‘Cause every night I lie in bed
From the song “A Million Dreams” by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (from the movie The Greatest Showman.)
The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it’s gonna take
A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make
Leading worship requires a heavy dose of administrative strengths. There are team members to schedule, music to arrange and distribute, plans to execute, and budgets to keep. Just because you sing and hold a guitar doesn’t mean you automatically get to create! Yes, you serve by making music and prayers work in service for your church. Yes, the desire for unique artistic expression worthy of a worship service rate high on the task list. But, imagination takes a back seat. Even when the time is available, the lesson is that creativity is truly hard work. Imagining a reality not currently present is a far-off pipe dream. There seems to simply be little time to be creative, even in a role that requires it.
Limitations are not your enemy.
Creativity solves problems. In fact, necessity is called the mother of invention. Time is a construct that can either be discouragement or boundaries that allows your best work. Time, money, or space may not be your enemy. In fact, they may be the very thing the enables you to thrive! Think of the theological truth of Jesus being fully human and fully God, or the teaching of the Incarnation. Jesus lived as a man stuck with 24 hours in a day. He had to sleep. Miracles happened on specific times of day in particular locations. God’s work and creativity seem to have little problem with time or space. The Day of Pentecost the Church received the Holy Spirit, and we all anticipate the Second Coming of our Lord on a particular day.
Think of the limitation you have as the size and shape of your canvas. Some will own a larger canvas to paint their masterpiece. Humility means I accept the limitations God chooses to give me. I cannot grow any taller at this point in life, for instance. So, my choice is to embrace my height. By the way, I happen actually to be shrinking with age! A young mother or father with small children will only have a smaller-sized canvas. Should you stop painting until you have the most massive canvas available or should you create with what you have in front of you? Kids grow up, and seasons change–so will your limitations. Limitations will grow or shrink. This is no excuse to stop creating.
Imagination is a practice, not an accident.
Imagination’s greatest gift is to allow a world that does not yet exist to be lived in and studied. As a child, I was a kid who often daydreamed. While it may seem an accident that I was able to vividly create everything from imaginary friends to stories, the practice of being one who imagined daily helped. My imagination muscle grew the more I used it. As we grow into adulthood, we, for some reason, believe that we cannot draw or create as we did as kids. The muscle of imagination atrophies to the point that we are led to think we’re just not creative. But, what if you can still draw? What if imagination was a discipline of habit rather than the random thoughts of a child? What if God wants us as worship leaders to imagine what a service could be like for our church?
Leadership is about shaping reality. Imagination describes the world we wish for our people. Hope is about imagination. You cannot see it, but it is a belief in a world not acquired yet. Have you read something that transported you to a magical place? Inspiration is about breathing in something that fills you. As worship leaders, time slips away with meetings and responsibilities. Being inspired is not given the weight it deserves. Drink in a sunset. Listen to music that challenges your ear. Read a book that enlightens your mind. Have coffee with a friend who leaves you charged. Imagination is not an accident. You have to dig for it, practice it, and anticipate that it will arrive just in time.
Creativity requires hard work.
Do our best ideas come from random flashes or our daily efforts? The myth many of us creative types have is that the better ideas are the ones that just show up. What we often celebrate is the myth that this is a regular occurrence. A songwriter may, by chance come up with a hit in a few minutes. But, I bet that songwriter had worked daily for many years before that song was written. So, did that song come in a flash or was it part of her daily work? What we forget, even as creators, is that an iterative process lies underneath the most exciting creative works. In other words, showing up to work means your chances of a hit song in five minutes exponentially goes up.
You can do things daily to create. Gordon McKenzie mentions in his book that creativity is a lot like cows chewing the cud.* The boss in his suit is livid seeing perfectly good cows in the pasture chewing and chewing instead of being in the barn being milked. What the boss forgets is that chewing the cud is making milk! You cannot have creativity without fuel. In most cases, this fuel is hard work. Instead of chewing grass, we can chew by mastering our skills in storytelling, playing our instrument, or flexing the muscle of imagination.
Takeaways:
The people who lead worship for 52 weekends a year can be daily in training for their best ideas yet. Here are some steps we can take:
- Measure the limitations you have and embrace that reality. How much time or resources do you have to work with? What can you do to maximize them?
- Shed envy about how others create. What can you learn from others? Who can help encourage you along the way?
- Dream of the world God wants you to make. What do you see God doing in your church or ministry? How open are you to seeing something you have never seen before?
- Make inspiration a habit. How are you filling up your creative tank? Do you take in more than you have to give?
- Expect God to use you to create. Do you believe God made you to create? Are you open to God using you to do something new or in a new way in your church?
This article was originally published in Worship Leader Magazine (worshipleader.com), November, 2019 as “Called to Create: Inhabiting Inspiration, Imagination, and Limitation”
* Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace, 1998 by Viking ISBN: 0670879835