Creativity & The Church

When I look out the window, I'm overcome by the creativity of our Creator. It's amazing the way our universe has been put together. It's amazing how we have been put together. I could thing about God's creative nature for hours and hours.

As I ponder the creativity of the Creator, I begin to think about our need to be creative. Each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. Each of us have unique gifts. Each of us are called by God to be creative in whatever it is that He has called us to do.

And, as I think about our need to be creative, I begin to think about the church. The church should be the home of creativity on the earth. Our worship, music, art, writing, etc should be setting the standards for creative genius in the world. However, it seems like rather than being super-creative and culture shaping, the church is becoming more and more a reactionary institution. I know that's a broad generalization and that there are many churches that are on the cutting-edge. But, as a whole, we're missing the mark.

The church needs to embrace a pro-active nature. The early church changed the world around them...The church of today seems to react to the world around us. Instead of the church shaping the culture, the church is now in a position where we try to take the culture of the world and "Christianize" it.

In any given town in America, you can most likely walk into a church and based upon the worship service you might think you have traveled back to 1960. The music, the message, the presentation is the same it was when our parents were children. I think of my own experience...not much in the church has changed since I was in middle school and high school. We tend to communicate and worship the same way today as we did 10-15 years ago. Now, this does work for some people. But, it means we're standing still...we're not moving forward. Therefore, we're not being creative...which I believe God has called us all to be.

The church should be a place that is continually fresh, inspiring, exciting, and culture changing. We should be willing, as the body of Christ, to take bold steps and risks as we create the ministries that God is guiding us to.

Okay, enough babbling...It's time to go create...Which in this house is usually done best with a freshly poured pint of Guinness!