All posts tagged creativity

Creative Matters

by Tim Schraeder on 03/23/2011 in Books, Reviews with 8 Comments

“In the beginning God created…” - Genesis 1:1

One of the first things we learn about God, other than the fact that He’s timeless, is that He’s creative. We only need to look at the world around us and see His creativity. God’s creation reflects His greatness and creativity. His glory is seen all around us.

Creativity matters and I believe that the Church should be one of the most creative places on the planet. Why? Because we serve the God who is creative. The Church should be capturing people’s hearts, minds, and imaginations with the greatness of who God is in creative, innovative ways. Not for the sake of being trendy but for the sake of helping people see, hear, feel, and experience the message of the Gospel and to be captured by the beauty of Christ.

There’s many other people who share that same conviction who are leading churches and teams of artists and creative-types that are truly doing some remarkable things that have unique insights and ideas to share.

I was honored when the team at Clark invited me to be a part of their Creative Matters e-book project and starting today you can download a copy for FREE.

Creative Matters is a call to arms for all of us who endeavor to create beautiful, transcendent and transformational experiences in and around the Church. It’s a field guide of sorts…written by Creatives for Creatives… for those who work in the trenches of the “Create-On-Demand” challenges that every weekend brings. It’s a fresh perspective on the process, people, and purpose surrounding Creativity. It’s an invitation to live and work in a way that is both inspired and inspiring. And it’s the kind of kick-in-the-pants that we all need and will come back to again and again.

Creative Matters is a field guide of sorts for the role of creativity in the Church. Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative, there’s a lot of wisdom and insight shared in this book from some truly remarkable, gifted, and talented individuals that love God and love the Church.

Included in the book are entries from:

So do yourself a favor and download this great ebook today… learn, be inspired, and CREATE! It matters!

My 3 Words.

by Tim Schraeder on 01/18/2010 in Just For Fun with 3 Comments

Blaine was inspired by Clay who was inspired by Chris… and yes it’s January 18, sort of a weird time to be declaring your goals for the New Year, but hey, that’s how I roll.

I’m over making resolutions but I love the idea of three words that you hope will mark your year. Instead of specific goals they are more themes that will guide and shape the decisions you make.

So for me, my words are AUTHENTICITY, INTENTIONALITY and CREATIVITY.

  • Authenticity – one of the great gifts those of us in the church world can have is the gift of BS. In my mind, one of the greatest necessities in life, especially in ministry, is authenticity. And sadly, too often, the church is one of the last places we can be real. For some odd reason we like to have a glossy finish and appear to have it altogether. I’m fairly guilty of that and I want this year of my life to be marked with authenticity in all areas of my life… personally, at work, with friends and in community.
  • Intentionality – I tend to live life a bit haphazardly. I am a fan of randomness and spontaneity but realize that isn’t always the best place to live life from. This year I want to be intentional with my time and relationships. I want to live life with more balance and schedule my life around relationships and things that matter. I want to be intentional in taking time for myself, too.
  • Creativity – I’m a creative but I haven’t felt very creative lately. I’ve done some creative things… but I’m ready to do something new. I want to do things this year to cultivate creativity and inspiration in my life. I want to go to more concerts and art galleries, read more and spend less time in front of a computer screen. I believe that the best creativity is derived by time spent with the Creator, and so I hope to create [no pun intended] time to do just that.

So, all of this sounds great, but making it a bit practical…

On Authenticity, I hope to:

  • Be real. Have some tough conversations.
  • Be honest. If I’m not having a great day, I will be real about it!

On Intentionality, I hope to:

  • Be organized. I want to start actually putting things in my iCalendar and live my whim.
  • Be committed. I want to set up weekly/bi-weekly/monthly times with friends who I can invest in and with those who can invest in me.

On Creativity, I hope to:

  • Be a reader. My reading has been limited lately. I want to unplug and connect with some good books this year. And by that I mean more than 2 books per month.
  • Be a student. I want to take a class or do something to expand my horizons a bit. I’ll definitely be hitting up some conferences this year but it would be fun to broaden my  horizons this year and check out some new ones.

All in all… I hope to have a healthy and balanced year… marked by authenticity, intentionality, and creativity.

The Comparison Game

by Tim Schraeder on 11/03/2009 in Principles with 4 Comments

I think all too often we see what other people [or in the instance of most of my readers, churches] do and think if we do what they did, it will work for us.

I don’t think anything could be further from the truth.

One of the cruelest games we can find ourselves in is the Comparison Game.

The Comparison Game involves looking at what they are doing or what’s working over there… and comparing what we do against it.

We somehow get the idea or notion that if that worked for them over there that it will work for us right here.
So, oftentimes we’ll copy what they are doing over there and try to make it work right here and well, most of the times it doesn’t work.

I can say what I’m saying about the Comparison Game because I got stuck doing it for a long time.

There’s a HUGE difference between inspiration and imitation. Imitations are just cheap.

I’m inspired by many churches but what they do works for them in their individual contexts. There are things I can learn from them, but when it comes to how we communicate at Park, we’ve had to find a way to uniquely reach the people that make up our church.

I think all too often we spend an inordinate amount of time and energy chasing after what’s worked somewhere else instead of seeking God’s voice and direction in how we’re supposed to reach the people He’s called us to reach.

I think if you look beneath the surface at what a lot of people are doing, you’ll find there’s an intentional reason as to why they are doing it.

I’ve discovered the most important question you can ask isn’t, “what are they doing?” or, “what’s working?” but instead, “what’s behind that?”

When it comes to church communications one of the most vital things you can do is figure out how people in your actually church communicate and receive information.

Don’t just text because everyone else is. Don’t just Twitter because that’s the hip thing to do. Don’t invest in a slick website if people in your church barely go to the one you’ve got [not an excuse for an ugly website]. Discover what works in your context… find where your people are having conversations… find out how they find out about things… and alter your methods and strategy around those things.

And for the love, don’t play the Comparison Game. Don’t just do it because they did it. Figure out what was behind it and discover the answer for what to do and how do it in your own context.

Your church is unique.

You have a story that’s uniquely yours. Your church is made of people that are unlike any other group of people at any other church. Your church has a unique role and voice it’s called to be in your community. Find your voice. Find your unique identity.

At the end of the day, the only thing we need be comparing ourselves to is Christ.

Are we accurately reflecting Him in what we do and say? Are the things we create and the messages we craft pointing people toward relationship with Him? Are we showing Him to our community? Are we presenting Him in way people connect with?

He’s the standard we need to be comparing ourselves to.

Three Steps Forward, No Steps Back

by Tim Schraeder on 09/10/2009 in MinistryCOM, Notes with 2 Comments

Kerry Bural can often be found sketching concepts and ideas on napkins or notecards as he tries to refine his thoughts and share them. He claims that his best work happens in java-infused creative sessions or when he is divinely disturbed in the middle of the night.

He is the owner and principal of The Resonate Group, a brand consulting and development firm. He recently served as V.P. for Public Relations and Marketing with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He was the brand architect of the “I Vote Values” initiative, which was the genesis for the “values voter” movement. He has served as PR Director for Southeastern Seminary and PR Coordinator for Criswell College. He was also a visual coordinator for the corporate headquarters of Neiman Marcus in their Visual Planning & Presentation division.

His 25+ years in ministry and business have been devoted to brand architecture. He is passionate about helping organizations translate their vision and mission into communication that resonates with their constituents through visual presentation, public relations, marketing and branding.

He has a B.S. in Education concentrating on design and technology from Northeastern State University and a M.A. in Theology and History from Criswell College.

—

  • Obstacles make the ride interesting.
  • We spend most of our days overcoming obstacles and helping people develop solutions.
  • There are many things in our life or our ministry that feel like obstacles.
  • Ministry is messy.
  • If it’s not, you’re probably not doing anything significant.
  • Everything that happens in your church is part of your church’s brand experience.
  • Every decision your church makes is a brand decision.
  • The need for change has never been greater and it can be felt at numerous levels.
  • Change can be at multiple levels.
  • More often than not, most churches are stuck and struggling as to where to go next.

Change doesn’t just magically happen.

  • Change happens when someone sees the need, has a vision for what could be, and takes the initiative to drive toward it.
  • There are special times in the life of a ministry when someone needs to step up and drive the change, even if they don’t feel qualified.
  • If you see it, you might be the right person to drive the change.
  • Change should be for transformational and redemptive purposes. (2 Cor 5:17)
  • We shouldn’t change for the sake of change.

Intentional Change Framework

Refresh

  • Simply refreshing what’s already there. (i.e. redesigning a website)
  • Surface/external changes.
  • Things that are seen and easily recognizable.
  • Surface issues tend to be the things we feel the most.
  • Oftentimes, the problems are much deeper.

Renovate

  • Internal dynamics of your church/ministry… down to a systems level.
  • It’s subsurface.

Reinvention

  • Reinvention is radical.
  • Reinvention is a systemic problem.
  • Systemic has to do with the central nervous system… oftentimes our central nervous systems are out of whack.

Where Do You Go From Here?

  • Qualifying where you are helps you map out where you need to go.
  • Our goal is to do ministry in a way that resonates with the people we are trying to reach.
  • It’s not our job to make the message relevant.
  • Our responsibility is to ensure that we don’t mitigate the message’s relevancy.

Four Tactical Errors to Avoid

  1. When you try to make systemic changes but you apply surface change tactics.
  2. When you try to make surface changes but you apply systemic change tactics. (Making something small very large.)
  3. Thinking you need to change everything at once.
  4. Thinking you don’t need to change anything.

5 Take-Aways

1 – Cultivate a culture and an environment of change and resonance.

  • Whatever we change should be authentic and organic.
  • Let it flow out of who you are.
  • It has to be DNA birthed and DNA driven.
  • Be anchored in your core DNA.

2 – Learn when and how to lean in and lean out.

  • Timing is truly everything.
  • Seize opportunities when doors, windows or cracks are open.
  • Value incremental change. It leads to greater opportunity.
  • Learn to recognize, read and discern dynamics.

3 – Distinguish between surface, subsystem and systemic change.

  • Don’t be afraid to engage in the hard work.

4 – When obstacles stand in the way, change the approach.

  • What’s your perspective when see you obstacles?
  • Pick a different line or get off your bike and walk.
  • Push through the obstacles. Sometimes there’s no other way to do it.
  • Take a different route if you need to.

5 – It’s all about leadership.

  • We’re all leaders… it’s just a question of who we lead and how intentional we are about that leadership.
  • Who are you influencing?
  • Don’t try to influence the lead pastor… who has the lead pastor’s ear? That’s who you need to influence.

Action Steps

  • Write down the name of the person you need to talk to about changes that you need to make in your ministry.
  • Write out 3 areas of change you need to talk about.
  • Make the call now and set up a time to meet.
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