Where do you rate on the creativity scale? Do you look at a stripe of paint on a piece on a canvas and go, "Wow! That’s really profound." Or do you just sort of stare at it in puzzled disbelief. "How much is this thing going for?"
Creativity is one of those wonderful gifts God has imparted into the human spirit. We see it expressed in all kinds of ways: in problem solving, design, in the arts. Some of us are more creative than others, but we also can be creative in different ways.
Some of you might use an iPod - Apple is a very creative company that is known for its innovation - from it’s hardware to its user experience. That’s why it’s the market leader for portable music. In car making the Japanese are known for their creative and savvy use of space. One of my favourite author’s is C.S. Lewis - he was a creative thinker and writer. You probably have a favourite composer or band. Creativity is all around us
People are creative because God is creative. The beginning of the Bible is all about his creativity. The other day I was out walking when I noticed the birds singing. Then I walked past a bush buzzing with bees. I’d been out in the pine forest with all the wildflowers blooming. What an amazingly creative God!
And what about creativity in the church? Ummm… We do OK with music, but we’re probably not known for our creativity so much, are we? But if God is so creative, if he has put creativity into us, and if we have the Spirit of God, shouldn’t we reflect that creativity in our church?
We’ve been looking at the gifts, and this morning we’re going to look at the creative gifts. That’s a huge category, so I want to narrow it down to two main passages. But remember that we’re not limiting gifts only to what we find in the Bible, because the Bible seems to indicate that there are more than what we find there.
ARTISTRY/ARTISANSHIP
Exodus 31.3-11 when the Israelites came out of Egypt God appointed some of them to build the tabernacle, which was a kind of mobile tent. He tells Moses about it on Mt Siniai. And God said:
READ Ex 31.3-11
Bezalel’s artistic gifting extended to a number of different areas. Furniture making, woodworking, metalworking, working with precious stones. The people were skilled in weaving and making high quality clothes and perfume. You have everything from art to craft to artisanship.
And these people didn’t just have the natural ability that’s wired into many artistic people, God said, "I have filled with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills…" Bezalel in particular was filled with the Spirit. In other words, God had given him a specific gift so the temple could be built.
This tells us a couple of things.
First that artistry and artisanship can be charismatic gifts given by the Spirit. I don’t think every skilled artist necessarily has a spiritual gift for art, but some do.
The second thing is the value that God places on creativity and art. The stuff going into the temple wasn’t just functional furniture, v.4 says it involved ’artistic designs’. God wanted it to look good. He wanted the incense and anointing oil to smell good.
Don’t get me wrong, we need functional people who can just make things fit together well. It actually takes someone very creative to find better ways of achieving good function. You know, in the car making world the Swedes have a reputation for building safe, functional cars. If you were around a few years ago do you remember the old Volvos. But do you remember what else they had a reputation for? Really bad aesthetic design. They were kind of embarrassing. So we need function and aesthetics.
Over the past few weeks we’ve talked about this idea of not getting tied up with what is your ’spiritual gift’, but using what you’ve got to serve God and build up the body. You might not think you have much of a spiritual gift of creativity. I enjoy photography, but I don’t think I have a gift for it, spiritual or otherwise. But what you do can turn into a gift when you do it for God’s pleasure or to serve God’s people.
If this passage tells us nothing else it tells us that God values artistry and craft. But we don’t really need the Bible to tell us that, do we? And we don’t need a spiritual gift to use this part of our humanity to glorify God. In fact, we must!
I’ll talk more about how we can do that in a moment.
MUSIC
But let’s look at the second creative gift set we’re going to explore this morning. This is found in 1Chronicles 16.4. The Bible doesn’t actually talk about this being a spiritual gift, but you’d have a hard time arguing it’s not. On the other hand this is another gift that’s deeply ingrained into the human spirit, so maybe it transcends the whole spiritual gift thing.
READ 1Chr 16.4-6 (2Chr 29.27-28)
This is quite a significant passage in the Bible. As far as we know, before this time there weren’t Levites assigned specifically to the task of worshiping with music. Worship at the tabernacle revolved around the sacrifice, prayer, and the Law, but not music. David went through a massive restructure of the tabernacle system to get it ready for the temple that his son Solomon would build.
We sometimes take this for granted, but did you know the Bible is shot through with music? The Psalms were originally set to music, many still have the tune they were played to in the title, although we don’t know what that is, of course! In a number of places in the New Testament we find Jesus or the disciples singing hymns. In the book of Revelation we find music in heaven.
I don’t know if there’s a specific gift of music, but I do know that some people have a particular gift for bringing us into God’s presence through music. Composers, musicians, singers and worship leaders can all practice this ministry in different ways.
King David had an obvious gift of music. In fact, in his early career, King Saul had him play for him when he was being afflicted by an evil Spirit. 1Sam 16.23 says, "Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up is lyre and play. Then relief would com to Saul; he would feel better , and the evil spirit would leave him."
But again, this isn’t something we need a specific gift to use. Every week you come here to sing to God you’re involved in music ministry. In a real sense, the musicians up the front aren’t actually here to minister to you, they’re here to help you minister to the Lord! That’s why the gift of worship and leading worship is so important.
Music is such an important and universal part of our humanity that we probably need to be careful that we don’t over spiritualise Christian music. Have you ever felt goose bumps listening to a great song? Or been moved to tears? I have, and not just by Christian music. Any good music can do that.
But if we shouldn’t over spiritualise Christian music, then we shouldn’t under spiritualise music in general. It’s so powerful because it connects with something deep inside. It gets into our souls. It has the power to affect our mind - many people think listening to Mozart makes you smarter! Music therapy is a recognised therapy for helping people in different ways.
OK, so not everyone is going to use music to minister to others. I think the American Bill of Rights mentions something about freedom from cruel and unusual punishments. God doesn’t see it that way! But I might. So sing to God! Sing with others, and if it’s good for the rest of us, sing to us and lead us in song!
WHAT MAKES A GIFT SPIRITUAL?
Which raises the issue - when is a creative gift or ability or even interest, a gift, and when should we keep it to ourselves?
In terms of ministry, we need to consider what we’re trying to achieve. A Christian may be a brilliant artist or song writer or wood turner, but may not be seeking to use their skill for ministry other than as a general act of worship. You know, in the way we need to offer everything we have and are and do to the Lord. In that case we’re not talking about a ministry gift, exactly. That’s not to demean it in any way.
As with any gift, it simply comes down to what fruit is it going to bear? If you’re going to clear the building when you sing, that’s probably not your ministry. But if people are uplifted and helped into God’s presence, then it’s something you might pursue. Of course, there are different specialties in ministry as well. All of us are OK to sing to the Lord, but maybe only a few of us have the voices for singing in the worship group, even though we’re not looking for perfection - we’re just as concerned about heart. And then an even smaller number are going to be soloists!
Your creative talent may be used in conjunction with another ministry or gift. I think we have a few ladies who are into card making - how encouraging is it to get a personal hand-made card, especially when it’s done out of godly motivation? And how brilliant to turn a hobby into an act of worship or ministry? Or worship leading is enhanced by spiritual discernment or a prophetic edge.
HOW CAN WE USE THESE GIFTS TODAY?
So what are some of the ways we can use our creative gifts for ministry? We’ve touched on a few, but let’s think about a few more.
How might we use gifts of artistry or craftsmanship or craft? I think there’s a place in worship that we miss out on. Can you imagine some well made seasonal banners on the wall behind us at Christmas or Easter or for a missions or prayer emphasis? We did that in one church I was part of. An art teacher… and I’m not picking on Suzie here… led the process and we all joined in.
But what about in evangelism? People have been using music to reach out to others. But art can be part of our engagement with the wider culture as well. You may not be able to give the content of the gospel, but when we start to provoke and engage it allows us to add a Christian voice we might otherwise miss out on.
One church had a small group that met for one or two terms specifically for art. They learned how to paint, created some works and then displayed them in a café in Freo. Some of this was blatantly Christian - what a great opportunity!
In Acts 9.36-39 we find a believer who used her dress making skills to help the poor.
READ Acts 9.36-39
This may not have a been a gift, but Dorcas and her clothes and other acts of love became a gift to those widows who were so distraught at her passing.
CONCLUSION
There are a whole bunch of creative and communication gifts we haven’t touched on. Acting and writing for example. All of our creativity can be used and turned into a gift of worship or of ministry or of outreach. What about scrap booking? Are you scrap bookers tired of creating pages of baby photos? I reckon there’s a ministry opportunity waiting to happen there. Film making - all kinds of stuff!
God has made us as creative beings, and many of you have creative and artistic gifts. What would our church look like if that creativity was released in our worship and ministry and outreach? What better way to express it than for God’s glory?
If you have a creative gift itching to come out or can see a way we can become more creative and can contribute to that - you know, this is about releasing gifting, not just telling people how to do things - then talk to us about it. Have a go. Make our church more colourful.
God loves creativity. How can we be a more creative, artistic church?
