Creative Worship

I was recently in a brainstorming group with several other creative types. Every one's artistic expression and medium of choice was different, but the desire to create and be creative was the same.

It was a very energized session, all meeting together with the director of the creative arts department at our church. One of the things that made this such an enjoyable morning was the energy that welled from the group. Ideas were plentiful. If you want a great brainstorming session, invite highly artistic people to get together and throw out ideas without limits! It was fun. At one point, Jenn, the director tried to wrangle things back in and posed a question that was something like, 'these are all great ideas, now how do we implement them?' A dead silence fell over the group. Then a burst of laughter. As one of the attendees pointed out, this was a group of artistic people, not administrators...we can come up with the ideas, but someone else needs to carry them out!

I'm excited that our church is working to create a venue for creative expression and worship. As a young girl, I grew up going to church. In one of my first blog posts Duck, Duck, Odd Duck, I talked about feeling like an "odd duck" at church. Not only was my family economically different than the majority of the church, but I realize I often felt like an outsider in that I didn't encounter a lot of other kids who were like me, the "arts & crafts" type. I'm sure they were there, but there wasn't a way for us "find" one another and experience that kind of camaraderie. As in most churches at that time, creativity and worship were limited to singing and music. There was choir or a singing group of some kind, but that was the extent of any creative outlet provided by the church. (Oh, I do remember a poster contest for camp. The directive was to create a poster to spark interest in the church summer camp. The first place winner received money to go to camp. I think I won a pencil sharpener! Definitely not my area of artistry!)

I was a child that always needed a craft project. Yes, NEEDED. Something, anything--it didn't matter what the medium--my hands ached with the need to be busy "making" something. As I created, a calm would come over me. My mind was free to play, to think, dream...ponder. I also enjoyed writing but saw this as a separate part of me. Creative writing was always one of my best subjects in school along with math. I actually once won a city-wide essay contest about "The Environment". (I received more than a pencil sharpener--a $25.00 savings bond!)

I'm still very much that same creative person today. This creative angst is part of me; who I was created to be, placed there by God, the ultimate creator. As a child, I hadn't made the connection between this drive inside of me and worshiping God. The drive goes beyond a simple desire to have an activity. It is such a strong compulsion that to not create is dishonoring to God. Since I am created in His image, and he intentionally designed me this way, when I create it is an act of worship, reflecting God's own nature. It all makes sense.

Recently while surfing the Internet and doing some further reading on creativity, the arts, worship, church culture and spiritual gifting, I came across the article, Sacred Creativity: Living Creatively In The Image Of God written by Dan Witt. This is really great! I've linked it here for your reading. Please take time to read it. Everyone can relate to this whether you're a computer programmer, gardener, teacher, writer, etc.

The beautifully freeing thing about creativity is that there is no one "right" way to be creative! Most of us will never be a genius visual artist with the skill of Michelangelo (I bet he got more than a pencil sharpener!), or that famous exceptional singer, or the writer of an award-winning novel; or the Oscar-winning actor, or the host of a gardening show on television; yet, our impact on the Church and in our community can be profound. By doing what we were created to do and be, by worshiping God in our creativity, we honor Him, we show others God's character, we enable others to worship deeper and to encounter God in perhaps a new and meaningful way.

I think my next post will be about building up and encouraging one another in creativity. I recently read an article in "Contemporary Christian Music" magazine about "artists". A singer/songwriter was quoted as saying that it seemed most creative types had some real areas of insecurity. Hmm. Let's ponder that for a bit, shall we?!