Granger Field Trip, pt. 2
If you missed part 1, you should catch up here to put today’s post in context. Go on. I’ll wait.
Creative church types are always talking about thinking outside of the box. We don’t want to do the same old, same old. Standard messages need a fresh twist, familiar songs need a new tune, and traditional programming needs a jolt of new energy. (Whether that’s a good idea or bad is not the topic of today’s post, so save those comments for another time.)
In many ways, our creativity is very good. Creative elements engage society’s artists, thinkers, and those with preconditioned ideas of what church will be. But other times, our creativity is just the opposite of good (it’s bad…pay attention). As we’ve seen in recent days, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
But back to the box. Every church has a creative box. Every single one. Even the most creative churches in our country will find their limits if they rely on today’s “new” as they look towards tomorrow.
That’s why I’m so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the network led by Mark Waltz. In our session on Monday, there were 13 church leaders from across the country…big churches, small churches. Methodist churches, Baptist churches. Traditional churches, contemporary churches. Lead pastors, staff positions. People with experience, people on the job for two months.
And what I discovered was that I learned something from every last one of them. Their “out of the box” thinking looks far different from my “out of the box” thinking. Regardless of where they are in their journey as a leader, a guest services coordinator, or a believer, I was able to glean from their experience.
How about you? Are you surrounding yourself with people who don’t live life in the same box as you? Are you intentionally seeking out new relationships that will fire new creativity and passion in your skull? Get out of the box. It’ll be the best move you can make.
