Dreams + Imagination = Creativity

Creativity:
"the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations"  Dictionary.com

I spoke at one of the local churches last Sunday. I told of our dreams for our time in Honduras and our hopes and plans for fulfilling them. At the end of the service I asked this question. "What's your dream?" I asked it in the collective sense. Not you as an individual, but you as a group, a gathering of people. What's your dream?

People (in the context of a group) without dreams rarely accomplish anything.  Dreams are what keeps you going through the tough times. Dreams are the things that change the world.

"You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’?” – George Bernard Shaw

When your imagination fuels those dreams, creativity results.   Dreams + Imagination = Creativity

I believe that God created the world and the universe we live in. When I look at the earth, the incredible variety of landscapes, the multitude of species of plants and animals, I am amazed at the imagination and the absolute creativity of God.

Here's a truly amazing thing. We were created in His image! (Genesis 1:27)  We have been given the same creative nature that God has. God made us to be like Him. He wants us to be creative too.!

Although there is nothing new under the sun, the issues of the day, the challenges and the types of problems we face change. What worked 10 years ago or 100 years ago may not work today. As our world changes, how do we as individuals and groups change our views and bring new solutions to new problems. This is where our creative nature needs to kick in.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while” – Steve Jobs

When I look ahead at 2013 I see new and troubling issues that the Church and Society in general are going to need to face. Many of yesterdays solutions to today's problems are no longer working. We face poverty, both locally and globally, in so many ways, i.e.; poverty of material possessions, poverty of healthy relationships, poverty of safety and security. How can we, especially those of us who profess to be followers of Christ and His teachings, address these growing concerns in our own neighborhoods and around the world? I urge you to face them, and face them creatively.

Just as no two individuals are alike, so no two groups of people are alike either. Look at the amazingly varied features of the human face. All faces have the same basic features; nose, eyes, mouth, cheeks, eyebrows and yet somehow God has uniquely and creatively made each face different. (except in the case of identical twins) This floors me! Similarly, no two groups of individuals will be exactly alike either. Each group will have foundational similarities, but our dreams will be different and our approach to fulfilling them will be different also. Nor are we all creative in the same way or in the same areas. Allow others to act, react and think differently than you. Get creative, let your individualism as a church or an organization blossom and overflow into your community and the world. There's no need to try and mimic what everyone else is doing. Instead begin to ask, "What can we who are uniquely created for such a time and place as this do with what we have been given?"

Creativity is catching. I have seen it first hand. As I have begun to dream and to imagine what is possible, those around me have begun to build on my dreams and add to them with their own creativity. Encourage those around you to dream!

I write this final paragraph to the Church in particular. We should be the most creative people on earth. We believe that we are made in the in the likeness and the image of God. We believe in the supernatural power of this same almighty and creative God. Of all people, we should be turning the world upside down! Make 2013 the Year to Dream! 

Dreams + Imagination = Creativity.          Creativity + Faith = Supernatural Events.

I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. May this New Year bring you success in all you put hearts and minds to accomplish. May your dreams become realities.

DARE TO DREAM BIG! 

Mike