Darius Slater, is the Senior Paster of the Richardson Church of the Nazarene. He has written an excellent book on bringing art into our preaching. Over the next few blogs I thought I would share some of his insights with you.
He states, "The Bible abounds in repitition, alliteration, symbols, images, puns, allegories, analogies, metaphors, and parallels." These forms are often lost in translation (Our preaching?).
We live in a culture where icons, imagography, and screens are used more to communicate information then abstrct scrawlings on a page. We forget that the Bible was written far before any printing press came around and thus is filled with images and techniques that can stay in the mind and not on the page.
It is my assertion that in our zeal for form criticism and rationalism we have left out the beautiful presentation of God's message for mankind. biblical preachers spoke using visual icons. They didn't make three point sermons. They wrote in the context of relationships, not in scientific abstract theses. They were concreate and not etheral. They were raw expositions and not etheral reasoning.
Dr. Richardson notes how the messages of the scripture move people with artful proclamation. here are the methods Biblical writers and preachers used to communicate God's truth.
1. Unseen into the Seen
2. Ordinary into the Extraordinary
3. Profane to the Sacred
4. Redemption Out of Tragedy
5. Order out of Chaos
6. Dissonance to Relevance
7. Abstract to Concrete
Read some of the messages of the prophets and you'll see an abundance of examples.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
When are you creative?
When do creative ideas come to you?
I am a minister, and I am intrigued about how Christians view a creative moment versus a non-Christian. Often I will hear a non-Christian artist talk about how creative ideas come to them. For example, Kid Rock's said his hit song, All Summer Long, came to him in the middle of the night. I've heard various artists in different genre's say similar scenarios. The creative moment came at odd times. The moment came while talking on the phone, in the shower, in the middle of the night, a dream, driving in the car. In a sense the creativity came in the margins of life.
When I hear Christians talk about creative moments in the margins of time I hear the phenomenon described as a coming from God. God talked to them. God gave them a word and the like. To me it sounds like a creative spark that many non-Christians describe happens to them.
While I believe creativity is from God (that's another post), I don't believe God has limited creativity to us Christians. I think it is a gift he has given to all mankind. He has given all of us the ability to be creative. The point I'm making is the sun shines down on all of us.
I digress.
You need to keep track of when your creative thoughts come to you. If they come to you in the shower then get some soap crayons and write in on the wall. if they come to you in the car get a voice recorder to record your thoughts. If they come to you in the middle of the night then have some index cards on the nightstand.
Pay attention to when you are creative and have a method of recording your thoughts. You will find out that you might be more creative than you thought. Plus, in order for you to be more creative youneed to create margins in your life where you can have unprocessed thought. Creativity seems to come in moments of non-productivity, loose concentration, and pondering. In fact, research has shown that the greatest leaders carved out time to just think about things. This carved out time is what gave them opportunity to solve problems and catch visions.
I am a minister, and I am intrigued about how Christians view a creative moment versus a non-Christian. Often I will hear a non-Christian artist talk about how creative ideas come to them. For example, Kid Rock's said his hit song, All Summer Long, came to him in the middle of the night. I've heard various artists in different genre's say similar scenarios. The creative moment came at odd times. The moment came while talking on the phone, in the shower, in the middle of the night, a dream, driving in the car. In a sense the creativity came in the margins of life.
When I hear Christians talk about creative moments in the margins of time I hear the phenomenon described as a coming from God. God talked to them. God gave them a word and the like. To me it sounds like a creative spark that many non-Christians describe happens to them.
While I believe creativity is from God (that's another post), I don't believe God has limited creativity to us Christians. I think it is a gift he has given to all mankind. He has given all of us the ability to be creative. The point I'm making is the sun shines down on all of us.
I digress.
You need to keep track of when your creative thoughts come to you. If they come to you in the shower then get some soap crayons and write in on the wall. if they come to you in the car get a voice recorder to record your thoughts. If they come to you in the middle of the night then have some index cards on the nightstand.
Pay attention to when you are creative and have a method of recording your thoughts. You will find out that you might be more creative than you thought. Plus, in order for you to be more creative youneed to create margins in your life where you can have unprocessed thought. Creativity seems to come in moments of non-productivity, loose concentration, and pondering. In fact, research has shown that the greatest leaders carved out time to just think about things. This carved out time is what gave them opportunity to solve problems and catch visions.
Friday, September 12, 2008
When Creativity Goes Bad
Have you seen the 80's movie "DUNE?" It is a horrendous movie. Based on the book of the same title (which is a masterpeice), the movie does a horrible job of managing the delcacies of the plot. Lots of work into the set to have a creative design but it looked pitiful on screen. It started out to be a very creative work, and it didn't work.
The problem is every time it's on I watch it. It's like trying to look away from an accident on the freeway. I can't help myself!
Sometimes creative ideas don't work. It will look good on paper. It will look good while you set it up and prepare for it, but when you actully put it out there, it falls flat on it's face. I've had many a message that never got off the runway.
This is the underbelly of creativity. If it works you are brilliant. If it doesn't you can feel like a failure.
I was watching that "America's Got Talent" show last night and there is some truly creative acts on the show. I think of the violinist group in particular. They combine hip-hop and classical music in a brilliant manner. In the same regard I've seen people mix genres to their horror, like Pat Boone's heavy metal remake album. Eww!
That's the nature of creativity. Sometimes you fail. Sometime you win. The problem is you don't know until you try. My advice, try and keep trying. Learn from your failures. Let them influence your successes.
Creative ideas don't just come once in a while. They come in a flood of bad ones and a person that doesn't give up.
The problem is every time it's on I watch it. It's like trying to look away from an accident on the freeway. I can't help myself!
Sometimes creative ideas don't work. It will look good on paper. It will look good while you set it up and prepare for it, but when you actully put it out there, it falls flat on it's face. I've had many a message that never got off the runway.
This is the underbelly of creativity. If it works you are brilliant. If it doesn't you can feel like a failure.
I was watching that "America's Got Talent" show last night and there is some truly creative acts on the show. I think of the violinist group in particular. They combine hip-hop and classical music in a brilliant manner. In the same regard I've seen people mix genres to their horror, like Pat Boone's heavy metal remake album. Eww!
That's the nature of creativity. Sometimes you fail. Sometime you win. The problem is you don't know until you try. My advice, try and keep trying. Learn from your failures. Let them influence your successes.
Creative ideas don't just come once in a while. They come in a flood of bad ones and a person that doesn't give up.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Visuals, Part 3: Visuals in the Bible
In my first two blogs I gave examples of being visual from our culture. In this blog I'd like to build in some Biblical thought into why we need to be more visual images in our preaching.We would be preaching more Biblically is we preached visually. I'm just hypothesizing but it seems the preaching in the enlightenment/modern age followed the track of Paul and Hellinism. Ideas and proposals are what was highlighted and preaching thus followed this model. Three points and a poem please.
It's not that this model is wrong, it's in the Bible, but it isn't the dominant model in the Bible. When you look at the preaching of the prophets and of Jesus you see God speaking through a wide range of visuals. Isaiah speaks of the stump of Jesse's tree. Ezekiel talks about bones coming to life. Darius Slater in his excellent book, Preaching as Art, points out the Bible is overflowing in visual truth. We need to take advantage of this treasure.
In 1 Kings 14 King Rehoboam replaced the stolen gold sheilds with sheilds of brass. This was an image used to convey the idea of settling for less. Haddon Robinson uses the snake in the wilderness that was raised as a symbol for whatever is used as idolatry in our day. Hosea says Israel is a harlot. Joel's message is urgency but never uses the word. Instead he he says to blow a trumpet and sound the alarm. Amos does not say it's time for a test. Instead he says God is going to set a plumb line against his people. Jesus said "I am the bread of life," and constantly spoke in parabolic pictures.
Slater notes, "Imaginative speech moves an idea from tacit understanding to tactile comprehension." Creative sermons should give people something to hold. Visuals are what give people something to hold.
Bible preachers used everyday common pictures to convey truth. What everyday visuals might we use to convey the truth of what we preach?
It's not that this model is wrong, it's in the Bible, but it isn't the dominant model in the Bible. When you look at the preaching of the prophets and of Jesus you see God speaking through a wide range of visuals. Isaiah speaks of the stump of Jesse's tree. Ezekiel talks about bones coming to life. Darius Slater in his excellent book, Preaching as Art, points out the Bible is overflowing in visual truth. We need to take advantage of this treasure.
In 1 Kings 14 King Rehoboam replaced the stolen gold sheilds with sheilds of brass. This was an image used to convey the idea of settling for less. Haddon Robinson uses the snake in the wilderness that was raised as a symbol for whatever is used as idolatry in our day. Hosea says Israel is a harlot. Joel's message is urgency but never uses the word. Instead he he says to blow a trumpet and sound the alarm. Amos does not say it's time for a test. Instead he says God is going to set a plumb line against his people. Jesus said "I am the bread of life," and constantly spoke in parabolic pictures.
Slater notes, "Imaginative speech moves an idea from tacit understanding to tactile comprehension." Creative sermons should give people something to hold. Visuals are what give people something to hold.
Bible preachers used everyday common pictures to convey truth. What everyday visuals might we use to convey the truth of what we preach?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Creativity in Non-Creative Places
I have discovered that the most creative places in the world most people the most uncreative places in the world.
If I were to ask you what were some of the most creative places in the world are you might mention Walt Disney World, some movie studio, or a record label. You might mention an arts school of some kind. Those are all great creative places, but they are not where you can be the most creative. In those places you just see the results of creativity. You do not see the work of creativity. You might even mention a church or two if you are a minister of some kind.
The work of creaivity is in the humdrum places, the ordinary places that you visit on a weekly, if not daily basis.
For example, one of the best places for me to get a creative spark is the grocery store, especially one that has a wide variety of products. All you do is take a stroll through the store, slowly. As you stroll through the store you take the topic or problem and start comparing and contrasting with the products on the shelves. What insights could you get from the butcher concerning the sacrifacial system in the Old Testament? How is Jesus, the bread of life, like the different kinds of breads in the store? What character traits of Jesus do they reveal? How is ice cream like heaven? How do the spices relate to the beattitudes in Matthew 5?
You can do this at different stores as well. I have found Lowes, Home Depot, Peebles, and even the library to be useful. Check out the magazines. Not Time or Rolling Stone but the niche ones, Quilters Today, Hunting, and the like. You would be amazed at the fresh insights that can come from paging through some unfamiliar territory.
So take a stroll through the grocery store. Just be sure you're not hungry!
If I were to ask you what were some of the most creative places in the world are you might mention Walt Disney World, some movie studio, or a record label. You might mention an arts school of some kind. Those are all great creative places, but they are not where you can be the most creative. In those places you just see the results of creativity. You do not see the work of creativity. You might even mention a church or two if you are a minister of some kind.
The work of creaivity is in the humdrum places, the ordinary places that you visit on a weekly, if not daily basis.
For example, one of the best places for me to get a creative spark is the grocery store, especially one that has a wide variety of products. All you do is take a stroll through the store, slowly. As you stroll through the store you take the topic or problem and start comparing and contrasting with the products on the shelves. What insights could you get from the butcher concerning the sacrifacial system in the Old Testament? How is Jesus, the bread of life, like the different kinds of breads in the store? What character traits of Jesus do they reveal? How is ice cream like heaven? How do the spices relate to the beattitudes in Matthew 5?
You can do this at different stores as well. I have found Lowes, Home Depot, Peebles, and even the library to be useful. Check out the magazines. Not Time or Rolling Stone but the niche ones, Quilters Today, Hunting, and the like. You would be amazed at the fresh insights that can come from paging through some unfamiliar territory.
So take a stroll through the grocery store. Just be sure you're not hungry!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Ideas from the Olympics
This post could actually be called "Visuals, pt 2." In a very imaginative way way the Chinese told the history of their nation through iconocography, showmanship, and even a speech. If you haven't seen it go to nbcolympics.com to watch it. It is fantastic. I was wondering how we could use some of thier methods and ideas in a weekly sermons. here are some thoughts that I came up with.
1. The use of icons. They used icons from the three major streams of philosophy in China (Daoism, Confuscianism, and buddhism) to convey the foundations of thier culture. How could we use the icons of our faith to inspire and to help people know the fear of the Lord?
2. Anticipation. They used a simple countdown in an effective way to provide anticipation into the ceremony. They used clored drum sets in sychrinization to build the drama. This made think of the pregnant moment just before we speak to our congregation. How could we use that moment to heighten interest so that when we speak people's ears are truly ready to hear the word?
3. Part of Chinese narrative is using light and dark, loud and soft, opposites used in contrast to bring a rythym to their presentation. How can this narrative technique be used in preaching? How can we take the opposites in the Bible, light and dark for instance, and use that to enhance our message?
I'm just aksing questions today but that is part of creativity. You ask questions. you bring odd ideas together and see how they might play out. The lesson... take the time to play with ideas and techniques. Swish them around and see what flavors you get. You might be surprised by the insights you gain!
1. The use of icons. They used icons from the three major streams of philosophy in China (Daoism, Confuscianism, and buddhism) to convey the foundations of thier culture. How could we use the icons of our faith to inspire and to help people know the fear of the Lord?
2. Anticipation. They used a simple countdown in an effective way to provide anticipation into the ceremony. They used clored drum sets in sychrinization to build the drama. This made think of the pregnant moment just before we speak to our congregation. How could we use that moment to heighten interest so that when we speak people's ears are truly ready to hear the word?
3. Part of Chinese narrative is using light and dark, loud and soft, opposites used in contrast to bring a rythym to their presentation. How can this narrative technique be used in preaching? How can we take the opposites in the Bible, light and dark for instance, and use that to enhance our message?
I'm just aksing questions today but that is part of creativity. You ask questions. you bring odd ideas together and see how they might play out. The lesson... take the time to play with ideas and techniques. Swish them around and see what flavors you get. You might be surprised by the insights you gain!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Creative Ways to Understand Our Culture
Creative thinker, Roger von Oech, teaches you can use four roles to help you be more creative. In his book A Kick in the Seat of the Pants he writes that the hallmark of creative people is thier mental flexibility. Creative people are able to shift in out of different mental gears to examine an issue effectively. To help you gain this mental skill Roger advocates looking at a problem, or a scripture, a lesson, or whatever with four unique roles. The roles he describes are explorer, artist, judge, and warrior. I'll let you read the book to know more about what he's talking about.
What if we plussed his idea? What if, if we are looking at a scripture, we took the time to write a short paragrapgh how the different Bible characters would look at the text? Issuing the little details we discover into the message can enliven your presentation. Take, for example, the story of the feeding of the 5000. How would the spontaneous Peter react? Or the thunderous James and John? How would the redeemed Matthew react to such a feat?
In order to be successful at this method you will need to take some time to understand a Bible character's personality, or you'll just interject your personality. So you'll have to do some homework to make this method work. This method could help you exegete the scripture with fresh insight.
What about cultural exegesis? If you preach you probably do this to some extent already when you think about pray about the people you are preaching too. To plus what you are already doing take some of the people you know well in your congregation and place them in the story. How would John, the chairmen of the elders, react when Noah said he needs to build a boat? How would the frenzied single Dad react to Jesus when Jesus let the children come unto him? This could help you bridge the gap between the Bible's culture and our culture and make the Bible real to your audience.
What if we plussed his idea? What if, if we are looking at a scripture, we took the time to write a short paragrapgh how the different Bible characters would look at the text? Issuing the little details we discover into the message can enliven your presentation. Take, for example, the story of the feeding of the 5000. How would the spontaneous Peter react? Or the thunderous James and John? How would the redeemed Matthew react to such a feat?
In order to be successful at this method you will need to take some time to understand a Bible character's personality, or you'll just interject your personality. So you'll have to do some homework to make this method work. This method could help you exegete the scripture with fresh insight.
What about cultural exegesis? If you preach you probably do this to some extent already when you think about pray about the people you are preaching too. To plus what you are already doing take some of the people you know well in your congregation and place them in the story. How would John, the chairmen of the elders, react when Noah said he needs to build a boat? How would the frenzied single Dad react to Jesus when Jesus let the children come unto him? This could help you bridge the gap between the Bible's culture and our culture and make the Bible real to your audience.
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