Barnabas File

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”   Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:13-14, NIV)   As you can imagine, I receive newsletters—both hard copy and digital—from several churches on a regular basis.  This week I received one online that invited me to click on a link and view the church’s Five-Year Plan. So I did.   I was impressed by the Purpose Statement and Guiding Principles identified. These were Kingdom-oriented and life-giving.  The themes identified were clearly based on conversation and dialogue within the congregation.  But then I turned to the goals.   Let me be perfectly transparent here:  Goals written with a horizon of over a year are useless. Here’s why.   In the next year, we may face an economic recession.  We may be faced with another worldwide pandemic.  The war in

In our disruptive context, many see innovation as a priority for survival.  In The Innovative Executive, author Bella Rushi goes a step further and argues that innovation can also provide sustainable growth.   Writing from her broad experience with both life sciences and consumer products company, Rushi seeks to address these three items:   What do companies need from their leaders today? What can we do to uncover new possibilities to go to market and to create new processes and new customer experiences? What is the real challenge companies face when it comes to innovation?   The three levers she identifies to address these questions are:   Rethinking Your Business Model Innovation and Collaboration Making the Most of Your Technology Spend   She provides insights and illustrations in each area, but I was particularly taken by the Innovation and Collaboration section.  She shows understanding of the Design Thinking approach by recommending that companies combine “big data” and an anthro

Old Testament Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NIV   9  Two are better than one,     because they have a good return for their labor: 10  If either of them falls down,     one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls     and has no one to help them up. 11  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.     But how can one keep warm alone? 12  Though one may be overpowered,     two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.   New Testament Reading: 2 Corinthians 3:11, NIV   11  Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.     Sometimes we must unlearn old things so that we can learn new things.   One of the things I had to unlearn was that scripture was not just written for me but was created in community and directed toward communities.   In regard to the Hebrew Bible, I knew pretty early that most of the content was directe