Congregational Creativity: Getting Out of the Box (Part 2)
If the church is a reflection of an infinitely creative and original God, then how does a congregation manifest that creativity? How do we start to climb out of the boxes we’ve learned to live in?
I think it starts with an understanding. We can choose to be—in the words of one of my hero’s, Ron Mehl—either “prophetic or parasitic”. The essence of a prophetic community or leader is that they hear and repeat God’s voice. A prophetic congregation is intently listening to the Holy Spirit and reflecting God’s unique design and desire for it. A leader with a prophetic perspective may learn and implement quite a bit from others, but will always first filter it through the distinct things about which God is speaking to him or her.
In other words, prophetic congregations are never built with cookie cutters or from following “5 easy steps to growing your church.” Every church that has ever impacted me has had a unique spark—the styles from church to church were massively different, but there was in each of them an original quality that distinctively reflected the heart of God for its own context. This quality drew me, and kept me, and changed me, and it transformed much of the surrounding culture, too.
Parasites, however, must feed off of other life in order to be sustained. Many congregations and leaders are always looking for the next big thing, and forgetting that God has something unrepeatable and miraculous to do through them. They miss it, because their strategy is to simply try to copy other “successful” church strategies so they can give off the perception of originality, creativity, and success. They want to be the next Saddleback, Willow Creek, Northpoint, Mosaic or Mars Hill (Seattle or Grand Rapids—take your pick), but they forget that each of those ministries was birthed out of a unique context, was full of unique people, was led by a unique pastor in a unique city, and was called of God to fulfill a unique purpose.
In other words, congregations are like snowflakes; no two of them are alike. Though we can and should learn from the wisdom of others, parasitic leaders will drive staff and congregations aimlessly ragged as they attempt to reproduce the flavor-of-the-month church or ministry, hoping it provides something that will create much-desired momentum.
The other day I read something that Joshua Blankenship from New Spring Church discussed regarding how this copy-cat ethos can do damage: “Ultimately, copying doesn’t affect the person being ripped nearly as much as the one doing the copying. After all, rarely is the faux as compelling as the original. But when you copy, you do yourself a disservice. You cease to do work. You cease to be inspired.”
True creativity is not manufactured or replicated; it is inspired (God-breathed) and it will inspire a sense of joy, and awe, and energy, and life, and passion in and through a congregation. When that starts to happen, people can’t help reflect the unique call of a living, loving, powerful God in a way that truly impacts the community and world God has placed them in.
Next, we’re going to learn from the ultimate example of a unique, inspired, creative individual doing ministry…