Innovation

A few years ago I was watching a tv show that was discussing the education system in America with ones in other countries. One segment was showing how the Japanese system produced better results. But I was stuck by a Japanese professor who said that in spite of their success he still felt that the American system had something that the Japanese were missing. He pointed to the fact that Americans had won many Nobel Prizes in various academic fields whereas very few Japanese had ever won. He felt that somehow the American education system produced innovators whereas the Japanese system didn't.

This article takes it a bit further. The author points to a ratio of orderliness to messiness. Cultures that are extremely orderly don't seem to trigger the imagination. Meanwhile, messy cultures have glaring needs that inspire people to be innovative in finding solutions.

A quick glance at my desk (and believe me, it will only take a blink of an eye) will reveal that I am one who helps skew the ratio in favor of the messy side. I hope this means I will be innovative or at least inspire visitors to my office to be innovative.

My question now is what affect this has on the church. If a church is extremely well ordered will it have a difficult time being innovative? Is this another advantage of being on the verge of chaos?