abraham, the Mosaic covenant, the new
covenant, the incarnation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the day of
Pentecost, the secondadvent, the new heavens and new earth – all of these
illustrate the dramatic and unprecedented innovations that have been
wrought by God.
The Apostle Paul picks up this theme when writes:
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all,
and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no
longerlive for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised
again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we
once regardedChrist in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation;the old has gone, the new has come!All this is
from God, who reconciledus to himself through Christ and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in
Christ, not counting men’s sins againstthem. And he has committed to us the
messageofreconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,as though
God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf:
Be reconciledto God. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness ofGod.
2 Corinthians 5:14-21, emphasis added
Here is the most inventive mind of all, taking on human flesh and limitations.
He does this so that you and I canenjoy intimacy with him. As we grow in him
we are being made truly human. Through his transforming power, we become
the people God intended us to be. James S. Steward, noted Scottishpreacher
and friend of the famous William Barclay, tells us there once was in the city of
Florence a massive, shapelessblock of marble that seemedfitted to be the raw
material of some colossalstatue. One sculptor after another tried his hand at
it, without success.Theycut and carvedand hewedand chipped at it, until it
seemedhopelesslydisfigured.

Then someone suggestedthey give Michelangelo a shot at it. He began by
having a house built right over the block of marble, and for long months he
was shut up there with it, nobody knowing what he was doing. Then one day
he flung open the door and told them to come in. They did, and there before
their eyes – instead of a shapeless,meaninglessblock – was the magnificent
statue of David, one of the glories of the world. So it is that Christ takes
defeatedand disfigured lives and refashions them, changing them into the
very image of God.3
No other religion has a conceptsuch as this. In every other religious system,
men and womenare left to save themselves. To paraphrase Larry Hall, we are
left to lift ourselves off the ground by our own shirt collar.4 Only the Bible
shows us a true assessmentof the human condition. Only here do we see our
greatdignity and our great depravity. Becausewe see ourselveshonestlyand
accurately, we understand that God had to reachdown in order to lift us up.
Luder Whitlock, former president of ReformedTheologicalSeminary, writes:
The gospeloffers an escape from the deadening influence of sin that chokes
the joy from life and dashes it to the ground, producing an ugly, broken mess.
God converts the believerinto a new person in Christ. As the Lord remakes
that personin his image, he gives the believer a new ability to reshape life and
the world into a thing of beauty reflective of God’s own nature. The
innovative, aesthetic dimensions of life find redemptive stimulation, and the
corrosive, destructive tendency of sinful influence gradually diminishes as
spiritual maturity increases. As the Bible states, ‘He has made everything
beautiful in its time’ (Eccles. 3:11). This is true of God’s transforming
influence on Christians. God’s perfection is linked to his beauty, so as sin and
its influence diminish, his beauty is manifested, though imperfectly, in us.
God’s creativity resulted in the making of not only new things but beautiful
things. In similar fashion, as we become more like God, we become not only
innovative or creative, but we develop a love for beauty and a desire to
multiply it.5
The biblical doctrine of grace elevateswithout inflating; it humbles without
degrading. We can repair and renovate, we can make things like new, but
only God can make things new.

The NecessityofChange
Change and innovation are integral components of both biologicaland
spiritual growth. The Scriptures focus more on process thanon product,
because allbelievers are in a process (whetherwe resistit or not) of becoming
the people God meant us to be. Without change, growthis impossible. Abram
learned the truth that it is impossible to staywhere you are and go with God
at the same time:
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and our
father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a greatnation and I will bless you; I will make your
name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and
whoevercurses you I will curse;and all peoples on earth will be blessed
through you.”
Abram was wellestablishedin Ur of the Chaldeans when God calledhim to
leave his homeland. After he had settled for some time in Haran, his father
Terahdied, and the Lord once againinstructed Abram to uproot himself, this
time at the age of 75. Since the flood, God had been working with the nations
in general, but now he was selecting a man whose descendants would
constitute a new people who would be setapart for him. The Abrahamic
covenantbecame the vehicle through which God would bless “all peoples on
earth,” since the Messiahwouldcome from the seedof Abram.
Abram experiencedimmense change through his encounters with God. This is
no mere shifting of external elements in his life, not simply an adjustment of
activity or schedule. God askedfor a complete overhaul of Abram’s career,
dreams, destiny. God even changedhis name from Abram to Abraham to
signify the depth of this change. But there is a huge gap betweenwhen the
promise comes and when it is fulfilled. Weeks turn into months turn into
years turn into decades – and still Abraham and Sarahhave no child.
How could Abram respond? Very simply, “Abraham believed the Lord…”
(Genesis 15:6). Abraham trusted God in spite of the evidence to the contrary.
He continued to walk in obedience and faith. Then, when it seemedcompletely

impossible and Abraham acknowledgedhis inability to provide an heir for
himself, God provided.
When God calls a person, it requires trust and obedience to follow him. It is
not simply a call to a new way of life; it is a call to a new kind of life. This level
of uprooting and total change cangenerate greatstress.It is threatening,
scaryand difficult. Change of this magnitude must be deeply rooted in a solid
core of values.
When leaders contemplate change, their first considerationmust be the
anchors that provide stability in a changing environment. Abraham believed
in the Lord, and that security allowedhim to pursue revolutionary change.
Similarly, the Christian life is an ongoing process ofchange and internal
revolution, grounded in the belief that this process is reforming us to become
more Christlike.
This process shouldnot be thought of as “pain free.” God invites us to do
something counter-intuitive: go through the pain and not around it. God often
uses the painful experiences oflife to shape us and aid the transformation
process. JimMcGuigganwrites:
When we saysuffering and death canbe redemptive, we’re not saying they’re
not hateful or excruciating;we’re not saying the sufferers aren’t in agony. No!
We’re speaking our faith that God will not allow us to face anything without
the privilege of his working it for good – if we will but say yes to his offer. He
will not allow suffering to be meaningless but will, with our permission, force
it to be the soil out of which things like compassion, sympathy, courage, and
service grow.6
To take the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and weave them into a
beautiful tapestry, this takes imagination, creativity, innovation of the highest
level. This is our Creator-Godwho promises to redeem our pain and refine us
in the process.
Imagine the opportunity that is available to us – to spend all of eternity in
unbroken fellowshipwith this level of innovation! Heaven will not be static.
Nothing can remain the same in his presence. Godis always full of wonderful

surprises. The variety we observe on earth and in the cosmos is a mere
shadow of what things will be like in heaven. Whatever adventures this life
allows us, whatever joys and excitements we feelhere will pale in comparison
to heaven.
So God invites us to go through his refining process and promises us that he
will be on the other end of it. He will receive us and welcome us to a place
beyond our wildest imagination. The Apostle Paul knew this welland wrote,
“I considerthat our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the
glory that will be revealedin us” (Romans 8:18).
Managing Change
Change is part of God’s plan for us, but it’s hard. Change is tough enough
when we’re the only ones involved. But the role of a leaderis to bring about
change in others and/or in an organization. Now that’s really tough! God
modeled some powerful principles of organizationalchange when he urged
the exclusivelyJewishchurch in Jerusalemto embrace Gentiles. Acts 10 tells
the story:
About noon the following day as [Cornelius’servants] were on their journey
and approaching the city, Peterwent up on the roof to pray. He became
hungry and wantedsomething to eat, and while the meal was being prepared,
he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet
being let down to earth by its four corners. It containedall kinds of four-
footedanimals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a
voice told him, “Getup, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peterreplied. “I have never eatenanything impure or
unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a secondtime, “Do not call anything impure that God
has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheetwas takenback to
heaven.

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by
Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at his gate. They
calledout, asking if Simon who was knownas Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon,
three men are looking for you. So getup and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to
go with them, for I have sentthem.”
Peterwent down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why
have you come?”
The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a
righteous and God-fearing man, who is respectedby all the Jewishpeople. A
holy angeltold him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what
you have to say.” Then Peterinvited the men into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter startedout with them, and some of the brothers from
Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was
expecting them and had calledtogetherhis relatives and close friends. As
Peterentered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feetin reverence.
But Petermade him getup. “Standup,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He
said to them: “You are well aware that it is againstour law for a Jew to
associate witha Gentile or visit him. But God has shownme that I should not
call any man impure or unclean…. I now realize how true it is that God does
not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do
what is right.”
Acts 10:9-28, 34-35
Change is inherent in leadership. The enormous reversaldescribedin this
passageshows how Godled Peterfrom being an opponent of change to
becoming its champion. Notice sevenprinciples from the passage:
1. God startedwhere Peterwas. He addressedPeter’s values and convictions
(vv. 9-16). The wise innovator takes time to understand the people who must

adapt to the change and demonstrates that it will not violate their values and
convictions (v. 15).
2. God allowedPeterto challenge the idea (vv. 14-15). If people’s objections
aren’t dealt with in a forthright and honest manner, the leadercan begin to
perceive their concerns as antagonism.
3. God gave Petertime to work through his resistance(vv. 16-17). Adaptation
to change takes time, and the wise leaderallows people the needed time to
work through their reservations.
4. God permitted Peterto observe change in a limited situation before
suggesting wholesalechange. He allowedPeterto “try on” the change under
controlled circumstances.Effective leaders allow their people to experiment
with the process ofchange in order for them to begin to anticipate its effects.
5. The change proposalwas well prepared (vv. 1-7, 19-23, 30-33). God
anticipated Peter’s questions and had evidence ready to support his answers.
When introducing change, wise leaders will be prepared to answerquestions
that might arise.
6. God didn’t ask Peterto “change”;he invited him to participate in
improving what Peterloved. Peterquickly saw the advantage of the new over
the old (v. 34). Early in the process, Goddemonstratedthe benefits that the
“new” would produce (vv. 44-46). Abandoning the comfort of the status quo
can be threatening, and understanding leaders will help their followers to
recognize the improvements the change will bring about.
7. God convinceda key leaderand allowedthat leaderhimself to champion
the change (Acts 11:1-18). Individuals are easierto work with than a group.
Some changes needthe support of a few keyleaders who will then help others
to reconcile themselves to the new circumstances.
Changing and Staying the Same – At the Same Time?
Change is important. But it’s also important to cling to core values. Peter
experiencedthat tension, and God helped him facilitate change while not
abandoning his core values. James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras help us to

understand the importance of both change and core values to a leader. In
their excellentbook Built to Last, they note that once a visionary company
identifies its core ideology, it preserves it almostreligiously – changing it
seldom, if ever. They conclude:
[C]ore values in a visionary company form a rock-solidfoundation and do not
drift with the trends and fashions of the day. In some cases, the core values
have remained intact for well over one hundred years…. Yet, while keeping
their core ideologies tightly fixed, visionary companies display a powerful
desire for progress that enables them to change and adapt without
compromising their cherishedcore ideals.7
Collins and Porras effectively make the point that capable leaders, who
recognize their core values, can change practices and procedures to enable
their organizationto move forward.
Acts 16 is a record of Paul’s missionarytravels. He was not one to be
haphazard in his planning, but he remained open to the leadershipof his
Lord:
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the regionof Phrygia and
Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the
province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter
Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldnot allow them to. So they passedby
Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of
Macedonia standing and begging him. “Come over to Macedonia and help
us.” After Paulhad seenthe vision, we got ready at once to leave for
Macedonia, concluding that God had calledus to preachthe gospelto them.
Acts 16:6-10
Paul had his itinerary and his maps. “Bithynia or Bust” was written on the
side of his donkey. But God changedthis to “Macedonia orBust!” Change –
new direction. But Paul’s core value was not Bithynia. It was fulfilling God’s
desire to expand his kingdom. Becausehe didn’t confuse his desire (to go to
Bithynia) with his core value (to follow God’s call), Paul enthusiastically
“sailedstraight for Samothrace” (v. 11). Like Paul, all godly leaders need the

ability to hold to core values while making those changes necessaryto advance
their cause.
Leonard Sweetis the dean of the TheologicalSchoolandvice president at
Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He has written extensively to
church leaders about the need to distinguish betweencontent and containers.
In his book AquaChurch, he writes,
Wateris a liquid that fills the shape of any receptacle. As long as we trust the
waterand don’t tamper with the recipe – don’t dilute it, thicken it, or
separate its ingredients – the content canremain the same while containers
change…. I am a virtual fundamentalist about content. I am a virtual
libertarian about containers. Only in Jesus the Christ did the container and
content become one. Jesus’comments about new wine in old wineskins
reminds us that we cannotmake an idolatry of any form or container. We
must not elevate an ecclesialform to the level of authority or primacy that
belongs only to the content…. The mystery of the gospelis this: It is always
the same (content), and it is always changing (containers). In fact, for the
gospelto remain the same, it has to change…. In fact, one of the ways you
know the old, old truths are true is their ability to assume amazing and
unfamiliar shapes while remaining themselves and without compromising
their integrity.8
One of the greathymns of the church says, “Godis the Fountain whence ten
thousand blessings flow.” Godis a fountain. St. Gregoryof Nyssa usedthis
imagery when he wrote:
If anyone happened to be near the fountain which Scripture says rose from
the earth at the beginning of creation…he would approach it marveling at the
endless streamof watergushing forth and bubbling out. Never could he say
that he had seenall the water…. In the same way, the personlooking at the
divine, invisible beauty will always discoverit anew since he will see it as
something newerand more wondrous in comparisonto what he had already
comprehended.9
A fountain is still, yet it moves, constantand ever-changing, quiet and savage.
It welcomes andwarns. It goes up and down, in and out all at the same time.

It’s water, but not the way most of us normally think of water. Innovative and
faithful simultaneously, just like God, just like godly leaders.
1 Robert Mankoff, The New Yorker 9/9/2002.
2 A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New York: Harper and Row,
1961), p. 52.
3 James S. Steward, The Gates ofNew Life (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1937),
pp. 245-246.
4 Larry Hall, No Longer I (Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 1998), p. 127.
5 Luder G. Whitlock, Jr., The Spiritual Quest(Grand Rapids: BakerBooks,
2000), pp. 148-149.
6 Jim McGuiggan, The Godof the Towel(WestMonroe, LA: Howard
Publishing, 1997), p. 178.
7 James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last (New York: Harper
Collins, 1994), pp. 8-9.
8 Leonard Sweet, AquaChurch (Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 1999), pp.
28-30.
9 St. Gregoryof Nyssa, Commentary on the Song of Songs (Brookline, MA:
Hellenic College Press, 1987), p. 201.
Kenneth Boa
Traditioned innovation: A biblical way of thinking

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By being both innovative and faithful to tradition, we follow the pattern of the
creating and redeeming God of Scripture, writes C. Kavin Rowe.
Monday, March16, 2009
Churches, schools, businesses,families -- all areas of human life -- face the
question of how to live toward the future in light of the past. Leaders will live
out their answerto this question by the way they conceive ofthe world.
Inevitably some will say “everything must change” and others, that “things
ought to be done as they always have been.” But neither is a real or even
desirable option, for the world in which these pronouncements make sense
does not exist.
Consideredtheologically, the future and the past belong together, tradition
and innovation hand in hand. Traditioned innovation is a way of thinking and
living that points towardthe future in light of the past, a habit of being that
requires both a deep fidelity to the tradition that has borne us to the present
and a radicalopenness to the innovations that will carry us forward.
Traditioned innovation names an inner-biblical way of thinking theologically
about the texture of human life in the context of God’s gracious and
redemptive self-disclosure.
The Bible is a vast, sprawling book replete with countless winding trails.
Navigating its story is best done with a compass whose points are creation,
fall, election, redemption and consummation -- the theologicalframework in
which traditioned innovation gets its meaning.

Creation:Creation is the original innovation. God begins the world’s life out
of nothing. Creationis thus the moment of givenness, that which provides the
“tradition” upon which all human innovation is founded and dependent -- the
giving of life by God. We cannotmake ourselves. In the face of modern claims
to self-autonomy, self-made people, radical freedom from limits and the like,
the book of Genesis lays bare the fact that we are always preceded. All human
endeavors enter the world in a context of a fundamentally prior reality. In this
sense, failure to attend to the traditions that come before us and shape us is a
failure to acknowledge the depth of our dependency as createdbeings.
The flight from givenness inevitably involves wreckage because itwipes away
an essentialfeature of what it means to be human. The attempt at “pure
innovation,” the doing awaywith all tradition, is ultimately an inhuman and
impossible endeavor, one that shapes its practitioners and victims alike into
something far less than human beings were createdto be. Pure innovation
simultaneously negates the givenness that underwrites human existence as
such -- the factthat we are here at all, rather than not -- and the ethical
demand of this givenness:the need to recognize our historically and
materially deep ties to all createdlife. From first to last, human beings are
tradition-dependent.
Fall: The narrative in Genesis of the fall powerfully illustrates that the
givenness of creationis no longer simply good. It has become fractured by our
refusal to acknowledge ourultimate dependency on the world God made and
our attempt to become self-made creatures -- as the Bible puts it, “to know as
God knows.” Recognizing the destruction that occurs when we deny our
embeddedness in createdlife should cause us to be wary of attempts to
dispense with everything in the past (regardless ofthe particular shape or
kind of institution). “Everything” cannot change. We cannot rid ourselves of
the world.
And yet, the fall also points directly to the necessityof innovation. Tradition is
no longer sufficiently sustaining in itself. We cannot simply declare, in
imitation of God’s view of original creation, “this is good.” And, therefore, we
cannot fully rest. We must toil and move on. The characterof fallen creation
forces us to improvise, to try to move again within the goodnessofGod’s

originating purpose. Innovation thus becomes a necessarywayof life in a
world of sin and shortcoming, of brokenness and the need for new life. Adam
and Eve must make their way outside the garden.
Election:The electionof Abraham illustrates paradigmatically how God
responds to the way we have marred the goodnessofthe gift. Instead of
destroying his creation, we can see God’s overarching response in the Old
Testamentin the calling of a people whose vocationis at once to embody the
enduring goodness ofthe gift and to testify to the universal need for
redemption. God does not, that is, simply scrapthe world and make it all over
again. Rather, God innovates. He responds to the brokenness ofthe world
with a creative, new act -- indeed, one that could not, at leaston the face of it,
have been anticipated from the primeval history in Genesis.
This divine pattern of innovation on the basis of tradition is repeated
throughout the Old Testament, perhaps most apparently in the giving of the
Torah(Law). The Torah is the defining feature of Israel’s life. Israelwould be
indistinguishable from the nations without it. But this does not mean that the
Law was seenas a static deposit of rules -- a kind of inflexible, unworkable
and ultimately unlivable way of life. To the contrary, the mere existence ofthe
book of Deuteronomy -- the name literally means the “secondlaw” -- presses
the point that to know the Law rightly is to graspits fecundity for new
situations. The Torahis living tradition. As even the author of Lamentations
might have put it, the Law is not only tradition from of old. It is also new
every morning.
Redemption: To think about redemption in the biblical sense is to see that this
divine pattern of “newness without completelythrowing awaythe old”
culminates in Jesus Christ. According to the New Testament, Godrecreates
the world in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Those who
live in the pattern of life made possible by this death and resurrection
participate most fully in the newness ofthe world. Whoeveris in Christ, says
Paul, is a new creation(2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ, that is, the innovation
of God is at its peak. In Christ, he remakes the foundations of human life in
the very midst of the ongoing, long-running and everyday traditions of the
world.

Yet the discontinuity -- the creationof a new world -- includes, rather than
excludes, a continuity with what preceded Jesus. The Law and the Prophets
testify to the coming of the Christ, even as that coming itself provides a new
foundation on which the life promised by the Law and Prophets ultimately
depends. Christ is not the “end (telos) of the Law” (Romans 10:4) in the sense
of terminating it or displacing its reality, but is insteadthe deepestpurpose or
goal(telos)of the Law, that towardwhich it points or strives. In short, new
creationdoes not abrogate the old but takes it up inside the new and in so
doing remakes it. Tradition literally is made new on the basis of God’s
innovation.
Focusing on redemption thus disclosesa productive tensionthat marks all life
until the end. To remain in what is alreadyknown of the tradition is to refuse
the priority of new creation;and yet, that which is new includes the old.
Radicalinnovation? Yes. Radicalcontinuity with tradition? Yes.
Consummation: Consummation points to the hope that creationand
redemption will finally coincide, that the world’s traditions will, as it were,
catchup with the reality of a cosmos remade -- that God’s founding
innovation and tradition will be one with his most radical innovation in Jesus
Christ.
Thinking about traditioned innovation in light of the hope of consummation
shows that tradition and innovation are not finally two different ways of being
in the world. They are insteada helpful way to speak about the fundamental
manner in which the Triune God graciouslyrelates to the world he made and
to which, in the face of its profound brokenness, he remains everlastingly
committed -- anew. We cannot think, therefore, that tradition and innovation
are opposites. In the Bible, tradition and innovation are realities of our
common human life, inseparable aspects ofparticipating in the world God
made and is redeeming. Tradition and innovation go togetherin the divine
purpose that leads toward the final restorationof God’s goodcreation.
To the extent that we both remain faithful to tradition and innovate -- even
radically -- we will follow the pattern of the creating and redeeming Godof
Scripture, and will, therefore, flourish. This is not to saythat the flourishing

of human life will be apparent immediately to us in the present. After all,
flourishing in the biblical sense is frequently counterintuitive. Israel wandered
for 40 years in the desert, Moses nevermade it to the promised land and Jesus
was killed -- to take only a few striking examples. But it is to say that the
underlying and ultimate purpose to which our lives will be oriented will be in
harmony with the work of the God of the Bible.
https://faithandleadership.com/traditioned-innovation-biblical-way-thinking
Matthew 9:16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth
on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from
the garment, and a worse tear will result.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The New And The Old
Matthew 9:16, 17
W.F. Adeney
This pair of homely parables illustrates the incompatibility of the old with the
new from two points of view - first from that of the old, which is spoilt in the
effort to patch it with the new; secondfrom that of the new, which is lost
through the attempt to confine it in the limitations of the old.

I. THE OLD IS SPOILT WHEN IT IS PATCHED WITH THE NEW. The
shrinking of the patch of undressedcloth tears the old garment, and so makes
the rent worse than it was before. There was a strictly JewishChristianity in
the early Church, really harder and narrowerthan old Judaism. It was not
truly Christian, yet the grand old Jewishideas were spoilt. At Alexandria,
Greek thought degeneratedin its associationwith biblical ideas. It would not
acceptthose ideas in their fulness, and yet it tried to patch its old fabric with
them. The consequencewas its dissolution. When Protestantismis not a
complete severance from Romanism, but a mixture with it, the result is that
the advantages ofboth the authority of the old and the freedom of the new
system are lost. All this is melancholy if we are attachedto the old. But there
is another way of looking at it. The new is revolutionary. When the old is worn
threadbare, it is best to castit aside. Although we cling to it affectionately, it
may be well that it should be violently torn from our backs. The gospelwill
not be a mere patch laid on an ugly defectin our worldly character. It will
tear that characterto shreds. It is a mistake to hope to patch it. The Christian
method is to castit off entirely and put on a completely new garment - the new
character, the new life in Christ.
II. THE NEW IS LOST WHEN IT IS CONFINEDBY THE OLD. The new
wine ferments and must expand. But the old wine-skins are hard and dry and
inelastic, and they are not strong enough to restrain the powerful ferment.
The result is a twofold disaster - they are burst, which may not be a very great
evil if they are worn out; and the wine is spilt, which is a serious loss. The old
is always trying to cramp and restrain the new. Judaism endeavouredto
confine Christianity within its own hard limitations. People are constantly
trying to force new ideas into old expressions. In practicalChristianity the
attempt is made to confine the ferment of new enthusiasm within the walls of
ancient order. Thus the Churches fetter the new fresh life of Christian
experience. Perhaps they have some excuse for themselves. There is a
rashness, a rawness, anunsettled ferment, about the new enthusiasm.
Nevertheless,if this is real and living, they who resistit do so at their peril.
They run a greatrisk of being themselves shatteredin the process. The factis
new ideas absolutely refuse to be limited by old formulae. New spiritual forces
cannot be bottled up in antiquated customs. In personallife the new grace of

Christ cannotbe confined to the old ways of living. If those old ways are
obstinate and still claim to rule the man, there will be a dreadful conflict. The
only wise thing is to make a fresh start. Many a hopeful movement has been
wastedby the attempt to limit it to the ideas and practices ofthe past. if men
had more faith in God they would learn that he belongs to the present as well
as to the past, and that therefore the present has equally sacredrights and
promises. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
A piece of new cloth unto an old garment.
Matthew 9:16
Christ the greatInnovator
A. B. Bruce, D. D.

The boldness with which Christ assertedthe novelty of Christianity. His was
not the apologetic, half-heartedtone, so common amongstthose who have
some thing fresh to tell the world.
I. IN WHAT RESPECTWAS THE GOSPELOF JESUS NEW?
1. In its idea of God. Jesus was the first to teacheffectivelythe Fatherhoodof
God. The legalidea of God fell into desuetude. The old Jewishview of God
was as an exactor;the new God of Jesus was a giver.
2. Along with the new idea of Godcame naturally a new conceptionof the
kingdom of God; rather than law, it was viewedas love.
3. These thoughts were accompaniedby a new way of life, the typical feature
of which was neglectoffasting, which meant a consciencefreedfrom legal
scrupulosity.
II. THE COURAGE OF JESUS WAS NOT LESS CONSPICUOUS THAN
HIS ORIGINALITY IN THOUGHT AND CONDUCT.
1. As He believed, so He spoke publicly, habitually.
2. He was equally unreserved in His action.
3. He was fearless in defence of His conduct when assailed.
4. The gloomy foreboding was not a mistaken one. The Bridegroomwas taken
from the sorrowing society. The duty arising out of these facts. To glorify
Christ as the Makerof the new world. How is this to be done?
I. By recognizing to the full extent the service rendered, by forming to
ourselves a broad, comprehensive idea of the vast change introduced into the
world by the action of our Saviour.
2. By becoming ourselves children of the new era, appreciating and using to
the fall the liberty of a Christian man.
(A. B. Bruce, D. D.)

Religious patchwork
U. R. Thomas.
It is wrong —
I. IN RITUAL.
II. IN THEOLOGY.
III. IS HUMAN CHARACTER.
1. Disfigurement — "agreethnot."
2. Injury "the rent is made worse."
(U. R. Thomas.)
The parable of the new piece of cloth
B. Keach.
By an old garment I understand is meant a man's own righteousness. It may
be so compared.
1. Becauseit is old as Adam.
2. Becauseit is worn out.
3. It was once a new, goodgarment.
4. It needs mending.But why is righteousness comparedto a garment?
1. Becauseit is to covernakedness.
2. Becauseit covers the shame of mankind.
3. Becauseofthe usefulness of it.
4. In respectof ornament.
5. Becauseit tends to keepa man warm in winter.

6. It preserves from thorns and briars.
(B. Keach.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(16) No man putteth a piece of new cloth.—There is a closerconnection
betweenthe three similitudes than at first sight appears. The wedding-feast
suggestedthe idea of the wedding-garment, and of the wine which belongedto
its joy. We may even go a step further, and believe that the very dress of those
who satat meat in Matthew’s house, coming as they did from the lowerand
less decently-habited classes, made the illustration all the more palpable and
vivid. How could those worn garments be made meet for wedding-guests?
Would it be enough to sew on a patch of new cloth where the old was wearing
into holes? Notso He answers here;not so He answers againwhen He
implicitly makes the king who gives the feastthe giver also of the garment
(Matthew 22:2);
New cloth—i.e., cloththat has not passedthrough the fuller’s hands—new
and undressed, in its freshestand strongeststate. Sucha patch sewnupon a
weak part of the old cloak would, on the first strain, tearthe cloth near it.
The rent is made worse.—Better,there comes a worse rent. St. Luke adds
another reason, “the piece put in agrees notwith the old.”
The meaning of the parable in its direct applicationlies very near the surface.
The “garment” is that which is outward, the life and conversationofthe man,
which show his character. The old garment is the common life of sinful men,
such as Matthew and his guests;the new garment is the life of holiness, the
religious life in its completeness;fasting, as one element of that life, is the
patch of new cloth which agrees notwith the old, and leads to a greaterevil, a

“worse rent” in the life than before. No one would so deal with the literal
garment. Yet this was what the Phariseesand the disciples of John were
wishing to do with the half-converted publicans. This, we may add, is what the
Church of Christ has too often done in her work as the converterof the
nations. Sacramentalordinances or monastic vows, or Puritan formulæ, or
Quakerconventionalities, have been engrafted on lives that were radically
barbarous, or heathen, or worldly, and the contrasthas been glaring, and the
“rent” made worse. The more excellentway, which our Lord pursued, and
which it is our wisdom to pursue, is to take the old garment, and to transform
it, as by a renewing power from within, thread by thread, till old things are
passedaway, and all things are become new.
BensonCommentary
Matthew 9:16-17. No man putteth a piece of new cloth, &c. — Our Lord,
having assignedone reasonwhy he did not enjoin his disciples to fast, namely,
because it was not a proper time for it, now proceeds to give another. They
were not ripe, or prepared for it, nor could have borne such severe
injunctions. As if he had said, Nor do I now think it fit to lay such rigorous
commands upon them, but rather to accommodate their trials to their
strength; even as when a man is repairing clothes, he will not sew a piece of
new cloth on an old garment, but rather chooseswhatis a little worn, for
otherwise it will be found that the new, which is put in, being strongerthan
the other, taketh from the garment, and the rent is increased. The original
words, ρακος αγναφον, properly signify, “cloththat has not passedthrough
the fuller’s hands, and which is consequentlymuch harsher than what has
been washedand worn; and therefore, yielding less than that, will tearaway
the edges to which it is sewed.”
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles — Namely, bottles made of
leather, then commonly used, as they are still in some countries. Else the
bottles break — Such bottles, chiefly made of goats’skins, whenold, were not
easilydistended, and consequently would burst by the fermentation of new

wine. But they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved — Thus
our Lord would suit the doctrine he inculcated on his disciples, and the duties
which he enjoined them, to their circumstances, andkindly proportion their
work to their strength, with a tender regardto their weakness, till, by degrees,
they should be fitted for more difficult and humbling services. “And from his
example,” says Dr. Doddridge, “and the whole genius of his gospel, letus learn
to make all proper allowances to those about us, that we may teachthem, and
train them up as they are able to bearit; not crushing them under any
unnecessaryload, nor denying them any indulgence which true friendship will
permit us to grant them; lestthe goodways of God should be misrepresented,
disgraced, and abandoned, through our imprudent, though well-meaning
severity: a caution to be peculiarly observedin our conduct toward young
persons.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
9:14-17 John was at this time in prison; his circumstances, his character, and
the nature of the messagehe was sent to deliver, led those who were peculiarly
attachedto him, to keepfrequent fasts. Christ referred them to John's
testimony of him, Joh 3:29. Though there is no doubt that Jesus and his
disciples lived in a spare and frugal manner, it would be improper for his
disciples to fast while they had the comfortof his presence. Whenhe is with
them, all is well. The presence ofthe sun makes day, and its absence produces
night. Our Lord further reminded them of common rules of prudence. It was
not usual to take a piece of rough woolencloth, which had never been
prepared, to join to an old garment, for it would not join well with the soft, old
garment, but would tear it further, and the rent would be made worse. Nor
would men put new wine into old leathern bottles, which were going to decay,
and would be liable to burst from the fermenting of the wine; but putting the
new wine into strong, new, skin bottles, both would be preserved. Great
caution and prudence are necessary, thatyoung converts may not receive
gloomy and forbidding ideas of the service of our Lord; but duties are to be
urged as they are able to bear them.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible

No man putteth a piece of new cloth ... - A secondillustration was drawn from
a well-knownfact, showing also that there was "a propriety or fitness of
things." None of you, says he, in mending an old garment, would take a piece
of entire new cloth.
There would be a waste in it. An old piece, or a piece like the garment, would
be better. The word here translated "new," in the original means "rude,
undressed, not fulled" by the cloth-dresser. In this state, if applied to an old
garment, and if wet, it would "contract" and draw off a part of the garment to
which it was attached, and thus make the rent worse than it was. So, says he,
my "new" doctrines do not match with the old rites of the Pharisees. There is
a fitness of things. Their doctrines require much fasting. In my systemit
would be incongruous;and if my new doctrines were to be attached to their
old ones, it would only make the matter worse.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
Mt 9:14-17. Discourse onFasting.
See on [1243]Lu5:33-39.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Matthew 9:17".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
No man putteth a piece of new cloth,.... These words are, by Luke 5:36 called a
"parable", as are those in the following verse; and both are commonly
interpreted of the unreasonablenessanddanger of putting young disciples
upon severe exercisesofreligion, as fasting, &c: and it is true, that young
converts are to be tenderly dealt with, as they are by Father, Son, and Spirit,
as the disciples were by Christ, and the first Christians were by the apostles:
and some things in these parables may seemto agree;as that these austerities
should be representedas "new", and as burdensome and troublesome, and
the disciples as weak, and easilystaggered:but then there are others that will
not bear; as that the disciples should be comparedto "old garments, and old
bottles";when they were "young" converts, and men "renewed" by the Spirit

and grace ofGod, and had on the beautiful robe of Christ's righteousness;
and that such severe exercises,under the notion of religion, should be signified
by "new wine", which generallydesigns something pleasantand agreeable:
nor were the disciples unable to bear such severities, who very probably had
been trained up in them, and been used to them before their conversion;and
could now as well have bore them as John's disciples, or the Pharisees,had
they been proper and necessary;but the true reasonwhy they were not
required of them, was not their weakness, ordanger of falling off, and
perishing, of which there were none; but because it was unsuitable to their
present situation, the bridegroom being with them. But our Lord, in this
parable of putting "a piece of new", or "undressedcloth", such as has never
passedthrough the fuller's hands, and so unfit to mend with,
unto an old garment, refers not only to the fastings of the Pharisees,but to
their other traditions of the elders, which they held; as such that respected
their eating, drinking, and conversing with other persons mentioned in the
context, and which observancesthey joined with their moral performances;
on accountof which, they lookedupon themselves as very righteous persons,
and all others as sinners: and to expose their folly, Christ delivers this
parable. Wherefore, by "the old garment", I apprehend, is meant their moral
and legalrighteousness,ortheir obedience to the moral and ceremoniallaws,
which was very imperfect, as well as impure, and might be rightly called
"filthy rags";or be comparedto an old worn out garment, filthy and
loathsome, torn, and full of holes, which cannotkeepa person warm, nor
screenhim from the weather, and so old that it cannot be mended. And by the
"piece of new cloth", or "garment", put unto it, or sewedupon it, are
intended the traditions of the elders, these men were so fond of, concerning
eating, and drinking, and fasting, and hundreds of other things, very idle and
trifling, and which were new and upstart notions. Now, by putting, or sewing
the new cloth to their old garment, is designed, their joining their observance
of these traditions to their other duties of religion, to make up a justifying
righteousness before God;but in vain, and to no purpose. Their old garment
of their own works, in obedience to the laws of God, moral and ceremonial,
was full bad enough of itself; but became abundantly worse, by joining this
new piece of men's owndevising to it;

for that which is put in to fill it up, takethfrom the garment, and the rent is
made worse:their new obedience to the traditions of men, making void the
law of God, instead of mending, marred their righteousness, andleft them in a
worse condition than it found them: and besides, as it is in Luke, "the piece
that was takenout of the new, agreethnot with the old"; there being no more
likeness betweenthe observance ofthe commandments of men, and obedience
to the laws of God, than there is betweena piece of new undressed cloth, that
has never been washedand worn, and an old worn out garment. Much such a
foolish part do those men under the Gospeldispensationact, who join the
righteousness ofChrist, or a part of it, with their own, in order to make up a
justifying righteousness before God; for Christ's righteousness is the only
justifying righteousness;it is whole and perfect, and needs nothing to be
added to it, nor can it be parted, any more than his seamlesscoatwas;nor a
piece takenout of it: nor is there any justification by works, eitherin whole or
in part; the old garment of man's righteousness must be thrown away, in
point of justification; it cannotbe mended in such a manner; and if any
attempts are made in this way, the rent becomes worse:such persons, instead
of being justified, are in a worse condition; for they not only setup, and exalt
their own righteousness, whichis criminal, but disparage the righteousness of
Christ as imperfect, by joining it to their's; and whilst they fancy themselves
in a goodstate, are in a most miserable one; harlots and publicans being
nearer the kingdom of heaventhan these, and enter into it before them; self-
righteous persons are more hardly, and with greaterdifficulty convinced,
than such sinners. Moreover, nothing is more disagreeable than such a patch
work;Christ's righteousness and a man's own bear no likeness to one
another; and such a patched garment must ill become the characterand
dignity of a saint, a child of God, an heir of heaven.
Geneva Study Bible
No man putteth a piece of {g} new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is
put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
(g) Raw, which was never processedby the fuller.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 9:16-17. No one puts a patch consisting of cloth that has not been
fulled upon an old robe, for that which is meant to fill up the rent (the patch
put on to mend the old garment) tears off from the (old rotten) cloak, whenit
gets damp or happens to be spread out, or stretched, or such like. That αὐτοῦ
does not refer to the piece of unfulled cloth (Euth. Zigabenus, Grotius, de
Wette, Bleek), but to the old garment, is suggestedby the idea involved in
πλήρωμα (id quo res impletur, Fritzsche, ad Rom. II. p. 469). Τί is not to be
supplied after αἴρει, but the idea is: makes a rent. Comp. Revelation22:19,
and especiallyWiner, p. 552 [E. T. 757]. The point of the comparisonlies in
the factthat such a proceeding is not only unsuitable, but a positive hindrance
to the end in view. “The old forms of piety amid which John and his disciples
still move are not suited to the new religious life emanating from me. To try to
embody the latter in the former, is to proceedin a manner as much calculated
to defeat its purpose as when one tries to patch an old garment with a piece of
unfulled cloth, which, instead of mending it, as it is intended to do, only makes
the rent greaterthan ever; or as when one seeksto fill old bottles with new
wine, and ends in losing wine and bottles together. The new life needs new
forms.” The Catholics, following Chrysostomand Theophylact, and by wayof
finding something in favour of fastings, have erroneouslyexplained the old
garment and old bottles as referring to the disciples, from whom, as “adhuc
infirmes et veteri adsuetis homini” (Jansen), it was, as yet, too much to expect
the severermode of life for which, on the contrary (Matthew 9:17), they would
have to be previously prepared by the operationof the Holy Spirit. This is
directly opposedto the meaning of Jesus’words, and not in accordance with
the development of the apostolic church (Colossians 2:20 ff.), by which fasting,
as legalpenance, was necessarilyincluded among the στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου,
howevermuch it may have been valued and observedas the spontaneous
outcome of an inward necessity(Acts 13:2 f., Matthew 14:23; 2 Corinthians
6:5; 2 Corinthians 11:27). Neandersuggests the utterly irrelevant view, that
“it is impossible to renovate from without the old nature of man” (the old
garment) through fasting and prayers (which correspondto the new patch).

Leathern bottles, for the most part of goats’skins (Hom. Il. iii. 247, Od. vi. 78,
ix. 196, v. 265)with the rough side inward, in which it was and still is the
practice (Niebuhr, I. p. 212)in the Eastto keepand carry about wine. Comp.
Jdt 10:6; Rosenmüller, Morgenl. on Joshua 9:5.
ἀπολοῦνται]Future, the consequence ofwhat has just been described by the
verbs in the present tense. On εἰ δὲ μήγε, even after negative clauses, see note
on 2 Corinthians 11:16.
REMARK.
According to Luke 5:33, it was not John’s disciples, but the Pharisees, who
put the question to Jesus aboutfasting. This difference is interpreted partly in
favour of Luke (Schleiermacher, Neander, Bleek), partly of Matthew (de
Wette, Holtzmann, Keim), while Strauss rejects both. For my part, I decide
for Matthew;first, because his simpler narrative bears no traces ofanother
hand (which, however, can scarcelybe said of that of Luke); and then,
because the whole answerof Jesus, so mild (indeed touching, Matthew 9:15) in
its character, indicates that those who put the question can hardly have been
the Pharisees, to whom He had just spokenin a very different tone. Mark 2:18
ff., again (which Ewald holds to be the more original), certainly does not
representthe pure version of the matter as regards the questioners, who,
according to his account, are the disciples of John and the Pharisees,—an
incongruity, however, which owes its origin to the question itself.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 9:16-17. The substitution of νησ. τεύουσιν for πενθεῖν, in the close of
Matthew 9:15, implicitly suggesteda principle which is now explicitly stated
in parabolic form: the greatlaw of congruity; practice must conform to mood;
the spirit must determine the form. These sayings, apparentlysimple, are
somewhatabstruse. Theymust have been over the head of the average

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