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Characteristics of Creativity in Practice
Creativity at work in ministry looks more like compulsive list-making than anything else. In practice, a creative effort is applied separately and distinctly to each project. There is no "one right way" to develop creative choices for ministry. But there are a few guidelines we try to live by.
Volume of ideas. It's important to note that we certainly don't produce all the good ideas, nor are all of the ideas that we have good ones. We concentrate on providing a volume of ideas--a number of options from which a clear choice, hopefully the best possible choice, will emerge. Our ideas may be the only ones, or they may add to several already provided by the ministry leader.
Satisfaction in success. Often creative workers derive self-worth from their own work. Artists, musicians and authors may take pleasure or offense depending on how their work is judged by others. A key principle in creative work is that I must judge my work not by a level of self-satisfaction, but by whether or not the ideas were used effectively in ministry. If success is determined by how well "my idea" fares in practice, I will probably be constantly disappointed, and worse, the ministry will also suffer. Success is an idea--anyone's idea--that God uses for His glory. That's the success that I strive for.
Releasing ownership of ideas. Ministry is filled with personal effort. Just like my satisfaction level can be unhealthily tied to my own ideas, my ownership of those ideas as my personal effort or justification for involvement can also be destructive. As I produce ideas, each one becomes "community property," a free-agent to be manipulated, added to, taken from or otherwise changed as the final solution emerges. Attaching personal emotion to an idea that's "mine" is a sure way to suffer an emotional beating as the idea is sent through the grinder. (Click here for more information on releasing ownership of ideas.)
While the contribution of every person is valued and encouraged, I want to quickly divorce myserlf from the thought that any one person owns an idea. The "God is the owner" principles applies here, and all of my work and ideas are for His glory alone.
Determining the takeaway. We must have a clear understanding of what a ministry is meant (called) to do and the methods used to accomplish the task. The takeaway is the long-term impact of the ministry--what's left after everything else is stripped away. The takeaway is the "why:--as in, "Why are we doing this?" Only after I find the takeaway can I begin to put the ministry in terms that will not only make sense to others, but have "drawing power" that will motivate people toward involvement. (Click here for more on determining the takeaway.)
Constant input. Creativity depends on a constant stream of data from all possible sources. The Bible, magazines, books, TV, radio, movies, stores, people, stories, family, children, schools, businesses, Pastors, churches, prayer--these and more are sources of input. Creativity is making connections among these many tidbits of knowledge and experience. The more input I have, the more potential connections. Creativity cannot exist in isolation. The culture in which we live is important. I do not want to be a slave to that culture, blowing in the wind with every trend that comes along, nor do I want to be a stranger to the culture, unable to connect to current events and issues. Rather, I am to be a student of the culture, in a constant mode of learning so I can apply new information to each ministry challenge.
Honest evaluation. Creativity without evaluation cannot grow. If I want to know whether or not my ideas are truly useful in ministry, and become more Christlike in my endeavors, I have to open myself to honest evaluation. Honest means welcoming of constructive criticism. Evaluation that consists of a pat on the back is meaningless. Only by finding ways to improve can I actually improve. I want to avoid the fluff and hear what people really think of my ideas and actions.
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