Make the most of your creatives
I started writing stories from a very early age. Raised on a diet of Enid Blyton, L.M. Montgomery, E.B. White and Louisa May Alcott, I wrote my first ‘book’ at the age of 10. (It was juvenilia blatantly modelled on my literary heroes which, I hope, will never see the light of day.) I wrote my second at the age of 13, my third at 14 and my fourth at 15 (and all were equally as dreadful) . Then high school got tougher, and though I scribbled things on the side and learnt to appreciate poetry in spite of my high school English teachers, I only got back into the swing of the pen at university where I undertook a double major in English and Creative Writing.
But it wasn't until I was 23 and attending a writing group that met under the gentle tutelage of Greg Clarke and Tony Payne that it ever occurred to me that writing could be useful in some way for the growth of God's kingdom. I had always thought that writing was something you did as a hobby in private in your spare time; it had nothing to do with being a Christian or doing the work of ministry.
However, now that I think about it, the creative disciplines are so useful—and, in some respects, essential—to ministry in the local congregation. Think of the music you use to teach and admonish one another (Col 3:16). Think of your building which is the product of some architect's design. Think of the signs, logos, pamphlets and websites you used to advertise your church's presence. Think of your church bulletins, corporate prayers, sermons, missionary newsletters, pastoral emails, Bible study questions, evangelistic courses, youth group talks and Sunday school lessons.
And why stop at church? We need more songs on the radio that are about more than love, sex, drugs and revenge, and which don't sound like they belong in an elevator. We need more TV shows that don't glorify pride, lust or greed, but seek to wake their viewers to the grim reality of a world without God. We need more films that combat the unrealistic view of relationships in mainstream chick flicks by giving us a model of how God intended men and women to interact (in purity and holiness). Just recently I overheard a minister complaining about the dearth of good fiction appropriate for his primary-aged children.
So surely, given 1 Corinthians 12, we (and by ‘we’, I don't just mean our ministers but everyone in our congregations) should be encouraging the creative types among us to step up and use their gifts for the “common good”. I'm not saying that all Sunday school teachers need to do a degree in visual arts. I'm also not saying that a creative-type needs to be on the organizing committee of every mission you run. But look at the Christians around you. Are you out of ideas of how to reach your community? Get a group of unconventional thinkers together and brainstorm. Does your church need to advertise a dialogue dinner? Ask that graphic designer to make an invitation. Do you want to podcast your sermons? Ask if your resident IT guru knows how. A lot of ministers have trouble stringing two sentences together (I should know; I edit The Briefing); why not ask the guy who sub-edits the local newspaper to give your sermon a once over before you preach it? And afterwards, if it's something we might use in The Briefing, why not give it to that wordsmith to see if she can turn it into an article? See how you can utilize each member of the body of Christ.
But why stop there? You know that lady over there has been working on a novel; ask her about it and let her use you as a sounding board. You know that that young man wants to make a concept album; why not let him show you some lyrics and riffs? Even though people in the four churches I've attended over the course of my Christian life knew that I studied writing and wrote in my spare time, very few people asked me about it or encouraged me to use what I was doing for the glory of God. Encourage your creatives to use their gifts for service, not for selfishness.
Furthermore, encourage your creatives to develop their skills. Send them along to painting master classes, or things like TWIST or the writing conference CASE and Matthias Media are running in July. Match them up with older saints who have been practising the discipline for longer. Maybe even get them to teach your church some of their skills: how to design a webpage, how to write your testimony, how to lead the singing, etc.
But above all, teach your creatives the Bible. Many creative people I know are slightly off-the-wall, often coming out with stuff that almost seems heretical. You need to deal with them gently, not clamp down on them and then metaphorically burn them at the stake. Help them to know God better. Help them to soak up the Scriptures. Teach them good theology, for good theology will help them to produce art that doesn't misrepresent God or his word.
One final word: if you're creative and you have skills that could benefit your Christian family, don't sit back and wait to be asked. Dig in and demonstrate just how useful you are.