INNOVATE – OR BECOME A DINOSAUR IN A MUSEUM

Companies that have lost this creative and pioneering edge in the time we are living in quickly can become dinosaurs in a museum.

Here’s an example of a company that was for a century the world’s most successful typewriter company – Smith & Corona. They believed they would always be on top of their game but could not see the future. They believed the world would always need their product, and since they made the best, their success and prosperity would always be assured.

Their old website even said, “On the eighth day God created Smith & Corona.” But they got stuck, and couldn’t reinvent themselves. Their greatest strength also became their greatest weakness. From 1991-92 they had a partnership with a small obscure company called Acer.

But Smith & Corona’s board could not see the future merits of this relationship and separated. Acer went on to become the world’s 4th largest PC company, and shortly thereafter Smith & Corona went bankrupt and became defunct.

After 100 years of identifying opportunities, they could no longer see the future. Their pride caused them to miss it, and they paid dearly for it. When was the last time you typed on a typewriter?

Change is in the air! There’s no way around it. Embrace it, or become obsolete and a museum dinosaur. Companies must innovate. The church must innovate. Ministries must innovate. And we as individuals must innovate.

We need the prophetic insight and anointing of the tribe of Issachar that had understanding of the times and knew what Israel should do. We must discern the times and the trends. We must see the next big thing on the horizon – the next “new big thing” God is about to do. He asked in Isaiah 43:19, “Don’t you perceive it?”

Apostles and apostolic people have this kind of prophetic discernment available to them, whether for the church or the marketplace. Wherever their sphere of Kingdom influence is, God desires to give them this kind of insight. We should seek it and expect it. And when he reveals it, expect apostolic grace to step into it by faith.

Apostle Axel Sippach
Excerpt from Apostolic Innovation
(My Chapter Contribution to the 5-Volume Anthology of Apostleship – Aligning with the Apostolic edited by Dr. Bruce Cook)