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How Christians can change the culture through innovation – and why it matters now more than ever.

Discover a groundbreaking vision for Christian innovation and a blueprint for how you can change culture in the new book from Dr. Len Wilson.

What is different - or should be different - about Christian innovation?

Greater Things offers both a thought-provoking exploration of the theological and philosophical history of innovation and a practical new vision for how Christians can be creators of change in the world – the kind of innovation our culture desperately needs.

Pulling from the stories of great Christian changemakers throughout history, Dr. Len Wilson proposes a six-step blueprint for Spirit-fueled innovation, helping you discover how you can be part of creating and cultivating authentic flourishing for all, now and for eternity.

For the leader looking for a new vision of faith and culture, who wants to understand how you can use your influence, resources and work for more, this book will help you understand how you can partner with what God is doing to bring hope to the world.

“The best book on Christian innovation I’ve ever read.” – Michael Adam Beck

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Len Wilson

Dr. Len Wilson is Executive Director of Invite Resources and Director of Innovation and Strategy at St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. Len is formerly the Senior Leadership Editor at Abingdon Press, the main imprint of the United Methodist Publishing House. A pioneer in the use of visual media and storytelling in church life, Len first practiced his calling as a 24-year old Media Minister, leading the creative arts ministry of Ginghamsburg Church, one of the great stories of late 20th century United Methodism in America. Dr. Len Wilson’s life mission is to use oral, written, and visual communication with equal effectiveness in telling the story of Jesus Christ.

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Greater Things Reviews

What people
are saying…

Sometimes a book comes along and it is clearly the book for this moment. Greater Things is just that book for Christian leaders today. Len Wilson, a trusted innovator, and an accomplished practitioner takes us on a journey to better understand where we are at and where the Spirit is leading.  If you have felt stuck in ministry or are looking for ways to use your creativity for God’s Kingdom, this is the book for you!

Rev. Jacob Armstrong
Rev. Jacob Armstrong
Pastor, Providence Church, Mt. Juliet, TN

Every now and then a book shoots across the sky like a bolt of lightning, cleansing the air, clarifying the subject matter, silhouetting the challenges, and lighting up the horizon for new vistas and ventures. Len Wilson’s Greater Things is that rare, out-of-the-blue bombshell of a book that will electrify anyone concerned about innovation, creativity, and imagination in the church.

Leonard Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Best-selling author of over 60 books, distinguished visiting professor at five colleges and universities, and found/president of SpiritVenture Ministries, PreathTheStory.com, and The Salish Sea Press.

Greater Things gets to the heart of innovation from a deep, holistic biblical perspective. This is really great, theological writing. Truly a much-needed reading for connecting to God's next!

Mike Slaughter
Mike Slaughter
Pastor Emeritus, Ginghamsburg Church, Founder and Chief Strategist, Passionate Churches, LLC

This is the best book on Christian innovation I've ever read. For too long the Western church has blindly embraced the ideology of progress as our core narrative. Through faithful and penetrating Scriptural engagement, Len replaces the common adoption of "creative destruction" with a proper theology of "new creation." This is not simply a book; it is a hitchhiker’s guide to the future for church teams desiring to explore Christian innovation.

Dr. Michael Adam Beck
Dr. Michael Adam Beck
Author, pastor, professor, and cultivator of movements, Director of the Fresh Expressions House of Studies at United Theological Seminary, Director of Re-missioning Fresh Expressions US, and Cultivator of Fresh Expressions for the Florida UMC

In Greater Things, Len shares so much wisdom on Christian innovation and what it truly means for Christians to be the work of the new creation. Len’s passion and creativity are so evident on every page, it’s motivating me to continue to think outside the box, take risks, and bring my ideas into community like never before. Let’s make 2022 and beyond a new era of Christian innovation and growth. Reading Greater Things is the perfect place to start.

Rev. Adam Weber
Rev. Adam Weber
Lead Pastor, Embrace Church, author, Love Has A Name

“Innovation” is a common term in today’s society. For some Christians, the notion of innovation can bring anxiety, especially when compared with an “old-time religion” that feels so comfortable. We need a guide with a love for the Church and experience in Spirit-led innovation. Fortunately, Dr. Len Wilson is this person. In Greater Things, this pastor, entrepreneur, creative, and innovator provides a map to guide the Church in adaptation and innovation, which are critical for the future. This map provides Christians with trail markers for designing a way forward. As a professor I can confidently state this book will become required reading in our degree program.

Dr. Rick Bartlett
Dr. Rick Bartlett
Program Director, Ministry Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Tabor College

There is a deep longing within us to experience the greater things which Jesus promised. Len Wilson goes beyond cut-and-paste marketing methods and inspirational nuggets to provide a solid, soul stirring foundation for Christian innovation. Greater Things will embolden you to begin a redemptive revolution of innovation to meet the spiritual and social needs of your community.

Blossom Matthews
Blossom Matthews
Pastor, Assistant Director of Congregational Vitality for the New Mexico Conference, United Methodist Church

In this groundbreaking new book, author, innovator, entrepreneur, and follower of Jesus Len Wilson takes the reader on a much-needed journey exploring Christian innovation in the church. If there has ever been a need for church leaders to think creatively and with imagination, that moment and the opportunity is now. Over the backdrop of the pandemic, its financial implications, and the current tensions in our culture, Len helps the reader see that innovation and tradition are not at odds, but that innovation actually builds on tradition. This trailblazing book explores the promise of Jesus that if we believe in Him, we will do even greater works than he did. I highly recommend this challenging and thought-provoking book!

Joel Mikell
Joel Mikell
Consultant, Author, and Senior Vice President, Horizons Stewardship

Greater Things is a thoughtful, riveting, educational, inspiring goldmine for innovational creativity. With stories from history, well-grounded and illuminating scriptural exegesis plus practical handholds for application, this new resource is loaded with everything to take your God possibilities to a whole new level. Highly recommended!

Rev. Sue Nilson Kibbey
Rev. Sue Nilson Kibbey
Director, Bishop Bruce Ough Innovation Center, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio

This book will give you life and inspiration for the future! Len provides not only the critical theory, but also the tangible and practical methodology for how to innovate in your context with your people. His cultural commentary is rooted in sound biblical exegesis, and his methods are anchored in Christian history and tradition. If you want to know how to be better, how to dream better, and how to innovate more faithfully to the calling of God upon your life, then this book is a must-read (and must-own, and must-share).

David McDonald
David McDonald
Founder: Fossores Chapter House, Pastor: Westwinds Church

Len Wilson's Greater Things offers a compelling vision and theology for Christ-centered innovation. In a sea of disruptive and evolutionary theories, Len offers a faithful perspective that embeds God's creative and redemptive character at the center of innovative work. This book is an excellent read for any Christian leader who desires to see God's kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven.

Andy Miller
Andy Miller
Ph.D., Vice President, Innovation & Partnerships, Indiana Wesleyan University

Len Wilson literally wrote the book on creativity.  Now he takes on an even weightier subject:  innovation.  Writing with clarity and purpose about the church’s clarity and purpose, Wilson ranges from Rauschenbush to Vos and from Willow Creek to Twitter.  Along the way he offers this trenchant observation that I can’t stop mulling over:  “Eventually, the influence of all innovations atrophy.”  Oh, I don’t want that to be true but I know it is.  Dig in to Len Wilson’s latest to feed your soul and stir your mind

Talbot Davis
Talbot Davis
Pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Charlotte, NC, and author of six books with Abingdon Press

What our culture desperately needs is not just innovation, but Christian innovation.

America is obsessed with progress; we love anything “new” and “improved.” At the same time, those in power – even those in the church – often preserve the status quo rather than leaning into what God is doing in the moment and becoming ambassadors of the new creation in this world.

But Jesus offers us a third way: a call to a kind of innovation that doesn’t overthrow or dismantle but reflects and carries out an eternal new reality that already exists: the Kingdom of God.

Greater Things is an exploration of the implications of Jesus’ promise that we can do greater things. By exploring these three questions, it defines and makes practical the path of Christian innovation:

 

How Christians can change the culture through innovation – and why it matters now more than ever.

How did we get here?

Through an examination of American history, theological history, enlightenment values, and Christian engagement with social causes, Greater Things explores how the church become intertwined with Western values of progress – and why it’s time for a different outlook.

How Christians can change the culture through innovation – and why it matters now more than ever.

What’s different about Christian innovation?

Are Christians simply called to invent new things or is there a deeper purpose to Christian innovation that is aligned with the work of restoration God is doing in the world? Discover how Christian innovation is different from the world’s innovation and how it can revolutionize culture.

How Christians can change the culture through innovation – and why it matters now more than ever.

What does Christian innovation look like?

Greater Things outlines six key characteristics of Christian innovation that will challenge you to create in new ways: ways that meet the needs of those on the margins, that challenge the limits of our faith and that are fueled by the Holy Spirit.

“When we let God’s Spirit fill our spirits, we become empowered as priests of God; our work becomes our ministry, no matter the calling; and we pursue lives that seek to integrate the spiritual and the material. Because of this, we don’t have to worry about such grand results such as ‘changing the world.’ Instead, we simply join the work God is already doing.” – Greater Things

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The future belongs to Christian innovation.

The time to tear down is done; now it is time to build. Learn how you can do greater things today.

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