You Can Be A More Creative Christian

You Can Be A More

Creative Christian

Using Your Creative Gifts to Touch Others

and Bring Glory to God

By Mark Aaron Quick

© Copyright 2016 by Mark Aaron Quick. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation.

Other books by Mark Aaron Quick

Bound books:

Wisdom for Today’s Decisions

Wisdom for Today’s Teen Decisions

ebooks:

Keep Your Shorts On!

A Collection of Short Stories for Christian Readers

Love Deeply, Think Deeply, Live Dangerously

If you change what you think you can change how you love. If you change how you love, then you’ll change why you live.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Function and Role of Creativity

Chapter 2 Hone Your Skills

Chapter 3 How Personal Growth Affects Creativity

Chapter 4 Riddle Me This …

Chapter 5 Using Your Imagination

Chapter 6 Let Me Entertain You

Chapter 7 How Rest and Leisure Impact Creativity

Chapter 8 Allow God’s Art to Inspire What Makes You Passionate

Chapter 9 The Power of Symbols

Chapter 10 Twenty Practical Ways to Increase Greater Levels of Creativity

Preface

Finding your role in building the kingdom of God plays a crucial part in understanding yourself and learning how God will use you. Each of us can find creative ways to use the gifts God has given us. What will you do with the unique situations and opportunities that come your way? How creative will you be? This book will challenge you to analyze new ways to view and use your creative strengths.

How to read this book:

You Can Be a More Creative Christian has both practical chapters and theoretical chapters. Some readers may prefer to read straight through from cover to cover. Others may prefer to skip some of the philosophically based chapters. This book includes philosophical dimensions because I am strongly convinced that what we think and believe affects everything we do, including our creativity. Here is a list of the more theoretical chapters for those readers who may wish to skip them initially: Chapter 5 Using Your Imagination; Chapter 6 Let Me Entertain You; Chapter 7 How Rest and Leisure Impact Creativity; Chapter 9 The Power of Symbols.

Please Note: Chapter 1 The Function and Role of Creativity is also theoretical, but it provides a foundation for the overall book. As such I recommend all readers start there. Nevertheless, some "impatient" readers may simply prefer to skip ahead all the way to Chapter 20 Twenty Practical Ways to Increase Greater Levels of Creativity. It is by far the most pragmatic chapter in the entire book.

Chapter 1

The Function and Role of Creativity

"The humanities are the studies of literature, art, music, etc. – those things which are products of human creativity…. And Christians certainly should be interested in the humanities as the product of human creativity, made possible because people are uniquely made in the image of the great Creator." Francis Schaeffer, from A Christian Manifesto

***

It’s possible some readers think of Christians as being stodgy and unimaginative. Nothing could be a greater misrepresentation of God’s intention for our lives. While I am convinced that ALL people are innately creative, Christians should be among the most creative, by virtue of their close and personal connection with the Supreme CREATIVE Being.

I believe it is important to look at what creativity is and how it can be used. Our personal creativity can make a tremendous difference in the world we live in. Let’s begin with the following fundamental question.

Why Do We Create?

Creativity flows out of who we are. It’s a part of our personal identity. We create to communicate. We create because it’s fun. We create to add meaning to our lives. These are all legitimate reasons, but perhaps the single most fundamental reason we create is simply because we were each created in God’s image. God Himself is creative and therefore, we are innately creative. He has instilled within each human, whether that person is a believer in God or not, a creative aspect within their heart and soul.

We have a need to express ideas. We have a need to tell others how we feel. We need to enjoy the relational fun that comes from doing something new and fresh. We create because we need to create.

Personal needs relating to creativity always have a two-sided dimension. There is an internal and an external aspect to being human. We possess self-exploratory needs and we also possess a need to connect to others. Intensely personal forms of internal introspection allow us to find deep satisfaction as we delve into the depths of our personal soul and spirit. But we also find deep satisfaction through our connections to others as we explore the universal aspects of the human condition and also analyze the common ground experiences we all share as a part of existing on this planet. Creativity allows us to engage both our internal and our external needs. As a result, creativity is powerful and energizing.

We all sense a need to continue to learn more about what it means to be human. When we get serious about understanding our humanness, we generally start by identifying our strengths, preferences, values, and dreams. We then find ways to blend these things. Our personal insights about self-understanding and awareness begin to take center-stage, and out of that purée within our heart and mind, we begin to forge a chrysalis of ideas and goals that will someday grow into the metamorphosis of a new creation. What we create, when we create, how we create, and even why we create, are all factors of how we interpret who we are.

We need to express ourselves in ways that demonstrate we have personal value and a reason for existing. Both believers and non-believers share common ground here, and this common ground provides numerous avenues of communication between people of differing worldviews. For example, I can talk with my non-Christian friend about a movie we both saw, and this creative form of art gives us a common ground for discussion and interaction. Common ground exists whether we agree or disagree about the quality, message, or impact of the film. Experiencing the art provides the common ground. In other words, whether or not we both agree or disagree that the film was a great movie (or a flop) we still have substance for a meaningful conversation.

Two Major Factors Relating to Personal Identity and Creativity

If you as a reader want to become more creative, then you must be willing to first take a hard look at yourself. You need to evaluate who you are and who you are becoming. For the most part when it comes to changing how we view ourselves, there are two primary avenues that influence our perception.

In our day-to-day lives we tend to see ourselves in a relatively static manner. In other words, when we look into the mirror of our soul, we see what we expect to see, unless one of these two factors unleashes an avenue of change. The two things I am referring to are relationships and accomplishments. The major exception to this has to do with catastrophic tragic circumstances, but that type of transformation (caused by death, divorce, injury, illness, etc.) is beyond the scope of this book.

Relationships and accomplishments feed creativity. They provide the grist for the creativity mill. Who do you talk to? Who influences you? Who are you influencing? What accomplishments have you recently completed? What possible accomplishments are in the works? Relationships and accomplishments impact you in monumental ways that are deeply personal and profoundly powerful.

The reasons are important to understand. We know our preferences, our dislikes, our general taste in food, how we will use our free time, and on and on. These things tend to be static, at least in general. But the development of new relationships (or the deepening of a previously on-going relationship) and the achievement of goal-oriented accomplishments can create changes deep within our hearts and minds. Change, whether internal or external, and whether relational or goal centered, is the driving force in on-going creativity.

Relationships and accomplishments are personality changing factors because they affect our personal sense of identity. Nothing influences confidence more than relationships or accomplishments. In a very real sense confidence is connected to creativity. Our creativity, therefore, which depends so greatly upon our sense of who we are, also rests tremendously upon how our relationships and accomplishments are transforming us.

Our friends and family see our strengths (they see our weaknesses as well). They know the ways we are functionally creative. They provide a support system for our creativity. They give us inspiration, encouragement, and feedback, but they also contribute to our sense of values, priorities, beliefs, and goals. If you want to improve upon your strengths, often the best way lies in seeking greater accomplishments in an area of strength. But if you want to work on an area of weakness, then it is almost always best to do this through interacting and deepening one (or more) of your relationships. Family and friends provide crucial relationships that support creativity because they help us define our personal identity AND they provide sounding boards for our creative ideas.

Often our accomplishments and relationships are deeply interconnected. We are, after all, holistic beings. We often draw astute observations such as, Oh, she did become a great woman, but it was due in large part to the support and encouragement of her husband.

To illustrate this idea with an example from the Bible, let us consider the life of David. His strengths were displayed in accomplishments such as musical ability, battlefield prowess, and leadership accomplishments. But in times of weakness he relied on his friendship with Jonathan, the mentoring of the prophet Nathan, and his deep and abiding relationship with God. His greatest accomplishment, I believe, was being moved by God’s Spirit to pen a great deal of scripture in the form of Psalms. This accomplishment came about through his relationship with Almighty God. Even in your own life, you will find that accomplishments are often very much connected to relationships. One example for me personally, is that without the support of my wife I could not accomplish the writing of this book.

Accomplishments affect us by instilling confidence and tenacity. We know that if we’ve done something once, we can repeat it again, or at least something similar. A surgeon who has performed an operation once knows she can do it again. A musician who has given a concert knows he can do it again. Accomplishments often give us a greater sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. We can see how our creativity may allow us to change and influence the world. There is power in knowing what we are capable of doing.

Self-identity also has to do with the labels we place upon ourselves. We often use self-talk labels such as I’m dependable, I’m loyal, I’m passionate, or hundreds of other labels. Hopefully, you already possess the I’m creative label. Why is this label important? If you believe you are a creative musician you will find it easier to write that next song. If you believe you are a creative cook, you will have greater confidence in the kitchen, even when a particular ingredient is unavailable. In the cooking example, being forced to create (e.g. because of a missing ingredient in your shelf) often yields very inspirational results.

Defining Who You Are

Before we go farther down the path of considering what it means to be both creative and Christian, I would like each reader to consider which side of the following philosophical argument you tend to relate with. Imagine being in a restaurant and overhearing two men discuss their ideas about personal identity.

The first man says to his companion, You are who you are! It’s as simple as that.

The other man smiles and says, "Actually it’s not quite that simple, because you are who you are continually becoming."

Which man is more correct? Your answer to this reveals basic assumptions you hold.

The first man’s viewpoint represents a snapshot. His position is like a still shot photograph. On any given day you are the sum total of your relationships, experiences, knowledge, skills, attitudes, beliefs, values, and priorities that you have accumulated (or lost!) up to that point.

But the other man has a very valid point as well. There is an on-going-movie-like aspect to our lives. You and I are not yet done growing and changing and becoming. Our past is static. It is done. But our future has yet to happen. In other words, our sum total will continue to change. And even though the past is static, how we remember it, learn from it, and interpret or re-interpret events from the past may also be dynamic.

Is it possible both men are right? In my own life I sometimes think more like the first man. But often I believe in the second man’s position as well. Most often, I tend to keep both ideas in mind in a state of tension. Perhaps this describes you as well. Whatever viewpoint you hold, you need to be aware that your presuppositions greatly influence your personal self-identity.

What you believe about who you are deeply affects what and how you create. You exist yet also change. Clearly you cannot be both a caterpillar and a butterfly simultaneously, but life is a journey, and you must understand your role and where you are currently at on that journey.

Your viewpoint affects the things you create as well as what things you attempt to change. In other words, how you view yourself influences your creativity. Whatever you create reveals something about you as a creative person and how you see yourself in general.

In general terms, we need to create because we all wrestle with personal identity issues