Creativity fuels the changes we see all around us. The rapid rise of computers that once filled an entire building to ones that now fit in our hands is just one example. The newest airliner will be made of carbon fiber, not wood or metal of previous eras.

Graphic programs, web pages, video productions, and digital photography have unleashed color, combinations, and images not possible just decades ago. We all benefit from someone’s creativity on a daily basis.

We recognize the results of creativity but where does creativity come from? Does everyone have it? Can we nurture it? If we do not have it today, can we generate it in time? If we have it now, can we lose it? In this approach to the topic of creativity, I will examine a number of components that contribute to or take away from the river that flows toward the never before seen or done: the result of creativity.

First is the element of need. Without that thread, creativity is seldom woven into anything. But need comes in many different colors. Need may be the doctor who is faced with an accident victim and utilizes an ink pen and a plastic bag to perform a tracheotomy and apply a lifesaving tourniquet when there is no doctor’s bag. Need may be an empty page with a deadline for a book that becomes the next bestseller.

Whatever the shade of “need,” it is one of the necessary components. Thus those with the deepest sense of need can be those with a seeming fountain of creativity if the other parts of creativity are also a part of the puzzle. Creativity generally does not flow from those who are satisfied with the way things are.

But need without hope produces desperation. Hope is a bit more elusive than need. Hope by definition says there is an answer to the question even though it is not known as soon as the need is. This hope factor often grows from previous needs that found answers. Thus hope can grow out of need.

Those who have the highest levels of hope are not afraid to attempt the seemingly impossible because of the creativity that has answered the need before. Their previous success also builds the persistence factor that can ultimately produce the creativity.

One of the key enemies of hope is the worry and fear that often march together, destroying everything in their path. These two have often combined to produce “writer’s block,” or a giant blank instead of a creative answer. These also drain the creative juices and leave nothing for the answers that “need” requires.

Worry and fear can also be accompanied by sorrow or guilt. These are also effective enemies of creativity. Many an artist, writer, or inventor has had a creative streak ended by a personal tragedy or experience. In fact, any intense emotion that overwhelms a person can silence the creative voice within.

In one sense, creativity can be a long term attribute of a person if they have developed enough life skills for stability. It does not mean that their life is easy, just that they have developed disciplines that safeguard creativity. Creativity needs dedicated worry-free time. Last minute, rushed results seldom reach the creative heights that worry-free time makes possible.

Discipline also enables creativity to go from mere words to results. I have visited numerous people in jail who had a creative capacity but no discipline in their lives. Their art, songs, poems, and other creative adventures (gifts) will never be seen because they lacked the disciplines in key areas of life. For some of them their creativity had been their ticket through the early years of life. At some point the free pass ended and without any disciplines in life they fell into an easy way to make a living: crime.

Tying creativity to a gift or talent someone may have is another concept that needs to be examined. As has already been discussed, a gift by itself would not survive the enemies of creativity. People can also mistake someone’s ability as a gift when in fact it was through hard work and dedication that they nurtured the ability people now see.

So what is the point of the issues we have examined? You. Your place, position, and purpose in life will include some areas where creativity will be needed. If you can answer the call for creativity, you can turn a problem into progress or a dead end into an uncharted path.

To know where you stand, we must ask some key questions:

Do you see needs that are not being met? Do you think about them enough to explore some possible solutions?

Do some of those needs move you to action? Have you ever experimented with some new possibilities?

Is there enough hope in you to attempt to be a part of a creative solution to the need or do you want to give up before you start?

Can you take a disciplined approach to the need and provide yourself with worry-free time to work on it? If you do have an idea, can you take the seed of creativity and bring it to its full fruit?

If you have been creative in the past, have obstacles gotten in the way? Has the previous discussion helped you to recognize some of your enemies to creativity?

With a disciplined approach, could you see yourself being more creative? What might be your first project?

Lastly, I believe there can be a spiritual element that impacts the direction that creativity can take. Being a firm believer that history can teach us, we see that new areas of expression can be extremely positive and admired for generations (Leonardo da Vinci) or abhorred with equal intensity (Adolf Hitler) forever. An honest look at the words of Jesus will show us why we can see these two extremes of creativity.

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (Jn 10:9-10, emphasis mine). This helps us to understand why we see such a range in people’s “creativity.”

Jesus’ teaching can impact creativity in another way. Putting his ways into practice gives us a stability that can protect whatever creativity we currently have. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Mt 7:24-25).

Christ’s teaching can also raise the level of need if we adopt his passions and concerns. The first item printed on the newly invented printing press was a Bible. My most creative endeavors in the teaching/preaching realm come from a passion to see people understand and be able to apply the teachings of Christ. Thus I have broken, built, and displayed countless “items” while teaching or preaching, hoping that they will take the words and make them real to the listener.

Now it is your turn. We each live in a specific location with unique opportunities for something “new and different.”  It could be a cure, a humorous relief, or a project that is someday admired in a museum that is birthing in your heart right now. Go create; we may all be glad you did.

Mark Schaufler is an author and the founder of Finish-the-Race.org, a youth ministry training program in the United States. He also started and is the CEO of MST Ministries, providing evangelistic preaching, training, and resources; leading over a hundred short term missions on six continents since 1984. Visit www.mstgo.com to find out more about Mark’s ministry.

The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced.

Several years ago I spent a couple of hours with a newly minted seminarian that our church was thinking about hiring. We talked about why he wanted to be involved in church ministry, about the dreams he cherished, of what he might do with his life and how he might serve God. Toward the end of the conversation he turned to me and said, “I just hope I’m able to last in the ministry as long as you have.” I was, at that time, in my mid-forties.

Sadly, we could not find a place on our staff for him. But I have often returned to that conversation in my mind. In particular, I think about what it is that enables people to last in church ministry, and I have a candidate for the number one commodity which I would not have guessed when I was starting out.

I think what most enables people to thrive in ministry is not their giftedness, although effective ministry always requires alignment around spiritual gifts. It is not education, although theologically reflective leaders are sorely needed nowadays. It is not resources or connections or IQ or support systems, although those are all good things. What makes an enduring and healthy ministry possible is hope.

It is an unforced consistent conviction that somehow God is at work in the midst of our efforts, and that therefore they are not in vain, and that therefore no barriers or obstacles have the power to nullify the significance of what we do. “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations…” (Rom 4:18)

We are four-leaf clover collectors. We wish on the evening star. We tell stories about genies coming out of a bottle to grant three wishes. We are all hopers. We are the creatures who cannot stop wishing. Where that came from I have no idea.

Why is hope so central? Neil Warren, the founder of eHarmony, spent much of his career counseling with and studying married couples. He once said that his primary goal was to help even deeply troubled couples get as little as ten percent improvement. Because, he said, once people see improvement, they gain hope. And hope is the indispensable fuel for all human action. When hope dies, motivation dies. There is no longer any reason to try anything. But once hope enters a marriage – or a church – anything is possible. I can delegate a lot of ministry tasks. But one item I cannot delegate is hope. People want to know if the leader possesses a sense of what Gordon MacDonald has called “vital optimism.” And that one I cannot delegate.

Hope Detection

So I have had to learn how to monitor some hope indicators, to give me a kind of early detection system so I know when hope begins to run low. One indicator is how I face the morning. Clinical researchers say that mornings are generally the times when anxiety and depression are most likely to run the strongest. There is a reason why the Scriptures say God’s mercies are “new every morning.” (Lam 3:23) When I find myself waking up feeling overwhelmed by the tasks to be done during the day, I know hope is running low. Another indicator is what I think of as recovery time. Nancy and I went off for a great two weeks vacation a few years ago, and when we returned I still felt like I had not even been gone. When a few weeks off do not recharge my batteries, I know hope is in short supply.

When my hope tank is full, I have energy for outside activities. When my hope stash is dwindling, taking on anything new feels like a drain. Also, I find that my emotional sensitivity in relationships tells me something. During one hope-depleted era, an elder asked to meet with me. She wanted to commend me for something. I had suspected the encounter was going to be painful; when it ended up being positive I was so relieved that I had to fight back tears. Even though I am a feeler, having tears that close to the surface is not a good sign.

Hope Management

I have also had to learn how to arrange my life so that I can keep filling up on hope. Partly this means I have to watch out for hope-killers. No encounter with another human being is purely neutral on an emotional level. Every conversation I have with someone else either fills me up with a little more hope, or drains a little of it away. This is especially true in an arena like church ministry, where “need” is part of our currency, and where evaluation is often public and relentless. So I will tell you about a few of the types that I have identified among the hope-challenged:

The Contrarian: This is the person who believes no idea is so sound that a hole cannot be poked in it. When he hears a suggestion, his reflexive response is to cite times in the past when similar ideas did not work, and further reasons why it would not work in the future. He may not be ill-intended, but…

The Alarmist: This person is deeply wired into the life of the congregation. She has become a kind of lightening rod for every concern. And wherever there is a troubled soul, she becomes a megaphone. The underlying subtext in a conversation is: “there’s real trouble going on around here. I don’t know what you’re going to do about it, but it’s a good thing I’ve uncovered it.”

The Critic: This is the person whose ministry is to evaluate your ministry. Usually it’s a self-appointed role.

The Cynic: It is a little-talked about but widely known reality that churches – and often church staff – tend to breed cynics. Sometimes, I expect, it is because those of us who lead, live with such a wide gap between our words and our souls. But cynicism is the gift of prophecy gone sour. Cynics sap our hope because they believe the worst without calling for the best.

The Hype Machine: This one surprised me. This is the larger than life character who loves to “build people up.” When I am with him he tells me wonderful things about me and what I can accomplish. And while our conversation lasts I find myself all pumped up. But I deflate quickly afterward. Because his words are not really built on truth (which is often painful), but on creating a “motivational experience” which is the emotional equivalent of Jolt cola – a quick energy buzz followed by a crash and burn.

And I know about all these categories; partly because I carry them around inside me. I need to listen to these voices, and learn from them, and love them. But I also need to limit my exposure to them. Especially when my hope gauge is under half full.

And I need to identify those who fill me with hope. I think of my friend Kent. Kent is a hope-giver to me because he does two things consistently. He always speaks truth to me. And he is always for me. I can tell him bad news on the ministry front and he is never rocked. I can tell him good news and he is never giddy. My world is a little more stable because he’s a part of it. I did not realize this for a long time, because Kent’s personality is not a salesman/motivator/Richard Simmons kind of guy. But one reason I am so grateful to him is he gives me hope.

Another part of hope management is something that comes only from being alone with God. There is a wonderful story about David, before he became king. He had lost his wife and family; he had lost his best friend, Jonathan; he had lost his position as Israel’s golden boy; he had lost his home and nation and was on the run from Saul. He did find a little community to lead: “all those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.” (1 Sam 22:2) You may have served that same congregation. Eventually that group was devastated by an enemy and they “wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.” (1 Sam 30:4) The men decided that David’s leadership was the problem, and decided to stone him. And these were his followers! But then comes the great verse: “But David found strength in the LORD his God.” (1 Sam 30:6)

One of the most important practices I had to learn about is precisely that one: how to encourage myself in the Lord my God. I find that, on my own, sometimes all I will do when alone with God is to rehearse my own inadequacies and problems. So, as an act of discipline, sometimes I force myself to lay those aside. I read passages that speak to me of God’s love for me. I go to settings where the beauty of nature will remind me of the goodness of God. I listen to music that I love. I write down twenty blessings I’m grateful to God for. I think about what will matter a million years from now, until my current burdens lose their weight. I sleep. I listen. I re-focus from what I’m hoping for to who I’m hoping in.

I remember what a friend of mine, Lew Smedes, used to talk about. That one day every circumstance, every situation that we’re hoping for is going to wear out, going to give out, going to fall apart, melt down, go away. When that happens, the question then is about your deeper hope… about your foundational hope… it is about your fall back hope when all your other hopes are disappointed.

The whole testimony of the Scriptures points to this One Man – points to a God, not because He is able to give us this thing or that thing we were hoping for – because that’s always going to give out eventually – but to the One that we put our hope in.

Hope Investing

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes, in many assortments of gifts and experiences, with unimaginable varieties of backgrounds and stories. But they share one trait: they hope. Doris Kearns Goodwin writes of Franklin Roosevelt that many around him had brighter minds and deeper gifts, but the indispensable contribution he made was his sense of confidence that the American people could defeat the Great Depression or fascism or whatever it was that needed to be beaten. He had “a remarkable capacity to transmit this cheerful strength to others,” who then would return it ten-fold.

Part of my task, then, is to make sure I invest a great deal of time in those who will be hope-carriers. One of the dangers of church ministry is that we drift from hope-creation to complaint-management.

One of the men in our congregation is a wonderful thinker and writer about leadership named Gary Hamel. He met with our leadership team recently to talk about the challenges that face any organization. He said that change is accelerating so rapidly that any organization which hopes to thrive needs to generate (literally) thousands of ideas, out of which will come maybe a hundred worth thinking about, out of which will come maybe ten or so worth piloting, out of which will come one or two that pay off. And what’s needed to generate and sustain that kind of creativity is hope.

So your key task, he said to us, is to engage and enlarge and equip that army of people in your church who will become the pro-future, pro-change contingent. Identify them, talk with them, recruit them, develop them, celebrate with them, and thank them. And I asked myself after that meeting: How much time do I spend with complainer/critics; and how much with hopers/doers?

Where Hope Comes From

One of the ways you can divide up Bible stories is by their time frame. One kind of story is the forty-day story. These are usually “wait-around-and-learn-patience” stories. The Israelites hung around Mt Sinai forty days waiting for the ten commandments; Noah’s family was in the ark for forty days and nights of rain; Elijah spent forty days in the wilderness hiding out from Jezebel. Jesus began His ministry by spending forty days in the wilderness; after the resurrection He and the disciples spent another forty days waiting for His ascension and then the coming of the Holy Spirit. The focus in these stories is on the need for people to be faithful; to persevere. Forty-day stories are slow cooker stories.

But there is another kind of story: the three-day story. These are stories about crisis and urgency – microwave stories. The focus here is not on the need for a human response at all. Here the pressure is so crushing that God must show up to the rescue or it is curtains. Three-day stories are stories of desperate need and anticipation and hope hanging by a thread.

When a hero named Joseph was in prison, he said to Pharaoh’s cupbearer, “Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position…” (Gen 40:13)

When Israel was trapped in slavery, Moses asked Pharaoh, “Let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness…” (Ex 3:18, ESV) When the Israelites arrive at Sinai, God says, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” (Ex 19:10-11) And on the morning of the third day, it came to pass.

When Israel was threatened with genocide, a harem girl, Esther, decides that she will fast for three days. Then she will go to the King to seek deliverance for her people.

When Jonah is swallowed and is in the belly of the big fish, want to take a guess how many days he’s there? He’s there three days before he’s released. His prayer the whole time he is in that big fish is, “God, just let me go out the way I came in.” I think that is probably what his prayer was.

When Israel was afraid to go into the Promised Land, God said to Israel, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged. Three days from now, you will cross the Jordan to possess the land the Lord has given you.”

The third day was used so frequently in this way that it became a kind of technical expression meaning a time to wait for deliverance.

Right now, things are messed up.

Right now, hope is being crushed.

Right now, hearts are disappointed.

But a better day is coming.

In the book of Hosea, the prophet says it like this, “Come, let us return to the Lord… After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence.” (Hosea 6:1-2)

When it comes to hope, what helps me most is to remember my Ultimate Hope. And my Ultimate Hope is about something far deeper even than the future of the congregation I serve. I can have confidence, but it is not based on convincing myself that the church where I work will “do well.” I don’t hope for some outcome or circumstance – not even for church growth or ministry expansion. I don’t hope for some thing at all, but for some One. I hope for the One who rose on the Third Day.

The Third Day is God’s day. The Third Day is the day when prisoners of Pharaoh get set free. The Third Day is the day the people come to the mountains and the mountains shake and rivers are parted and the people go into the Promised Land. The Third Day is the day when harem girls like Esther face down powerful, giant kings.

The Third Day is the day that prophets like Jonah are dropped off at seaside ports by giant fish. The Third Day is the day that idols like Dagon come tumbling down, and God starts coming home to His people. The Third Day is the day stones are rolled away.

The Third Day is the day a crucified carpenter came back to life. You never know what God is going to do, because God is “God of the Third Day.”

You never know what might happen on the Third Day. I cling to that. I put all my hope in a Third Day God.

John Ortberg is a Pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California. He is passionate about “spiritual formation,” which is how people become more like Jesus. His teaching brings Scripture alive and invariably includes practical applications and warm humor. John is the author of many books, including If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat and The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Growth for Ordinary People, and his latest book, Faith & Doubt.

John Ortberg and his wife Nancy will be speaking for the first time in Singapore at the upcoming Eagles Leadership Conference 2009 in July. Check it out at www.leadership.com.sg/ELC_Upcoming.html.

The New International Version of the Bible has been referenced unless otherwise stated.

Since 2009 began, I have suddenly been humming an old Neil Sedaka song called “The Hungry Years.” The singer’s remembrance of when times were hard yet more meaningful has suddenly become very relevant to me. I have also been reflecting on Jeremiah 29:11 for a word of hope and encouragement. The Lord’s reminder to Jeremiah of His plans for Israel has never failed to comfort and reassure me during these uneasy times.

I have also started telling my wife more often how much I love her. She was surprised one day when I told her “I love you” for what must have been the fifth time in several hours. She smiled when I told her that I did not want to come to a situation where I would regret not having said those words more often.

What have all these got to do with an uncertain future, you ask. I will explain how they are linked later.

The close of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 have hardly been reassuring. Bank collapses, financial losses in investments, retrenchments and rising prices have been added to a painful and terrible litany of wars, earthquakes, natural disasters, and unemployment.

Singapore has not been immune and even national icons like Singapore Airlines and the Development Bank of Singapore are fighting for survival and have to make the hard decision to cut jobs and salaries to stay afloat. Our Government even had to dip into our reserves to help support programs designed to get Singaporeans out of this mess as soon as possible. But even the reassurances sound hollow to some as predictions change with great frequency.

The year 2008 ended with analysts giving assurance that the recession would be over within two years at most. But just two months later, we heard that the recession may last three to five years! Even US President Barack Obama admitted that the economic mess in his country is worse than he originally thought.

Singapore’s leaders have encouraged us to persevere and not lose hope, reassuring the people that financial help is available to those struck by hard times. They also point to various available schemes for training and retraining unemployed and retrenched workers. But many of those affected find it hard to keep their heads up when the pink slips come in the mail – the kids still need to go to school, and the sole breadwinner still has some months to go before getting a job.

I do not think things will get better soon. The reality is that we may be in for more hard times in the future. Even if we ride out this economic storm, the effects and temptations of high living and high prices, as well as inflation mean the cycle of high-priced property bubbles accompanied by hard financial crashes will continue. And each bubble will likely be bigger than the previous one as businesses try to make up for lost time and earnings – making the eventual crash more painful than all the ones before it.

How can we get through these hard times without losing our sanity or our hope? I pray that these suggestions will help:

1. Re-examine all your financial commitments – Do you need a new car if your current one is just fine? What about using public transportation more frequently? Do you have to buy branded foodstuffs when generic or house brands will do just as well?

2. Check your electricity and water consumption – Simple things like turning the faucet or shower off when soaping go a long way towards stretching your dollar. Switching off the lights when nobody is in a room helps too.

3. Be wise in your payments – Where possible, choose to pay in cash instead of credit cards. And stick to just one credit card.

4. Choose shorter vacations in nearby destinations – Indonesia and Malaysia offer cheaper alternatives to the scenic spots, natural beauty, and cultural diversity we have seen in further destinations. Use low-cost carriers for short trips. Does it really matter if you travel in a slightly less luxurious seat during a two-hour flight?

5. Be content with what you already have – Envying the owner of a brand new Mercedes convertible may be misplaced, since you may be unaware of the debt the Mercedes owner is in for the price of his dream car.

6. If you can fix it, keep it – Buying more disposable items can cost more over the long run than just keeping the item you have in good working condition. You also help save the environment by having less waste.

7. Have more friends and invest in relationships – Friends, family, and loved ones will really matter during these uncertain times. Money lost can be regained but lost friendships and lost loved ones can stay out of reach forever.

8. Say “Thank You” more often – Being thankful will place you in a better position to understand God’s will for your life.

9. Help others – As you help others, others will help you in your time of need. The presence of a helping community will also provide solace and comfort to those badly affected by the economic downturn.

10. Do not forget the Lord and how He has helped you and your family in the past – Meditating on the words of Jeremiah 29:11 has helped comfort and reassure me in times of trouble. This verse is not the only Bible verse that can help you keep your focus on the Lord, but it is a good start.

11. Praise the Lord whenever you can – Some of you may be thinking how a retrenched man with a family to feed and bills to pay can praise the Lord. But this has been my personal experience too. Praising and thanking God for all His goodness and mercy and grace to you and your loved ones will help keep your mind off the worry and onto God, the only one who can handle that worry.

12. Have a more positive outlook – Things may be looking bad now but there is a God who hears our prayers and gives us what we need.

13. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you – Saying “I Love You” to the ones who matter to you binds all of you closer together and reminds all within a family or community that this is their fight, not just one person’s battle. Knowing that you love and are loved provides a back-up that is sorely needed as we go through these uncertain times.

14. Remember that this time will be a forge and anvil on which your character will be tested – Some of your friends will disappear when they learn of your financial woes. Others may be tempted to resort to illegal or unethical ways to get ahead. Do not succumb to such temptations and do not worry about the “friends” you have lost. At least you now know who your real friends are.

15. Pray and seek God – Talking to God helps, and do not be afraid of telling Him how you really feel. He listens to us as we are.

16. When the good times return, do not forget the lessons learnt from the hard times – Love, companionship, and family ties shine during times of adversity. So the lyrics of “The Hungry Years” will always remind me of what really matters – love, laughter, family, and God.

17. Take these times as a chance to start life as God wanted you to – It is never too late to change, even if you think your life is in a mess now. What is important is that you take that very first step.

Remember, tough times will not last but tough people will. As King George VI greeted the inhabitants of the British Empire on Christmas Day 1939 – another uncertain year as World War Two loomed – he quoted these famous words and I pray that they may encourage and inspire you too:

I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied, “Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be better than light, and safer than a known way.”

Arulnathan John works for Singapore Press Holdings, and worships at Acts Centre, a daughter congregation under St Andrew’s Cathedral. He loves to read, go to the movies and the theatre, chat on the Internet and keep his mind open to new experiences.