10 Ways to Create Artistic Community

Artistic community in the church is simply a "must do." Artists need each other. When you think about it, you have to admit that no artist, or person for that matter, enjoys being "used." Even task oriented people prefer to be appreciated for who they are in addition to what they can do. Over the years, my appreciation for the power of artistic community has grown exponentially, because artists and technical volunteers in the church create more transformational moments when they do so in the context of community. We all need to be known.

Some arts leaders naturally create a community of artists. Others need to work at it. The rest of this blog is for the later group. These ideas are for those who haven't yet moved their leadership to the "must do" community camp:

1. Buy the team pizza and sodas.
2. Create a green room backstage where the team can connect.
3. Put people into rotating teams who serve together regularly. Then switch the teams every six months or so.
4. Create a team blog.
5. Hold several team events each year (an early Christmas party or an artistic talent night).
6. Gather them monthly for an all-team meeting. Include programming and production volunteers. Use this time to cast vision and create community.
7. Pray together regularly before each rehearsal and each service.
8. Schedule a yearly or quarterly volunteer retreat.
9. Create a wall of appreciation (a bulletin board where they can leave each other notes of appreciation and care).
10. Place team members into shepherding groups. Assign a volunteer leader to each group to keep tabs on individuals' needs, prayer requests and major life events.

Raise the value of team and you'll raise the impact of your weekend services. It's worth every ounce of leadership effort.

Grow Your Artists Spiritually

What are you doing to help the artists in your worship arts ministry grow? What are you doing to actively disciple your artists? While it's easier to hope artists land themselves in a solid small group, read their Bibles regularly and develop a deep prayer life, the reality of being a worship leader or arts leader is that if you are the leader then you are responsible for the spiritual growth of your volunteers. God has entrusted men and women into your spiritual care, and you cannot hope someone else in the church is doing your job.

It's your job to reach out to those who serve on your teams and help them discover how God wants them to grow. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Pray regularly before rehearsals and weekend services.


2. Spend 10-15 minutes in the Bible together before each rehearsal.


3. Meet monthly with your teams to promote community, unity and spiritual growth.


4. Invite individuals to meet with you or their team shepherd whenever you see a spiritual need.


5. Write a blog or newsletter that includes spiritual direction.


6. Read a book as a team that promotes godly values and incorporates Christian character growth.


7. Invite team members to worship together during weekend services.


8. Serve as a team outside the auditorium from time to time.


9. Help each individual team member discover their next step or spiritual growth area for the year.


10. Grow yourself as a leader and share your personal areas of growth with the team.
    

Helping artists grow spiritually doesn't mean you need to complete an hour of Bible study each time you meet. But it does require you to build a culture of growth within your ministry. What's one thing you can do today to help your artists grow? Start now!

Introducing Online Consulting Resources

The Synergy Box has just released a series of online consulting resources for the creative arts ministry in your church. Online consulting, how does that work? Each resource is designed to introduce you to a critical topic on arts leadership, identity, culture or creativity and includes an overview of the topic and a discussion guide to help you lead your team through an assessment of your ministry in this area. After you've finished your discussion, you can email your notes to The Synergy Box, and within seven to ten days, you'll receive personalized suggestions for your church arts ministry.

The Synergy Box also offers telephone consulting and on-site consulting services. Check out our website at http://www.thesynergybox.com/.

Visit our booth at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta this week!

Artistic Ministry Values

How many times have creative people differed on the development of a creative service element? That's like asking how many ants are on my driveway at this moment? Too many to count! Artistic people drive creativity through their unique and distinctive thought processes. No two creative people see the same piece of art the same exact way! That's the beauty and the practical difficulty of working within a team of artists.

While we cannot and should not force all creative people to think the same way, we can help them communicate and work together better by creating a set of shared values. If we want creative people to behave in a certain way, we've got to make our expectations known. If your church values excellence, let your artists know. If you value authenticity, make that known. If you're into including everyone who wants to help, make sure everyone is on board with that vision. Do what it takes (typically a brainstorming meeting with your team) to list out your team's core values. Then figure out what it will require to ensure everyone who participates in your ministry knows and understands these values.

When your leaders and volunteers value the same things, powerful ministry can occur. But when you're all behaving out of a different value system, watch out. Trouble is right around the corner.

Arts Team Needs

Art in the church is utilitarian. Hardly ever is a church or weekend service a gallery of art created for art's sake. In the church, we create art that moves hearts and souls toward Christ. We don't perform a drama or sing a solo simply to gratify ourselves and our own desires. We're aiming our art at a target (some of us more intentionally than others) and hoping we'll get to change some lives.

This distinct use of the arts in the church practically guarantees that the individual needs of artists will not be the same as the needs of a church artistic team. A church arts team needs:

• strong overall performance
• a sense of unity
• a heart of mutual servanthood
• transformational artistic content

As noted in the last post, artists need to be fulfilled, express themselves individually and be respected for their artistic identity. Not the same needs as the team, right!

Church arts leaders must be aware both the needs of individual artists and the needs of an entire arts team. Since they vary so widely and are sometimes polar opposites of each other, this is one area of the church where we might use extreme caution. No artist likes to feel insignificant. Nor does any team enjoy serving together in disunity with a lack of purposeful impact. If you're a church arts leader, choose wisely how you lead into meeting the needs of both artists and teams! Try building a culture of open handed artists who sacrifice, submit, communicate and respond to healthy leadership. When you fill this tension gap with the qualities of Christ and the purposes of the church artists grow willing to meet the needs of the team and ultimately find their own met in the process.

10 Ways to Advocate for Church Artists

Artists in the church need a little bit of loving! Here are 10 ways you can advocate for their needs as you lead:

1. Vision - Paint a picture of the preferred future for your artists, so they can unite toward a goal that's bigger than themselves.


2. Servanthood - Help your artists see the value of servanthood, so the team can be about proclaiming God's message instead of self-promotion.


3. Information - Ask your pastor for sermon information at least three weeks in advance, so artists have time to create.


4. Preparation - Send music and scripts home several weeks in advance of a service, so your teams have time to prepare.


5. Rehearsals - Schedule rehearsals, so artists can rehearse not only their parts but how their parts fit into the whole.


6. Equipment - Ask for appropriate equipment, so your teams are not constantly frustrated with gear that doesn't work.


7. Budget - Give your teams enough money to allow creativity to flow, so that ideas are not immediately discounted because no money has been allotted for creative ministry.


8. Encouragement - Tell your artists when they're doing a great job, so they know their contribution is significant.


9. Constructive Feedback - Lovingly let your artists know when they're coming up short, so they want to keep raising the bar.


10. Hospitality - Find a place to set up a green room and supply it with basic food & beverages, so your artists will feel at home and cared for.

Check out Cultivate

Lately, I've been doing a bit of writing for Cultivate, an online community for Worship Arts Leaders. The Willow Creek Association launched this site in June of 2009 in hopes of creating an online resource to empower arts leaders to lead their teams to increasing spiritual health and meaningful ministry. If you're not already a member, take time to sign up and read through a few articles or engage in one of the groups.

When we get into the trenches of ministry, we can quickly allow the importance of our own personal growth and development to be pushed to the side while we advance the cause of urgent ministry. But I challenge you to take care of yourself. Leading others drains our creative and spiritual tanks. You can't give what you do not have. So take time today to fill your tank.

http://www.cultivateonline.org

Where Healthy Church Begins

Books on healthy church abound. They contain references to relationships, emotions and workloads. They talk about ministry, programs and balance. With simple or radical methods of building church health, they each expound upon the idea that God desires the church to be a place of unity and community.

So why doesn't the church thrive on unity and community?

Sin is the obvious answer. We are all sinful people. And the church is made up of sinful people just like you and I. As Paul says in Romans 7:17, "For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time."

We hurt when we should help. We lie when we ought to offer truth. We hide when we should be exposed. We doubt when we should hope. We insist when we should desist. Our desire to do good is hindered by our sinful nature; we are broken.

Where does that leave the community of God?

It seems clear to me we have a choice. Every day we can choose to surrender to our sinful nature that seeks to hurt and deflect OR we can choose to believe in the power of God within us to create a healthy community filled with love, optimism and unity.

We choose our direction, for what we believe will inform our actions. And our actions will create the community of our mind's choosing. A healthy community of God begins in the minds and hearts a leader and a congregation who will not succumb to the failings of man's limited sight, but who will rely on God's presence and supernatural vision. It is only with godly, humble dependence on Him that healthy church begins.

Healthy Creative Team Culture

As passionate as I am about creatively crafting church services and vision to express the love and grace of our Savior, I am equally passionate about creating a safe and synergistic place for creative people to flourish. It irks me to no end when those of us in church leadership expect artists to produce moving and holy moments in an environment of open relational hostility or creative utility. Artists cannot be expected to lovingly lead our congregations in worship if when they are experiencing a lack of the same from the church.

Well, hardly any church sets out to alienate and dismiss the needs of artists. But at the same time, few understand how to meet the unique needs of the creatives in their culture. So they don't try. Or they try and come up short. A healthy team culture doesn't exist without a few key elements. We must work at it. In Organizing Genius, Warren Bennis suggests, "The most exciting groups...resulted from a mutually respectful marriage between an able leader and an assemblage of extraordinary people. Groups became great only when everyone in them, leaders and members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best."

So what gives artists this freedom? What does a healthy creative team culture look like? Here are my top ten non-negotiables:

1. Godly, visionary, creative leadership


2. A clearly defined church vision, artistic vision, style and identity


3. Senior leadership's active support


4. Well defined roles and communication processes for staff and volunteers


5. Excellent creative processes


6. Resources that match the desired outcomes


7. High doses of encouragement and constructive feedback


8. Active spiritual shepherding


9. Training and equipping opportunities


10. Shared community experiences

And bonus item # 11. A green room stocked with food and water. Seriously. It helps a ton!

So, if you read that list and thought, that's basically creating a great arts ministry, you're right. A healthy creative team culture reflects a well-thought out and intentionally implemented ministry. It is possible. And it starts with someone with a vision for creating a great artistic team. Perhaps you!