Len Wilson's Blog, page 17
July 22, 2015
5 Reasons Why Your Church Needs to Be More Creative
How do you define creativity? The researcher Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as “having original ideas with value.” My five year old defines it as “having fun and making stuff.”
Regardless how you think about the subject, it’s clear that the creativity is a big deal. Creativity is the topic of the #1 all-time most viewed TED Talk. It’s also #1 on the list of most desired business traits. People long to be more creative. More and more people are exploring the generative power of creativity, including in church life.
Consider these 5 reasons creativity can benefit your church.
1. Creativity leads to new life.
Instead of ignoring or even abdicating creative desire to the world, why not invite people to discover the relationship of their creativity to faith in God?
God isn’t a past-tense Creator God, but a constantly forming, Creating God. As images of a creating God, we are creating people. God made us to be co-creators.
“To deny our creative nature is to choose a life where we are less and thus responsible for less. We see ourselves as created beings, so we choose to survive. When we see ourselves as creative beings, we must instead create.”Erwin McManus, The Artisan Soul
Our sin and brokenness mars our God-image and compels us to survival behaviors of consumption. We consume to distract us from our emptiness; absent something new to do or watch or eat or wear, we can be overwhelmed with loneliness and despair. So, a lonely and broken world fills up with the artifacts of consumerism.
Jesus promises us an abundant life, found not in acquiring things but in the process of simultaneously being made new and making something new. Faith in Christ calls us from a life of consumption to a life of creation. The act of creating draws us back to how we were made in the beginning. We return to the scene found in the garden, when God invited us to co-create. And as with any creative act, the work draws the workers together.
One of our primary jobs as church leaders is to help people learn how to create. This isn’t an abstract or esoteric proposition; it’s a real world practical strategy for discovering new life.
The power of creativity to help us know and experience God more intimately is a core theme of my book, Think Like a Five Year Old.
2. Creativity widens and deepens the experience of worship.
The Creator pleasures in his creation. God made us to be in relationship with, and co-create with, God. The intimacy of this communion, this creative partnership, is the highest love and the purest existence we can know.
When Jesus quotes Deuteronomy by saying the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, Jesus is fleshing out the expressions of this love relationship. He is naming the four parts of the creative life, which together describe the activity of love and, as God is love, the essence of a creating God.
When we create, we do it through our heart, mind, soul, and our strength. In this way, creating is a love act, and when we do it for God’s glory, it’s worship, whether in church buildings, in offices or on the streets.
In addition to being an act of worship in itself, creativity can benefit corporate worship in two ways.
One, when we invite people to rediscover their creativity, we are inviting them to reclaim expressions of their humanity as made by God. The more people understand their own creativity, the more they understand the Creator God.
Two, to use Robinson’s definition, when we have original ideas with value and bring creative energy to the planning and execution of worship, we help birth new ways for people to experience God’s presence and offer God our glory.
3. Creativity forms community.
Contrary to the myth of the lone genius with a eureka moment, lasting innovation rarely happens in isolation. Creativity is a team sport.
Whether it’s redesigning a sanctuary, finding solutions to a vexing administrative problem, or dreaming new ways to love and serve the city, creative thinking is joyful and compelling. It creates enthusiasm and builds community.
Creativity does more than just create good will, though. Think of your lasting professional associations. If you’re like me, they are the people with whom you have shared a common struggle. Tackling a problem together bonds us together.
As we create together over time, we leave behind isolating, consumeristic tendencies and learn what it means to live in community. We learn our own best gifts, we find affinity groups, we empower one another, and we discover the heart of the biblical word koinonia.
4. Creativity teaches truth in unique and compelling ways.
“The deep places in our lives—places of resistance and embrace—are not ultimately reached by instruction.”Walter Brueggemann, Finally Comes the Poet
According to brain researcher Iain McGilchrist, people learn first and last through the sensory experience of the right hemisphere. It is in the in-between that we utilize the filing and categorizing mechanisms of the left hemisphere.
Most of the time, though, we do church with the left-brain. When we present the truth of the gospel in the same fashion as a scientist presenting propositions with supporting evidence, we reduce the power of the gospel story to a hypothesis to be accepted or rejected, but in either case detached from the realities of our daily life. This is a problem not just in church, but in education, business and throughout society.
In a world of left-brain categorization and reduction, creativity is both the first sensory experience and the unifying gestalt. It is the precursor and the final word to the map of our analysis, the pre- and post-dissection that gives us the deep wisdom to do more than clarify, but to know.
Creative teaching helps people discover what it means to follow Jesus.
5. Creativity invites us to mission, helping people discover the set of good things to do with their lives.
Good mission is by definition creative.
The church doesn’t have mission, it is on mission, and not just provide goods and services, but to help us discover who we are in Christ and help us live out the set of good works we were given in the beginning. Effective mission compels people to grow physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. It equips us with the means to not just survive, but thrive, according to the unique designs God has given us for our lives.
Creative expression makes the world a better place. It encourages people to work out of a unique set of passions and gifts, not as obligation but as a true vocational calling. This kind of work is purposeful and valuable. It builds society and in so doing fulfills the mission of the church, which is to be a reflection of the Missio Dei, or the God who sends us out and brings us home.
For more on the reclaiming your creativity, download the free Preface and Chapter 1 to my book, Think Like a Five Year Old. In four coming posts I am going to dig into 5 specific strategies for using creativity in each of these areas of church life – worship, community, teaching, and mission.
This article first appeared at lenwilson.us.
About the Author
Len Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+Christ follower, Writer, Creative Director @peachtreepres, story lover, art advocate, breakfast chef, tickle monster, Think Like a Five Year Old (Abingdon, 2015).
5 Ways Creativity Can Benefit Your Church
How do you define creativity? The researcher Sir Ken Robinson defines creativity as “having original ideas with value.” My five year old defines it as “having fun and making stuff.”
Regardless how you think about the subject, it’s clear that the creativity is a big deal. Creativity is the topic of the #1 all-time most viewed TED Talk. It’s also #1 on the list of most desired business traits. People long to be more creative. More and more people are exploring the generative power of creativity, including in church life.
Consider these 5 reasons creativity can benefit your church.
1. Creativity leads to new life.
Instead of ignoring or even abdicating creative desire to the world, why not invite people to discover the relationship of their creativity to faith in God?
God isn’t a past-tense Creator God, but a constantly forming, Creating God. As images of a creating God, we are creating people. God made us to be co-creators.
“To deny our creative nature is to choose a life where we are less and thus responsible for less. We see ourselves as created beings, so we choose to survive. When we see ourselves as creative beings, we must instead create.”Erwin McManus, The Artisan Soul
Our sin and brokenness mars our God-image and compels us to survival behaviors of consumption. We consume to distract us from our emptiness; absent something new to do or watch or eat or wear, we can be overwhelmed with loneliness and despair. So, a lonely and broken world fills up with the artifacts of consumerism.
Jesus promises us an abundant life, found not in acquiring things but in the process of simultaneously being made new and making something new. Faith in Christ calls us from a life of consumption to a life of creation. The act of creating draws us back to how we were made in the beginning. We return to the scene found in the garden, when God invited us to co-create. And as with any creative act, the work draws the workers together.
One of our primary jobs as church leaders is to help people learn how to create. This isn’t an abstract or esoteric proposition; it’s a real world practical strategy for discovering new life.
The power of creativity to help us know and experience God more intimately is a core theme of my book, Think Like a Five Year Old.
2. Creativity widens and deepens the experience of worship.
The Creator pleasures in his creation. God made us to be in relationship with, and co-create with, God. The intimacy of this communion, this creative partnership, is the highest love and the purest existence we can know.
When Jesus quotes Deuteronomy by saying the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, Jesus is fleshing out the expressions of this love relationship. He is naming the four parts of the creative life, which together describe the activity of love and, as God is love, the essence of a creating God.
When we create, we do it through our heart, mind, soul, and our strength. In this way, creating is a love act, and when we do it for God’s glory, it’s worship, whether in church buildings, in offices or on the streets.
In addition to being an act of worship in itself, creativity can benefit corporate worship in two ways.
One, when we invite people to rediscover their creativity, we are inviting them to reclaim expressions of their humanity as made by God. The more people understand their own creativity, the more they understand the Creator God.
Two, to use Robinson’s definition, when we have original ideas with value and bring creative energy to the planning and execution of worship, we help birth new ways for people to experience God’s presence and offer God our glory.
3. Creativity forms community.
Contrary to the myth of the lone genius with a eureka moment, lasting innovation rarely happens in isolation. Creativity is a team sport.
Whether it’s redesigning a sanctuary, finding solutions to a vexing administrative problem, or dreaming new ways to love and serve the city, creative thinking is joyful and compelling. It creates enthusiasm and builds community.
Creativity does more than just create good will, though. Think of your lasting professional associations. If you’re like me, they are the people with whom you have shared a common struggle. Tackling a problem together bonds us together.
As we create together over time, we leave behind isolating, consumeristic tendencies and learn what it means to live in community. We learn our own best gifts, we find affinity groups, we empower one another, and we discover the heart of the biblical word koinonia.
4. Creativity teaches truth in unique and compelling ways.
“The deep places in our lives—places of resistance and embrace—are not ultimately reached by instruction.”Walter Brueggemann, Finally Comes the Poet
According to brain researcher Iain McGilchrist, people learn first and last through the sensory experience of the right hemisphere. It is in the in-between that we utilize the filing and categorizing mechanisms of the left hemisphere.
Most of the time, though, we do church with the left-brain. When we present the truth of the gospel in the same fashion as a scientist presenting propositions with supporting evidence, we reduce the power of the gospel story to a hypothesis to be accepted or rejected, but in either case detached from the realities of our daily life. This is a problem not just in church, but in education, business and throughout society.
In a world of left-brain categorization and reduction, creativity is both the first sensory experience and the unifying gestalt. It is the precursor and the final word to the map of our analysis, the pre- and post-dissection that gives us the deep wisdom to do more than clarify, but to know.
Creative teaching helps people discover what it means to follow Jesus.
5. Creativity invites us to mission, helping people discover the set of good things to do with their lives.
Good mission is by definition creative.
The church doesn’t have mission, it is on mission, and not just provide goods and services, but to help us discover who we are in Christ and help us live out the set of good works we were given in the beginning. Effective mission compels people to grow physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. It equips us with the means to not just survive, but thrive, according to the unique designs God has given us for our lives.
Creative expression makes the world a better place. It encourages people to work out of a unique set of passions and gifts, not as obligation but as a true vocational calling. This kind of work is purposeful and valuable. It builds society and in so doing fulfills the mission of the church, which is to be a reflection of the Missio Dei, or the God who sends us out and brings us home.
For more on the reclaiming your creativity, download the free Preface and Chapter 1 to my book, Think Like a Five Year Old. In four coming posts I am going to dig into 5 specific strategies for using creativity in each of these areas of church life – worship, community, teaching, and mission.
This article first appeared at lenwilson.us.
About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+
Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
July 6, 2015
How To Create Great Things: Find a Structure
First up was Outliers. I scribbled anything interesting I could find on a legal pad. I wish I still had the paper, but I will try to reconstruct what I learned from memory. Here are the big take aways:
Each chapter more or less followed a formula.
There are variations, but I saw a pattern in his approach: Each chapter leads with some kind of quote to create intrigue. Each chapter consists of a series of vignettes. The chapters build on each other, reinforcing the previous conclusion and adding layers of nuance and understanding.
Here is the formula I found, using chapter 1.
1. The first part used a story to ask a question. He tells a story about the Canadian junior hockey league championship game. The vignette is around 500 words. Its purpose is to set to the stage for the chapter’s main concept by hooking the reader with an intriguing question that suggests things are not as they seem. (And also the book’s main concept by pointing to the destination.)
2. The second part is an essay. It is also around 750 words, and explores the question that establishes the main concept of the book.
3. The third part returns to the story. He pulls back the curtain a bit on the junior hockey league. It’s also about 750 words. It shows a pattern that sheds light to an alternative way of thinking about the question in part one.
4. The fourth part is an explanation to the question. It’s about 1000 words and offers explanation with support for the chapter’s main question.
5. The fifth part is the thesis. It wraps together the premises of part two and part four, using the story from parts one and three as anecdotal support. It’s also about 750 words.
6. The last part returns to the story for a short conclusion kicker. It’s about 250 words.
In total, the chapter follows an A-B-A-B-C-A framework. It uses a total of about 4000 words, which is about 20 pages with charts and footnotes.
After studying The Outliers, I picked up another Gladwell title, and saw that he used the same structure in it. I returned to my scrambled mess of notes. What could I learn from this? Here’s what I already knew about what I was writing:
I wanted to write about how people lose their creativity.
I wanted to write about how to get it back.
I wanted to introduce a typology or way of thinking about the creative process.
I wanted to help people get started again with the thing that had once, many years ago, come naturally.
I had an interesting study about the longitudinal loss of creativity in children as they age, which seemed like a good hook. But Gladwell’s structure provided something just as valuable as the hook.
His pattern unlocked the key for me to frame my book’s ideas.
I was inspired now. For years when writing, I’d simply scooted stories around in a open document on my screen until they made some kind of progressive sense. Now I had something better. I started a spreadsheet and began to lay pieces into a similar A-B-A-B-C rubric.
After a period of playing around, I had a spreadsheet full of notes. Here are a few of the chapters mapped out:
Chapter
A
B
A
B
C
4: Why Somewhere Along the Way We Lose It
Mark Twain, part 1
4th grade slump
Jesus in the wilderness and the three lies
Stay in the space between self-loathing and delusions of grandeur.
5: The Lies That Steal Our Creativity
lie of lowered expectations
lie of self-glory
lie of control
how we lose it
The antithesis of creativity is control.
6: The Secret to Rediscovering Our Creativity.
Saddle Your Donkey (Abram)
Twain Pt 2
Tapped Out.
Coaches.
Go for it more often.
My chart had holes, and I as review it again it was pretty rough, but it represented a significant pruning of my writing’s wild growth. With a frame in place, the rest of the creative process opened up to me. I knew exactly what I needed to do to finish the manuscript, what stories I was missing, and what concepts needed help.
I thought of my euphoric moment again recently as I read Shawn Coyne’s post about story, which included an off-hand comment that he was studying Galdwell’s story structure, which Shawn calls a grid. Shawn’s a real pro. He has been thinking about story structure much longer than me. I can’t wait to read what gems he discovers buried in Gladwell’s mind.
My humble suggestion to you, fellow creator, is that you learn from my ignorance and Shawn’s intelligence: Identify a favorite creator (writer, musician, product developer) and study from her or him. Ruin your romance and figure out what hooks you. And then apply whatever structures you spot to your own next work.
About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+
Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
June 29, 2015
How to Create Great Things: Ruin the Romance
In this entry of my series on the creative process, I look at genre. If you create a story or work of any kind, undoubtedly you want it to find a home in the wild. You want your baby idea to grow up and have influence. It’s why you raise them! But for your story to live well on its own, you need to understand the critical aspect of market.
W hen I was in the early phases of writing Think Like a Five Year Old, I had a phone conversation with a book publishing professional that had a profound impact on me. I had called this professional, a long time writer and editor, to pitch an idea for a new book. She listened to me pontificate for a while and then asked me a question. She asked, What kind of book do you hope to write?
I think the question applies to anyone who creates something, so I’ll phrase it more broadly, like so:
What kind of work do you hope to create?
Is it a business book, she said? A self-help book? She named off some writers to give me a few paths to consider. Did I want to write like Jon Acuff, Rob Bell, Gary Chapman? Nothing she said sounded appealing. I wanted to be me!
I tried to cast a vision for my masterpiece, while accommodating her obviously ridiculous attempts to pigeon hole me into someone else’s style. I liked some aspects of each person, I said, but none of them were whom I wanted to be.
I had a book I wanted to write, and I knew it was about being creative, and I knew I wanted it to be “Christian living”, or a book about the life of Christian faith that would appeal to the “ trade”, or the general market, and not to a specific subset of Christian leaders like my earlier works had.
I was indignant at her gentle prodding. I recited my resume in my mind. I told myself I didn’t need to make myself fit into a mold. I didn’t realize that in my self-justification I was missing something important.
I mistakenly thought I could ignore genre.
Fortunately, amid my bumbling, I said something right, though I didn’t know it at the time. I said I liked Malcolm Gladwell a lot. (I was in a Gladwell phase and had read 4 straight books by him, along with several columns from his day job.)
She jumped on my off-hand statement. Ah! Gladwell meets Chapman. That could be interesting. For a moment, I sat dumbfounded and listened to the rush of unfilled air on the phone line. She suggested that before I draft a proposal for my idea, I do some research on Gladwell and Chapman.
My publishing friend taught me something important that day: She taught me to be precise about genre.
Here’s the thing: I thought I already knew this principle, but I didn’t. I had told myself I was doing it right, but really, I wanted to mix and match my writing, because I saw myself as thinking beyond a specific genre.
Genre is simply a way to understand your market intentions.
Author and editor Shawn Coyne defines genre as this:
A genre is a label that tells the reader/audience what to expect. Genres simply manage audience expectations.
Genre is vital to provide the necessary context for your audience to understand how to think about your work.
The problem is that we look at the big creators, the ones who transcend genre, like a Taylor Swift, and want to be like them. But that’s where they end up – they didn’t start there. They start within a specific genre.
My friend helped me to see something critical.
Genre isn’t limiting; it’s what helps you find your place.
It’s no different than a principle designers use when creating art. Designers want to be individual and artistic, but to quote an old friend, “there’s a reason such designers are called starving artists” – it’s because they are living in a market of one. If there’s no competition in the space your idea occupies, that’s a sure sign it’s not a great idea.
Whether you’re a writer, designer, scholar, engineer, entrepreneur, or whatever it is – if you create, you have to do it within a specific context to be successful. For your creative ideas to live beyond you, and hopefully play a part in changing the world, do this. What genre do you create in? You have to name this to be successful. Find your market, then within your market, find your unique voice.
This principle applies to writers, storytellers, engineers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who creates.
Here are 2 steps to find your market.
First, find your favorites.
If you’re a writer, what writers appeal to you? If a design, what are your favorite designers? If a preacher, what preachers? If a musician, what musicians? Make a collection of favorites and begin to follow everything they create.
Second, ruin the romance.
In other words, be willing to set aside your fandom. Enjoy your favorites, then break it down. Study what they do that is so appealing.
I never got to Gary Chapman, and I mean no disrespect to him. He is a fellow human, a great writer and speaker, and obviously a better brand builder than I am. But I never studied his work because I already know how to create a five part typology on an idea. I knew that I didn’t want to mimic his approach, which I categorized as Content Machine Who Makes Listicle Books For Easy Consumption And Maximum Seminar Sales.
Back to my friend’s question: What I wanted to learn how to do was tell a story like Malcolm Gladwell. I loved Gladwell’s thoughtful and respectful approach to story as a way to understand ideas. What if I could become a Galdwell for the life of faith? Thanks to my friend’s prodding, I decided to begin studying Gladwell’s work.
What I learned became the foundation for the structure of my book Think Like a Five Year Old. Next time I will break this down.
About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+
Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
June 25, 2015
4 Reasons This Worship Story Charmed My Church
Peachtree high school students have gone to the same summer camp for 74 years. Not the same students, but you get the idea. The church calls it Camp Rutledge because it’s in a dilapidated state park near the small town of Rutledge, Georgia. It’s so old it was run down in 1979, when they filmed the original Friday the 13th movie there. And it’s still run down today. Our students go there every year and get muddy and nasty and play games and worship and do camp stuff.
The camp is about as sacred of a cow as there is at my church, and I mean that as a compliment. I’d rather have a youth camp be a sacred cow than an orange shag carpet in the fellowship hall.
My first month at the church, June 2012, paralleled that year’s camp, so I didn’t get to do anything with it until the next year. One of my filmmakers and I talked it over and this is what we came up with:
I think the video works pretty well, and better after two years in some respects than the day we made it. Here’s how, and with it four lessons on how to tell a good story.
One, the film is beautiful.
First, good stories doesn’t compete with but build upon core spoken or unspoken values of the church. (This means you have to understand the church you’re producing for.)
One of the core values at Peachtree is that worship is of the highest quality.
When we first ran this film in worship, we’d only just installed HD projectors in the traditional, liturgical worship service. Many people thought video had no place in the Sanctuary, of course, and so we fought a few battles to make it happen. (I heard things at Peachtree during this period I hadn’t heard in years at a church, such as we’d installed a “Jumbo-tron”.)
When you’re advocating for change, you open yourself to slings and arrows, because people are comparing the best of what came before, refined over decades if not centuries, against the embryonic efforts of the new. It’s not a fair fight, so you’ve got to make what you do amazing to compete, in any setting. It’s even more challenging at Peachtree, which is an elegant congregation in the heart of Buckhead area of Atlanta. Many of the members are accustomed to the best at work and at home, so we needed to wow them with the possibilities the new screens presented.
My filmmaker, Dave Karger, produces some awfully pretty pictures. He was key to making our story succeed and helping our creative tinkering transform into lasting innovation.
Two, the film highlights a core strength of the church.
Another of Peachtree’s core values is that it is intergenerational. Some families have roots deep into the church’s 100 year history. A lot of church leadership gurus say that’s a likely cause of stagnation. But what if instead of fighting it, you highlight it?
We interviewed “members of long standing” – people who’d had membership at the church for decades. Loyce Sandifer, the first woman in the film, who has since passed away, was a member for over 60 years. You begin a film with her on the new screens in the sanctuary and you’re going to smooth over some ruffled feathers!
Further, the film both highlights and transcends the intergenerational value by intercutting the saints of the church with the young whippersnappers.
Three, the film has a hook.
Good storytelling never simply approaches a story “straight.” It needs an angle or hook to help contextualize and provide meaning to the experience. The story here is that kids go to camp and they are changed. A story requires a changed life; that’s what makes it a story. The changed life in this case are the kids who experience God and grow spiritually. We could simply tell the story straight but it wouldn’t have had the same impact.
Using a hook of memories from the church’s saints allows the viewer to take a long view and see Rutledge not just as a week of playing around but a formational week in a person’s entire life.
Four, I let the filmmaker do his job.
A large part of the success of this piece goes to Dave’s work. He’s amazing at what he does. Here’s what I did as a creative director to help him succeed: I cast a vision for what we wanted, I brainstormed concepts with him, and once we together settled on the hook, I let him do what he does. I didn’t micromanage his creative process; I supported what he needed.
Hire good people, let them do their job, and you will be amazed at the results.
What are ways you like to tell stories in worship?
About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+
Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
June 23, 2015
Join Me on a European River Cruise and Reclaim Your Creativity
Discover the beauty and history of the Dutch and Belgian waterways in the spring on a European river cruise.
Join my wife Shar and I on an incredible trip to the Old World as we explore creativity in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
I am headlining a European river cruise sponsored by EO Tours on April 2 – 10, 2016.
Here is the Description of the Cruise.
Discover the beauty and history of the Dutch and Belgian waterways in the spring. Admire the spectacular tulip carpets in Keukenhof Gardens. Visit the lush green countryside of Kinderdijk, home to the country’s greatest concentration of windmills, and experience Amsterdam’s distinctive architecture and vibrant nightlife. A wonderful opportunity to admire the great medieval cities of Antwerp and Ghent and to delve into the cultural traditions of the friendly Dutch and Flemish people awaits you.
Bring your family, small group, staff team, or any group from your church or community.
My talks will be based on my recently released book, Think Like a Five Year Old.
I’ll lead several sessions on how to recapture more creative thinking in our personal lives and in our churches. The sessions will be fun and interactive! Join me and let’s reclaim our wonder and learn how to create great things. What better than to focus on creative thinking in one of the most serene locations for learning you can possibly imagine?
About EO Tours.
Educational Opportunities Tours has been dedicated to providing quality Christian travel programs at an affordable price. They started in 1974, and in the last 40 years have hosted more than 300,000 Christians on various faith-based tours.
I am honored to join their line up of lecturers, which includes Mike Gallagher, Will Willimon, Adam Hamilton, Mike Slaughter, Ronda Rich and more.
Learn More.
Learn more with a brochure here and register here:
About the Author
Len Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+
Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
June 19, 2015
I’m thinking about how hard it is to turn great new ideas into lasting innovations
It is so hard to both be the one who sparks the new idea – the one with creative vision, the one who wants to go over the next hill – and the one who can put together the engine that captures the spark and makes the whole thing go. An engine without a spark is idle, but a spark without an engine is a forest fire that burns everything down.
You need both, which is perhaps why you have to have a team. But I think it’s possible to both have a spark and build an engine to make it go. You just might need some training on how to build the engine. At the very least you need to be able to lead a team.
Innovation is creativity that delivers.
For example, much of my daily work is turning creative ideas – on how to communicate with people in a way that resonates with them, primarily through story – into lasting systems, products and services to help the church. It’s what my colleagues and I did with screens in worship at Ginghamsburg Church, it’s what Jason Moore and I did at Midnight Oil, and it’s what I am doing now.
Innovation is creativity that delivers. It’s having the spark and making the whole thing go. It is a sustainable new thing that becomes a model for future work.
It’s what entrepreneurs and innovators do. I think, given the right passion and the right training, we can each do this with the thing we’re given to do in life. But it isn’t easy, or more people would do it.
The challenge is turning a creative idea into something great.
I passed my three year mark at Peachtree on June 1. With the milestone I am reviewing my year, the state of my ministry and thinking ahead. Since I also just saw my book on creativity hit the streets a day later on June 2, the confluence of events has me thinking about the challenge of turning a creative idea into something great, and maybe making it the subject of my next book.
It is both a personal and corporate need. Personally, we have dreams and don’t know how to make them real. Corporately, many organizations and leaders fail to sustain new initiatives for a lack of proper development and execution. We have ideas, but we usually can’t see them through to the end.
But I don’t want to write a boring book, either. So I am looking for the right language or hook for it. There are a lot of ways to talk about this, and some people have tried, but it’s often boring. I wanted to love Walter Isaacson’s The Innovators, about how new ideas played out in the world of early computing, but I didn’t finish it. It got boring.
I think the need is real, and I have written about 30-40 pages of rough material on the topic, but I am wondering how to find the angle to draw interest (like the way Think Like a Five Year Old draws interest to the subject of creativity).
Perhaps it is about the pitfalls of going from a great idea to a lasting innovation, about the ways we fail to see our ideas through and how to overcome these problems.
Would you be interested in such a book, as best as I could describe it?
June 11, 2015
How to Overcome What Happens After Your Project Is Done
I appreciate the sentiments; I really do. But I have a different sort of excitement this time about my book’s launch. I’m a lot more cautious.
I remember the launch of my first book 16 years ago, which was written to help pastors and church leaders do their work of ministry better. I was at work when I received the shipment of author copies. Publishers don’t send you roses when your book launches (although maybe they should); you just get a box of copies in the mail. I was at work at my church in Ohio. I got word from the front desk that I’d received a box. I took it into the empty sanctuary, set it on the corner of the stage, and ripped it open with my car keys. I held the book in my hand for a moment. No fireworks went off. The new music guy walked by and I grabbed him to show him the book. He nodded and said that was nice and went on his way.
I got similar reactions throughout the day, and the next day, and so on. I don’t know what I expected, but whatever I wanted to have happen – confetti, a bullhorn, a marching band – didn’t. Here’s what I learned: People don’t care about your glory as much as you wish they would.
Of those that did, many of them only cared in so much as they were living the same publishing fantasy I’d been living. It isn’t to say that nothing happened. Sales were good; over the next few years I got several nice comments from people, and some even said it helped their ministry. But the post-launch was as slow as the rocket ride that got me there. After a few years and a couple of more book releases, I eventually realized something important about when you make something.
It isn’t the results that matter, but the work itself.
In the book I address the extremes of “I stink” and “I rock”:
The extremes aren’t necessarily bad; in fact, at points they are necessary. Each is critical to the creative process. If you skip “I rock,” then you never experience the courage you need to see something through. We drown in our own limitations. However, if you skip “I stink,” you never experience the humility that leads to the self-examination that all great work requires.
In broken people like me the results of creativity invariably lead to self-glory and self-glory is what mars the beauty of creativity. I’ve became wary of too much self-glory, because I believe it’s damaging. The challenge in any creative endeavor is to not “eat the cheese,” or get snared by the mousetrap of adulation.
It is the creative work itself that matters. Receiving the recreative work of Christ and responding in co-labor with our giftedness, advancing God’s kingdom, is the closest experience we have on earth to our Creator, and our deepest joy. Sadly, even a book launch can get in the way of this experience. In my brokenness, I have to fight to stay away from the lie of self-glory, which seems great but actually steals joy and creativity.
Just like I had to avoid the lie of lowered expectations when I was in the thick of writing it and nothing was finished and nobody was paying attention yet and I thought I was just wasting my time.
The most healthy thing any of us can do when we create is to detach ourselves – identity, esteem, ego – from what happens to our work once it is finished.
This is much easier said than done. But when we can release the work to the world then we can celebrate with others as they celebrate and learn with others as they criticize and in neither case do we get too caught up in what it means for us. When we’re free from chasing people’s reactions, we can focus on making a new work.
As long as we’re creating – making something new – we’re participating in the work that God established in the beginning, and all is well.
This is how I plan to overcome what happens after the project is done.
About the Author
Len Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
June 9, 2015
How to Use Storytelling To Make Your End Result Great
The challenge for the storyteller is to focus on what makes a story great, not what makes for a good transaction. I tell people, give me the fruit, not the seed. Show me a life that has been changed for the better. If we focus on a changed life, then the call to action will take care of itself.
If we focus on a changed life, then the call to action will take care of itself.
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Ron Dawson is one of the filmmakers I work with in my role as Peachtree’s Creative Director. He understands this tension well.
Our goal was to raise awareness for women caught in sex trafficking.
We recently hired Ron to tell the story of a Peachtree mission trip to support an ongoing effort to rescue girls from Kolkata’s sex trafficking industry. To be clear, our church members don’t turn into 007s. An amazing team of heroes actually “extracts” the girls from the brothels, at risk to their lives, and then our church members help to minster to them once they’re safe in a recovery home. But to the members, it’s still a harrowing job, and one that exposes you to what Ron described as the very gates of hell.
Here’s the final piece we showed in worship:
The secret is to find the story.
As a documentary (non-fiction) filmmaker, Ron understands that his primary job isn’t to make the story, but to “find the story,” which is a very different thing. It’s an assumption, made in faith, that an amazing story already exists somewhere, and your job is to extract it.
In every film Ron and I create together, we not only talk about setting and people and goals, but about the core story on which we’re going to build the film. Sometimes, that story doesn’t emerge until we’re in production. In this case, the question was whether the story would come from the home or from the Peachtree people who went on the trip. Both are worthy angles, and sometimes the filmmaker can’t know which will work until he or she is in the thick of it.
In a recent post about the project, Ron talks about how he used his knowledge of storytelling to capture what’s going on with this dramatic ministry.
The challenge is to learn to think like a storyteller.
I’m sure you’ve seen a documentary style that captures multiple eyewitness angles and perspectives on an event. It’s a common technique – one that reality TV uses a lot to recap what happened “on set.” It’s a safe approach, because multiple interviews give you options in post-production; with many voices, you’re more likely to find one that captures the experience. Ron would have been safe to employ such a technique.
But he saw an opportunity for something greater. In the post, Ron describes how, as he got into the story, he recognized elements of the 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey in one of the women on the trip. Here is how Ron decided what to do:
I had to make a conscious decision whether to do a more straightforward documentary approach where I interview everyone and give relatively equal play to all involved, versus focusing on Brittney’s story. Neither way is right or wrong. But there was something about the mother-daughter connection and the hero’s journey of Brittney that inspired me.
Ron went with his heart and took a risk that followed his understanding of what makes for a good story. The result above speaks for itself.
The takeaway is to study the storytelling techniques.
The clear application here is to learn what makes for a good story.
This isn’t just a cool tip for filmmakers. We’re all storytellers. If you want to communicate today, you need to understand the power of story and how to leverage it to express an idea. I know a lot of people in the church world who talk about how great story is, but I don’t know many who know how to compose a good story. My advice is to learn how to tell a story.
The Hero’s Journey is a good story structure. There are also others, such as Nancy Duarte’s, Christopher Vogler’s, Kurt Vonnegut’s and Don Miller’s. And of course Robert McKee’s.
You can get lost in the details, but the point is, once you know the techniques, you can recognize them in any situation, whether you’re a filmmaker, a pastor, a public speaker, an educator, a businessperson, or what have you. As you gain experience, you can learn like Ron how to spot and compose a story in your mind, right on the spot, in such a way that will resonate with your audience.
How can storytelling help you accomplish your big ideas?
About the Author
Len Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
June 4, 2015
Do This Thing First: Creativity According to the Bible, Part 4
My new book, Think Like a Five Year Old, presents the story of creativity: what we had, how we lost it, and how to get it back again. The book tells a lot of stories but underneath it is girded by a theology of creativity. I am highlighting some of the specific biblical passages that tell the story of God’s promise to us for a more creative life in Christ. This is part four. Here’s part one, part two, and part three.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.2 Corinthians 5:17
In the movie Hook, the adult Peter Pan – now Peter Panning – has lost his way. Having lived in the grown up world, he finds himself back in Neverland, and as he sits down to dine with the Lost Boys, he is confused: there’s no actual food. They’re all pretend eating! The boys are crunching into massive air burgers and munching on rows of invisible corn on the cob. Panning is frustrated; he’s hungry.
Across from him sits the new leader of the Lost Boys, Cruceo, the boy who took his job. Cruceo notices the grown up Peter’s look and angrily slides a plate across the table at him. He begins to mock Panning for his inabilities. He calls him goofy names.
Panning at first refuses to take the bait. He mopes while Cruceo slings insults. The other boys around the table begin to coax Panning on, urging him to respond. Finally, when he’s had enough of the incessant mockery, Panning finds words. He hurls boyish epitaphs across the table. As the verbal spat escalates, Panning grabs an empty spoon, and as if it is full of gooey gruel, flings it as Cruceo’s face. Shockingly, what lands on Cruceo’s face is real. Panning’s imagination has come to life! Peter Panning is restored; now Peter Pan, he has rediscovered the magic and wonder he once knew. Full of joy, the Lost Boys completely cover each other in a gooey, messy food.
Hook beautifully captures how a man who’d lost touch with things that mattered rediscovers his childlike wonder.
In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul urges his readers to likewise rediscover the childlike wonder of being God’s creation.
To become a new creation in Christ is to be remade as we were in the beginning.
We are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and earlier in the same letter, Paul writes that Christ is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).
The difference between Christ and us, however, is that our image is marred by our own selfishness. As consumers, our inclination is to take from those around us. It’s a destructive desire, temporal and joyless. Christ’s image, on the other hand, is perfect. It’s an image, like creativity, of giving, and its effects are lasting and joyful. (Yes, to create is to give something of yourself.) It’s awfully hard to be creative when you’re inclination skews toward consumption.
We can’t restore our image on our own. In Jesus, we find the restoration we seek, both to God and to our ability to give and not take. When we turn to Christ, God is free to do the regenerative work of Christ in us, and we are recast as the creative person we were designed to be.
This recreative process doesn’t happen instantly but takes a lifetime to fully realize.
Just as any worthy creative work doesn’t come down complete from the sky, sui generis, but requires great effort, this regenerative process takes time, and reveals itself as we follow Jesus. Christ both restores us and call us to a lifelong journey of restoration. This is the journey of faith. We discover along the way.
Do This: Begin filling the page left blank by our consumption.
Following Jesus is a participatory activity. It’s a hands-on event. At first, we may not see the joy and wonder; our hearts may remain empty. But if we keep seeking, miraculous things begin to emerge.
The first thing to do is to get off the couch. Take a step into the unknown. Fill a blank page. Get in your car and leave the house.
You first step will probably be pretty lame. But as you move, your steps will gradually grow from drudgery or hesitation to habit, and then from habit to affect. What you do at first with caution you eventually do with joy. And somewhere along the way, you will come to understand that you’re a new creation, and that your identity has been remade in Christ.
As we begin to understand faith, we rediscover wonder. As I wrote in Think Like a Five Year Old,
What I’ve learned about faith and what I’ve learned about creativity is really the same thing. This isn’t to say that only those with faith are creative or that those who are creative have faith in God, because often neither is true. People without faith can be creative, and people with faith can be (utterly) uncreative. But to engage in the creative process is to have faith.
It is only as we again begin to re-create our lives that we discover that the act of faith has made us a new creation. Paradoxically, we find out that our new identity is actually the same identity we were given in the beginning, but made new. The lies of our consumption are replaced with truth.
This has been my favorite verse since I was a teenager. Our identity in Christ is actually the same identity we were given by God in the beginning. It’s part of the paradox of being a disciple of Christ – and of the creative process. We’re both restored, able to reclaim the wonder of our little place in God’s garden, yet we’re given a new identity – a new way forward. It is both looking back and looking forward, with hope.
What can you begin to do today?
About the Author
Len Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+Writer. Story lover. Believer. Branding philosopher. Breakfast chef. Tickle monster. Dr. Pepper enthusiast. Creative Director. Occasional public speaker.
