This week, ask yourself how “friendly” your interactions are with those that are different from you.

I’m up to the fourth value of Friendship Church this week: Engaged & Unified Body.

This is a big one for any organization, but even more so for a local church. Do we constantly have to shout “Pay attention!” or have we earned the attention of our church and community? Are we all together on the vision or are we wandering through the wilderness?

I think all organizations can grow in this area. I believe we at Friendship Church are currently on the rise here. We have some new leaders in training, lots of volunteers, exciting growth on Sunday mornings, and we’re really starting to see people “get it.”. That’s exciting to me and I hope you are experiencing this in your organization too.

“How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!” [Psalm 133:1, NIV]

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If you missed the first three weeks of Friendship Church’s values, catch up here:

• F – Focused on Community
• R – Relationship Oriented
• I – Intentional Discipleship

The Glory of Our King (Matt Redman)
At Your Name (Phil Wickham)
In Christ Alone (Matt Papa’s version)
Give Me Faith (Elevation Worship)

A few things to help you get it done:

Know what you can do and get help with the rest. “Teamwork makes the dream work” is a true statement.
Understand what motivates you and stay around that.
Stay organized. That’s why there are three previous steps before we say “Go!”.
Read this book.
…and this one.

Dream, Define, Design, Develop. There is nothing He can’t do. Let’s not get in the way.

“That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” – Colossians 1:29, NLT

Something I’ve been thinking through recently for the design step is “story-boarding”. This concept is used a ton by animation designers and movie creators to help them visualize what the final product will ultimately look and feel like. I’m currently processing how we can use this in creative church ministry because I feel like it is such a valuable tool to use to help us understand the end product.

Ask yourself/your team:

What feel do we want to create?
What reaction are we looking for?
What people do I need to help pull this off?
What physical items do we need to incorporate?
How are we going to do this (what steps are needed)?
What other preparations are needed for successful development?

The design gives you a tangible picture of the end product. The equivalent to a designers thumbnail drawing.

The design process wraps up planning and launches the last step of developing the idea.

Click here to read part 1 of the 4D Creative Process.

The second part of the creative process is DEFINE. Once we have the idea we sharpen it to make certain it fits the vision and the message we are going for. We’ve all had and/or experienced great ideas that ultimately missed the mark. That is because the idea was neglected to be defined.

Defining the idea ensures the effectiveness of the idea.

Questions to ask when defining the idea:

• Does this make sense to our audience?
• Does this convey the message we want to send?
• Does this align with the vision of our organization?

What other questions do you ask to define your ideas?

Tomorrow, part 3: Design.

This week I’ll be blogging about my adaption of another church‘s creative process called the “4D Creative Process”. The four D’s are:

• Dream
• Define
• Design
• Develop

First up: Dream. Although this is the smallest step, the idea is the spark that leads us through the creative process. It comes like lightening (brain “storming”), usually when you least expect it. It sometimes hits me while I’m showering in the morning. That dream is what launches us through creativity. A good, regular practice is to schedule time to dream. I know this sounds a bit hippie, but just like the your body, you need to exercise your creative muscles to stay fit for your art. It could be just 15 minutes a week, but it’s necessary to stay “fit”.

Here are a few practical tips for dreaming:

• Before I sit to “dream”, I always pull out my Bible, the ultimate inspiration.
• Clear your head, open a blank page, and just write down everything that comes to mind.
• Keep an idea journal. I use Evernote for this.
• Keep an open, but guarded mind. Open to new ideas, but guarded from where sin may lead you (another reason starting with scripture is so important).
• Know your sources and places of inspiration. Examples: If you find you have more ideas at Starbucks than in your office or at home, go there. If listening to music inspires you, then do it!

Lastly, I say this is the smallest step because it takes the least amount of physical effort. A statement I read on this topic is a cornerstone of Friendship Creative:

Genius is 1% Inspiration and 99% Perspiration. – Thomas Edison

Meaning, ideas don’t just happen because you dreamed it up. You have to go out and work to make ideas happen.

Tomorrow, we look at step 2 in the 4D process: Define.

I sense Intentional Discipleship starts with you, me, us. When we are intentional about growing in our own faith, we start getting passionate about seeing others grow. It’s almost like when we draw near to God, He draws near to us and He begins to rub off on us.

Who are you intentionally disciplining and walking with in your faith? Maybe you need to start with you. Ask for help. We are not meant to walk alone.

Say Say – Bb (Kristian Stanfill)
Marvelous Light – Bb (Charlie Hall)
Forever Reign – Bb (Kristian Stanfill’s version)
You Never Let Go – Bb (Matt Redman)

God is a creative being. Just start reading the Bible and you can clearly see that. I don’t believe that God is exclusive in who He loves and desires to know Him (John 3:16), so at Friendship Creative, we want to serve and build up creatives in our church as well as our community. Even if a local creative never attends Friendship Church, we can reach out, inspire, and encourage them in the name of our great and creative God.

Friendship Creative is made to expand. We welcome any artists that desire to express their gift towards and for the glory of God. This is a place for creative thinkers and artists to build relationships, grow in creativity, and develop resources to build the local Church and expand the Kingdom of God.

One big way Friendship Creative is reaching out is Creative Nights. Creative Nights is a way for our team to unite in community & vision while inviting and encouraging others in their art.

How are you building up others? How are you reaching out?