The other day I was trying to explain to a friend why I enjoy my hobby of plastic model building. What I said was basically this, there comes a time in my day when I’m done thinking. I’m in ministry. I spend considerable time each day creating, and I love it. I write my sermons, teaching resources, create ideas for outreach, try to solve problems, and more. I use also art as a tool in my ministry, so basically I spend a lot of time creating and there comes a time when I need to take a break. In those moments I like to spend a little time gluing a few model parts together or painting those parts, or whatever. It’s a diversion. It’s still somewhat creative, but it has instructions, There is a great deal of creative freedom, but there are boundaries. I can still do beautiful work, but there is guidance and a desired outcome to be reached. If I’m building a 57 Chevy, I have a lot of choices I can make, but at the end of the day, the thing should probably look like a 57 Chevy.

Come to think of it, it’s a lot like ministry. Before I go too far, I want to acknowledge this is a flawed analogy, but hopefully I will still be able to make my point. Think about it. Within the realm of ministry, there is incredible creative freedom. There are multitudes of methods that can be flexed and altered, stories that can be told, illustrations that can be added (in my case, both verbal and visual). There’s incredible freedom in it, but there’s a boundary. There are “instructions” that need to be followed. There is room for incredible diversity of method, but the message must remain the same. Stray from God’s truth and you move into the realm of heresy. Admittedly this is where the modeling analogy falls apart. If I want to turn my 57 Chevy into an airplane, or a dinosaur, or a robot, no one cares and no one is harmed. Straying from the original form might even be applauded, though I maintain, for it really to be applauded, what would really make it cool is if the original form remains recognizable. 

The bottom line is this. I believe God gifted me, and probably you if you’re reading this, with creativity, at least in part so we could tell His story. I believe God delights when we use the gifts He has given us to serve Him. In a sense the methods are ours, but the story is His. Depart from His story and you depart from truth. Like model building, there is room for amazing creativity in methods, but there are also instructions that need to be followed, otherwise we stray from what the Creator intended. 

I’m reminded of our friend Bezalel. No book on creative ministry would be complete without at least a mention of Bezalel. Who is He? Well way back in the book of Exodus, God gave Moses the incredible plans for a place where the people could meet with Him. The people of Israel were still nomadic for a time, (at least in part because they deviated from God’s instructions, but that’s a different story for a different day) so the thing had to be portable. Far beyond a functional space, it was a moving work of art. God’s plan was very specific. Over 50 chapters of the Bible are devoted to the tabernacle and it’s construction. Moses was already very old, and there were a lot of things he needed to do. None of them involved learning all of the skills that would have been needed to fulfill God’s plan, but that’s okay, God had someone in else mind. God had created and gifted someone for the purpose of building this thing, a craftsman named Bezalel.  

Exodus 31:2-5 tells us, “2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. Note what it says in verse 3, God filled him with His Spirit so that he would have the creative ability to do the work. God had something very specific in mind. He gave Moses very specific plans, and He gifted Bezalel with the ability to do the work. I’m sure there was room for Bezalel to flex his creative muscles, but Bezalel also needed to follow the plan, sort of like building a model. 

Modeling and ministry are very much related. There is tremendous flexibility in methods, but we are building on a previously laid foundation and we are telling someone else’s story. It’s the greatest story ever told. It doesn’t need our help. That story is the truth that sets people free. We dare not depart from the story. Instead our creativity is designed to help people to receive, retain and apply it to their lives. It’s an immense privilege and one not to be taken lightly. So use your creativity, but follow the instructions.