When was the last time you saw a brilliant invention and thought, “I could have done that.” Probably yesterday?
It’s an extremely common sentiment. We see something so brilliantly simple and realize that’s well without our reach to create something like that. Yet we didn’t. Why is that?
Obviously, skill isn’t the apex of creativity. Read more…
At the Catalyst Dallas conference on Wednesday I was shooting the breeze with a great organization. I love talking strategy and brainstorming, so I was trying to help them get more response at their booth. How do we get pastors to come to the booth and use this company’s products?
During the discussion I had the idea to offer a book contract to any pastor that used their services. The idea was that every pastor secretly wants to be a rock star. They want to be like the “celebrities” they see at the conferences. And a book contract is the obvious way to make that happen.
The whole conversation began a bit tongue-in-cheek. But I soon realized that would probably work. Probably too well. Read more…
Yesterday I had a bit of a breakdown. I just moved to Dallas and was leading a caravan of cars across the city…driving a U-haul. I hate U-hauls. Between peak-hour Dallas traffic, spending way too much money at Ikea, and missing my Time Warner Cable appointment…I was stressed. I’m not proud to say a little of that stress sloshed onto my poor, understanding wife, sitting in the passenger’s seat. She forgave me quickly.
But today I was tempted to hop in bed, curl into a fetal position, and check out from creating. The world would forgive me. Nobody would miss me as I was sucking my thumb and stroking my own back. But I chose to block out a time to work – to create. Read more…
This is my tell all tale of the church I used to work for. A few months ago, before I quit my job at my church, I had a serious collision with my pastor. He felt I wasn’t giving my all to the job. He was frustrated with me and that made me frustrated with him. I had two choices of action when this all went down.
I could get mad and threaten to leave. Or I could try to fix the problem. I did both. Read more…
Yesterday I had one of my monthly blogging discussions with my brother and dad. Every month I further convince them they need to be blogging and show them the new tools and goodies I’m using.
My brother has finally caught the blogging bug. He’s going through the long process of becoming a published author and has started getting some serious traffic. So yesterday I was helping him take his blog off a popular blogging site and onto his own web host. Then in about 10 minutes I spouted out about 15 websites/plugins I use that are absolute necessities for successful blogging.
His eyes glazed over. Read more…
Don’t you love taking personality tests? My favorite is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). According to it I’m an ENTP. Apparently, the ENTP’s “primary interest in life is understanding the world that they live in.” Yep…that sounds about right.
I’m pretty proud of that facet of my personality. But along with the good comes the bad. Check this out: “Following through on the implementation of an idea is usually a chore to the ENTP. For some ENTPs, this results in the habit of never finishing what they start. The ENTP who has not developed their Thinking process will have problems with jumping enthusiastically from idea to idea, without following through on their plans. The ENTP needs to take care to think through their ideas fully in order to take advantage of them.”
My weakness. My kryptonite. I tend to hop from project to project obsessively. Traditional wisdom tells me to fix that weakness. But I’d rather exploit it. Here’s why. Read more…
I’ve been dealing with a copycat lately. A Texan company has been systematically copying my entire ChurchStageDesignIdeas.com site onto theirs. Beside the obvious plagiarism and copyright violation issues…it’s really ticking me off. I’ve spent about 2 and a half years of my life curating and crafting that site.
They’re even using pictures from the site saying they can design these things for other churches! They’re even posting job openings on craigslist looking for designers who can directly copy the designs on CSDI. Read more…
My wife and I had a massive garage sale. We were selling all our awesome books, DVDs, and Blurays. I was shocked how many people could pass up 50 cent DVDs and books. People were passing on them simply because they hadn’t heard of or experienced that particular title.
It reminded me have little people are willing to experience new things. And here we are – artists – trying to help people experience something new.
Art is an uphill battle. Read more…
I’ve been consumed lately with this idea that art and creativity are becoming a god for church workers. We have so many websites, conferences, books, and leaders devoted to teaching church workers how to make amazing art. How do you reach people with art.
The same is true for leadership. “You must have a huge vision. You must be an amazing leader!”
It’s so easy for church leaders to start seeking leadership, creativity, and art instead of seeking God. The tool we use to reach people quickly becomes our god. Even our building becomes an object of worship rather than a place of worship. Read more…
There’s a growing emphasis on art. It’s not a new thing. But new technology has made it possible for anyone to be a legitimate artist. Some use it as a vehicle to fame. Some use it as a vehicle expression. But Art is important to this generation. So important that Art is becoming a god – even to church workers.
I’ve realized Creativity and Art quickly become my gods when I’m not careful. Even though I’m working for God and trying to reach others for God, my overemphasis on the importance of the two occasionally compete with God. I am more concerned about the integrity of Art than I am about the integrity of my relationship with God. Read more…