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LeadershipBecoming more things to more people?
Fall 2000

Vision & Direction Community Life

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Cultivating Creativity

Several years ago, a generous church member invited me to go with him to watch a heavyweight fight in Las Vegas. I couldn't help but notice the signs. They're everywhere: big signs, little signs, blinking, flashing, moving signs, even talking signs. It was dazzling.

They don't have a lot to say, but they definitely know how to say it, I thought.

It's just the opposite in the church. We have everything to say, but we don't always know how to say it. We fail to communicate God's truth in a way that is both biblically based and culturally compelling. Consequently, many people view church as a dry, yawn-filled environment. And too many Christians, even church leaders, are just droning through life—doing the same thing the same way and expecting a unique result.

As a young person, I remember saying to myself, "If that's what being a Christian leader is all about, then no thanks."

Ten years ago I moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to begin a church. We started with core group that shared the same vision: to keep God's unchanging truth the same, while communicating it in a radically different style. As we reached out to the people around us in creative ways, people we could never have dreamed of touching began attending. We wholeheartedly believe that, more than any other venue, creativity should be at its best when Christians are together within the context of the local church.

Creativity is biblical. In fact, it's the fifth word in the Bible: "In the beginning, God created." God invented creativity. He thought it up.

Jesus modeled it, always changing his approach. "He did not say anything to them without using a parable" (Matt. 13:34). He spoke from hillsides, boats, and beaches. He drew in the sand, turned over tables, picked ...



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