In both creative and in Christian circles I hear a lot about being relevant. Relevant is an adjective that means “closely connected or appropriate to the matter at hand.” It means the solution is pertinent or applicable. It makes sense. It’s current. Relevance is relevant but is it over used? Has the term been come to mean “cool”, “hip” or “in style”? The applications of relevance have to do with breadth. Reaching a wide demographic and not being out of date. The goal here is to hit the middle of the bell curve.
In contrast, transcendence is an adjective that means something is “surpassing the ordinary; exceptional”. It is “beyond or above the range of normal or merely physical human experience”.
During the Renaissance, Christian art led the way and other art followed. Christian art was truly exceptional and others tried to emulate it. As media producers we definitely have a challenge when it comes to BALANCING QUALITY AND SCHEDULE but within that context we need to find ways to produce projects that are transcendent, not relevant. We need to lead creative culture by leading the bell curve of innovation and creativity. We need to be early adopters of emerging creativity, technology, and applications.
Whenever possible I try to bring heady ideas down to practical reality. All this talk of relevance and transcendence sounds like an undergraduate philosophy class. How can I funnel this down into my day-to-day ministry? Here are 5 suggestions that will help you lead.
1. Pray
You must start here. As Pastor Mark Batterson has pointed out, “One God idea is better than 1000 good ideas.” Whatever the project (video, animation, motion graphics, short film, live performance… you name it), if this is your calling, you must start with prayer. What we need here is revelation, not information. We need to pray for God to show up in a way that only he can. We need to treat our creative calling, like effective lead pastors treat their preaching and leadership.
2. Pick A Project
There are 1000 things on you “to-do” list and you can’t give every creative endeavor this level of attention, but you can prayerfully pick one key project on your horizon that you will commit to prayer and open up a way for God to move powerfully in that project. For most creatives who are called to their craft, there is some spark of an idea that has been in you for sometime. That just might be the project that God wants to bring to reality through you at this time in history. Don’t miss the opportunity.
3. Put It On the Calendar
Whether it’s a sermon series intro and graphics package, a short film you want to produce, or (as in my case right now) a children’s book you want to write and illustrate, give yourself a due date for the first key milestone. Then when you complete that milestone, IMMEDIATELY put the next milestone on the calendar.
4. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Tell people about your plans. There’s nothing like accountability (and encouragement) to help push you toward achieving your God-ordained goals. It’s one thing to think about producing your transcendent project, and yet another to put the first milestone on the calendar, but there is something scary (and freeing) to say it out loud to others. It ups the ante and increases the level of commitment to the project.
5. Prepare
Look at the logistics of what’s needed and begin to prepare for what’s ahead. Act “as if” you know what you are doing (because if it’s truly a “God idea”, you will be out of your comfort zone) and begin to move forward in practical ways. A good friend of mine entered a film contest where he had 168 hours to concept, shoot, and edit a short film. He could line up actors, licenses, locations, and equipment ahead of time, but he had only 168 hours to produce it. He pulled it off and learned new things about his craft and about himself that he wouldn’t have otherwise known. He also saw God provide resources and favor just in the nick of time. I mention this here because as you prepare to produce your transcendent project, the same will happen to you. You will learn about yourself and your craft and God will provide in unexpected ways.
So go and pursue your calling. Determine to set the pace produce projects with transcendence as you prayerfully seek God’s best and lead us into the front end of the bell curve! You were created for this and God wants to use you to raise the bar.
Image from Lightstock.com
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