being creative is hard.....gosh

Last week I picked up a copy of Ed Young's lastest book - The Creative Leader: Unleashing the Power of Your Creative Potential. Throughout my ministry the past 14 years I have always pushed to be creative. With each creative attempt to connect modern earth dwellers to ancient truths I find myself hitting a wall that compels me to quit trying so hard. You know it would be easier to just write a nice neat little sermon with three points and a poem, and we'll all just grin and bear it and get on to the next week with more of the same. Heck, I can't do that so I strive everytime to push the wall down and on the other side I find the creativity necessary to relate God's Word to the bi-peds in my pews (I mean theater seating).
For years I thought maybe I am not that creative because it rarely comes without effort, but reading the first few chapters of Ed's book I've found that this is part of the normal process. If you are like me and you can't stand for mediocre presentations of the greatest message ever told, but also you find yourself hitting the wall, know this we're normal. Ed says the push to be creative is the hardest thing he has experienced in his life. What's the alternative? Do we back down and fail to express the creativity of our creative God. No, for people's sakes no! We face the wall and through prayer, teamwork, and intense effort we find new ways to help people grasp all that God is and all that God has for them.



Below you'll find the Publisher's Book Synopsis:

Unleashing the power of your creative potential

Why should we implement creativity in leadership?

God invented creativity.
Jesus modeled it.
The Holy Spirit empowers it.
And people desperately need it.
Creativity is not an option for the church; it is a biblical mandate that flows from the very character of the Creator. If church leaders are going to live out the challenging mission that God has laid out for the local church, we must unleash the creative potential available to us.
This book is the definitive answer for the question Ed Young hears over and over again…What have you done at Fellowship Church to remain creative and continue growing? Think of it as a field manual for doing church differently. Packed with details, this book covers the full spectrum of church leadership all in one place, including:


Things they didn’t teach me in seminary
A step-by-step look at message development
Crafting effective illustrations
Implementing team creativity
How to keep your audience engaged
Building a creative staff
Overcoming obstacles to innovation
Integrating multiple senses into your service
Tips to keep the ideas flowing and avoid burnout
A big-picture rundown for your weekend service
With practical case studies of proven creative leaders and candid Q&A sessions at the end of each section, this book offers concrete help and hope to those who need a jump-start in their creative planning.

If you’re looking for a resource to help you maintain the status quo, this is not it. But if you’re looking for a book that can help bring a sense of vitality and excitement to both your life and your organization, this book is for you.