At the entrance area to Saddleback Church's worship center was a collection of art. I wasn't able to completely understand the story behind it, but from what I gathered they were an exhibit of different pieces depicting the lives/stories of street people. I don't normally think as megachurches as places of creative expression, but here were these creations meant to connect the church with those living on the street. As I've been identifying themes from my observations from the summer, creativity was something that was present in many places. Jacob's Well created their own worship music. Many of the monasteries were houses of creativity, housing artists and singing their own expressions of Gregorian Chant. The whole country of Italy was a constant museum of creativity, and churches there were museums of statues and art, telling faithful stories in their depictions. The Vatican Museum was a storehouse of creative expression. Southern California, too, was a place of creativity, with movie and recording studios all over.

When I was at St. Meinrad Archabbey, I attended a workshop led by Brother Martin Erspamer. He's a monk in the community there, but he's also a working artist. I really enjoyed hearing about his day, where his creative work was woven into the monastic rhythm of worship, rest, and work. For him, the routine of the monastery was integral to his life as an artist. Most, in regular church life, don't connect creativity with their faith, but I think the two are paired. We know a creative God (that's how the story starts in Genesis 1), who has made us in that same creative image. When we live out our creativity, we live out our essence as people created as a reflection of God's image.

The vibrant faith communities I visited didn't see creativity as any type of threat, rather they encouraged and celebrated it. What would a church that encourages creativity look like? Something worth thinking about: where could you encourage creativity in your life and in your church?