Holy Experimentation challenges our conditioned inclinations

Author: Rev. Joshua K. Owens

Publishing Date: May 10, 2025

Article Title: Holy Experimentation

The created world never ceases to amaze me. The diversity of animals that God saw fit to create, what they are capable of doing, and the many unique or creative ways they sustain their lives, are nothing short of fascinating.

Take for example one creature, the impala. Impalas are medium-sized antelopes that grace the woodlands of Africa. What they lack in size, they make up for with their incredible jumping capabilities.

By some estimates, impalas are able to jump as high as 10 feet in the air and do so for distances spanning upwards of thirty feet. Think about that for a moment. That level of capability could see the four-legged impala almost being able to jump and clear the four-tired Chevrolet sedan model of the same name.

As amazing as that feat can be for the impala, in most enclosures where they can be kept, like zoos or farms, impalas can be contained with walls as short as only four feet. Now how might that be given the immense capacity that impalas possess to jump exceptional distances? Well, you see, impalas have allowed themselves to be conditioned to not jump anywhere that they cannot see where their feet will land.

So despite the limits these amazing creatures can perform, due to their willingness to only go where they can see outcomes they control, they are easily confined and limited to just a four-foot high wall.

Today we can find ourselves to be very impala-esque can we not? At times we allow ourselves to be confined to such small and finite places because we are only willing to go where we feel like the result or outcome is one that fits into what we know or are comfortable with.

Over the last few years through conversations with other Christian leaders and thinkers, I have come across a concept that I so love. It is called, “holy experimentation.”

Holy experimentation is where an individual, faith community, or organization is willing to try something that you have absolutely no idea whether or not it will work. This is often done in response to something one feels in their gut, an inclination, a spiritual prompting to give it the “ol’ college try” and go ahead and simply do it, whether it works out perfectly or not.

The mindset of holy experimentation challenges our conditioned inclinations to only put something into action once we have all the processes and plans in place so we can feel comfortable that the outcome will result in what we are looking for. But that is the thing about working in and with the Spirit, the point is so often not about whether we will act pursuant to an outcome we would accept, but whether or not we are willing to follow the Spirit’s leading by faith and choose to enter the process no matter the possible result.

There are many examples in the scriptures in which followers of God practiced holy experimentation. The disciples’ ministry alongside Jesus is replete with them. One of Jesus’ resurrection appearances exhibits holy experimentation at work, admittedly with deflated effort on the part of the disciples. In John 21, some of the disciples are gathered along the Sea of Galilee when Peter decides he is going fishing. A few of the others join him, and these very skilled and experienced anglers proceed to go the whole night and catch nary a fish. Not a single one.

Fast forward to the break of morning’s light, and Jesus appears on the shore, instructing the fishermen to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Given Peter and the other’s experience, I’d imagine that they knew the best spots to fish, how to cast their nets, and where. So their choosing to go along with Jesus’ instructions reveals a bit of their apathy because it can’t get any worse right? Of course, they bring in a haul of fish, a 153 the text says, something that they would have never tried on their own had they stuck with what they had always known and did what they had always done instead of following the prompting of the Spirit.

This is where that mindset of holy experimentation can be so helpful. It can push us to develop a willingness to make an effort, to take a risk, to try something new. In doing so, we just might learn more about ourselves, about God, and the mission that the Lord has for us.

I have to think that this moment in that boat served as a reference point for Peter and others in their future ministry as a reminder to deeply consider the nudging of the Spirit to try something new, unproven, or uncertain. Maybe if they would be willing to just take a stab at it, God might be able to do something special with their minuscule efforts once again.

I have come to believe that God’s desire for us is not to pursue particular outcomes, but to grow in our willingness to submit ourselves to the process of where God wants to take us. These are typically places we don’t want to go on our own (John 21:18). So what promptings have you experienced lately? What new things is God prompting you to try in your sphere of influence, in your church, or in the community? What new holy experiment are you being asked to consider? As our friend Peter heard at the end of their encounter that day, Jesus is giving each of us a similar command… “follow me” (John 21:19). May we all be willing to not just wonder what God might want to do, but be bold and faithful enough to take the first step.