This document discusses releasing creativity in churches. It begins by outlining some key points readers will take away, including why churches aren't more creative and practical ideas for thinking creatively. It then explores what releases creativity in a community and how creatives can shape a church's mission. The document examines challenges like fear of criticism and "Beckyism," which demands only safe, positive messages. It argues for embracing creativity using biblical examples and embracing all art forms to more fully communicate important spiritual truths.

1. Releasing Creatives in Your ChurchReleasing Creatives in Your Church
@seanpalmer@seanpalmer
thepalmerperspective.comthepalmerperspective.com

2. You’ll Leave WithYou’ll Leave With
A sense ofA sense of whywhy your congregation isn’t moreyour congregation isn’t more
creative.creative.
Practical ideas aboutPractical ideas about howhow to think creatively into think creatively in
Christian community.Christian community.
An idea aboutAn idea about whatwhat releases creativity in areleases creativity in a
community.community.
A vision ofA vision of howhow creatives shape the mission ofcreatives shape the mission of
the church.the church.

3. VideoVideo

4. QuickTime™ and a
AVC Coding decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

5. What is “wonder?”What is “wonder?”

6. What is “wonder?”What is “wonder?”
I didn’t expect it.I didn’t expect it.
I can’t explain it.I can’t explain it.
I had a positive reaction toI had a positive reaction to
it.it.

7. ““Oh, how wonder-Oh, how wonder-
filled...”filled...”

8. He who works with his hands is aHe who works with his hands is a
laborer.laborer.
He who works with his hands and hisHe who works with his hands and his
head is a craftsmen.head is a craftsmen.
He who works with his hands and hisHe who works with his hands and his
head and his heart is an artist.head and his heart is an artist.
-St. Francis of Assisi-St. Francis of Assisi

9. The Church Should Be The MOST CREATIVE Place on

10. Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, IThen the Lord said to Moses, “See, I
have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, thehave chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the
son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, andson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and
I have filled him with the Spirit of God,I have filled him with the Spirit of God,
with wisdom, with understanding,with wisdom, with understanding,
with knowledge and with all kinds ofwith knowledge and with all kinds of
skills—to make artistic designs forskills—to make artistic designs for
work in gold, silver and bronze,to cutwork in gold, silver and bronze,to cut
and set stones, to work in wood, andand set stones, to work in wood, and
to engage in all kinds of crafts.to engage in all kinds of crafts.

11. Moreover, I have appointed OholiabMoreover, I have appointed Oholiab
son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan,son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan,
to help him. Also I have given abilityto help him. Also I have given ability
to all the skilled workers to maketo all the skilled workers to make
everything I have commanded you:everything I have commanded you:
the tent of meeting, the ark of thethe tent of meeting, the ark of the
covenant law with the atonementcovenant law with the atonement
cover on it, and all the othercover on it, and all the other
furnishings of the tent— the tablefurnishings of the tent— the table
and its articles, the pure goldand its articles, the pure gold
lampstand and all its accessories, thelampstand and all its accessories, the
altar of incense,altar of incense,

12. the altar of burnt offering and all itsthe altar of burnt offering and all its
utensils, the basin with its stand—utensils, the basin with its stand—
and also the woven garments, bothand also the woven garments, both
the sacred garments for Aaron thethe sacred garments for Aaron the
priest and the garments for his sonspriest and the garments for his sons
when they serve as priests, and thewhen they serve as priests, and the
anointing oil and fragrant incense foranointing oil and fragrant incense for
the Holy Place.the Holy Place.
Exodus 31:1-11Exodus 31:1-11
Exodus 31:1-11Exodus 31:1-11
Exodus 31:1-11Exodus 31:1-11

13. Where Has The WonderWhere Has The Wonder
Gone?Gone?

14. Over-cooked PastaOver-cooked Pasta
Where Has The WonderWhere Has The Wonder
Gone?Gone?

15. The OliveThe Olive
GARDEN PROBLEMGARDEN PROBLEM

16. Olive Garden kNOWS iT’S
noT aUTHENTIC.
• In field tests, diners wouldn't order gnocchi. That is, "until
chefs at the company's Orlando, Fla., headquarters tried
gnocchi in chicken soup, billed as a 'traditional Italian
dumpling.'"
• Olive Garden HQ knows that their diners have limits:
"Capers, with their salty, pickled flavor, are too unexpected
for many customers, says a spokeswoman."

17. Olive Garden kNOWS iT’S
noT aUTHENTIC.
• And the restaurant chain will do whatever it takes to make
customers happy: "At Olive Garden, pasta is served soft, not
al dente or slightly firm, the traditional Italian method."
• So is it authentic or not? "We don't use the word authentic,"
said the president of Olive Garden. He prefers the term
"Italian inspired."

18. Olive Garden kNOWS iT’S
noT aUTHENTIC.
• Chefs at Olive Garden HQ went on a trip to Northern Italy
and had "fresh-torn pasta dish with olive oil, garlic and
herbs." Somehow that dish was "reverse-engineered" into
"baked pasta romana—a mix of lasagna pasta, rich cheese
sauce, spinach and either a beef or chicken topping."
Originally it was chicken with roasted tomato sauce, but
diners didn't find it "cravable."

19. Olive Garden kNOWS iT’S
noT aUTHENTIC.
• Olive Garden wants to do update their dishware, but they
can't. The frosted, "semi-translucent, plastic, flower-shaped
salad bowl" that delivers unlimited refills has been in use for
decades, and every time Olive Garden tests new bowls, diners
revolt. "There is a lot of love for that bowl," said Dan Kiernan,
executive vice president of operations for Olive Garden.

20. ...
Is it possible that we’ve taken the flavor out of
worship in order to be meet low expectations?

21. Over-cooked PastaOver-cooked Pasta
““Becky”Becky”
Where Has The WonderWhere Has The Wonder
Gone?Gone?

22. Who Is
Becky?
‣ Target for CCM market.
‣ 42-year old evangelical who
doesn’t watch Christian TV.
‣ Attends worship 2x’s/month
‣ Married (possibly twice), with
3 kids.
‣ She wants positive, safe,
messages when she’s driving
her kids around.

23. Why Is
Becky a
“Problem”?
‣ Because corporate worship
and church life center so
much on music, overtime
Becky comes to believe that
ecclesial life should be
equally platitudinal, saccharin
, unoffensive, and “safe for
the whole family.”

24. Homeless JesusHomeless Jesus
by: Thomas Schmalzby: Thomas Schmalz
An Example of the
An Example of the
“Becky” Effect.
“Becky” Effect.

25. ““Homeless Jesus had no home,”Homeless Jesus had no home,”
Schmalz told the Toronto Star. “ItSchmalz told the Toronto Star. “It
was very upsetting because thewas very upsetting because the
rectors liked it, but when it got to therectors liked it, but when it got to the
administration, people thoughtadministration, people thought
it...was not an appropriate image.”it...was not an appropriate image.”

26. In a phone interview...the sculptorIn a phone interview...the sculptor
explained that returning to the cityexplained that returning to the city
(Toronto) and seeing so many(Toronto) and seeing so many
homeless on its corners and bencheshomeless on its corners and benches
can be a jarring experience. Thecan be a jarring experience. The
December night when he spotted theDecember night when he spotted the
homeless man who inspired him was ahomeless man who inspired him was a
particularly poignant moment, he said.particularly poignant moment, he said.
"My instinctive thought was, that is"My instinctive thought was, that is
Jesus Christ. I just saw Jesus."Jesus Christ. I just saw Jesus."

27. To some who have seen it, it speaksTo some who have seen it, it speaks
the message of the Gospels. Whenthe message of the Gospels. When
theologian Thomas Reynolds cametheologian Thomas Reynolds came
upon it he felt “the shock ofupon it he felt “the shock of
recognition.” He quoted the biblicalrecognition.” He quoted the biblical
passage: “ … the Son of Man haspassage: “ … the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay his head.”nowhere to lay his head.”
““I’m so used to seeing images ofI’m so used to seeing images of
Jesus that are palatable,” saysJesus that are palatable,” says
Reynolds.Reynolds.
(excerpts from The Toronto Star)(excerpts from The Toronto Star)

28. the “Becky” problemthe “Becky” problem
We have aWe have a seriousserious
problemproblem whenwhen
creatives can’t usecreatives can’t use
their gifts to tell thetheir gifts to tell the
whole truthwhole truth aboutabout
Christ because theChrist because the
Christian sub-cultureChristian sub-culture
is designed foris designed for
spiritual childrenspiritual children..

29. the “Becky” problemthe “Becky” problem
AllAll too frequentlytoo frequently ourour
first concern whenfirst concern when
planning an event,planning an event,
service, or outreach isservice, or outreach is
whether or not thiswhether or not this
will bewill be “palatable.”“palatable.”

30. Over-cooked PastaOver-cooked Pasta
““Becky”Becky”
Fear of CriticismFear of Criticism
Where Has The WonderWhere Has The Wonder
Gone?Gone?

31. Fear of CriticismFear of Criticism
““A lot of us (me)A lot of us (me)
didn’t like that.”didn’t like that.”
““I didn’t get it.”I didn’t get it.”
““We’ve never doneWe’ve never done
itit that waythat way before.”before.”

32. Over-cooked PastaOver-cooked Pasta
““Becky”Becky”
Fear of CriticismFear of Criticism
Sacralization ofSacralization of
BoredomBoredom
Where Has The WonderWhere Has The Wonder
Gone?Gone?

33. Sacralization of BoredomSacralization of Boredom
““You’re justYou’re just
trying totrying to
entertainentertain
people.”people.”

34. Embracing CreativityEmbracing Creativity

35. Burning BushBurning Bush
10 Plagues10 Plagues
Still, small voiceStill, small voice
Hosea and GomerHosea and Gomer
Isaiah’s CallIsaiah’s Call
Prophetic SpeechProphetic Speech
David’s PunishmentDavid’s Punishment
Virgin BirthVirgin Birth
God is a Drama-KingGod is a Drama-King

36. to communicateto communicate moremore
importantimportant matters.matters.
GodGod knowsknows this.this.
GodGod createdcreated it.it.
it.it.
it.it.
it.it.

37. Dream TeamDream Team
dream locationdream location
dream activitydream activity
dream catcherdream catcher
dream musicdream music

38. Practice StorytellingPractice Storytelling

39. Save The CatSave The Cat - Blake Snyder- Blake Snyder
““double mumbo-jumbo”double mumbo-jumbo”

40. So whatSo what
should we do?should we do?

41. Have A
Plan
PlanWhat do you want your
worship services and
outreach to accomplish?
What are the deliverables?

43. Do What
The Text
Does
Pentecost Sunday @
The Vine

44. Do What
The Text
Does*
Pentecost Sunday @
The Vine

45. Use All The Colors

46. Use All The Colors
Feature Songs
Spoken Word
Decor
Art & Photography
Original Songs
Video
Original Videos
Creative Sermon Content
Release Creatives

47. WhatWhat
happens...happens...
The more creativeThe more creative
“we” are, the more“we” are, the more
our membersour members
create.create.

48. VideoVideo

49. QuickTime™ and a
AVC Coding decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Kind of Church We Want to BeThe Kind of Church We Want to Be

50. Questions, Comments, IdeasQuestions, Comments, Ideas
@seanpalmer@seanpalmer
thepalmerperspective.comthepalmerperspective.com