Monday, September 01, 2008

Blessed Creativity...



I want to thank my boy Roy "Royzoner" Petersen for his prophetic word. As I say in response above... I am blessed to call Roy my friend. We've met up twice... once in London and once in Manhattan... and both times I have glowed from being with him. He is a man of God... and a creative one at that!

So yeah... when he gets a word... I listen.

But then I got thinking... what's my creativity?
  • I'm not a musician... but have an ear for a good tune (well I think so, anyway).
  • I'm not a writer... nor am I a journalist... but I can put my thoughts on paper... or at least online.
  • I'm not an actor or a director... but have a passion for visual art.
  • I'm not a painter... but am working up to starting... Bob Ross style.
  • I'm not a graphic designer or typographer... but have a visual literacy that helps me appreciate their work.
  • I'm not a product designer... but can discern good from bad... except when it has an Apple logo on it.
If this is what I am not... then what's my creativity? what can God bless?

Creativity is...
a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts.

From a scientific point of view, the products of creative thought are usually considered to have both originality and appropriateness. An alternative, more everyday conception of creativity is that it is simply the act of making something new.
Wikipedia

As such... I see myself as:
  • a door-opener...
  • a connector, a networker and bringer-together of talent and experience...
  • an ideas person... sharing the great ideas of others... and having a few of my own...
  • a spotter of gaps and... hopefully... a filler too...
  • a teacher and encourager... an inspirer and an opener of eyes... ears... minds...
I hope you don't think I am being arrogant... I'm just trying to highlight that creativity is more than art and design and writing and music... its about creating something new or bringing new associations to existing or old things.

Its taken me a while to realise this. Its a body of Christ kind of thing. We all have our part to play. I used to be jealous of all the creative folk I knew or followed from afar... wishing I had their gifting... but then I can come to appreciate the role I have to play.

So yeah... what I am thinking about?
  • I want to see an expansion of ((deep))... a building of the community... and an expansion of the gathering into a more proximity-based incarnational experience.
  • I want to keep the podcast moving/evolving/growing in its reach and influence... continuing to spread stories worth listening to.
  • I want to see a coming-together of people passionate about prayer and open the door for some form of 24-7 expression in Glasgow as an extension of ((deep)).
  • I want to bring drama nuts together from within the division... and build upon their creativity to fuel this other form of worship.
  • I want to bring the vocal... brass... and contemporary musicians that I know together... to form a hard funk gospel choir thing-a-me-jig... praising God with a funky drummer!
  • I want to see people reaching into their locality... guerrilla gardening and litter-picking... redeeming their communities one broken bottle at a time.
  • I want to journey with people... exploring this awesome God that we hold dear... in cells in homes and in bookclubs in coffeeshops. Seeking answers to the questions being asked... and not just the questions we think are being asked.
Can you imagine it? Can you see it? This is the something new or the new associations that is on my heart just now. Where will it go? What will come of these ideas? Who knows? but if they are of God then... well... the sky is the limit!

This isn't about me... I can't make this happen... certainly not on my own. Its about supporting the dreams of others as much as it is about developing my own. Its about the shared vision as much as it is about my dreams.

What I do know is that this revolution will be broadcast via the ol' nanolog... with you all coming along for the ride.

Thanks Roy for the encouragement!

Photo posted with LifeCast > text updated later...

1 comment:

Angus Mathie said...

Good to read these thoughts, Thomas, and may God continue to lead and bless Olwyn and yourself.

I believe God energises Bible Teachers of all generations who are able to handle His Truth and apply it in all situations. God needs people like yourself to be His truth, to break down His truth without misusing it and addressing every point in life in humility to help people to see Him and commit their lives to Him. You are doing this in your blog; perhaps there are also ways to develop communicating His Truth creatively.

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