Hello, Creative Agents! It has been a while since our last series, but great things are on the forefront. I took a small “sabbatical” of sorts from Facebook last month, and blogging inadvertently got tucked away in my season offline. Now that I am back, I want to take a fresh approach to discipling uniqueness.

It seems to me that some pastors struggle with steering their creatives in the right direction. It is as if they speak different languages, and their relationships can eventually become frictional. For our current series, I asked one of my pastors – Brian Kohout with Exchange Church – to send me two questions he had about leading creative people. His first question, below, is very insightful:

One stereotypical view would be that creatives tend to be unorganized. One challenge would be to link up schedules and get in a routine. Sometimes, discipline can be a negative word for creatives, because they need to feel free to create when it hits them. But discipline ensures that they will have free time [to create]. What is the best way to do that?

Brian, this is such a great question! 5 thoughts come to my mind in response, especially about discipling uniqueness:

1. Avoid assuming creatives are disorganized, but do not be surprised.

As with any discipling relationship, we must balance presuppositions of another’s character, with the tasks of teaching and modeling. One universal reality of discipleship is that one will most likely disciple a person different than themselves. This is the model Jesus set before us, as his first disciples were fishermen though he was raised under an earthly father skilled in carpentry (see Matt. 4:18 and Matt. 13:55). Thus, do not allow your assumptions of creative people to negatively shape your view of who they are as people. On the same token, if they happen to fit a stereotype you believe is true, simply carry them through the discipleship process and gently correct sin (theirs and your own) along the way.

2. Influence the influencers by developing trust.

Quite simply, a disciple will not likely replicate one whom they do not trust. The power of disciplemaking is in replication, so discipling relationships devoid of trust will fail to be effective. To be of any influence with a people group unlike yourself, you have to train a few influencers from that culture in the context of safe relationships. In these safe relationships, the Gospel of Jesus is contextualized and locally applied. That is, by establishing a trustworthy discipling relationship with each of your creatives, you equip them to apply the Gospel personally and disciple other creative disciplers.

One develops trust in a discipling relationship first through the work of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who lives in you also lives (or soon will abide) in those you disciple. Pray earnestly that God would develop trust in your fellowship with your creatives. One also develops trust in a discipling relationship by intentional investment. Practice active listening with your disciples, strive to be interested in their creativity, and invite them to participate in your everyday activities as you model spiritual disciplines.

3. All Christians should learn is that discipline and disciple share the same root.

Encourage your creative disciples to never shy away from the word discipline. As Ed Martin with Exchange Church teaches, you can also use the word rythyms in place of discipline if your creatives are still cringing. Jesus taught us the benefit of rhythms. For example, Luke records that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk. 5:16, NIV) regardless of his busyness. If practicing spiritual disciplines is what Jesus modeled for his disciples, then it is imperative for all Christians today to practice the same. Every disciple of Christ, regardless of their creative capacity or any other demographic quality, should connect their identity as a disciple with their duty to be disciplined in their faith.

4. Rethink creative expression.

Here is a fascinating hypothesis: creative expression, or a disciple’s uniqueness, should be treated as a spiritual discipline. Just like prayer, Bible study and other spiritual disciplines, uniqueness is to be practiced and refined over time. This means that you should encourage your creatives to block off specified times to practice their mode of art. Sometimes, creative expression will feel like play and others days it may feel like work for them. Either way, this practice should be among other scheduled rhythms (spiritual disciplines) like prayer, Bible study, and corporate worship, to name a few. As your disciples practice their creativity consistently, they will reap rewards of creative expression they never could have thought possible. The same principle applies to every other spiritual discipline as well!

5. Give your creatives assignments with deadlines.

Pastors and disciplers, please provide your creatives with outlets to apply what you are teaching them! Information will never come alive without application. This is contextualizing the Gospel! Just as a villager in India needs to see and practice Christian prayer in a discipling relationship, so too your creatives need to see how the Gospel affects their craft. Pray for God to inspire your assigned exercises, and specifically consider projects that apply abstract spiritual disciplines to real life situations. Here are a few assignment ideas to get you started as you pray:

“Write a song, choreograph a dance, or make a painting about Psalm 42. Show us the draft in two weeks. (Spiritual discipline of Bible study).”
“Write down (or draw) 3 prayers about your creativity and begin praying those prayers. Tell our group next week what the Spirit revealed to you. (Spiritual discipline of prayer).”
“Bless someone this week with your creativity and tell us the story at our next meeting.”
“Teach someone a simple technique about your craft this week. Write down what was fun or difficult about teaching them, and share your findings with our group next week. (Spiritual discipline of discipleship).”

When discipling creatives far different than yourself, keep the Gospel in front of you. Avoid nit-picking at their flaws, and allow the Gospel to transform your relationships with them. Be cautious about stereotypes, develop trust, teach your creatives the importance of Spiritual disciplines, and provide them with practical exercises that contextualize the Gospel.

What other suggestions would you add in response to Brian’s question this week? Share your thoughts below and with our community on Facebook!