Empowering the Church through Creativity!
By Michael McCartney
Opening Illustration: Have Communion set up front with a light on it and have the power point playing of the pictures of Jesus. Also have the song by Mark schultz called Remember Me playing on the CD player.
Focus of class: The Holy Spirit desires to empower the church by unleashing His creative power into its life. We can be the conduits which God will use to unleash this power force into the lives of our church and community.
Thesis: What is the most creative force on the planet today? Is it Hollywood? Is it the business world? No! It’s the Spirit of the Lord! The church should be the most creative force in any community. Why? Because God’s Spirit is here!
Introduction:
Is your church creative?
Are you creative?
Do you want to be creative?
Do you think it’s too much work?
Are you afraid to be creative because of what others may say?
Do you believe that the Holy Spirit is more creative than the spirit of the world?
Are you willing to open yourself up to His creative force?
Are you willing to pray and ask Him to help you be creative?
If you answered yes to the last question above then come with me on a creative journey and watch how God will use you.
I. We need to be creative in presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our communities. The Why!
a. God is the most creative person I know. Don’t you think so?
i. Just read Genesis chapters one and two.
1. Just take a look at the sky and the stars.
2. Observe wildlife and flowers.
a. Look at the flower.
b. Take a moment and look at it. It’s amazing.
3. He created all the beauty and majesty of this world. The Mountain tops, the ocean depths and the desert plains. Why? He is creative. He does not like boring!
4. I never forgot what Chuck Swindoll’s said years ago, “It is a sin to bore people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!” I have never forgotten it and no minister should.
5. Thought “Aim So High You’ll Never Be Bored!”
a. The greatest waste of our creative resources is the number of people who never achieve their potential in God. Get out of that slow comfortable lane. Switch into the fast lane and fly. If you think you can not you will not. If you think you can there’s a great chance you will. Even making the effort will make you feel like a new person. Reputations and revelations are achieved by searching for things that can’t be done and doing them. Aim low boring, aim high start soaring into God’s realm of creativity.
ii. Not only was he creative but He is still today just as creative.
1. Malachi 3:6: 6“I the LORD do not change.
a. This verse tells me that the Lord is still creative!
2. James 1:17: 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
a. I believe that the gift of creativity is there for all who desire it. We just need to ask! You have not because you ask not!
3. God’s nature is full of inventiveness and creative ways.
a. He desires to impart that to us if we are willing.
4. Truth is He helps solve our problems today in creative ways – ways you could never imagine.
a. Creativity is the act of problem solving using God’s creative means to solve it.
5. Jesus was very creative in the way he presented the Gospel and so should we.
a. He used hands on illustrations – Salt of the earth, light of the world. So should we!
i. The Golden Cow illustration- pass stuffed animal of cow around – have them write on it the different types of Golden Cows we deal with today.
b. He used drama – just observe the scene in the Temple when he overturned the money changers tables - So should we!
i. You can use Drama teams in your own church.
ii. There is also good drama videos put out by Willow Creek Community Church.
c. He used stories- parables- real life testimonies-peoples stories and so should we!
i. Have someone get up in the middle of your sermon to share their story to make you point.
ii. Rick warren does a great job of this at Saddleback.
d. He used visuals- fig tree – nature – so should we!
i. Show a DVD song clip ‘I Can Only Imagine!”.
ii. Power point
iii. Pictures – pass around a picture – look at these!
e. He used miracles – He raised Lazarus from the dead- healings – so should we!
i. Always gets peoples attention. Have people share their testimonies when they experienced a miracle.
f. He used the creative power of God to get His message across and told us to do like wise.
6. But a truth rings in the ears of American Christianity today if you were to take a survey on the street and ask who is more creative the Christian community or the secular community. Who would win?
a. My hunch is the secular world would win the survey. But this should not be! Because we are told in Scripture that the most creative force in the universe lives within us if we are born-again.
b. John 14:15-17: 15“If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
c. I Cor. 3:16: 16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
d. Galatians 2:20: 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
e. I John 4:15,16: 15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
7. Therefore since He lives in us should we not reflect his creative nature? Should we not have creative mindsets and be able to find new ways to present the Gospel to the people in our community that will grab their attention and impact their lives?
a. Friends, fellow warriors we are in a war just like in the Gulf for the souls of the people around us and we need fight for people to be set free.
i. We need to use the cross and go on the offensive to take back the territory that the enemy has stolen.
1. Illustration- Visual- Cross turns into Sword of the Spirit.
b. Creativity gives birth to New Life and so does creativity in the church today birth New Life.
c. Webster defines creativity as;
i. Creativity is marked by the ability or power to create –to bring into existence, to invest with a new form, to produce through imaginative skill, to make or bring into existence something new.
d. So let’s pray and ask the Lord to empower us to be creative! Let’s Pray!
T.S. – We have learned Why we should be creative but now lets learn the How too part of being creative.
II. God’s people need to make a commitment to tapping His creative force.
a. We must become focused on being creative for the glory of God. We are talking about a life and death matter! So how do you unlock creative power your thinking? Glad you asked lets look at how!
i. The first key in unlocking the creativity in our ministry is to focus on the gift of creativity.
1. Creativity is like a muscle it has to be exercised to be effective.
2. The more we flex this muscle and use it the more able we are to learn to look outside the box and see things from another angle.
3. Nita states There are three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:
a. Need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
b. Need to communicate ideas and values
c. Need to solve problems (page 396)
4. The challenge for us as adults is to learn to look at a situation or service with the ability to go outside the box.
ii. Exercise: What can we do to go outside the box for presenting the Gospel?
1. Use Pad to write down ideas! Brainstorm right now!
a. Reference the communion idea which kicked off our class and the song by Mark Schultz.
b. Pictures on Power point
c. Pictures – The ones being passed around – each has a story!
d. Video Clips – A Clip from Bagger Vance!
e. Hands on items – Cross to Sword – a flower!
f. Other ideas?
i. ________________________________
ii. ________________________________
iii. ________________________________
iii. One idea for unlocking the creative mind set is to just focus on writing out your ideas on a piece of paper.
1. Do the exercise with group- You need to write for 5 minutes straight --just write. Let the ideas flow write-write-write!
a. On the back of this handout is a place to just write – try it and you will discover that the Lord will bring you ideas.
2. Use the Stimulating Questions list as you write or if you get a block read through and answer the questions.
iv. Other ways to unlock the creative mindset:
1. Visit a museum, art show.
2. Go to a seminar or convention
3. Take a class
4. Read books on being creative
5. Gather resources to be creative
6. Go to creative websites:
a. www.creativequotations - Plomer
b. www.teras-wish.com
c. www.creativeteachingsite.com
d. www.sermoncentral.com
7. Watch a movie and look for a creative visual
b. Once we have decided to start focusing there is a practical method to becoming Creative, Plomer states, Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected. Here is how the process works according to plomer.
i. The first phase is the Foraging phase.
1. This is where you gather the information.
a. You Brainstorm
b. You write down ideas whenever they pop up.
c. You gather a group together to throw out ideas.
ii. The second phase is taking the information and then Reflecting on it.
1. This is where ideas are birthed.
2. Steven Spielburg stated, “I dream for a living!”
3. You look at each idea by praying about it meditating on its thought- its message.
iii. The third phase is Adopting an idea.
1. In this phase you weed out other ideas and focus on one idea. The one you want to use for a specific task or message.
iv. The forth phase is the Nurturing phase were you improve your idea and help it mature.
1. Henry Moore said, “There is a right physical size for every idea.”
2. Work on developing it and refining it.
3. How will you use it- present it?
4. What can be improved to communicate its life giving message.
v. The fifth phase is Kunckling Down.
1. This is where the idea is fully developed and you complete the task of creativity by putting it into reality.
2. This is where you use it in a message or a service.
T.S. – We have learned some ways of being creative and how to unleash the creative power of the Lord in our messages but it is also very important to use the gifts within your congregation and community to stay on the cutting edge of creativity.
III. We need to formulate a creative team to help put together creative outreaches. We need to recruit the Body of Christ in this work of the Lord!
a. Recruit your people – God has them in your church for a reason!
i. Ask them - Are you creative? Do you want to save lives? Come talk to me and become part of God’s new dream team here at New Life! That’s right we are forming a Dream Team- Do you want to enlist?
1. Picture of Uncle Sam and Jesus!
ii. What can Teams bring to the Service? TEAM = Together Each Achieves More- the power of teamwork!
1. Our first idea as a team was to put together a Testimony Book of all the people’s testimonies at New Life.
a. Idea came from a 12 year old!
b. We did it and you would be amazed at the result!
2. Using art work- Do you have artists in your church?
a. Have them paint a picture while you preach it.
i. The Mosaic church in Hollywood California uses this creative idea to get the message out.
1. Erwin Raphael McManus’ church does this innovatively.
a. Very Powerful!
2. Great Book he wrote – “An Unstoppable Force.” Group publishing.
b. Other ways – art in the park?
i. Other Ideas?
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
3. Using photography – Do you have photographers in your church?
a. We have photograph pictures on the back wall of the church– They minister to people and state a message.
b. How about a photo gallery where Christ is promoted and gazed upon by onlookers.
i. We have done photo shows with pictures from our community and congregation.
ii. We did one at a Memorial Day service.
4. Using drama – Do you have actors?
a. You can do skits – dramatic presentations – mimes!
5. Poems – Do you have poets?
6. Movie clips – We did one of Jesus – We used Matthew AD and took specific clips and played music along with it. We call it God of Wonders.
a. See Movie Clip and listen to the song God of Wonders.
b. Do you have a person who would enjoy doing something creative like this?
7. Video tapes- Someone to put together video interviews from the church.
8. Writers? To help write articles for a church news letter! Do you have any?
9. Using music – Like the following ways:
a. We do at IHOP on Saturday night
b. Start a Christian band
c. Writing a new Christian song and sharing it with the body of Christ and the world.
d. Playing an instrument for the Lord – challenge you Youth and adult band members to play for Jesus.
i. Many want to do it for the world but not for Jesus Christ. That’s sad! Ask them!
10. Using Dance – Do you have dancers?
a. To glorify God. Today it’s used mostly to glorify the flesh and the world.
b. Hewn your body in the dance to praise the Father.
11. Using multimedia- Do you have these types of people?
a. Computers – to promote the Gospel
i. Internet ministry
ii. Web pages
12. Movie critics – That will help you find clips!
a. Helping find proper clips and editing them for resources for messages.
13. Sound system
a. Helping record tapes so people can listen to messages and music.
b. Helping with the sound so people can hear and receive from the Lord.
b. We also need help in being creative in our teaching by getting insight and ideas from others:
i. Use a survey and ask your people what subjects they would like to hear about in a sermon.
ii. Use modern day parables - news
iii. Use visuals – commercials, movies, pictures, computer graphics
iv. Use hands on items – nature, objects, movements
v. Use real life stories
vi. Learn to deliver His message with more flare.
1. Take some classes on preaching.
2. Go to seminars
a. This last year I took a seminar on being creative – Why? It’s essential if we want to reach to our community for Christ.
b. We can unlock the creative side within us if we want to.
c. But it will take commitment on your part.
3. Use a video curriculum.
a. Ken Davis has a great one out!
vii. Use anointed preaching and teaching by always being prayed up!
1. It’s not about giving information it’s about inspiration.
c. We need to understand that creativity is involved in every area of our lives and ministry.
i. We need to be creative in raising funds for ministry.
1. Chrisitiangrants.com great resource.
2. What creative things can we do to finance the ministries of the Church of Jesus Christ.
a. Pray-Brainstorm-Pray!
b. Ideas:
i. __________________________________
ii. __________________________________
iii. __________________________________
iv. __________________________________
ii. We need to be creative in administration and management of the church.
1. We need creative people to help manage the various dimensions of the ministry.
2. People who can create custom Data bases.
d. We need creative people on our board and in leadership to unleash the power of creativity into the church.
i. You as pastor need to promote creative ideas and support creative ideas.
Conclusion:
Creativity is essential in empowering the church to reach this world in which we live. Therefore we need to unleash the creative power of the Lord into our ministry and watch the impact of creativity. Remember God is still creative and he still wants to create New Life!
Yes…You can be creative just do some research.
Here is a list of some good resources:
1. Bore No More, By group Publishing
2. Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church…And How to Fix it, Shultze
3. A Wack on the Side of the Head, Roger Von Oech
4. A Kick in the Seat of the Pants, Roger Von Oech
5. Rethinking The Church, James Amery White
6. Teaching to Change Lives, Howard Hendricks
7. 7 Laws of the Learner, Bruce Wilkenson
8. Visual Edge, (video clips) Ginghamsburg Global
9. Family Friendly Church, Freudenburg, Lawrence
10. Boredom Busters, Hansen
11. Family Friendly Ideas, Group
12. Six Thinking Hats, de Bono
13. The Mind Map Book, Tony Buzan
14. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Gelb
15. Thinkertoys, Michael Michalko
16. What a Great Idea! Charles Thompson
17. Lateral Thinking, de Bono
18. Color Outside the Lines, Howard Hendricks
19. Jump Start Your Brain, Doug Hall
20. Your Are The Message, Roger Ailes
21. Communication Workshop, Video Ken Davis
22. Creative Bible Teaching, Richards
23. Creative Teaching Methods, LeFever
24. The Source, Dyer and Nancy Beach – Resource Guide
25. Blockbuster Movie Illustrations, Group, Belknap
26. Video’s That Teach 1, Youth Specialties
27. Video’s That Teach 2, Youth Specialties
28. Sermoncentral.com
29. Out On The Edge, Slaughter
30. Rev. Magazine, Group
31. Christian History Magazine, Christianity Today
32. Discipleship Journal
33. Willow Creek Community Church Resources- Video Dramas
34. American Association Of Christian Counselors web site.
35. See List from Tera
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