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There is art in life. But in order to have access to it’s power, we have to be paying attention.

More often than not, people discredit the art in their life as commonplace because they don’t feel they are creative or creative enough. We take for granted the fact that we have the ability to create art in things like our jobs, relationships, kids, meals, trips, doctors appointments. You name it, art exists in it…but it’s easy to miss if we’re not paying attention.

One of the first things a person using their creative muscle discovers is the importance of keeping their antenna up all the time. A friend of mine, a songwriter, has written some of the biggest songs ever sung in corporate worship. I asked him one day where he gathers inspiration for these culture-shaping tunes. His answer? Everywhere.

He takes the pictures, smells the air, experiences the relationships. He lives his life. He is consistently tuned in to the fact that the next song may be on the breath of someone he talks with or in the branches as they sway in the breeze.

Time after time, we find ourselves waiting for that “lightening strike” of creativity; for amazing ideas to fall out of the sky and hit us in the head. We go to youtube, or google, or some other church’s website or vimeo and are “inspired” by their work…but, in reality, the inspiration is right in front of us.

See, we control the work. We control if we are paying attention, taking notes, experiencing life ALL AROUND US! Our real lives have the potential to inspire us far more than any blog, tumblr, instagram or flickr. So, GET OUT, PUT YOUR ANTENNA UP and CREATE from the art of YOUR life.

What are some ways you have learned to keep your antenna up?

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Every church or organization has a vision. It is their ethos, the filter they use to pass on ideas. This vision becomes the rallying cry for the organization when times are hard. It takes a bold leader to keep their organization or department on vision. At Cross Point, we have a mission statement that helps to provide our vision for the future:

“To continue to grow as a community of believers radically devoted to Christ, irrevocably committed to one another and relentlessly dedicated to reaching those outside God’s family with the Gospel of Christ.”

All of us have the unfortunate ability to drift. It’s not that we drastically change course, we just start to ever so slightly veer off course. One of the biggest reasons for this is losing sight of our focus. We start to look at other churches, other teams, other pastors…and we start to imitate rather than create. Another dangerous reason for a drift is when we start to listen to the voices. The voices who tell us we should do it “this way.” The voices in our own head of doubt and wonder. The voices that tell us that if we were a little more like THIS person or a little more like THAT person, we might have their success. All these little things can cause us to drift until we look around one day and realize we have gotten off course and have lost our way.

So this weekend, as we enter our churches and services, let’s realign with our unique vision. Let’s allow God to use US the way HE planned. Let’s allow HIM to provide direction, not some other external force that is influencing us. God called you – uniquely you – to lead the tribe of people around you today! Lead. Go for it…because if you don’t, it may be hindering the only connection to God some of those people will ever get to experience.

Lead well. Lead with passion. Lead creatively and uniquely – like only you can. Be bold.

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In 1976, psychologist Silvano Arieti wrote a book entitled “Creativity:The Magic Synthesis.” Arieti specialized in two fields: creativity and schizophrenia. Honestly, the two are probably not as far apart as we would first believe. Arieti’s book summarized nine conditions that he felt were necessary for creativity:

• 1. Alone. Being alone allows us to find ourselves, as well as to be open to new kinds of inspiration.
• 2. Inactivity. We have to find time to get out of our routines. We need time to focus on “inner resources”.
• 3. Daydreaming. Creating the space to allow ourselves to explore our thoughts and dreams; to just freestyle and not have the pressure of constraints to limit or stagnate our creative process.
• 4. Free thinking. Finding ways to allow our mind to wander in any direction. Doing this gives us permission to explore topics that are not in our normal routines or thought processes. Doing this helps us find connection points between things we may not have connected and concepts we wouldn’t naturally link up.
• 5. State of readiness to catch similarities. Seeing things from our creative lens and not our analytical lens; looking at things differently.
• 6. Gullibility. Suspending judgment allows us to explore ideas without treating them with prejudice.
• 7. Remembering and replaying past traumatic conflicts. Conflict creates more and new creative concepts.
• 8. Alertness. Having our antenna up allows us to the ability to find relevance in things we may not normally be recognizing.
• 9. Discipline. Finding the ability to do the work necessary to realize and then, systematically plan the execution of our ideas.

We all love the times we are “in the flow” – when creativity is flowing and we are just able to ride the rhythm. But often that rhythm is broken. Especially when we are busy, tired, or under stress. Being intentional with these nine tools can help us rejuvenate our creative process and find that rhythm we are looking for to create our best work.

When do you find yourself needing to create creativity?
Have you identified any other practices that work for you when you need to create creativity?

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I root for disaster.

Disaster happens when things fall apart, get destroyed, and fail miserably – all things we are usually afraid to embrace. The truth is, however, if we are going to have magnificent successes, we have to be willing to risk disastrous failures. Choosing to avoid disaster forces us to live in the middle. The middle is safe and is cluttered with a bunch of safe noise that can’t grab anyone’s attention. The only thing worse than being hated or failing is being ignored. At least when we are hated there is passion behind how people feel. When people ignore us they’re indifferent. Indifference is dangerous because no one is forced to be passionate about what we’re creating. When we play it safe, we live in a place where we give people permission to ignore us…which is the last thing we should ever desire.

But, in choosing to take chances, break the status quo, and attempt to deliver something spectacular, we risk magnificent success or terrific disasters. We force people to either love us or hate us…but they have to choose. We create the reactions that separate us from the safe middle, the most dangerous place in the world.

So, as you create, try to find ways to avoid being safe. Take some chances. Do things that will force people to love or hate you but whatever you do, don’t live in the middle. If you do, we will never notice you.

What are some decisions you have made that risked disaster if they did not succeed?

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Some people work best when they’re alone.

But, even the loners need a sounding board from time to time. The more time we spend with teams, the more we realize that great art gets better when the right team is built. When we couple a great team with talent, vision, and hustle, there really is no ceiling for what can happen.

So how do we know we are building the right team? Here are ten clues:

1. Surround yourself with people you like to work with. There is nothing worse than being in a high stress situation and not enjoying the team that you are doing life with.

2. Find people who care passionately. If members are renters and not owners, it will breed frustration.

3. Respect the unique. Each person brings a different and unique tool box to the job each day. Respect the difference. Diversity creates better creative concepts.

4. Individuals united under one vision. Know where we are going, make it clear, repeat it often, and make sure everyone can buy into that direction. If not, they should move on.

5. Be clear. Define roles and expectations so everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them.

6. Trust Matters. If we can’t trust each other we will always start to wonder if intentions and motivations are pure.

7. People who can talk. We have to have teammates who can communicate, be clear, and be willing to have real and sometimes uncomfortable conversations without it becoming personal, unless it’s personal.

8. Identify people who understand the opportunity in front of us and have a sense of urgency without having a sense of panic.

9. Learners. People who desire to learn. Learners find out what is coming, better ways of doing what we do, and make creative teams much more creative.

10. Talent matters too. You can have all nine of the above traits, but without talent, everyone will become frustrated.

What are some of the clues you look for when creating a team.

The hustle of church is intense. There is always something to be created for someone – videos, stickers, brochures, marketing plans, announcements, songs, set lists. It can be tiring just writing all these things out. In the middle of all of the chaos, there’s something we should always remember to do in order to make sure we are creating MOMENTUM in our creative departments and not just PRODUCTS: EVALUATE! Evaluate everything we do.  After a project take stock.

• Did it meet the goal?
• Did we create a good experience?
• Did we make our communicators job easier?
• Did we shorten the gap for a first time visitor?
• Did they feel welcome?
• Was each service all that we intended for it to be?
• Did we communicate the story in the absolute best way possible?

Evaluating the effectiveness of a project helps us refine for the next time. Looking back provides us the ability to look forward and be even better in the future. Doing this after each major – or even minor – project helps us make sure we are not just creating stuff, but that we are intentionally creating to tell an amazing story, communicate properly, and manage the momentum of our organization. We are not always going to hit home runs…especially if we are swinging for home runs. Often, we might strike out and THAT’S OK! We will strike out from time to time trying to do our absolute best.

It is so important to Be prepared. Be Intentional. Be flexible. Be Reliable.

The services we are creating, or have created, for this weekend matter. If they did not meet your goals, get better – but never forget that God is bigger than our sermons, programming, and songs. We are responsible for stewarding our resources, effort, and work. HE is responsible for it impacting people’s hearts and changing their lives.

What are some questions you ask when you are evaluating your process?

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Innovation & Creativity can be very painful processes. If there was not a pain or a cost to being creative, everyone would do it…so, the cost has to be substantial enough to find those who are committed to excelling at their daily art. Max McKeown is an author and innovator. In his new book, Truth About Innovation, McKeown talks about the 4 pains of a new idea.

• People Pain – Most people do not like change. Change bothers people and causes friction. When most people are confronted with friction, they choose to avoid it and attempt to find a path with least resistance. Creativity & Innovation require us to embrace friction and do the hard work to bring our ideas to life. This is especially true in our churches – where we have so many sacred cows in our organizations. People will FIGHT for their sacred cows. And the truth is: a lot of times, new ideas fail. When they do, we lose equity with the people in our organizations. We have to make sure we are strategic as to when we cause friction and pain on the people within our organizations so we have the privilege of the pressure to succeed.
• Necessary Pain – McKeown has been quoted as saying “Innovation is a gamble”. When we are attempting to further creativity and innovation in our organizations, we are forced to face the gamble of pain. McKeown went on to explain how a lot of times the biggest pain is found in hard work. “Innovators put the effort in to achieve greatness and are willing go beyond existing knowledge at the risk of failure and humiliation.” It takes a hustler’s mentality to be willing to do the work to make our ideas succeed.
• Industry Pain – This could be the most painful for our churches and organizations. Industry pain is the unwillingness to continually develop, embrace, and adapt to technology. Everyday technology makes the playing field more even for creative people. What we can create now on a laptop and a phone used to take a crew, film, and tens of thousands of dollars. Creativity used to exist for the rich and elite, but now, kids in the hood – kids with amazing creativity – get to express it because creativity is attainable. Industry pain is the fear of growth and development and the refusal to embrace where the world is going…fast.
• Unnecessary Pain – We need to know when enough is enough. As creative people, our tendency is to continually push the boundaries and ignore the limits. Sometime,s the cost is not worth the result. We have to be in tune with our surroundings, our teammates, and our instincts to know when we have reached this threshold and the right time to say ‘enough is enough.’ Don’t allow this to become an excuse. Cast vision passionately and be willing to fight for your ideas. Just know which ideas are worth dying for and which can be refined to see another day.

As you create in your church or organization, pay attention to your pains. Know them and be willing to confront them. Your pain can make you better.

The scariest game a creative person can play is the game of comparisons.

It’s especially scary on Sundays. We work hard to prepare for Sunday. We put in a lot of hours to create our best work. Then, thanks to twitter, FB, Instagram or whatever social stream we are rocking, we sit back and have a real time view of what all of our “friends” have created.

And so it begins.

We are inundated by voices that tell us we are not good enough. Voices that say our messages are not strong enough. Voices that say our sermons or worship sets won’t move people closer to God. These voices make us doubt our content, our effort, and our execution. These voices have no right to exist in our heads. These voices are not healthy, and they are surely not God’s voice. These voices leave us feeling empty, devalued, scared, and unsatisfied with our work. We begin to wonder why we didn’t have “that idea.” These voices cause us to doubt our value and the position God has placed us in. Why didn’t we use that song in our worship set? What if we would’ve created that lighting scene on our stage? These voices fill our head with the wrong type of “what if questions.”

The truth is this: you are not your “friends” and your “friends” are not you. Stop comparing. My friend Jon Acuff talks about how we often compare our beginning to someone else’s middle. Comparing Cross Point at 8 years old to Willow Creek at 20+ years old is just not fair. Still, we do it every day. Especially on Sundays.

So today, instead of comparing yourself, believe in yourself and your team. You are creating the right experiences for your audience. You don’t have to be that other guy, or that cool church, or that super creative chick…it’s not just okay for you to be you…it’s necessary! Instead of comparing yourself to others on twitter, cheer them on. Deep down – they are just as scared and are probably comparing themselves as well.

How do you fight to not compare yourself?

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Story is paramount. Without a story, our products, services, organization and vision get lost in an endless ocean of facts. Good organizations realize this new concept.

A few years ago, The Body Shop wanted to roll out a new product line called “Natures Way To Beautiful.” They told stories about their products and the ingredients they were made from. For example, one display told the story of Aloe and how it was harvested in an environmentally-friendly way by real people (shocking). The Body Shop told the story of these people and the effects the Aloe crops have on their community. So, when you bought these products you weren’t just buying lotion. You weren’t just being environmentally conscious, either. You were supporting a community and becoming part of their story.

In our worlds, our churches and organizations, we have to give our “stuff” narrative. What is our story? Why should someone care about our car wash or our missions trip? Who does it impact or who has it impacted in the past? Why is it important for me to give a back-to-school backpack? We have to find ways to tell the story of our event – not just the time, date, and location. When we provide narrative to our event we give people a reason to become engaged. People no longer want to be consumers, they want to be characters. People want to become part of the story, YOUR story…are you providing them the narrative?

What ways have you helped create a story for your organization?
How can you improve on this concept?
Do you have a story you can share with us?

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Part of the resistance that we face when we sit down to try and create comes from the voices that tell us all the reasons why we can’t create. The pressure to “be creative” often derails us from creating. We have to confront these voices to disqualify them. A few of the voices that often come up in conversation:

• My creation is not good enough // If you are creating it, you have decided it is necessary and needed. This is just an excuse to keep us from achieving our goal.
• I am not good enough // You have been empowered to create. You are a designer original in your own right. You are a person and you are not what you do or what you create.  You have spent time and sweat learning what you know. We need you to create. What you bring is different from everyone else and is necessary for us to all achieve our goals.
• I have to be first // You don’t have to be the first person to “do” something you just have to be the first person to do it your way. Creativity is the ultimate “file sharing platform”. What makes creativity unique is when we apply our touch, look, and feel to it – when we make it OURS!
• I don’t know where to start // Start with the work. Creativity takes energy and work. It’s not magical,  it’s birthed in sweat and execution. What is your story? Find that and you find the beginning.
• Is it finished? // EDIT it. What we say in 8 words we should be able to say in 5 – and what we say in 5 words we should be able to say in 3.
• Why will this connect? // It will connect because you have good instincts. Listen to them. Trust them. Your creative instinct is necessary because if you don’t like what you are creating and it doesn’t connect with you…it won’t connect with anyone else.
• I don’t have enough time // We waste so much time worrying about the time we don’t have that we use the time we do have worrying. Dig in. Get to work.
• I don’t have enough resources // No one does. There could always be more. Limitations create opportunities for us to be more creative. When we lack resources, we are forced to do the hard work in creativity and not just buy our creative concepts.