What Comes Next?: Shaping the Future in an Ever-Changing World - A Guide for Christian Leaders

What Comes Next?: Shaping the Future in an Ever-Changing World - A Guide for Christian Leaders

What Comes Next?: Shaping the Future in an Ever-Changing World - A Guide for Christian Leaders

What Comes Next?: Shaping the Future in an Ever-Changing World - A Guide for Christian Leaders

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Overview

What if, instead of keeping up with change, you could get ahead of it?

Our mission as Christians was the same yesterday as it is today and will be tomorrow. The world, however, is changing faster than ever before, and keeping up feels impossible. The realities of human life—from how we develop relationships to how we use technology to have impact —therefore change rapidly too. It’s critical that Christian leaders take this into consideration as they plan for their organizations’ future.

In What Comes Next?, strategists and innovation experts Nick Skytland and Ali Llewellyn use the eight elements of their Futures Framework to teach us how to help shape the future, be visionary, and grow our businesses and ministries. This futures-thinking process is a proven solution for executives, entrepreneurs, pastors, and anyone in between who struggles to respond to an ever-changing world.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780802419668
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Publication date: 01/05/2021
Pages: 208
Sales rank: 1,110,269
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

NICHOLAS SKYTLAND is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. He is also the Deputy Chief of the Exploration Technology Office at NASA. His technical and leadership experience has helped him build high-performing teams and pioneer new ways of doing business in both government and industry for over two decades. He has trained astronauts, designed next-generation spacesuits, developed open-source technology, led missional movements, and created some of the largest purpose-driven collaborations in history. Outside of work he is an experienced diver and avid triathlete, having completed more than twenty Ironman races. He lives in Houston with his wife and three kids, and serves as an elder at Clear Creek Community Church.

ALICIA LLEWELLYN is co-founder of Quite Uncommon, a technology firm that helps organizations build, test, and launch new and innovative ideas. She is also a strategist and collaboration leader at NASA, currently directing the 1958 Coworking Space at the Johnson Space Center. She has more than two decades of cross-sector experience in growing effective teams and building engaged communities with resiliency and foresight—including for some of the largest hackathons in the world. Ali has served as a teacher, a team trainer, a youth pastor, and the Director of Ministries at Antioch Community Church in Houston, TX. This background in education, communication, and theology provides the clarity and articulation necessary to help organizations and communities take their mission to the next level.

Table of Contents

Foreword 9

Introduction: An Invitation to join Us on an Adventure 11

Part 1 Nearsighted

Chapter 1 The Future Belongs to the Curious 19

Chapter 2 Into the Unknown 27

Chapter 3 The Four Forces 41

Chapter 4 The Eight Intersections 51

Part 2 The Futures Framework

Chapter 5 Identify 61

Chapter 6 Relate 75

Chapter 7 Belong 87

Chapter 8 Gather 97

Chapter 9 Design 109

Chapter 10 Collaborate 123

Chapter 11 Scale 135

Chapter 12 Impact 147

Part 3 Farsighted

Chapter 13 Curiosity in Action 161

Chapter 14 Paper Rockets 173

Chapter 15 Infinite Possibilities 191

Acknowledgments 195

Notes 199

Futures Framework Worksheet 207

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for What Comes Next?

“When I was president of K-LOVE radio we realized the need to innovate if we wanted to be a part of the future. Nick and Ali created a framework where we could excel at what we were currently doing and see a pathway into the future that would help us achieve our mission to move people closer to Christ. They took an uncertain future and showed us a roadmap to where we needed to go to continue being effective.”
ALAN MASON, board member and former CEO at K-Love/Air1

“When I was orbiting Earth on the International Space Station, looking back down from 240 miles above, it was clear that the challenges facing our planet would not be solved by doing things the way we have always done them. This is why What Comes Next? is such a critical book. Not only do Nick and Ali help you understand how the world is changing, but they teach you what to do about it.”
RON GARAN, astronaut; author of The Orbital Perspective, Railroad to the Moon, and Floating in Darkness

What Comes Next? is readable, inspiring, sometimes technical, and extremely missional for anyone who feels responsible to lead other followers of Jesus into a preferable future. The lessons of yesterday and the insights of today are not enough for leading tomorrow. When you take the journey with Nick and Ali, you will get a new tool in your leadership tool bag that will help you shape the future.”
BRUCE WESLEY, Senior Pastor, Clear Creek Community Church

“Many leaders rely on intuition and that gut instinct to make decisions and plan for the future. That’s part of what got them into the position they currently hold. The problem, however, is that they all too often miss key factors in decision-making, which end up undermining the execution of their plan. Enter What Comes Next? The Futures Framework presented in this book provides a thoughtful, thorough guide to help you identify and execute an informed and flexible strategy based on principles and possibilities.”
BRITT TUCKER, pastor, Antioch Community Church, Central Houston

“Global society has been shattered by an invisible virus. Bewildered pastors are shaking their heads in confusion and fright. Many believe God has decided to bring to a screeching halt “Churchianity.” It sadly skewed from the biblical road of organic body life into the side ditch of impersonal organization. Nick and Ali have created a handbook for those who are ready to sew new garments to clothe Christ’s bride. Just in time!”
RALPH NEIGHBOUR, author of many books on cell churches; consultant; president, TOUCH Training Center 
 
“It is rare to find people who are as genuine, true to their beliefs, and willing to stand by them as Ali and Nick. Together, they have written such a simple but powerful book that describes how all of us can be true to our faith and yet achieve personal and professional success. I highly recommend you read this book before your next meeting, group project, or deadline. It will change your life. It did mine.”
CHRIS VEIN, former Deputy United States Chief Technology Officer for Government Innovation, The White House

“When I asked Nick and Ali to help pull together a team to create a twenty-year strategy, I never imagined the disruptive future that they would envision. Many times, strategies for the future are just straight lines from where an organization has been in the past. Their strategy built upon the past but was not constrained by the past. It envisioned the possibilities. They have pulled together a succinct and powerful framework to help organizations and individuals envision the possible futures.”
STEVEN GONZALEZ, retired, NASA Advanced Planning Office, Deputy

“Did you know it is actually easier to invent the future than to predict the future? Like no other generation before us, we have the opportunity to create transformational change. Drawing from their experience in government, disaster relief, refugee care, tech startups, innovation hacks, and advancement of the kingdom, Nick and Ali provide the motivation and framework to actually craft the future we want to live in. This book will inform, inspire, and equip you to make a difference.”
ERIC SWANSON, Leadership Network, coauthor of The Externally Focused Church and To Transform a City
 
“Trying to lead an organization, church, or ministry of any size in this increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environment is challenging on many levels. Nick and Ali do us all a favor by laying out a road map in the Futures Framework to help us chart a way forward. Their message and tools are timely, insightful, and indispensable for those charged with leading others through these uncharted waters. If you’re a leader, pick up this book and get busy designing your preferred future!”
MICK MURRAY, author of The Father’s Heart: Knowing the God of the Bible as Father

“Love this book. I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Nick and Ali to build projects and scale networks. What Comes Next? brings their enthusiasm, biblical wisdom, and practical advice to anyone who yearns to see life differently and make a difference.”
KEN COCHRUM, VP of Global Digital Strategies, Cru

What Comes Next? is timely and timeless. The Futures Framework is a practical method of discovering how to navigate this unpredictable world. Ali and Nick have tapped into their incredible wealth of knowledge and experience in leading leaders globally in future thinking and innovation and put it into a simple process. If you are like me and need help rethinking the future, invest in yourself or your team, and purchase this book.”
JAMES KELLY, founder, FaithTech

“‘What comes next?’ is a question many leaders are asking during a year with unexpected disruption, uncertainty, and challenges no one could have anticipated. Ali and Nick’s timely Futures Framework will both inspire you and guide you to dream big with God. These explorers point us to unprecedented possibilities for our churches, organizations, ministries, and businesses. They not only help us focus forward with courage and hope, but they give us the structure we need to create the roadmap that will take us there. This book is a must-read for kingdom leaders desiring to step into the future with clarity and impact!”
SUSAN RYAN, president, Amoveo Consulting

“In a time of global instability and transition, Nick and Ali turn with hope and expectation to what’s coming next. With both depth and pragmatism, they equip Christian leaders with a framework to align themselves for what God is doing now and in the future.”
—BEAU EGERT, entrepreneur and community leader

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