You may have experienced the feeling before.
Choked. Shot down. Misunderstood. Not sure if your art has its place within the local church. But just because you feel that way doesn’t mean it’s time for you to give up on it.
The local church is the place your art can find its greatest fulfillment – in building up the body of Christ and reaching people with the Gospel in unique ways.
Today I have the privilege of featuring the brilliance of some amazing people. These six creative experts have graciously agreed to offer their wisdom and insight into this issue: the creative working in the local church.
I asked each one this question:
“What’s the best advice you would give to an artsy, creative staff member working in the local church?”
Enjoy (and take notes):
STEPHEN BREWSTER
Stephen is the Creative Arts Pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN. Be certain you follow him on Twitter and subscribe to his great blog on creativity here.
Be flexible. How we work and how the rest of our organization embraces our work are 2 very different places. It takes being flexible to succeed.
Don’t be safe. Safe or mediocre work gets lost in traffic. We have to create for the edges if we want to create anything that will sustain. Creating for the edges will cause people to love and hate with passion. Be ready for the push back and all that will come with creating things that people LOVE and HATE.
CHRIS VACHER
Chris is the Director of Worship at Orangeville Baptist Church near Toronto. He is also the founder of Worship Rises, a songwriting collective in Canada. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog here.
I don’t mean this to sound spiritual or come off as trying to be “that guy” but my best answer is read your Bible. There is nothing that will inspire your creativity, deepen your dependance on God, direct your heart towards worship like spending time reading scripture. You will be a better worship leader, you’ll be a better staff person, you’ll be a better team leader, you’ll be a better creative, you’ll be a better (fill in the blank)… if you carve out time in your schedule to be in the word.
There are no shortcuts. God changes us in drastic ways for years and years and years after we come to faith in Christ. The Bible is like the anvil, the Spirit is like the hammer, and we are like the metal being shaped over and over again.
Remember, God loves you more than He loves your role. He wants you to delight in HIM not in your job.
There are no shortcuts. God will grow a delight and a love for His word in you that you may have never known possible.
JOHN SADDINGTON (TENTBLOGGER)
John is a professional blogger and internet genius. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog here.
A creative needs to know four things when it comes to working in a ministry:
- There are historical precedents and procedures which will seek to challenge the creative’s ability to create and execute on new ideas. Prayer, humility, and patience are necessary to “muddle” through the changes that the creative will bring.
- You have an opportunity to change the creative culture in which you do work but never at the cost of sacrificing contextual mission that was established when the local manifestation was first created.
- Boundaries are good and are necessary for the creative’s best work to appear. Creativity does not require chaos to be fruitful.
- There’s a very good chance that, as a creative, you’re time at this current job is temporary. You’re accountable to the time that you’re there and for your work to be of the very best quality as it will follow you wherever you go.
JUSTIN LATHROP
Justin is the founder of the church staffing company Help Staff Me and XP of Strategic Development at The Oaks. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog here.
Bring others along with you. Sometimes it can be frustrating working with linear, pragmatic people, but if you will take time to understand how they think and communicate at their level you will find yourself accomplishing more with them.
GABRIEL WILSON
Gabriel is the Director of Worship Arts at Lakeside Church, frontman of the incredible band, The Listening, and brilliant musician, producer, songwriter, and artist. Follow him on Twitter and check out his site here.
Everyone on your staff is an Artist… They just might not realize it–yet.
Instead of having a “creatives vs normals” mentality, it helps to realize that everyone is creative, but not everyone has realized their creativity to it’s full potential. In order to realize their true creative potential they will need your help.
Perhaps that’s why they call you the Pastor of Worship/Creative Arts? 😉
Question: What are your thoughts on being a creative in the local church? What is something you have learned? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Wow. Good stuff. Need to print this out and stick it on my wall!
Good idea!
“The local church is the place your art can find its greatest fulfillment – in building up the body of Christ and reaching people with the Gospel in unique ways.”
I would beg to differ.
My entire life experience has mostly been that the local church is the greatest block in having my art find its greatest fulfillment because the local church is generally interested in only an extremely narrow band of music/art/whatever you want to call it. A great many local churches aren’t interested in the “edges” of creativity at all.
In the Renaissance times, the church was the great supporter of the concept that great art and music had a place in the church, and that art and music was used in a time when most people couldn’t read to bring people closer to God and communicate His Word and truths to them.
We’ve lost that now. How many new “Sistine Chapels” are being created? How many new kinds of high qualities of all kinds of music, singing, etc. are being created beyond a basic, common denominator level of what has come to be defined as modern contemporary worship?
I’ve been told by one leader of a band I was in “if isn’t worship music we aren’t doing it.” Her definition of “worship music” meant it had been written in the last 3 months, only involved a few chords, simple words on the level of a 5 year old’s language, and ditched the fabulous history of hundreds of years of Christian music to the side of the road. All those past Christians who sang and played to the Lord in the past, they weren’t really “worshipping” simply because their music was older than 3 months old.
We need to move forward and upward to a more mature worship in the modern church that embraces the entire spectrum of the musical worship of God’s people through the ages as well as the new things being written needing to come up to a higher level.
Just think – we’ll be worshipping God FOREVER. New songs are great, but forever is a long time,and I really don’t think we’ll stay at the same place for the next billion or so years.
I get really frustrated that those people in our church who are the “creative” types are always the musicians ,songwriters ,dancers and actors. I have even been told, I’ m not creative.
Well I can turn a photo of almost anything into an accurate realistic scale model and engineer precision systems, which I love doing in my spare time, but because I’m not a muso I get no credit.
I really struggle with how what I do applies to church and how God wants me to use it for his kingdom. There are other forms of creativity in the church than just performing arts and music you know…
Thanks so much for sharing this! Totally agree that the local church should be a place that creativity is nutured. In fact, InterVarsity Press released my book “Creative Church Handbook : Releasing the Power of the Arts in Your Congregation” last May to deal directly with that challenge. Summer 2016 we’ll host two Creative Church Conferences to dig into the practical stuff with arts leaders from around the country. Check it out at TheNewR.org.
Interesting thought by Gabriel Wilson that “everyone is creative”.
I need to think about that comment for a while. It is challenging to me.
Best,
Gary
Southern NH (U.S.)