As leaders I believe we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the skills and talents that God has put in our wheel house. I believe that part of good stewardship of our skills means that we should constantly be growing and stretching ourselves within those skills and talents and outside of those skills and talents. 

One of the resources I’ve found extremely useful in helping stretch myself has been the blog of fellow worship leader and creative, Carlos Whittaker.

One of the ways that Carlos helps other leaders to grow and stretch is through offering a #CreativeCoaching workshop. You can learn more about it here.

The long and short of it is that I am currently locked in creative collaborative craziness with some awesome peeps! Check us out! (I tried to find a flattering screenshot). 

One of our first exercises was to give a seven word bio of ourselves. One sentence describing a bit of who we are and what our passions are.

#MY7WordBIO: Teacher of worship in and beyond church.  

It was awesome to hear some of the stories that surround those guys and dig into our passions about God as our Creator and that it’s only when we are in Him we are the most creative. 

One of the ways that I grow closer to God as my “creator” is when I immerse myself in His creation. One of my favorite things ever is to go to an aquarium or a zoo. I love the detail and beauty and care that God takes in creating each and every animal. It drives me to a sense of wonder about who He is. 

Oddly enough Carlos shared a story of how once his son, Losiah, called him outside so they could both examine a Rolly Poly bug together. We’ve all seen Rolly Poly’s. We know as adults that they roll into a perfect little ball when you poke them, yet through the eyes of his 2 year old son, God revealed something new of His creation to Carlos. 

We looked at Ezekiel 37:1-14 where God brings “death to life” in the account of dry bones. 

One of my big take aways was how: 
My creativity flows from an expression of my life and my life is an expression of God’s creativity. 

We are impacted by stories, expressions of God’s creativity, and so when we share our stories and expressions of our stories we are sharing expressions of God’s creativity. 

In living our lives with the understanding that every breath is a creative expression of God we can point others toward LIFE. After all, He’s the only one who can point us to true LIFE anyway. 

I’m excited about what God is going to teach me and how He’s going to stretch me through these sessions. I hope I can help you get a better picture of God through my own story and my relationship with Him as I grow through these sessions. 

Also, we prayed at the end and I snuck a screen shot again… I may have lost a crown in heaven because of it. : )