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A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation
Christian innovation is a topic that has emerged for congregations, community leaders, and aspiring faith-rooted entrepreneurs. But what does it really mean to innovate as a Christian? Why does it even matter?
In this book, learn a six-step approach to Christian innovation grounded in the life and ministry of Jesus, and African diasporic people's ingenious what the authors' communities call making a way out of no way. Journey with Stephen Lewis and Kimberly R. Daniel to encounter stories from diverse experiences, reflect theologically and explore ideas and practices for Christian innovation to create a more just world.
In this book, learn a six-step approach to Christian innovation grounded in the life and ministry of Jesus, and African diasporic people's ingenious what the authors' communities call making a way out of no way. Journey with Stephen Lewis and Kimberly R. Daniel to encounter stories from diverse experiences, reflect theologically and explore ideas and practices for Christian innovation to create a more just world.
116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 15, 2022
10 people are currently reading
972 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Lewis
2 books7 followersStephen Lewis is an organizational change strategist and facilitator, and a leadership development specialist, focused on helping leaders to discover their purpose, passion and calling in life.
He is the President of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE), a national leadership incubator that cultivates wise, faithful and courageous leaders who make a difference in the world through the church and academy. In 2017, he founded DO GOOD X, a start-up accelerator for diverse, faith-rooted entrepreneurs creating social good ventures. Stephen has earned degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Duke University.
You can learn more about him and his work at http://www.leadanotherway.com, http://www.fteleaders.org and http://www.dogoodx.org.
He is the President of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE), a national leadership incubator that cultivates wise, faithful and courageous leaders who make a difference in the world through the church and academy. In 2017, he founded DO GOOD X, a start-up accelerator for diverse, faith-rooted entrepreneurs creating social good ventures. Stephen has earned degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Duke University.
You can learn more about him and his work at http://www.leadanotherway.com, http://www.fteleaders.org and http://www.dogoodx.org.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 14, 2022
Of the hundreds of books I have read on Christian leadership, this book is in a league of its own. My ministry interns love this book for so many reasons: practical content, Black authorship (in a white-dominated genre), and great visuals that enhance readability. I want this to become a series!
March 19, 2024
I read this book for my Leadership in Innovation & Design course under Dr. Dean Blevins at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Here is the summary I wrote for class:
Lewis and Daniel in A Way Out of No Way: an Approach to Christian Innovation put forward a six-step plan for how one should go about doing what they consider to be true Christian innovation. They contend that the broad entrepreneurial network in the United States has worked—intentionally and unintentionally—to further “social and systemic inequity” by investing resources in places other than the areas of greatest need in our society (11). As they survey the scriptures, they see Jesus as exclusively looking out for the needs of the marginalized. They then apply this hermeneutic to the Christian’s role in the world today. We must mimic Jesus in that our innovation, or creative entrepreneurial endeavors, must always be directed at the needs of those who are “economically disenfranchised, socially vulnerable, minimally resourced, and chronically undervalued by white normative ways of being in the world” (10). They see Christian innovation as something that calls those of us who are not materially impoverished to “divest ourselves of our self-interest and concerns,” and instead of focusing on solutions to the needs and problems of middle-and upper-class people, we should be directing our energy toward those who are under-resourced (15).
They highlight that in the African and black American tradition, making “a way out of no way” is a how they think about innovation. In a society where many factors are set against people of color, there often seems to be no way forward—no support, no resources, no expertise, etc. However, people of color have made a way out of no way for generations. It is this spirit that they want to give particular attention to. The six steps that Lewis and Daniel lay out in the book under three overarching categories are: Inspiration – Understand the Problem (1. Get Curious, 2. Make Meaning), Ideation – Imagine Possibilities (3. Be Open, 4. Try This), and Implementation – Create Solutions (5. Prove It, 6. Do It).
Lewis and Daniel in A Way Out of No Way: an Approach to Christian Innovation put forward a six-step plan for how one should go about doing what they consider to be true Christian innovation. They contend that the broad entrepreneurial network in the United States has worked—intentionally and unintentionally—to further “social and systemic inequity” by investing resources in places other than the areas of greatest need in our society (11). As they survey the scriptures, they see Jesus as exclusively looking out for the needs of the marginalized. They then apply this hermeneutic to the Christian’s role in the world today. We must mimic Jesus in that our innovation, or creative entrepreneurial endeavors, must always be directed at the needs of those who are “economically disenfranchised, socially vulnerable, minimally resourced, and chronically undervalued by white normative ways of being in the world” (10). They see Christian innovation as something that calls those of us who are not materially impoverished to “divest ourselves of our self-interest and concerns,” and instead of focusing on solutions to the needs and problems of middle-and upper-class people, we should be directing our energy toward those who are under-resourced (15).
They highlight that in the African and black American tradition, making “a way out of no way” is a how they think about innovation. In a society where many factors are set against people of color, there often seems to be no way forward—no support, no resources, no expertise, etc. However, people of color have made a way out of no way for generations. It is this spirit that they want to give particular attention to. The six steps that Lewis and Daniel lay out in the book under three overarching categories are: Inspiration – Understand the Problem (1. Get Curious, 2. Make Meaning), Ideation – Imagine Possibilities (3. Be Open, 4. Try This), and Implementation – Create Solutions (5. Prove It, 6. Do It).
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews