The Life of Creativity

Have you ever read An Awesome Book?

You should. Then come back.

...

Did it remind you of Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss? For me it's one of those inspiring books that makes you think of how big life is.

What is it that kills our creativity? Okay, maybe kills is a strong word. Maims? I remember standing at the kid-check station at my first job at Chuck E. Cheese's for hours at a time. I wasn't bored out of my mind, though; I was writing. I was writing lyrics, random words on pages, thinking and dreaming for no reason.

Some days are still like that. Wednesday morning is a good example, when I was thinking about my book and couldn't stop it. But that's one area of life. What about the rest of it?

The last thing I ever wanted to do was have a normal 9-5 job. In high school that sounded like a prison sentence. Then I realized that if I wasn't working 9-5, I'd probably have to work all the times that everyone else is off. And so it happens, I'm a server. And it seems like I'm worse off than working "normal" hours. So much for creativity without foresight.

I think creativity is blocked when we don't make time for it. If you don't have free time, you won't have time to think freely. Creativity is un-American. It defies the values of efficiency and productivity. It isn't an assembly line, there's no guarantee on it, and it's just plain inefficient.

I wrote a song the other day. My roommate said it sounded good. I said I wrote it in about an hour, which really impressed him. I took myself off his pedestal by adding, "If you think of how long it's been since I've written, and how many times I've tried, that song really took about a year to write." It's true. Creativity is not an efficient process.

Even planning church services is difficult when there isn't enough time to create. There are so many things that need to get done during the week, and only so many hours to do them in, and when there's no time to add life to the liturgy, it falls flat. Rightly so. We know what needs to be done as far as songs, prayers, message, etc. We could be more creative with it all. But some weeks the time just isn't there.

Most people I know book their lives solid. Each hour in each day is accounted for. It's all blocked up and blocked in. Most people think I live the same way. Most everyone thinks I'm always busy. I have a secret.

That's not entirely true.

Yes, I've got my life scheduled out. I know where I'll be every day at certain times. But some of those times are blocked out as "me" time. Friday mornings? Those are reserved. Monday and Saturday nights? Same thing. These are times when I do homework, read, write, sit, think, imagine, study, eat, pray, love (*groan*), or do whatever makes me feel alive. It's a good thing.

As my sister reminded me, it's a great thing our parents encouraged creativity in our lives. Now we're all creative and don't make much money. They joke and say, "We should have encouraged y'all to be rich!" And we all share a laugh, knowing that none of us would prefer wealth over what we have. Of course, if I could have both I might not complain.

Do you make time for creativity in your life? What's your outlet?

Encountering Jesus in Worship

Growing up changes things.

Or maybe it's growing up American. I'm not sure, because I've never grown up anything else. Maybe if I grew up African, South American, Japanese or French I wouldn't have exchanged creativity for efficiency and process.

I used to breathe worship. My last couple years in high school and two in community college prepared the way for three years of undergrad as a Worship Arts major. I knew all the scriptures about worship, fear of the Lord, reverence and awe, music, obedience and so on. I read books about it. I played songs that did it. I was a passionate worshiper.

Growing up changes things.

After years of acquiring skill, I became incredibly proficient at crafting services, designing worship sets, and praying for maximum impact. My education was a great investment; it sharpened my skills in incredible ways. But as it is with many things, especially art, working on technique can sneakily slide you from art to science. Mastering "how" gives you a better "what." But somewhere along the line, you forget "why."

I picked up my first worship book in three years or so, The Worship Architect by Constance Cherry. Hearing her lecture this past Monday confirmed I'm not the only one asking questions about participation in worship. She laid out the typical Sunday service church model, where the leaders perform, the Holy Spirit prompts and the congregation is the audience, which makes worship a commodity subject to likes and dislikes, preferences and so on. The fundamental question became, How do we flip this paradigm?

Growing up changes things.

I wasn't looking at theories and cultural structures 10 years ago when I started all this. I was playing guitar and singing songs, not really sure what I was doing. I had energy and vigor for those tasks; they were new and fresh.

Today, I'm looking at the entire system. The whole thing is set up wrong, or at least not best. It's obviously "working," so I'm not saying let's trash what we have. However, if we think the stereotypical Sunday singing/sermon should be standard, we're missing out, because then "how" to make the best service becomes the focus, and "what" songs, themes and sermons will be explored flows from that.

Somewhere along the line you forget the "why." Why do we gather? What are we even doing here? Is this a pep rally, a support group, a club meeting? Paraphrasing Dr. Cherry, "The church tries to keep up with culture in respect to media and technology, but we'll never keep up. The only thing we have to offer the world is the presence of the risen Christ."

Suddenly, the task transforms. Instead of seeing how I can make the best service, I start with "Why are we gathering?" The answer, to encounter Jesus, directs my next question, "How will we do that?" In the context of Sunday, it's by gathering together. Finally, "What will we do when we're together?" That's a question asked best in each context, knowing the needs and gifts of the community. Can a sermon and music be a part of that? Absolutely. But if those are the focus, and not encountering the risen Jesus, we'll have a great adventure in missing the point.

Growing up changes things.

In a good way.

For more on the "Why, How, What" order, The Golden Circle.

The Machine

We were both drained.

And as we sat talking, I noted that The Machine was stealing our joy.

The Machine does not live.
The Machine has no brain.
The Machine commands its tasks, all it has done, all it knows.

The Machine needs no input.
The Machine is efficient, with replaceable parts. (Thank you, Henry Ford.)
The Machine requires maintenance. Not love, creativity, warmth.

The Machine was stealing our joy.

We built The Machine.
I swore I never would. "I will never be part of The Machine.
I don't believe in it."

But as surely as entropy increases,
The Machine builds itself.
And I believe.

We became The Machine.
The gears, belts, cogs, wheels.

We churned out the product, uncertain of demand.

And The Machine steals our joy.