Christmas. It’s the same every year. That’s its nature, and with reason – the content has been the same for…well, forever. So then, how do we make it more creative? This is why we have to work…to make it creative.

Each year, we know that we will do some very expected and traditional things during our Christmas series. We have our first meeting in June/July. This is a chance to be out of our normal space and create. Then, we follow up in early October with a bigger meeting. During that meeting, we attempt to brainstorm some specific things:

• Ways to do what we have done – but different or better.
• New options to tell the same story.
• Memories or history that can help tell the story.
• Unique ideas around Christmas.

From there, Pete and our team will work on identifying a series title and how we are going to work the content. For example: this year, our series is “Shine On”. It’s going to be a fun series telling the story of how it’s our responsibility as Christians to reflect Jesus, the greatest gift ever given. One of the ways we’re going to do this is through a plan to participate in 12 Days of Serving, creating local missions opportunities for 12 days in a row.

Our graphic should be done today. If it is, I will share it..but not yet. We have to get it dialed in first. In the meantime, I thought we would share some of the graphics we used to inspire direction for this year’s Christmas series. What have you found that inspired your Christmas graphic programming?

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What are your favorite ways to get your team ready for Christmas.

We are really bad judges of our own creations.

As creative people, we are often very insecure about our creations. We walk through life and see all the great art being created arounds us and wonder: “how did they think of that? Where did that idea come from? I could never think of that! I would never be able to create that.” We see awesome people doing awesome things and just know that they are geniuses and we’re hacks.

But that lie is just not true. What is obvious to us may actually be magical to everyone else. The thing is, magic happens when we are busy doing our work.

When our focus becomes on being magical, the magic will never happen. But when we are occupied with doing our jobs, we are able to do what we do best. As we do our work, we start to create things and the by-product of our constant creation is to develop WOW moments for other people.

At some point, even the most amazing ideas have seemed obvious to their creator. That never stopped them from continuing to create. Maybe what is obvious to us can actually be amazing to everyone else.

Derek Siver, founder of CD Baby, has recently released a book entitled: Anything You Want where he talks about this concept and also drives home the point that often times we are bad judges of our own creations. We judge our ideas, our art, and our work through a different lens than our peers.

So, stop doubting. Stop believing the lie that you are not able to create WOW art. What is obvious to you may change the life of someone else. Go create and let the world decide while you are working, focused, and doing your thing.

Have you ever had an idea that felt obvious to you but blew someone else away?

Destruction – and the best and most creative organizations are adopting this concept as a way of developing new programs and products.

Creative destruction is defined as the concept of figuring out how to make your last product obsolete by making the in-house product that will beat it.

In other words, everything must improve – even our most successful stuff. For example, if our kids ministry is amazing, are we willing to start working on the next program that will be better, more effective, and more engaging for kids? We have to be willing to challenge, adjust, and improve at all times. We must continue to stay in a posture of adjusting or the world will adjust us.

Our projects and organizations – no matter how successful – will start to fade as some point. When they do, it will impact our church, company, or organization. The groups that continue to grow are the groups willing to embrace creative destruction before it is too late. We are either gaining momentum or we are losing it…there is no neutral. Embracing creative destruction helps ensure we keep gaining momentum.

If we are going to manage our momentum, stay creative, and keep growing and innovating, we have to be willing to embrace creative destruction.

What are some areas in your church or organization that you should be practicing Creative Destruction?

Every church leader or creative team leader I know is looking for an edge that will separate them from the noise in their community. Oftentimes, the key to breaking through the noise is to become innovative – doing something new or different. When we do new and different things, it helps us to break through the typical creative patterns. When Seacoast church became a multi-site, that was innovative. When Hillsong started turning out songs from their ministry, it was innovative. LifeChurch giving away resources at no cost is innovative. Courageous Church giving away free breakfast and starting their church via social media was innovative. So, how do we make our church or organization innovative? Here are a few tricks that may help:

• 1. Create, don’t copy. Copying is easy. Creating is difficult. If we want to innovate, we have to do some difficult things. We have to create our own original works. What works for someone else may or may not work for us. If we are going to innovate, we have to identify the things that make us uniquely us; what makes us designer originals. When we get busy copying, we stop creating and without creation, there is no innovation.
• 2. Have a clear mission. Not only having clear mission, but being committed to that mission forces us to point our organization towards innovation. We must know what we are willing to compromise on and what is non-negotiable. Our mission is the rudder of our organization. Our mission is the filter that every decision must pass through in order to be executed. Our mission keeps us on track and we will never innovate if we are not on track.
• 3. Fall in love with the mission, not our method. When we do things, especially successful things, we must refuse the temptation to fall in love with our methods. We should always be looking for new ways to do the things we do every day. Innovation requires us to think about what is next, not what is now. When we love our methods, we stop trying to figure out what is next. We can never rest on our achievements. We have to always be striving for what God has next for us and how we can accomplish that differently and more effectively.
• 4. Change our lens. The greatest innovations come from people who see things differently. When we are being our innovative best, people will wonder what in the world we are doing. Figuring out how to do things differently, looking at problems and opportunities differently (or non-conventionally) often give us the ability to be innovative. Innovation often makes people question before they accept. Don’t be afraid if what you are proposing seems like it is “out there” or not going to be accepted. If it was easy or not scary, everyone would do it.
• 5. How can we do this better? These are six words that breed innovation. Study our systems and process then ask “How can we do this better?”
• 6. Allow creativity to thrive. Innovation shines when our best ideas win. From the Senior Pastor to the intern, the best ideas matter. Find them, cherish them, and share them. Focusing on our best ideas allows us to be prepared when #2 on this list hits and we realize innovation means we have to change everything…again. Beating our best stuff is the best compliment for our creativity. We should not be worried about what other churches do. We need to be worried about what we are doing to be better – how we are beating ourselves and the best stuff we have ever done. When creativity thrives, we can see we are growing because we are being better than we have been before.
• 7. Be intentional. We don’t drift into innovation. Being innovative takes intentionality and a culture that strives to make a mark in art and in history. Innovation should be a by-product of doing our work to the best of our abilities. Passionately staying on mission provides the opportunity for innovation to thrive. Innovation develops out of the simple processes that we are using to be better and be our best.
• 8. Shake the haters. When we create great stuff, it will have lovers and haters – but it won’t live in the middle. The middle is where we are ignored. When we are so focused on people’s opinions, we drift from our message and our mission. People come to our churches for what God is doing in them. Ironically, we quickly fall victim to these same people who loved what we have done differently to make us uniquely us and try to change us to what they want church to be. Shake The Haters. Stay on mission. Fight to keep our DNA pure.
• 9. Innovation is kin to revolution. What is the one thing we can do that no one has ever done before? What is the one thing our community needs that no one is giving them that fits in our mission? Doing THAT thing is innovative and will make a mark.
• 10. Accept rejection. Not everyone is going to like us, and that is okay. When we are being innovative, we are going to be rejected. We must believe in what God has called our church to be…at all costs. Live in the confidence of all that God has called you to be – that is innovative in its own right.
• 11. Innovation does not require infinite resources. Innovation creates momentum – this can be done without a ton of cash. Don’t rely on what funds you do or don’t have. It’s about ideas, not cash.
• 12. Get the right crew. If we want to innovate, we have to have the right people in our organizations. Hire people who will be owners of your vision, not renters. Give them space to own. As they buy in and develop, partner them with people who will help them continue to remain an owner. Being an owner does not mean that someone has all the experience. It means they have all the motivation. Sometimes, experience can hamper innovation.
• 13. Be a hustler. Innovation might happen tomorrow, or it could take years. But hustlers understand that we are working towards a goal, not just for the moment. Hustlers are always asking questions. Hustlers never feel they have arrived because they know there is more that can be done. Are all the people in your city saved? If you answered no, there is more work to be done. Keep working, keep pushing, and keep trying to get better.

So, let’s innovate. In our communities, our churches, and our world. We may never be LifeChurch, Elevation, or Mars Hill, but we can be our absolute best in our community, and that is what matters.

Do you feel you are working in an organization that can change YOUR world? Are you ready to innovate?

Chasing our calling is a journey. We can’t wait for our calling, or destiny, or whatever we want to call it to come to us – we have to drive towards it.

The most successful creative people do not wait or expect someone else to do their work. This select few does not hold out for validation of what they know must be done. They are doers, so they do. They hustle. They’ve taken the time to find, pray through, and define the end goal. Then, they start the journey to that distant place.

So, they start.

Along the way they make mistakes – they win and lose. Occasionally they have people who join them on the journey, but they never deviate. They keep moving. Keep working. Keep driving. Their passion is the fuel for what they know they have been created to do. Along the way, they sometimes morph or adapt – but they never stop chasing their own destiny with focus and precision. They are more consumed with creating momentum than they are concerned with being validated or accepted. Achieving their end goal is not an option – it’s a mission; a mission given to them by God to create, innovate, develop, and challenge.

So, they go.

They work hard to make sure they never confuse mile markers for finish lines. They keep going, always finding ways to keep moving. They don’t sit around and wonder who is going to understand them, be passionate about them, or do something for them. They understand that, at the end of the day, no one is going to care about their calling more than they will. They listen to the wisdom of a few and refuse to be swayed by the opinion of most. They know the cost and they pay the cost daily so that they can stay true to their calling.

And they keep going.

They don’t confuse success with completion. They refuse to react but choose to respond. They prepare enough to succeed and leave enough space for creativity and improvisation to develop. They understand the process is as beautiful as the destination, and that God’s colors and character light the path. They are thankful for those that believe in the vision that God places on their journey to help carry the load when it gets heavy, but have the clarity to stay on mission – even when it’s unpopular.

The irony is that the destination is usually never landed upon because God has more for us. Those rare times we do reach the destination is only so He can change our course and create a new journey. So, we keep going – hoping to create our best work along the way.

Have you embraced the fact you are the one person most responsible for
your journey and destination? What do you do to keep your focus on your journey?

Don’t Settle.

As creative people, we know when things are good – it’s an instinct.
But as time progresses, we start to settle. With each passing day, the
timelines, work loads, pressures, and opinions pose the risk of taking
over our instincts. Excuses tempt us to settle for less than our best. With each passing day we risk the drift of complacency taking over and we start to settle.

When we settle, a couple of things happen:

• We lose a small piece of our DNA.
• We sacrifice greatness for good or good enough.
• We misstep on expectations.
• We devalue the end user.
• We lose focus.
• We risk momentum being lost.
• We waste opportunity.
• We cheat ourselves and our friends.

Don’t Settle.
It’s not worth it.
If you can’t be proud of it, dig in and fix it.
We have the honor of being chosen to create and we disrespect that honor when we don’t give our absolute best.

I am a proponent for “shipping” as described by Seth Godin, but you should not ship raw material. There has to be enough of YOU in your art that you can be proud of it and feel like what is shipped is a good representation of who you are. It’s part of the paradox that makes us crazy artists. When is enough, enough? When we refuse to settle.

Your art is worth it. We need it.
Don’t Settle.

Have you ever settled? How do you fight the urge to settle when life is crazy?

Photo Props

I think that we all love creating art. Often, our passion for what we
do can easily drift into unbalance as we work towards our goals.
Everyone knows the adrenaline of starting – that feeling is
intoxicating. The clarity of perspective we have as we approach a
project can be some of our best times. So, we go in. We work with
intensity and passion. We work so hard that often we forget to break,
to eat, or to ever stop. The intensity and passion with which we
approach our art often makes us lose sight of the initial vision, goal
or perspective. Sometimes, stepping away for a second can change
everything.

Disney’s Pixar studio has a very intentional practice that their
animators use when working on art. It’s the 20/20/20 rule and it is
really easy.

Every 20 minutes
look 20 feet away
for 20 seconds.

Pretty simple. Maybe even ignorantly simple. Every 20 minutes, take a
break. Look 20 feet away. This will interrupt our focus just enough
to allow us to regain perspective. Only for 20 seconds, though – you
don’t want to lose focus or too much intensity. This gives just enough
of a recalibration so we can continue creating our absolute best work.
Applying this simple rule to our art provides us with the ability to
stay fresh and intense longer, maintain proper focus, and see any
potential issues sooner. Don’t believe it? Set a timer. Next time
you’re working on a project and are battling fatigue, start using the
20/20/20 rule and see how much better your process becomes.

Have you ever used the 20/20/20 rule? Are there other rules you follow while creating your art?