How to Live a Creative Life: The Christian Ministry Edition

By Eric Copeland

As far back as I remember, I have always searched through bookstores (both real and now online too) for books that could lead me to new vistas of creativity. Whether it was a music book, a creative devotional, a business book, or whatever, I always rejoiced when I found that book I could dig into and let it speak to me. It was (and still is) a treasure hunt to find a new resource that can get me thinking new thoughts, trying new things, and feed my creative soul.

My hope is this will be that kind for book for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric Copeland
• Release date: May 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781005787028

Eric Copeland

Eric Copeland is President and Executive Producer for Creative Soul Records, a division of Cre8iv Entertainment, Inc.Creative Soul has been developing, producing, and marketing Christian music artists for over 25 years.For more information go to http://www.CreativeSoulOnline.com

Book preview

You Were Created to Serve

How to Quit Wandering

Becoming the Leader God Meant You to Be

This is the Year

What Comes Easy

Compelled to Use Our Gifts

Bigger Things

What is the Value of Your Art?

The Way Creativity Should Be

My Creative Soul: The Start of My Creative Life

How to Get Better

The Next Step and How to Take It

Why Quitting Isn’t an Option

Talent is Overrated

When You’re Ready to Hear It

Breaking Away from Mediocrity

How to Get Where You Want to Be

Why We Don’t Finish

Too Good To Ignore

That Special Freak

My Creative Soul: How I Got Better

How to Live Creative

If For No One Else

Being Awesome

When Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough Anymore

Why Creative People Are Happy People

Four Things to Do Today

Questions You May Struggle With

What Are Your Goals?

Are You Called to Do This?

Why We Must Learn in Order to Grow

The Importance of Works

My Creative Soul: How I Find Worth in Creativity

How to Succeed as a Creative

The Secret to Lasting Success

For Those Who Don’t Get It

When the Road Seems Too Long

How Passion Leads to Success

When It’s Time to Seek Help

What You Can Do Today. Right Now!

Reach For the Sky

Play to Your Strengths

No Gestures, Just Excellence

Making Time for Big Dreams

Just Get Something Done

Finding Your Tribe

My Creative Soul: How I Have Survived as a Creative

How to Work Creative

How to Live Your Dreams (If That’s Really What You Want)

Tinker, Tailor, Mentor, Coach

Ready to Start Something Big?

How to Monetize Your Creativity

Money vs. Creativity

Creativity and the 9-to-5 Blues

The Old Switcheroo (Creating Art for Others)

Making Time for Your Own Creativity

The Secrets of Monetary Success as a Working Creative

Why You’re Afraid of a Full-Time Creative Life

My Creative Soul: How I Built My Own Creative Business

Success Being Creative

Mark Baldwin

Erick Anderson

Stephen Bautista

Gene Ezell

Ronnie Brookshire

Write Your Own Story

Thanks for Reading!

Introduction

As far back as I remember, I have always searched through bookstores (both real and now online too) for books that could lead me to new vistas of creativity. Whether it was a music book, a creative devotional, a business book, or whatever, I always rejoiced when I found that book I could dig into and let it speak to me. It was (and still is) a treasure hunt to find a new resource that can get me thinking new thoughts, trying new things, and feed my creative soul.

My hope is this will be that kind for book for you.

I’ve tried to cover every creative phase you may be in. You may just be looking to get things going with your artistic skill, and not knowing how. You may be trying to improve. Maybe you just need help living as a creative each day, dealing with life. This book also delves heavily into finding success as a creative, including becoming a creative entrepreneur and living the dream as we say.

Finally, I’ve wrangled a bunch of creatives (which is akin to herding cats) to give you some real-world perspective from people living and working as creatives. I will ask them the questions that you might ask, finding out how they do what we all want to do.

Throughout each section, I’ll also relate a bit of my story as a lifelong creative, and how I dealt with the challenges highlighted in each section. I have lived every section, and am still living it. To be honest, there’s probably more to write, but I’ll have to live those experiences before I can write about them!

I’ve packed the book with lots of quotes and examples, since that’s what For the Creative Soul has been known for these past 15 or so years. I think that adds a dimension to the ideas. Many days of my life have been made better because of a quote, scripture, or passage I read that morning.

About This Edition: This book is written for all musicians, artists, authors, dancers, graphic designers, photographers, songwriters, screenwriters, playwrights, web builders, sculptors, poets, technical designers, and just about any other creative type of person imaginable. Many of the posts, especially in this edition are voiced for folks of faith (both in the church and out), but I like to think much of this information will appeal to any creative person.

I like to think that anyone who is creative believes in some sort of higher power, and I’m not ashamed that mine is God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But I won’t be shoving religious diatribes in your face. This book is about creativity; it’s voiced for easy reading and maybe a laugh or two along the way.

I hope this book enriches, challenges, and soothes your Creative Soul. That’s the entire point of every word.

Thanks for reading!

EC

How to Get Creative

(Find Your Creative Passion and Get Started!)

How, and Why, to Be More Creative

Every day, every week, we go about our lives. We go out into the world, speak from the pulpit, sing behind our guitar, play in a band, write blogs, and/or paint canvases. Or we dream about doing that and doing it with wild abandon for God. But often, instead we settle for much less because it’s easier that way.

Why follow that creative urge, especially in the church? Why not just fall in line with everything the way we’ve always done it? Isn’t that much less risky and still getting the job done?

Well, sure, it is easier. But it’s not what God wanted from or for us. He wanted us to be creative.

If God wasn’t content to make a bland, predictable world, why are we content to make church that way? Why do we come up with one way of doing things and become content to do that same thing over and over again? Why do we not challenge our thinking and move to greater heights of innovation? — Ed Young, in The Creative Leader

Pastor Young from Fellowship Church in Dallas may have written this book a few years ago, but he emphasizes what I feel we’ve been teaching at For the Creative Soul.

Yes, we know that if we stick to our tried-and-true way of doing our services, our music, our art, or whatever it is we do, it will likely not upset the apple cart, and hey, God’s people are being served, right? But many of those apples are sour or rotten, and maybe it’s time we do something else and bring a fresh message to the folks to whom we’re ministering.

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. — Erich Fromm

One thing holding you back may be your confidence in your creative or artistic ability. But as I have blogged many times, talent is subjective and relative. What one person considers good may be horrible to another. Also, many times people can start with a very basic talent, but develop it over the years if they work hard enough. Nobody was really born with talent. (Talent is Overrated is coming up in Section Two).

One of the reasons we ignore our creative potential is a gnawing sense of inadequacy in the creative realm. Rather than giving God our best creative efforts within the church, we often give Him excuses. We compare ourselves to others, convinced that we can’t possibly do it as well as this or that person. — Ed Young, in The Creative Leader

If you are ready to serve with your talents, then the first step is to get out there with them. Whether you want to play in the band, lead worship, or bring whatever artistic thing you do into the church, you need to speak up and find a way. The real way we all started serving with our talents was to walk in and ask if we could sing, play, work, help, or lead.

But there is a bigger reason we must lead and serve with our creative talents from whatever position God has put us. It’s because we are made in the image of the Great Creator, which would then of course make us little creators (small c). Jesus showed us how to do it, and the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do it.

So why should we implement creativity in leadership? God invented it. Jesus modeled it. The Holy Spirit empowers it because people need it. If we church leaders are going to live out the challenging mission that God has laid out for the local church, we must unleash the creative potential available to us, develop it, and use it to communicate the most compelling message ever given to mankind. Creativity is not an option for the church; it is a biblical mandate that flows from the very character of the Creator. — Ed Young, in The Creative Leader

Being creative and working hard to infuse everything we do in our ministries and churches is a biblical mandate! I love that.

Why We Create

Do you ever finish a new song, write a story, or paint something and then sit back and wonder, Who will ever see this? Or worse, you think, Why would they want to hear my song or read my story or appreciate my painting? And you begin to second-guess your art before anyone has even heard of it or you.

This kind of thinking is dangerous, but common for all of us who create. How do you escape this negative way of thinking?

I think the core issue is not our fear of what people will think, but our need to understand the reasons we create in the first place.

Now, as Christians we often feel led by God to create, to further His Kingdom, right? And there is nothing wrong with that. But why do we do the creating part? I mean, we could pick up trash at the church and serve too. So what about creating drives us?

1. We Do It for Fun

It’s just fun to make music, write stories, or paint. It’s something we can do that’s unique, but beyond that we just like doing it. We like thinking about it, dreaming about it, talking about it. It’s the thing that our mind goes to when it has a moment to itself.

The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill. — W. Somerset Maugham

For those of us who are blessed to be able to use our minds in this creative fashion, it is God’s gift to us. I think He wants it to be fun. He smiles at each of our creations just like he smiles at us, His creations. I guess that makes our creations like God’s grand-creations!

So have fun doing what you create and take joy in the doing.

True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. — Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

2. We Do It for Recognition

Now, don’t get haughty on me. We all would like our art to please others the way it pleases us. It’s only natural that if our art satisfies us, then we hope others will enjoy it too. That’s not always true, but we think it anyway.

The trouble comes when we get too caught up in that side of the artistic equation. We begin to worry that this or that won’t please our intended audience. Now, to some extent, this is a good thing. Editing, rewriting, drafts, etc. are a great way to make sure our creative vision is as strong as it can be. But sometimes caring too much about what others will think can be paralyzing.

If you’re creating anything at all, it’s really dangerous to care about what people think. — Kristen Wiig 

We have to keep that part as far away as possible from the creative process. But this can end up being one of the major reasons why we freak out and don’t take the next steps with our art.

3. We Do It for Love

In order to create there must be a dynamic force, and what force is more potent than love? — Igor Stravinsky

This is different from the fun part, but love brings us back around toward why we write, sing, or draw for God. Or, maybe we do it because it’s inspired by our love for our spouse, kids, or just a beautiful sunset.

It could even be for the love of the craft, the sound of a chord, the poetry of the words, or the colors that mix together.

This is actually the most beautiful and true of the reasons we create—because something moves us deeply when we do.

4. We Do It Because It Entertains Us

Forget about entertaining others. Many times, the audience is just me! I can think for hours about creative things that I am working on. They may never see the light of day, but that’s okay. When I pass on someday, far more songs, stories, and ideas will die with me than I ever managed to make available for anyone to see or hear. And I’ve produced hundreds, if not thousands, of songs, blogs, albums, etc.

Lots of times, the creative projects in my head simply are so interesting to think about and journal about, I almost wonder if in some ways that’s enough. I may likely never become a well-known author of fiction, but it still delights me to write it, think about it, and plan it.

And to be honest, that probably is the main reason I create: because the act of creating is so fulfilling personally. Yes, sharing it with others is nice, but never as good as when I first create it and sit and listen, read, or look at it.

That’s what feeds my creative soul, and if God takes me tomorrow, I will have lived and used His gift to the fullest—no matter how many people know about it.

How about you?

What Are You Going to Do About It?

I remember a few times through my life, facing physical challenges on the playground or later a professional challenge, and being presented with this very question. What was I going to do to prove what I believed in?

I wrote this section right after the Easter weekend. That Sunday, lots of people proclaimed online what we Christians hold as the core tenet of our faith: He is Risen!

So, I ask you Creative person reading this, what are you going to do about it?

How are you going to make an impact with the gifts God has given you? What are you going