The Power of Innovation
By César Castellanos
The decisions we (César and Claudia Castellanos) have made in order to improve our lives and ministry have been accompanied by a principle that has allowed us to reach many important goals: the need to innovate in a radical and continuous manner. Every new vision implies change. A willingness to break with the traditional mould has always been part of our challenge.
Claudia was a very timid woman when I first met her. She did not enjoy public speaking. But during the September of 1989 she changed drastically. As a result I had to get accustomed to seeing her address the nation on Colombian television. God renewed her mind in order to use her as an agent of change in our country. Earlier in this book she commented on her rise to politics. However, I would like to share this event from my perspective.
One night we were watching a programme in which the government had provided airtime for each of the political parties to share their views. On the programme there was a woman who openly declared that she was involved in occultism. The logo for her political movement was a broom (a symbol for witchcraft). I was not prepared to see that, but I was far less to see my wife’s reaction who, in a nonconforming tone, said to me, “Look at where the witches are going! And what are we doing?” The words that followed surprised me even more: “If I need to get involved in politics in order to produce a change in this nation then I am willing to do it. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If the rest don’t act, I will, because as Christians we have the answers to the needs of our people!” I never imagined what would happen in the following days. God used that political programme to cause my wife to think in innovative ways. One of our first questions was, “What would the church think about the prospect of political involvement?” We found our answer after surveying 6000 people. To our surprise, 95% agreed that Christians should become catalysts for change in the country.
She began small, trying to get a seat in the city council of Bogota. Although we were sure that she would win, we failed to reach our objective; but my courageous wife did not lose hope. On the contrary, she used this experience to prepare herself to move forward. A short while later she was running for President. This is when she began addressing the nation via television and as I watched her I thought to myself, “From where did Claudia draw this political strength?” In spite of the fact that she ended up in fifth place among 12 candidates the presidential race gave her national attention, displaying the radical change that Christians represented in the country. Not too long after this my wife ran for a seat in congress. She was successful that time, thus becoming the first Christian woman, and the youngest one, in the Senate. Years later she was appointed by the President to serve as the Colombian ambassador to Brazil. Again she became the first Christian to serve in this post, and she performed strongly during her time there. Now she has raised the Christian banner as a senator in one of the most important political groups in the country.
If it hadn’t been for the divine transformation of my wife’s mind, causing her to be open to God’s innovative plan, it would have been virtually impossible for her to conquer one of the most important and prestigious positions in the nation, especially when she only had two years of political experience.
I understood that for God to change our way of thinking He exposes the dichotomy between what we are doing and what we observe in our surroundings. Then He gives us ideas. At times these ideas are so innovative that many will deem them as crazy. When these ideas are accepted with the understanding that they come from God, the person’s mind is renewed. This has been our experience ever since we began our ministry.
From the moment God created us, He endowed us with a spirit of conquest. In order to conquer in the spiritual realm we must constantly renew our minds. We know that the Swiss were pioneers in watch making. However, because they didn’t seize the opportunity to innovate while digital technology was still new, the Japanese became the leader in the watch making industry. We must understand that the trends that have been useful in the past may not be useful anymore. Renewing our mind keeps us constantly active just as the river that runs by the ravine keeps the water constantly fresh.
All of God’s promises have become a reality in us. Whether it is in our personal or ministerial life, we have always been willing to be transformed and renewed. Our minds have been open to give more than what we have been giving, and fear has been overcome by the assurance that God works out His purpose through us.
Some people are motivated to succeed in certain areas of their lives because they love themselves; they impose themselves on others and they feel the need to feed their pride. However, the haughty man is he who has left the narrow road and who walks through crooked paths. The true believer gives glory to God in whatever he does and whatever he achieves. According to the measure of faith that God imparted to each one, we have limitless capacity to design and dream through innovation in the ministry.
What has occurred with my wife in the political field has moved into other areas of ministry. When we understood the importance of innovation, we took a new step that not only eased our growth, but that has also provided an effective model for the entire world.
During our first six years of ministry we were pastors stuck on tradition. We held many erroneous beliefs. For example, we believed that a pastor was not supposed to support himself by working in the ministry. Instead he needed to work a secular job in order to bless the church. We confused humility with poverty. We believed that the pastor should come to the church in the oldest car and live in the most dilapidated house. We also believed that enrolling in a university, as was Claudia’s desire at the time, was against the idea of holiness. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit began to break down these moulds and to tear down the walls that impeded our growth. God gave us the capacity for creativity, which led to complete change. This began when we changed the name of our church.
We continued by changing the youth meetings. These meetings had become a headache because attendance would constantly fluctuate between 50 and 70 young people. We dismissed the choir, replaced it with modern music, and introduced a well-trained dance team. Not much later the results became evident: thousands upon thousands of young people began viewing the church as the place to go every weekend.
Ministry in general was transformed, as was the preparation and edification of every member of the church. We set up special family seminars outside of the church, we changed the women’s meeting, and we established ministry groups to which we delegated certain functions in order to facilitate growth.
The list of changes and achievements is almost endless because we decided to practice the power of innovation and break the moulds of the past. We must be creative. The world belongs to those who innovate. The Bible must become something practical for us because the Word of God is still applicable today. If we desire to be effective instruments in the hands of God, we should remember that he urges us to be creative to have a positive influence on others. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The only condition is that we stand up for the task, living in integrity and with a perfect heart, just as the Lord demands.
Everything we have achieved this far originated from a divine purpose which is related to the renewing of the mind – a mind that has determined to dream and to innovate.
Extract taken from Dream and You Will Win the World by Pastor César Castellanos.