“A designer without an engineer is an art gallery, and an engineer without a designer is a parking lot.”
There are two types of creativity needed as humans. We have presenting issues that need addressing and to be creative, in this case, means people work to solve what needs to be solved. After all, necessity is the mother of invention. Things that are “needed” get the resources, the cash, and the spotlight. This is true in our spiritual leadership as well. Culturally, we lock into a love affair with making things “work”—which is not entirely a bad thing. The problem comes when we neglect the other leg of creativity and even denounce it. You see, aesthetics are hard to justify as expenditures when your only vision of creativity is one of utility. This modernist thinking clashes with our souls, yet, still, we in leadership worship “what works.”
But let me caution the idea of innovation as a desired, normative habit. It isn’t. “Let’s not reinvent the wheel” sings loudly in meetings I have been in more times than I care to count. If it is possible to not change much to fix a problem, then a we mark a win on our score cards. With this line of thinking, why would we ever consider any change from the reinforcing culture? Since we live in a reality of change today, this is a recipe for disaster. The usual reality is this. One only makes a change—especially in an organization—when the pain of the change is less than the pain of the status quo. So innovation is the exception, not the rule.
That being said, we think we are truly creative and honoring the activity of humans as image bearers of God by simply taking the step to innovation. But, we miss the point. Being truly creative means we need to tell a story, too. Why are we solving this problem and not another? Why do we sing the songs we sing at church the way we sing them? Who are we? We cannot answer these or even address them with utilitarian leadership. We must humbly hash them out. Creatives then have a place in being more than ones who innovate. Creatives are necessary because stories need to be told.
Stories brand our identities, focus our vision, and energize the tribe to action. Innovation is the vehicle, a new path, and a new adventure. But the quest we are on needs to be defined. The banner we hold needs to be painted. The voices of warriors crying out in battle need the soundtrack of their drum line played. Creativity in the typical local church, for instance, is often limited to utility. We think of innovation by use of new technology or a new worship style or even the catchy way to deliver sermons. However, the local church has the greatest Story to tell. Have we perhaps squandered the true creative energy afforded within our ranks? Do we simply call ministry a problem to be solved? Do we minimize beauty?
Beauty is rarely describable and never quantifiable. The metrics need tweaking to evaluate creativity. The instance when you truly have beauty might be like an ugly 1970s tilt-up office building—you know, those buildings that are concrete with small windows and rocks thrown in as texture for good measure. There is square footage to be had, but no soul. And, yet, the opposite is possible as well. A beautiful structure that has no use is like good leather without the shoes to go with it. Our institutional efforts require a delicate balancing act. It’s a dance between what we can easily measure and the immeasurable human soul.
When the Psalmist of the Bible says, “make his praise glorious” do we know how to? What is making something glorious—especially the praise of God? The balance is in solving the problem and also telling the story. The Christian Gospel is both a story to be told and a proposition to be shared. We have ripped apart much of the artistry in our thinking, separating as goats the ones who love to tell the story, ask the questions, or paint the picture. We have kept as sheep only those artists or creatives that can make things work—with a tinge of innovation to keep a church ministry relevant. We need more than a tinge. Creativity is not a spice to add. It is a calling to be lived.
The two legs of being creative address both aspects. We tell a story. We solve a problem. To tear these apart is to make us less human. We actually need both. One will not fully live without the other. I love what Etan Livestone, director of UX design at New Relic, said about designing great enterprise software. “A designer without an engineer is an art gallery, and an engineer without a designer is a parking lot.” How much more true is this in our endeavor to lead people in greater tasks? Keep up the rhythm of walking with both legs—artistry and innovation. We create to tell a story while we innovate to solve a problem.