All posts tagged creativity

Creative Collective Chicago Meet Up

by Tim Schraeder on 06/20/2011 in Just For Fun with 22 Comments

About 2 months ago I shared about the Creative Matters book project that I was priviledged to be a part of. If you missed it, it’s a book that serves as a field guide for the role of creativity in the Church. You can learn more here and download a copy for your Kindle, nook, or iBooks.

To go along with the book, there are Creative Collective Meet Ups happening around the country where you can gather and network with area creatives, get some inspiration… and be back to work by 11 [if you so choose].

The Chicago Creative Collective Meet Up is happening on Wednesday, June 29, from 9-10:30 AM at Soul City Church in Chicago. Tom Ryan, CEO of the incredible Chicago-based T-shirt company threadless will be there to share some ideas as well as Willow Creek’s brilliant creative director [and soon-to-be-author] Blaine Hogan.

If you don’t know about threadless, it’s a community-based design company with an ongoing open-call for design submissions from visual artists. The Threadless community of over 1 million members vote to determine which designs become Threadless t-shirts and other products. A poster child of the “crowdsourcing” trend, Threadless was named by Inc. Magazine as “the most innovative small company in America.”

I think there will be a lot we can learn from him and I’m excited to be there. And, you can come too! Tickets are still available for $29 online, or be one of the first six people to comment below and you can get in with me for free.

Creativity does matter in the life of the Church and if you’re local, I hope you’ll take advantage of this great opportunity to gather, learn, connect, and be inspired.

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.

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →