Today’s post is special because I am writing it in 3D! No, you do not have to put 3D glasses on to be able to read it, but you do need to visualize the subject of next generation ministry (NGM) from the vantage point of three different dimensions: globalization (the third world), technology (the third wave), and motivation (the third drive). Our world is vastly changing so try to keep up! I will first explain each dimension in 3.0 form. Then I will conclude by taking all three dimensions and integrating them into the subject at hand: next generation ministry.
Thomas Friedman who wrote The World is Flat: 3.0 writes, “Globalization 3.0 (which started around 2000) is shrinking the world from a size small to a size tiny and flattening the playing field at the same time” and that the dynamic force behind the globalization movement is “individuals and small groups” who have been empowered. Friedman says that Globalization 3.0 is going to be driven by “a much more diverse — non-Western, nonwhite – group of individuals.”
Steve Case, inventor of AOL, describes The Third Wave (what I call Technology 3.0) as being “where entrepreneurs will use technology to revolutionize major real world sectors – including healthcare, education, transportation, energy, and food – and in the process transform the way we live.” The internet will no longer be an “Internet of Things” such as apps, social media sites, search engines, etc., but will become an “Internet of Everything” that will disrupt every industry as “it is integrated into every part of our lives – how we learn, how we heal, how we manage our finances, how we get around, how we work, how we eat . . . everything from energy to insurance, from agriculture to manufacturing, is transforming.” We will do more than interact with the internet. The internet will interact with us.
The third wave isn’t coming. The third wave is here! For example, the Helo LX Wristband is a new disruptive technology that is the world’s most advanced lifestyle wearable. The Wor(l)d Helo blows away the competition such as Fitbit Blaze or Surge, Samsung Gear S2, Microsoft Band, Garmin Forerunner, and the Apple Watch as the Helo does so much more than just measure heart rate, step counter, calories, distance covered, and sleep quality. The Helo is iPhone/Android compatible and can also perform an ECG/EKG, monitor blood pressure and other vitals, and sensor for mood and fatigue. The Helo comes with germanium plates, Himalayan salt plates, a panic button, and an emergency SOS GPS location device. That’s not all. In the future, the Helo will have other health and fitness features such as the ability to take one’s blood oxygen, body temperature, blood sugar, and blood alcohol levels while also serving as a mosquito shield. In the third wave, you will no longer need to go to the doctor to get a checkup as the doctor will now be able to check up on you 24/7 wherever you are.
Daniel Pink explains the third drive or Motivation 3.0 in his book Drive as the upgrade we all need “in order to meet the new realities of how we organize, think about, and do what we do.” Pink describes the third drive “as a way of thinking and an approach to life built around intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, motivators” and “powered by our innate need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.” Pink uses the words autonomy, mastery, and purpose to describe the desired behavior that “concerns itself less with the external rewards an activity brings and more with the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself.” Pink says this type of behavior “leads to stronger performance, greater health, and higher overall well-being.”
So what do Globalization 3.0, Technology 3.0, and Motivation 3.0 have to do with next generation ministry? Everything! Next generation leaders must capitalize on the third world, the third wave, and the third drive by understanding the times and then venturing into the unknown realm themselves. More importantly though, next generation leaders must weave these three dimensions into accomplishing the Great Commission (Mat 28:19-20). Next generation leaders must be internally driven to reach an ever-flattening world and to make disciples using the latest technology. As international partnerships are made and “cities that were once marginalized become entrepreneurial powerhouses,” next generation leaders find themselves in a unique position to be the catalysts of some of the greatest mission mobilization the world has ever seen!
Take your talent to a desperate world (anywhere on the globe), do what God made you to do that you love doing (intrinsic motivation), and use any means you can (including technology) to help you make disciples of all nations (NGM)!