Embracing Kingdom Hope for a Broken World
Posts tagged Innovation
Going Beyond Technology
Feb 26th
Perspectives: a series which considers the latest news, statistics, media, opportunities, etc from our unique perspectives.
Going Beyond Technology
I love technology. I love to read about it. I love to see the amazing things we can do with it. I love to play with it. Most importantly, I love to utilize it to enhance work and life. There is just something so intriguing about innovation. I am always so impressed by the amazing things that people can achieve when they use their God-given gifts.
I get especially excited about the latest innovations that are coming out in the green industry like backpacks with mini solar cells on them, shoes that capture energy, and miniature wind turbines for you house. These technologies often help us to make a positive impact to a degree that would not have been possible otherwise.
On Monday, Jon shared a good word about supporting a culture of innovation. As consumers we need to demand this innovation especially in industries that have lagged. However, we also need to be sure to implement the helpful technologies that already exist. Technology does us no good if it just sits in a lab.
That said, there is another side to this coin. Technology alone is not the answer. We cannot hope to simply innovate and buy our way to caring for God’s creation. I have seen so many people or organizations that buy a Prius or install solar panels on their roof and think that solves the problem, that they are done. As Christians we are called to transformation, a process that continually molds us in the image of our Savior. There are times when we simply must do the hard work of following Jesus in caring for creation.
Electric cars, energy efficient doodads, fancy irrigation systems, and sustainable wood are great. But there comes a point in our journey where we ought to seek more than eco-bling. A time where we ought to sacrifice some to care for God’s creation. A time where we ought to garden, compost, walk or ride bikes as transportation, or forego products because they are harmful to creation. For so many of us it is natural to try and buy things to solve our problems. Perhaps it is time that we also accept the challenge opportunity of change that comes at a cost. What do you think? Are you up for it?
“The problem is not technology, the problem is you. You lack the will to change.”
– Keanu Reeves, The Day the Earth Stood Still
Also consider:
Picture of Voltaic Systems Backpack
The Culture of Innovation
Feb 22nd
When I was a kid I saw a future filled with flying cars, fantastic medical devices and endless energy. I saw no reason why these things wouldn’t become a reality. Today, like most other days (sometimes I walk or ride a bike) I drove to work, in my truck, a truck with tires, gas engine, and brakes. Although my truck is a 2000 Nissan, the tires, gas engine and the breaks are not radically different than they were when I was born, or for that matter when my parents were born. Sure tires have progressed… a little, the gas engine is… more efficient, and breaks are made of a more exotic compound, but essentially there has been little change in our basic American transpiration, the car.
What happened to the Ferdinand Porsches, the Henry Fords, and the Sōichirō Hondas? During their careers they sought to solve significant engineering opportunities with innovative answers. They weren’t satisfied with incremental change, they pushed for significant differences. What they did was risk. Now their patronage is more concerned with protecting their brand than taking the necessary risks to truly move forward.
In order for us to embrace the changes necessary to curb the destruction and misuse of God’s creation we must bless and encourage others to risk, and to fail. We should encourage them in their failures, ask what they learned and support them as they try new things.
More impotently we should re-address what questions we are asking. The issues facing us are far different than they were 10 years ago. That means we shouldn’t be asking the same questions we were 10 years ago. Our questions shape our answers. Are the only questions we ask profit related?
As forward thinking as businesses appear to be, they are guided by the question “what will people buy?” If you haven’t noticed people are slow to change and slow to adapt. My hope and prayer is that innovation will no longer be bound by current business models, models that are focused on protecting the status quo by marketing slight modifications to last year’s model. Let’s let innovation blossom out of our imaginations, our creativity and the best our current technology has to offer.
