In.Motion

Well, a trip to California and a Graduation later, it looks like we’ve come to the end of this little mini series inside the DNA of an Effective Creative Ministry. Our final principle is Work On It. Work On It is all about the concept of self-evaluation. No matter how great of a musician you are or how great of a designer you are, you can always look to improve and hone your craft and skills. Even the great athletes and artists of our day have people who coach, mentor, & critique them. This is nothing new, but it is something that must be done intentionally.

Because we are human, and because humans are prone to settle into routines and possible ruts, we will never naturally evaluate ourselves and our processes. We need to place time in our schedules that we intentionally evaluate our programs and our systems to ensure that we are in line with our mission and values. Sometimes, unless things are pointed out to us, we don’t even realize the actuality of a situation. Here’s an illustration that might help:

A man walks in on Monday morning to find that his office is being painted. As he walks down the hall to his office, he begins to smell the fumes. You know, the fumes that burn your nose and make you feel a little light headed. The man decides to duck in, grab a few things and get out. As he enters, one of the painters initiates some small talk. After a few words, the man says to the painter, “So, don’t you mind the fumes?” To which the painter replied, “What fumes?”

Sometimes we don’t notice the funk around us because we’ve been knee deep in it for so long.

I think this relates to Creative ministry very well. However, I think it is fair to admit that most creative types don’t like critique. They don’t like to be told that the thing they poured their heart and soul into, whether it be a song or a painting or a program, could have been better. Therefore, when it comes to working with creative types, such as ourselves, it is good to know how to enter into this conversation of evaluation. The key factor here is trust. There must be the foundation of trust beneath the team and the assumption that we are all working toward glorifying God through our ministry, not towards our own personal agendas.

When we fail to Work On It, we fail to steward and shepherd the ministries we’ve been allowed to lead, and that is not a place I want to find myself. Personally, this is one of my favorite principles. I’m huge on self evaluation, and I’ve had the benefit of having people in my life that I trusted to always give it to me straight, so that I could develop myself and continue to grow as a person, musician, and leader. If you don’t have these people around you or don’t find this type of discussion beneficial or valuable, I would encourage you to seek them out and to start to develop this type of culture in your group.

So, are you Working On It?
How?

One.Love

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