Proverbs 31:8 (New International Version)

8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.

Which is ironically what I was doing with my open letter to Rick Warren. I don’t need to rehash that conversation, it was covered in length there. I do want to make something very clear.

It’s not about a contest.

It is about creatives & designers feeling undervalued, unimportant, and unappreciated. That’s the bigger issue. Spec work is just one of the things that highlights it and brings it to the surface.

Destitute has a couple of definitions:
1. lacking something needed or desirable
2. lacking possessions and resources

I’m taking of the first, not the second. Designers, specifically in the church, are often not treated fairly. They are treated as second rate.

Is this the same as taking care of the homeless and poor…of course not, but there is a segment of people out there that feel unappreciated and undervalued, and there’s something we could do to help that. And no, they can’t talk because they don’t have a voice, they aren’t listened to…but they should be.

When I tell someone that and they respond with

“suck it up”
“do better work”
“ignore it” and even
“it’s not about you anyway, it’s about Jesus”

that tells me you are so focused on your world that you can’t see the people, and that’s a harmful place to be. Because it is all about people. That’s why Jesus came. He didn’t come for himself, he came for people. When we see hurting people and ignore it because it’s easier to have life our way, that ignores the purpose of Christ.

Designers feel unappreciated.

We either accept the fact that designers, especially in the church, often feel unappreciated or we don’t. We then decide that we care, or we don’t. It really is that simple.

I hope you choose to be a part of turning that around. If you are a creative, know that I appreciate the work that you are doing in communicating the gospel. If you have a creative on your team, do something to let them know that you appreciate them. Start of by telling them “I appreciate you and the important part you play in this ministry.”

The greatest ideas come when seemingly unrelated content comes together and communicates in a whole new way. Remember the Reeses Peanut Butter Cup commericals, “you got your chocolate in my peanut butter”? It’s kinda like that.

By actively filling your creative tank you not only open yourself up to bigger ideas and greater creativity, you also establish your role as a creative in your church. Here it is in 140 characters from my Ninjas in the Church talk:

know the part you play and remind others of that role in the way you live it out

And as promised, here are some of the online places I go for inspiration. These are all good starters, but again be sure to venture outside of the world of design. For me that means walking down the wine isle paying attention to the labels, looking at architecture and interior design, and always being aware of the creativity that is all around me in even the most seemingly mundane places.

Wordle – Create
illustrationclass.com
LogoPond – Identity Inspiration
Logo Of The Day
SKYplay – a photoset on Flickr
iPhone pic of the day
Obey Giant
Abduzeedo
40 Beautiful Examples of Vintage and Retro in Web Design
Most Creative Agencies
Wooster Collective
Indexed
Dwell – At Home in the Modern World
Church Marketing Lab
HOW
Communication Arts
PRINT
Design is Kinky
A List Apart
GOOD magazine
Deviant Art

And that’s just a handful of them…where do you like to go to fill up your creativity tank?

Take a look around your church, look for that boring info area, sitting area, dark corner…what can you do to make it enjoyable and interactive, something worth talking about?

Check out the rest here.

Here’s a video that should remind all of us – creatives, pastors, designers, technicians, communicators – that i innovation is most always preceded by a bit of craziness. Aim for the impossible and be bold enough to go against everything that we call normal.