Great music. A drive through the country. Stopping to take a breath.
Doing something you love.
It’s amazing how the creativity flows when we create space for it, isn’t it?
The next time you’re feeling uninspired step away from the computer screen and walk out into the world. Create space to do what you love. I think you’ll be surprised how quickly the creativity comes rushing back.
Browsing Category: Creativity
A STORY You Don’t Want to Miss
I am a huge proponent of taking online community offline. I believe it’s vital to fostering dialogue and relationships among tribes in the church. And if you are part of the creative tribe in the church, then STORY is an opportunity to take the online offline that you’re going to want to check out.
What is STORY?
I’m glad you asked. It’s a conference for the creative class in ministry. For those of you who hear the word “conference” and immediately stop reading, please don’t! STORY will be different. If you are an artist, writer, or producer in the church STORY is designed to fuel your creativity and inspire you as you strive to communicate the greatest story ever told. Check out some of the great creative voices both in ministry and the marketplace that you will have a chance to hear from at STORY:
Dan Allender – best-selling author, professor at Mars Hill Graduate School
Charlie Todd – creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City
Princess Zulu – AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed
Jason Fried – founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework
John Sowers – president of Donald Miller’s The Mentoring Project
Shauna Niequist – former creative director at Mars Hill, author of Bittersweet
David Hodges – formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter
Leonard Sweet – futurist, author of 40 books, professor at Drew University
David McFadzean – creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne
Richard Walter – accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA
Sean Gladding – member of Communality, a new monastic community
Andrew Klavan – author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels
Gary Dorsey – founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX
Music by Vicky Beeching, Kari Jobe and Carlos Whittaker
When & Where is STORY?
STORY will be held September 23-24, 2010 at Park Community Church in downtown Chicago. Come for STORY and stay to experience life in the city for the weekend.
What is the Format?
STORY will be a two-day, main-stage event. While there won’t be any breakouts or workshops, there will be time for questions and dialogue both during and after the event.
Interested? Click here to register. Seating is limited to just 500 attendees and half of the seats have already been sold, so don’t wait!
Creating in Isolation
In the discussion at the Visual Worship Roundtable someone mentioned the fact that the foundation of Jesus’ ministry was relationships and his interactions with people. In the creative aspect of ministry, it’s very easy for our ministry to seldom involve relationships and interactions with people. We can spend hours sitting at a desk creating a website, a brochure, a video, a motion background, etc.
I wonder if sometimes we spend so much time creating that we forget about just being, about being in relationships and community with others. If we don’t foster and seek out those relationships and interactions with people soon our creations become irrelevant because we are out of touch with reality, with people. It becomes difficult for our creations to speak to life when we’re not living it away from our computer screens.
How much time do you spend each day in front of your computer screen? How much do you spend with people? Does that need to change?
Dreaming With the Dream Team
I can’t say I clearly remember America’s original Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics, but I do remember hearing about it from time to time though mostly in connection to a McDonald’s commercial. Rumor is that team was an incredible group of individuals on and off the court. They had big dreams, lofty goals. They set out to win and win they did.
How big are you willing to dream? Sir Francis Drake wrote the following prayer, “Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little. When we arrive safely because we have sailed to close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord.” Are your dreams proportionate to the amazing power of your God? Are you willing to dream dreams that can only be accomplished with His help and guidance?
I have the opportunity to dream big dreams for the Kingdom with some pretty amazing and creative people. It’s a blessing for which there are no words. They are a dream team of sorts. And the one advantage we have over the 1992 Dream Team – God is on our team. It is an exciting time here at The CORE as we grow and dream big dreams together. Everyday is a challenge. It is a challenge to force myself outside of my comfort zone to a place of risk, a place of big dreams.
I encourage you to take a look at your dreams, at your goals and dare to dream bigger than yourself. Don’t put God in a box. Let God push you outside of your comfort zone and use you to accomplish great things for the Kingdom. Remember, with Him on your side, you are part of the greatest Dream Team possible.