Creativity in the Church

I have a friend, Mark Batterson of www.theaterchurch.com, who contends that the church should be the most creative place on the planet! His view is that the words "church" and "creative" should be synonyms. After all, we serve the God who created it all!

As I get ready to go see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I am reminded of how C.S. Lewis created the classic. He traced the idea for Narnia back to a picture he saw when he was sixteen years old. He explained, "the lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture has been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: 'Let's try to make a story about it'."

Here's the challenge: we begin to live out of memory, not imagination. We are taught to live inside the lines as we get older, so the creative side of our brain shuts down to get the "to do" list done.

So how do you avoid the monotony of life or ministry and keep from going through the motions. Let me give you five keys to creativity:

1. Prayer is the key to living out of divine imagination, instead of human memory. I'm reading a little book by Brother Lawrence--The Practice of the Presence of God--that challenges us to live in a constant state of awareness of God's presence. In his presence, creative ideas abound! Who else would have created zebras and lady bugs, camels and humpback whales!

2. Extended thinking times allow us time away from the busyness of life to connect to creative thoughts. That's what I did Monday at my prayer retreat. I prayed all morning and thought all afternoon! What a connection. Now, I'm trying to act on those thoughts.

3. Visiting creative places will get your creative juices flowing. Gary Cook (one of our deacons) called from Phoenix this past Monday night. He was there on a business trip but wandered to First Assembly that evening. He found himself seated on the second row for their Christmas production--filled with camels, donkeys, lions, and more animals than a circus. He loved it so much he went back the next night. I love going to places like that because they stir creativity in my own heart. I was a little jealous of Gary--a lot jealous really!

4. Reading is another way to stay creative. Leaders are readers. This year, I tried to read a book every week. I didn't make it all the way to 52, but I had fun trying! Right now I'm reading, The Practice of the Presence of God, The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind, and a novel called The Spire. All of these books fill my mind with creative ideas.

5. Getting together with creative people will enhance your creativity. One idea can lead to another and suddenly good ideas are actually God ideas!

Most creative ideas come in a sudden flash of insight when you least expect it. For example, I was brushing my teeth a couple of weeks ago when the four themes for the January message series (Revolution!) hit me. I had been thinking about the series, talking about the series, and reading ideas for the series. Then, when I least expected it--here came the four themes. I'll tell them to you later.