Creativity

I used to get into trouble in school. (Imagine that!) Seriously, I have always had unique thoughts about things. I remember once getting a lecture from a teacher because I chose to color the grass another color besides green. So, like all good children I eventually conformed to the status quo on the outside—but on the inside I was a rebel—I remained creative. 

You can go back and look at my report cards from elementary school, the comments section (where the teacher would write notes to the parents) are all just about the same. “I really do enjoy having Perry in my class…but he daydreams a lot.” Uh, yeah, I did, mostly because I was always trying to think of ways in which the teacher could teach the material and not be so boring—I was creative. 

I joined the staff of a church in 1991 as the youth minister and creativity was a major part of my ministry. I learned a lesson that year—not everyone appreciates creativity because it often takes us out of our prison of normalcy. I tried creative things, taught the Bible in creative ways—and lo and behold—the youth group grew & people came to Christ. 

I continued doing youth ministry for several years and once a kid asked me, “Perry, youth group is so much fun, why can’t ‘big church’ be that way as well?’” I didn’t have an answer then—but I do now—we have forgotten how to be creative in the way we communicate the Gospel. 

One of the unspoken core values at New Spring is creativity. It is our desire to remain consistently inconsistent. We want to communicate in creative ways because people seem to remember it so much better. 

Where did we get this idea? Well, there’s this dude named Jesus that was on top of His game when it came to communicating…and He was incredibly creative. One of the criticisms of churches like ours is that we are not “deep” enough. (Please see this site because I will be covering that sometime this month.) This criticism is said because many people feel as if “the only way” to teach Scripture is line by line, verse by verse. 

My question to people who hold this theory is, “Now where exactly do you ever see Jesus communicating that way?” Seriously, where do you see Jesus saying, “Let me teach you four things about the love of God.” NO—He was always communicating with stories, with “object lessons” (remember the “fish & chips” miracle—I’ll bet those people never forgot that, OR remember the time He walked on water, seriously, He didn’t sit the disciples down and do an in-depth Bible study on Genesis to prove that He was capable of doing the impossible—He modeled it for them by walking on the water—now that’s powerful communication!) 

I personally think that the church should be the most creative entity on the planet. Why? Because God created creativity (in the beginning God CREATED…), Jesus modeled it, and the Holy Spirit empowered it. It is my passion & desire to see Hollywood one day look to the church for creative ideas rather than vise versa. 

Our churches are full of creative people—and I’m not talking about people who “march to the tune of a different drummer.” I am talking about people who have never even heard a drum! We have people that can express themselves through technology, through art, through music, and a host of other things as well. It is my prayer that churches will learn to embrace these people and their ideas rather than cling to being ministers of the mundane. God IS NOT BORING—HIS Church should not be either. 

This leaves some of you thinking, “That’s great Perry, but what about me—I am not creative.” Uh, yes you are…I will explain that tomorrow.