Quotes to Move Your Creativity Forward - Part 1

We all have those quotes that we use to remind ourselves of our passion.

Or to wake us up to remember our purpose.

Or maybe just to get us moving.

I have many quotes like this that I remind myself of from time to time. They help me remember why I’m here, what I’m doing, and what to do next. 

For the next 4 weeks, I would like to share my favorites with you.

“Around here we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

-Walt Disney
Film Producer, Director, Animator, Entrepreneur

Curiosity and creativity go hand and hand. Creativity is simply where curiosity meets innovation. 

Or, to put it more simply still, creativity happens when we try something new. That curious wondering of “I wonder what would happen…” or “How would it look if we…” is often where innovation is born. 

Trying new things is the essence of creativity and innovation. But no true innovation ever came by looking backwards. Knowing where you have been is essential, but only in as much as it also shows us the places we haven't been yet. 

Learn the lessons the past has to offer, but then move on.

Try new things.

Don't let fear stop you.

Keep moving forward.

-Colby

I Hear the Noise

Ezekiel 37:1-7

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise…

There are times when you are unknowingly standing on the edge of change.

History and the future are simultaneously shifting beneath your feet as you stand unaware.

I believe that this is one of those times for the people of Victory Church. 

For some time now we have been praying and believing for a fresh, new move of the Holy Spirit.  We have felt a stirring growing stronger and stronger in our spirits. We have been practically preparing by growing our teams and refining our systems. 

This is it. 

The deep breath before the plunge.

The bones are rattling.

We hear the noise.

We have the unique privilege of standing on the edge of a spiritual paradigm shift the likes of which our church has not seen in many years. The opportunity to be a part of history and to watch it unfold before our eyes. 

Is your ministry ready? 

Is your team ready?

Are you ready?

When God moves, people are irrevocably drawn to Him. When we as a church move with Him, they are drawn to us as well. 

People who are looking for a Savior. We have a responsibility to be ready for them.

I encourage you to get ready for growth! Preparations are not just reserved for team leaders. We all need to get ready. Every level of numerical growth presents a new set of challenges at many levels. 

Change and growth are coming to Victory Church, make no mistake about it!

I believe it. 

I feel the stirring.

I hear the noise.

-Colby   

MVH

Around here we have a saying: Making Victory Happen (or MVH).

When we volunteer, we're making victory happen.

When we tithe and give, we're making victory happen.

On the outside it seems like a nice little reminder that it takes people and money to keep Victory Church running week to week.

But it is so much more than that. 

It's not just a reminder of who we are as a church, but a profound statement of why we are here. 

It colors everything we do.

Every event.

Every service.

Every word.

We as a church understand that we exist to make victory happen corporately and individually.

For us, for others, and for the world.

Victory in execution.

It is true that it takes people to make the church run. But the church does not just exist to perpetuate itself. Every time we turn on a light switch or unlock a door we do it for one reason: to create and inspire victory in the lives of people. 

If we don't keep this in mind as we plan every detail, then the things we do can become a distraction, or worse yet, a deterrent. 

Personal Victory

Every Christian has a deep and profound need to be productive for the kingdom of God. Some have not realized it yet and some have learned to ignore it, but it was born in your spirit the moment you were born again. 

Each one of us was gifted specifically to draw people to Christ in a unique way. 

There is something indescribable about stepping into that place of power that God has prepared you for, and once you have tasted a life of serving in your place of purpose, you are ruined for a life of selfishness. 

You have caught the first glimpse of the life of victory and, from then on, nothing else will ever do.

Victory for others

The satisfaction that comes from a life of service is only part of making victory happen. The end reason for reaching out to serve people is for the people themselves. 

We give so people may receive. 
We serve so people may learn of God's nature.
We go last to give people the gift of going first.
We sacrifice to bring people hope.

As servants of people we have the unique privilege of watching God's work up close. 
We have a front row seat as lives are changed.
Bodies are healed.
Marriages are salvaged.
Addictions are beaten.
Broken people are reassembled.
Hope is kindled.
Darkness is overcome.

The truth is when you watch victory happen in the lives of people, the satisfaction it brings you really becomes a trivial thing. 

In fact, after a while, you tend to forget about yourself altogether.

-Colby

1 Peter 4:10
Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.

Be More

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever you would call me.”

Lyrics to one of my favorite worship songs. Every time I listen to that song I say “Yes, God! Lead me, call me wherever you want me to go!” But is that really the cry of our hearts? Are we really willing to let go of what we want to let God have his way completely and without conditions?

I, for one, struggle with that. I like control. I like things done a certain way. And I can be resistant to change, good or bad. But do you know where that gets us in our personal lives? In our church? Absolutely nowhere.

Isaiah 43:19(NLT) says” For I am about to do something new. See, I have
already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the
wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

I believe God is ready to do something new and amazing in our lives and in our church. Something that is so far beyond anything that we can dream for ourselves. But the thing is, God won’t force himself on us.
We have to not only be willing to say yes to Him, but to live it out in faith every single day.

I feel the stirring in my spirit, I feel it on our church. But we have to lay it all down, everything we want or think we need. We have to throw our arms open wide to the One who wants to revive us and to do more than we can ever imagine.

I want to let go and BE MORE.

I want to live out my faith in such a way that it cannot be contained. 

I want to trust without borders and to go wherever I am called.

-Holly

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and
made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further
grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want
to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more
thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee
indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, ‘Rise
up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and
follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”
― A.W. Tozer

Guest Post: 7 Lies That Will Kill Your Creativity

Today, I have the great privilege to bring you this guest post from Stephen Brewster, who is the Creative Arts Pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN. He has spent the past 15 years in professional creative environments including church, music business, marketing, management, artist development, creative team leading and art directing. You can see this and others amazing posts on his own blog which can be found here. Enjoy!
-Colby

As creative people and artists, one of the biggest hinderances to our work and development is often ourselves. There’s a force that wants to destroy your creative energy and it starts by believing a few lies that are intended to stifle your best work. Don’t believe these lies:

• The lie of inspiration striking. Ideas are birthed by hard work and the collection of experiences we have. They’re birthed by the sweat of showing up over and over again. Ideas might seem to be inspired and appear out of nowhere but the truth is they happen because you keep showing up and doing your work day after day.

• The lie we have to be completely original. Truthfully, there are very few things that are uniquely original. Research shows that most new things are a actually a remixes and creative combinations of experiences and other ideas.

• The lie we should never share. Sharing actually helps ideas get better. The best art is created in community. It’s hard for people to “steal” your ideas because part of ideas are the engine to actually make them come to life and rarely can that happen without the original incubator.

• The lie your boss hates you and your art. They might pick at it, they may not understand it, and at times the may not like it. But the truth is your boss has a job and a lens they see things through. Work to share why you believe what you believe and don’t give up. Your boss may not always understand your process or your work, but you have a chance to educate them and lead up to the importance of your ideas. Be respectful and try to understand where they’re coming from.

• The lie that more resources will make you better. Constraints actually help you define the canvas and the scope. Stop looking at constraints as a hindrance when they help you define expectation and boundaries. You may even want to go as far as employing your own constraints to make your art better.

• The lie that mile markers are finish lines. Don’t confuse the two. Far too often we mistake mile markers or even starting lines as finish lines. Don’t settle for good when you can achieve great. You know what’s possible and as an artist you have a responsibility to deliver your best.

• The lie you are what you make. Stop believing this now. You are amazing and you might make amazing stuff, but the truth is you are so much more than what you make. God cares a lot more about who we are becoming than He cares about what you are creating.

These lies come through small voices that whisper in your head but scream in your heart. You have the control to say no to these lies and not allow them to have control over you or your work. When you start hearing these lies write them down, share them with others, and fight for the truth. The truth that is you are enough, your work and your art matter, and you are the right person in the right place at the right time. Create bravely.

- Stephen Brewster

Revival Starts Here

re·viv·al  
/riˈvīvəl/
An instance of something becoming active or important again.

Someone said to me the other day, "It's been awhile since we have had a revival at Victory"

Of course what they were looking for was a specific type of meeting. A good, old fashioned, tent meeting style event where a special speaker comes in for several evenings.

The services are long.
The gifts are flowing.
The spirit of God is palpable.

These are all good things. But there is more than one kind of revival.
I'm talking about a personal revival. More specifically, a revival of your personal ministry.

Too often we wait for revival to happen to us. We live life out of routine. We do because we have aways done. Our ministry can become stagnant and we default to what is comfortable.

There is no life in our work.
Standards drop.
Passion fades.

We have all seen this happen around us.
So what do you do if you find yourself in this position?

The first step may seem obvious: Pray.
Only Jesus can truly bring revival to your life and ministry.
In Him there is newness.

In Him there is life.
In Him there is passion.

Secondly: Look.
Look at what other people are doing and find a way to improve it and make it your own.
Find another artist who does what you do, but does it exponentially better than you, and let their work inspire you and push you.

Thirdly: Move.
Get out there and do it.

Do something in your ministry that you have never done before.

Do something genuine.

Do something that makes you nervous. 

Lastly: Repeat.

When you feel like you are simply repeating the things you have always done, remind yourself of these principals. None of us are immune to passivity.

Including me.

Sometimes I need to be reminded.
I need to not be afraid to try something new.
I need my passion to become active again.
I need to remember the importance of my mission

You don't need to wait for someone to set up a tent before life can come back into your ministry.
Revival can start anytime.
And it can start with you.

But it doesn't have to stop with you.
When personal revival begins in you, it spreads. It can't stay contained. It spills over onto those around you. When personal revival begins to spread, corporate revival is inevitable.
It waits just below the surface.
Unavoidable.
Unstoppable.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ...all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

-Colby

Glo 2012

As we sat in our first Glo planning meeting in the early part of July, I knew this was going to be a long process.

I have been present at every single Glo performance (except Friday night of 2011) since it started in 2007. I have photographed every year and last year I helped with some of the video shoots. Even still I had no idea what all went into it.

For months we planned.
Dreamed.
Created.
Recorded.
Re-planned.
Re-created.
Edited.
Printed.
Re-printed.
Built.
Photographed.
Added.
Rehearsed.

I lost track of the number of meals I ate at my desk and the number of 13 hour days I and many others worked.

Then it came. December 12th. Premiere night.

Lights. Music. Photography. Crowds cheering.

And then in a flash it went. 6 months of work finished in what seemed like one frenzied moment.

6 months of planning.
Shooting.
Editing.
Long days.
Late nights.

Was it worth it?

Sunday, December 16th, 11:35pm. I read these numbers: 5369 attended. 680 salvations.

I can not describe, nor will I ever forget, the feeling of knowing I was a part of that.

Performing the work of the ministry is so much more than worth it. It is an immeasurable honor that cannot be described or explained.

It's 3:36 on a Thursday afternoon. There are no click tracks to synchronize, no overflow room to set up, no 30 minute countdown to export a 6th version of. Glo 2012 is already a distant memory and I will be leaving in a few minutes to go home and see my family.

But in the back of my mind remain two irrevocable truths.

The work of the ministry is never done.
And it's worth it.

-Colby


Ephesians 4:1
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.