Why the Gospel Needs Generous Creativity

Those who use their creativity blaze trails, take risks and try new ways. They ask, “Why not?” They innovate. They respond to challenges, not with fear, but with imagination.

They lead.

Those who settle for copying seem to believe that the only way forward is to find someone to emulate, to seek only proven strategies or doors that have already been opened. Copying collapses possibility. It doesn’t dream. Copying doesn’t lean into imagination or creativity. It defaults to pragmatism.

The distinction between those who would create and those who would copy is no small thing. I truly believe there is a wealth of untapped creative energy available to people if we could break the chains of the copier mentality, find courage in our creative identities and unleash the power of imagination.

Think about it: Every apocalyptic movie that wants to show humanity as enslaved paints people as robotically following and copying. They don’t think for themselves. They don’t dream or imagine. They are lifeless masses trapped in a posture of automatic mindless behavior. The hero in these futuristic movies is the one person who breaks the mold and awakens people once more to their humanity—to their creativity!

Much of creativity can’t be separated from copying at the action level. Of course there’s nothing new under the sun. But there is a significant difference in the respective mindsets of a creator and a copier. Copiers don’t use the creativity within to engage what’s around them. Creators, by contrast, explore their God-given creativity with eyes of possibility on how they can shape culture and glorify God.

Redemptive Creativity

Creativity alone is not sufficient for those who follow Christ. Our creativity, like God’s, must be aiming at the proper target. We need redemptive creativity—creativity whose goal is not just success, but freedom; and not just for ourselves, but for others and for the good of creation as a whole.

A fundamental part of Genesis 1:27—that God created men and women in his relational image—is that our similar creative capacity can be used to glorify God as we pursue justice and human flourishing within our relationships. In new covenant terms, our participation with Christ in his mission of reconciling all things to himself will require our following the leading of the Holy Spirit and using the creativity with which he endowed us.

Justice is at the very heart of God’s character and at the core of what he desires from his people. Jesus’ own mission statement  incorporates healing and social justice, and he said that his followers would be recognized by their feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, welcoming the immigrant and visiting the sick and the prisoner.  While we evangelicals have sometimes made the good news all about an otherworldly heaven,  Jesus’s own gospel was of the in-breaking of God’s kingdom on earth.  Paul’s understanding was that Christ’s redeeming work applied to all of this creation, and that his followers—those saved by grace—would be ambassadors of reconciliation,   doing the works of justice to which he calls them.

With every word, decision or action, we each change the world—for better or worse. And in a world whose brokenness and injustices are more varied and insidious than at any time in history, those who would heed Christ’s call to be his agents of reconciliation will need all the wisdom and creativity at their disposal. My experience over the past several years is that the Lord of creation is not just calling his people to this redemptive role but has also equipped us with the necessary skills and imagination.

Creativity, Culture and Reconciliation

Today’s influencers simply can’t succeed without appreciating the role of creativity. We might not all be artists, but we live in a creatively charged world. As Madeleine L’Engle put it, “Unless we are creators, we are not fully alive.”

Life is found in recognizing creativity as a part of humanity, and embracing creativity is about leaning in to our identity as children of a creative God.

Your church or ministry—with a creativity mindset—has the ability and the God-given creative gifts to shape culture, rather than merely reacting to it. By faith, you have the power to conquer fear-based thinking and join in Christ’s redemptive work, where often the last will be first and the foolish things of the world are chosen to shame the wise.

Have you been caught in a rut? Are you in need of a reset? Do you hunger for being a more dynamic part of the move of God’s Spirit?

Take heart. Have faith. Remember you are creative. Begin to intentionally incorporate creativity into your systems and processes. Take some risks. Dream again. Pray that God might grow your imagination.

And begin reminding the people with you in ministry that they are creative beings made in the image of a creative God. Through creativity, we might find ourselves better equipped to shape culture and bring about the reconciliation for which we are Christ’s appointed ambassadors.

Ken Wytsma is the is the president of Kilns College and church planter and lead pastor of Antioch Church in Bend, Oregon. He newest book is Create vs. Copy: Embrace Change, Ignite Creativity, Break Through With Imagination.

Ken Wytsma
Ken Wytsmahttp://kenwytsma.com/

Ken Wytsma is the lead pastor of Village Church in Beaverton, Oregon—a multicultural community in Christ. He is also the founder of The Justice Conference, which has reached over 30,000 people across seven countries with a message on a theology of justice and God’s call to give our lives away.

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