Tag Archives: pastor

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10 Ways to Be More Creative

Do you think it’s possible to become more creative?  Is creativity natural, or developed?  Is it a limited commodity, and you’re just stuck with however much of it you have?  Is it even possible for a small-church pastor to be creative with limited budgets, no staff, and few options?

I think you CAN become more creative.

What is Creativity?

Here’s my definition of creativity: The skill or ability to view problems and possibilities in new ways, and find solutions that are novel and courageous.

10 Ways You Can Develop your creativity

So how do we develop the skill of creativity?  Here are a few suggestions:

1. Read broadly.

Take some time and check out authors that break boxes, think fresh thoughts, and have an “upside down” way of viewing things.  This will mean reading people who disagree with you politically, who synthesize differently than you are used to.

Try some of these:

2. Strategically break your routine.

Seeing the same things the same ways will eventually result in stifled creativity, because it doesn’t give you new experiences and info to process and synthesize.

  • Eat somewhere new.
  • Take a new road to work.
  • Learn a new skill.
  • Read a book about something different or weird
  • Do a new kind of recreation (If you’re an inside guy, go out. Or vice versa!)
  • Talk with someone outside your normal circle – ask them questions

Identify what is unique and different about these experiences.  You may not like them – you might even decide not to do it again.

3. Think childish.

Kids see ways to solve problems creatively because they haven’t been discouraged yet by how many WRONG answers there are. What if you recaptured that mindset, by deciding to ignore the voice that says there’s only one right answer?

  • Shut down the inner voice that says “that’s stupid.”
  • Deliberately suspend your disbelief.
  • Force yourself to come up with 10 different ways to do something, even if 4 of them are completely ludicrous.

The person who rolls their eyes at an over-the-top suggestion may be RIGHT, but they are not creative.  So don’t be that guy.

This is valuable when you need to do things like come up with creative trunk or treat ideas, or find creative solutions to problems with your discipleship process.

4. Involve others.

Some people are “Yes, and…” people.  Some are “yes, but…” people.  You know who I’m talking about.  When you want to get creative, it is important who you choose to be around you.  The right people will help you break through a creative block.

“It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.” ~ Sherlock Holmes (Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir A. Conan Doyle)

5. Be ready to capture ideas.

Brainstorming is a huge part of the art of creativity.  But you have to have a way to capture those creative ideas.

Don’t let a flash of insight slip by!  Write them down in Evernote, or put them in your Todoist list.  Sketch it on a napkin.  Take pictures with your smartphone.

Side note: I get some of my best ideas from OTHER people. Specifically, I once got an idea that became an incredible discipleship tool at my church. It’s a Bible reading plan for new Christians, and you can download it for free right here: 

The Best Bible reading plan for new Christians

    I HATE spam. I’ll never share your email! Unsubscribe at any time.

    I recently created a post about discipleship sermon illustrations… most of which I had saved in Evernote over the course of about 7 years. I have a way to capture ideas… and after doing it for years, I’ve got lots of sermon illustrations, and I can brainstorm more with ChatGPT.

    6. Plan ahead.

    Many creative people like to hate on this one, but trust me… it’s valuable. Don’t wait until the last minute.  Creativity is useless if you don’t have time to execute the idea!

    Time pressure only creates the base layer of creativity.  Going to the next level of great creative ideas requires margin. So start early.

    7. Get enough sleep.

    There is abundant research saying that if you don’t sleep, your life will suffer.  You’ll make less effective decisions, your productivity will drop, and your creativity will suffer.  So make yourself go to sleep.  Check out Michael Hyatt’s post on evening routines for help.

    8. Ask “What if…?” and “Why not?”

    The more you ask these two questions, the more you unleash your creativity.  Even if the answer is “obvious,” go ahead and ask the question.  What you gain from the question is more than the answer – it is perspective.

    9. Use metaphor and simile often.

    If creativity really is the synthesis of ideas, metaphor is a great laboratory.  To practice this, think these kinds of thoughts:

    • “How is this problem LIKE other problems?”
    • “If this situation was a ___ (car, storm, war, family, factory, etc), what would each piece be called?”

    This forces your brain into a synthesis mode of completely different sets of ideas, which is the essence of creativity.

    10. Laugh at yourself.

    Creativity = Ridiculous.
    Ridiculous = funny.
    Funny = people laugh at it.
    People laughing at you = bad.
    THEREFORE, Creativity = bad.

    If that’s your logic, you’ll never grow your creative skill.

    So if you decide that you’re OK with being a little ridiculous, and can develop the ability to laugh at yourself, you’ll be further down the road toward being truly creative.

    In the comments below, share this: Which of these ideas surprised you?  Why?

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    Pastor, Here’s Why You Can’t Quit

    If the stats are right, several pastors reading this are burned out and thinking of quitting… or at least wishing it could happen. The old joke about “writing your resignation letter every Monday” has a grain of truth. You’re burned out. Used up. Frustrated. In conflict. Spiritually drained. Unappreciated.

    I don’t know if you’re one of those. I hope not. But odds are, someone reading this said under your breath, “That’s me.”

    For the next few minutes, I’m talking to you.

    For just the next few minutes, you are a boxer. The bell has rung, ending the round — just in time. Literally, saved by the bell. You stagger back to the corner, battered and bleeding. Collapsing onto the stool, you say, “I’m done. I can’t do it. I’ve got to quit.” A quick swipe of the towel, and I’m down in your face. Through clenched teeth, in a low growl, here’s what I’ve got to say:

    “Jesus called you to suffer this.”

    Not all pastors are called to blowout success. I don’t know the “Why of heaven” on this. But you know in your gut it’s true — there are too many godly & gifted men through history who didn’t see big numbers. If you see this as the calling of God to face the attack of the enemy, it makes a difference.

    “This will not last forever.”

    Don’t quit because of a season! You can outlast that critic. Those children will not always be so small. God will answer prayer. Someone will be changed. You will not always feel this alone. Your spouse will not always be sick.

    “This is where you prove your grit.”

    You must — you MUST. Watch this video.

     

    “Jesus is worth this.”

    I know you’re doubting it will ever be any different, and thinking that you have no more strength. But remember your brothers & sisters in Moslem countries. Remember those have lost eyes, hands, jobs… those who have been tied to stakes and flogged.

    They found that Christ was worth the pain.  They found that He satisfies here on Earth, and they proved his supreme worth by what they suffered.  And when we arrive in heaven, whatever pain you’re experiencing will only produce greater glory when you’re in His All-Satisfying Presence.

    “This is the price of Christian leadership.”

    1 Corinthians 4:9 For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.
    10 We are fools for Christ… We are weak… we are dishonored!
    11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
    12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
    13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. (NIV)

    This is not new!  You think you’re better than Paul?  Or Stephen?  Or Jesus?

    Get your head up. No, look up here. Look me in the eye.

    Grit your teeth and say it: I will not quit.

    No, don’t you mumble and drop your eyes. LOOK AT ME.

    Say it.

    SAY IT.

    I WILL NOT QUIT.

    I. WILL. NOT. QUIT.

    Now, call a preacher friend or mentor and tell them you’re not going to quit. Email me and tell me you need prayer, but you’re not going to quit. I will stop and pray for you as soon as I get the email. We are in this thing together. We need you. No more men running for the safety of the rear lines while the shells of the enemy scream overhead!

    Now, type I WILL NOT QUIT in the Comments below.

    Then, go read this post about action steps you can take if you’re burned out and discouraged as a pastor!

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    How Living In the Urgent Can Kill Your Creativity

    Hey pastors! As one of you for the last 21 years, I know all about pastoral stress… and how it can damage your ministry and your creativity.

    frustration with how to disciple new believers

    If you haven’t read Stephen Covey’s excellent book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” you’re missing out.  Out of the many helpful things in the book, here’s one I have found most useful:  Covey’s distinction between URGENT things and IMPORTANT things.

    • Urgent things shout at you – flashing lights, ringing phones.
    • Important things will not – maintenance, relationships, planning.
    • Urgent and Important things must be done or things will fall apart immediately.
    • Important, not Urgent things must be done or things will fall apart eventually.
    • Urgent and Important things are like filling up with gas when you’re on empty.
    • Important things are like changing the oil after 3,000 miles.

    He draws a matrix like this:

    Quadrant 2 graphic

    As you can see, Quadrant 1 is Urgent & Important.  Quadrant 2 is Important, but not Urgent.

    Now, think about your life in terms of this diagram.

    I think of Sunday as a Quadrant 1 day.   If you don’t lead worship, don’t preach… if you fail to do whatever your core activities are, there will be an immediate negative effect.  Some activities eventually change quadrants.  For instance, sermon prep is a Quadrant 2 activity on Tuesday, but Saturday night… it’s moved up.

    Here’s why it’s better to do activities while they’re still in Quadrant 2:

    1. Living in Quadrant 1 is exhausting.

    Living your whole life in Quadrant 1 means you’ll be like Mario, leaping from crisis to crisis, barely escaping destruction at each turn, always inches from disaster.

    It means not being able to sleep because of the stress of upcoming deadlines.

    That’s exhausting.  Better to live in Quadrant 2, where you do important things before they move into Quadrant 1.

    2. Relaxed thinking is better than crisis thinking.

    You do better quality thinking when you’re relaxed.  Research is clear: You make better quality decisions when your stress is lower.

    In his ground-breaking book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell tells of a study where college students were brought to a snack table, and offered a choice between healthy snacks (fruit, etc) and unhealthy snacks (cookies, cupcakes).  Half of the students were given a phone number to memorize and repeat back after the snack.  Those students were much more likely to choose the unhealthy snack.  Why?  They defaulted, under even that mild stress, to choosing what was immediately rewarding, instead of what was smarter.

    3. Creativity flows better when you are not in urgent mode.

    Ever think that your creativity goes up right before the deadline?  It doesn’t.  Your desperation does.  You may produce, but it’s not your creativity that gets your sermon finished!  It’s shame, and the potential embarrassment of having nothing to say.

    It’s not more creative, it’s just… finished.

    Instead, take time and focus early in the week to get in a creative flow.  (I’ll be writing more on this soon.)  You may not think of yourself as a particularly creative person, but I bet that you’re more creative when you aren’t “under the gun.”

    4. Creativity is useless when you have no time left to execute.

    In Quadrant 2, when you think of a really creative way to present a sermon, you can do it.  You can find that prop, create that Powerpoint, locate that great historical story, find that song that complements, think of that person whose testimony should be shared.

    But in Quadrant 1, even if you think of it, you often don’t have enough time to do anything about it. I’ve been there too many times, finishing up a sermon on Sunday morning, when I realized – “You know what would be GREAT?!… ah, never mind, I don’t have time to do that this morning!”

    Don’t do it.  Commit to living in the Important, not Urgent.

    One final thought:

    “What if I’m already overwhelmed?  How do I get into Quadrant 2 when Quadrant 1 is already so full?”

    I’m glad you asked.  You can’t just stop doing Quadrant 1 activities.  Everything would fall apart, because they really ARE important!  There are only 2 places that you can find time to do Quadrant 2 activities at first: Quadrants 3 & 4.

    Here’s what that might look like:

    • Turn off the phone.
    • Block Netflix.
    • Shut off talk radio.
    • Turn off the TV.
    • Use Stayfocusd to keep off Facebook.
    • Get off Youtube.
    • Turn off your wireless access altogether for 3 hours.

    And do something Quadrant 2.  Like this:

    • Prepare for NEXT week’s message.
    • Prep for a series that’s a month away on your sermon calendar.
    • Invest in a key relationship.
    • Learn something new.
    • Make a discipleship plan PDF (or download mine!)
    • Do that item you’ve been putting off.
    • Check your calendar for tomorrow.
    • Schedule lunch with someone.
    • Pray.

    I think you’ll find that if you’ll do this for a week, Quadrant 1 will be slightly smaller, and Quadrant 2 will be slightly larger.

    Now, imagine 6 months from now, if you did that every day!