Date: July 29, 2021
Media Contact: Curtis Prather
Tel: (703) 461-1782
Email: [email protected]
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) and General Theological Seminary (GTS) are proud to announce the publication of How to Try: Design Thinking and Church Innovation (Church Publishing, 2021) from the Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, director of the TryTank Experimental Lab.
“This positive ‘can-do’ book is a gift to the Church,” said the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., dean and president of VTS. “Let us be imaginative; let us experiment; let us try. For all those tired of doing the same old thing, this is the book to read.”
What if tried and true methods from the corporate world could raise your ministry’s probability of success by a considerable margin? In this Amazon bestseller, Lebrija has developed a fresh straightforward framework for experiments in new ministry based on research and interviews.
“Lebrija engages essential topics for the church, including innovation in a refreshingly joyful way,” said the Very Rev. Michael W. DeLashmutt Ph.D., acting dean of GTS.
With three clear steps, this framework in How to Try can have a lasting impact on any church that uses it. You can even start innovating today, using this specific and actionable process within your church community. Scripture is full of examples encouraging us to try new works in the name of God. How to Try gives the exact tools and templates for how to do just that, and to find God in the failures as well as the successes.
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ABOUT TRYTANK
The TryTank Experimental Lab offers a much-needed inventive approach to the challenges facing The Episcopal Church. A joint venture of both Virginia Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary, TryTank works in partnership across The Episcopal Church to understand the forces threatening the church in order to identify creative ways to equip future leaders to reinvigorate the church.
ABOUT VTS
Founded in 1823 as a beacon of hope in a country new and finding its way, Virginia Theological Seminary has led the way in forming leaders of the Episcopal Church, including the Most Rev. John E. Hines (VTS 1933, D.D. 1946), former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Rt. Rev. John T. Walker (VTS 1954, D.D. 1978), the first African-American bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; and theologian, author and lay preacher Ms. Verna J. Dozier (VTS D.D. 1978). Serving the worldwide Anglican Communion, Virginia Theological Seminary educates approximately 25% of those being ordained who received residential theological education. Visit us online: www.vts.edu.
ABOUT GTS
General Seminary’s mission statement was adopted in 1999 and reaffirmed in 2015: Educating and forming lay and ordained leaders for the church in a changing world. As we live out this mission, we seek to be and to become a community for whom ongoing and deepening conversion to new life in Christ is a constant goal. Our purpose is to invite and call others to that life of conversion by our own understanding of the Christian faith — biblical, historical and theological — and our ability to reflect on that faith. Located in historic Chelsea Square, our students have the diversity and opportunity of experiences that New York City has to offer. Visit us online at www.gts.edu.