Values for the Church & Her Leaders (part 3): Creativity (I get a bit charismatic here)

The third value that I want to explore that is relevant both to the church and to her leaders is creativity.  To summarize this value we could say: “Spirituality unleashes the prophetic imagination.”  The more connected the church and her leaders are to God, the more that imaginative possibilities can prophetically be revealed to our culture.  Notice again that the values of missional and community are necessary for creativity to flourish.  Without God’s action in the world, we would have no creative movement to join.  And without a community, our creativity would be wasted and self-serving.  Creativity needs all the other values.  With that said, what is the basis for creativity?

The primary role of Christian leadership is to equip others to discover their unique calling and role in God’s story, for the good of the community of faith and the world.  As the people of God learn to grow in their ministry calling, each member complements all of the others in a way that cultivates a culture of creativity.  God created humanity in the image of the divine and gave them the ability to express his creativity through various artistic expressions. Our Creator has infused unique talents and gifts within each person that are to be cultivated and expressed.  The more we engage with the creative flow of God, the more our imagination is unlocked and free to dream of new ways of being human.  Creativity that is fueled by the Holy Spirit sees the world in light of possibilities for God’s people in mission, and as a prophetic voice to speak into our broken world.  Imagination is what gives birth to these new realities for the kingdom to be reflected.  This includes new ways of ordering our lives and communities, the arts, gifts from the Spirit, and ultimately the hope that a better world is possible. Our creative abilities are our contribution for the betterment of our faith-community, humanity, and the world.

It should also be said that in the church and leadership, creativity means having an openness to the Holy Spirit.  There is no limit to the creative possibilities that God has infused into the covenant community, as was demonstrated by the early church.  God can speak to people through dreams, visions, pictures, all forms of the prophetic, and words of knowledge; can empower people for acts of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing–even raising the dead; can give the ability to put Jesus on display through signs and wonders; can open up the eyes of some to see the unseen realm of reality; can speak to and through some people using unknown tongues; and can do whatever he pleases to move his mission forward through the people of God.  The Holy Spirit activates supernatural creativity through the imagination of the church.[1]

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The rest of this series can be read here.