Creative Crisis
Over the last couple of months I had really had trouble being creative. I was spending more and more time going what am I going to do? How am I going to present this? What is something that will enable people to have fun and get caught? I was even just trying to make sure that I was just getting the simple things done. I was in a bad state when it came to being able to think or act creative. But then I was given some great help from the people who work alongside me at Elevation.
It started with finding out all of the things that I was doing on a regular basis. Then it was seeing the things that I needed to be able to hand off to other people. Then the process began where things were being taken off my plate. This is what I specifically heard about my life, “A Creative Crisis comes from a claustrophobic condition.” I had allowed my laugh to become so claustrophobic with the things in my life that I was then in a creative crisis. No what happens in this crisis? I had so much noise going on that I was unable to hear what God was teaching me and telling me. Maybe you are in the same place. Maybe you are having a creative crisis in your marriage, maybe it is a creative crisis in your school work, your job, your time. It is because maybe you are doing so much that you are unable to get creative. So I encourage you to build more margin in your life. I encourage you to realize that there are things in your life that you can either stop doing or enable others to do with you or EVEN for you.
What is causing the “claustrophobic condition” in your life? I ask you to pray and ask someone who you trust, a lifting partner on what you need to change. I also know that there are some of you going I don’t need to do this, well then ask your wife, your husband, how about your kids. I know that they will tell you.
Special St. Pat’s Day Video
Since many of you shared how much you enjoyed the first video that Tyler made. He has chosen to bring you some more for St. Pat’s Day. I hope that you enjoy his video as much he enjoyed making it for you. This is another creative opportunity for me to really be proud of my kids and the way that they use their abilities. This one is really fun! Enjoy.
Creative Video Fun!
So this last week my son and daughter decided to make a funny video. I love being a dad and seeing my kids do some fun and creative things. You would have never thought that with a camera, a teddy bear, and two kids that you would get something like this. Check out the “Valentines Day Horror” starring Tyler and Morgan Bloyer.
Creative Worship
I find myself lately being more and more sensitive to what does it mean to “worship”. For most of the western culture it is what we do on Sunday morning before we go home and watch sports where the “real worship” happens. It is also seems “worship” is tied to the music that we sing, whether hands are lifted up in the air, or if it is from a book of songs, or on a projector. We have created such a christian culture of worship that I wonder if we are really worshipping at all. What if worship was the way that you spent your day? What if worship was the job that you went to everyday? What if worship was being the dad or mom that your kids so desperately need and want? What if . . .
As I read this last week in the book “Primal” this statement really has been bouncing around in my heart: “Have you ever noticed how many times Psalms tells us to sing a new song? That creative command is repeated no fewer then half a dozen times. Evidently God gets tired of old songs. He doesn’t just want you to worship Him with your memory; He wants you to worship Him with your imagination. Love isn’t repetitive. Love is creative. As love grows you need new lyrics and new melodies. You need a new song to express new dimensions of love.”
What if the new song that you were to write was with your life? What if the notes where the actions of your day? What it the song was the way that your life impacted another’s and that life then impacted another and became strong along through out the week like the notes on a page. As I continue to walk through my life I wonder am I more living, loving, or worshipping God out of what I have already experienced compared to what I could experience. The question that I have chewing on is “What if worshipping God was less about the song and note. And more about the action and heart that came with life? What if we were able to use our imagination to see worship more outside of the hour on Sunday and more about the other 24 hours that we spent living life?
May you today live a life of creative and imaginative worship through out your day.
Mark Batterson “Primal” Blog Tour
Over the past couple of years I have had the pleasure of reading the books that Mark Batterson has written. It was also my pleasure to be able to listen to him share about the amazing things that God has been doing in the church that he pastors in Washington D.C. at a seminar for church starting at “Exponential”. Each time I have cracked the pages of one of his books I have be fortunate to learn something new about God, have a great time doing it, and been challenged to step out on faith. It was through reading the book “Wild Goose Chase” that God spoke to my wife about starting a church. It was through the reading the book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy day” that we as a family felt the spirit speaking to us as a family to set life goals and take the fight to this life that God has given us. In his newest book “Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity” I have been impacted beyond my anticipation. In this book there is a great gathering of the historical, the biblical, the analytical, and the creative.
“Have you ever noticed how many times Psalms tells us to sing a new song? That creative command is repeated no fewer than half a dozen times. Evidently God gets tired of old songs. He doesn’t just want you to worship Him with your memory; He doesn’t just want you to worship Him with your memory; He wants you to worship Him with your imagination. Love isn’t repetitive, Love is creative. As love grows you need new lyrics and new melodies. You need a new song to express new dimensions of love. If you tell your wife that you love her the same way over and over again, she may stop believing you at some point. Why? Because your words are an expression of memory instead of an expression of imagination. It’s half-hearted because it is half minded” Mark Batterson “Ritual” pgs 110 – 111
I think that this is a book for everyone that calls themselves a follower of Jesus should read. It pushes and prods in ways that enables you to really grasp some old areas of faith in new ways. This will be a book that I read as well as my whole family, this is a book that I am excited to say has as much of my ink in it from marks and high lights as what the book originally came with when it was printed. Take the time this Christmas season to share with those around you a great expression of what it means to follow Jesus in some new ways. LET’S GO PRIMAL!
Creative FUN!
This last Saturday I had the priviledge of watching my son Tyler and his friend Dante make a video for our student ministry. (That I will share at a later time) But it really challenged me to think about all the fun that we can have with the technology that is out there. That we are really fortunate to live in a time like we are today. The question that I do have is are we using this CREATIVE FUN in our churches, in our lives, and in our homes to point people to Jesus. Check out this stop motion video I think it is incredible and it looks fun.
What creative fun things can you do this week to show and share with people who Jesus Christ is?
"Psycho for Jesus" Scott Bloyer 