I only work with churches and that means communicating the same story over and over. At any given time I can be working on three different visitor pieces, two bulletin shells, youth promos, etc. – all wanting the same sort of thing but each deserving and needing their own personality. Keeping things fresh is something that constantly has to be top of mind. Here are a few things that help me.

BE WRONG

It’s really easy for us to get so attached to our work that we can’t take critique well and allow outside input. If you step back from the work, allow others, those carrying the vision of the sermon, event, etc. to speak into it you will often find yourself on the other side of a rut.

This isn’t about blindly taking orders, this is about hearing from someone who sees it from a different perspective and asking questions about what they see.

GET OUT OF YOUR CHAIR

Sometimes all it takes is a change of pace or scenery. That might mean going to a coffee shop, talking a walk downtown or going to movie. But do it differently. Go to the theater and ask for a ticket to the next movie playing, even if you’d never normally see it, go to a different coffee shop, walk through stores you’ve never been in before.

The idea is to take in new stimulus, experience new things. Take the time to notice the people around you, what they’re wearing, how the stores are setup. Fill up that creative sponge.

REMEMBER THE SABBATH

Rest is an often overlooked tool, especially in the creative world. You need rest, your eyes need rest, the work needs rest. Step away from the work and allow yourself some quiet and let everything just settle.

God gave us the sabbath, not as a command, but as a gift. God created the heavens and the earth…and then he rested. It’s important to be fresh. Not just to keep your portfolio from looking bland but because what we communicate has eternal impact. Remember, what we do is about communicating much more than looking pretty or winning awards. May God bless you and fill you with creativity.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Michael Buckingham, our guest blogger, is the Founder & Creative Director of Holy Cow Creative with the goal of once again making the church the most creative place on the planet. He is also the Creative Director for the Center for Church Communication and Church Marketing Sucks. You can also find him on his own blog Jesus Hates Papyrus as he continues to help the church not be so… churchy. Follow Michael on twitter: @holycowcreative

Well, I like your idea for this song intro, but it’s really missing something. Check out what I put together.

“Extreme” is an okay title for the youth ministry, but I have an idea is quite a bit better.

Really? That’s the graphic you put together for the sermon series? LAME-O. Wait until they see my idea.

That’s the font they chose? I really hate James Cameron now.

Now, saying that excellence in what we do is not important would be ridiculous. We should be operating in excellence in everything we do.

Just remember that some people’s “excellent” is at a different level than yours. Remember that first sermon graphic you designed 10 years ago? Remember the video you made for youth 7 years ago? Okay. We do too. It stunk. But now you’re in a better place.

But aren’t you glad someone back then let you run with a bad idea? If they hadn’t, maybe you wouldn’t even be doing the creative things you are doing now. Somebody invested in us, encouraged us, and gave us the opportunity to run with a bad idea. Thank God for that.

So, just because that idea in the creative meeting or brainstorming session or worship practice isn’t as good as your idea doesn’t mean the idea isn’t good. At some point, if we’re honest, we can acknowledge that not all of our ideas are the best ideas.

But, God used them anyways. Not a bad idea if you ask me.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Aaron Alexander, our guest blogger, is Media Arts Pastor at Hope Fellowship in Frisco, Texas. He’s become a good friend over the last year and he likes to think he’s full of bad ideas; but he is so not. You can connect with him at www.aaronalexander.info or follow him @aaronalexander.

Innovation is a popular buzz word now and a sought after topic of discussion in conferences and the ministry resource world. I approach innovation a little differently and try my best to look at it through a Biblical lens. Innovation is the act of introducing something new. God tells us in Isaiah 43:19 to “Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? “(MSG)

Something that was foundational in my own life was studying Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God. In the book, Blackaby teaches that “when you recognize where God is working, you can join in what He is doing.” That to me, friends, is at the very core of being innovative – to be so in tune with God that His dreams become your dreams. May we stop bringing God our plans to bless and seek where He’s already at work around us?

Ephesians 5:1 reads, “Watch what God does and then you do it.” (MSG) What does being innovative require? A few things: First we must grasp onto this concept of joining God in His mission. Blackaby teaches that “God’s activity is far greater than anything we could aspire to do for Him.” Let that one sink in a little bit. For some of you it may be painful. For some it may be a relief.

So a first step in being truly innovative is listening to the Spirit of God and looking for where He’s moving. It requires that our innovation antennas are up and seeking God moments that lead to breakthroughs in our ministries.

Another step in being truly innovative is walking with God and being men and women of integrity. Genesis 6:9 teaches us that Noah “was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” What did Noah do? Only one of the most innovative and unprecedented acts in all of human history. He built an ark to protect himself, his family and many animals from a flood before it had ever rained! – that’s innovative (doing something new).

The question is: Whose idea was it? Let that sink in for a moment. Did Noah come to God with a plan to build a boat and ask him to bless it or did God speak to Noah and guide Him because he was a man that “walked with God?” When it comes right down to it, we really can’t take credit for innovative ideas. They are truly gifts from God that should lead us to worship.

My prayer for you is that you get to a place of desperation in your ministry. A sense of desperation that leads to a dependency on the Holy Spirit. Friends, there are no shortcuts to innovation. You cannot bypass prayer. Prayer isn’t just the way to open a brainstorming meeting, it is the meeting. If you want to be truly innovative and start doing new and exciting ways of ministry you must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit.

I’ll close with Scripture and let God have the final word. Jeremiah 33:3 teaches us, “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Greg Atkinson lives in Georgia with his wife and their three small children. Greg most recently served as the Director of Technical Arts at Bent Tree and before that as the Director of WorshipHouse Media, after having served as a worship pastor for 11 years. Greg is now an innovation consultant and continues to consult, teach and write about innovation, technology, leadership, worship and social justice. You can connect with him through his daily blog at Greg Atkinson. ©2010 – Greg Atkinson

When was the last time you said ‘no’ to someone?

When was the last time you told your Senior Pastor that their ‘tweak’ on your concept or strategy wasn’t going to work?

When was the last time you called out that bad idea? You know the one, when everyone else in the meeting is silent on, because the person who came with the idea has a strong personality?

Have you been there? Were you silent? Or did you speak out?

Just because someone has the title ‘Pastor’ in front of their name doesn’t make them an expert in your field of expertise. Yet in some churches, what the Pastor says. Goes. Now I’m not saying that you should disagree just to be contrary. Your Pastor is the leader of your church for a great reason and should be respected and honoured. What I am saying is often creative types are more reserved, more passive, introverted types. When the meetings we are in are full of extroverted, opinionated types. The loudest and strongest opinion can win, but the best idea is lost.

You experienced, nuanced, opinion counts. It is more precious than gold.

Did you know that your Pastor and team will respect you more if you speak out?

Did you know that they actually want to know what you think. Because you bring something to the table they can’t?

God has positioned you where you are in ministry for a reason.

Lives are at stake.

Be strong. Be courageous. Lead. Speak.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Steve Fogg, our guest blogger, is the communications guy for Crossway Church in Melbourne, Australia. He’s a stealth super hero dad and father of three. He’s the husband of one incredible woman, and loved by God beyond what he could ever comprehend. He blogs at Clear and Simple. You can follow him @Stevefogg.

Blaine Hogan, a good friend of mine, asked me to contribute 100 freshly-minted words on “The Power Of A Moment” to his 100 Words Project.  I wanted to share the entry here as well.  You can find more about Blaine on his blog at blainehogan.com and connect with him on twitter.

A picture is really worth a thousand words, it’s cliche but true. What we see, what the camera captures has a profound effect on who we are. In that moment an image can wield such tremendous power to stir up emotions, to change events, to break our hearts, and to inspire us. Through those moments, we get a better understanding of the world and how we are influenced by it. No matter how you look at it emotions influence the very mechanisms of rational thinking. The power of a moment, in a visual culture, communicates to the heart to get to the head to bring about change.

My wife is from Omaha. So is Warren Buffet. As a matter-of-fact, he still has a home in the city and I can attest, it is very modest for a billionaire. Seems you can take the man out of the Midwest but you can’t take the Midwest out of the man. The picture above is from a daily calendar of Warren Buffet quotes that we have in our kitchen. Most often, these quotes are about business principles, investment strategies, mistakes Warren and his partners have made through the years, etc. Every now and again, Buffet will start waxing philosophy. I’m not sure if today’s quote was meant to perceived at an existential level, but the words from Warren struck me. Here it is again:

“Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.”

As is typical for me, I started filtering the life of the church through the lens of Buffet’s words:

• In my mind, the “investors” for the church are the staff, clergy, and volunteers. They are the ones who are “investing” the most in the organization.
• We “diversify” the church by creating ministries, programs, service projects, and worship services, etc.

“Diversifying” the church is important to a point. We need to understand the perceived needs of our community and faithfully attempt to meet people where they are at. As the church, we need to speak a language that people can understand and internalize. This much is true. But what happens when the church “over-diversifies”? What happens when we, as the investors, start sinking time, money, and resources into every “investment” that comes our way? According to Warren, it shows that we “do not understand what [we] are doing.” Think about it: How many churches do you know that offer a laundry list of ministries and programs, attempting to cater to seemingly every conceivable demographic on the planet?

• Are you a young adult? We have a ministry for you!
• Are you a stay-at-home mom? We’ve got a program for you!
• Do you like to fish and hunt? We have a special early-morning service for you to come to!
• Are you a twin? Like basketball? Knit? Have a third appendage? Majored in medieval history? We’ve got something for everybody!

In short, the Church has become over-diversified. We don’t understand what we are doing. We’ve lost our way. Perhaps it’s time for the Church to go “all-in,” not with a program, ministry, or worship service, but with Christ Himself. What would it look like for a local church to “simplify” their investments and go-for-broke with an “investment strategy” that focused not on exalting what our investments are, but Who we’re investing in. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ This post was written by guest blogger Justin Wise. I have been a fan of his blog BeDeviant for a while, and finally got him to uproot for one post. Justin considers himself a religious deviant who enjoys coffee, reading theology, graphic design, and spending time with his wife while creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ.